Idris Adesina
Former Nigeria captain Vincent Enyeama has left LOSC Lille by mutual consent, the Ligue 1 side said on Friday.
In a short statement on their website, Lille confirmed that the 36-year-old’s contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
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“Beyond his performances, LOSC and its supporters will remember Vincent’s smile and his enthusiasm. The club wish him the best from now on in his future projects,” the statement read.
The former Nigeria goalkeeper joined the French club from Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2011 and featured in 164 matches for Lille. The highlight of his stay at the club came in the 2013/14 season, when he went within 114 minutes of equalling Gaetan Huard’s record for consecutive Ligue 1 minutes without conceding a goal.
Enyeama has not featured for Lille since April 2017, when he copped a long-term injury. He was deemed surplus to requirements by previous coach Marcelo Bielsa, and was overlooked by his successor Christophe Galtier. He made one appearances for Lille’s B team last season.
Galtier attributed Enyeama’s lack of playing time in the club to a problem between the player and the club’s owners.
“It’s a problem between Enyeama and the club, that’s the bottom line. It’s a problem between the club management and Enyeama,” he said in a video shared by France Football in April.
Without Enyeama, Lille had the fourth worst defensive record in Ligue1 last season. They conceded 58 goals in 34 matches. In the 2015/16 with the former Iwuanyanwu Nationale keeper, they had the second best defensive record in the league – conceding 27 goals in 38 matches. They were (second behind PSG).
He also was part of the Lille team that were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2016 League Cup final.
Meanwhile, the goalkeeper was grateful to the Lille supporters as his seven-year stay at the club comes to an end.
“The adventure has ended. I thank the Lille supporters for their incredible support during these seven years, which were, for me, years of happiness and joy. Thank you, a thousand times, thank you, for this love that you’ve given me,” he wrote on twitter.
“You will always have a special place in my heart. Your songs and your cheers will stay engraved forever. Love you guys. Thank you also to all of the staff of LOSC, the medical staff – with a particular mention to the reserve team in N2 (The French Championnat National 2) and their medical staff.”
The veteran goalkeeper, who also represented Bnei Yehuda in Israel, won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa with the Super Eagles. He was also part of the Eagles squad at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
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He made his international debut at the 2002 World Cup against England and kept a clean sheet in the goalless draw with the Three Lions. The former Enyimba shot-stopper went on to become Nigeria’s most-capped player with 101 appearances for the national team. His 100th cap for the Eagles was on March 26, 2015 in a 1–0 loss to Uganda.
He retired from the Eagles in 2015 after a bust-up with former coach Sunday Oliseh after he was stripped of the national team’s captaincy.
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