{"id":1445,"date":"2014-09-06T07:18:34","date_gmt":"2014-09-06T07:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1445"},"modified":"2014-09-06T07:18:34","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T07:18:34","slug":"eagles-not-lacking-yobo-leadership-ike-shorunmu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=1445","title":{"rendered":"Eagles not lacking yobo leadership \u2013 Ike Shorunmu"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Joseph<\/a>
Joseph Yobo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Nigeria goalkeeper and current Super Eagles goalkeeping coach Ike Shorunmu is happy with the progress of the national team. In this interview with OLUFEMI ATOYEBI, <\/strong>the ex-Shooting Stars and Besiktas custodian speaks about the game in the country.<\/p>\n

How would you assess Nigerian football in the last two years?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Comparing the development of football in Nigeria in the last two years will entail placing it beside the immediate past period before the last two years, or comparing it with the golden era of the nation\u2019s football when talent was in abundance.<\/p>\n

What I will not do however is to compare the last two years of the nation\u2019s football with my time.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, I will confidently say that the game has improved considerably in the past two years. Administratively, we have moved from the past to the modern day even though we are struggling to put things right. And each time we have the opportunity to do so we fail because of different interests. Government funds\u00a0\u00a0 football in the country and if it doesn\u2019t provide money, there will be crisis in our football. I remember that when I was with Heartland as a coach, we had financial crisis that forced to the players to embark on strike. We tried to make peace with them, assuring them the money would come as promised. Some of them believed us but the development affected the team.<\/p>\n

Despite winning the Africa Nations Cup and reaching the second round of the World Cup in Brazil, Nigerian players weren\u2019t part of the big-money moves in the transfer window which ended on Monday. What\u2019s your reaction? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As a professional goalkeeper in Europe, I was involved in transfers from one club to the other so I know that many factors determine which club will buy a player. Chief among the factors is how good the player is. Managers have a big influence on who comes into their clubs. I think our players should work harder to secure bigger contracts with top clubs.<\/p>\n

Do you see Vincent Enyeama losing his place in the Eagles to another keeper?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The goalkeeping department is a very sensitive position. There are many good goalkeepers in the country but they have to be patient. Enyeama learned from the keepers before him before he established himself as the country\u2019s first choice.<\/p>\n

Would you suggest\u00a0\u00a0 Enyeama is not getting stiff competition from other keepers?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In our days, it was hard to cede the first choice position to a keeper because the quality was high. Like I said, we still have great keepers in Nigeria.\u00a0\u00a0 In the national team, we are trying to improve on the techniques of those working with us. We cannot fault those keepers for not taking over from Enyeama. When the time comes, they will have their chance.<\/p>\n

Can Nigeria defend their title at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make it to that stage first. But we have to consider the growth of football in Africa. Apart from that, teams step up their game anytime they face Nigeria. That is why we must always play at our best when we meet any team in competitions.<\/p>\n

Are you not worried that the current crisis in the Nigeria Football Federation would affect the growth of the sport in the country?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Football brings the nation together but instead of moving forward, we are always in a dilemma. When are we going to move forward? I don\u2019t know what to say because the problem keeps coming.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the solution to bonus row between the NFF and the Eagles?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that issue is now forever settled with the way we dealt with it in Brazil. I hope we will keep to the blueprint that resolved the issue.<\/p>\n

What target did you set for the team in Brazil? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every coach wants his team to do well in every competition because that will be the evidence of his excellence on the job. I was looking at the semifinals as the least stage we could reach and that would have kept us in it until the final day of the competition.<\/p>\n

The players and coaches were not happy losing to France in the second round. We will try to work more on areas where we did not measure up. What happened to us is a lesson and I am sure we will all learn from it.<\/p>\n

Joseph Yobo has retired from the Eagles. Some people believe the team will miss his leadership.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We have three or four players worthy of taking over that role. Enyeama is still in the team. There is Austin Ejide and the likes of Mikel Obi are growing up too. So there is enough quality to lead the team. The coaches are part of the leadership required too so we will not have problems in that regard.<\/p>\n

You were in the middle of club\/nation row while playing for Besiktas in Turkey. Sola Ameobi had a similar experience while playing for Newcastle. Where did your loyalty reside during the period?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a simple choice to make. No matter how long I stayed in Turkey, I would still return to Nigeria. I wanted my country to take priority. The club wanted me to take one and I made my choice but reinstated my commitment to the club as a professional player. Before I knew it, my contract was cancelled. I said fine and moved on. There was no love lost between me and the club. I thank God that there were people who stood by me. Nigeria was behind me and it helped me to work harder and concentrate on my career.<\/p>\n

If you had not been a footballer, what would you have preferred as a profession?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That depended on God. He gave me what He prepared for me. We have people who trained as medical doctors and ended up being politicians. My desire does not matter but what God wants for me in life. I don\u2019t know what tomorrow will still bring but I must thank God for what He is doing in my life.<\/p>\n

When you had the injury that ruled you out of the France 1998 World Cup team, what went through your mind?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It was during a friendly match and I injured my arm. I asked myself if I was going to miss the tournament having put in so much effort. I was taken to the hospital and the doctor confirmed that the injury required surgery that would take six months to heal. It nailed my participation in France \u201898 and extended my wait for World Cup appearance. I thought why me because in 1994, I was dropped because I was the youngest keeper in the team. But thank God I was at the Korea\/Japan World Cup in 2002. As a professional football player, the beauty of your career is to play at the World Cup. Great players like George Weah and Abedi Pele could not make it despite their brilliance. Only God\u2019s grace brings man to the top level.<\/p>\n

When you are not busy, how do you relax?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a sportsman so I try to keep fit at all time. When I am not with the national team, I assist clubs to prepare their teams.<\/p>\n

Your former club, Shooting Stars,\u00a0\u00a0 are on the verge of returning\u00a0\u00a0 to the Premier League. What advice do you have for the team?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They have the experience at that top level. They are one of the biggest clubs in Nigeria and I think they are playing very well now. I urge them to be focused because it\u2019s a pity they are playing in the lower league and seeking promotion now. When they eventually get it, they should ensure they retain that Premier League status because that is the level that befits their status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Nigeria goalkeeper and current Super Eagles goalkeeping coach Ike Shorunmu is happy with the progress of the national team. In this interview with OLUFEMI ATOYEBI, the ex-Shooting Stars and Besiktas custodian speaks about the game in the country. How would you assess Nigerian football in the last two years? Comparing the development of football […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Joseph-Yobo.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-nj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1447,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1445\/revisions\/1447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}