Spain youth international defender
Derik Osede Prieto has revealed that he is dumping the opportunity of playing
for the Spanish senior team for his fatherland, Nigeria. Derik, who has played
at all youth levels for Spain including two appearances for the Under-21 team,
in an interview with BBC Sport stated that he is ready to represent Nigeria.
The 22-year-old centre-back, who is
known simply as Derik, a regular for European giants Real Madrid’s B side, is
eligible to play for the Super Eagles because his father is Nigerian. Derik
Osede Prieto Derik
And under Fifa rules he is free to
switch because he has not yet played for a country’s senior national team.
Despite possessing the talent to potentially make the step up to Spain’s senior
side, Derik has issued what appears to be effectively a come-and-get-me plea to
the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“I have lived in Spain all my life and I am
not sure the people in Nigeria are aware that I have Nigerian blood,” Derik
told BBC Sport.
“But I crave for something special
with Nigeria because it will give me a chance to properly connect with the
ancestral home of my father. “My father is from Benin City [mid-west Nigeria] and
even though I have never been there I always follow events in Nigeria.
“I celebrated when the country won the Africa
Cup of Nations in 2013 and I was cheering the team at the last World Cup in
Brazil.”
“Playing for Spain was the
foundation to where I am today and I can never take that for granted,” he said.
“You can’t throw away your education or outgrow it, Spain gave me what I have
now and my hard work got me to where I am.
“But somehow I feel one half of my
life has always been left untouched and I need to fix that.” Derik has rejected
suggestions he could be using Nigeria as a bargaining chip in his push for a
call-up from the Spanish U-23 or senior selectors. He insists: “Even if it’s
difficult for some people to understand, I have made my decision [to represent
Nigeria] and am going to stick to it.
“My father has not influenced my
decision in any way. I respect him and adore his outlook on life but it’s my
personal desire to play for Nigeria. “When you look around Europe there are
several Nigerian players playing at the top level and the future looks bright
for the team.
“With that in mind I want to be a
part of that group. I do not need favours from anyone, I only need an
opportunity. “I eat Nigeria’s wheat meal, listen to Nigerian music and play as Taribo
West [former Nigeria central defender] on video games online.
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“If I get a chance with Nigeria, I
believe my versatility as a player will make me stand out.” He also want to
play for the senior team of Real Madrid “I would like to play in the Real Madrid
first team someday, knowing if I did that maybe the chance would be there to
play for Nigeria,” he explained.
“But if I am not playing at the top
level week in, week out, I wouldn’t expect to receive a call from anyone
because that would be daydreaming. “The immediate plan now is to go out on loan
elsewhere, because at this age I need stability and regular football to fulfil
my dream.
“Training alongside big players like Cristiano
Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Modric, Sergio Ramos and Pepe gives you a taste of what
you can be as a footballer. “The hard truth is that there is no available
shortcut to reaching that level and staying there. I need to work extremely
hard wherever I go and play first team football regularly. “
