Former Kaduna United skipper Efe Ambrose was involved in new coach Stephen Keshi’s first two games in charge and the versatile 23-year-old is now looking forward to helping Nigeria regain lost glory after the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Cup.
MTNFootball.com: What are your immediate thoughts on a 2013 Nations Cup qualifier versus Rwanda in Kigali in February?
Efe Ambrose:
We have an edge now that we have played two friendly games together. I think we are gradually forming a team.
It’s not going to be an easy game but I believe it’s going to be a different atmosphere. We didn’t qualify for the Nations Cup and for us to bring back the pride and the support of the fans, we must give everything. We want to earn the fans’ confidence. I believe we are going to move forward.
Anytime Nigeria invites me, I will come and give 150 per cent because this is my fatherland. Without Nigeria, nobody will know Efe Ambrose. So, if I am called up against Rwanda, I will also give my best as usual.
Have you come to terms with the failure of the Eagles to qualify for 2012 Africa Nations Cup?
In every man’s life there are always challenges and downfalls. But for me, I am disappointed because it was supposed to be my first (Nations Cup). God knows why. I still give Him thanks that I have been given the opportunity to play for my fatherland. It’s something I can never forget but life has to go on.
What is in my heart is to keep on playing, improve on my game, get to the highest level I can in football and make sure Nigeria qualify for the 2013 Nations Cup and 2014 World Cup in Brazil. This is only what we can give to supporters of the team and the entire nation.
How has it been playing your football in Israel?
The Israeli league is very competitive; it can compare with what you have in Belgium and Turkey. The games are on TV and the infrastructure is okay. Israel is like a stepping stone for young players. For me, I am comfortable there because that’s the first and only place I played in Europe.
What do you still remember of your time at Kaduna United?
That’s the only club I played for before moving abroad. They gave me the needed foundation and nobody wants to forget where they started from. No matter where I go, I look backwards to see how I can help them.
When I come back to the country, I go to visit them and call them to cheer them up when they have a game. I also pray for them because their success is also mine. Anywhere I go, I always look back to my roots. It was a privilege and honour playing for them.
I also thank the club chairman, Sabo Babayaro, because his words of advice made me a better player. I was not disciplined when I first got to Kaduna United, so I probably would have been a stubborn player if not for him.
Babayaro explained that without discipline, a player would not progress and his advice has been helping me everywhere I go. Now I have that self-discipline and control.
Are the Eagles disciplined because what we hear is that they are not?
Since I came into the national team, there has been a lot of discipline from Siasia’s time to Keshi. The players try to abide by the rules. A true professional must be a role model on and off the pitch.
Could the players have sabotaged former coach Siasia?
I don’t know anything about that. I am just a player. My duty is to give my best on the pitch. I concentrate on performance and don’t know about any other thing going on. I don’t want to be drawn into that. For me, he is a good man who made me what I am today and I have to thank him for what he made me to achieve in life.
Siasia helped me when I had heart problem issue. He stood by me and I will never forget that despite the fact he is no longer in charge of the national team. He is someone I am proud of. As a player who started from the grassroots, several coaches like (Okey) Emordi, (Ladan) Bosso and others had a great impact in my career. Every one of them had a role they played.
Now there is the new coach they call the Big Boss (Keshi). He is a nice man whom you can interact with. He has made the door open to everybody.
He is someone I would really want to work under because he has the experience and as a player, he played almost same position like me. I believe he will help me to develop further as a player. I will commit myself to him like I did to the other coaches.
In 2008, Olympic team doctors diagnosed you had a heart problem. But you are still playing at the top level years later…
They said I had a heart problem which I didn’t know how it came about. I believe in God and it was only Him that helped me overcome the problem. I don’t know where I would have been now.
I thank my teammates and coach who stood by me all through. Everybody was behind me; the fans showed their concern and also supported me in prayers. I was surprised at the way people showed their concern in the newspapers. It was God who helped me overcome the sabotage.
And now you still dream of playing in one of Europe’s big leagues.
I am a patient person and I wait for my time. God will make a way for me when the time comes. I am comfortable in Israel; I am not complaining.
Israel is my starting point in Europe and I hope to go on to bigger things. If you have self belief, you can become a better player who would be known worldwide.
What have been the highlights and lowlights of your career thus far?
The best moment was the day I signed for FC Ashdod in Israel. It was a dream come true.
My worst moment was when we lost the Olympic gold medal to Argentina in 2008. My dream was to win the gold medal for my country and we all had the belief that we could do it. Losing the final gave us sleepless nights.
Another terrible moment was when we failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup.