The news of the faulty value in his heart almost devastated the young Kanu who was determined to make a living from playing football.
So, to correct the anomaly, the striker underwent heart surgery in November 1996 to replace the faulty aortic value. At the end he came out of a 14 – month rehabilitation, fitter and a better player as he won more honours.
In February 1999, after just twelve games and one goal for Inter, Kanu was signed by Arsenal for approximately 4.15 million pounds. Kanu’s career was quickly revived at Arsenal following the departure of Nicolas Anelka in the summer of 1999.
He became known for scoring superlative goals, one of which was against Tottenham Hotspur, one with his back at the goal he lobbed be ball over Luke Young’s head, before shaking of the young defender and scoring in style. He went further to score a hat-trick against Chelsea to win 3-2 after his side was 2-0 down after 75 minutes of play.
He was named African Footballer of the year for the second time in 1999, and in 1999-2000 he scored 17 times in 50 matches for the Gunners. Kanu also became very popular among the fans for his two-finger salutes which started in 2000 against Midilsbrough.
Kanu’s appearances for Arsenal gradually dwindled following the emergence of clinical finisher Thierry Henry as Arsenal’s first choice hitman. This time Kanu was mainly used as a substitute. But he was not perturbed on the threat to his position as he went ahead to win a double with Arsenal in 2002, the FA Cup in 2003 and the Premier League title in 2004.
In all Kanu played 197 games for Arsenal and scored 44 goals. He was voted 13th in the “Gunner’s Greatest 50 Players” poll in 2008.
During summer of 2004, after his contract with Arsenal had ended, Kanu moved to WestBrom Albion on a free transfer. The club had just been promoted to the FA Premier League in the space of two years and Papilo started as a regular for the team, making his debut in a 1-1 draw away, at Blackburn Rovers on August 14, 2004. He scored his first goal for Albion on September 18, 2004 (an 88th –minute equalizer in a 1-1 home draw against Fulham).
From West Brom, Kanu signed for Portmouth football Club as a free agent shortly before the start of the 2006-07 seasons. He made his debut for Portsmouth as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers on August 19, 2006, the opening day of the 2006-07 Premier League season. He scored twice though also missing a penalty in the clash…….To be continued next week
Kanu Applauds President Jonathan
Former Nigerian Captain Nwankwo Kanu has praised President Goodluck Jonathan (GCFR) for his huge support and keen personal interest in Monday’s one day Presidential Retreat on Sports.
The fleet footed ace, who is also Nigeria’s Football Ambassador, said “I am ultimately impressed by President Jonathan’s Personal interest in Nigerian Sports. He has shown several times that he is a lover of youth and a lover of sports.
“Any one who is a lover of sports is a lover of the youth, and football is the king of sports. The president was very supportive of the ideas expressed at the Retreat and committed his time and energy to see to its success. This is no mean feat. I believe the whole country should appreciate his Excellency for this and pray to God that this time we get it right.
Kanu who captained the U-23 national team to win the Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 and also won 86 Caps for Nigeria Senior team, played in three FIFA world cup finals – 1998, 2002 and 2010. He added: “The Retreat was a very useful one as most of the speakers contributed meaningfully and positively to enrich a probable roadmap for the sustainable development of our Sports, “Kanu stated.
It could be recalled that, the President, Goodluck Jonathan instructed during the Retreat that Nigeria should be able to win 36 medals in 2016 Olympics as each state can train their athletes very well on sports they have strong holds on starting from now to enable them win at least one medal each.
