Former internationals will soon take over the NFF – Henry Nwosu

Henry Nwosu, a former midfielder and member of
the victorious 1980 Africa Cup of Nations squad
believes that with the election of Austin Okocha
as head of the Delta State FA, ex-players will
begin to get their due in Nigerian football. He also
delves into the matters of the Super Eagles coach
as well as the youth teams in this interview with
Goal’s Shina Oludare.
Many had thought that with the preparation of
the Golden Eaglets for the 2015 African U17
Championship, they should have brought home
the trophy but that was not the case as they
finished fourth. What did you think went wrong in
Niamey?
They had the best of preparations and defeated
big teams in the Nigerian league enroute the
competition but I think probably they lost
concentration on the game and were a little more
complacent in their approaches. These factors I
think caused them the title in Niger Republic.
Some have called for the overhauling of the team
towards a successful outing at the Fifa U17 World
Cup. What is your take on this?
Of a truth, the technical crew might still bring in
newer faces and fresher legs to complement the
efforts of other players in the team as we prepare
for the big stage. Asking for an overhaul of the
team with few months to the Fifa World Cup will
be very wrong and counterproductive.
Any advice for coach Emmanuel Amuneke as he
prepares his team for the World Cup later this
year?
I am sure Emmanuel Amuneke and his team must
have seen their lapses at the African U17
Championship, all they need to do is work on
those shortcomings and correct them. Also
bearing in mind that these lads are still very
young, they need to be counseled and see how
they can improve on their individual game as well
as their team play. This will help them going
forward.
The Flying Eagles begin their campaign at the
African Youth Championship in Senegal this
weekend. How high do you think Manu Garba’s
team would fly?
I would advise them to put on maximum
concentration. They should learn from what
happened to the Golden Eaglets, who after
beating every team on their way to the
championship thought they had arrived. You
cannot take it away that Manu Garba’s side who
won their entire warm up games including the
Nigeria Premier League Super Four. They need not
underrate any team, they should remain focused
and take every game as it comes then victory will
be theirs.
With our exploits in football at the lower cadre, is
it not sad that we have non-existent player
progression?
That has been the case over the years but with
the latest trend in Nigerian football where the
U17 players graduate to the Flying Eagles and
then the Dream Team down to the Super Eagles,
let’s fold our arms and pray the transition
continues. Our football administrators should be
willing to promote any young talent to the next
cadre of the national team not minding his age. I
don’t see why a talent like [Kelechi] Iheanacho is
still out of the senior national team. Put him
there and he will learn and gain valuable
experience. It happened to me when I played
amongst the Odegbamis and Chukwus . The
national team selectors then, despite my young
age, still deemed it fit to invite me to the national
team. I was shown respect by my teammates and
I gave them the respect as well. This should be
the standard towards allowing young players
grow and that will help us a lot.
I am sure you are aware of the inability of the
Super Eagles to get a permanent manager.
If [Stephen] Keshi is not there for now, he has his
immediate assistant Daniel Amokachi who has
been doing well in his absence. At the end of the
day, if the NFF and Keshi fail to iron out their
differences, then someone else should be allowed
to step in. For now, Amokachi should be given
the nod to handle our national team with the
supervision of Amodu Shaibu. If this is done,
things will be well for us.
In your active days as a footballer, the Super
Eagles team was seen as unbeatable as they sent
unending shivers down the spines of oppositions,
why is that no longer the case today?
The craze of our boys going abroad to play their
professional football has been a bigger factor.
Most of these players can’t play for their local
governments back home but they want to go
abroad to play for teams like Barcelona, Chelsea,
and Arsenal when they are not fully mature and
prepared for it. And when they earn the “foreign-
based” tag, they are invited to play for the
national team, and the result is having half-baked
players play for the Super Eagles.
As a way of solving the problem you just painted,
would it not be preferable then that our senior
national team is made up of only locally based
talents?
That is the problem, you can’t have the senior
national team made up of only locally based
talents. It must have a blend of the foreign
professionals too, and most of these foreign-
based we invite to prosecute international
matches are mere benchwarmers for their
respective teams abroad.
As we prepare for the resumption of the Nigeria
Professional Football League, have you thought of
the grey areas that need more attention?
We need improvement when it comes to security
for match officials because if the referees are well
protected, I can bet you that they will do better
than what they are doing now. Due to fear of
losing their lives, they are usually tempted to
support the home teams which should not be so.
Also, another key area is the playing turf. If the
pitches are good, you will witness some good
football artistry.
How do we ensure our stadiums are filled to
capacity during league games?
Thanks for this question. I have said it several
times our league organizers should look into this
to ensure its growth. But of a truth, how do you
expect the fans to watch football league games
when the teams they are coming to watch cannot
produce the best? In my playing days, the local
league had stars that the fans were always eager
to watch, but that is not the same today. Our
local league players take a portion of this blame
too because they only do what their coaches tell
them to do. They never deem it fit to improve on
their skills and abilities on their own.
What does Jay Jay Okocha’s election as
Chairman of the Delta State Football Association
mean to ex-internationals?
Definitely, most of us are looking forward to the
next Nigeria Football Federation election but there
is no way you can find your way in there if you
are not rooted in the politics of the game starting
from the grassroots. Okocha’s victory is a
welcome development and I can assure you that
very soon, we will be there to take charge of our
football towards ensuring it is run the way it
should be.

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