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Before Real Madrid, Dortmund and Anderlecht: How did one of Nigeria's greatest talents get to Raanana?

Refused an offer from Dortmund. Was wanted by Glatsray and Shiktash and Anderlecht gave up at the last minute. That's how 18-year-old Peter Olwella, known as "Little Ronaldo", came to a team from the National League

• Hapoel Raanana
• Real Madrid
• Borussia Dortmund

Shlomo Weiss

Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Besiktas, Glatsray, Lille, Nice and Anderlecht. According to quite a few reports, a large portion of the major teams on the continent, including Real and Dortmund, have taken an interest in one of the most promising Nigerian players today, 18-year-old Peter Olwala. But of all the luxury teams that wanted to add the winger who earned the obligatory nickname "Little Ronaldo" (after the Brazilian Ronaldo), Hapoel Raanana, which was relegated from the Premier League to the National League at the end of the season, managed to add him to the club's youth team. All its terms.

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Olwala, born in July 2002, although still playing in his country, but gained much interest due to his ability at the Under-17 World Cup held about a year ago, during which he became one of the most impressive players in the Nigerian national team. Many teams have approached him, but he is expected to land in Israel and officially sign the contract with Hapoel Raanana, when during the season he will also be examined by the senior team.

Even before he arrived at Hapoel Raanana, Ovelva, it turns out, was close to signing in Belgium. "Anderlecht, like other big teams on the continent, have tried to add Oluva, who is considered the biggest star of the young Nigeria team," the Belgian media wrote. "The team intended to invite him for tests, but due to the closure in Belgium due to the spread of the corona virus, the deal fell through, and in the end, Hapoel Raanana from Israel won out of nowhere."

A few months ago it was reported in Nigeria that Oulu has decided to give up an offer from Dortmund. His mentor, Samuel Okoko, spoke to the media in Nigeria about the reasons that led to the decision: "In Dortmund they wanted him very much, but refused to guarantee him minutes of play. We did not want to get into a situation where Peter would dry on the bench, it was important for him to play as much as possible. The successful players in Dortmund did not come from the youth team, but shone in other teams before. By the way, Dortmund was not the only one. We also rejected offers from Turkey, teams like Glatsray, Bishkek and Fenerbahce, as well as teams from the French league. The most important thing for Peter is to play. "Maybe in the future another offer will come in Dortmund."

Even before the conclusion in Raanana, the player himself was interviewed in Nigeria following the interest of some of the big teams in Europe: "My role model is the Brazilian Ronaldo. I really liked his style of play; he is fast, technical, strong and very smart. I watched a lot of videos and I keep working hard to "To be even better than him. I think he's the best player to play and I wish I could play like him. Anyway, my coaches at the academy actually think I'm reminiscent of Thierry Henry in my form of play."