The Sun News On-line

Ex-Super Eagles’ playmaker and Under-23 national team’s Assistant Coach, Henry Nwosu (MON), has said the fact that he played for the Eagles ahead of Coach Samson Siasia, who is now his boss in the Olympics team, does not bother him at all.

The petit midfield maestro, apart from playing in the national team, also won the Nations Cup 14 years before Siasia achieved the same feat with the Eagles in 1994, but Nwosu insisted that such past records won’t affect his relationship with Siasia and, therefore, warned that nobody should use such to cause disaffection between them.

Nwosu made this known to Sunday Sunsport last weekend at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere Lagos, venue of the All Stars Football tournament, held in honour of the sport-loving Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, who clocked 45 recently.

Responding to question on how he feels working under his junior in the national team, the diminutive coach said: "You people should not cause trouble between us. We have been very good friends, we have been working cordially well. I believe you have not heard any issue about who is senior and who is junior. Moreover, that doesn’t arise in coaching."

Speaking on the team’s level of preparation for the Olympic Games, the former ACB of Lagos star said the team were preparing very well. He consequently assured Nigerians that they would return from the Olympic Games with nothing but the gold medal.

"We are preparing and working hard to see that we achieve success. The players have shown a lot of determination that they want to win gold in Beijing. With the type of training they have received and the level of dedication they have shown, I believe they will do the country proud.
"They have shown us that it’s possible to win the football Olympic gold again. And the government has also been very supportive. They make sure we get everything we need to prepare the team adequately for the Beijing outing. And of course, with more support from the government and every right-thinking Nigerian, we can do it."

Nwosu attributed the high level of discipline in the team to the no-nonsense stand of the coaching crew and emphatically stated that Chelsea of England’s star, Mikel Obi’s absence from the team would never be felt.
"We are coaches that do not tolerate nonsense. So, in terms of discipline, the team have been doing very well and we are happy with the level of discipline exhibited by the boys. We have been talking to them and they have been listening to us.

"For Mikel, I would say that he was not in the team and he is not still in the team. His case is a forgone conclusion. But I wonder why people will always talk about Mikel. Mikel has not been part of the team. Let us stop talking about him. Or was he there when we qualified for the Olympics? He was never part of us. His absence will not even disturb us in any way."
Being a creative midfielder during his active days, Nwosu regretted the absence of a reliable creative midfielder in the senior national team and advised that going to the under-aged teams to get and nurture one would be the solution.

"We have not gotten any creative midfielder for the Super Eagles. That is our problem. The ones we have are not of the quality we need in that team. In fact, we don’t have creative midfielders now.
"But I think we have to search deeper, we should go to the under-aged teams like Under-17, 20 and 23 and look for potential midfielders, who we can nurture to join the Super Eagles. But for now, we don’t have any one in the senior national team," he concluded.