Another Manager Of Nigerian Descent Lifts Turkish FA Cup

Following Ndubuisi Egbo’s league win in the Albanian topflight, former Chelsea assistant manager, Edward Ikem Newton, on Wednesday, guided Trabzonspor to beat Alanyaspor 2-0 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium and lift the Turkish Cup, ending the club’s ten-year trophy drought.

Nigerian striker Anthony Nwakaeme – one of Trabzonspor’s outstanding players this term – was an unused substitute but a goal in each half from Abdulkadir Omur and Alexander Sorloth in the 25th and 90th minutes respectively helped the Black Sea Storm to their first trophy since 2010.

A happy ending to the season it is for Trabzonspor, who were challenging for the league title for much of the campaign but, due to a run of terrible results after the coronavirus-enforced break, only finished runners-up to eventual champions Istanbul Basaksehir.

It’s another winners medal in the cabinet of Ikem Newton, who won both the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League in 2012 with Chelsea as assistant manager to Roberto Di Matteo.

He was also assistant Gus Hiddink when the Netherlands tactician was appointed on an interim basis in 2015. He left his role after Hiddink’s tenure but returned when Lampard was appointed as Chelsea’s manager.

However, the former England youth international of Nigerian parentage left his position in February to join Trabzonspor as an assistant manager capacity but took over as the caretaker manager after the dismissal of Hüseyin Çimşir.