11/05/2019 21:30
Getting to know – Romania’s star middle blocker Nneka Onyejekwe
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women
Bucharest, Romania, May 11, 2019. If you want to win a national Volleyball title, the simplest method is to call 911, and use the password: Nneka. Who would have imagined that the little girl from the small village of Maeriste, somewhere near Zalau, would bring so much joy wherever she has been playing? She has been a national champion in four different countries, almost with every single team she has played for this far.
Not even her first coach, Honorina Borojni could imagine that the girl coming to Cluj, who seemed in love with running, would become such a good Volleyball player. However, Honorina could not fail to notice her. Nneka had natural features designed for Volleyball; she was tall, with long arms, she just needed to understand how to do things the right way, and the coach had enough patience to share the necessary knowledge with her. The girl with a beautiful smile quickly went through the ranks of all national teams.
The transfer to CSU Metal GALATI seemed something normal. In addition to that, the meeting with Zoran Terzic was a perfect match for Nneka Onyejewke’s career. The Serbian coach did immediately see her great talent and promoted her at only 17 years of age to the first team. That is also when CSU Metal GALATI won the fight with Dinamo BUCURESTI and secured their first national league title. Nneka and GALATI continued from there to claim another three such crowns in a row.
Nneka portrayed while playing in France for RC CANNES.
After this beautiful time in her home country, Nneka wanted to change something and she moved to Volero ZÜRICH. The moment she gets there, that is when the title comes, with Volero crowned Swiss national champions and not just once, but three times between 2010 and 2014. Naturally, Nneka plays there. After Volero, she joined RC CANNES in France and she obviously added yet another title to her collection.
The next stop in the career of the 187 cm tall middle blocker is a one-season transfer to Germany and guess who won the title that year? DRESDNER SC, with Nneka on their roster.
Volleyball is obviously a team sport, but when Nneka moved to CSM Alba Volei BLAJ, it comes without saying that the goal was to win the Romanian national championship. She rightfully did so, meaning she has been a national champion in four different countries – and with five different teams in the process. Of course, the story is beautiful and these national titles did not come by accident. All of these teams have had major players and heavyweight coaches, but Nneka has always been a common element.
Nneka Onjeyekwe celebrating with her teammates of CSM Volei Alba BLAJ at the Final Four of the 2018 CEV Champions League.
For her, however, the most important prize was by far the one received in the spring of 2018 when BLAJ hosted the Final Four of the CEV Champions League in Bucharest. The Romanian team played the final for the first time in the history of the competition, and Nneka featured in the Dream Team, especially after she delivered a great performance in the semi-final with Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL, which BLAJ won 3-1.
Better or weaker matches come and go, but for Nneka Onyejekwe the family is of utmost importance. Her father is from Nigeria and arrived in Romania on March 4, 1977. A sad day for Romania, since a 7.4 strong earthquake hit the country, causing more than 1,500 victims. Aniemeka Onyejekwe felt since day one in Romania the suffering of the Romanian people and this made him from the very first moment close to this country. Nneka’s father met his wife Mariana in Cluj and they started a gorgeous family. All three of their children were tall and beautiful, with two venturing into elite sport. The middle one, Chike, is now a handball player at CSM BUCURESTI and he has many caps for the Romanian national team as well. Moreover, with CSM Odorhei he won the Challenge Cup. The tallest of the three siblings is the big brother Olisederago, but he is the only one who did take up any sport.
Nneka chose Volleyball after she first had a passion for running. In the Nigerian language, Nneka means ‘my mother is supreme’. Nneka’s mum rarely misses her major matches, while her father now works in England, but when he comes to the matches, he is one you can easily spot in the stands. He dances every time Nneka scores and others around him film or photograph him all the time because he makes a real show.
“My family is a very positive one,” Nneka says, “they laugh from the heart and we are happy for every success. Our parents have taught us everything but first, they have taught us not to respond to provocations. In Romania, at any school, three coloured children had first not to respond to the comments of their colleagues, but our father told us that it is not their fault. We always knew how to get over it without answering back, and now two of us are playing internationally for Romania, so what do you want more than that?”
Nneka is very happy because Romania has qualified for this year’s EuroVolley. “The pool due to take place in Budapest is a very exciting one and I am convinced that we can qualify for the knockout phase. There will be hard games, but I think we have become a more united group after the victory in Bosnia that brought us the qualification,” she acknowledges. “In addition to that, we have an Italian coach, Luciano Pedullà, who is an important name and I hope the team will grow a lot for this competition.”
Nneka thinks the goal of the Romanian national team is to qualify from this group, but she wants to take it one stage at a time. This will be her third appearance in a EuroVolley Final Round and she thinks things have to change for the women’s national team. “We should provide young girls with a chance, just as we had our chance, so the young ones should be encouraged.” Nneka looks at the U18 national team, which ranks fifth in Europe and will play at the World Championship in September in Cairo. “A new generation must rise,” says the 29-year-old middle blocker.
A family picture portraying Nneka Onyejekwe with her parents and brothers.
Nneka is a player who has evolved in several strong national championships but she wants to achieve one more feat in her career. “I hope I can play at least one season in Turkey. I really like that country; I hope to have this opportunity.” She is already thinking of retiring. “I hope that when I retire, I can go along with my brothers to Nigeria. I have never been there, it is my father’s country, but I feel it like a part of myself as well. An undiscovered part, but we will definitely find it together, myself, Chike and Olisaderago.” Until then, Nneka promises only one thing: that she will do her best to make sure Romania play a great EuroVolley pool phase in Budapest and qualify for the next round. After that, life will go on and there will be time for both Turkey and Nigeria.
PS: CSM Volei Alba BLAJ are the winners of the 2018/2019 Romanian national league and guess who their captain was? Nneka Onyejekwe, of course!
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