I have taken a few days off from writing due to no big reason really. At times you need to take that rest so to return fresh and sharp. Today I will focus on one of Enyimba’s young sharp minds.
He has made 34 appearances for the People’s Elephant in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and CAF club competitions excluding Nigerian Cup games and has weighed in with two assists. These stats belong to Daniel Daga. I am sure you would wonder what’s really important about these stats that does not reflect goalscoring performance since that is what most followers of the sport measure with success. Well just like the popular saying goes ‘that not all angels wear capes.’ Same can be applied to Daga here.
In every football team, you need that player who does all the dirty job – a role former Super Eagles technical adviser/head coach, Clemens Westerhof coined ‘The Destroyer.’ Three players, Claude Makelele, John Obi Mikel and N’Golo Kante readily come to mind for what they did while playing for Chelsea and Leicester City. Their primary role was provide cover for their defence line and break up play from the opposition and they did that effectively. Now don’t get me wrong. This is not attempt to compare Daga with any of these accomplished men but to just push the point on how important he has become in the scheme of things at Enyimba since he joined in September 2023 from second tier side, FC One Rocket.
I remember back then as a starry-eyed 16-year-old just fresh from an impressive individual performance with Nigeria’s Under-20s at the 2023 U20 FIFA World Cup, he decided to join Enyimba despite a list of top European sides willing to hand him a pre-contract since he’s still underage. I guess his minders were more particular with his development rather hitting it big straight away and Enyimba became his destination. At the time, or so, some followers of the sport in the country believe and still believe that Daga in terms of development is behind his Under-20 teammates, Victor Eletu and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro who both moved to Italian sides.
However, Daga has shown brightly with Enyimba since joining the club. Already he has a pre-contract in place with Norwegian side, Molde FK, to join them on January 10, 2025 when he would turn 18. So what has made this teenage defensive midfielder stand out and become an important asset at Enyimba? And why was he so sought after by top clubs even at 16?
Daga like Makelele, Mikel and Kante has shown that football teams need men with steel to win games and keep clean sheet or keep attacking opponents at bay. He has shown in Enyimba’s colours that he can be combative and dominant. He’s been a core unit of the midfield of the People’s Elephant. So far, Daga has been exceptional in his carrying out the basics of his role when it comes to positional discipline, tackles and interceptions, tracking runs, shot blocking as well as building possession from the back. He has shown he is one of the best in plugging the space in front of the defence in the country’s. One of the reasons when he didn’t make the Nigerian WAFU Under-20 squad owing to his international passport being at the Norwegian embassy, Enyimba head coach, Yemi ‘Yema’ Olanrewaju, was happy to have him back and immediately handed him a starting place against Niger Tornadoes straight away.
Talk of offensive play. The 17-year-old, at times, has been involved in starting attacking build-ups. He has shown he isn’t just about short passes as some defensive midfielders are known for. One of such Daga offensive moments this season was in Enyimba’s 3-0 win against Katsina United. He spotted the fleet-and-nimble footed Clinton Jephtha free on the flank in a counter-attacking play, and whipped the ball to him to set up Ifeanyi Ihemekwele for one of the goals in that NPFL game.
Nowadays, Daga has upped his game from just being a defensive midfielder. He oftentimes end up playing as a central defensive midfielder which gives him the licence to go forward, something I think Yema must have worked with him in their training drills. For that role, he has shown he’s got the physicality and stamina to thrive in that role.
Now I am wondering how Enyimba will adjust in his absence when he leaves to join Molde FK in January. Between now and December, the People’s Elephant will be involved in 15 matches in the NPFL and the CAF Confederation Cup and Daga is sure to be part of those. But who fills that role afterwards when he leaves? That’s one area I am sure Yema has worked on, and soon that question will be answered.
