Former Super Eagles assistant coach Emmanuel Amunike, declares that Stanley Nwabali, the Super Eagles golie at the ongoing AFCON has been nothing but instrumental to the progress of the team so far.
According to the ex-international:”Nwabali has been very, very instrumental to the success of the team. He has been able to translate confidence to the backline and in general to the whole team. This is key and important in every team, to have a goalkeeper that translate such energy, confidence to the team is a very big plus.
So, he has done so Well and exceptional and has been able to cement his place with the national team and a credit to him and congratulations too”, so says the 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medalist.
Responding to a question from Olamiju Oretola of www.backpagenaija.com as to his accessment of the semi-final game against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, the 1994 African Footballer of the Year winner postulated:”I think it was a very difficult game and well deserved semi-finals. Both teams were able to distinguish themselves, with different style of play the South Africans dominated in terms of ball possession. Nigeria was more compact and played on counter attack which worked for them.
It was a good semi-final and you know when it comes to penalties, sometimes it’s a question of luck and it went Nigeria’s way. And that gave the Super Eagles the opportunity to be in the final, for me it was an interesting semi-final game”.
Amunike says the win over the Bafana Bafana speaks volume as it gave Nigerians a moment of joy.
“The victory means a lot as it brings calmness, continuity and it gave Nigerians a moment of joy. The country has been in difficult times, hardship and high cost of living. And it’s amazing seeing Nigerians coming out to support the Super Eagles. This is a sign of hope and I hope the boys would complete the mission, by winning the cup and making Nigerians happy”.
The 1996 BBC African Footballer of the Year, expressed his thoughts as to what should be the focus of the coaching crew against the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire.
“The focus of the coaches is to go back and review their previous games. Like I said earlier the opponent that they played in the group stage, have improved a lot and the strength and weakness of the opponent need to be studied.
So, the Super Eagles can see how they can be able to exploit those weaknesses. The Super Eagles also need to look at the areas they have done perfectly and reinforce that. And also review lapses and work on that to be ready for Sunday’s final”.
