Wilfred Agbonavbare

Wilfred Agbonavbare (5 October 1966 – 27 January 2015) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Wilfred Agbonavbare
Personal information
Full name Wilfred Agbonavbare
Date of birth (1966-10-05)5 October 1966
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Date of death 27 January 2015(2015-01-27) (aged 48)
Place of death Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1989 New Nigeria Bank
1990 BCC Lions
1990–1996 Rayo Vallecano 177 (0)
1996–1997 Écija 23 (0)
International career
1983–1994 Nigeria 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He spent the better part of his professional career with Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, appearing in 189 competitive matches over six seasons (three in La Liga).

Club career

In his country, Lagos-born Agbonavbare played for New Nigeria Bank F.C. and BCC Lions FC. In 1990, he moved to Spain where he would spend the rest of his career, starting with Rayo Vallecano in Segunda División.[1]

In his second season with the Madrid outskirts club, Agbonavbare appeared in all 38 league games (3,332 minutes of action, 27 goals conceded, second-best in the competition) as the team finished second and returned to La Liga after two years of absence. He continued to be first-choice in the following years, contributing with 31 matches to another top-flight promotion in 1995.

In 1995–96, Agbonavbare lost his starting position to Spanish international Abel Resino.[2] In the following summer, he signed for second level side Écija Balompié, being the most used player in his position but suffering team relegation.[3]

After one year in his country training to remain fit, Agbonavbare retired due to lack of offers at only 31.

International career

Agbonavbare appeared with the Nigerian under-20s at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico. He played for more than one decade with the full side, being selected for the 1994 African Cup of Nations and that year's FIFA World Cup, backing up Peter Rufai on both occasions.

Personal life

Agbonavbare settled in the Community of Madrid after retiring as a player, working as a delivery man and a goalkeeper coach. In late January 2015 it was revealed that he was suffering from cancer, and he subsequently underwent treatment at the Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias in Alcalá de Henares.[4][5]

Both Agonavbare's former team Rayo Vallecano and its opponents Atlético Madrid displayed a banner during their league match at the Vicente Calderón Stadium on 24 January that read "Fuerza Wilfred" (Come on Wilfred).[6] He succumbed to the disease three days later, aged 48.[7]

Victim of racist abuse in Spain

In the 1992–93 La Liga season, Wilfred Agbonavbare was target of racist abuse from Real Madrid fans, including the chant Negro cabrón, recoge el algodón! ("Idiot nigger, go pick cotton!")[8] and a middle-aged man from Madrid saying on live TV that "that fucking nigger from Rayo" and the referee Juan Andújar Oliver were to blame for Real Madrid's defeat, much to the amusement of the teenage fans who shouted "Ku Klux Klan".[9] In the same live TV report, a 13-year old Real Madrid fan took furiously the microphone and spat, making a verbal threat to the Nigerian goalkeeper saying "Sunday we'll go to beat to death the nigger, that son of a bitch, in Vallecas".[10] When asked about the abuse suffered, Wilfred stated "That's normal, I am dark-skinned and having made many saves, I expected people to shout at me. But i am a footballer and this is nothing, i am very focused on [playing] my match".[11][12] The Bukaneros, a far-left ultras group from Rayo Vallecano, dedicated to Wilfred a graffiti with the dedication "For your defense of the Sash against racism, we will not forget you".[11]

References
  1. Muñoz, Miguel Ángel (12 December 1992). "El otro potro de Vallecas – Wilfred" [The other foal of Vallecas – Wilfred]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  2. Soler, Jaume (14 April 1996). "El Rayo llega con la intención de puntuar" [Rayo arrive with the intention of scoring]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  3. "¿Qué pasó con...Wilfred Agbonavbare?" [What happened to...Wilfred Agbonavbare?] (in Spanish). Eurosport. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. "El drama del ex portero rayista Wilfred" [The drama of former rayista goalkeeper Wilfred]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. Akpodonor, Gowon (21 January 2015). "Ex-Eagles' goalie Agbonavbare battles cancer in Spain". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  6. Suárez, Isaac (24 January 2015). "Mensaje de fuerza para Wilfred" [Message of strength to Wilfred]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  7. "Wilfred Agbonavbare dies". Marca. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  8. Bort/SD, J.M. (4 April 2021). ""Negro cabrón, recoge el algodón" y otros precedentes racistas en el fútbol español". Levante-EMV (in Spanish).
  9. Padilla, Toni (26 January 2021). "Wilfred, el portero del Rayo convertido en símbolo de la lucha contra el racismo". Ara en Castellano (in Spanish).
  10. Manero, Felipe de Luis. "El problema". ctxt.es | Contexto y Acción (in Spanish).
  11. "Cinco años sin Willy". AS.com (in Spanish). 27 January 2020.
  12. "The Tragic Story of Wilfred Agbonavbare". Breaking The Lines.
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