Kenneth Omeruo believes his spell at Boro helped him seal a World Cup place.
Playing regular competitive football in the Championship has helped him hone his skills and boost his fitness.
He’ll need it. His next big task is to stop the awesome Lionel Messi.
Omeruo may be just 20 but he has quickly become a first team fixture for Nigeria since making his debut last year.
He was outstanding as the Super Eagles won the African Cup of Nations.
Now he knows he faces a bigger challenge as the African champions go to Brazil for the World Cup finals next month.
But Omeruo is confident. Nigeria are in a group that includes highly-fancied Argentina and the challenge of containing Messi and Co but have also been pitted against Iran and debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina - and he believes that gives them a fighting chance to progress to the knockout phase.
And they have a strong team that includes Premier League stars in Chelsea’s Jon Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, on loan at Liverpool last term.
Strapping Chelsea centre-back Ormeruo has been on loan at Boro since January and has flourished on Teesside. He has played 14 times and grown by the week.
And Omeruo is quick to give credit where it is due.
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Gallery: Kenneth Omeruo
View gallery “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Middlesbrough,” Omeruo told FIFA.com as Nigeria’s team gathered for their pre-tournament training camp. “I knew that if I had the chance to play I would keep the position.
“I would like to thank the club, the manager especially for believing in me and playing me. I’m happy that I didn’t disappoint him.
“I knew I had to play a lot of games to be fit for the World Cup and also to make the squad.
“I had the chance to do that at Middlesbrough so it’s been a really good season for me.”
The manager he speaks of is Aitor Karanka, who graced the Bernabeu with Real Madrid during his playing days, winning three UEFA Champions Leagues as well as playing for Spain.
“It’s easy to play under a manager that has played in the centre of defence,” Omeruo explained. “They understand the role you have in the team.
“I’m lucky to have the same in the national team with Stephen Keshi. You get advice from them on how you should play.”
Before his stint at Boro, Omeruo played in Holland for 18 months with ADO Den Haag, an experience he believes was vital in his growth into an international player too.
“I think a lot of my development was from Dutch football,” he said.
“I was under a good manager there, who liked me and the way I play. He played me in a position that I didn’t know how to play before, fullback.
“It was a really good experience. That’s what got me into the national team.”
His stint in Holland and a key role in helping Nigeria to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup final in 2009 and FIFA Under-20 World Cup quarter-finals two years later, gave Keshi food for thought heading into the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.
Omeruo was young and it was a gamble to promote him to the senior side aged just 19 but he grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
“It was unbelievable,” Omeruo said. “It was my first appearance for the national team at the start of the tournament, and then there we were, lifting the trophy. I felt good and it was a day I will never forget.”
That win means Nigeria will head into a World Cup as champions of Africa, just as they did 20 years ago at USA 1994.
They also qualified for the finals in 2002 and 2010 so are seasoned in the big tournament experience.
And Omeruo is confident they can progress from the group stages this time - even if Messi is in the way.
“I’m really looking forward to the game against Argentina,” he said.
“We will try as much as possible to keep a clean sheet. It will be difficult but we have to do that. They are the best players in the world and we have to show our quality by standing up to them. We will first of all have to make sure we get maximum points from the first two games.”
Asked how he would keep Messi at bay, Omeruo responded that he had been conducting some research on his opponent.
“I watch him a lot on TV. It’s going to be a team effort to try and stop him. Everyone will have to be positive and 100% focused on the game.”
Omeruo, popular with the Boro fans, admitted he would like to return to the Riverside after the World Cup for a second spell.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “It would be nice to go back to Boro, it’s a good environment with good people around. And I like the manager.
“Obviously we’ll have to see how the World Cup goes and my first priority is to stay with Chelsea. From playing in training with John Terry, Gary Cahill and David Luiz, I just want to put myself in there, try to learn from them and correct anything I’m not doing right.”
Omeruo’s determination to learn is an admirable trait, and if his enthusiasm and ambition rub off onto his Nigeria team-mates, then the Super Eagles could be the first African side to reach the final four of world football’s showpiece event.
“I’m hoping we’ll get to the final,” Omeruo responded confidently when asked how far his side would go.
“But I think at least the semi-finals.”
