Eaglets and the scent of victory

As the 10th CAF U-17 Championship finals begin in Morocco this evening, the Nigerian team returns to the competition (after failing to qualify for the 2009 finals in Algeria and 2011 competition in Rwanda) on a solid footing.I have seen, somewhere, a record compiled by the team’s Media Officer, Morakinyo Abodunrin, in which it is […]

As the 10th CAF U-17 Championship finals begin in Morocco this evening, the Nigerian team returns to the competition (after failing to qualify for the 2009 finals in Algeria and 2011 competition in Rwanda) on a solid footing.
I have seen, somewhere, a record compiled by the team’s Media Officer, Morakinyo Abodunrin, in which it is tabulated that the team has played a total of 27 matches (among these, six games in the CAF U-17 Championship qualifying series), losing none!
If memory serves one right, it is the first time we are having a team heading to a tournament unbeaten right from its inception.
In the six qualifying matches played, the Eaglets (they call themselves New Nigeria Golden Eaglets, I am told) scored 21 goals, conceeding only one, and that was even a disputed penalty kick awarded to the Niger U-17 side when both teams played in Niamey in the first leg, first round of the series. But the Eaglets still won that match 4-1.
In the very manner of some of the best teams in history, the new Eaglets pull no punches – they come at you with lion hearts and deliver without restraint. They approach without fear or apprehension, send the message and get ready to see what you can do about it.
While it may not be a perfect squad yet (there have never been many), Coach Manu Garba says he has picked players that have listening ears, who are always ready to learn and obey instructions on and off the field.
I am looking at the team’s statistics as I write and I see 5-1, 6-2, 5-0, 4-1, 5-1, 6-2, 5-1, 9-0, 4-1, 6-1, 6-1 and 5-0 wins in domestic friendlies, and that is not even all. Some teams managed only 3-0 defeats!
Also, at the end of August 2012, the Junior Wasps of Rwanda came calling for a two-match friendly. They got turned back 5-0 in the first match on the last day of August before a more merciful 3-0 hiding on September 2.
In March this year, as the Eaglets marched on with assurance and sure-footedness, they mauled Diamond Zebras of Botswana (which has qualified for the finals in Morocco and play in Group A) 3-0 and 9-0  respectively, in another two-match friendly in the fashion of what was staged against the Junior Wasps.
The great thing about the 2012 Class of Golden Eaglets is that they dominate any turf and environment they find themselves. Last month, during a training camp at the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha, Qatar, the Nigerian boys hammered the Aspire U-18 team 7-1, and the shocked the world by beating a full senior team, Al-Sadd FC in the Qatari Premier League, by 1-0.
The Al-Sadd team was complete with Raul Gonzalez (the same one) who holds the record of 71 goals in the UEFA Champions League and by all means, remains a Spanish Icon and one of the most recognizable faces in world sport.
For the Eaglets, those victories in friendlies abroad simply followed in the pattern of a winning streak that has seen them conquer all their opponents in competitive games away from home.
On September 8, 2012, in their first qualifying match away in Niamey, they pounded their hosts 4-1, and returned home to hand the Nigeriens a 6-0 spanking. After Guinea restricted them to a 3-0 win in Calabar on October 14, they travelled to Conakry to embarrass their hosts 4-0 two weeks later.
In their final qualifying fixture, Mali came to Calabar first, on November 18, and received only a 2-0 defeat. The Malian players were so huge that someone commented that the Malian FA had brought rebel soldiers to play our toddlers! In the return leg in Bamako two weeks later, our boys cared little for the uncertainty of the environment as they handed out another 2-0 defeat to their hosts.
The Nigeria Football Federation is proud that some of the leading lights of the team graduated from the U-13 and U-15 National Teams that we continue to nurture.
While we are excited about the team and its prospects (Member of the Executive Committee, Alhaji Muazu Suleyman and Director of Finance, Jarafu Mamza always say that anyone with high blood pressure should rather watch the Eaglets!), we sure realize that the team has a lot to go through before total development and realization of potential.
The present NFF administration is ready to provide that platform for the players to realize their potential and graduate to senior categories, with the possibility that most of them could be the bulk of the Super Eagles’ team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
However, they are entering their very first tournament and much of what could come in the future would be signposted right here. Yes, they have won all qualifying games and friendly matches, but the tournament level is where notes are taken and records broken, and they just must be up to it and grab the opportunity.
On the part of the NFF, we urge Nigerians to rise and pray for these boys. They can do it.
NEXT WEEK: The CAF U-17 Championship finals