brendanogbu.blogspot.com
Brendan Ogbu celebrating a goal at Rangers last term. Photo: BackpagePix
The football journey that started at Enugu based amateur side, Unth, continues this term at Nigeria Premier League side, Heartland, where Brendan Ogbu has proved his worth as a new player.
Despite his late debut due to transfer hiccups, Ogbu has earned the respect of the Owerri fans and still remains a favourite back in Enugu, where he grew up and eventually made a dream start in professional football with Rangers, a club he loved as a child.
Enugu's most popular team, Rangers lured him away from Unth in 2008 and he made an impact at the "Flying Antelopes."
At the end of the 2010/2011 season, he scored 11 goals to finish as top scorer.
Before leaving Rangers, the youngster was compared with several legendary forwards who wore the red colours of the famous club.
Interestingly, the forward comes from a sporting family – his father, Brendan Ogbu (Snr) was a Nigerian International handball star, while his mother was a Basketball International.
Only a few would remember the exploits of his parents in handball and basketball because Nigeria is a football crazy nation. However, Brendan has become a big star in the country.
Today, Brendan has made the family a household name in Nigerian football due to his exploits in the league.
He arrived Rangers in 2008 and worked hard to earn his place amongst forwards like Uche Nwofor (now at Dutch side, VVV Venlo) and his pal, Fred Okwara (who plays in Turkey).
"I can't forget Rangers. I grew up Enugu and loved the team, but I had to leave to boost my career," Ogbu told his personal blog, brandanogbu.blogspot.com.
In fact, Enugu fans would never forget this lad.
Ogbu scored great goals for Rangers against other teams and as a professional even scored against Rangers on his debut for Heartland right in front of the Enugu fans, in February.
Like a true Enugu boy, he wept after the goal and when he was substituted, the fans gave him a standing ovation.
"Scoring against Rangers in Enugu was a difficult thing for me, but I had to score the goal. I couldn't celebrate when my new teammates came to me. That's the respect I have for Rangers and I was in tears," he said to brandanogbu.blogspot.com.
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