“I didn’t expect this (recognition) from the
president. Even when he was announcing everything, I started imagining what
will happen when we win the cup.”
Super Eagles
goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has attributed his outstanding performance to his
teammates and management, noting that this was his first African Cup of
Nations.
Nwabali said
this in an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday after the team was
hosted by President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa.
He said “I
played this AFCON with help from my teammates. They really tried for me and
guided me. Even the management of the team, coupled with the fact that it is my
first AFCON. For a goalkeeper, being in a tournament like this for the first
time is really tough. But as things got going, my teammates kept encouraging
me.
“People are
always talking about how I play my football in terms of confidence, but the
confidence comes from my teammates because we have a lot of leaders in the team
that go the extra mile to talk to me because they have been there before me.
“In football,
you must start somewhere. I didn’t start in a big place when I started my
football career. I was not born as a goalkeeper but talking about how I found
myself here, I passed through different stages in Nigerian leagues before I
travelled out and it’s just been one year and I have been famous ever since I
left Nigeria.”
He also
condemned fans cyberbullying his team member, Alex Iwobi, saying if he found
himself in Iwobi’s shoes, he would have broken down.
“It is not
nice to be honest and I hope the world will watch this interview. I know the
country we have found ourselves in; everyone is desperate to win, everyone
needs the cup, even when you are playing against the biggest country in the
world, you want to win. I like it and I enjoy that spirit but it’s not easy and
if the bullying happens to me, I will break down.
“I could
remember the interview I granted earlier and I told them that a lot of people
are waiting for me to make a mistake and then they show themselves on the
internet but bullying Alex Iwobi is not nice.
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