Sports
What Eguavoen Needs To Deliver As Eagles Coach – Akanni
An ex-international, Wahidi Akanni,yesterday, said that the success of Austin Eguavoen, the interim Manager of Super Eagles, is hinged on the level of support given to the coach by stakeholders.
Akanni, who said this in an interview with the newsmen in Lagos, said that all hands should be on deck, with barely a month to the Nations Cup.
Tidesports source reports that the Nigeria Football Federation recently announced that Eguavoen would replace Gernot Rohr as Super Eagles coach on an interim arrangement.
“With his wealth of experience, I believe he’d bring something fresh players to the team because he has been around; he has gone to these tournaments as a player and as a coach.
“With NFF’s real support, he’d be able to achieve so much; the tournament is about four weeks and the core of the team is basically from Europe.
“I don’t think he needs to do a lot of searches because our domestic league only just kicked off, support from all levels is crucial,” Akanni said.
Rohr’s five-year stint with Nigeria has ended and Eguavoen is back in the position he held back in 2010 following Lars Lagerback’s exit in 2010.
Akanni, a former FA Chairman of Lagos State, advised Eguavoen to focus on the defense in order to have a well-coordinated team.
“Austin should also try to look into the defence line, which needs one or two changes, I believe by so doing, getting the necessary result won’t be a problem.
“We need to beef up our defense to fortify our squad better,” Akanni said.
The 56-year-old manager will work alongside Salisu Yusuf (chief coach), Paul Aigbogun (assistant coach), Joseph Yobo (assistant coach), Terry Eguaoje (assistant coach) and Alloy Agu (goalkeeper coach).
In 1994, he was the acting captain that lifted the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia after Nigeria defeated Zambia 2-1.
He was also part of Clemens Westerhof’s team that featured in the country’s maiden appearance at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Eguavoen called time on his international career at the age of 32 after playing in Nigeria’s last group match at the 1998 World Cup which ended in a 3-1 loss to Paraguay.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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