Sports
Remo Stars Coach Confident Ahead CAF Clash
Remo Stars head coach Daniel Ogunmodede says his team is in the right shape ahead of their CAF Champions League preliminary round game against Ghanaian champions, Medeama SC next month.
The two teams were paired during the draw on Tuesday for their respective maiden appearance in the competition with a further test against Guinea’s RS Horoya FC awaiting either side in the second round.
The first leg of the contest is scheduled to hold in Ghana on the weekend of August 18-20 with the second leg to hold in Nigeria a week later.
Coming off the back of back-to-back actions in the NPFL Super 6 and the Naija Super 8 competition, Ogunmodede said the team has had enough rest adding that playing the second leg at home will be an added advantage for his team.
“For sure, it should be an added advantage for us going to Ghana first and the experience we’ve had from the CAF Confederation Cup last season should also help put us in the right frame of mind.
“We’ve long forgotten about the issue of fatigue as I mentioned that period was playing the Naija Super 8 just days after the league season ended.
“The players have been able to rest for some days now and we are only thinking of preparing them physically and mentally for the task ahead,” he said.
Founded in 2001, Medeama SC, just like Remo are a privately owned club and won the Ghana Premier League last season.
“For now, we are yet to get vital information about Medeama SC, all we have now is that they’re privately owned like us and imagine them taking all big teams in Ghana to the cleaners and are a force to be reckoned with.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
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