Collins: ‘It’s a dream come true’ to play for Super Eagles

BetOdds Nigeria Paderborn African All Stars Jamilu Collins Bundesliga

The 25-year-old defender is delighted to realise his desire to feature for the three-time African champions

Paderborn full-back Jamilu Collins has expressed his delight to represent Nigeria, saying it is a dream come true for him.

The 25-year-old made his international debut for the Super Eagles in a friendly against Liberia in September 2018 and has since become a regular player for the West Africans.

Collins, who has 11 caps for the three-time African champions, was part of Gernot Rohr’s squad that finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

“It was a dream come true, representing my country. Ever since I was a child I always prayed for one day to represent my country,” Collins told WFI.

“My time so far in the national team has been a lot of great moments and I am looking forward to achieving great things for my country.”

Collins joined Paderborn in the summer of 2017 after arriving as a free agent and played a pivotal role as they gained promotion to Bundesliga last season.

The former Sibenik man admitted he has enjoyed every bit of his time at Benteler-Arena and applauded his manager Steffen Baumgart for contributing to his development.

“My time so far in Paderborn has been amazing. Paderborn is a club full of great people. They are loving and caring people who always support their players on the pitch and also outside,” he continued.

“I would say a lot of them played an important role in my career to this level where I am today.

“But to specify, Steffen Baumgart and his assistant coaches have helped me develop so much, and also Markus Krösche, our former manager. I am really thankful to them.”

The full-back also named Manchester City duo of Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus as well as Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry as his toughest opponents.

“I have played with a lot of great players both club and national team side. So it is hard for me to just name a few,” he added.

“For me, I would say that Serge Gnabry, Gabriel Jesus and Riyad Mahrez are really good ones.”

Collins was part of the 24-man Super Eagles squad scheduled to face Sierra Leone on March 27 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers before the game was postponed due to coronavirus fears.

2020-03-19 18:00:03

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