The 32-year-old arrived at the Britannia Stadium
late in the January transfer window from Cardiff City, before making his bow in
the historic 2-1 win over Manchester United – City’s first victory over the
reigning champions in the Premier League era.
However, the Nigeria international is yet to
become a Stoke player in the eyes of his teammates until completing the
initiation, but says that his fellow striker has given him dancing tips in his
bid to impersonate the King of Pop.
“Apparently, it is a tradition for new players
here to sing a song on your first away trip,” he told The Mirror. “I’m
learning from Peter Crouch, so I will go for a Michael Jackson song, with a
little dance at the end.
“It’s a great dressing room with a lot of jokes, so
I can’t escape. I’m happy to have more time to prepare and know the boys more,
so it will not be so embarrassing.”
Odemwingie embarrassed himself in last year’s
January transfer window when he drove to QPR on deadline day because he wrongly
thought their manager Harry Redknapp wanted to sign him.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes rescued him last week when
he swapped him for Kenwyne Jones and the striker is smiling again after his
miserable last 12 months.
“I’ve put what happened last year behind me,” he
says. “The judgment of me from the football family was right.
“In the summer I still had five teams wanting me,
even if I seemed unprofessional. Now I’m playing for one of the biggest clubs
in the country.
“People have this idea of me, but they don’t
really know me. My friends and family know me and that I’m not that bad.”
He knows it may be some time before that bizarre
trip to Loftus Road is forgotten, which is why he had no intention of doing it
again.
“Absolutely it was different,” he says. “This
time I made sure everything was right. Everyone had spoken, including the
managers, but I said I would be the last to confirm.
No comments:
Post a Comment