| |
Vogts
has nothing to offer
By TONY ICHEKU, Maiduguri
Thursday, February 8, 2007
|
•Beti
Vogts
Photo: Sun News Publishing
|
| |
The signing on of Beti Vogts as the new coach of Super Eagles
has been described as a miscalculated attempt by Nasarawa
United’s Coach, Zakari Baraje.
“The man (Vogts) said he would coach the Nigerian national
team from Europe; how would he discover new talents in the
local scene? What would he contribute to our football?”
These were the volley of questions fired by Baraje when asked
to react to the Vogts’ employment by the Nigeria Football
Association (NFA).
In an outburst laced with pessimism, the coach declared that
“Vogts will fail. NFA have taken another wrong step.”
Baraje spoke to Daily Sunsport in Maiduguri, where his team
were drubbed 2–0 by El-Kanemi Warriors in the ongoing
Globacom Premier League season. He attributed his team’s
defeat to fatigue and injuries, but added that he had to caution
his boys.
Still on his assessment of Vogts, Baraje said: “For
me, the man has nothing to offer Nigerian football. I pray
he lasts up to one month. Does the NFA have the money to pay
his bills? Have they been paying Austin Eguavoen?”
Baraje, whose team are currently pursuing continental honours,
counselled our football authorities to look inwards.
“We should look inwards for a coach. If the NFA say
that Eguavoen is not forceful, they should look for another
coach from within the nation. If we can produce talented players,
why can’t we produce talented coaches also? he asked
rhetorically.
He spoke further on his forthcoming second leg match against
Burkina Faso in the Champions League.
“Our aim is of course to win. Where we are now came
out of long-time hard work. In fact, we fought to get to this
level.”
Asked if he could win the Champions League trophy, and he
replied: “We entered the competition with the aim of
getting to the highest level.”
It would be recalled that Nasarawa United picked one point
by drawing 1–1 in Ouagadougou. Describing the Burkinabe
team’s performance as good, Baraje retorted that if
Nasarawa United could score a goal in Burkina Faso, nothing
would stop the Burkinabes from doing the same when they come
for the second leg in Nigeria.
On whether he would replace his goaltender, Femi, who got
injured during the match in Ouagadougou, Baraje affirmed that
the keeper would be in shape for the second leg encounter.
He, however, added that arrangements were being made to get
a reserve keeper for the match.
Baraje, who called for both moral and financial supports for
his team, equally poured encomiums on the Nasarawa State Governor,
Abdullahi Adamu, who he said had been picking the bills of
the team despite the state’s lean purse.
“The Nasarawa State governor has been the pillar of
our financial support. If you check the records, you would
discover that Nasarawa State is among the three states in
the federation that receive the least allocation from the
federal purse, yet Governor Abdullahi has been steadfast in
meeting the financial needs of the club. Players salaries
and sign-on fees are paid as at when due. This season, we
have already paid 25 per cent of the player’s sign-on
fees.”
Baraje, a former army footballer, also plied his trade at
the defunct Asabatex and Julius Berger FC among other in the
first division. And on his retirement from active playing
career, he underwent several coaching courses at the National
Institute for Sports (NIS) in Lagos. Since his certification
as a coach, Baraje has not looked back. He has coached many
teams like El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, Shooting Stars
of Ibadan, NNPC Kaduna, among others.
Asked why he has broken his routine and consented to staying
up to four years at Nasarawa United, the coach explained that
frequent movement of coaches and players contribute to the
factors that hinder football development in the country.
“If the atmosphere is right, why not stay with a team?
My first year with Nasarawa United was rough, but in the second
year, we took the team to another level, and now, we are aiming
at something higher,” he stated.
|
