Shooting Stars, Rangers Rekindle the Old Rivalry of Nigerian Club Football

Duro Ikhazuagbe

In the good old days of the Nigerian topflight league, tonight’s clash between hosts Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) and traditional rivals Rangers International FC of Enugu would have shutdown Ibadan with fans of both teams

engaging in ‘verbal war’ before kick off at the Lekan Salami Stadium.

Take your mind back to 1977 when both teams shutdown Kaduna during

second leg of the semi-final of CAF Cup Winners Cup encounter with the likes of Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal, Felix Owolabi, Best Ogedengbe leading the blue side against Chairman Christian Chukwu, Alloysius Atuegbu, Christian Madu, Emmanuel Okala and several other great stars in the the sparkling white jerseys of the Enugu team. Those were the glory days of Nigerian club football.

Shooting and Rangers represent the best of Nigerian club football and have history behind them.

But not anymore. Poor administration of both clubs and the league body riddled in crisis before the coming of the League Management Committee (LMC), conspired to ensure that Nigerian ball fans take consolation in foreign European league. Even the lofty plans of the LMC to grow the league to enviable level in Africa is being hampered by poor sponsorship.

Even some Corporate Nigerians that ought to help the Nigerian Professional Football League to grow, would rather take their millions of dollars to support some of these foreign leagues that do not know the products of these “sponsors and partners” exists.

It is against this backdrop that tonight’s NPFL Match-day 16 fixture is going to bring back memories of both top Nigerian club sides.

Interestingly, the LMC has approved this encounter to be the first fixture to be played under the floodlight.

Head Coach of Rangers however insisted during the week that he’s not bothered the time the game is played. All he’s after in Ibadan is to return to Enugu with all three points to enhance the Flying Antelopes’ chances of ending the season on a high.

Rangers are currently fourth on the log with 24 points from 15 games while hosts 3SC are 12th with 19 points from the same number of matches.

Coach Abdul Maikaba and the current squad understand what is at stake is beyond the three points, have promised not to disappoint ardent followers of the Flying Antelopes.

“This is a top of the bill encounter that is laced with a lot of tradition and we are going to Ibadan to give out our best and ensure we come back with something to cheer. I am aware that encounter between both teams is always a derby dating back to many years and we expect the crowd to come out and see quality football on display,” observed Maikaba.

He is relying on his formidable squad of Kenechukwu Agu, Julius Ikechukwu,

Shedrack Asiegbu, Christian Nnaji, Elijah Ani, Tope Olusesi and others to cause Sootingfans sorrow.

Similarly, Edith Agoye, 3SC Head Coach who himself is a product of the later years of Shooting Stars wants to give Ibadan fans something to cheer.

He will be relying on such star performers as Sunday Faleye, Daniel Kolawole, Okeowo Oluwaseyi, Abbey Benson, Sunday Akleche, and a host of others to make his dream come true.

The last time they met in 2017 before Shooting Stars went on relegation to the low division, it was 1-0 in Ibadan and 1-1 in Enugu.