Former Super Eagles and Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan Goalkeeper, Abiodun Baruwa has revealed how the Ibadan based football club played vital role in the resuscitation of his football career.
Baruwa, who opened up on his stint with the Oluyole Warriors while featuring
on BCOS TV sports programme ‘Weekend Sports’ also disclosed that 3SC infused new lease of life into his dying career.
According to the retired footballer, his career was going down when he joined the 3SC from Stationery Stores but his life was turned around in Ibadan.
The ex- Super Eagles goalie presently based in London, added the hospitality of 3SC fans and the encouragement he got from the club’s officials under late Taiwo Ogunjobi made him regained his confidence, and this resulted in his subsequent call-ups to the national teams at different grades.
“What many people didn’t know is that my career was in decline before I got to Shooting Stars, but the late Taiwo Ogunjobi took me in as a son and the fans showed me love. And that inspired me to churn out good performances for the team. Consequently I was called up to play for the Nigerian national teams at different levels”, Baruwa said on the sports programme he featured via Skype.
“Because of the key role 3SC played in my football career, the club remain my darling team”, he added.
Expressing his dissatisfaction at the present plight of the club, the former 3SC goalkeeper encouraged its fans to keep supporting the club to enable it regain its top position.
Abiodun Baruwa, fondly called Omo Alhaja (Alhaja’s son) by Ibadan soccer fans, was part of the Shooting Stars team that slugged it out with Egyptian giants Zamalek at the CAF Champions League final in 1996 and was also a member of the Super Eagles squad to the France ’98 FIFA World Cup.
