Fast-rising Nigerian defender Chibuike Nwaiwu has earned his long-awaited first Super Eagles invitation, marking a remarkable rise following his move to Europe.
The Trabzonspor centre-back was drafted into Nigeria’s squad as a replacement for Calvin Bassey, who withdrew from the March international window due to a back injury.
The 22-year-old, who previously featured for Nigeria Premier Football League champions Enyimba, has now reached the top level of international football within three years of leaving Nigeria for Europe.
Nwaiwu joined Austrian side Wolfsberger AC from Enyimba before sealing a move to Trabzonspor during the January transfer window. He has since impressed, registering three goals and one assist in 28 appearances across all competitions.
‘Quality player and hardworking lad’
Former Nigeria U-17 assistant coach Yemi Olarenwaju, who worked closely with Nwaiwu during his development years, expressed his delight at the defender’s national team call-up.
“It’s a good thing, we are happy for him. He’s a quality player and very hardworking lad. With his quality he’s going to be part of national team for long time,” Olarenwaju exclusively told Footy-Africa.
Nwaiwu is known for his technical ability and versatility, capable of playing in multiple positions across the pitch.
Olarenwaju revealed that the defender began his career as a midfielder before a key positional switch — influenced by former Super Eagles head coach Finidi George — transformed his trajectory.
“He started his career as a defensive midfielder, and we converted him to a centre-back,” he added. “In fact, it was Finidi who first suggested that we should consider playing Chibuike at centre-back because of his pace and ball-winning ability. We were in the office that day when he mentioned it. So, when he travelled to camp with the Super Eagles, I decided to try Chibuike in that position — and the rest is history.”
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“When we made that decision at Enyimba, everyone was surprised — including other coaches. He started an FA Cup game against Abia Warriors and delivered a solid performance. We played him in that position again in the next match, and he impressed once more. From then on, we kept him there for the rest of the season.”
Positional switch proves decisive
Olarenwaju also explained the reasoning behind the decision to convert Nwaiwu into a centre-back:
“When he travelled to Austria for trials, he asked me about his best position. I told him he could achieve greater success as a centre-back because he tends to get exhausted in midfield.”
“He’s a natural runner and battler, so around the 60th or 70th minute, he would begin to lose intensity and we’d have to substitute him. I advised him to focus on centre-back, where he could manage his energy better and perform effectively for the full 90 minutes.”
The switch proved pivotal, becoming the foundation for Nwaiwu’s rapid rise in European football.
During his final season at Wolfsberger AC, he was ranked the best U-23 centre-back in the world for ground defending outside Europe’s top five leagues by the CIES Football Observatory.
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The data-driven ranking placed him top of the global chart with a score of 90.8 out of 100, ahead of Denmark’s Noah Markmann (89.0) and Argentina’s Lautaro Di Lollo (88.4).
Other highly rated defenders included Lautaro Rivero, Kevin Jappert and Youri Baas.
Eyes on Super Eagles debut
“He’s very strong in the air and one of the best in one-on-one situations,” Olarenwaju said.
“I’m glad we converted him to a centre-back, and today he’s benefiting from that decision. We hope he continues to improve. We spoke today, and I told him not to rest on his laurels because the journey is still long. We want to see him move to an even bigger league, like the Premier League or Spain’s La Liga.”
Nwaiwu will now hope to make his Super Eagles debut in upcoming international friendlies against Iran and Jordan.
