“ I love to read books and I’m talking about anything that catches my fancy. I consume anything inasmuch as I know it would give me an edge… i read a lot about psychology, philosophy and I also consume a lot of football books,” hinted Amapakabo in what he confessed was his most frankest interview ever where he spoke on other sundry issues with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN. Excerpts…
He looks like an unconventional guy. Some even said his image mirrors that of a hard-as-nail guy with an unfriendly demeanour and he talks with an uncommon frankness. But make no mistake about him, Imama Amapakabo, former Nigerian youth international and current coach of Rangers International of Enugu is indeed a man of many parts. He is at home with elevated words with an unpublished collections of poems; he surfs the Internet with an unusual intensity ‘in a bid to search for new knowledge’ and his daily routine are not completed without some introspection about the thoughts of what should have been or not, Yet Amapakabo remains essentially a soccer-mad man and he loves the beautiful game with gusto.
” Frankly, coaching and indeed a career in football was the last thing on my mind following all that happened after we came back from China when we won the inaugural edition of the FIFA Under-16 World Cup but I think being a coach is a calling,” noted Amapakabo during almost half-an-hour conversation with The Nation Sport & Style in Abuja penultimate Thursday.
He continued: “Football seemed to be coming back to me and I want to be thankful to the game because it has given me all that I needed in life; it has positioned me to help a lot of people; it has also put food on my table.
“ If the pastors can say theirs is a calling, I feeling playing football and taken a career in coaching is a calling for me; it has been a privilege playing and coaching.”
The discourse this lovely evening following the reception of the Golden Eaglets’ class of 1985 alongside other sportsmen and women who has done the country proud under President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), is not only about football. It is about life. Who is actually the straight-talking guy with a tongue-twisting surname- Amapakabo? What are the things that Amapakabo like aside the beautiful game of football? What are his foibles and what are those things that catch his fancy?
“So many things interest me,” chuckled Amapakabo , former goalkeeper who spent a decade with his home club, Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt before venturing out to Enyimba International FC and Rangers International of Enugu. “ I listen to music and any kind of music for that matter.”
Yet what is intriguing about Amapakabo as he also confessed , was his love for the elevated words. He looked unserious so much so you would be forgiven to think he’s a militant.
“ I put a lot of my feelings into writing and that is one dark part of me that most people don’t know except probably my teammates,” he said clutching his phones.” “I’m into poetry and I have many unpublished poems.
“ It is the best way to express my joy and anger but I choose not to publish them; I love the beauty of words and you see some people engrave words on walls and even on trees …i choose to write poems because it conveys my thoughts and feelings.
“After life, the most important thing God gives to human beings are words… i love words in its entire entirety. I also like meeting people. I like making people happy.
Reunion courtesy President Buhari
First of all, let me start by saying that it is very nice that after almost 31 years after we won the World Cup in China, I could still have the opportunity to meet 14 of my teammates and coaches. I think this is wonderful because this has been something we have been trying to do all these years which had not been possible until now. So kudos to the Federal Government of Nigeria; kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari who has made this possible …Some of us have not been able to meet for the past 20 years and I think this is remarkable. Of course, you know people change a lot and not only after 30 years. People changed a lot; physically and mentally and so we were a bit careful on the first contact because you don’t know if you can do those things you did together as school boys again. But once we settled down, we were back into our elements and began to crack those silly jokes we were used to; so it was a wonderful feelings being together again after such a long break. I can boastfully say that our set of Golden Eaglets was a special because we didn’t lose a match throughout our campaign both in the qualifiers and the tournament in China. We drew but we never lost a match and just this morning one of my teammates, Segun said we were a blessed a generation for so many reasons I guess. Imagine being called together again after almost 31 years to be honoured by the same man who received us when we won the trophy in 1985: and I think this is absolutely miraculous. Most of us have moved on to do some other things outside football and it’s wonderful that we were been celebrated again by the country. Going to China to Conquer
I remembered that going to China, nobody actually believed in us and it was when we got to China on the morning of our first match that our coach Sebastian Broderick read us the rules of the competition to us. But we ended winning the trophy as well as the Fair Play Trophy though we had one of the best records in terms of disciplinary conduct. By and large, our victory in China gave Nigerians belief that we can do anything if we set our minds to doing it. I stand to be corrected but I think we were the first Black nation to have achieved such a rare feat by winning a World Cup in a FIFA-organised championship. We went to China as participants buy came back as champions and I think that was huge. When we came back, the Federal Government tagged us ‘ Government Properties’ and a lot of us couldn’t travel out to further our careers as professional footballers. Those who travelled had to go through other means because you will be arrested if you get to the airport. So for 31 years, we have been government properties and we actually joked about of all of these. I later played for some clubs and retired to coaching; and it has been worthwhile.
Roving with Rangers International of Enugu
I agree with you that Rangers have not won anything for a while but we have turned the corner because we got close to winning something last season; now we know it is possible if we work a little bit harder. Don’t forget that was a team I inherited and at present, I’m building my own team towards the new season with my ideologies and philosophy. So it’s how it goes but we would be strong contenders for honours in this coming season. Nineteen coaches and I would be fighting for one trophy in the Glo/ Premier League and as you know, there have been some changes recently at Rangers. There is a new management in place and there is new thinking in government too, we have been assured of maximum governmental support. We are going to have proper backing right from the management down to the last man in the team; we used to have this crack within the structure between the management and the board in the past and I think all that has been sorted out. We are one united bunch now which is going to be a plus to the team. The Governor () has promised to support the team to his level best and I can say that we are rebuilding; so we are going to see a stronger and better Rangers in the coming season.
My coaching philosophy
I like the high-pressing; fast-tempo game. I don’t belong to the Jose Mourinho’s coaching school. Mourinho’s kind of game is more tactical and defensive. I love the Spanish kind of football which is high tempo but you can even say the German school of football. They took the fast tempo blueprint from Spain and reinvented it by adding more speed and steel into it. That is the kind of game I would like my team to play and I normally tell my players that I’m the sort of coach that is very greedy when it comes to having possession of the ball. I like to see my team keep possession of the ball as long as we can and also win the ball back immediately we lose it. Of course, African players are naturally slow when compared with the Europeans but players can always cope with that kind of philosophy if they are ready to be taught and learned. But having study the league for some time, I can confidently say that our players can cope and I would be pushing my players towards such direction and it would help us if they can adapt themselves well. Another area Nigerian players need to acquint themselves well has to do with tactical know how and discipline ; Maybe they have been deficient in this aspect with the calibre of players they had worked with in the past but we are going to do things differently by letting players understand the tactical approach and dimension we are bringing on board.
My background
I come from a very large family from Rivers State; with 11 boys and 11 girls. I grew up like every young Nigerian child and there was deep love within the family. I was privilege to play football and I went to school. Along the line, I got lucky but I’m of the view that hard work pays. I like to throw myself into things and I’m a very detailed person; and I take seriously some of the things people don’t pay attention to. When people watch a football match for instance, they only want to see where you have the ball but l watch more than that. I take everything seriously including life; life is a serious business. I’m talking to you now but later I’m going to ponder on what we discussed; whether I made a good impression and whether I spoke the right thing. Everything in life should be serious but my demeanour according to some people is that ‘I’m not a serious person.’ I’m like a magician, he is showing one hand but the chick is really on the other hand. What makes me happy? Life undoubtedly, makes me happy. Nothing specifics but the totality of life especially when I wake up, I could talk, walk, see, and hear and I think that is the beauty of life. I just don’t exist but I live life. I read a lot. I’m always on the internet and you know what? Some people call me ‘internet coach’ but I seek knowledge every day. I want to do what the next person is not doing… I want to be the best in all I’m doing. I’ve repeatedly asked myself why a lot of African coaches are not working in Europe and it seems my rope is gradually being drawn to an end and I may not be able to achieve such feat. In whatever I’m doing, I want to leave a legacy and I want to impart knowledge to a lot of people. Like everything i do, I don’t plan to wear a specific clothes but I love to be comfortable with whatever I’m putting on. Of course, my mood also reflects the kind of clothes I wear. I could be casual but smart even if I’m going for something serious…
Final thoughts…
But I wonder what story you are going to make out of all what we have discussed. I respect the media lot because in my line of job, people get to see us and know us better through the eyes of the media. I’m being very frank with you and I think this is the first time I’m being frank with a reporter. Inasmuch as I tried to keep myself away from the privy eyes of the media, I think it’s also good that people get to know me much better and I have enjoyed the time we have spent together here. I can’t be known and appreciated better if I don’t get to talk to people like you. Sometimes, I speak from the heart and I would feel bad if talking from the heart is not interpreted properly. I value words and like I said, I would go back and reflect on all that I’ve said during this conversation with you. Yet I also like to read a lot of negative things about me and I don’t feel bad when people write negative things about me; reading such things can only make me better. Think a whole lot has been written about me…maybe I’m a bad coach but I think I’m a better coach. There is a wide gulf between a good coach and a better coach…as I said earlier, I pay attention to details and that is an attribute of a better coach. I believe that any serious-minded coach should not be at rest, so I think a lot about the game; about tactics; about the players and about everything related to the game. Coaching is a 24 hours; seven days a week job unless you want to take a sabbatical. There is a difference between being married and dating a girl. If you date a girl and she’s sick, you can tell her to go home but you can’t do the same to a girl you are married to. That is why when I got into coaching, I said ‘I owe every person that had coach me an apology.’
As a goalkeeper, my job was only to organise my defense but as I grow bigger, I became captain of my team and had to lead my teammates out. But ad a coach, I have to be involved with everything and sometimes I have to delve into the privacy issues of my players in order to get the best out of them. As a player, I thought coaching was not challenging but coaching is indeed, a way of life.
