Chairman of the Anambra State Football Association,
Chikelue Iloenyosi said even if the match between the Super Eagles and Cote
d’Ivoire is replayed multiple times, Nigeria will still carry the day because
the Ivoirians don’t have what it takes to defeat the Eagles.
He made this boast in an exclusive and extensive
interview at his hotel room in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire on Saturday.
His words, “Honestly speaking, I was one of the people
that believed that Super Eagles would win because the Ivoirians don’t have a
strong team. Even if we replay the match 10 times, we will defeat them. What we
needed on that day was the god of soccer to be on our side and thank God we
came out victorious.”
On what was responsible for the performance of the eagles
compared to their first match against Equatorial Guinea, the former Super
Eagles defender said “It is not about the people you are going to play but
determination. When we played our first match, if we had won by 1 or 2 or 3 -0,
when playing Ivory Coast, we wouldn’t have been under pressure because they are
already aware that every Nigerian is upset with their first match against
Equatorial Guinea.
“Nigerians don’t have patience for failure that was why
they came out as wounded lions to play the match. The worst result we would
have gotten in that match is a draw because Ivory Coast cannot win us but the
god of soccer was with us hence we were able to win it.
“If we had lost that match, it would have been a disaster
for us even if we qualified as one of the best losers, Nigerians don’t have
patience for failure, and they wouldn’t forgive you,” he noted.
Chikelue is however one of the people that believe that
the Super Eagles can repeat the feat of 2013 AFCON. He said, “I am very
optimistic that this is another opportunity for us to lift the trophy because
things are looking good. You can see that somehow the team has improved
especially in the last game, the strikers, midfielders, defenders, goalkeeper
including the players that came into the game as substitutes. They know
everybody has criticized and lost hope in them, so they want to gain back the
confidence of the fans. And the win against the Ivoirians makes everybody happy
and starts believing in the team.”
The man who is well-known as the People’s General however
commended the present board of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF led by AL
haji Ibrahim Gusau for a yeoman job.
According to him, “The president of the NFF is somebody
that has a listening ear. He listens to you to ensure we get things done
collectively. But I must give kudos to the NFF because nobody would say they
didn’t do well for the Super Eagles. The only thing we are praying for is for
the team to do well and for the god of soccer to be in our favor.
“I am happy with the good work the NFF Board is also
doing especially in this AFCON. You can see how people are rallying around the
team. It is not like before when people are divided and the president has also
visited the congress members to address them, it shows respect and assurance.
He told us that what we need now is prayer from every quarters even though we
have done our parts as individuals,” he concluded.
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