Vincent Enyeama! How dare you stop Paul Scholes’ thunderous shot? How dare you? Who is this guy from Nigeria? These lines of thoughts must have been running through the minds of English fans in Manchester, Kent, London, Newcastle, and across the entire country, as well as the thousands of fans inside the Nagai Stadium, Osaka on a sunny afternoon on 12 June 2002.
The Super Eagles were already out of the tournament having lost their opening two games against Sweden and Argentina. Still, Vincent Enyeama gave Nigeria a Democracy Day gift with a marvelous save that denied Paul Scholes from adding to his archives of long-range strikes.
Enyeama who stood in between the sticks against the star-studded English squad in place of first choice goalie Ike Shorunmu announced himself at the biggest stage of world football – The 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup. The Aba-born goalkeeper prepared for years at Enyimba and when the opportunity came, he took it with both hands.
Vincent Enyeama’s heroics in the last group match against England ended Ike Shorunmu’s national team career and kick-started his.
How old is Enyeama
Enyeama is 42 years old as of February 2025. He celebrates his birthday on 29 August 1982.
Vincent Enyeama Height
Enyeama is 5 ft and 11 inches tall. Goalkeepers should be tall, but Enyeama wasn’t. He was of average height, but that didn’t deter him from making close and long range saves as well as putting aerial balls out of danger.
“Aba-made” Vincent Enyeama
Aba is arguably the most popular city in Nigeria’s Southeast region. It is known for trade, commerce and manufacturing industries basically. Aba residents take pride in producing products such as shoes, bags, clothing materials and other local products which are all tagged “Aba-made.”
The city is not just known for being a commercial hub in the country and West Africa. Aba also produces great footballers for the Super Eagles of Nigeria such as Emeka Ifejiagwa, Raphael Chukwu, Pascal Ojigwe, Samuel Kalu, Benedict Iroha, Michael Emenalo, Vincent Enyeama among others.
Vincent Enyeama was born on 29 August 1982 to Sir Phillip Enyeama and Madam Lucy Phillip Enyeama. Phillip Enyeama was a football coach and played a role in his son’s development as a goalkeeper as he rose to one of the greatest shot-stoppers on the continent.
The former Super Eagles captain was known to be very vocal and led the team on and off the pitch during his time with the national team.
Career At Enyimba
Vincent Enyeama started his football career in Nigeria at Ibom Stars in 1999 and played until 2001. He featured in 56 matches for the Akwa-Ibom-based team and scored a goal.
Enyeama became a household name in the Nigeria Premier League as on the continent when he moved to Nigeria’s biggest and most successful club Enyimba in 2001. He rose to fame instantly in the country and beyond as he played a role in Enyimba’s CAF Champions League triumph in 2003 and 2004.
Vincent Enyeama also won three league titles at Enyimba in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
He was in goal in both legs as Enyimba defeated Egyptian side Ismaily 2-1 on aggregate to lift their first-ever CAF Champions League title.
One of the interesting things en route to Enyimba’s second continental triumph was how coach Okey Emordi used Vincent Enyeama and his rival Dele Ayenugba to great effect.
Enyeama is the first choice and starts in goal, but Dele Ayenugba comes in when a match goes into penalties. The tactics worked twice – against ES Tunis in the semi-finals and Etoile Du Sahel in the final as Enyimba won the CAF Champions League title again in 2004.
In an interview years after Enyimba’s triumph, he expressed his surprise at Okey Emord’s tactics of always substituting him for Dele Ayenugba before penalties.
“I don’t know why I was substituted before penalties, but it worked,” he said in an interview in 2006. “In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties.
Vincent Enyeama didn’t just stop shots; he was also scored goals. Enyimba was very good at taking free kicks and penalties especially and score a couple of them during his career. Enyeama scored 10 goals in 100 matches for Enyimba before leaving the club for Iwuanyanwu Nationale and then Isreal in 2005.
Enyeama Bnei Yehuda and Hapoel Tel Aviv
Vincent Enyeama moved to Bnei Yehuda in Isreal in the summer of 2005 and helped the team to the final of the Israeli State Cup in his first team. He was in goal as Bnei Yehuda lost 1-0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv. However, Enyeama and his teammates took solace in qualifying for the UEFA Cup having finished fourth in the league that season.
Enyeama moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the summer of 2007. Hapoel Tel Aviv struggled that season in the league but helped the team survive relegation as they finished seventh in a 12-team league. Hapoel Tel Aviv got to the final of the Israeli State Cup in 2008 but lost 5-4 on penalties to Beitar Jerusalem.
However, Enyeama finally won the Israeli State Cup with Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2010 and 2011 with victories over Maccabi Haifa and his former team Bnei Yehuda respectively.
Vincent Enyeama became Hapoel Tel Aviv’s primary penalty taker. he scored nine goals in 113 matches for the club during his four-year stint at the club.
Enyeama At Lille
Vincent Enyeama’s exploits in Isreal attracted a good number of clubs in Europe and Victor Osimhen’s former club Lille were the quickest to react as they completed the signing for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.
He made his debut for Lille in a UEFA Champions League match against Inter Milan on 18 October 2011 which ended in a 1-0 loss.
Enyeama made a return to Isreal a year later as he joined Maccabi Haifa on loan. He played 27 times for the club and went on to win the Championship.
René Girard picked Vincent Enyeama as his first-choice goalkeeper for the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season. He took the place of Steeve Elana who was Rudi Garcia’s first choice in the previous season.
Vincent Enyeama went on a fantastic run as he kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in the league in a bid to equal or break Gaëtan Huard’s 1993 record. Unfortunately, he came 114 minutes shot as he conceded a goal after 1,062 minutes of Ligue 1 action.
Enyeama conceded in the 27th minute in a match against Bordeaux. Landry N’Guémo’s strike came off a deflection as it went into the back of the net.
Vincent Enyeama’s time at Lille ended on a disappointing note following “a disagreement between the player and the club’s management” which cost him his place in the squad for the 2017–18 season. He resumed for the pre-season, but his contract was mutually terminated.
He went on trial at Dijon in January 2019 and expressed his gratitude to the club even though he was not offered a professional contract.
Enyeama retired from professional football at the end of the 2019–20 season.
Vincent Enyeama: The Super Eagles’ Safe Hands and Legendary Shot-Stopper
Enyeama practically retired Ike Shorunmu from the Super Eagles after keeping a clean sheet and making a brilliant save on his competitive debut against England at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He had earlier featured for the team in a friendly match against Kenya.
The shoot-stopper dominated in between the sticks and led the Super Eagles to three third-place finishes at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004, 2006, and 2010.
Vincent Enyeama stopped three penalties against Tunisia in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
He scored the winning penalty against Zambia after saving Thomas Nyrienda’s spot-kick at the 2010 tournament in Angola.
He led the team as captain to glory for the third time as Nigeria won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Enyeama made a couple of saves against Burkina Faso in the final to help the Super Eagles win its third title.
Vincent Enyeama made two FIFA World Cup appearances with the national team. The 2010 edition ended in a bitter-sweet experience for him. He was the man of the match in the 1-0 loss to Argentina in the opening match. He six saves four of which were Lionel Messi’s attempt at goal.
Enyeama also won the Man of the Match award in the second match against Greece even though his error led to the winning goal as Greece won 2-1.
At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Enyeama had two clean sheets against Iran (0-0) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-0) but conceded thrice against Lionel Messi’s Argentina as the match ended 3-2.
Vincent Enyeama retired from the national team in 2015 as the Super Eagles’ second-most-capped player behind Ahmed Musa.
Career Achievements
Enyimba
- Nigerian Premier League: 2001, 2002, 2003
- CAF Champions League: 2003, 2004
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
- Israeli Premier League: 2009–10
- Israel State Cup: 2009–10, 2010–11
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
- Israeli Premier League: 2012–13
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2013
Individual
- CAF Champions League Player of the Year: 2003, 2004
- Footballer of the Year in Israel: 2009
- UNFP Player of the Month: October 2013, November 2013
- Prix Marc-Vivien Foé: 2013–14
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2004, 2013
- Goalkeeper of the Year Nigeria Pitch Awards: 2013, 2014
- King of the Pitch Nigeria Pitch Awards: 2014
- Goal Nigeria Player of the Year: 2014
- IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of the Decade 2011–2020
- IFFHS 2023 March: Greatest African Goalkeeper of All Time
Vincent Enyeama’s Net Worth
How rich is Vincent Enyeama? The former Super Eagles captain has a net worth of about $7 million. His earnings are mostly from his career as a footballer and other business ventures he is involved in. Vincent Enyeama owns a hotel in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State known as The Vinpy Hotels.
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Personal Life
Is Vincent Enyeama married? Yes, he is married to a Nigerian woman named Promise. Enyeama and his wife have been married since 2006 and have three children together, a boy and two girls. Enyeama is a very private person and lives quietly with his family even though he occasionally shares pictures with them on his Instagram page.
Is Enyeama’s son a footballer?
Yes, Vincent Enyeama’s son Godswill is a footballer and currently plays as a goalkeeper for the youth team of Lille in France. The young boy grew up in France and played for Croix before signing for Lille in 2024. Godswill Enyeama is 6 ft and 4.5 inches tall.
Vincent Enyeama Car Accident
The former Super Eagles goalkeeper survived a fatal motor accident in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The accident claimed the lives of two motorcycle passengers. The driver who drove the car Enyeama was in was left in critical condition, but the goalkeeper survived with bruises to some parts of his body after the car somersaulted twice as it tried to avoid the motorcycle.
Social Media
Vincent Enyeama is quite active on Instagram where he shares pictures of himself, family, and other engagements on his page. He has over 270,000 followers.
Vincent Enyeama is undoubtedly the greatest Nigerian goalkeeper ever with a well decorated national team career and successes in both local and European club sides. He wasn’t just a conventionally goalkeeper but technically gifted as he scored a number of goals from the spot kick and displayed great leadership in the teams he captained.
Enyeama finished in third place behind Yaya Toure and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the 2014 CAF Men’s African Footballer of the Year Award – the first Nigerian goalkeeper to achieve such a feat.
