Tale of Two Strikers Dudu and Jeje
It is one of the interesting tales of Indian football. One is a legend in Indian football while the other one is one of the brightest prospects of Indian football. Dudu Omagbemi and Jeje Lalpekhlua are two of the best forwards in India at the moment.
Dudu is from Nigeria and he is storming towards the all-time top scorers list. The East Bengal man is considered in the league of Ranti Martins and Sunil Chhetri, who are the best strikers of the I-League. Dud’s best years came during his stint at Sporting Clube de Goa where he was club’s top scorer. He also played in Europe for clubs like Debreceni VSC of Hungary and FC OPA and KuPS in Finland. He returned to India this summer after signing one year deal with Kolkata East Bengal.
Jeje is a product of the youth programme designed by former Indian national team coach Bob Houghton, his experimental side Indian Palian Arrows, where many young gems got a chance to shine at the elite level of Indian league. Later on, he got his dream move to Dempo where he shined and was immediately snapped up Mohun Bagan on a one year deal.
The Kolkata giants have wasted no time in snapping up these exceptional performers. They are making their mark in ISL as well. Particularly, Jeje who is performing consistently for the table toppers Chennaiyin FC. One is the present while other one is the future of Indian football.
Dudu in a nutshell –
Honours
Sporting Clube de Goa
2.Division: 2002–03
Wisa Kraków
Ekstraklasa: 2007–08
Debreceni VSC
NB I: 2008/09
Hungarian Super Cup: 2009
FC Honka
Finnish League Cup: 2011
Individual
NFL Top Goalscorer: 2004–05
Jeje in a nutshell –
Honors
International
India
SAFF Cup (2): 2009, 2011
Individual
FPAI Best Young Player Award (1): 2010-11
AIFF Emerging Player of the Year 2013