Tag: Siasia

Dream Team VI handler Samson Siasia has expressed happiness over some of his players planning to join clubs abroad but confessed that he would miss some of them in his team for next month’s All Africa Games slated for Congo Brazzaville.

In what could be regarded as mix feelings a very blunt Siasia told SportingLife exclusively in Abuja that as a coach and a father he would be very happy if some of his players eventually sign the dotted lines with notable clubs outside the country but as a human being he would miss them in his team since they have already formed a formidable part of the team.

The Coach popularly called The World Cup Coach since 2005 when he led the Flying Eagles to the final of the FIFA U- 20 World Cup in Holland said that he won’t shy away from his responsibilities as a Head Coach and he confessed that he has started looking for options as regards other players that can fill the vacuum of any player that fails to report to camp for the final phase of camping for September’s All Africa Games.

“I have thought of some players moving to Europe or other part of the world to play professional football and that was the reason why I called up 31 players. There is no way you can stop a player from moving up in his football career. In fact I am very happy for them for getting clubs abroad who need their services. This is the only way they can be better players and also improve technically and financially. Some of them are bread winners for their families and playing abroad will help them a great deal.

“Although some of them have formed the nucleus of the team and they have jelled together. So for them not to be part of the team may be painful. But that is the job of a coach you must find a way of replacing the ones that are not available. I am happy that we have a quite number of them here who can do the job very well. We only need to work hard as a team to get the desired results”, Siasia told SportingLife.

Nigeria coach Samson Siasia is set to ring at least three changes to his starting XI in Sunday’s crunch CAF U23 Championship in Congo with Turkey-based forward Umar Aminu expected to now start.

Aminu saw only seven minutes of action in the first leg match in Port Harcourt, but still showed class as Dream Team VI pressed for more goals in a game they won 2-1 in Port Harcourt a fortnight ago.

Enyimba winger Daniel Etor is now likely to give way to the Osmanlispor ace.

Skipper Azubuike Okechukwu could also lose his place in the first team to Kingsley Sokari, who did not feature in the first encounter because he arrived late to training camp on account of a proposed switch to Tunisian club Esperance.

This change in midfield is to allow FC Taraba skipper Usman Mohammed to fully express himself after a subdued performance in the first leg caused by the need for him to always track back to help out Okechukwu in defence.

Supreme FC of Abuja defender Sincere Seth has recovered from a thigh injury and will take his place at rightback after Atanda Sodiq filled in for him in the Port Harcourt match.

Abia Warriors central defender Erhun Obanor could also lose his place to Warri Wolves ace Semiu Laide, who was drafted to the squad after the first leg.

Siasia is also toying with the idea of lining up striker Junior Ajayi and Taiwo Awoniyi from the first whistle, but it is left to be seen if he will eventually settle for this arrangement.

A training ground injury caused Awoniyi not to start the first match.

However, Portugal-based Shehu Abdullahi will not feature for Nigeria in Sunday’s CAF U23 Championship qualifier in Congo because he was not granted an entry visa, AfricanFootball.com has specially gathered.

“Shehu was originally on the squad for Congo, but it was later discovered that he was not given a visa to Congo and so he could not travel with the squad again,” a top source informed AfricanFootball.com.

“He has since left Abuja for Sokoto to visit his family.”

Shehu’s availability was initially in doubt because of a thigh injury he suffered in a pre-season game in Portugal last week, but his club later cleared him for the Congo match.

The former Kano Pillars star arrived Nigeria on Tuesday and was to have played as cover at right fullback.

On Wednesday, he also featured in a test game against Amakson Academy, which the Dream Team VI won 3-0.

Babawo Mohammed, the intermediary that handles the affairs of Musa Yahaya, has rubbished reports that said the Tottenham Hotspur trainee dropped himself from the Dream Team VI squad ahead of their trip to Pointe-Noire.

While with the Olympic Team, Yahaya put his career at the White Hart Lane outfit at risk by failing to return to London despite the commencement of pre-season training.

Now, the Jos-based agent has stressed that the attacking midfielder’s departure from the Nigeria U-23s camp had the blessing of coach Samson Siasia.

”Musa Yahaya did not run away from camp, he asked for permission and the coach granted him to leave,” said Babawo Mohammed to news24.

”Siasia authorised him to go to the embassy and submit his visa application to England. I repeat he did not run away.

”He is in England now training with Tottenham Hotspur’s Under 18 and Under 19 teams.”

All things being equal, the Mutunchi Academy product will pen a professional deal with Spurs in the first week of January next year after attaining the age of majority.

Nigeria men’s U23 coach, Samson Siasia has warned his  Congolese counterpart, Claude Le Roy to be afraid and worried ahead of the U23 qualifier this weekend.

Both men have been involved in a war of words since before the first leg in Port Harcourt two weeks ago, with Siasia saying he wasn’t scared of the experienced Congo coach, and the Frenchman accusing Siasia of disrespect in his response.

And ahead of the return leg in Pointe Noire this weekend, Siasia has reignited the media war, by saying Le Roy cannot intimidate him and warned the Frenchman to be worried.

“They can’t intimidate us with all the overseas based players they have, in fact, I think he should be worried.

“They had two chances at goal here (in the first leg) and they managed to score one and he (Le Roy) said they were the better team. I think he should be worried and he should be afraid we are coming to Congo.

“They came over here and beat the Super Eagles so we can go over there and beat them. We know our game plan and I hear they have six overseas-based players but that is not going to scare us.

“We just have to be focused on our game plan and do what we have to do and we will get what we want,” Siasia posited.

Nigeria U-23 team’s Head Coach, Samson Siasia has expressed confidence his boys will come out of the cauldron of Pointe Noire in flying colours after Sunday’s potentially –explosive 2015 African U-23 Championship final qualifying match.

A slim 2-1 advantage from the first leg in Port Harcourt means a battle is at hand, in a Congo-Brazzaville reputed for all manner of tactics against every visitng team.

Yet, Siasia is unfazed as he announced just before the team’s departure on Thursday that he relishes big games.

“I love big games, and I’m not shy to say so. This is with every sense of modesty. Pointe Noire is another tough session, but I look forward to it,” he said.

Siasia was in charge of the Nigeria U-23 team that also to negotiate tough runs to the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2008 Olympics. On November 16, 2007, the team needed at least a draw against Ghana in Accra to be in good stead for the ticket, and duly played out a 0-0 draw. Siasia’s boys completed the job with a 3-0 win over South Africa in Abuja in March 2008.

Although Siasia’s team lost the Olympics gold to Argentina in Beijing, the former Eagles’ skipper was in charge when the Super Eagles achieved a first –ever win over the Argentines – a 4-1 win in a friendly in Abuja on June 1, 2011.

The former star forward was also in charge of the Nigeria U-20 team that won silver at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in The Netherlands in 2005.

Recently, Siasia’s U-23 boys won both away matches on the road to qualifying for the 11th All-Africa Games football tournament – a 4-1 win over Gabon in Libreville and 2-1 defeat of Zambia in Lusaka.

“It will not be easy; nothing good in life comes easy. But we will give it our very best shot and return from Pointe Noire with victory,” he added.

As the Dream Team VI jets out to Congo at 1pm today on board Ethiopia Airline, the Chief Coach of the team, Samson Siasia has told Nigerians to pray for his  team to be able to convert the scoring chances that come their way when the team takes on the Congo’s U- 23 national team on Sunday.

Smarting from their 3-0 victory in their last friendly match against Amakson Football Academy yesterday, Siasia declared that he was upbeat about his team’s ability to beat Congo in Pointe Noire but was only afraid of the way the team has been wasting chances in all the games they have played so far.

“We are very, very prepared to take on Congo in a do or die battle on Sunday. Nigerians should expect victory against Congo. We are not going there to play but to win the match just like they would want to win. They came over here and defeated the Super Eagles so we can also go there and beat them.  We have our game plan and we know how to beat them. I heard they have invited six professional players but that is not going to scare us. We have to focus on our game and keep our game plans and I am confident of victory over there.

“All we worry about now is the way the strikers waste a lot of chances in matches. Even in today’s (yesterday’s) friendly game against Amakson, we kept missing a lot of chances. We can’t afford to continue doing that. The first chance we get (in Congo) we have to score. When they come out then we can counter them again. All the same we have worked very hard and the defense line is playing very well. We just have to be confident and take our time and play from the back and wait for the fast break”, Siasia told SportingLife.

Dream Team VI however, wrapped up their preparations by beating Amakson Football Academy 3-0 in a friendly match where top strikers Taiwo Awoniyi and Junior Ajayi missed scoring chances with Awoniyi the major culprit.

 Siasia had to make full team changes before they were able to score the three goals in the second half of the game. Enyimba International midfielder Kinglsley Sokari drew the first blood in the 55th minute of the game while FC Taraba’s captain  Usman Mohammed scored the second goal in the 70th minute and Turkey based midfielder Umar  Aminu who also made the two assists for the first two goals,  scored the third goal in the 82nd minute to end the game 3-0 in Dream Team VI’s favour.