Kaduna United, at the beginning of the week, made history as the first team from Kaduna State to win the Federation Cup when they defeated Enyimba of Aba 3-2 on penalties after a the final match ended 3-3 in both regulation and overtime. The feat was so great for the people of the ancient town for the fact that not team from the the town or the state have had success in the series; the closest being the effort of Ranch Bees in 1987 against the now defunct Abiola Babes.
The run to success could be said to have been made possible by the old man of Africa in football clubs’ managerial affairs; Belgian Maurice Cooreman. The man puts everything down to the hard work and determination of the players and the technical team. He even singled out one of his assistants on the bench, the goalkeeper’s trainer, John Obida, for praise.
Cooreman said Obida went a whole length to train Agwu specifically in the art of catching penalties and that the latter became like the saviour of the team in the series up to the final day. On the final day particularly, after he was brought in because shootout became imminent.
Cooreman said: “I think my young United players showed a lot of class right from the preliminary stage up to the final, to eventually win the cup for Kaduna people and the governor of the state; Ibrahim Yakowa. I groomed these young boys from nowhere and today they have made Kaduna people and the country proud for their outstanding performance in the Federation Cup series.
“We had loads of encouragement and support from the state governor, but in the final analysis, it was up to them to put up a brave spirit. They showed a lot of that. Now, personally, I think my next frontier is Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles.
I have handled many teams in Nigeria and my record here shows I have achieved many milestones, from NPA to Gabros International, to Lobi Stars, Ocean Boys, Bendel Insurance and Enyimba, I have shown I have what it takes. And as I had always have a vision for the place the international game of Nigeria should be at the global arena, I believe it is time I got that chance to help with tinkering the Super Eagles.
Cooreman, in revealing his dream for Nigeria, expresses his surprise that the Super Eagles continually fail to live up to their global billing. He said with the kind of abundance in quality materials that he has seen and worked with in the country since the past decade that he has been around, he finds it queer that the team are not pulling their weight in silverwares.
He said so many talents are still untapped among the home-based players and that he would like very much to be in position to change this.
“I think the only reason we are in this sorry state as far as the Super Eagles are concerned is that we have no proper planning to groom the boys into a formidable team that can conquer the world. I have been in this country for 11 years, and I married an Igbo lady. So, when I talk about the failure of the country, I think I am talking as a Nigerian and as a man who has been in the system for over a decade and know exactly what is wrong. Besides, I have a passion for this country that is so high I am ready to die for her.
“If I get to tinker the Super Eagles, my promise is that the team will be in the final stages of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. By final stages, I am talking of the semi finals at the very least. And this is not a boast or empty talk.
“I coached Jasper United and so many other teams to success in this country and I understand Nigerian football and know that Nigerian players are very talented. In most countries of the world that have made global impact in the game, handling to success such young teams as Kaduna United from the developmental stage and successes with other teams across the country, like I have had, are some of the criteria used in selecting who to handle the national teams. It should be part of the consideration here too. Besides, I understand the Nigerian game and the Nigerian players’ mentality so well now that there can hardly be a better candidate than I make for the post,” says Cooreman.
