‘They thought it was a joke’ — how Nigerian goalkeeper turned prolific striker in DR Congo

Suleman Shaibu, TP Mazembe’s goalkeeper, has seen his stock rise in recent months owing to his goalscoring exploits at the DR Congo club.

The 22-year-old former Nigeria under-17 international goalkeeper has exchanged his gloves for scoring boots and has become the latest sensation for Mazembe, the country’s most successful club.

Shaibu began his journey as an outfield player in June 2024 when FIFA banned Mazembe and other clubs from registering new players for three transfer windows over allegations of breaches of players’ contracts.

With Mazembe unable to register new signings coupled with the exit of some players, Shaibu offered himself as a striker and the Hawks took a chance on him.

He got his first baptism in October 2024 during Mazembe’s league encounter against Don Bosco, where he was a 65th-minute substitute.

Between then and now, Shaibu has netted seven times and provided an assist in 15 matches, playing 13 of them as a substitute.

STARTED AS A JOKE

The Kano-born goalkeeper-turned-striker said the club and the fans thought it was a joke when he offered to switch.

In a chat with TheCable on Monday, Shaibu said most people thought he had nothing to offer by dumping his gloves for the striker’s boots.

“Apart from the FIFA ban, some of our players also left, and we were left with one striker who was having a goal drought,” he said.

“So I just told the coach I would also like to play as a forward maybe until January when they would be able to register a new player.”

“I said ‘coach, since we have fewer players to play with, if it is okay with you, I’d like to train [as a striker]. If you see that I’m okay, then you can give me a chance to play’.

“He said ‘okay, no problem’.

“The next training, I saw my jersey was changed when I got to the dressing room to change for training. I was given the jersey for players.

“At first it was kind of a joke for them. For most of the players, and most of the spectators, because they believe I am a goalkeeper, and I had nothing to offer.”

The Nigerian player, however, took the chance to prove himself with great aplomb.

“They never saw it coming,” Shaibu told TheCable.

“But to me, it was something normal. It was not something I was afraid to do. All I needed then was just a chance to prove that I can also play.”

WHAT NEXT FOR SHAIBU?

Shaibu, who plans to represent Nigeria at some point in his career, said he intends to continue as a striker after Mazembe’s FIFA ban elapses.

He said he is determined to fight for a starting berth or possibly move on if opportunities to play — despite his decent form — become few and far between.

“I have started two games already and they are the big games, and I provided an assist in one of them. Why I am not starting a lot of matches now is due to my fitness level. But with a lot of work, I see myself starting most of the games here. I am working towards that,” Shaibu told TheCable.

“If they sign players, we will all fight for the space to play in training. It is who works more that gets the chance to play. And if I see that I’m not given an equal chance to play, I’ll look for new opportunities to play.

“If I score 10-15 goals this season and I come back next season and they don’t give me enough opportunities to play, definitely I’ll look for more opportunities in other African leagues, especially in North Africa, before looking at a European move.”