FK Tirana of Albania new signing, Nnamdi Vincent Oduamadi (Robinho) has admitted that his recent move to the East European country is a last resort option he had to accept after all other openings failed to materialise.
‘Odu’ takes over from largely unknown left-back, Abraham Alechenu, as the latest Nigerian to join Tirana, where he hopes to relaunch his once buoyant career.
The former AC Milan protégé recounted the tough time he went through before the deal with Tirana was sealed two weeks ago, as he had failed to join five clubs before then.
In fact, it took the presence of Tirana’s coach, Zé Maria, to pave way for Oduamadi, as the gaffer is a former Milan player, but he could convince the club to give the lad a short-term contract that ends with the current season.
The Imo State lad, who grew up in Orile-Iganmu area of Lagos, before moving his parents to FESTAC Town on his breakthrough, ended his nine-year association with Milan at the end of the past season.
Oduamadi had the chance of staying in Italy, as he was offered tempting deals at Livorno and Crotone, where he spent the first half of the 2014-15 season on loan.
He also had options from three clubs in Kazakhstan, as Kairat Almaty, Irtysh Pavlodar and Aktobe all chased the possibility of signing him.
However, Oduamadi, who was on loan to the Italian trio of Torino, Varese and Brescia as well as HJK Helsinki of Finland in his last seven years with Milan, opted to move on.
He is now seeking a revival outside Italy, where he was unable to break into Milan’s first team, and his only first-team appearance was against Catania in the 2010-2011 season.
