COMMENT By Solace Chukwu Follow on Twitter
So much about Leon Balogun's tenure with the national team has been about timing and chance.
When the Super Eagles punched their ticket to the World Cup in Russia, few had quite the same outpouring of emotion as he: an unfortunate injury on his international debut had deprived him of a shot in 2014. Then, he seemed the solution to a longstanding problem at right-back; now he has matured into the leader at the heart of the defence.
He has acquitted himself with almost unrelenting excellence all the way through with the national side, but lately there have been suggestions that his form has dipped slightly below that threshold.