 This week episode of our famous interviews focuses on one of our strikers. He resurrected the team with his 2 goals against International United to give us the win. So here, live from Houston, is Ehis
For those who don't know, what is your name and what do you do? My full name is Ehisunoria Otoikhine and I am a drilling engineer for ConocoPhillips. Everyone calls me Ehis though cos it’s definitely shorter and my first name seems to be is a little hard for people to pronounce.
Tell us about your family. I’ve got my parents, a sister and two brothers. All of my family was in Nigeria until recent. My younger brother came to the US to go to college. Sadly the state of things seem to keep deteriorating back home.
When growing up where did you think you would be at this time in your life? Honestly, I was a confused little boy. I initially thought I would be a Ninja by now but when I came to my senses, I decided to be an airline pilot. It kept changing till I discovered my love for physics. In retrospect, I didn’t really know where I would be at this time.
Who would play you if there was a movie about you? Pierce Brosnan. Very refined! Although some of my team mates would argue that, lol.
Biggest celebrity you've met? Explain what happened? I saw Rio Ferdinand once at a store in England. I wouldn’t say we actually met but he was down to earth. I really hope he qualifies as a celebrity in the US
If you could switch places with someone for one day, who would it be and why? Bono from U2, I love what he’s doing with his life. Championing causes all over the planet and staying rich as hell.
If you create your own team with you and any 10 players, retired or still playing, who would you choose and in what positions? Goalie: Pumpido
Defenders: Lilian Thuram, Pablo Maldini, Franco Barresi, Ben Iroha
Midfielders: Maradona, Ronaldinho, Patrick Viera
Offense: George best, Ehis, Rashidi Yekini.
Best African footballer of all time? I know we tend to look to the past but I happen to feel very strongly about Samuel Eto’o. He’s already achieved quite a lot at the highest level and he is certainly very crucial to his club. It’s only a matter of time before he joins the likes of Roger Milla, Goerge Weah and Abedi Pele at the all time greatest list.
Halle Berry, Beyonce Knowles, Claudia Nwadinobi? Claudia Nwadinobi of course! Take time oh
Most embarrassing moment ever? I gate crashed my Neighbor’s birthday party when I was 6yrs old to see Tosin Jegede (Nigeria’s kid star at that time) live in color. His mom caught me and said out loud, "Ehis! Go home, you’re not invited". I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me right there. It was sooo embarrassing. Nonetheless, I forgave her after 13 yrs cos I realized she was from Barbados and wasn’t very conversant with the African way of attending events uninvited.
What would you like to be doing in ten years? Married and content with my achievements. I value contentment as the best measure of success. You can have everything in the world and still feel very inadequate. I also hope to champion some causes like Bono Oh! And still be making money of course.
If you could name one person who had an impact in your life who would it be and why would you pick that person? A young, vibrant pastor of mine from Nigeria called pastor Israel. We spent several Sundays at my house talking about God, life, success, and other important parameters we use to measure our level of happiness in life. I believe I imbibed some of the stuff he taught me and I always think about it when I go through the rough patches of life.
What's your favorite soccer team and player? Barcelona and Ronaldinho. Just a beauty to watch them play.
What are the 5 most played songs in your mp3 player? Welela (Miriam Makeba), Trouble (Coldplay), Yellow Ledbetter (Pearl jam), Everything is never quite enough (Wasis Diop), This is the carter (lil weezy) .
You sat out early in the year due to injury, how tough was it to see your fellow teammates struggle through the early part of the season? Pretty tough, I knew they were going to come around though. You have to play enough games to gel as a team and to reacquire your form. If we keep playing together during the break, we could probably avoid a repeat situation next season.
Someone once told me when a guy lifts weights it’s for sports or the women so which one is it for you? Neither! It’s for self-satisfaction. I want to feel healthy and fit. I don’t think that’s a crime.
How do you feel about the management of the team? Well, I think management is pretty good. It’s hard enough to manage a professional team with highly paid players that always want to play, not to mention a bunch of guys who actually pay to play. Kudos must go to the captain and to the team manager for their dedicated efforts to keep everyone content with their playing time.
How could we improve the team to compete at a high level week in and week out? Fitness,Fitness,Fitness, Drills, Drills, Drills. I also think we need to start dedication some practice sessions to specific drills and game situations. It’ll tremendously benefit us, individually and as a team
If you were given a ticket to any sporting event where would the ticket be to (Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Cup final, World Series, Olympics, Old Trafford, Nou Camp, etc)? That’s a no brainer. The world cup, of course. I must be on crack to turn down tickets to a world cup final.
If you were President of Nigeria what would be your first measure to improve the country? Tackle the incessant power problem. It’s really killing us
Next Interview: Uzo |
