Victor Ikpeba, daya daga cikin tsoffin 'yan wasan gaba da aka fi yaba musu a Najeriya, ya shelanta cewa Christian Chukwu shi ne mafi girma a duk tarihin Super Eagles — hukunci mai ƙarfin hali amma mai tunani wanda ya shafi shekaru sittin na kwallon ƙafa a Najeriya.

Chukwu, mai tsaron baya na tsakiya wanda ya jagoranci Najeriya a wasu daga cikin mafi muhimmancin lokutan tarihin kwallon ƙafar ƙasar, ya samu matsayin almara tun kafin ya fara aikin koyarwa. Babbar nasararsa ta dawwama ta zo a shekarar 1980, lokacin da ya jagoranci Super Eagles zuwa cin gasar Africa Cup of Nations a ƙasarsu — nasara da ta kasance ɗaya daga cikin mafi alfaharin lokutan kwallon ƙafa a Najeriya.

Yadda almara ya faro

An haifi Chukwu a Enugu, kuma ya gina sunansa a Enugu Rangers, inda ikonsa na jiki da ƙwarewarsa ta jagoranci suka sanya shi zuciyar kulob da ƙasa a halitta. Ya jagoranci Super Eagles na shekaru masu yawa, yana zama alama ta girman kai da ƙarfin zuciyar Najeriya a lokacin da ƙasar ta na neman tabbatar da kanta a matsayin babbar ƙarfi a nahiyar.

Jagorancinsa a lokacin Africa Cup of Nations 1980 — wadda Najeriya ta karɓi bakuncinta — ya kasance mai matuƙar muhimmanci ga nasarar ƙungiyar. Ɗaukaka kofin a ƙasarsu ya tabbatar da matsayinsa a tarihin kwallon ƙafa, kuma tasiririnsa ya yi nisa fiye da wannan gasar ɗaya.

Gado da ya wuce kwanakin wasa

Tasirin Chukwu ga kwallon ƙafar Najeriya bai ƙare da barin filin wasa ba. Daga baya ya ɗauki jagorancin Super Eagles a matsayin babban koci, yana shiryar da ƙungiyar ƙasar a zamanin sabon lokaci kuma yana ci gaba da tsara asalin kwallon ƙafar Najeriya daga gefen filin.

Haɗakar wannan gaba ɗaya — aiki na musamman a fagen wasa, jagoranci na tarihi, da gado na koyarwa — shi ne Ikpeba ke cewa ya raba Chukwu daga duk wani takararsa don take mafi girman ɗan wasa da Najeriya ta taɓa samarwa. A wata ƙasar kwallon ƙafa da ta fitar da manyan taurari kamar Rashidi Yekini, Jay-Jay Okocha, da tsarin yanzu wanda Victor Osimhen ke jagorantarsa, wannan ba ƙaramin da'awa ba ne.

A gare Ikpeba, duk da haka, gardamar a sarari take: babu wanda ya yi fiye da Chukwu, a ko wane fagen wasan, wajen tabbatar da abin da ke nufi saye da alwalar kore da fari ta Najeriya.