*Backs Oliseh but warns Nigerians not to expect miracles

1994 AFCON winner and former Barcelona winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, who leads the Golden Eaglets to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, starting October 17, has said that Eagles are lacking top class players because the country did not invest in our youths, reports JOHN EGBOKHAN.

With less than 16 days to the start of Chile 2015, how are the boys doing?
They are fine. We are preparing for the World Cup, which starts on October 17 in Chile and our first match is against USA and we are working towards that direction.

How much do you know of the USA side?

Amunike

We don’t like to dwell on what we know of our opponents but we know something about them and likewise they know something about us. Football is no longer a hidden thing. It all depends on the ability and the mental approach of the team to each opposition.

As the defending champions of the tournament, all eyes will be on you, which leads one to want to know how you are coping with the burden of expectations and how you plan to deal with the teams you will face in Chile. We are the defending champions because God helped us to win the last tournament in the United Arab Emirates and we are now back again. For us, it is a privilege, an honour and an added responsibility and we have to embrace the task. All 24 teams going to the World Cup have one objective – winning the trophy. Likewise, we want to go there and successfully defend our cup. But we have to work. This is just the reality. We are optimistic, we are working hard, we are pushing ourselves and believe that through God, through patience and by doing the right thing that we will achieve whatever we have set to achieve.

We have never successfully defended the trophy before?
Maybe, this will be the first time that God will make it possible for us to do so.

In our group, comprising Chile, Croatia and USA, who do you see as the biggest threat to our ambition?
It is not about whom do we fear but about being aware and conscious of all the teams . All the four teams in our group made it to the World Cup from their various continental competitions. All the teams are there to win the cup. We will respect all teams.

As the defending champions, you are the ones that other teams will be bidding to beat for obvious reasons.
For you to win that cup for four times shows that there is a pedigree in that category of football in Nigeria. We are the ones to beat and no team will make it easier for us. Those are the conveniences and inconveniences that surround the tournament and we are conscious of that and are working towards that direction.

Emmanuel Amuneke is more known than his players because of his remarkable achievements as a former Barcelona player, Nations Cup winner and FIFA U-17 World Cup winner, your name alone is a big history in world football and that is what you are taking to the World Cup, Amuneke, the serial achiever. What will your name bring to the team?

It is not about Emmanuel Amuneke. We thank God for giving us the grace and opportunity for us to be well known all over the world and in Nigeria.. What matters most is the players, who have to write their own history and if God made it possible for us to be with them, then God wants us to guide them to have their own history and become greater than us. We are just humans and we believe that God who gave us the grace, will also give them the grace to achieve their dream.

If you were a young player going for this tournament, what are those things to beware of?
There are a lot of factors. We should not forget that this is a youth tournament and the players are advancing to the stage of understanding what life is all about. They are maturing, so you will expect to see some naivety in them. That is why we are elderly people to them. We are no longer their coaches but their brothers, constantly watching out for their best interest. We are their fathers, their mothers, always encouraging them. We have to make sure they follow the right path. I don’t want my players to look at me like Emmanuel Amuneke. They should believe that I am here to help them and that is my philosophy and I stand on it, nothing changes it.

I remember the fatherly role you played to the players at the last World Cup in UAE. We saw this much when the scouts swooped on some of our players and you were one of those who stood their ground, telling the scouts to allow the players to be and one would be tempted to ask if anything has changed going forward?
Those who know me, can attest to the kind of person that I am. I am not depriving any player the opportunity to go to Europe for greener pastures. What I am emphasising on is for us to remain focussed and achieve our objective. If we achieve our aim, the players will have the freedom to go with whomever they want to go with.

Oliseh

But as long as they are under us, I think, they should not face that distraction. I don’t want a situation where my team will be playing individual game, because a club wants to buy them. I don’t want a situation that when my player is supposed to pass the ball to his team mate, he fails because he is trying to score and we end up losing the match. I want my players to work for each other, so that we can win. What I am emphasising is to play collectively, play for each other, make sure you support your team mate and after the World Cup, if it is the will of God that each and every one of them will be in a better place, so well because that is our dream.

The last U-17 that we took to Dubai, we are happy that some of them were picked by some top European clubs. And we are optimistic that in the next five to six years, that these guys will graduate to the Super Eagles and make people happy. It is the same process we are operating here.
We are not fighting anybody. We are not driving anyone away but what we want to do is to let people know that in any organisation, if there is no discipline, there would not be success.

There has to be discipline in our football and the players should also realise the responsibilities that are being given to them. After all, we have over 170 million people in Nigeria and if a youth is privileged to be among the ones called to serve his fatherland, he should realise that a lot of people are looking up to him and he has to do his best. Sometimes, your best would not be good enough but by doing the right thing, you can be rest assured that you are closer to success than not doing anything.

Why are you so attached to youths, rather that top clubs? Why do you like tapping into the youths? Is it because you have an academy?
It is not all about tapping into the youths. I believe that a nation that does not invest in its youth is a wasteful nation. We are all crying that there are no good players any more in the national team but had it been that we had invested in the young ones, not only in financial terms but in encouraging them, then they would have a sense of belonging and we would not be in this present situation. We need to make these players know what it means to represent Nigeria. When they put on the jersey, they must know what it stands for. We have to build our youths. We have to make them understand that they have a role to play in the remaking of our football. We need to make them realise that they are the ambassadors of our society. They are not just youths but one day, they will become adults, they will become responsible, they will have a family, they will have children, who will look up to them and if we don’t give them a sense of direction this early stage, then we are not going to get it right and continue to complain that there are not good footballers in Nigeria again.

Football is something that brings a lot of joy to people and if we are privileged that God has given us the talents, then we must harness them, so that in the nearest future, they will be bringing joy to us.

You mentioned something that some of these players played under me, well, it is not about who played under me but what can the player do. Does the player have what it takes to represent Nigeria? Everybody is a good player. Mostly in this category, it is so complex that even a lot of Nigerians don’t know what it takes to be eligible. There is the MRI, there is the age factor and then there is the quality. Do you have what it takes to play or you have don’t have it when it comes to talent?

And can you be better than the next man who is competing with you because it is a screening where all the players will be screened to show if they can play. These are the things we must teach our players, that they should not go with the idea of “I know somebody, there is a godfather” because the only godfather we have is God and it is God that gave you the talent and the day he was depositing it, nobody except the baby and God were there and when the baby comes out, people will start to know that this boy can play football.

We should let our youths grow in the right direction and stop depending on somebody. The national team is for everybody and people should stop thinking they must know somebody to come there. If you have talents and you are good, then all you have to do is to push yourself, encourage yourself and when the right time comes, you will get there. No good coach will see a good player and will not take him. Except that coach does not know what he is doing. If you see very good players and you have to chose one, then you judge them by their attitude, do they have the right frame of mind to play as a player because there are some good players who don’t have the right attitude. Does the player in question has the hunger for success? There are a lot of qualities to look out for and if we don’t guide our youths towards that direction, then we will continue to complain that we don’t have players. It does not matter where anybody is coming from. Football does not recognise that. What counts is whether a player has what it takes to succeed.

What are your projections for these players in your team?
All I can do is to prepare them to do their best at the World Cup and after that, only God knows where they will go. You can only speak on what you can see now. My advice is for them to remain focussed and even those who have graduated to the Flying Eagles are still in the process of growth and should not be carried away with the success of the moment because it comes and goes but what matters today in football is consistency and what’s good today in football is outdated tomorrow. It is our belief that they will stay on the track of success.

Iheanacho (right) in action

What is your feeling on the progress of Kelechi Iheanacho, who passed through the Golden Eaglets set of 2013?
I am happy for him. During the week, they showed the goals he scored at the last World Cup and the impact he has made at Manchester City so far. These are the sort of things we are looking for. When a player passes through you and his progression continues, the coach feels fulfilled. We will continue to support him and urge him and others to remain focussed because in football, the glory can come now and if you allow it carry you away, it will leave you.

You started coaching at about the same time with your former Barcelona teammates like Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and years after you all graduated from coaching schools, they have gone on to coach top sides like Barcelona, Roma and Bayern Munich. Do you feel you would have achieved more were you from Europe? Is it that Africans are a little disadvantaged in this profession, when it comes to progression?

Well, maybe and probably, if I were from Europe, I would be coaching one of those big teams like Barcelona but that is not the issue because everybody in life has his time and moment. Of course, I want to grow from this category to another category but I also know that due process is part of life. I have to wait for my time. The most important thing is for me to continue doing what I love, continue doing what is right and what is good in the sight of God. I can’t please everybody. I am a coach and it is not easy to please everybody. What matters is that as long as the decisions that I have made tally with my conscience, that is what counts for me. If it is God’s will that one day I will coach the Super Eagles, then so be it. Even if it is in another country, it will happen. Now, I am here and I must embrace it and do it with passion and all honesty.

What do you see coming out of the Super Eagles under Coach Sunday Oliseh, who happens to be your former teammate?
We have to be optimistic. Oliseh is experienced, in terms of playing the game and coached for a while in Belgium, even though this is the first assignment that he is handling in Africa. But we should realise that he once captained the team and is someone who has a lot of passion for the game. Are we expecting him to start performing miracles instantly? I don’t think football works that way. Of course, we have to support him, give him time and allow him to do his job. We must encourage him and allow whoever he invites to play to be. The reality is that we have a lot of work to do because we are not there yet. The coaches and the administrators must adapt to the ever growing changes in world football for our football to rise again.