Leon Balogun has opened up on what it truly means to represent Nigeria, speaking in an interview with former England goalkeeper, Joe Hart.
The defender reflected on the pride, pressure and passion that comes with wearing the Super Eagles shirt, describing the experience as both intense and deeply emotional.
Born and raised in Germany, Balogun admitted that embracing his Nigerian roots at international level was a powerful journey.
Leon Balogun, 37, claims playing Nigeria shaped his identity and strengthened his mentality as a professional footballer.
“Being a Super Eagles is intense, because you get showered with love.
“In my case I am born and raised in Germany. I was not in touch with the Nigerian culture too much that’s the difference for example between me and the likes of Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ademola Lookman.
“Calvin Bassey, all the players who are there now William Troost Ekong who grew up more or less in the UK because he went to school there.”
“The Nigerian culture is part of UK culture more or less because there are so many Nigerians. We didn’t have that in Germany.
“It was interesting at first for me because I was like, ‘how is this going to be?’ And I remember my first camp there was like the big John Obi Mikel there, Victor Moses was there as well, a few other players.
“I was like, Wow! I used to play with these guys on play station. I said it in the past playing for the Nigerian National team exposed me to the level of expectation at Rangers.
Also read: Middle East Crisis Casts Uncertainty over Super Eagles’ Participation in Four-Nation Tourney
“For example losing is not allowed; you are Nigeria and you are the king of Africa, it doesn’t matter if they are countries like Egypt, Cameroon, Senegal, it doesn’t matter really you just have to win.”
Balogun earned his first cap for Nigeria on 5 March 2014 in a friendly match against Mexico. He went on to make 46 appearances for the Super Eagles, scoring one goal.
He represented Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, playing every match in the tournament. He was also part of the squad that secured a bronze medal at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
