Leon Balogun can be best described as the new found
impeccable Super Eagles defender who gave the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions
strikers hard time to find the Nigeria net...
He reminds many of the days of ‘
The Gentle Giant’ Okechukwu Uche, Austin Eguavon and Benedict Iroha all of the
class of 1994 squad that made many Nigerians proud at the first ever World Cup
appearance for the Eagles. Balogun Born 28 June 1988, Balogun is a German-born
Nigerian professional football defender who plays currently for 1. FSV Mainz 05
in the German Bundesliga. He made his Bundesliga debut on 19 April 2009 for
Hannover 96 in a game against Hamburger SV. After his contract expired in
summer 2014, he was without a club for three months until he joined Darmstadt
98. He signed a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season. Born to a
Nigerian father and German mother, Balogun was called up by Nigeria in March
2014 for a friendly against Mexico as a replacement for Joseph Yobo. Balogun
entered at the half but was injured after 20 minutes in a collision on the
touchline. He fractured his foot and stayed away 2–3 months after surgery. On
25 March 2015, he played his second game for Nigeria in a 1–0 loss against
Uganda. He played his third game for the country on 13 June 2015 when he
featured in a 2–0 win over Chad in the opening game of qualifying for the 2017
African Nations Cup. Balogun has been instrumental in both the 4-0 win over
Cameroon and the 1-1 in Yaounde in the Russia World Cup 2018 qualifiers of
Africa Group B. His presence brings stability and assurance as wards off danger
with such ease and expertise that reminds many soccer fans of Uche Okechukwu,
the Gentle Giant.
No comments: