BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Enyimba FC are undoubtedly the most successful football club in Nigeria. Their accomplishment both locally and on the continental scene easily earned the Aba side the accolades.
Not only is the team the only Nigerian club to win the continental premier competition, but they also won the domestic league nine times in 35 years of professional football.
Yet the club stumbled at the beginning of the professional league. In the opening season, Enyimba placed 13th in the 16-team log. But there was no relegation in the first season.
But in the second season, the professional league offered stiffer competition than that of the previous season. Until the last games, it was uncertain which of the two bitter rivals of the season – Julius Berger and Shooting Stars – would win the trophy donated by sports philanthropist extraordinaire, Moshood Abiola.
What gave Julius Berger an edge was a controversial Week 27 match that Iwuanyanwu Nationale failed to honour. The season’s hot contenders had engaged themselves in bitter rivalries that saw their clash in Ibadan ending 1-1 and a teargas-soaked 0-0 draw in Lagos.
Julius Berger eventually won the league, scoring 58 points, one over those of Shooting Stars.
Enyimba of Aba and Plateau Highlanders of Jos. The two teams that brought the rear of the league ladder were relegated, becoming the first clubs to suffer that fate in the professional league.
El-Kanemi Warriors and Udoji United from the newly established Division Two of the professional league were promoted to compete in the 1992 edition of the elite division of the league.
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