Aribo joins Iwobi in an exclusive list, fails to join fantastic 6 after Europa League final defeat
Joe Aribo was unfortunate not to put his name in an exclusive list after suffering a penalty shootout defeat with the Rangers in the Europa League final against Frankfurt.
The Super Eagles attacker who was employed as a false nine against Frankfurt at Estadio R. Sanchez Pizjuan stadium scored the first goal of the game in the 57th minute.
Aribo forced a Frankfurt defender to make a mistake just a few meters away from the 18-yard box, and drove in with the loose ball before slotting home the lead.
Joe Aribo Europa League final goal
With the goal, he became just the second Super Eagles player to score at the Europa League final just after Alex Iwobi who did in Arsenals 4-1 loss to Chelsea in 2019.
Frankfurt eventually drew level through Rafael Borre who stabbed home a cross from Filip Kostic after a loss of concentration from Calvin Ughelumba and his defense partner Connor Goldson.
Rafael Borre eventually scored the winning penalty for Frankfurt after Aaron Ramsey had missed a penalty for the Rangers.
The defeat meant Rangers have lost in another Europa Cup final just as they did in 2008 against Zenit Saint Petersburg.
This defeat would deny Joe Aribo a place in history becoming just the 7th Super Eagles player to have won the UEFA/Europa League title.
Joe Aribo failed to join the Super Eagles fantastic six who have won the title whether as UEFA Cup or Europa League.
Super Eagles/Nigeria stars to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League title
1. Taribo West (Inter Milan, 1998)
2. Kanu Nwankwo (Inter Milan, 1998)
3. Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, 2005)
4. John Obi Mikel (Chelsea, 2013)
5. Victor Moses (Chelsea, 2013)
6. Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal, 2021)
Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, and Leon Balogun all missed out on a place on the list and history.
