Former Super Eagles World Cup coach Adegboye Onigbinde and President-General, Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Ladipo, have said the wife of Teslim Thunder Balogun was part of the secret to the late footballer’s success.
The wife, Alhaja Mulikat Teslim Balogun, had her 24th memorial anniversary celebrated by the Balogun family in Ikorodu, Lagos on Wednesday.
They revealed that Mulikat was convinced by the then Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, to talk her husband into dumping his British club, Queens Park Rangers, to return to Nigeria.
Thunder Balogun’s return saw him assist the West Rovers to win the Challenge Cup.
“Mulikat convinced her husband and he returned to help the club win the title,” Onigbinde said.
Ladipo added, “If there were top decisions made by Teslim Balogun that lifted him to become one of Nigeria’s greatest footballers of all time, they were due to the influence of his wife, who stood firmly by him with humour, humility and discipline. She accompanied her husband to all his training sessions when he finally returned to Nigeria. She was always there to quietly point out areas where her husband didn’t do well in training and this helped tremendously during competitive games.”