Nigeria’s in-form goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has shared his admiration for Manuel Neuer, expressing how he draws motivation by watching videos of the German goalkeeper before matches. In an interview during the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Nwabali revealed that Neuer is his role model, and he enjoys both watching videos of him and playing as him on PlayStation.
In a video posted by photojournalist Pooja on X, the Super Eagles’ goalkeeper expressed his passion, stating, “I love playing my PlayStation, I love watching my role model, I love watching Manuel Neuer even before my game, even two days before my game, even in the dressing room, I always watch him, and even before my game, I always play my PlayStation.”
Despite being substituted in the 80th minute during Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Cameroon due to a collision with Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, Nwabali made a remarkable comeback from the injury. He equaled the 44-year record held by former shot-stopper Best Ogedegbe by keeping a clean sheet in Nigeria’s 1-0 quarter-finals win against Angola.
The Super Eagles progressed to the semi-finals of the 34th edition of AFCON, with Nwabali contributing significantly to their quest for a fourth tournament win. Notably, the 27-year-old became the first Eagles goalkeeper in 44 years to keep four consecutive clean sheets in a major tournament, surpassing Alloy Agu’s record of three consecutive clean sheets in 1990.
Despite his outstanding performance, Nwabali humbly insisted that he does not see himself as the team’s number-one-choice goalkeeper, emphasizing his focus on seizing the opportunity and giving his best whenever he plays.
