“I’m extremely motivated” | OneFootball

Raphael Onyedika discusses his move to Eintracht, his first few days in Frankfurt, his playing style, Jay-Jay Okocha, and winning titles in Belgium.

Raphael Onyedika on …

… Eintracht Frankfurt: “I’ve signed for one of my dream clubs. I want to play well here, keep developing, help the team as much as possible and lead by example with my performances. I’ve followed the club for a long time now and watched the Europa League triumph in 2022. I also kept an eye on Eintracht’s Champions League games last season.”

… Frankfurt’s interest in signing him: “Everything happens for a reason. We stayed in touch after the initial contact was made. Thankfully everything fell into place this summer for a transfer to happen.”

… his new team: “My new team-mates are amazing and have already helped me a lot. The coach is very approachable too. I haven’t seen much apart from the club, and I’ve just had my first training session. Hopefully I’ll be able to explore a bit more in the coming weeks.”

… Adi Hütter: “I’ve spoken to him and told him that I’m extremely motivated. I’m confident he can achieve great things with this club and this team.”

… his style of play: “Everyone has role models but I want to play in my own way and, above all, do what the coach asks of me. Everyone likes to have the ball, but when we don’t have it I want to be aggressive in winning it back as quickly as possible.”

… the biggest moments of his career so far: “My biggest moment was a Champions League qualifier away to Atlético Madrid. That and the titles I won with Brugge. They’re special memories and they’ve fuelled my ambition to achieve even more with Eintracht.”

… his background: “Every child that plays football in Nigeria dreams of playing in Europe one day, so for me this is the realisation of a childhood dream. I hope my family is proud of me. They visit me every so often before flying back to Nigeria. I’m already looking forward to their next visit.”

… Jay-Jay Okocha: “Everybody in Nigeria knows about Jay-Jay Okocha. He’s a real legend in our country. Everyone knows about what he did at Eintracht and also in England.”