Watford's Ikechi Anya Scotland call-up is tribute to his determination

Sheer determination can take you a long way- Ikechi Anya has proved that

The 25-year-old well travelled footballer is now the talk of a nation still trying to come to terms with Kenny Miller’s sudden retirement decision from the international arena. Just as Miller’s decision to end his legendary Scotland journey after 69 caps and 18 goals-the last of which was the best of his illustrious career in his last game against England at Wembley- proved to be somewhat of a surprise, Ikechi Anya’s call-up is serving up a lot on the plate for the British media.

Yet national team boss Gordon Strachan, known for his innovative coaching and surprise inclusions, has defended his decision saying the Watford man was on Scotland’s radar for a long time and he was sure to have been named for the England game but for Strachan sticking to a team that excelled against Croatia in their last World Cup qualifier.

But now with Scotland rebuilding for the 2016 European Championships, it is time to look at new talents and it all starts in next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Belgium and Macedonia.

“We’ve kept an eye on him. He maybe should have been in the England squad but we wanted to keep faith with the guys who were in Croatia. I explained that to him and he was fine,” the former Southampton and Celtic boss was quoted as saying. That’s how the player is rated by one of Britain’s most experienced and accomplished coaches.

Born to a Nigerian scientist father and a Romanian academic mother, full-back Ikechi Anya was eligible to play for Nigeria, Romania, his work place and home England but instead he chose to honour the land of his birth Scotland.

He spent most of his childhood in Kidlington, just outside Oxford, where his father, Dr Chinasa Anya, taught in the department of materials at the Oxford University.

His career is some sort of a story but, moreover, they speak volumes of the determination of a young man who was never hesitant throughout his playing career to take a step backward to eventually take two steps forward.

Having taken that step backward when he was at Wycombe Wanderers under Paul Lambert in 2007, Ikechi himself admits that decision had helped him to realize his dream, and that was to play for Scotland.

Having had a few spells with non-league oufits across England, Ikechi found himself resurrecting his career in Spain with the Glenn Hoddle Academy and the versatile player owes a lot to the former England player and manager for his all-round development.

It is never easy being a footballer in a family of ultra-academics but Ikechi used his faith, courage and determination to pursue his career through all the ups and downs and a player, who decided to fall back to amateur football and then travel to far flung Spanish shores to develop his skills and strengthen his mental conditioning, is not merely a footballer but a pillar of determination who every young athlete will look forward to in his or her struggles.

After spells with Sevilla Atletico, Celta Vigo, Cadiz and Granada, Watford came calling and last season’s loan spell proved Ikechi’s potential as a footballer when he nearly helped the Hornets get promoted to the Premier League only to lose narrowly to Crystal Palace at Wembley last May.

The 5ft 5in player scored four goals and provided six assists in 25 appearances for Watford as Gianfranco Zola and coach Dodo Sormani used him as a wing-back in a tried and tested 3-5-2 formation. His loan spell has now turned into a permanent deal giving Ikechi the ideal platform to settle in the Championship and develop his potential for the Premier League someday in the near future.

Adjusting to life in Spain was difficult as Anya required a team-mate to translate, the same role he performs wonderfully well at Vicarage Road now for his South American colleagues in Gianfranco Zola’s cosmopolitan Watford side.

“I’m seeking a pay rise because I’m translating so much, but it’s good fun. From my point of view, it’s really good to learn another language, and had the Spanish-speaking players not been here maybe I’d have forgotten it. But it’s keeping me on my toes, I get to practise , it’s good to be bilingual,” the diminutive Anya was quoted as saying by The Independent.

Gordon Strachan feels his new call-up’s versatility and agility-Anya can play both as a wing back and on both sides of the midfield- will give Scotland an added dimension and after a wonderful yet unlucky display against England at Wembley, fans believe that the long suffering football underdogs are taking right steps for the future and including the attacking minded Ikechi Anya in the line up would give the Scots a lot of options both on the wing play and at the back.

“He has pace,” observed Strachan. “At the moment his perfect position is wing-back, he can play left or right wing-back. He’s tidy with the ball, he does the simple things well and he can go by people. Hopefully he can add to the squad. I spoke to him last night and he’s excited, he’s delighted to be coming along.”

“He’s taken a wee while to come through,” admitted Strachan. “But he’s not played many games in his career. It has been hard, hard work for him to get where he is. He’s one of these guys who might have thought ‘am I gonna do this?’ But he kept plugging through so that shows that he has a bit of determination about him.

“He’s a wing-back, he’s not a defender as such or a winger,” he added. “He’s a football player who can play in different positions. At the moment they(Watford) are using him as a left wing-back.”

This is the assessment of the 56-year old boss of a player who he hopes will help and relieve experienced defender Steven Whittaker, who has served his country playing outside his natural position for such a long time.

Whether he plays for Scotland in September’s double header is still a million dollar question but his call-up to the national fold is proof enough that hard work and determination can turn an amateur football to an international player. Certainly, England’s Paul Lambert is testament to this fact.