Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has described football as his passion and life after helping Udinese secure a 1-1 draw against Como in their Serie A opener on Saturday.
Okoye started between the posts as Udinese began their 2026/27 league campaign with a point at the Bluenergy Stadium.
Hassane Kamara gave the hosts the lead before Anastasios Douvikas equalised for Como in the second half.
Speaking to Sky after the match, Okoye expressed satisfaction with Udinese’s performance against a strong Como side and was pleased with his own contribution to the result.
“We're satisfied. We played a good match against a very strong Como side, we're happy. I'm happy to have helped a little, but above all, the team played a great match," he said, as quoted by Tuttoudinese.
Okoye also stressed that Udinese were already looking ahead after taking a point from their opening fixture.
He highlighted the work the squad has put in together and insisted that the result was not a problem for the team.
“We're already thinking about the next one; we took a point. It's not a problem, because we've been working together for a long time," he added.
The goalkeeper also singled out young teammates Palma and Abankwah for praise, expressing his happiness at having them as part of the Udinese squad.
“Young players like Palma and Abankwah are doing great, I'm happy to have them with us. Football is my passion, I've been playing it since I was little, it's my life, I'm happy to get back on the pitch and show what I can do," he revealed.
Okoye’s comments emphasize his enthusiasm about returning to competitive action with Udinese after recently discussing his development and desire to continue improving.
The 1-1 draw ultimately left both teams with a point, despite Udinese having entered the match hoping to begin the campaign with victory.
Reflecting on the result, Okoye acknowledged that winning had been the team’s objective before kick-off but accepted the outcome and pointed to the readiness demonstrated by the players.
“We're happy with the point, we certainly wanted to win this game, we came here thinking about winning this game. That's football, you win and you lose, today we drew, we showed we're ready," he concluded.
Wale Adejumo
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