Soon after guiding Nigeria to win a record fourth title at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Coach Manu Garba was elevated to the U-20 level fondly referred to as the Flying Eagles.
A silent achiever, Garba assisted late coach Yemi Tella when Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets won the 2007 African Under-17 Championship in Lome on their way to being crowned world champions at the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea. He led his home state’s Gombe Youth Team to win the Umbro under-18 Tournament in Manchester in 2005 amongst other honours recorded as a player and coach.
A former international, he played for El-Kanemi Warriors (1987-1993); Kano Pillars (1994); Gombe United (1995) and BCC Lions (1996). He has had coaching stints at Gombe United, as an assistant coach 1997-2008 and Technical Adviser in 2012.
Prior to his departure with the Flying Eagles for the second round, first leg of the Orange African U-20 Championship qualifier against Tanzania at the weekend, Garba in an interview with Cafonline.com, said his mission to Dar es Salaam was nothing than a victory.
Cafonline.com: Your team lost to Benin in a friendly just last week. What impact will the result have on the morale of the team for your game with Tanzania?
Manu Garba: We had a terrible first half when we conceded the goal which incidentally was Benin’s only chance of the game. We were unlucky, but we have put that behind us and the boys know what is expected of them against Tanzania. We would do everything within our capacity to win in Tanzania and I’m very positive about this.
Generally, how has your preparation towards the qualifiers for the 2015 African Youth Championship been?
It has been going on smoothly; we started with screening of players in February and since then, we have welcome back majority of the players that won the 2013 FIFA Under-17World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. I’m so happy that I can work again with Alhassan Ibrahim (who missed out on our campaign at the African U-17 championship in Morocco in 2013), and has emerged top-scorer in all the friendly matches so far. There is a new boy in camp also; Suleiman Abdullahi and we also have Kelechi Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya, and Ifeanyi Matthew amongst others. In all, we are making progress and we ready for our first game of the qualifiers against Tanzania.
Are you okay with the present form of the players since most of the former U-17s have not been playing regularly until now?
The players are in excellent condition and our number one priority is their fitness level since it’s impossible to play in my team if you are not fit. We have conditioned the players well and that was why we requested that those who are in Europe should join the camp on time. All of them are in excellent form and they have done so well in all our friendly matches. From the midfield to attack, we have players who can decide the outcome of a match and I’m happy to be working with them.
Are you saying the U-17 boys are ready for the transition to the U-20?
Yes. That has been the vision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and without any doubt, we are ready.
Cafonline.com: How prepared is your team for away game in Tanzania?
We are ready to face Tanzania and we already have our reports on the Tanzanians and we are studying how they play. The information and technical report we have on them would give us a clear picture about how we are going to play against them. Our priority is to win.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate