The Golden Eaglets trainer has admitted delight in leading his wards to an impressive start in Chile, shares his dreams and seeks support from Nigerians
Head coach of the Nigeria U17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke spoke in an exclusive interview with Goal after his side’s impressive opening victories against the United States and Chile at the ongoing Fifa U17 World Cup. The former Nigeria international and ex-Barcelona forward shared his excitement, aspiration and his team’s struggle to cope with life and competition in the South American nation.
In this interview, the 44-year-old 1994 African Footballer of the Year defended forward Funsho Bamgboye over his red card against Chile, insisting it was not an intentional act and has blamed it on the tension of the game. Amuneke hopes to lead the Golden Eaglets to a successful defence of the title they won a record fourth time in 2013 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The Golden Eaglets, who have netted seven goals in two games and sealed a place in the next stage with a game to spare, will face Croatia on Friday at the Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso, Coquimbo.
He urged Nigerians to sustain their faith in the team, assuring that they will make the country proud. Now he’s got the chance to lead his fatherland, the elated former star turned coach had this attention-grabbing chat with Goal’s correspondent Samuel Ahmadu .
How do you feel after your opening two matches in Chile?
Emmanuel Amuneke : We are happy that what we have planned is working. We are grateful for the moment and occasion. We thank God for making it possible for us to win our first two games, which is very important for any team attending a tournament of this magnitude. But we are still quiet, calm and optimistic and looking forward to our last game which is coming up on Friday. We still thank God for giving us the opportunity of winning our opening games and [are] happy that back home a lot of people are happy, probably a lot of people watched the game and had to sleep very late and at the end of the day it was worth it. We know that the journey is still very long, so we have to be focussed.
What positives and assessment have you made of your players in the opening two games?
From day one, when we started against USA, the players have been able to play to instruction and maintain the structure and the style of playing. There has been a high level of organisation in the team. Football has gone beyond you coming on the pitch to start running around all over.
In modern football, everything is organised and well-structured in terms of playing. The players have to know what to do when they have the ball and what to do when they don’t have the ball. If these players go with the mind-set, we can easily say their decision making will be better and would be from their own part and not the coach anymore. When a player knows how to interrupt every circumstance in a game, like the game against Chile, we played against the host country; we had everybody supporting their team.
It was like we were playing against millions. You know what it takes, I think I gave the players the confidence and they played maturely and were able to calm their nerves and showed great confidence and it is already working out for them. I’m happy for them because this is their story and we should all guide them to writing their own story. So that hopefully, we can see these players playing at the top level.
The objective is that these players should grow and in the nearest future we start seeing them at the top level. If they should have all this experience and knowledgeable information, then it will become easier for them to play at the top level.
After two games, what areas do you think your team needs to make improvements?
As the tournament progresses, the tournament becomes much tougher. We will continue to assess and evaluate ourselves. Before our last game on Friday, we will evaluate ourselves looking at the areas we need to improve upon. But you don’t come out and tell people on what you would not try to do. We will look at areas to make improvements. In modern football, everyone tries to keep their plans [secret] and it will be wise to operate in that manner.
What do you make of Funsho Bamigboye’s red against Chile?
There is nothing I could think about it. It is unfortunate for the player. I don’t think any player who goes to the pitch plans to get a red card. But the tempo of the game yesterday we all understood, the tension and circumstance that surrounded the game was an intensive one. The referee tried to control the game to his own advantage considering the tension around. It has happened and of course we would learn from that and go back to correct the player and correct ourselves so that in the nearest future such will not repeat itself. It was not an intention on the side of the player, he went for the ball, but unfortunately some things occur. Of course, we just have to accept it and move ahead to the next game.
How are the Golden Eaglets coping with adaptation in Chile?
We are okay. We on our own part we are doing everything humanly possible to adapt in Chile. We are doing everything humanly possible to compete with the rest of the world and defend our trophy. Whatever circumstance we’ve found ourselves, we are meant to adapt as human beings adapt to every situation they find themselves. We are adapting and going gradually, step by step, and doing the best we can. Hopefully by November 8, God will make it possible for us to achieve our objectives. The feeding is okay. Logistics are okay. It is a Fifa standard competition and everything is okay. We have come from hot weather to a cold environment, we are not going to play in any other environment, except here. So we are adapting to it and the players are doing well.
What is your message to Nigerians?
I’m grateful to Nigerians. As a player, they gave me opportunity to serve them and after many years I’m back again serving them as a coach. I’m grateful and I will do everything I could do humanly possible and God will do the rest. They should believe in their team and that the players here are Nigerians, the most important thing is that they are doing their best. I think collectively they support them, prayerfully and morally they should give them support. Hopefully, they will bring joy and smile to the faces of Nigerians. We should not forget these players are kids. They are here to make Nigerians happy and they’ve realised that a lot of Nigerians are in difficulty. Sometimes, we need to tell ourselves the truth, probably when we look at the income of an average Nigerian it is not up to much. But when it comes to football, a lot of people forget about their problem.
Probably people who had problem did not sleep just to watch the Golden Eaglets and at the end the team were able to put smiles on their faces. This is what serving our country is all about. In any little way we can put smiles on the faces of our people that is what counts. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter who you are or what position you occupy, what counts first is Nigeria. We shall see that in the nearest future, there will be progress and life will be better for it.