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Tag: Amapakabo

  • Amapakabo: Nigerians haven’t seen the best of Egbuchulam

    Amapakabo: Nigerians haven’t seen the best of Egbuchulam

    Enugu Rangers head coach, Imama Amapakabo has disclosed that Nigerians have not seen the best of Chisom Egbuchulam who was handed Super Eagles’ late call up in place of the injured Isaac Success.

    Egbuchulam scored 16 goals during the last NPFL season including a hat-trick in the last match of the season against El Kanemi Warriors and helping Enugu Rangers to lift their seventh league title for the first time in 32 years.

    Amapakabo, an assistant coach of the Eagles told SportingLife that the Flying Antelopes striker has done enough to attract the senior national team’s attention.

  • Amapakabo: Rangers must show seriousness to retain me

    Amapakabo: Rangers must show seriousness to retain me

    Coach  Imama Amapakabo says that the management of Enugu Rangers must show a lot of seriousness if they want him to rejoin the club.

    “I have ended my contract with Rangers after the Sunday’s league tie and I am hoping on God’s direction for the next step. Rangers must show that they are willing to have me for another season. I am not short of offers but I must take my time before deciding on any of them,” Amapakabo told Goal.

    “Enugu Rangers still retain a special place in my heart but the owners of the club must show genuine interest that they want me to continue with them.”

    The tactician’s contract elapsed after helping the club win their first Nigeria Professional Football League title for the first time in 32 years.

    Though he confirmed there are series of offers from other clubs in the Nigeria elite division, he claims he would be willing to work for the Flying Antelopes if they show enough resolve to have him.

  • Amapakabo: Goals win matches

    Amapakabo: Goals win matches

    Enugu Rangers head coach, Imama Amapakabo is unapologetic for conceding two goals in the five-goal feast at hosts, Akwa United.

    The Flying Antelopes stunned the Promise Keepers 3-2 in Saturday’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matchday 27 clash at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

    “Goal scoring is  key in a match and actually wins matches and we benefited immensely from our ability to score goals. I’m an attack minded coach, I usually go for attack and it has been yielding the desired result.

    “We conceded goals as well as scored goals in today’s (Saturday) encounter and our superior goals offset the goals we conceded. The defence has been an issue not only in today’s match but I’m working very hard to correct the lapses.

    “I’m happy with the emphatic away win over Akwa United, at least it has once again put us on top of the league log. We will continue to work hard on our achievements in subsequent matches on the calendar until the dream of champions is realised. Of course, I will greatly love to win the league title with Enugu Rangers in this term,” said the former Sharks and Enyimba coach to supersport.com.

  • Amapakabo relishes 1960BET reward

    Amapakabo relishes 1960BET reward

    Enugu Rangers head coach, Imama Amapakabo, is excited with the cash reward from Nigeria’s number one betting brand, 1960BET, sponsor of the Player & Manager of the month awards instituted by the influential League Bloggers Awards (LBA).

    Amapakabo was named Manager for May by the LBA after leading the Enugu side to an unbeaten outing in that month.

    “It’s a welcome development that will boost performance in the league. I hope to win the award again,” Amapakabo said in a statement released by the LBA.

    The feat makes Amapakabo the first manager to emerge Manager of the month back-to-back following his previous feat in March.

    The cash reward for top performers is another initiative by 1960BET, which made history in 2014 as the first brand to present a new car to a player in the Nigerian league when Enyimba star, Mfon Udoh, was named as the LBA Player of the Season.

  • Obuh hails Eagles appointment of Boboye, Amapakabo

    Obuh hails Eagles appointment of Boboye, Amapakabo

    Former flying  Eagles coach, John Obuh has expressed delight with the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appointment Kennedy Boboye and Imama Amapakabo as assistants to interim Super Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf.

    Obuh , who has worked with  Boboye and Amapakabo, relived the experience of working at both Sharks FC and Enugu Rangers where the coaches were his assistants.

    Meanwhile Rangers coach, Amapakabo has attributed the team’s poor results to the players failing to pull their weight.

    Amapakabo stated that the club was written off by many before the kick off of the new season but insisted they have managed to turn things around since the MatchDay 1 defeat to Kano Pillars.

    He has, therefore, called on his players to raise their game to avoid the defeats suffered in the opening weeks of May, even though he has admitted that every opponent will be tough.

  • Dream Team VI 1-1 enugu Rangers Siasia, Amapakabo flex muscles

    Dream Team VI 1-1 enugu Rangers Siasia, Amapakabo flex muscles

    The Nigeria Professional Football League leaders, Enugu Rangers ventured outside the league and tested out their strength against the Nigeria U-23 team in Abuja on Thursday but the sides were evenly matched.

    The test game was part of Coach Samson Siasia’s effort to evaluate his players readiness and level of competitiveness as well as assess the few players who may earn a place in the Olympic-bound squad.

    The Flying Antelopes had been in Abuja to play the rescheduled Matchday 12 game against Giwa FC but when the latter failed to turn up, Imama Amapakabo and Siasia agreed on a quick duel which ended 1-1.

    Speaking with footballlive.ng after the game, Siasia praised the quality of the game and conceded it was a fair result.

    Siasia has distant himself from the ongoing search for a substantive head Coach for the Super Eagles and insists his focus is to build a team good enough to play for gold at the Rio 2016 Men’s football Tournament.

    The former Super Eagles handler was commissioned on interim basis to guide the team through the crucial Afcon 2017 qualifier against Egypt but fell short ; having played out a 1-1 draw in Kaduna and 1-0 in Alexandria.

    Siasia refused to comment on the vacant position despite being the top favorite, indigenous coach for the job.

  • MFM were lucky, says Amapakabo

    MFM were lucky, says Amapakabo

    Enugu Rangers International coach, Imama Amapakabo was an unhappy man after his side drew1-1 with MFM FC in a Week 10 game played at the Agege Stadium in Lagos on Wednesday.

    Obinna Nwobodo’s individual effort gave the visitors the lead in the 36th minute before Stephen Odey struck back in the 68th minute to ensure both teams shared the available points.

    Speaking after the encounter, Amapakabo blamed loss of concentration on the part of his team which led to MFM’s equalizer.

    “A coach will plan to come and play to win, but when the players come to the pitch, they act differently from what we planned, that can also create a problem. We knew they will come out strong. From our scouting report, we knew what to expect.  We planned to play to contain them and play on the counter and we were able to get a goal from it. But unfortunately along the line my players got carried away and one or two players didn’t function properly. And when it happens like that in a game, it’s left for the other eight players to function properly, but unfortunately we conceded a goal,” he said.

    “I am not satisfied with the result because I came here for three points.  Kudos to the MFM. Before the game, I told my players that we are coming to play against a team, most of the clubs in Nigeria have individual players,  but MFM is a team. We knew we are coming to play a team and Kudos to them, they brought something to the table. It is a good advert for Nigerian football.”

  • Amapakabo wants end to Rangers’ title drought

    Amapakabo wants end to Rangers’ title drought

    Enugu Rangers head coach Imama Amapakabo is keen to land the club’s first major silverware in 32 years.

    The Flying Antelopes currently occupy the summit of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) standings with 10 points after five games.

    Rangers are undefeated in their last four games following their morale-shattering opening day defeat away to four-time NPFL champions Kano Pillars.

    “We were not clinical enough and made too many mistakes against Kano Pillars. If we had taken our chances in that game (decided at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano on February 21), we would have buried them.

    “The good thing is that we recovered well enough after that painful defeat and have distinguished ourselves in the next four games we played after that,” Amapakabo told supersport.com.

    “There are still 33 more matches to play and it is still very early days in the season. However, the objective is clear to everyone involved with this club that we are gunning for the big prize (title).

    “From the players to the coaches to the fans everyone knows that this is one of the few remaining traditional clubs in the country. We want to win the title but we know it will require a lot of hard work,” he said.

    Rangers next face Abia Warriors in NPFL action on March 13 and Amapakabo expects a stern test.

    “They are the only unbeaten side in the league right now and they have a very good coach (Kennedy Boboye). We know it will not be easy as they will have massive support from their fans too.

    “The good thing is that we will play our way, which is to attack. We create numerous chances in all our games and if our strikers finish those opportunities, I am sure we will not lose,” he submitted.

  • Rangers won’t miss players in Eagles, says Amapakabo

    Rangers won’t miss players in Eagles, says Amapakabo

    Imama Amapakabo, Technical Adviser, Rangers International FC of Enugu, has said the invitation of three of his players to the Super Eagles camp would not affect the team’s winning streak this season.

    Amapakabo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday that the team would keep up its victory streak in the 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.

    The three players from Rangers are Godwin Aguda, Emmanuel Daniel and Kalu Orji. They are among those invited to camp ahead of the two legged encounter between the Eagles and the Pharaohs of Egypt.

    The technical adviser noted that the team had enough players on reserve to fill the vacuum to be created by the absence of those invited for camping.

    “We have no problems with the Eagles’ call-up of our players. Indeed, we are happy at the development. The team has three players in each position to easily replace any one that is away.

    “And we will not fall short of our standards as well as our new winning streak. We are assuring our teeming fans that the team will keep pushing forward to greatness,’’ he added.

    The three players would join their colleagues later on Monday after helping the club to secure a 1 – 0 victory over Wikki Tourists of Bauchi in their Saturday league match at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

    Rangers are now at the top of the log with 10 points from five matches.

  • Amapakabo gives his side a pass mark

    Amapakabo gives his side a pass mark

    Enugu Rangers head coach Imama Amapakabo has awarded his Coal City side a pass mark in the five-week old Nigerian top flight.

    The Flying Antelopes defeated their counterparts from Bauchi, Wikki Tourists, 1-0 in Saturday’s NPFL match-day 5 clash at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu with striker Godwin Aguda’s lone goal making all the difference.

    Amapakabo said though his side won the gusty battle their opponents proved they were a quality side.

    “Out of possible 15 points we have chalked up 10 points and I think by all standards it’s not a bad performance.

    “Both sides were good and Wikki Tourists actually lived up to our pre-match expectations.

    “Wikki Tourists performed creditably well in the midfield and defence in the entire game.

    “We are quite satisfied with our performance against Wikki and will strive to consolidate the gains of today (Saturday) against Abia Warriors.

    “Abia Warriors are good side and their coach, Kenndy Boboye, is a friend and a very good coach too. We will head off there with a mindset to pick up a decent result,” said the former Sharks and Enyimba coach to supersport.com.