Godwin Odiye Hopes To Alter Dubious Standing In Soccer

PHILADELPHIA - Godwin Odiye is very famous in Nigeria. He is the man who kept his country out of the World Cup.

In 1978, Nigeria was about to qualify for its first World Cup when, with just 10 minutes left in its final game, catastrophe struck. A ball skimmed off Odiye's head and into Nigeria's net. He had scored an own goal, the ultimate in soccer blunders. And that blunder kept Nigeria from qualifying for World Cup play.

Odiye left the country the next year, but the country never forgot.

"In Nigeria, his name became synonymous with own goals," Segun Adeyemi of the Nigerian News Agency said. "You don't call it an own goal. It's an Odiye."

All these years later, Odiye has his chance for redemption.

Now 38 years old and a mortgage banker in San Francisco, Odiye found out two days ago that he will get a tryout for Nigeria's team, which finally has qualified for the World Cup.

"I can finally put it behind me," Odiye said of his goal in a telephone interview from San Francisco.

Odiye said what pained him the most was that nobody got angry with him. He was the team's top defender and was covering for a teammate who had been out of position when the fatal error was made.

"I broke down and cried after the game," Odiye said.