Highly rated Nigerian midfielder John Ugochukwu Ogu made his competitive debut for his new Portuguese club Académica in the Super Cup encounter against champions Porto (0-1) on Saturday at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro.

Ogu, 24, had rejected offers from clubs in Denmark and Portugal to seal a three - year deal with Académica this summer. He sheds more light on pre - season training with The Students, and the match against Porto, where he was introduced by coach Pedro Emanuel with 20 minutes left.

''I would say our pre - season has been going according  to plan. I have been involved in a lot of games, and played in the Super Cup against Porto on Saturday. Playing against Porto is not new to me as I had previously played against them last season with my last team Leiria. It's always nice playing against the stars of Porto, you get to learn a lot and improve on your weaknesses. So far, I have scored one goal during our test matches, '' says Ogu to allnigeriasoccer.com.

He continued : '' My target this season is to win trophies with this club. As a team, we have ambitions of doing well in the Europa League. Every player, club officials and coaches, we are all aiming for the top.''

Académica's first game in the Primeira Liga is on August 20 against Beira-Mar. The club won the Portuguese Cup last season, and are featuring in the Europa League.