Leadership (Abuja)
Blessing Bassey
8 November 2009
Abuja — Attention have shifted from the National Stadium Abuja to the U.J Esuene Stadium Calabar where the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, and defending champions of the FIFA U-17 World are set to tackle later today their U-17 counterparts from Korea Republic in a crucial quarter-final clash. The Coach John Obuh lads thrashed New Zealand 5-0 in the round of 16 knockout encounter to book a date with the South Koreans who were better than Mexico in their last match.
Eaglets coach, John Obuh ahead of this match says the steady progression of the team has given the boys the needed confidence and right frame of mind to confront their Asian foes. He said although the team started rather on a shaky note, their last victories and improvement will propel the boys to go pass this evening's opponents and all the way to the final. "My boys are not afraid of any team in this tournament. We are ready for the Koreans. I just want Nigerians to exercise patience and see the outcome of the match.
I have confidence in the team." Obuh said the propelling factor pushing himself and the boys to win the trophy is to make names for themselves. "We are looking forward to making a name for ourselves. And you know I am a coach from the local league and so also are all the boys. They are looking forward to becoming champions. That is our aim." He however, called on Nigerians to support the team if they want to see the boys defend the title successfully. According to him, the Koreans will not be able to stand in the way of the Golden Eaglets in their aspiration to win the match and get to the semi-finals where the vociferous Lagos fans are waiting to receive and cheer the team. Despite the continuous progress of the team, the Eaglets coach says, the team has not arrived yet and that the technical crew will not leave any stone unturned in the quest to reach the finals. Assistant coach of the team, Monday Odigie said the technical crew have fair knowledge of the Koreans.
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