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Leicester City of England midfielder, Wilfred Onyinye Ndidi has again shot his mind back to his early days, and recounts how he had to eat a common pastry called ‘Agege Bread,’ in order to keep body and soul together as a youngster growing up in Lagos. Ndidi admits life has taken a change for the best for him, since popping into limelight with the youth national team, Flying Eagles in two editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup – 2013 in Turkey and 2015 in New Zealand – but the product of Nath Boys of Lagos says he can never forget his early days. All that, though, came after he faced the setback of MRI Scan that ruled him out of the cadet squad, Golden Eaglets, that went on to win the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates, with Kelechi Iheanacho, Isaac Success and others part of the team. Indeed, life got even better for Ndidi after he completed a £17m move from Racing Genk of Belgium to Leicester in January and has gone on to put up some fine displays in the English Premier League as well as UEFA Champions League. It is remarkable that 20% of his sign-on fee went to Genk, while Nath boys got 10% and could get another 5% if they successfully prove they are the team to be paid training compensation for the defender-turned-midfielder. Ndidi, though, takes a look back and says he could have been doing something else, first when his father insisted he faced his books and then he had to move away from home to Lagos. Ndidi further recalls how he started out at Ikeja Cantonment, where he had to squat with a junior army officer and daily they fed only on beans porridge and Agege bread. Then he was playing with Nath Boys at Police College, Ikeja, where he got his breakthrough as only one of 500 boys spotted at a football tournament that was watched by some foreign scouts, who invited him for a trial at Genk. Ndidi takes up the story: “I didn’t score; I was actually playing in central defence. My coach told me not to play long balls, so I just made a one-two and another one-two and then I gave a pass, made an assist. “It was important because we were an academy, we played a team from the Nigerian Premier League; Shooting Stars, who were winning 1-0. I gave that pass and made it 1- 1. “I was the only one selected out of 40 teams, 500 players. I had to go and do trials in Genk. After a year, the club gave me a contract. “It was difficult coming to Europe. When I came to Belgium, I had to stay with a foster family to cut down cost and integrate quickly into the way of life in Europe. “The family I stayed with tried to make me feel like I was at home. It was the time of the trial. So when I came home every day I felt like part of the family, it felt like home and made it easier. “Thanks to Almighty God. I think it is my time today, tomorrow may be yours. I also thank all the people that has in one way or another contributed to my progress…”
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