The Manu Garba interview continues with the Flying Eagles coach talking about his team’s opening World Cup match against Brazil, the players who will shine in New Zealand as well as his future.
Read part one of Manu Garba's interview with Flying Eagles media officer Sam Audu
Read part one of Manu Garba's interview with Flying Eagles media officer Sam Audu
QUESTION: The Flying Eagles are drawn against five-time champions Brazil, North Korea and Hungary in the first round. What do you know about these teams?
MANU GARBA: Sincerely speaking, we know very little about them, but then everyone knows the Brazilian philosophy – they play the way we want by moving the ball from the rear, they don’t kick long balls. This style is good for our own pattern of play.
The Hungarians are from Europe, they will play a more direct game, while the Koreans are very, very fast and they like moving the ball.
But we are a team who do not want to be diverted from the way we play and so we want the opponents to play the way we want.
We have really worked very, very hard and I believe by the time we are in New Zealand, we will be ready for any team in the world.
Your opening match is against mighty Brazil, who have won this competition five times. How are you looking forward to that game and how crucial is it in your aspiration?
I respect all the teams who have qualified for this championship and that includes Brazil, who have been good at this level, but believe you me, Brazil is Brazil and Nigeria is Nigeria.
Brazil have won the World Cup several times, but Nigeria have got silver twice and a bronze.
At U17 level, we are rated no.1 in the world. And half of the team to New Zealand are from the last U17 team. We are a united team who have conquered the world at U17 level and we have now been joined by other players who are more technically balanced than some of them from the U17s. So, I believe we are ready to take on any team.
But I also know that the first match in any tournament is the most important and so we will do all we can to pick up the maximum three points against Brazil, which will go a long way to motivate the team in subsequent matches.
I could recall Mexico came to last U17 World Cup as defending champions and they had not lost a match for two years. But against a Nigerian side, who did not play a test game for a month, we defeated them 6-1.
This is not to say we will be overconfident. We are confident in ourselves to beat Brazil in our opening game.
We are very ready for the World Cup.
You said you will go to the World Cup as African champions and after that you said you wish to make history as the first Nigerian team to go all the way and win the U20 World Cup. Are we on track in this regard?
Yes, I said before the AYC that I wish to go to Dakar to qualify as African champions. I still believe we can go all the way to win this U20 World Cup for the first time for Nigeria.
Nigeria have reached the final twice and we got a bronze in Moscow (1985). This time we have a team who are very focused, determined and want to go out there and win the World Cup for Nigeria for the first time.
But we cannot do that by merely talking about it, we intend to take every match as it comes. So, the most important game now is the match against Brazil.
We will approach every game with caution, although the knockout stages are the most difficult, but we want to win every game and by so doing, we will be champions. This is our major objective at the World Cup.
All we need is for Nigerians to keep faith in this team, for them to pray for this team and on our part, we will do everything humanly possible to bring the cup back to Nigeria and Africa.
When, and not if, you win the World Cup, what will be the next step for you and the team?
I am a firm believer in destiny and I always put the country first.
The most important thing for me now is to make sure we go to the World Cup and accomplish our mission of winning the tournament. Whatever comes after that, God knows what I will be and when I will be.
Wherever he takes me to, I will remain grateful to God Almighty because he determines everything.
Right now, God knows the team who will win the World Cup – it is our hope and prayer that it will be Nigeria.
We have come a long way, we have worked very hard throughout the qualifiers, managing ourselves in all aspects, but our major focus has remained to win the World Cup.
With God on our side, we can do it.
Could you pick a particular player from this very talented team who will shine at the World Cup?
Right from the qualifiers, Taiwo Awoniyi has been very consistent and he has improved match after match. He is a player who gets into a scoring position better than any other player.
I believe if he stayed calm, he will be one player who will do very, very well at the World Cup.
There are some others like Kelechi Iheanacho, who was the best player at the last U17 World Cup. If he was free of injury, he will hit very big as well.
There is also Kingsley Sokari. If he listened very well and works very hard too, he will have a great World Cup.
You cannot forget a player like Moses Simon, who has been fantastic in Belgium, he will be great.
I believe the best player and highest scorer (of the World Cup) will come from my team.
With such a presentation of top quality players, won’t you have selection problems?
We have a way we choose our team here – the starting team will be the best players in the week of the match, the player who are injury free and who are in top shape and the right frame of mind to deliver the goods.
With these 21 players, you can close your eyes and say this 11 will start and they will do well.
At times, the bench will be stronger than the starting line-up. Sometimes you win your match from the bench.
There won’t be selection problems because we will pick players who understand each other more, so that the cohesion and the rhythm will go well. Team play comes first before any individual showmanship.
We will pick players who are free of injury, players who play together and who are committed to cover for each other throughout the game.
So, is it safe to say this is the best team you have ever worked with?
I believe the U17, who won the World Cup two years ago are the best because this team are yet to play in the World Cup.
With the U17s, we broke so many records – Best player, best goalkeeper, won the fair play trophy and so on.
But this team in terms of quality has improved a great deal. We cannot rate them because they have not played at the World Cup yet.
This team is the delight of any coach at this level.
We just hope these boys keep their cool, listen to what we teach them and with God on our side, we will win the trophy.
Finally, how confident are you Nigeria will be crowned world champions on June 20?
I am not overconfident, but right from when I was born I do not fear in whatever I do because God has a way for everybody in life.
I go into any challenge without fear but with good preparation, I pray very well and ensure the team is united. No matter how good a team is, when there is no unity between the officials and the players, it will affect the team on the pitch.
But this team has been very wonderful. The officials are a team and so in Senegal despite some few problems, we managed ourselves and at the end of the day we won the trophy with a half strength team.
The team have grown in confidence and unity. You could see that even we announced the 21-man squad, it was just like it had not been announced.
This goes to show that we have done a very good job to unite this set of players.
I believe this unity will be for a purpose and God will now crown all our efforts for us to create that history in winning the cup for the first time for Nigeria.
Good luck coach in New Zealand.
Thank you and good luck as well to all Nigerians.
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