No more stage fright for Eaglets – Coach Abimbola

Could you introduce yourself? Thank you. I am Coach Samuel Abimbola. I was born 50 years ago in Ogun State. I am from Ijebu North Local government area. I grew up a little in my state where I attended primary school. I later went to Ibadan for my secondary school. I started playing football early […]

Could you introduce yourself?

Thank you. I am Coach Samuel Abimbola. I was born 50 years ago in Ogun State. I am from Ijebu North Local government area. I grew up a little in my state where I attended primary school. I later went to Ibadan for my secondary school. I started playing football early in life right from Ibadan and ended up here in Abuja with Pioneers Football club and Ministry of Finance  FC. I was playing for Finance United football club of Abuja and something unfortunate happened. When I was to get to the peak of my career, I was involved in a very serious accident which almost claimed my left leg. It was a very serious fracture. But to God be the glory, I came out of it stronger than ever before. 

You once worked with Coach Henry Nwosu when he was in charge of the national U-17 team and right now, you are succeeding with Coach John Obuh. Could you share your experience with me?

It has been a wonderful experience working under former international Coach Henry Nwosu and my present boss, Coach John Obuh. I don’t like discussing my superiors but it is rather unfortunate that some of the advices given to my former boss, Nwosu were not taken. Either because of his fame or exposure, he did not readily accept some of the advices given to him. But one thing I must not fail to say here is that he is a very nice guy. It was great working under him just that he did not like accepting some of the useful advices. In fact it was people who surrounded him that created his problems. My present boss is like a big brother. Moments after he was appointed, he called us together and we opened our hearts to him. We had fruitful discussions and since then, we been having a harmonious working relationship. Each member of the technical crew has been assigned a clear cut responsibility. One thing I want you to know is that coach Obuh is a workaholic.

In the course of selecting players for the national U-17 team, were members of the coaching crew exposed to any serious pressure from interested parties?

 I must confess that we were under tremendous pressure but we must thank God for staying by us. There was so much pressure which later developed into threats to our lives. I was threatened to such a point that I had to run to my employers. I showed them the text message I got from someone who felt aggrieved by my firmness. Those who wanted to impose players on us considered me to be the stumbling block. Those who wanted me out of the way thought they were working hard to destroy me but they rather made me more popular and useful to the team. We all decided to stand firmly against imposition of players. We did not care to know where the players we considered not good enough were coming from. We went for the best in terms of performance on the field of play and self discipline. As ambassadors of the country, we wanted players who would positively project the image of the country on and off the field. So in selecting the players, we considered so many things and the pressure was much but we stood our ground. At a stage there were attempts to blackmail us with bribery allegations but as it is said clear conscience fears no accusations. We were transparently honest in our dealings with the players and so God has vindicated us.

Before the commencement of this championship, the team was faced with a lot of problems. Did you believe you will get to this stage of the competition?

There were lots of issues but we had our game plan which we did not reveal to anybody. To be fair to us, we did not promise anybody the trophy. What we told Nigerians was that by the time the championship ends, we would have left a legacy in which the Golden Eaglets of 2009 would be available to represent the nation in the next ten to fifteen years.

There is this controversy which erupted over the ages of some members of the team. Are you sure the present Eaglets are really young and will remain relevant in the next decade?

In the process of selecting players for a cadet championship, you have to mix up the younger ones to grow with the mature ones. Let’s not forget the fact that some players’ physique can be very deceptive. They appear bigger than their real ages. Such players are not actually old. From coach Obuh to those of us who are assisting him, we are all grassroots coaches and we know issues relating to players ages. We know most of these players. When we were in Gambia on a playing tour, we almost backed out when we saw the over aged players we had to play against. Along the line, we encouraged ourselves and were able to get results. In Ghana, when the organizers saw our players they laughed at us. They said our players are too small for such a championship. We were told that if we don’t get mature boys, we would be spectators when the championship starts. But everything changed when we defeated four premier League teams in Ghana. We never planned to work with over aged players. Most of those who are peddling rumours of over aged players are the disgruntled ones whose players did not meet the standard we set. These players are young and will certainly serve Nigeria for a long time. This is one of the legacies coach Obuh wants to leave for the nation.

In the opening match against Germany, Eaglets were in disarray. What made the team to survive that scare?

We were two goals down so during the second half, we made the boys to understand that they were far better than their opponents. They were playing better than their opponents. So all we did was to tell them to calm down and convert their chances. There was nothing special about the Germans. We told them that they were two goals down but far better than the Germans. That restored their confidence and the rest is now history. I must commend the players fighting spirit. This is what has brought us this far. Even the senior national team must learn from these boys.

Coach, at what stage did you become totally convinced that this team will go all the way to the finals?

After surviving the German scare, we called ourselves together and said that should be the last difficult match. We made the boys understand that after surviving that scare nothing will stay in their way again. I believe that was the turning point.

What are your expectations from today’s finals against debutants Switzerland?

No coach will ask for anything short of victory. However, I don’t do things outside God. We believe in the will of God. So all we are saying is that God’s will should be done. But let me say here that this team is God’s divine project for this nation. I have never seen God abandon his project. The good Lord will see us through over Switzerland today.

Apart from God’s support which you are hoping for, what role do you think the crowd at Abuja National Stadium will play?. Won’t the crowd have adverse effect on your players?

I wish you were in Calabar and Lagos where we took on Korea and Spain. Having withstood the intimidating and vociferous crowd in Calabar and Lagos, I can confidently tell you that there is nothing like stage fright for these boys. And don’t forget that when they were down against Germany in the opening match and were booed by a section of the crowd, they were not perturbed.