4th January, 2013
Former Nigeria coaches, Adegboye Onigbinde and Christian Chukwu have praised the Super Eagles following their 1-1 draw against Catalonia in an exhibition game on Wednesday.
The game was part of Nigeria’s preparations for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
Sergio Gonzalez gave the Catalans the lead through an expertly dispatched penalty inside the opening three minutes but Nigeria were level shortly after the break as Bright Dike finished brilliantly in his first ever start for the Super Eagles.
Chukwu was the first to voice his sentiments on the result and he has words of praises for the players.
“The boys did well as they bounced back after conceding so early. It is a big morale boost as they did it against some of the best footballers in the world. However, the coaches must not relax as there is still a lot of work to be done in that team,” Chukwu told supersport.com.
Onigbinde, the only Nigeria-born coach to manage the Super Eagles at a FIFA World Cup, also had words of encouragement for the players.
“They performed very well but football is not mathematics. That a team did well today does not mean the team will do well tomorrow. They have to keep working hard,” he said.
Nigeria are in Group C of the 2013 Afcon alongside Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and the reigning champions, Zambia.