Daily Independent (Lagos)
Uzor Odigbo
25 March 2011
The Ancient City of Benin will be agog today when the Nation’s U-23 team takes on Equitorial Guinea inside the main-bowl of Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia Stadium for the London Olympics qualifier.
The choice of Benin for the match, according to Coach Austin Eguavoen, was to bring back life through soccer entertainment to Benin and its environs, adding that its been long soccer fans in Benin and its environs enjoyed international football. Eguavoen knows that playing in Benin will bring much pressure to bear on him if the team under-performs.
This is not the first time Eguavoen will handle under age teams in his coaching career. The former Super Eagles captain and coach led Golden Eaglets to the finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago in 2005, the team which had John Mikel Obi crashed out in the group stage.
If U-17 could be regarded as team of the boys, the U-23 is made up of matured players and Eguavoen should not have any excuse for failure moreso when all the invited 15 professional players and the 15 home-based were in Benin as at Tuesday. The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) also ensured that Eguavoen has the compliments of AC Milan star, Nnamdi Oduamadi and Ekigho Ehiosun that Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia had initially invited for the senior team’s African Cup of Nations tie against Ethiopia in Abuja tomorrow.
Eguavoen, from all indication, has no reason not to make Nigerians happy on Saturday.
Invited foreign based players are Captain Haruna Lukman, Jude Ighalo, Nosakhare Igiebor, Nurudeen Orelesi, Ibok Edet, Dele Ajiboye, Obiora Nwankwo, Chukwuma Akabueze, Ganiyu Oseni, Danny Uchechi and Terna Suswam from Portuguese club, Vitoria Setubal.
The invited players are all professionals, but the fact that many of them warm their benches in Europe will certainly give the coach serious concern. Getting the best out of them against an entirely home-based Guinean team that has achieved team cohesion following its long period of playing together might give Eguavoen a headache. The situation is not helped in that most of the Nigerian players are coming together for the first time. The coach’s failure in securing the Guinean team tapes ahead of today’s match may not help matters.
In the past, no Guinean team had ever stopped any Nigerian team from advancing in any soccer competition, save for Super Falcons loss to the Guinean girls in the 2009 Africa Women championship they hosted. The fact still remains that at this level of competition, nothing should be left to chance, which has given rise to the coach being worried over his opponent’s shape and style of play.
Despite not laying his hands on the opponents tape, he said, “It is not the ideal scenario as I had requested for the tapes long before now. I will talk to the technical committee chairman, Chris Green and hopefully, we can lay hands on the tape so we can start working on exploiting the weaknesses of our opponents. We have been together for about three weeks and I have been impressed with the attitude of the boys.
“Right from our time in Abuja to our arrival in Benin, the boys have shown eagerness to learn and improve.
He explained that his boys are battle ready for the game stressing that he understands the playing pattern of the Central Africans and would aptly apply his knowledge from what he used to know about their senior side.
“The game would not be easy but we are going to make it look easy for ourselves, I can tell of one or two things I know about our opponents especially from the angle of their senior side, but I have nothing about the Guinean U-23 team we are meeting, not to worry, victory would be ours,” he assured.
On the fact that Lukman has been a player with poor disciplinary records, Eguavoen said, ‘players temperament are different and Lukman, a good player no doubt, though not an exception, I have successfully managed players like that in the past and I’ll still try to do the right thing to encourage him and others to pick the right attitude especially while on the pitch.’
On the vast invitation of professional players who were reported as chiefly redundant in their different clubs in Europe, the coach denied that most of his players were bench warmers, alluding that players he invited are tested who merited their invitations.
Also speaking ahead of the match, the team’s goalkeeper and Pontevedra CF of Spain safe hands, Dele Ajiboye expressed delight over his inclusion.
The 20-year old said he is looking forward to playing alongside his teammates in the clash.
The former Wikki Tourists’ goalkeeper said “It is good news for me that I have been called up to join the Under-23 national team. I am ready to play my part if I am given the chance to play. But seriously, I am happy to be given the opportunity to play for one of the national teams after doing same with the U-17 and U-20 teams a few years ago.”
Ajiboye, who won the FIFA U-17 World Championship with Nigeria in 2007, added that he is ready for the fight to claim a starting place in the team.
“I know that there are other quality goalkeepers in the team, but I will go to the camp and try as much as possible to justify my invitation by the coaches.
“I hope that my performance will convince them to give me the chance to keep for my country again,” he said.
Commenting further on the encounter, former U-17 coach, Henry Nwosu warned Eguavoen to beware and not to underrate any team.
Reiterating the obvious fact that there are no longer minnows in football, Nwosu expressed satisfaction with the quality of players available for the encounter and that the nation’s campaigner will blame themselves should they underrate the Central African state.
“Eguavoen knows his boys, I am exceedingly happy that Siasia has hearkened to the voice of reason and released all the players Eguavoen requested for his team, but nobody should live under any illusion that the game will be an easy one. I tell you that the encounter will be tough, really tough.
“Of course, you know there are no cheap teams or minnows any longer, so the players must see and play the Equatorial Guinean side just like they will play any top team in the world. Any mistake or attempt at underrating them may be costly.”
The former Golden Eaglets coach who assured that coach Eguavoen’s men will not lack supports in the ancient city of Benin on match day said the ball is on the court of the players to do their own act.
“The Benin fans will surely support the team, coach Eguavoen is one of their own, and it is left for the boys to do their own job.”
The former Green Eagles captain is however optimistic that Nigeria will rule the day.
“Eguavoen has the tools to win the match convincingly, I have no doubt about that but the approach must be
business like. I know they will win,” he said.
AllAfrica – All the Time