Athens 2004: Mabo Looks Beyond Germany
From Emeka Enechi and Pius Ayinor in Athens
Smarting from Nigeria's quarter final qualification in the female football event, Falcons coach Ismaila Mabo has confidently predicted that the Falcons will overrun their German counterparts in their quarter final match today. Mabo said in Athens yesterday that it will be difficult for the Germans to stop them at this stage adding that the players were ready to 'sacrifice their lives' provided they picked the semi final ticket.
He said "We did not get to this stage by a dint of luck. We worked for it and we are happy that we have come this far. As a result, we are not giving anything to chance. We are ready to lay down our lives if that is what is required for us to be in the semi finals. We have done our homework well and I believe that with God, we will do it."
Mabo, however, said that the Falcons have a measure of respect for the Germans given their rating in female football but added 'we are not equally afraid of them'. Asked his game plan against the world champions, he said, they are not new to their playing pattern. His words: "We engaged them in a friendly match right in their own country before this games. Before then, we have always followed their games and I can say now that we are very conversant with their style. During our friendly match, we discovered their strengths and weakness and I can tell you that they are not super stars. Their defence is not very good but they have a sharp attack."
What, therefore is Mabo's game plan? "We are going to start on a fast note. And that will choke them up in their own half while we continue with our normal game. Once, we are able to contain them in the initial minutes, I can assure you that we will carry the day, by the grace of God. On the other hand, we will not allow them to score an early goal and that we have planned to do by disorganising their pattern. You know it is always demoralising if a team concedes an early goal. We will try as much as possible to do that as we equally plan to take the game to them in their own half."
Nigeria moved base to Petras where the quarter final match is going to take place. They connected Petras by road and that lasted for five tiring hours. However, Mabo said they have enough time to adjust and settle down before the match. Petras, is two and half hours from the central city of Athens.
Should Nigeria sail through to the semi finals, she will engage either the United States or Japan. This will be a remarkable achievement should the Falcons live up to expectations bearing in mind that they are carrying the African flag. The Olympic female football competition debuted at the Sydney games where the Nigerian girls representing Africa were thrashed by Sweden, USA and Hungary. The team conceded nine goals and scored three.
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