DON’T JEOPARDISE YOUR SON’S CAREER, UGBADE WARNS IHENACHO SNR

on December 01, 2013   /   in Sports
Nduka Ugbade is a legend in world football. As a starry-eyed youth, he led a group of unsung Nigerians to lift the first FIFA JVC U-16 World Championship in 1985 in China. Ugbade grew to play for Nigeria in the Flying Eagles and the Super Eagles. His only regret to date is that he was prevented from being the first Nigerian to go to all the FIFA World Cups in his active days.
Today, however, Ugbade remains the only Coach in the world to have won the FIFA U-17 World Cup as a player and as a coach. He spoke with Jacob Ajom about the Eaglets’ triumph in the United Arab Emirates. Excerpts.
You were the first man to lift the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy as a player, and today, as a coach, you were part of the crew that groomed a set of players to win the cup for Nigeria for the fourth time. How did you feel after your boys won the trophy in UAE?
Wonderful, wonderful. It was awesome, a feeling I cannot easily explain. It was an amazing feeling. But I give thanks and glory to God who made it possible for this achievement to come through. And I must also thank the Nigeria Football Federation for giving me the opportunity to serve my country in another capacity. I am happy.
How was it possible for you and your colleagues in the technical crew led by Manu Garba able to mould a near perfect team that conquered the world?
It is the science of the game. It is the new thing blowing across the continent; education and I hope we will build on it through football education to be able to meet up with the demands of modern football.
In the African championship the Eaglets ended up with a silver. How was it possible for you to conquer the world in the UAE?
We learnt a lot from our defeat in Morocco. It taught us that no matter how good you are, you can still be beaten. The head coach, Manu Garba must be commended because he was hard on the boys. He warned against any slip. Every opponent was accorded equal respect and our approach was such that we never considered a match was won until the final whistle.  We also put in a lot of hard work and the level of commitment and dedication was high on the part of the boys.
After the UAE triumph, football agents, guardians, parents have been running heads over heels in a bid to either sell or take control of these boys. What is your view or advise to your players?
It was expected. But my advise to parents and guardians of these players is that they should take it easy. They must look before they leap so that they can get the best deal for their wards.  They must be very very careful in what they are doing or trying to do.
We just heard Kelecchi Iheanacho is going to Manchester City. What is your take on this?
I don’t know, the family should decide. But I learnt the boy does not want to go to City. I learnt he is interested in going to Portugal. The only thing I want to say is that the guardians or father should be careful so as not to jeopardise his son’s career.read more