The electrifying Victor Ikpeba began his career at the now-defunct African Continental Bank FC in Lagos, before representing the Nigerian U-17 team that took part in the 1989 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Scotland. His performance in that tournament convinced Belgian soccer scouts to recruit him from modest Belgian club RFC Liege. He soon established himself as a clinical striker after appearing in 79 games and scoring 27 goals for the Belgian national team.
In 1994, French club Monaco FC, then coached by current Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, broke him up and signed him. Victor Ikpeba experienced the most eventful moment of his football career at Monaco as he helped the French club win the League title. He also received an invitation to Nigeria’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic soccer team. The team eventually won gold after defeating Argentina in the final.
The icing on the cake for the Delta State-born footballer came in 1997 when he won the African Footballer of the Year award after a wonderful season with Monaco. He played a total of 169 games and scored 55 goals for the Monaco team. This enviable feat earned him the nickname “The Prince of Monaco”.
After leaving Monaco for Borussia Dortmund in 1999, his career took a nosedive and finally took a turn for the worse in 2000 following the death of his young wife, Atinuke, from breast cancer. Subsequent efforts to revive his career with Spain’s Real Betis, Libya’s Al-Ittihad and Belgium’s Charleroi FC did not bear much fruit, as he finally retired from active football in 2005.
It is pertinent to note that Victor Ikpeba was an integral part of the Super Eagles team from 1993 to 2000. He played a total of 30 matches and scored 3 goals for Super Eagles of Nigeria in all competitions.
His worst miss came in the African Cup of Nations final co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana in 2000, when he scored in the penalty shootout against Cameroon but thought the ball had not crossed the line. He shook his head in disbelief and the referee and his assistant ruled that it was not a goal. Television replay later showed that the entire ball crossed the line. Nigeria ultimately lost the game.
He was a member of the Super Eagles team that participated in the 1994 African Cup of Nations held in Tunisia, as well as the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups held in the United States and Spain, respectively. He is currently a sports analyst at Super Sports Channel television based in South Africa.