…As Martins regrets missing out of Mundial
Nigeria’s Soccer Ambassador, Friday Nwankwo Kujah, has expressed fear over possible replacements for the defence line of the Super Eagles ahead of the Mundial in Russia, in case of any eventuality.
Speaking exclusively to The Point in his office in Lagos, the highly respected Nigeria’s foremost football players’ Agent said the duo of Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong has done wonderfully well in caging rampaging strikers from the opponents in major matches involving the national team, but called on Coach Gernot Rohr to have ready replacements for them in case of injuries.
“For our defence, I think William Troost Ekong and Leon Balogun are doing wonderfully well, but having said that, a brand new vehicle needs good spare part. I do not pray for injury against any of these defenders I made mention of, but we need to have standby good replacements for these players in case of any eventuality and that’s my only concern.
“We may have had issues with the left full back position, but with an effective midfield, they should be able to ease the pressure off the defenders and help distribute the balls for the strikers to score the goals.
“I feel the sky will be our stepping stone when the team is effectively constituted,” he began.
Speaking further on the Super Eagles chances of excelling at the Mundial, Kujah said, it is not yet uhuru for the squad.
“To build a team for a tourney like the world cup is not a tea party because it requires a lot of work. Therefore, as far as I’m concerned the players and the technical crew of the Super Eagles are moving in the right direction. Their preparation for the Mundial is going on well!
“You can see that the Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr has invited lots of players and has given them the opportunity to express themselves and it is from the pack that he will select the squad for the World Cup in Russia. So, the team for the Mundial is work in progress for now, but I want every football fan in the country to pray and fast for the Super Eagles to excel in Russia. I strongly believe if Nigeria can qualify for the next round, I think the team will go far in the competition,” he stated.
Kujah further expressed optimism that goalkeeper Frank Uzoho would make the trip to Russia.
“Personally, every player does have his off-day, I feel Frank Uzoho needs to be given more opportunity to man the Super Eagles goalpost. You don’t throw away your old shoe because you don’t know how far the new one will go. For Uzoho, I know he is going to make the world cup squad but I cannot say whether he’s going to be our first or second choice goalkeeper.
“Frank Uzoho is a player that the Technical crew cannot drop now for the Mundial,” he added.
On his personal contribution and future plans for football development in Nigeria, Kujah went down memory lane.
“I have contributed a lot to football development in Nigeria and will never relent in still contributing more if called upon to do so.
“I have discovered and managed lotNigerian players as an Agent and I’m grateful that God has given me the talent when it comes to discovering a player with a bright future. That’s why I’m calling on Nigerians to come forward and support our ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative which is aimed at restoring our prowess and glory in the round-leather game.
“The ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative is aimed at discovering talented players who are ready to replace our ageing players and the likes of our retired players like Daniel Amokachi, Julius Aghahowa and Kanu Nwankwo.
“We need defenders in the mold of Taribo West and strikers like Victor Ikpeba and Rashidi Yekini in our current national team set-up.
“I want to charge all in government to support the ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative and I want to say special thanks to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports, Sen. Obinna Ogba who saw our proposal and vision for the ‘Kick to Glory’ project and endorsed it.
“However, we are waiting for the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick who knows what we can do to also endorse the ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative and we will have a new soccer revolution in our country.
“I will also thank Alhaji Shehu Dikko for bringing Nigerian league to limelight and I’m not forgetting Hon. Nduka Irabor for all his contributions to Nigerian football development.
“We are also looking for endorsements of ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative from other stakeholders of football in Nigeria, as you can see that in our schools we to lack fields for future players to express themselves but we are not relenting as we have planned to stage ‘Kick to Glory National Challenge Cup’ among schools in the country. At the ‘Kick to Glory’ national finals, youth teams from Real Madrid will be invited for the competition.
“Our Golden Eaglets’ record of having won the FIFA U-17 World Cup five times is there for all to see, so that is why are we going down to the grassroots in terms of taking our football to the next level.
“The Chairman of the ‘Kick to Glory’ project, Daniel Amokachi and its Vice Chairman, Julius Aghahowa are deeply in support of the project with Fanny Amun (MON) also handling the technical matters.
“A lot of ex-internationals like Monday Odiaka who scored the fastest goal in a FIFA -organised tourney within 12 secs is also supporting this project.
“Our mission is to help raise rock-solid players for Nigeria in all the aged group teams by going into the remote villages in Nigeria to unearth them using the ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative.
“I urge all soccer fans in the country to key into the ‘Kick to Glory’ initiative,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Obafemi Martins’s hopes of making Nigeria’s roster for the World Cup has ended after the striker sustained a long-term injury in his side’s Asian Champions League tie against Kashima Antlers.
The Shanghai Shenhua number seventeen left the field after 22 minutes and has been diagnosed with a partial rupture of the quadriceps tendon of the right knee.
At present, the club and the medical team are arranging for Martins to undergo surgery as soon as possible.
Ma Yue, the press officer of Shenhua, revealed on social media that Martins needed 6-7 months to recover after the surgery.
Martins’ name was earlier bandied about by the local media as one of the players’ manager Gernot Rohr was considering to beef up the Super Eagles squad for the 2018 World Cup.
The 33-year-old made two appearances off the bench against Argentina and South Korea at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,
He has played for clubs based in Italy, England, Germany, Russia, Spain, United States and China.