Nigeria striker Asisat Oshoala has revealed the huge influence of coach Edwin Okon on her career during her sojourn with Nigeria Women's Premier League (NWPL) giants Rivers Angels.
The 25-year-old Oshoala enjoined incredible formative years at FC Robo Queens but her move to the Port Harcourt outfit in 2012 brought her into the limelight on the domestic scene.
Before bursting onto the international scene in 2014, she was part of the Falconets' squad at the 2012 U20 Women's World Cup, where Okon led the country to a fourth-place finish in Japan.
After her exploits in Canada, where she scooped the golden boot and golden ball, she later helped Okon's Super Falcons side reclaim the continental title in Namibia in 2014.
She also starred under Okon at the senior Women's World Cup in Canada 2015, where she scored her only goal of the tournament in Nigeria's 3-3 comeback draw with Sweden.
Since leaving Rivers Angels in 2015, she has gone on to play for Liverpool and Arsenal in England, Dalian Quanjian in China, and now Barcelona in Spain, where she just won her maiden league title.
Subsequently, the four-time African Women's Player of the Year has opened up on how the tactician converted her from a defensive midfielder to one of the world's most sought-after strikers.
“Shout out to Coach Edwin Okon. He had so much influence on my game," Oshoala said in an Instagram interview with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
"I started back then at Rivers Angels as a defensive midfielder, but he encouraged me to go forward and express myself and even eventually converted me to a striker."
Oshoala scored 20 goals in 19 games to finish as Barcelona's second top scorer following the cancellation of the 2019-20 Spanish Primera Iberdrola season earlier week.
