It will be a broad day light murder if Super Eagles’ striker Paul Onuachu of KRC Genk did not win the Ebony Shoe Award for the best African player in Belgium, writes IKENWA NNABUOGOR…
It is clear that Paul Onuachu will end the age long 26-year old Jupiler Ebony Shoe Award shut out for Nigerian players playing in the Belgian Jupiler League.
The grand ceremony to crown the best African player or player of African descent playing in the Belgian top flight will soon be staged to announce a new winner to succeed Dieumerci Mbokani of the Congo DR, who wore Royal Antwerp colours last season.
Onuachu will battle for this elusive prize for Nigerian imports in Belgium alongside four other nominees – Genk team mate, Congolese-born Belgian striker Theo Batombo Bonganda, Angolan Club Brugge defender Clinton Mata, Anderlecht’s Anglo-Nigerian striker Lukas Nmecha and Congolese-born Belgian midfielder Sambi Lokonga, who plays for Anderlecht.
No doubt, Onuachu is top choice to land the coveted prize that has eluded Nigerian players since Celestine Babayaro last won it in the colours of Anderlent in 1996.
The former FC Midtylland striker appears the runaway winner of the prize based on his smoking form in front of goal that saw him grab the season’s top scorer award with 33 goals.
Onuachu, who is spending his second season in Belgium since he switched from Denmark, joins his compatriots Tosin Dosunmu and Joseph Akpala in the top scorer’s honours’ list.
It will be absolutely unthinkable if Onuachu lost this award to another player because his goals and his red-hot form should be speaking for him.
What’s more?
He was also deservedly named in the Jupiler League Team of the Year and was also named in the Jupiler League Team of the Week severally.
His mouthwatering goal average of 2.1 goal per game belongs only to the legends of the beautiful game and voters MUST not turn a blind eye to this and anything short of voting Onuachu the winner will not be good enough.
In the beginning, Nigerian players showed tremendous promise and made this prestigious award their own since it was introduced in 1992 with former Eagles striker Daniel Amokachi winning the inaugural edition.
The former Club Brugge striker would leave Belgium for Everton with yet another award in his bag before compatriots – Godwin Okpara, Victor Ikpeba and Babayaro conspired to make other African players in Belgium look like spectators for the next three years after Amokachi’s departure.
But sadly and disappointingly, other Nigerians since 1996 have failed to paint the Ebony Shoe Award in green and white colours despite emerging Jupiler Belgian league top scorer in two occasions.
Not even Dosunmu and Akpala were named in the top three rankings despite winning the top scorer’s award to the surprise of football watchers.
Only Moses Simon, then in the colours of KAA Gent came closest to winning the massive elusive award in 2015 when he finished second behind eventual winner Congolese Neeskens Kebano of KRC Genk.
It was also surprising that Wilfred Wilfred Ndidi, then of KRC Genk didn’t win the award, neither was he close to the top three rankings during his time in Belgium despite his huge potential that would eventually seal him a move to England.
Henry Onyekuru also came close when he played in Belgium.
It will be argued further that Nigerian players after the last award winner in 1996 really deserved the award based on their performances but were sadly voted out for the eventual winners.
The voters only know what they are looking out for in their voting, but it appears now that Onuachu would undoubtedly nick this elusive award this time.
Anything short of this will definitely cast a huge question mark on this Belgium’s top award for players and players with African roots.
Now, it’s Onuachu or no other!
