39-year old Onome Ebi reveals when she will consider retirement
Despite being few weeks short of 40, 39-year old Onome Ebi is not considering hanging up. According to the Super Falcons skipper, she will only consider retirement when she is unable to contend with young players.
The start of her playing career dates back to 2001 when she joined Omidiran Babes where she spent seven solid years. A superb single season at Bayelsa Queens followed in 2008 and earned her a move to Swedish side Pitea in 2009.
After spending over 13-years abroad starring for different clubs across Europe and Asia, Onome is presently without a club following her separation from Spanish side Levante Las Planas. But she is not stopping yet.
“I don’t see any reason (to stop), unless I make that decision myself, ” Onome said of her retirement plans.
” All my life playing, I’ve never been a reserve player, I’ve never been on the bench, and that should show people that ‘this lady is giving something, that’s why they’re using her.’
“If I start feeling, ‘Okay, it’s time to step down,’ I will make that decision myself, because I don’t want to get to a stage where young ones start messing me up on the pitch. I feel okay right now, so…we’ll see!” she revealed.
A veteran of five FIFA Women`s World Cup, Onome Ebi is expected to lead the Super Falcons at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand .
There are persons who think she should hang up and allow the younger generation to play, an opinion the defender does not share.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I feel like this! I honestly don’t understand why I don’t feel the age thing.
“If you see me and the way I play, you would never believe I’m that age. I look at myself in the mirror sometimes and I say to myself, ‘What am I doing differently that’s making me still be this fit?!’
“I don’t feel it, that’s the thing. When I’m home, and I’m on break, I train with the guys, so the way I match with them, it’s unbelievable to me sometimes.
“I ask myself, ‘Is this you? Are you even aging at all?’ I know, yeah, there will be a time that I must quit this game, I must retire, but when I don’t feel it, when I feel so fresh, I feel like I want to train every day.” she added.
All things being equal, Onome will be a key player for the Randy Waldrum tutored Super Falcons at the Women`s World Cup. Her performance in the recent International Friendly victories over Haiti and New Zealand suggests she is ready to hit a sixth FIFA Womens World Cup appearance.
