Abu Dhabi friendlies: Eagles ask for more, hails NFF

After two exciting friendly games against Cote D’ Ivoire In Abu
Dhabi and Yemen in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
losing the former 1-0 and winning the latter by 2-0, the Super
Eagles made up entirely of professional players from the
Nigeria Premier League have commended the leadership of the
NFF under Amaju Pinnick, for the friendlies even as the players
have asked for the sustenance of friendly games culture.
Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Skipper of the side,
Chigozie Agbim, said all the players were happy that they
were not redundant in January, following the mishap of non-
qualification for the ongoing Nations Cup championship in
Equatorial Guinea.
He said he was speaking the minds of his teammates, who
made the same remarks after the friendly against Yemen on
Saturday in Dubai. “All the players were unanimous in saying
that playing friendly games is a way of making the team blend
together and building the unity of the team, the coaching staff
and the ensuring that the players are active throughout the
year.
“What we want to demand is that this laudable development
should not be a one off thing. We want a sustenance of the
culture of friendly matches in the Nigerian soccer system, so
that we will get to know ourselves better and we will not have
the problem of blending when we have crucial qualifying
games like it happened in the ACN qualifiers”.
The team returned home on Sunday, with Assistant Coach,
Dan ‘The Bull’ Amokachi, like Stephen Keshi admonishing the
players to keep the same level of discipline and focus at their
various club sides if they hope to receive future invitations to
the national team. He praised the team’s level of
concentration during the friendlies and said it must be
sustained at their various clubsides in the course of building a
more virile national team.