Emmanuel Amuneke: Growing is difficult — Super Eagles coach explains why his Barcelona career was underwhelming

Super Eagles legend and current assistant coach Emmanuel Amunike reminisced on his time as a Blaugrana as he explained the reasons for his failure to truly blossom at Barcelona.

Amuneke was a prodigiously talented forward and, hence, attracted interest from the Catalan giants. He joined Barcelona in December 1996 and left in July 2000.

Despite spending four seasons at the club, Amuneke only managed to play 26 games for Barcelona, scoring once and registering two assists.

Looking back on his stint at the club, the former Golden Eaglets boss, although admitting the move was a dream come true, understands that period of his career was not of much personal success.

Amuneke suffered his fair share of injuries over the course of his Barcelona career, and that was the key reason for his low appearance numbers for the club, but he also failed to break into the team. 

“Joining Barcelona was like a dream coming true,” he said, per Soccernet.

“Every young player aspires to play for a big team. However, playing where you can grow consistently is crucial, contrary to just seeking a big club. Of course, still, teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc. have that appeal where everybody wants to go and play.”

“My experience at Barcelona was good. Coming from Portugal to Spain, it was a big step for me, but unfortunately, injuries began to happen a lot. When these injuries occur, you cannot give 100% as you are not in shape.

“But when this happens you need to be strong and have the confidence in yourself that everything will become better. You must remember this is part of the journey.”

Meanwhile, Nigerian football legend Amuneke has some words of wisdom for the Super Eagles and SSC Napoli's main man, Victor Osimhen, after his latest success.

Amuneke has advised Osimhen to remain calm and grounded after he was named the 2023 African Footballer of the Year.