15th June, 2013
Super Eagles and Celtic centre-half, Efe Ambrose has declared Nigeria fear no foes in the ongoing FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil.
Ambrose said in an interview with FIFA.com Saturday that though the African champions are in a group that includes the European and world champions, Spain, he still has the confidence that the Eagles would not disappoint soccer loving Nigerians and the continent as a whole.
“It’s true that we were not the favourites but I think football has changed a lot in recent years and those kind of things are not so important anymore. At every tournament you will have a team that has the best players, but it is important to remember too that aspects like teamwork, determination, unity and physical preparation count for a lot. No-one gave us a chance at the Cup of Nations because they thought we were too inexperienced, but we knew that we could do great things if we stuck together,” he told FIFA.com.
On Eagles’ first match against Tahiti on Monday by 8p.m. Nigerian time, Ambrose said that the team are ready. “The most important thing of all for us is to focus on this match. It is a match we know we need to win and, to do that, we need to be fully concentrated. We cannot afford to take any chances. Big shocks have happened before in this kind of tournament and we don’t want to be the victims this time. We know we need to get the three points to give ourselves a good chance of qualifying for the next stage,” he said.
Regardless of what happens at the FIFA Confederations Cup which starts this weekend in Brazil, the just ended season will nonetheless be rated as Ambrose’s best season ever.
Ambrose this term has won silverware for both club and country and also improved dramatically in his play thereby building a lot of confidence that saw him go head-on with world’s best Lionel Messi in the UEFA Champions League.
“It has been wonderful. The whole experience of playing for a big club like Celtic, winning the league and the cup, has been a massive achievement for me.
”This has been the best season of my career so far, I have no doubts about that.
“To come to Celtic, win trophies, compete in the Champions League, and also win the Cup of Nations with Nigeria, I could not have asked for any more and I can only thank God for everything I have been given,” the Kaduna-born star said.