The Nation Newspaper

Category: SOS

  • Serena’s conqueror, Naomi Osaka is the coolest thing in tennis

    In spite of the controversy and rage that tainted the 2018 U.S Open, it did not come as a surprise that Naomi Osaka beat Serena Williams to pick her first Grand Slam. Serena had lost to her at Indian Wells.

    Her coach, Sascha Bajin, who used to be Serena’s hitting partner predicted that Osaka was capable of winning a Grand Slam this year. “Of course,” he says. “If she can keep her composure, yeah, I don’t see why not?”

    At Indian Wells, Osaka looked like she could beat any tennis player in the world. She’d entered the tournament unseeded, having never won a WTA title before. But in the heat of the desert, she proceeded—efficiently and almost cruelly—to dismantle opponents at their own game. First, the 20-year-old stunned former no. 1 player Maria Sharapova in straight sets with her precise and powerful serve. (Sharapova would part ways with her coach after that match.) Later, she took out Karolína Plíšková, another former no. 1, with a unrelenting series of crushing forehands from the baseline.

    And when defeating former no. 1’s wasn’t enough, she matched up against the current one, Simona Halep, and throttled her so badly that Halep didn’t win a single game in the second set. Her finals match against Daria Kasatkina was nearly as effortless. The victory speech she gave after that? A different kind of effortless.

    “Hello, hi, I am—okay never mind,” she started, before meandering through a series of thank yous in a seemingly random order, giggling throughout. After a couple minutes, she closed by saying, “This is probably gonna be the worst acceptance speech of all time.”

    On the court, Osaka appeared confident and fearless. But as soon as she was off of it, she returned to being a soft-spoken teen with a penchant for nerdy interests. At a press conference after the finals match, Naomi Osaka described the feeling of winning her first title the way any champion would: in reference to a meme. “Towards the end I didn’t know that I won the match point,” she said. “So then I was like Caveman SpongeBob.”

    Four days later, in the first round of the Miami Open, Osaka faced her childhood hero and inarguably the greatest living tennis player—perhaps the greatest ever—Serena Williams, a woman with more Grand Slam titles than Osaka has years on Earth.

    Were you nervous to play Serena?

    “My whole life, I’ve always wanted to play her,” Osaka says. “So I had nothing to be nervous about.”

    Osaka stomped Williams in straight sets.

    To understand Naomi Osaka, the brightest young talent in tennis, you don’t have to understand the sport. You need to know Overwatch. It’s a popular video game, and it’s the first thing she mentions when we start talking at Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, where she usually trains, just a five-minute bike ride from her home. (Osaka plays for Japan, even though she’s lived in the U.S. since the age of three.)

    On practice days, Osaka is on the court for four hours. Then she goes home and plays four, sometimes five hours of video games—mostly Overwatch with her older sister Mari. The game, a shooter where two teams of six square off, is composed of colorful cartoon characters, each corresponding to a class. There are more offensive types with a plethora of sci-fi weaponry, it being a video game and all. But Osaka prefers the defensive characters—“healers,” who support their teammates with medical aid, and “tanks,” who absorb bullets like a human shield.

    “Like, I’m not that great at attacking,” Osaka says. “My aim is not that amazing, so I’d just rather be a shield or something.”

    That’s funny, because I think people would describe your tennis playing as fairly aggressive and more offensive.

    “Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot.”

    So you are a very different Overwatch player than you are tennis player?

    “Yeah, ummm…” A lot of our conversation is like this, Osaka’s sentences quietly trailing off into a void of polite laughs and ums.

    Still, the gap between her self-assured on-court personality and her shyer off-court one doesn’t seem weird to her. She can compartmentalize those two modes. But explaining it, she still relates her tennis game to a video game: “I just feel like I know [tennis] is sort of my job and, like, if I were to say it, like, in a gaming term, then it’s sort of a mission that I have to complete. Um, so yeah. I just sort of tune everything out and just try my best to complete the mission.”

    “She’s very honest and open,” Bajin says, “and I think that’s why people are drawn to her.”

    But you don’t become the coolest kid in tennis without being a fire follow on Instagram. After she defeated Serena Williams in Miami, Osaka posted a pic of the two shaking hands at the net. The caption read: “Omg”

    Now that she’s beaten Serena again to win her first Grand Slam, she does not even know who she feels. Happy and perhaps, sad, especially with all the controversy and the rage of her child idol.

    “For me, I don’t feel sad because I wouldn’t even know what I’m expected to feel,” she said in Yokohama after she was treated to a heroic welcome at home.

    “Because it was my first final and my first Grand Slam victory, overall I felt really happy and I know that I accomplished a lot. I don’t think I even thought about feeling sad because there’s no experience for me to draw on (from) any other Grand Slam final.”

  • MIKEL OBI: OKOCHA, KANU SHAPED MY DESTINY

    Super Eagles and Tianjin Teda captain, Mikel Obi, has a load of respect for two Nigerian living legends. They are former internationals Austin Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.

    Speaking exclusively since the World Cup in Russia in an interview conducted  by Kunle Solaja of the Sports Village Square, the midfielder singled out the Nigerian greats as those who inspired him as a teenage footballer.

    While Kanu remains the most decorated Nigerian player as a two-time African player award-winner, Okocha’s skill and midfield command is second to none till date.

    Mikel recounts: “As a young player, I drew so much inspiration from two of the best stars Nigeria ever produced. I grew up looking up to (Nwankwo) Kanu and (Austin) Jay Jay Okocha. I enjoyed watching them play for their respective club sides. More importantly, their exploits in the national team really thrilled me. In their later years, I played in the Super Eagles with them. They were highly motivating to me. But on the global stage, Zinedine Zidane was my all-time hero.”

    Another player he has greater respect for is the Barcelona and Argentina forward, Lionel Messi – a five-time World Footballer of the Year award winner.

    Mikel puts it this way: “There is no controversy. Lionel Messi is simply the greatest footballer to have ever played football. Across many competitions, I have been on the same pitch with him. I therefore know what I am saying.”

    Mikel’s path has crossed that of Messi on more than one occasion. Twice they have met in the FIFA championships finals. First, at the World Youth Championships in 2005 and second, at the Olympics football final in 2008. On both occasions, Messi and Argentina had the better of Mikel and Nigeria.

    In spite of the losses, Mikel remains Nigeria’s most decorated active footballer. He is in fact a legend having featured in all FIFA’s tiers of football – the U-17 in Finland 2003, the U-20 in the Netherlands 2005, FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013, Olympics in 2016 and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea in 2012.

    He has also been an Africa Cup of Nations winner with the Super Eagles in 2013 and winners in the UEFA Champions League (2011/12), UEFA Europa League in 2012/2013, as well as being winner in the English Premier League (2009/10, 2014/15), the English FA Cup in 2006/07, 2008/09 and 2011/12.

    Going down memory lane, Mikel considers himself a good example of an average Nigerian youth who dares all odds to succeed.

    “Youths are the future of any nation or country. They are the future scientists, future teachers, future doctors, future governors and presidents, as well as future farmers. My advice for them is to put God first, stay focused on your dreams, work hard and be a person of good character. Your name is the most important asset to you in life. Dreams do come true. I am an example of that. Never give up!

    “I am also an ambitious person. I did not give myself any other choice but to be successful because I never stop pushing myself. For the youths, follow your dreams, don’t listen to people that tell you, you cannot make it, and when things are hard, pray harder, God will give you strength to go through it. Most importantly, hard work and good name.

    “As for our leaders, it is for them to please continue to create better environments and opportunities for our youths.”

    Noting that youths are tools for development in developed countries, Mikel calls on Nigerian youths to also show their hands in politics and other spheres of governance. “In every developed nation, the youths don’t merely take the back seat in decisions affecting their countries. They are active participants and help in shaping in their destinies. That perhaps explains why some of such countries now come out with very young leaders. France is an example. The Nigerian youths should take more than mere ‘sidon dey look’ attitude in our national affairs. They are the future and the future begins now. I am happy to learn that the president has signed the ‘Not too young to run’ bill. That means we are making progress. The youths who constitute the vast majority of our population must prepare to participate in lifting the country up.”

    Mikel Obi further delves into history book, recalling the growing up in Jos, signing for Chelsea, venturing abroad, family life, social life and businesses. Excerpts:

    My humble beginning

    I grew up with my parents and brothers in Jos, Plateau State. Growing up was ok, but like with most families, we were struggling financially. We were not in any way different from the others in our neighbourhood.

    But we are a very contented and happy family. So when I realised at the age of nine that I loved football and I was good at it, I became determined to follow my dreams.

    That was how I became a footballer and got invited into the youth team from where I have since grown to be a senior player in the national team.

    Growing up in Jos may have also in a way helped in shaping my destiny.You will recall that the tin-rich city also produced some of the prominent Nigerian footballers, some of whom I only later heard about.

    Segun Odegbami, I understand, also grew up in Jos and later became a sensational footballer internationally. The same with the Atuegbu brothers, Layiwola Olagbenro, Baba Otu Mohammed, Sam Garba Okoye, Peter Anieke, among others.

    I am very close to my family back home and I come home regularly especially when the Super Eagles have international duties at home. I am home a few times a year. As I said earlier, I grew up in Jos even though my family and I hail from Anambra State in the East.

    Being torn between Manchester United and Chelsea

    My dad was a Manchester United supporter. He wanted me to join Sir Alex Ferguson. But Chelsea offered to sign me and three other friends who might not have gotten a club otherwise. For that reason, I decided to join Chelsea.Going abroad to play football, especially in Europe is not just a Nigerian mentality. It is so in many other African and South American countries. Europe offers the best in terms of facility and opportunities.

    But the good thing is that the Nigerian league is also getting better with the partnership with some notable European leagues. All the same, going abroad gives young players better opportunity, better environment to train and focus and better facilities to also become world class.

    Next year, in partnership with some stakeholders, we are starting a programme in Nigeria to give young aspirants an opportunity to go abroad and become professional footballers. It is called the “African Next Superstar”. We are in the process of packaging the event which details will be unfolded after the Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifier with Seychelles.

    Life outside football pitch

    I love spending time with my family, my partner and my two daughters. I also enjoy working on my various business interests with my business team especially in the areas of manufacturing, and infrastructural development. You may be aware that I love Nigerian music a lot. Among my favourites are Tiwa Savage, P-Square and Banky W, among others. I am a very private person and usually don’t like to discuss my family on public domain. We are fine and all is well with us.

    On  dad’s kidnap

    I really want to put the episode behind and we have since moved on. I am very patriotic. I love my country, Nigeria, even though I have lived in Europe for many years and now living in China. I love both abroad and Nigeria. However, after retirement, there’s no place like home.

    Taste for fashion

    Everyone says am stylish. I just like wearing what looks good on me and what I feel comfortable in. It also helps to be tall and athletic, because everything fits well. My clothe types depend on the occasion. But it’s all about quality, and not quantity. Finally, I must say that we have some amazing designers in Nigeria, with fantastic ideas.

    My leadership style with Super Eagles

    I lead the team by example. To me, that’s very crucial. A good leader should always lead by example, and when we are losing, I inspire my team mates by making sure they keep their heads up and believe. However, my job as a leader in the team is easier because we have players that are hungry, focused and determined to be winners. Winners never give up. We have talented players.

    After China , what next?

    Time will tell. I am enjoying my time in China. It is a great country to live and work and I want to continue playing for another four to five years. I will like to retire back in the premier league in a few years’ time, but we will see what comes.

    Clarion call to political leaders

    The great thing about democracy is that everyone has a voice and everyone can contribute to changes in our country by voting. I encourage every youth that can vote, to get their PVC and vote. To make their vote count so they can have a say in their own future. As I said, they are the future.

    Life after retirement

    I have several business interests and I have surrounded myself with a team of good business professionals. We are growing partnerships with manufacturers, brands, and tech. I can also say that Nigeria is a place with enormous opportunities and great business leaders, from industries to banking, to oil and gas. Nigeria is the biggest and fastest growing economy in Africa; there are so many great opportunities for investment and growth economically. I have various investments in Nigeria and my team and I are looking into other parts of Africa too. I have a great business team around me and things are going well, thank God.

    Youth empowerment

    Yes, we have several programmes we are working on to contribute to every other efforts going on in the country by others and the government. Our first programme launches in January and it relates to football and other programmes shall follow shortly after.

    Between  Michael and Mikel

    Yes. My real name is John Michael Obi. At a tournament, it was miss-spelt and I have since been living with it without any regret. I did not notice it in the first place because my desire to represent Nigeria at international competition was uppermost in my mind. It was in 2003 as we prepared for the FIFA U-17 in Finland. All I did was to consult with my dad and he did not see anything wrong in my adopting the name, Mikel.

  • ELO EDEMA EDEFERIOKA: I’m waiting for the right man

    Nigeria basketball star, Elo Edema Edeferioka, is currently in D’Tigress camp in Lagos preparing for the 2018 FIBA Basketball World Cup for women in Spain. The D’Tigress forward, who won bronze medal with the team at the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship for women in Cameroon but missed out of the team that won gold at the 2017 edition in Mali, recently graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta where she featured for Georgia Tech women’s basketball team.
    In an encounter with AKEEM LAWAL, the prospective World Cup debutant revealed that she is still waiting for the right man, even though she is not thinking about marriage right now. Excerpt:

    D’Tigress is the defending champion of the Afrobasket, how prepared are you for the World Cup?

    I’m expecting that we do really well because our training has been going really well. We are not there yet, but we are getting there. So far we’ve improved a lot compared to whatever team we’ve had in the past. We try to support each other as much as we can and I know down the stretch we will go a long way. You can see we have new people in the team, we have different talents; everybody can actually bring something to the table. So I’m really excited because we have a great team and we are well prepared to actually showcase our talents to the world.

    Is the team under pressure going into the World Cup?

    We are not under pressure because we’ve always been underdogs and we love being underdogs because we have surprises for people. So right now we are not under pressure, we are not feeling any pressure to do anything because a lot of people don’t think we can do anything in the World Cup. They think this is a fluke, but we are just going to surprise them. That is just all I can say.

    You’ve been working with Otis Hughley for a couple of weeks now, how do you see him?

    He is very positive with high energy and very patient with the team. He is a great coach and I so much love him and he is doing a great job so far in getting the team ready. He is actually still working with whatever we used to do when Coach Sam was around. Work our way to whatever we have been doing and he has been very understanding, working with the team to make sure I and my teammates are really okay and understand the play. He has been very understanding with us and he has been doing a great job.

    How supportive is the federation towards actualising your dream at the FIBA World Cup?

    They’ve been very supportive, trust me. I’ve played with the national team for a couple of years now and this year is way different compared to what we have experienced in the past. Having two months of training camp before a tournament is really amazing. We’ve not had that much time before and Mactaben Amachree (General Manager) has been doing a lot of job to make sure we get some sponsor and make sure we get everything we need. To our treatment, recovery, she has been very active making sure we get everything we need. So the management has been doing well so far. We are staying in a nice hotel; we’ve never had that before. So everything is really going well. They are preparing us mentally to perform on the court.

    So what is the strong point of this team?

    We have a lot of pose players who are very athletic and very good. We have lots of guards that can shoot the ball and dribble. We have all the pieces to put together and that is basically the strong point of this team. We can rebound, we can run, we can set off offense, we can do basically everything. All we need in a team, we have it here. That is really our strength.

    How far do you think D’Tigress can go at the World Cup?

    Right now we are going to take it one game at a time. But I know we can go all the way. I trust my teammates, I trust my coaching staff, I trust the strategy and everything right now is on point, I would say. I believe we can go all the way and the focus right now is just taking it one game at a time and just take it from there.

    Let’s go personal, how was your growing up?

    I grew up in Warri, Delta State. I started playing basketball in 2008/2009 in Delta State and it was not the best basketball court ever. I didn’t have the right training shoes for the court and I didn’t have the right jerseys and sometimes I didn’t have money to go to the court to practice. Sometimes we would walk to the court and walk back home late at night. But all was determination to be different from wherever I’m from. It wasn’t the best experience growing up but I kept pushing, I kept striving. So as time went on, I got invited to the Nigeria junior national team in 2010 to go for the qualifiers in Egypt. So we went and we qualified for the Under-18 World Cup in 2010. We were supposed to go to Chile, but something came up and we could not go. Then I got a scholarship through Colonel Sam Ahmedu to the United States. So I went to the US and played in high school, with Life Centre Academy, and I got offer to go to Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and played for Georgia Tech women’s basketball team. Then I graduated this year and signed to go and play in Spain. Here I am with the national team.

    How supportive were your parents when you started?

    My dad passed away before I started playing basketball but my mom was very supportive because I was doing something different. At first, my family did not really support me because I was coming home late at night due to walking back from the gym. But later on when they found out that I was doing really well with basketball and I had the opportunity of going to the US to go to school, they gave me all the support I needed.

    You are no more a small girl, are you thinking about settling down for marriage?

    Marriage? (laugh). I’m not thinking about marriage right now. I am open to settling down if the right person comes but right now I don’t have anybody really major in my life. So I am actually just focused on getting my career right and taking care of myself and my family and when the right man comes I will be ready to settle down.

    Even while focussing on your career, there will definitely be guys at the corner disturbing you, how do you get over their advancement?

    It’s just priority. I make sure I get my priorities straight and don’t get distracted from what I am supposed to do from what I’m supposed to prioritise over other things. Yes, there are guys but that is not my main focus right now because I’ve not really seen the right person for me and I’m committing everything in God’s hands. Whenever the right person comes, as I said, I will be ready.

    Have you ever been harassed in the course of this sport?

    Like dating a coach to get into the team? No, no, no; we’ve never had that issue. I’ve never heard of that in Nigerian basketball and I don’t think that is going on here. That will never happen. We have coaches with great dignity and I do not think my coaches will settle for that. They will never do a thing like that and nothing like that. That will never happen here with my teammates.

    You were part of AfroBasket Women 2015 bronze winning team, how did you feel missing the 2017 team that won gold in Mali?

    I did not go to the 2017 African Women’s Championship because I was in Italy with my team. It was very hard not being part of that team, but as I said, it comes to priority. It was my senior year in college and I needed to stay focused and finish strong in my senior year. So I talked to my coach, MaChelle Joseph, about it and she wasn’t really happy for me to make a decision to come to the national team. She gave me all the reasons why I should stay back at Georgia Tech because it was my senior year and also we were going for foreign tour in Italy, which she didn’t want me to miss. So I could not sacrifice that year to actually better myself for my senior year and I should be with my team.

    Did you at any point get fed up and want to dump the country to take other nationality?

    No, I did not because when I played for the Nigeria national team, I had a great time. I always have fun with my old teammates and also being on a team where everybody is from the same country, in the same place, with the same focus. It’s actually different from going to Europe or playing in the US where you have different cultures and all that. It is always fun coming home to play with my teammates and I miss Upe so much. Upe is the best part of the national team and I love having her around. She is amazing, she has positive spirit and always energetic. I really miss her so much. So I love coming back to play for my team, and with my teammates playing for my country is part of giving back to my home.

    Who is your role model?

    Somebody I actually looked up to while growing up in basketball was Madaline Okatto; she has retired already. She is from Delta State and also coaches. She took me to go and play basketball.

    But when I started playing with the national team, someone else that I looked up to was Olayinka Sanni. She was a very good player when she was playing. Her pose moves were amazing. She was with us at Afrobasket in Cameroon. I looked up to her when I came to play in 2015 because I love her confidence, the way she played as a pose player and her energy.

    Aside basketball, what else do you do?

    Aside basketball, I want to go into fashion. I love fashion a lot. So I want to go into fashion and beauty. That is something I look forward to doing in a couple of years from now. Right now I’m just playing basketball.

    If not basketball, what would you have done?

    If not for basketball, that is a good question. I don’t know what I would have become but God knows. But I know I would have done something because I’m not a quitter. I would have done something better with myself.

  • Enyimba coach, Usman Abd’allah: My family, my fortress

    Very few Nigerian coaches are as detailed and polite as Usman Abd’Allah, the current coach of Enyimba International Football Club of Aba, and this goes without saying that there is no substitute for education, reports MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.

    Usman Abd’Allah, former Nigerian international, would be the first to admit that his upbringing in Kano, living in different countries as a professional footballer, as well as his training as a chemical engineer  are partly responsible for his polished outlook.

    Abd’Allah is indeed a football man through -and -through but his love for his family is infectious, much as he described his household as a fortress.

    “I was born and bred in Kano and I finished all my education in the northern part of Nigeria and I attended Tarauni Primary School and Government Secondary School Kazaure – all in Kano,” began the 44-year-old amiable Abd’Allah in an interview with The Nation on the margins of the Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) celebration with his kith and kin. “I later read chemical engineering at Kaduna Polytechnic and graduated in 1989.

    “I left Nigeria in 1991 but before then, I actually played in the Kano State Academicals and festival teams in the 80s as well as the national Under-20 and Under-23 teams along with my senior brother – Hassan Abd’Allah – who is currently among the coaching crew of the present national Under-20 team.

    “Before I travelled outside the country for my professional football career, I played for Sanka Vipers  of Kano; UNTL of Kaduna; Rocks of Kaduna and at one point played along with the likes of Nduka Ugbade, Imama Amapakabo and several others in the national Under-20 team.

    “Most of the current players don’t know some of us because they were born in the 1990s when some of us were no longer playing on the local scene.

    “I played in the same era with the late coach Stephen Keshi, Peter Niketen , Friday Ekpo, the late Uche Okafor and so many others; but not people, especially some of these young lads, who are more or less like our children at home.

    “Some of the clubs we played for are no longer in existence. Clubs like Abiola Babes, Flash Flamingoes, Leventis United and so forth are no longer in existence. But the good thing is that we the present generation of Nigerian coaches know ourselves very well.”

    Truly, Abd’Allah had an exciting playing career with stints at clubs in Africa, Europe and Asia. The other clubs he turned out for included Stationery Stores of Lagos; Mogas 90 of Benin Republic; Al Arabic of  Saudi Arabia and Bayern Leverkusen.

    He moved to Singapore where he played for three S-League sides – Jurong FC, Khalsa Fc, and Gombak United FC, while his odyssey in Asia also involved periods with top side Sheikh Russle in Bangladesh and Kalantan FC in Malaysia.

    At the twilight of his playing career, he returned to France and starred for FC Bolen and FC Sete before retirement to coaching in the French lower division respectively with EPS FC, FC Sete, FC Frontignan and Bollene FC.

    Meanwhile, former German international and manager, Jurgen Klinsmann, once stressed the importance of education in order for a coach to attain a level of credibility in his career, stating that a coach is as good as the number of badges he obtained: “I think it’s the highest priority for every coach to get his licenses upgraded one step at a time because it is the highest sign of credibility.

    “You don’t want your kid (players) being coached by a coach that doesn’t have the highest credibility and doesn’t have the knowledge because he never went to those licensing courses and got his degree. If you do not have your coaching license, you do not have credibility.”

    On the strength of Klinsmann’s hypothesis, Abd’Allah has scored creditably well with an impressive résumé and he’s undoubtedly amongst the new generation of Nigerians gradually working their way along the coaching ladder.

    “I have dual citizenship with Nigeria and France,” he explained. “I stopped active soccer playing career in 2006 while I was with a second division club in France before going into coaching.

    “I’ve attended several coaching courses and I started attending some of these courses as far back as 1999 and that is why I have so many certificates in both coaching and management.

    “I did my UEFA B Licence Certificate in France and also did the UEFA A Licence in England in 2010 and I have done courses in CAF; so I’m rooted in coaching.

    “Before coming back to Nigeria, I have been coaching in Asia and France.  I obtained degrees in football coaching and team management at Le CREPS de Montpellier in France where I got the equivalent of the UEFA C, B and A certificates.

    “After that, I got another UEFA A in England. I also have Strength and Conditioning Level 1 Coaching Certificate in Australia. I also have the National Coaching Accreditation Programme (NCAP) Level 1 from Singapore as well as the LaLiga Coaching Certificate and a few more.”

    However, despite his varied coaching education cutting across different countries, Abd’Allah said he is not encumbered by any peculiar philosophy, adding that the beauty of football is the accompanying enjoyment.

    “I don’t narrow my model or philosophy to a particular style but first and foremost, football must be enjoyed and I want my team to play in a way the game should be played,” he offered with scholarly elucidation. “Football is dynamic and the style you adopt is based on the type of players you have and the opponent you are facing.

    “In Nigeria, we are always worried about what a player can do with the ball but football is more than that; what about what the player does without the ball or how does he contribute to the overall success of the team?

    “These are some of the things I look out for, so I will confidently say my philosophy is playing football how it should be played.”

    Up till today, the good work Abd’Allah did at his first port of call with Kano Pillars after his sojourn is still well-acknowledged.

    “There is no doubt that Abd’Allah is a very good coach and I can say clearly that he has deep knowledge of the game,” Kabiru Baleria, former Nigerian international and current Team Manager of Kano Pillars, told The Nation. “He did so well with our junior team and most of the youngsters can’t forget the wonderful experience they had when he was with us.”

    Abd’Allah volunteers more on his coaching career: “All my life, football has been the profession. I took to coaching after my professional football career.

    “Before returning to Nigeria, I have been coaching in France because I have a dual nationality. I worked with Kano Pillars last year as an assistant coach and we succeeded to manage the team along with the youth side.

    “I want to believe the management of Enyimba was impressed with the good job I did at Kano Pillars and that was why they lured me away from Kano to Aba.

    “I must say that Enyimba has been a work in progress because I actually started with the team at the beginning of the season whereby we prepared the team together (with Aigbogun) for both the domestic league and the continental cup competition.

    “So, there is no vacuum since the departure of Coach Aigbogun, rather it has been a continuous process. We started the season together and it is not as if I came to take over after he left. In fact, the management of Enyimba secured my service because they knew all along that Coach Aigbogun would be away for most part of the season on national duty assignment. I’m not really under any pressure because before now, I have been managing the team when he was away with the Flying Eagles.  All along I have been behind the scene.”

    But Abd’Allah is not in any way lagging behind  in his responsibilities as a married man since he has the puritanical approach to his family as revealed in a recent photo shoot where his well-oiled lovey-dovey was there for all to see.

    “I’m married to a French woman and I have four daughters including a six-year-old twin daughter,” Abd’Allah revealed with an excitement of a player that scored a World Cup-winning goal. “My family is my fortress.”

    Of course, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, consequently the Abd’Allahs conveyed the image of a family full of love and what the French call les bonheur – happiness.

    For instance, Abd’Allah and his wife were seen cuddling their twin daughter and one affectionately planted a kiss on her dad’s cheek to underline the fact that ‘there’s no greater bond or love between a father and daughter.’

    Yet in another enduring image, Abd’Allah too was ruffling the hairs of one of the twins while the other baby girl directed towards him the popular two-pointed fingers salute which denotes some sort of approval.

    In another fleeting moment, both wife and husband sat together with their adorable twins brandishing warm smiles.

    “I’m a happy family man,” assured Abd’Allah who guided Enyimba to the quarter finals of the on-going Total CAF Confederation Cup on Wednesday.” My family is based in France, and we are doing well by the grace of God.

    “This victory (against CARA Brazzaville) is a blessing and it was good we dedicated the new stadium with a win. We are happy because we also made the fans that trooped out in large numbers to support us happy, but we have not won anything yet and we have to focus our attention now to the next stage,” the amiable Abd’Allah noted.

  • NATIONAL BOXING CHAMPION RIDWAN OYEKOLA: I abandoned ‘okada’ business for boxing

    For Ridwan Oyekola, winner of the 15th edition of GOtv Boxing Night Award, life on top is sweet having experienced an extremely rough ride.

    Clutching his one million naira bromide cheque, the cash prize that goes with the award, Oyekola, aka Scorpion, says it is the best thing to happen to his career since he turned professional.

    The Ibadan- based boxer was clearly the stand out performer of the night as he defeated Prince ‘Lion’ Nwoye by a unanimous decision in their national lightweight challenge bout at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, (formerly known as Liberty Stadium) Ibadan-Oyo State.

    Life has not been so rosy for Oyekola, who once hawked drugs and poultry and was a commercial motorcycle operator at different times before becoming a boxer.

    Armed with only a secondary school certificate, Oyekola had little parental support as a youngster, and to make ends meet he had to do petty trading.

    He said: “After I finished my secondary education at Islamic High School in Bashorun in Ibadan, I used to sell drugs at Agbeni in Ibadan. We call it ‘chemist work’. I started as an apprentice but when I graduated there was no money to establish. So I started to hustle and when there was no job I moved to Lagos to sell cockerel, broilers, and layers around Mowe. We used to put them inside cage and hawk them around Mowe and Ibafo that time. But when I saw people boxing in Mowe, I joined them and started learning boxing from them. I had to quit the job for boxing. If I had known that boxing will be my way, I would have put more efforts into it. Now I am dedicating my time to boxing and I thank God and GOtv for giving me the opportunity.”

    In between amateur boxing and turning professional, he also operated commercial motorcycle.

    “I was also riding okada (commercial motorcycle) in Ibadan before. I used to ply Gate-Bere-Molete to Challenge-Orita-New Garage-Podo and so on. It was one of my fans that stopped me from riding okada and began to take care of me till I got to this level.”

    The signs of good things started from the National Sports Festival. “My first big tournament was the National Sports Festival (Gateway Games 2010). After the successful outing, I returned to Ibadan and continued to train and box and Oyo State Sports Council started paying me stipend. I was getting half salary from the state to support myself. I later turned professional and that gave me the opportunity to take part in more tournaments.”

    Oyekola speaks more on his sojourn to stardom in this interview with AKEEM LAWAL: excerpts:

     

    How did you feel after beating Prince Nwoye?

    I was very happy. I can’t really describe my feeling on the night. I just knew that I am very happy to emerge victorious.

    Nwoye really gave you a fight…

    Yes! He really gave me a tough time. No fighter has ever given me a tough fight like Nwoye did. I never laboured like that since I took boxing as a career. But the fact that I prepared well, trained hard and fought very well too and then God was on my side. Nwoye really rattled me, I must tell you the truth.

    The fans were really behind you…

    The fan really gave me morale support. It got to a stage around the sixth round, I became fed up with the fight but the support I got from the fans propelled me to put everything I have into the fight.

    What was going through your mind when you were declared the best boxer of the night?

    I was very happy because I never expected it. I see it as God’s favour. That is what happens when He wants to favour His own.

    How do you intend to spend the money?

    Boxing money is not what you can spend alone. I will extend it to many people. At the end of the day, I will have to be contented with anything that remains for me.

    What impact has GOtv Boxing Night brought into boxing?

    Words cannot describe their contributions to the development of boxing in the country. If not for them, we boxer would have continued to suffer. They are really trying. If anyone said I would get a million from boxing, I would doubt such a person. GOtv has surprised so many people. It now pays to be a boxer in Nigeria.  They have encouraged us and made us love boxing the more. They have also made more people to come into boxing.

    Since you turned professional, how many fights have you gotten?

    I have fought three fights since I turned professional. I fought Lukman Hogan Jimoh Jr at Boxing Night 13 and knocked him out in 17 seconds. My second was at another boxing show against Prince Lion Nwoye at Police College in Ikeja. I defeated him but because he was at home, it was declared a draw. He challenged me again and that was why we fought again in Ibadan at the GOtv Boxing Night 15.

    How did you get into boxing?

    I started boxing because I was being bullied in my area in Oje in Ibadan. It happened that one Sunday I was escorting my girlfriend and a guy intimidated me. I challenged him and the boy, who I did not know was a boxer, beat me like a baby. He embarrassed me in front of my girlfriend and her friends and I was ashamed. That was the reason I started to learn boxing. But when I started, my parents were against it. They won’t give me food or money because they believe it is bad boys that do boxing. They would ask if I wanted to be a street fighter, that a responsible person doesn’t do boxing. However, I was focused and was going for training without their knowledge. So while I was learning how to sell drugs, I would still go for training in the evening. After training, I would jog home.

    When I started boxing and getting stipend, I stopped fending for myself and that made my parents to stop complaining about boxing. Now that they see that I am famous and people started referring to them as my parents, they are happy. They are now proud of me. I am happy that I have made something of myself through boxing. I am yet to reach my target in boxing. I am aiming higher.

    I have the full support of my parents because whenever they walk on the street, people hail them as ‘daddy Scorpion’, and ‘mummy Scorpion’. I now support my parents and siblings financially.

    After learning how to fight, were you able to get your girlfriend back?

    She has gone her way but recently launched a comeback when she got to know I am now a famous boxer. You know how ladies do. But women are not my focus right now since I’ve gotten married. You know women can spoil one’s career if one is not careful.

    Are you married and who is the lucky lady?

    My wife Mariam is a nurse and she supports my boxing. It is her prayers that are working for me.

    Are you the only boxer from your family?

    By the grace of God, I am the only one doing boxing in my family. I am also the alfa in my family.

    Will you allow you kids to take to boxing?

    Only God knows the path everybody will take to be successful in life. If God says one of my children will take to boxing, all good. But if he says they will make it through other means, no problem. However, it is my wish that one of my kids take to boxing.

    What is your advice to other boxers?

    I want to urge boxers in the country not to relent. There will always be challenges, is it when you don’t have money and have to walk to training or when you only have gari to eat or when there is nothing to eat? When you have to go to training on empty stomach and won’t see anything to eat? They should not relent, keep praying, when you pray, there is nothing God cannot do. Even the money we are talking about is just a change. When God answers one’s prayer, it will get to a stage that people will not know how you make your money. Favour will just be coming from right, left and centre. You just have to endure, and there is no job that does not have its obstacles.

    So what is your next target now?

    I’m going to the next level. I’m ready to fight anyone and I know God is behind me. I don’t have any other job than boxing, so I’m always ready for anybody that challenges me.

  • Mustapha finds favour with Lokomotiv Plovdiv

    Older Nigerian football followers would easily remember Celestine Babayaro, the elegant left back that shone like the neon light in the dark for the Super Eagles in the 1990s.

    Babayaro was so good in his defensive position combined with attacking proclivity at his first European club, Anderlecht, that he was twice rewarded with the 1995 and 1996 Belgian Young Professional of the Year as well as the 1996 Ebony Shoe Award (an award given annually to the best African or a player of African origin in the Belgian Pro League).He later played with great élan in the English Premier League with both Chelsea and Newcastle before retirement in 2008.

    Ten years on, the good news is the emergence of a new fashion of Celestine Babayaro in the mould of fleet-footed Mustapha Abdullahi, the Nigerian youth international currently attached to Bulgarian Professional League side, Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

    “I love being happy; and playing football makes me happy,” stated Mustapha, a keen admirer of Brazil and Real Madrid left-back, Marcelo, in a lively interview with The Nation.

    Mustapha plays football wearing his toothpaste smile and was an integral part of the national Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets that won the FIFA World Cup in 2013 though he only featured in the African qualifiers and pre-Mundial tournament in Morocco. He equally wrought gold three years ago with the Flying Eagles in the U-20 African Nations Cup in Senegal and featured in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

    “I’m happy whether I’m playing or for instance watching Marcelo because he inspires me,” offered the 22-year-old. “I want to be an example as a left back in Nigerian national team. Some of my team mates here call me with (Celestine) Babayaro but I want to do more than him for Nigeria.

    “My strong points as a left back? I love to join the attack at every given opportunity because I’m strong on the ball and my coach sometimes uses me on the left wing because I’m can be so fast.”

    At every opportunity, Mustapha conjures the image of his Brazilian idol (Marcelo) with his electrifying running with the ball glued to his sweet left leg so much so a recent video of a goal he orchestrated in an attacking blitz for Lokomotiv Plovdiv against Cherno More of Varna in a Bulgarian domestic game elicited almost 300 likes and 100 comments on a social network platform.

    “I enjoy the way I play especially when I get the opportunity to join the attack and assist in my team scoring goals. I was so excited with the assist I had against Cherno More of Varna,” he said with a cheerful purr.

    “My club is doing well (in the Bulgarian Pro League) despite the fact that we didn’t make the Europa qualification from the last season. We are focusing more on the league.

    “It is amazing playing in Europe and I’m getting new experience day-by-day and learning from trainings and matches.

    “Yes, it’s true that the wish of every young player is to be with big clubs in France, England or Spain but I’m happy here in Bulgaria because Lokomotiv Plovdiv was the club that had the interest in me and I’m happy being here.”

    Already, he has a contact with Lokomotiv Plovdiv till June 2021 after he was signed from Wikki Tourists on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

    Yet, Musty, as he’s fondly called by friends, is not oblivious about the challenges ahead of him, adding that Lokomotiv Plovdiv would in the meantime be a stepping stone to greater things for obvious reasons.

    He continued: “My ultimate target is to move forward (from Lokomotiv Plovdiv). We have issues to play games because only three foreigners can be in the team in any official game but I’m happy because it’s a step to go to somewhere else in the future.

    “I have two years contract with my club; and I have other Africans in the team. Yes, I have Steven Eze and also Musa Muhammed, my national team captain in the U17 and U20, who came here on loan. Musa is like a family member to me because we have been together for many years.

    “But I’m with Eze every time on and off the pitch; he’s a very good person. It was sad he did not make the Russia 2018 World Cup squad with the Super Eagles but he still has the chance to play for the senior national team in future.”

    Mustapha equally admitted his international future holds so much promise with many of his contemporaries including Musa, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Francis Uzoho already blooded for the Super Eagles.

    He explained: “It wasn’t my fault for not making it (the national U17  squad for the 2013 World Cup); but I kept motivating myself with hard work and positively inside until I found myself with the U20 squad that won the African championship in Senegal and also went to the U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

    “They (former teammates with Super Eagles) deserve to play for the Super Eagles because they have been playing in Europe for some years. But trust me, I’ll never give up and would also join them soon when given a chance.”

     

     

    STRAIGHT TALK WITH MUSTAPHA

    When is Musty settling down with a wife?

    Hahaha. Settling down with a wife is something planned from the Almighty God, so when it’s time it’s surely going to happen any day, anytime as much as we are all alive.

    Have you met a girl of your dreams?

    Hopefully.

    What will you be looking out for in a woman?

    A woman who can be there for me in very hard times and good times. A woman who can stand by my side; woman who we can build a strong empire together.

    What’s your choice, a Nigerian or foreigner?

    For me, a woman is woman; all what I want is a woman with a good heart.

    What can make you cry?

    It’s very hard for me to cry. I can only be silent even if I’m troubled or angry.

    Apart from football, what other things make you happy?

    When I see myself doing more than others, it makes me happy.

    Tell us about your immediate family and how have they supported your career

    My family love me and they always wish me good, especially my mother.

    You smile a lot, what’s the secret?

    Yes, I always like to smile because naturally that’s how I was born and I was told by my mother when I asked her about it.

    What are the things you love?

    I love to see myself in a good dress always but it’s not to impress anyone or get unnecessaryattention.

    What are the things you hate?

    I hate to see someone suffering. I hate to see someone who could help but refuses to help. I hate to lose game even in training.

    What other things would you like to share with our readers?

    I would like to say let’s join hands to support each other and live in peace. To stop all the violence and crimes in the global world and especially in Nigeria.

    Will you consider politics after your football career?

    No, not at all. I have no interest in politics.

  • AKINYEMI ADELEKE: I’m as ‘good’ as Luis Suarez

    Akinyemi Adeleke, 20, has emerged as one of the top youngsters in Europe with 13 goals in 18 games, 11 goals in his last 10, including six in two UEFA Europa League clashes with Albania’s Luftetari and one against Bordeaux in the same competition. Following his explosive form, the youngster’s attracted the interest of a slew of more prosperous clubs in Europe before finally inched the ink with Norwegian outfit IK Start from Latvia’s FK Ventspils on a 3-year contract.

    With interests from France, Austria, Norway, and Belgium, the attacker opted for IK Start after the club met Ventspils’ valuation of the promising youngster.

    Akinyemi has been in superb form this season, netting 20 goals in all competitions. He will now hope his move to Norway edges him closer to a future Super Eagles’ call-up following his meeting with Gernot Rohr last month.

    From Nigeria to Latvia

    My route to Latvia was a big opportunity to start somewhere because I know that the ladder to the top is not that smooth, so I decided to jump at that opportunity of playing Latvia league. Even though some of my friends go against it, because I have a dream to pursue, and I am always confident that I am going to play the game to the highest level, and I must start from somewhere. I went to Latvia to prove I can stand up to the world when the occasion permits me. And to God be the glory, I have benefitted a lot, and that decision has taken me to the next level, which is IK Start.

    Yes, I am in a new club, new life and adventure that are bigger than where I was coming from. This is a league where most young players prefer to develop their game before achieving a bigger dream of playing in one of the top teams in the world. My target is to quickly adjust to life in the country, understand some basic things and get straight into the business. I am here to prove the quality of my game as well as to prove that I am not limited to Latvia league where I score lots of goals.

    I am approaching the starting point of my dreams, and I want to do more on the pitch to justify a lot at every given opportunity. This is a league that most people in the world give attention to, especially Nigerians, because of high profile players that have risen from the league and I want to follow that great step by the grace of God.

    Four goals magic

    In all honesty, I think scoring one, two, three, four goals is very difficult, but I think it was a wonderful moment that has a lot to do with God. I was only thinking about helping my team to qualify in which I was only trying to do my job, but I think God used those goals to credit my hustling. Four goals were just a moment of the truth in my career and I can never forget that night, but scoring against Bordeaux was a moment of destiny. I knew it would be tough beating Bordeaux in France, but scoring against them was a target. I was highly motivated by my friends and people in France also to score against such team because of my previous four goals.

    The blessed goal in France

    Yes, a goal in France turned me up. Everybody in France, Latvia and Nigeria wanted me to prove myself against a team like Bordeaux, and I think I really put in my best for the team before the goal finally came in my favour. I am glad God really put me on top of the world that very night. I was delighted that my effort as a player was crowned with a goal. I really appreciated my teammates’ efforts but the most unfortunate thing is that we couldn’t perform magic to advance beyond that level.

    Super Eagles coach presence

    It was a great night indeed. I knew there were many scouts across Europe that came to watch my game but I was not aware until a few hours to the game that I heard the news that Nigeria’s senior coach was around to watch our game. And you know what that means? I had to be at my best which I did. Yet, I was never carried away with his presence in order for me not to have a worse game. But I think his presence helped me at some point, though I was eager to score goals for my club and at the same time giving my best effort to ensure his coming to watch the match was justified and thank God everything went well.

    A moment with Gernot Rohr

    It was a wonderful moment I cherish most in my career so far. He’s a respected man in Bordeaux. He spoke to us with respect and let me know what I have acquired as a player. I really appreciate that little moment we spent together after the match. His meeting with me didn’t have anything to do with emergency Super Eagles invitation, he only encouraged me to keep banging the goals; that I have what it takes to achieve greater as well as to get better credentials for Super Eagles’ invitation in the future.

    IK Start move and other clubs

    They are the most serious and lucrative club that came around. After several meeting with my representative, I have many offers in France, Russia and Holland but I think IK Stark came at the right time and I believe I can develop and expose my game better in Norway. I am happy to be here and give my best for the club.

    Love for Luiz Suarez

    He’s my main guy on the pitch; he’s my idol and my best motivator ever. He’s a deadly goal poacher, a natural nine that any team can rely on. I want to be a better player than Suarez. He’s a goal machine and I am hoping to score as many goals as I can in my career. While growing up in the street, my uttermost dream was to play football to the highest level, especially when you see motivated and determined players like Suarez, Didier Drogba and others, the game of football will attract you.

    Manchester United dream

    I love to watch Manchester United. I support them while I was growing up because of their style and inspirational team spirit with a good history. My focus is to work hard and be the first Nigerian player to play for Manchester United in the future. Real Madrid is a good club, I think; I will prefer Manchester United to Real Madrid or any La Liga team.

  • FINIDI GEORGE: How I missed playing for Real Madrid

    Years after hanging his boots, former Super Eagles ‘ winger, George Finidi shares some of his best career memories for both club and country in an interesting conversation with CHIJIOKE EZEALI.

    Former Super Eagles’ winger, George Finidi, has revealed one of the best secrets of his playing years, explaining how he missed out of playing for the storied Spanish side, Real Madrid.

    According to him, he would have been the first Nigerian ever to play for the 13-time UEFA Champions League winners with a dream move to the Spanish giants in the summer of 1996 after he was crowned the Dutch champion with Ajax Amsterdam but the deal to take him to the Bernabeu fell through.

    “I would have really loved to play for Real Madrid,” Finidi, a European Champions League winner with Ajax, told our correspondent in an interview. “I was really close to signing a deal with the Spanish giants when I left Ajax but at the end of the day it did not happen.”

    Finidi eventually moved to Spain as he signed for Real Betis; and showed Real Madrid what they missed out on as he helped the Andalusians finish fourth in his debut season and narrowly failed to win the Copa Del Rey final after a 3-2 loss in extra time to FC Barcelona.

    He was a right winger that loved scoring goals as much as he liked providing them, which was evident during his time at Betis by scoring double digits in nearly all of his four seasons with the club.

    At Betis, Finidi played with the exceptional Brazilian Denilson, who was at the time the world’s most expensive footballer.

    “Denilson was a vibrant and talented player who came into the league,” explained Finidi, as he shared his admiration for the step-over specialist. “He did his best for the team; he was a good guy on and off the pitch and I really enjoyed playing with him.”

    Unarguably one of the best number seven that ever represented Nigeria in the beautiful game of football, Finidi’s running style was unique and almost mirrored  to that of  American  and  legendary Olympian Michael Johnson, who looked so degage during most of his races but got the job done.

    The former Ipswich of England star was quick and unbelievably accurate with his special deliveries into the box for the strikers to finish.

    ‘Finito’, as he was fondly referred to, was technically the best in his position on the continent during his heyday and received global recognition following exploits at Ajax Amsterdam, Real Betis and the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States of America.

    After emerging as a raw bubbling talent on the local scene playing for the likes of Calabar Rovers, Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland) and Sharks (now Rivers United) of Port Harcourt, he was fast tracked into the national team by Clemens Westerhof.

    Finidi moved to Holland in 1993 and became a student of the famous Dutch football school which produced the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Johan Cruyff, Edgar Davis and Clarence Seedorf at Ajax.

    He was wrought into one of the hunky-dory right wingers in the history of Ajax by a knowledgeable manager in the shape of Louis van Gaal, who led some young crop of players including Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu to win back-to-back Eredivisie title and the prestigious UEFA Champions League during the 1994/95 season.

    At the USA’94 World Cup, Finidi created two assists in the 3-0 win against Bulgaria to mark a memorable World Cup debut for the African giants.

    Nigeria’s first World Cup goal had Finidi written all over it. He ran onto a pass from Daniel ‘The Bull’ Amokachi before releasing a well-timed pass for Rashid Yekini to score Nigeria’s first ever World Cup goal and the celebration that followed was epic.

    The second half of that game saw a master class from the Nigerian team as they danced around the more star-studded Bulgarians and Finidi, again, provided a phenomenal pass for Emmanuel Amuneke to score with a diving header.

    The pass showed Finidi’s technical brilliance, vision and charm and just like we say in local palace ‘a good pass is half a goal’ – he is a dream winger for any striker because he serves it on a plate and makes a schoolboy professional look like a genius. That is why the Port Harcourt-born star is the ideal standard for right wingers for Nigeria.

    He followed up that performance against Bulgaria with mesmerising display against Argentina before grabbing his World Cup goal against Greece in the final group match with a superb lob that defined his technical prowess and a cheeky celebration which still resonates among his die-hard supporters.

    Though Nigeria was eventually eliminated in a close round of 16 showdown against Italy, the Super Eagles left their mark, thanks to superb displays from the likes of Finidi and FIFA duly recognised that team as the second most entertaining side of the US 94′ tournament only behind eventual winners – the Samba boys from Brazil.

    “My best moment would be scoring at the US ’94 World Cup against Greece,” he revealed. “It is never easy qualifying, but scoring for Nigeria in her first World Cup was fantastic.

    “If you look at the squad to the USA 1994 World Cup, we had a mixture of young and mature players that were hungry to win every game and the balance was right.

    “Apart from the maturity, the majority of these players were playing top flight football in their various club week-in-week-out which we don’t see these days.

    “The World Cup is the biggest event in football and to participate and give two assists and scoring in our first World Cup was sensational. Scoring in any game is important, but at the World Cup means more than just scoring a goal. It was a good goal (against Greece) but I did not plan for the celebration. It was spontaneous.

    “We lost to Italy because of our own carelessness and we paid the price. We felt very disappointed after all the effort and got nothing out of it. Some players cried because we lost the opportunity to get to the semis or even win the World Cup.”

    The Super Eagles class of 1994 arguably remains the best in the history of Nigerian football. Before them, the 1980 squad with the likes of Christian ‘Chairman’ Chukwu and Segun ‘the Mathematical’ Odegbami held sway as the numero-uno of Nigerian football but the 94′ team swept that title with their brand of soccer, passion and wow factor.

    The 47-year-old is now a certified coach, having completed his coaching courses and armed with a certified license. He has already tested the waters with youth teams but he is hoping for tougher challenges especially back home with any of the national teams.

    Finidi craves the attention of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) just like France with Didier Deschamps, Spain (Fernando Hierro), Senegal (Aliou Cissé) and Zlatko Dalić of Croatia.

    “I have worked as youth coach at Mallorca several years and hoped for a higher position which did not happen because the club was undergoing changes, so I left,” he volunteered.

    “I managed the U-15 and U-16 of Mallorca in 2013 and was assistant manager that played in the second division B in 2014. I also was the assistant coach of the second team of PEC Zwolle in Holland in 2016.

    “It was a great experience for me to have managed the youth teams. I had to show these players what it takes to play and compete on the highest level. It was a great experience teaching these young players. However, since the opportunity (to manage a top side) was not forthcoming in Europe, one has to try and see what’s possible back home.”

    He continued: “Yes, I was interviewed by the committee of the NFF for the U-17 job but for one reason or the other the job was given to someone else. I was not even called by the FA to tell me what happened, I only saw it on the news.

    “In other countries, ex-players are recognised when it comes to coaching and advice, but back home it’s all about who you know and where you’re coming from.”

    Finidi gave an insight to what his coaching style may look like and also revealed who his best teammate of all-time was.

    “My best team mate in the Super Eagles was Ike Shorumu. We started way back in the early 1990’s, going to camp together, had same dream that one day we would represent Nigeria, so we built on that relationship till today.

    “The best manager I have worked with at club level would be the late Spanish coach Lius Aragonés, winner of Euro Cup 2008. I worked with Aragonés for two seasons at Betis and two seasons at Mallorca. He was a coach that made every player better through motivation and believing in his players. I had more confidence playing under him and he believed in me as a player.

    “At the national team level, it has to be Clemens Westerhof, who transformed Nigeria football in the 1990s.”

    Meanwhile, Finidi opined that the Super Eagles would’ve won more than three Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) if not for political reasons and he is still pained by that missed opportunity.

    “Looking back, I will say if it was not for political reasons, maybe we (the 94′ squad) would’ve gone on to win two more Africa Nations Cup. CAF had to sanction Nigeria for pulling out of the 1996 AFCON held in South Africa. I’m not satisfied for that reason,” he stated.

    “The 1998 World Cup would have been a perfect one if we had learnt from our past mistakes but it didn’t seem that way. After beating Spain and Bulgaria to qualify for the next round, we lost to Paraguay and I thought that would have motivated us to beat Denmark.

    “We were given a day and half to relax and players got carried away, had less rest because most players went to Paris and did not sleep early and I think that affected the team and we were shadows of ourselves in the match against Denmark.”

    Asked to assess the performance of the Gernot Rohr-led Super Eagles at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he replied: “The World Cup was not a good one for Nigeria. I was not satisfied with their preparation and team tactics during the tournament.”

    Finidi is not keen to run for the office of the Nigeria Football Federation but has some key changes he will like to make if he finds himself there.

    He said: “Politics in Nigeria is difficult. It’s costly and there’s no guarantee you can win it genuinely if I run, so I will not want to waste my time in politics.

    “However, if I’m opportune to make a change, I will start restructuring how the league is played. The referees should be paid very well rather than being influenced by many factors. I will try to change that as well.

    “The FA should generate its funds instead of waiting for the government to give them money. If the FA is run by a private entity or entities, we will not have all the fighting and embezzlement of funds. That could be changed,” noted Finidi who earned 62 caps with Nigeria and a proud winner of the 1994 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) in Tunisia.

  • FOOTBALL-LOVING BAGII OF SAKI SPEAKS… ‘My unforgettable time with Amuneke in Cairo’

    Debonair monarch, Bagii of Saki, Alhaji Adegoke Ghazaal Abdurrasheed Adekilutoro 1, recalls with nostalgia the humble beginning of Emmanuel Amuneke at Zamalek of Egypt and highlighted some sterner qualities that might stand the 1994 African Footballer of Year in good stead at his new duty post in Dodoma, reports MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.

    Today, he sits on his ancestral stool with panache but the rigour of the office has not drained his solid attachment with football. And one thing stands out: his unforgettable moment with Emmanuel Amuneke, the newly appointed coach of Taifa Stars, the national team of Tanzania.

    Welcome to the soccer world of Alhaji Adegoke Ghazaal Abdurrasheed Adekilutoro 1, Bagii of Saki.

    The paths of Abdurrasheed and Amuneke actually crossed some 27 years ago during his undergraduate days at the Cairo Al-Azhar University when he served as a volunteer during the 5th All-Africa Games (AAG). It was at this AAG that Amuneke was spotted by Egyptian top side Zamalek after his blistering form helped the national U-23 team clinch the Bronze medal.

    The debonair monarch from Saki in Oyo State here recalls with nostalgia the humble beginning of Amuneke, their fond relationship and highlighted some sterner qualities that might stand the 1994 African Footballer of Year in good stead at his new duty post in Dodoma.

    “My first encounter with Amuneke was at the Alexandra Stadium in Cairo during the 1991 All African Games tagged Cairo ’91,” began the Bagii, the de-facto sovereign in the absence of Okere – the King of Saki. “Amuneke was the outstanding player of the tournament from the Nigerian team though it was Tijani Babangida who was (highly) rated before the tournament.

    “Amuneke stole the show but unfortunately, he was red carded in the (semi-final) match against Cameroon just to weaken our team and we eventually lost (1-0). But that was where he caught the attention of Zamalek FC.

    “I was a student at that time in Egypt and served as a volunteer guide during the All African Games. I was contacted on how to get the player and after the football tourney, Zamalek went for him.

    “When he eventually came to Egypt, I was the first Nigerian to visit him in his hotel room and offered him advice on how to go about things in Egypt.

    “This was possible because I was privy to the fact that Zamalek was going for him, so I followed the scenario and when he arrived in Egypt I visited him with my friend, Oba Abdul Qadir Alakuko of blessed memory.

    “From there, our friendship started. When he later moved from the hotel to a permanent accommodation at Said Street El Muhandeseen in Cairo, Amuneke requested that I move with him. I was a 300 level student at Cairo Al- Azhar University and living in a hostel.

    “I moved with him and we lived together for the period he stayed in Egypt. We ate together, slept together and I played a big brother role throughout his stay in Egypt.

    “As someone raised in Ajegunle, Amuneke was quick to adapt to the situation. My first impression about him is what is still holding us together till today,” reiterated the 54-year-old ruler.

    Thereafter, Amuneke ruled the wave with the Egyptian side and his wizardry on the left wing coupled with goals that helped Zamalek in one of their golden moments, including winning the domestic league title and African Cup of Champions (now CAF Champions League) which culminated in his choice as the 1994 African Footballer of the Year.

    The Bagii of Saki blasted on: “Amuneke was a phenomenon when he was with Zamalek, well loved by his playmates. His best friends included Nadir El Sayed who was the goal keeper because on many occasions he covered up for him even as a striker.

    “Also Tamir Abdul Hameed, Hisham Yakan and Gamal AbdulHameed were all his closest friends before Akin Akinseinde joined Zamalek through the recommendation and help of Amuneke.

    “Though Egypt is a Muslim- dominated country, Amuneke was not discriminated against because of his Christian belief. He was not the only Christian in the team then because there was also Ashraf Qaasim, an Egyptian who was also a defensive midfielder for Egypt that time.

    “I was his unofficial manager throughout his stay in Egypt because of my proficiency in the Arabic language. I read his contract or any document before he appended his signature; that is why he never got into any trouble throughout.”

    According to the Bagii of Saki, one of Amuneke’s outstanding qualities is perseverance even in the face of serious maltreatment, recalling how the former Julius Berger winger overcame a turbulent moment of his career to become a legend at Zamalek.

    “In the earlier part of the 1993 football season, Amuneke  was highly criticised by fans and management to the extent that the coach (Dave Mackay/Mahmoud El Gohary) lost interest in him and was retired to the bench even for the greater part of the second half of that season,” he recollected as if the event happened yesterday.

    “But about four matches to the end of the season, Zamalek were trailing Al-Ahly (bitter rivals with Zamalek in the Egyptian League) for the title; and Zamalek needed at least nine points from two home and two away matches to snatch the title from Al-Ahly.

    “As fate would have it, Amuneke scored hat tricks in three of the last four matches (two away and one at home). His nine goals and three wins won the title for Zamalek, and Amuneke was the club’s highest goal scorer and the MVP of that year.

    “Amuneke usually played from the left but he had his first hat trick the first time he was used as a top striker. I think that feast earned him a place in the national team under Coach Clemens Westerhof.

    “The late Coach Paul Hamilton was in Egypt that time to monitor Nigerian players abroad for the Super Eagles then and he watched one of those matches where he scored a hat trick; the rest is history.”

    Yet this crowned head still has in his head and heart in some great memories of those aromatic days with Amuneke in Cairo, describing the former Barcelona winger as a detribalised Nigerian and a gentleman with kind dispositions.

    “Amuneke is a down-to-earth and a kind-hearted person,” he noted. “A detribalised fellow; anytime he was going to play, I would pray for him in the Islamic way and it was okay by him.

    “Though an Igbo guy, most of his close friends are Yoruba and I remember Eric Asomugha who is from the Niger Delta. One more thing about him is that he used to accommodate Nigerian sports men and women, especially journalists who came to Egypt.  He’s a friend of journalists both local and international.

    “Of course, he has his own flaws as a human being. He keeps to himself and becomes moody if he is upset especially any time he has off day in a game.

    “His off-field engagement as far as I can recall is that he loved watching movies and listen to music, especially classic blues and native Igbo Christian music. He’s homely and religious.”

    Incidentally, the Bagii of Saki has religiously kept faith with his chum from his Cairo days and was forthcoming following the appointment of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning coach as the new manager of Taifa Stars of Tanzania. “I’m so much elated for the opportunity given to him (Amuneke) to coach a foreign national team. I believe Amuneke will perform excellently well because he’s hardworking and versed in the knowledge of the game of football.  He is going to bring his experiences to bear in improving Tanzanian Football.

    “Having known him well from his younger years, I think other qualities that can help him in his present job are his zeal, courage and his never-say-die spirit. He also has passion for the round leather game; he’s intelligent, humble and cool headed and his social life is moderate,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  • TAIWO AWONIYI: I’M OFF TO GENT FOR GOALS AND GLORY

    Following a fresh long-time contract with Liverpool, Taiwo Awoniyi has been farmed out to Belgian club, KAA Gent where he hopes to be among the goals and glory; reports MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN

    Early in the mornings, Taiwo Awoniyi often sets forth at dawn with the popular praise and worship song of Glowreeyah Braimah – Your name is Yahweh – and the former junior international has revealed the reason behind such routine;  admitting his life and football career is nothing but a miracle.

    “My favourite song has been composed and sung by many gospel singers,” began Awoniyi days after he signed another long five-year contract with Liverpool; and before going on with the late night conversation with our correspondent. Awoniyi, yet again, erupted into his favourite melodious chorus:  “Your name is Yahweh; your name is Yahweh; you’re the miracle working God; your name is Yahweh.”

    Awoniyi’s career has been miraculous since he was spotted few years ago on the streets of Ilorin by United Academy Football Club. It was from there Awoniyi went to Imperial Soccer Academy owned by former Nigerian international midfielder, Seyi Olofinjana,  after posting a fine performance at the Copa-Coca Cola tournament  London where he was voted one of the Most Valuable Players.  He would soon be on his way to the national Under-15 side where he played along with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Chidera Eze, amongst other budding talents with whom he was promoted to the national U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets class of 2013.

    Sparingly used until the team’s main striker, Isaac Success, copped an injury in the second FIFA U-17 World Cup match against Sweden, Awoniyi seized the moment at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain by scoring the important equaliser in that nervy 3-3 draw against the Europeans.

    He ended the tournament with four important goals that helped Nigeria to her fourth title at the global cadet championship and his career has been on the upward swing ever since.

    Two years later, his goals also helped the Flying Eagles to a gold-rious finish at the 2015 African Under-20  Nations Cup in Senegal Eagles which qualified the country to the 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

    Awoniyi’s potentialities were there for all to see in New Zealand despite the Flying Eagles’ little success since he was snapped up by English Premier League side, Liverpool Football Club.

    “I feel happy and really excited about this new contract with Liverpool and all thanks to God because he made all things possible,” offered Awoniyi with his usual pure smiles. “To be honest, I never see it  (the new contract) coming; all my goal was just to get better and work hard wherever I found myself  but  it’s part of what I asked  God before the beginning of the last season and he made it possible.

    “This is a long-term contract which will keep me as LFC (Liverpool Football Club) player for more years and I know playing for Liverpool is what will happen eventually if I get the work permit and the coach finds me fitting in the style of play of the club

    “But I believe giving me a new contract is due to the trust and belief the club and the coaching staff have in me based on how I’ve  developed  in  the first  three  years (of the initial contract). I just have to work harder and hopefully, God ‘ll make it a success.”

    Awoniyi has every reason to be looking forward to his 21st anniversary on August 12 coupled with his sterling performances as a loanee out of Anfield in the last three years with three different clubs including FSV Frankfurt , NEC Nijmegen and Royal Excel Mouscron.

    Last season, he had the credit of scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists in all competitions for Excel Mouscron in the Belgian Jupiler. His fine performance has now been rewarded  during the week with another loan deal to Gent who reportedly finished fourth in the Belgian top-flight last season to secure a spot for the final round of Europa League qualification.

    “I’m not discouraged  in any way  despite the fact that I’ve not been able to play at Anfield with Liverpool since  I’ve been on loan to clubs in Germany, Holland and Belgium,” said Awoniyi who was shockingly left out of the national U-23 team to the Rio 2016 Olympic Football Tournament. “One thing that keeps me going even when I have disappointments is my belief and trust in God.

    “Many times, God has revealed himself to me as God in my life and this alone can never get me discouraged about anything whatsoever in life as a whole. And I must also add that my family has been very important.

    “From the start, playing football is just what I loved and I pray to God to allow my dreams come true and that’s why I chose Liverpool.

    “Going to Gent is good for me; Gent is one of the best clubs in Belgium and with a very nice and good atmosphere to play. It’s an opportunity of another year of hard work and commitment in getting better as a player and hoping to develop more once giving the chance.

    “Of course, I’m going to Gent for goals and glory. I’m going to develop more as a player and for the success of the team; and whatever we achieve as a team will be glory at the end of the championship. God willing, I’ll score goals as well if I have the opportunity.”

    Incidentally as a loanee away from Anfield, Awoniyi has given a rare insight about his experience in Germany, Holland and Belgium in the last three years, adding that it has bolstered his confidence for a better and brighter future.

    He volunteered: “I have had different experiences playing in Germany, Holland and Belgium. It was quite a tough time for me in Holland (with NEC Nijmegen) because I had less chance of playing most of the time. I only got my chance when the club changed the coach towards the end of the season; but the new coach gave me the chance and I was able to I score in the last five games.

    “It was quite different in Belgium. I got enough of playing time with Mouscron immediately I joined them and this helped a lot as the league progressed.

    “Generally, the first two years in Germany and Holland were more of a learning process for me; and I’m still learning and hopefully to get better by the grace of God.

    “Sometimes it is difficult to stay the same all through, most especially when things are not going the way you wish for. I just keep trusting God and doing my best; and hoping it will end in success.”

    Born August 12, 1997, Awoniyi has remarkably featured at all levels of the national team from  the U-15 to the U-23  and he believes he would soon earn his first international cap to follow on the legends of his former teammates that have been so blessed in that regard.

    “Life has taught me lot,” stated the unpretentious guy. “Everyone has been taught one lesson or the other; life has taught me to trust and lean only on God since he alone knows and ordains all things. I believe God is the greatest.

    “It is the dream of every player to be featured for the national team (the Super Eagles), but I have never been disturbed (that some of my former teammates at the youth levels were at Russia 2018) because I know it will one day happen. With my mates that are already there in the Super Eagles, it shows the hard work they’ve put into their game especially with the likes of (Wilfred) Ndidi and (Kelechi) Iheanacho and God has crowned it for them.

    “The rest of us just have to work hard and pray God crown ours as well; hopefully if is destined, I will get there as well God willing.”

    Following the end of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, the name on the lip of everyone has been that of French youngster Kylian Mbape, but Awoniyi differs on the choice of the most exciting player on planet football at the moment.

    “Currently, my most admired footballer in the world is Roberto Firmino of Liverpool,” stated Awoniyi whose style is being compared with legendary Nigerian striker, Rashid Yekini. “This is simply because he works so hard for the team and he plays more for the team upfront and makes the job easier for others

    “I love his style; I love playing more for the team so that we can get the needed points. Yes, scoring goals is very important, as well as a striker but the team success is more important and I’m counting on God for goals and glory with Gent,” stated Awoniyi.

    Certainly, the rank and file of  De Bufallos (The Buffalos) complete with  three other Nigerians including Samuel Kalu, Moses Simon and Anderson Esiti would be delighted with the arrival of Awoniyi to the Ghelamco Arena as the 2018/2019 Belgian Jupiler season gets underway.

     

    AWONIYI: IN NUMBERS

    1.The number of goals scored by Awoniyi in 13 appearances on his first loan spell from Liverpool with 2. German side, FSV Frankfurt.

     

    2.On his second loan spell with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, Awoniyi was featured 18 times in all competition but he managed to score just two goals.

     

    4.Awoniyi is a FIFA World Cup U-17 winner with Nigeria in 2013 and he remarkably scored four goals in six matches he featured in as the Golden Eaglets claimed the country’s fourth title in the United Arab Emirates.

     

    5.The number of years for his newly-signed contract with the English Premier League, Liverpool Football Club, after he completed his first three-year contract signed in 2015 for a reported fee of around £400,000.

     

    7. In 2015, Awoniyi’s goals were instrumental to the success of the Flying Eagles at the CAF African U-20 Championship, and was credited with seven goals in both the qualifiers and tournament proper held in Senegal.

     

    9.The  last 2017/2018 season can well be described as Awoniyi’s best moment  so far as a Liverpool  loanee  to Belgian side, Royal Excel Mouscron, where he scored an impressive nine goals in 29 matches to earn him a new contract with the Anfield giants.

     

    16.Awoniyi admitted June 16th 2018 is one of his happiest days after he tied the nuptial knots at a celebrated white wedding in Ilorin with his fiancée, Taiwo Jesudun, after engagement and traditional wedding a day earlier in Kabba.