Norwegian league champion Leke James has exclusively told SCORENigeria that he almost quit football after a long-term, career-terminating injury he suffered while playing for Beijing Enterprise in China.
Leke, who has scored 15 goals in the league so far to help Molde FK win the league, said it was God and support from his family and fans that saw him through the torrid time.
He is now aiming to play in top league in Europe and also get a deserved Eagles call-up.
The full interview:
SCORENIGERIA: You suffered a career-ending injury while playing in China, what was going through your mind during that torrid time?
LEKE JAMES: It was not a very pleasant experience. At a point I wasn’t sure if I am going to be able to play football again. But by the grace of God I was able to wave that thought aside through the help of my lovely family who supported me mentally and of course my fans, who sent me messages of encouragement and talk to me whenever they have the privilege of seeing me.
What pushed you to come back in style?
I will say the injury made me tougher, feeling healthy again is a great motivation for me.
You have scored a lot of goals in Norway, and now Molde are champions again, where is your next destination?
By God’s grace, to play in one of the top league.
Any country to be precise?
Any of the top leagues.
A lot of players find it very difficult to hit it big after recovering from a long-term injury, how are you able to do this?
Simply God’s grace, hard work and self-belief.
What was it like playing China after some season in Norway?
It was a great experience for me to play in another continent with different culture. It was a nice experience.
The coach who brought you back to Molde, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is now at Manchester United, has he talked to you on possibility of working with you at Old Trafford?
Not at all.
What impact does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have on your return to great form after the injury?
He really helped me, he gave me time to recover well and back to my form, even better.
Is the highest goal scorer award still a target for you with two games to go as you need at least six goals to achieve that?
Yes it’s still possible.
Will you say you have achieved your target by winning the league title?
Yes and I have also broken my previous goals record in the league.
You are one of Nigeria’s hottest strikers abroad and as such do you look forward to a Super Eagles call-up?
It will be a great honour to get a call-up to the Super Eagles.
