Vincent Enyeama was once again ‘Man of the Match’ for Lille against Marseille on Tuesday (December 3) in the French Ligue 1. The Nigerian crossed the 1000 minute mark without letting in a goal at the 57th minute of the encounter which his side triumphed by a lone goal.
The goalie took his record to 1035 minutes, inching closer to the all-time record held by Gaetan Huard, formerly of Bordeaux, who went 1176 minutes without conceding during the 1992-93 season.
Since September 15, Enyeama has yet to pick the ball from his net capping it with high class and decisive saves.
Born on August 29, 1982 in Aba, located in the southeast part of Nigeria, he began his career at Ibom Stars before signing for Enyimba then Iwanyanwu (now Heartland FC).
In 2005, he left Nigeria for Israel, signing for Bnei Yehuda FC and later Hapoel Tel Aviv with whom he played 164 games in four years. In 2011, he was transferred to Lille but quickly joined Maccabi Tel Aviv on-loan after failing to break into the first team.
The experience at Tel Aviv did count and he returned to Lille as custodian of the position between the sticks.
For the national team, he has made over 80 appearances, appearing at four Africa Cup of Nations, 2004 (third), 2006 (third), 2008 (quarter-finalist), 2010 (third) before finally laying his hands on the trophy in 2013.
He was at the FIFA World Cup in 2002 as a substitute but was in the post for the Super Eagles during 2010 edition in South Africa.
His talent and exploits was celebrated on the cover page of renowned French sports daily, L’Equipe on Wenesday, December 5 issue.
Confederation of African Football News
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