From his arrival in Italy to his passion for Inter, his personal life, heroes, tastes and memories: tonight Prima Serata on Inter Channel is all about Joel Obi.
“I was born in Lagos in Nigeria and then I moved to Italy with my parents. My passion for Inter first began when we lived in Parma, Ronaldo was playing for the Nerazzurri at the time and I absolutely loved watching him. Zanetti was already at the club – he’s a legend. That’s how I became an Inter fan and so it was a dream come true when I joined the academy.”
A montage in the studio begins with Obi’s goal for the Allievi Nazionali (Under-17s) in the 2007/08 championship final against Empoli: “Inter were crowned champions thanks to my goal, it was amazing. We had a great bond in that team, there was Mattia Destro, Luca Caldirola, Davide Santon, we were all close friends.”
Destro then appears with a video message for his former team-mate with Joel saying: “He’s always been one of my best mates and we enjoyed playing together.”
The Inter man then explains it doesn’t usually take him long to develop an understanding with his team-mates, saying: “I fit in very well, and genuinely get on with everyone, I’ve never had any problems.”
From Destro the talk switches to Caldirola, who captained Obi. Joining the studio via phone, he speaks in glowing terms about his former team-mate: “Joel is a great guy aside from being a great player, we used to give him the ball and he’d win us games.” The Nigerian spoke with pride about his friend’s compliments: “It’s nice when praise comes from your team-mates, actually, it’s even better.”
Just to make sure he knows how highly thought of he is, we hear from Daniele Bernazzini who was in charge of the Allievi Nazionali in 2007/08 and is someone Obi respects and holds in high esteem (“Bernazzini was very important for me, he turned me into a central midfielder, I used to play off the front”): “It’s true,” explains the current coach of the Primavera. “I’ve always considered Obi to be a central midfielder but he happened to play support striker and he scored a few important goals playing there… just like the one in the league final. Joel is someone who picks things up very quickly, he’s good at every aspect of the game, he just needs to get into more goal-scoring positions. It’s a shame that injuries have held him back slightly, but this is certainly through no fault of his own.”
Joel Obi tells Prima Serata about his admiration of Dejan Stankovic. During the interview with Roberto Scarpini, Obi watches a slideshow of pictures from his first team debut against Werder Bremen on 29 September 2010: “It was an unforgettable moment, I came on for Deki, it was unbelievable. I replaced a guy who’d always been a hero of mine, someone I tried to base my game on! It was a unique experience. Then when you go out onto the pitch you want to give everything to show what you can do, but you also need to make sure you don’t overdo it. My debut was really special. I think it’s my best moment so far, along with winning the Coppa Italia.”
Scarpini then asks Obi about his first goal for the Nerazzurri, against Cesena on 29 April 2012: “That was also a great feeling although I think I can only half-claim it,” smiles Obi. What about his strike against Neftchi in the Europa League? “I celebrated by doing a flip but one was enough, I don’t want to overdo it!”
From his goals to his love of Inter, which Obi backs with a promise: “If it were up to me, I’d stay here for the rest of my career. What would I do if we won the Scudetto? I’d get rid of my dreadlocks! Winning at any level is fantastic, and you can only get there through hard work and effort. In football you also need to be mentally tough to succeed. That’s what I want to achieve.”
He’s put his injury behind him and now Joel Obi is looking forward, as he aims to improve, progress and win trophies. “When I got injured it was very hard being on the sidelines,” he tells Inter Channel’s Prima Serata. “What’s more, it was one of the longest injuries of my career, I was out for 5 months. I’m not saying I got depressed but it was nearly a case of that, it’s awful when you can’t play the game you love. But now I’m back and I’m really keen to perform well. I’m someone who never gives up and always try and give everything, 100% even if I’m only on the pitch for a few minutes. And, as I’ve said, playing for Inter really is a dream come true.”
“Sometimes I don’t quite realise just how great it is to be playing for Inter at my age. I have to pinch myself… If someone had said to me when I was playing for the Allievi that I’d go on to make the first team, I wouldn’t have believed them.”
Joel describes himself as a “humble guy” to Prima Serata host Roberto Scarpini. “I like to get forward. I always give everything and adapt to any situation, to any position, although my preferred role is support striker.”
A lover of hip-hop and African music, Obi is now a fixture in the Nigeria national team, who will compete in the African Cup of Nations in January: “Will I be unavailable for Inter for a month? I’ve not been called up yet, we’ll see.”
African Cup of Nations or not, Obi makes a pledge to Inter fans: “Lots of success, we’ll bring them lots of success, they need not worry about that.”
Source: inter.it
