Amkar Perm defender Brian Idowu has said that an unnamed representative of the Nigeria Football Federation contacted Fegor Ogude before he was invited for the international friendly against Argentina on November 14.

''He (Ogude) said that he was contacted from the team about me... And so, I thought, I'll come and I'll figure it out myself, what to do,'' said Idowu to Amkar Perm's official website, fc-amakr.org.

Ogude, who has not been called up to the Super Eagles for more than four years, missed the start of the Russian Premier League season due to a Cervical spine injury, and his international teammates asked about his condition when Idowu arrived in Krasnodar for the friendly against the South Americans.

''They asked how, in general, I live in Russia, about the championship and if it's cold to play at this time of year.

''Some guys asked how Ogude feels. They know that he had an injury. I said that he was already well and returned to the field, and they were happy for him.''

Russian-born Idowu scored Nigeria's third goal eight minutes into his debut against Argentina at Stadion FK Krasnodar.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel