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Sunday, September 16, 2007
We made case for indigenous coaches –Chrisantus
By Afolabi Gambari
The world celebrated Nigeria’s newest striking sensation, Macaulay Chrisantus, at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea. But the unassuming player who also won the competition’s Golden Boot, in this interview with AFOLABI GAMBARI shortly after the team arrived in Lagos on Tuesday, insists that he owes his success in the Asian country to the Golden Eaglets’ unity of purpose.
You started at the World Cup as a feared striker and many soon began to imagine that you would emerge as the highest scorer. When did it occur to you that you could end up with the Golden Boot?
Well, all that I can say is that I didn’t imagine that I would be the highest goal scorer in the competition. Yes, I know that my job was to score the goals and I am happy that I didn’t disappoint. If you look at our team, you will see how easy it looked for any one to score. A good example is Isa Sheriff who came on in a match and registered himself immediately as a feared scorer. He scored two great goals and they were vital to our success. It was the same with Yakubu Alfa. Not much could have been expected from him as a scorer. But he also made his mark. So, if statistics says that we ended the competition without losing a game, you will accept that it’s not about me scoring to win the Golden Boot. It’s about us pooling our resources to arrive at the ultimate success. As for me, all is well that ended well. It’s just my luck that I am going home with the award.
How do you feel as a world champion?
Ah! I cannot describe it. I have to be honest with you. It’s hard to believe, but I think I will fully get to grip with the reality that is unfolding. When I stepped on the platform to receive the winner’s medal at the stadium on Sunday, I felt the whole world watching me and I said to myself, ‘what will people think of me now…’ Imagine the feeling again when I stepped out to receive the Golden Boot. Great feeling! I just couldn’t have asked for more.
You and your colleagues must have felt like on cloud nine after the Sunday’s feat. What was the reception like by the Nigerians out there and the Koreans?
Every one appreciated us as champions. But you know, we have a disciplined camp that ensured that nothing went beyond the ordinary. We were all happy and we celebrated the success. But very moderately, I must say. We liked it like that, anyway.
Was it the rule in the camp, especially with the disciplinarian coach Yemi Tella?
From the very beginning, we had lived moderately. Remember that we were fortunate to be camped at Ijebu Ode where we had nothing to distract us. So, we were always focused and I think the team spirit that we enjoyed in Korea was a testimony to the way we had carried ourselves all through the campaign until we won the cup in Korea.
Are you saying that contrary to what the public believed, that the coach was not totalitarian when it comes to camp discipline?
I am very sorry I cannot comment on the style of my coach in public. In any case, we are one big family in the camp and we worked for one another.
Does this mean that you missed the coach sorely while he was away in Korea receiving treatment for his illness?
Yes, we missed him a lot. But the good thing was that we had a constant line of communication with him and he kept telling us not to lose focus. Don’t also forget that the other coaches that we had with us back home, Ben Iroha and Manu Garba were continuing from where coach Tella left off. Of course, we always knew that we would be joining with him again when we returned to Korea. So, it was only a matter of time.
Certainly, his input mattered at Korea…
It’s very obvious. He was in charge. As you can see, it also showed in the result at the end of the competition.
Would you therefore see the achievement in Korea as an achievement for the local coaches?
The only coaches that I have known and worked with are the ones you called “local coaches”. I want to call them indigenous coaches because they know us better than other coaches from other countries. Yes, coaches only saw us out there. They didn’t know us! But I have not worked under a foreign coach. I have only seen them coaching others. As far as I am concerned, our coaches are not local in the way they are referred to. They are the best, because they have been able to maximise our potential to achieve what the other 31 countries failed to achieve at Korea. I think that we have made a good case for the hardworking coaches and their numerous colleagues in Nigeria. I believe they can do much more if given the opportunity.
So, would you prefer to work under an indigenous coach than the one from another country?
Life is a stage, as you know. At the moment, I am under the indigenous coaches and I am competent to say a lot about them. When I find myself abroad one day, I will be under a foreign coach and that will be a new experience. When the time comes, we will see.
It’s generally believed that your days at the FC Abuja appear numbered, considering that a lot of agents would have besieged you at the World Cup. Surely, you will soon be set for trials abroad…
I really don’t want to talk about that at the moment. It’s been a gruelling long period of concentration on national assignment and I just want to enjoy this time out.
It’s interesting that you don’t want to talk about a possible move abroad. Stories suggest that a lot of your colleagues have been courted. You certainly will be the least to be courted by foreign clubs…
I can’t really talk about others. Let me just talk about myself. I know for sure that I am eager to return to my mates in Abuja.
Not even a Pro-League club has made offers to you, especially Prime and Tornadoes where your colleagues Ganiyu Oseni and Yakubu Alfa are already engaged?
Well, as you know, we have just returned home and anything can still happen. For now, it’s too early to say anything.
How did you pick interest in football at a time when most of your mates would prefer to be in school?
It’s matter of watching people who play the game and believing that someday you would be like them. I decided to stick to my dream. I had a problem though, because my parents weren’t too sure if I wasn’t putting my future well being at risk. I stuck to my dream still and I was fortunate to meet with a lot of people who expressed belief in my ability. It was enough to encourage me. Being spotted for the Eaglets coach was the biggest opportunity I have got in my life. I initially thought it was a burden but I carried it with pride. Luckily for me, I worked with coaches who insisted that we must work for one another.
Who, specifically, would you call your role model?
To be fair, I wouldn’t say that any particular person is my role model. I have always wanted to be my own person.
Talking about working for one another, how would you see your group being promoted to the Flying Eagles?
It will be a great idea. The fact that we won the cup in Korea and the bond that we share with our coaches can take us farther than we can even imagine. I believe if the NFA gives it a try, we will live up to expectations. Right now, so many things are going for us in the most positive way.
It’s amazing how life has turned around for you for good. One moment, you were not recognised. The next moment, you are on your way to meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. From this moment, your life will not be same again. Today, your name is on the lips of millions of Nigerians. What do you really make of all this?
It’s an overwhelming feeling really. People have come before me and achieved a lot more. Without being immodest, I think I am naturally a modest person. Also, I have been fortunate to be tutored by coach Tella who always tells me that no matter what I may achieve at this stage, it’s only the beginning.
With the endowment that you have demonstrated as a ruthless striker, would you be surprised to see yourself in the Super Eagles’ squad someday soon, as a fringe player, that is?
It will be a long way to the Super Eagles. But I know that nothing is impossible. If I ever get the chance before my time, I will be most humbled. I will also take the opportunity with thanks to God. But to me, it’s a tall dream. Let that time come first.
On a final note, what do you think that the NFA should do to uplift the indigenous coaches that are scattered all over the country?
At this stage, I am very far from being competent to advise the NFA on what to do. But from my experience with the indigenous coaches, I think all that they need to excel is to be given a sense of belonging. Our coaches were encouraged and look at the way that the entire country is happy with what they have achieved. There are many more around the country who need encouragement to excel. So, when we think about what we the players achieved at Korea, naturally we have to also think about the coaches we have passed through at certain stages who would probably remain unknown and unrecognised. Maybe the NFA can discover these coaches and nurture them, just like the coaches have discovered and nurtured us the players.
Every one appreciated us as champions. But you know, we have a disciplined camp that ensured that nothing went beyond the ordinary. We were all happy and we celebrated the success. But very moderately, I must say. We liked it like that, anyway.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
We made case for indigenous coaches –Chrisantus
By Afolabi Gambari
The world celebrated Nigeria’s newest striking sensation, Macaulay Chrisantus, at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea. But the unassuming player who also won the competition’s Golden Boot, in this interview with AFOLABI GAMBARI shortly after the team arrived in Lagos on Tuesday, insists that he owes his success in the Asian country to the Golden Eaglets’ unity of purpose.
You started at the World Cup as a feared striker and many soon began to imagine that you would emerge as the highest scorer. When did it occur to you that you could end up with the Golden Boot?
Well, all that I can say is that I didn’t imagine that I would be the highest goal scorer in the competition. Yes, I know that my job was to score the goals and I am happy that I didn’t disappoint. If you look at our team, you will see how easy it looked for any one to score. A good example is Isa Sheriff who came on in a match and registered himself immediately as a feared scorer. He scored two great goals and they were vital to our success. It was the same with Yakubu Alfa. Not much could have been expected from him as a scorer. But he also made his mark. So, if statistics says that we ended the competition without losing a game, you will accept that it’s not about me scoring to win the Golden Boot. It’s about us pooling our resources to arrive at the ultimate success. As for me, all is well that ended well. It’s just my luck that I am going home with the award.
How do you feel as a world champion?
Ah! I cannot describe it. I have to be honest with you. It’s hard to believe, but I think I will fully get to grip with the reality that is unfolding. When I stepped on the platform to receive the winner’s medal at the stadium on Sunday, I felt the whole world watching me and I said to myself, ‘what will people think of me now…’ Imagine the feeling again when I stepped out to receive the Golden Boot. Great feeling! I just couldn’t have asked for more.
You and your colleagues must have felt like on cloud nine after the Sunday’s feat. What was the reception like by the Nigerians out there and the Koreans?
Every one appreciated us as champions. But you know, we have a disciplined camp that ensured that nothing went beyond the ordinary. We were all happy and we celebrated the success. But very moderately, I must say. We liked it like that, anyway.
Was it the rule in the camp, especially with the disciplinarian coach Yemi Tella?
From the very beginning, we had lived moderately. Remember that we were fortunate to be camped at Ijebu Ode where we had nothing to distract us. So, we were always focused and I think the team spirit that we enjoyed in Korea was a testimony to the way we had carried ourselves all through the campaign until we won the cup in Korea.
Are you saying that contrary to what the public believed, that the coach was not totalitarian when it comes to camp discipline?
I am very sorry I cannot comment on the style of my coach in public. In any case, we are one big family in the camp and we worked for one another.
Does this mean that you missed the coach sorely while he was away in Korea receiving treatment for his illness?
Yes, we missed him a lot. But the good thing was that we had a constant line of communication with him and he kept telling us not to lose focus. Don’t also forget that the other coaches that we had with us back home, Ben Iroha and Manu Garba were continuing from where coach Tella left off. Of course, we always knew that we would be joining with him again when we returned to Korea. So, it was only a matter of time.
Certainly, his input mattered at Korea…
It’s very obvious. He was in charge. As you can see, it also showed in the result at the end of the competition.
Would you therefore see the achievement in Korea as an achievement for the local coaches?
The only coaches that I have known and worked with are the ones you called “local coaches”. I want to call them indigenous coaches because they know us better than other coaches from other countries. Yes, coaches only saw us out there. They didn’t know us! But I have not worked under a foreign coach. I have only seen them coaching others. As far as I am concerned, our coaches are not local in the way they are referred to. They are the best, because they have been able to maximise our potential to achieve what the other 31 countries failed to achieve at Korea. I think that we have made a good case for the hardworking coaches and their numerous colleagues in Nigeria. I believe they can do much more if given the opportunity.
So, would you prefer to work under an indigenous coach than the one from another country?
Life is a stage, as you know. At the moment, I am under the indigenous coaches and I am competent to say a lot about them. When I find myself abroad one day, I will be under a foreign coach and that will be a new experience. When the time comes, we will see.
It’s generally believed that your days at the FC Abuja appear numbered, considering that a lot of agents would have besieged you at the World Cup. Surely, you will soon be set for trials abroad…
I really don’t want to talk about that at the moment. It’s been a gruelling long period of concentration on national assignment and I just want to enjoy this time out.
It’s interesting that you don’t want to talk about a possible move abroad. Stories suggest that a lot of your colleagues have been courted. You certainly will be the least to be courted by foreign clubs…
I can’t really talk about others. Let me just talk about myself. I know for sure that I am eager to return to my mates in Abuja.
Not even a Pro-League club has made offers to you, especially Prime and Tornadoes where your colleagues Ganiyu Oseni and Yakubu Alfa are already engaged?
Well, as you know, we have just returned home and anything can still happen. For now, it’s too early to say anything.
How did you pick interest in football at a time when most of your mates would prefer to be in school?
It’s matter of watching people who play the game and believing that someday you would be like them. I decided to stick to my dream. I had a problem though, because my parents weren’t too sure if I wasn’t putting my future well being at risk. I stuck to my dream still and I was fortunate to meet with a lot of people who expressed belief in my ability. It was enough to encourage me. Being spotted for the Eaglets coach was the biggest opportunity I have got in my life. I initially thought it was a burden but I carried it with pride. Luckily for me, I worked with coaches who insisted that we must work for one another.
Who, specifically, would you call your role model?
To be fair, I wouldn’t say that any particular person is my role model. I have always wanted to be my own person.
Talking about working for one another, how would you see your group being promoted to the Flying Eagles?
It will be a great idea. The fact that we won the cup in Korea and the bond that we share with our coaches can take us farther than we can even imagine. I believe if the NFA gives it a try, we will live up to expectations. Right now, so many things are going for us in the most positive way.
It’s amazing how life has turned around for you for good. One moment, you were not recognised. The next moment, you are on your way to meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. From this moment, your life will not be same again. Today, your name is on the lips of millions of Nigerians. What do you really make of all this?
It’s an overwhelming feeling really. People have come before me and achieved a lot more. Without being immodest, I think I am naturally a modest person. Also, I have been fortunate to be tutored by coach Tella who always tells me that no matter what I may achieve at this stage, it’s only the beginning.
With the endowment that you have demonstrated as a ruthless striker, would you be surprised to see yourself in the Super Eagles’ squad someday soon, as a fringe player, that is?
It will be a long way to the Super Eagles. But I know that nothing is impossible. If I ever get the chance before my time, I will be most humbled. I will also take the opportunity with thanks to God. But to me, it’s a tall dream. Let that time come first.
On a final note, what do you think that the NFA should do to uplift the indigenous coaches that are scattered all over the country?
At this stage, I am very far from being competent to advise the NFA on what to do. But from my experience with the indigenous coaches, I think all that they need to excel is to be given a sense of belonging. Our coaches were encouraged and look at the way that the entire country is happy with what they have achieved. There are many more around the country who need encouragement to excel. So, when we think about what we the players achieved at Korea, naturally we have to also think about the coaches we have passed through at certain stages who would probably remain unknown and unrecognised. Maybe the NFA can discover these coaches and nurture them, just like the coaches have discovered and nurtured us the players.
Every one appreciated us as champions. But you know, we have a disciplined camp that ensured that nothing went beyond the ordinary. We were all happy and we celebrated the success. But very moderately, I must say. We liked it like that, anyway.
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