Em resposta ao arauto do Steel...

Getting the better of Jay-Jay
At 1.67m tall, Rabiu is one of the smaller members in the Nigeria U-17 squad. The Kano-born midfielder currently plays for FC Gateway in the Nigerian national championship, although his performances for the Golden Eaglets have already attracted the attention of European scouts. In fact, by the start of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, his club had received no less than 14 offers from other teams around the world. Despite interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea, he was eventually snapped up by Sporting Lisbon, who are waiting to whisk their new recruit off to their training academy once the curtain falls on Korea 2007.

Bertram Ekenwa, Rabiu's agent and guardian angel, justifies the decision to join Sporting by pointing out the club's reputation for developing young players. "He's a young lad who still needs to develop his talents and who will definitely become one of the best midfielders in the world," he explained on the day his protégé put pen to paper. "Sporting has one of the best youth development programmes in Europe and it will be easier for Rabiu to break into the first team, perhaps even the starting eleven, quite quickly." Former Lions Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani would certainly all agree that at Sporting, age is no barrier to success.

The Sporting Lisbon supporters will have plenty of chances to marvel at the qualities which have earnt Rabiu favourable comparisons with Okocha. While he excels at one-touch football, his long-range passing is even better. A playmaker in the traditional mould, Rabiu has all the qualities of the great man: vision, precise passing, long-distance shooting and perfect technique. The Eaglets' young number ten even shows the same nonchalant style so typical of the former Bolton and Paris St Germain midfielder. During matches, Rabiu frequently treats spectators to an array of tricks including backheels, ball juggling and outrageous dummies, with varying degrees of success...

Only time will tell if the young Rabu can live up to his billing as the next Jay-Jay Okocha. In the meantime Rabiu intends to go one better by clinching a title which eluded his illustrious forebearer: the FIFA U-17 World Cup. In order to claim this prize, his team must first overcome Colombia. The task promises to be much easier provided that their midfield linchpin is firing on all cylinders when the whistle blows for kick-off this Thursday.