Former international, Garuba Lawal has commended the Super Eagles for their victory against the Pharaohs of Egypt in the opening match of Group D in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon even as he sounded a note of warning against complacency.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Rulers’ World magazine in Cameroon, the one-time “Mr Utility” in camp showered praises on the team while insisting that the players must not lose focus.
“Fantastic. What they did against Egypt was wonderful. Nearly Everybody gave it to Egypt. The words from the street were Sallah this, Sallah that but I don’t think I have ever seen Sallah so ordinary, I couldn’t even count how many touches he made. Honestly, the coaches did a good job”, Lawal quipped but quickly added a note of caution.
“Football is about continuity, Football is not one game. We must not get carried away by the victory. There were a lot of mistakes we made in that match. That is also normal because even if you win 10-0, there will still be mistakes. Eguavoen knows this. He was my captain before, now he is my boss in the office, so I know him thoroughly and I know his capabilities”.
On the coaching aspect, the one-time Esperance of Tunisia player was quick to point out that Austin Eguavoen is not a coach that is new to the system when asked about how good the team looked despite the short practice time the coach had with the team.
“The coaches did a wonderful job. Eguavoen is not new. He was there as a player, captain, now coach. He was there in 2006 so he is not new. He is a man that has a lot of methodology and philosophy. A lot of commitment and dedication. That’s Cerezo himself. I believe with the kind of work they are putting in, we are going to achieve a lot going forward.
The left-sided midfielder/winger during his days, also concluded that Sudan and Guinea-Bissau will be no pushover as they have a lot to prove themselves.
“There are no minnows in football anymore. Those countries are even more difficult to play because they double their efforts when they play the supposed stronger teams”.
Garuba Lawal, who had a distinguished career in Holland, was a member of the Atlanta’96 gold-winning team and played alongside Austin Eguavoen at the France 1998 World Cup. He is here in Cameroon as part of motivating former internationals to the younger ones, as Nigeria bids to win the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
“Chindo” as he is popularly called, won the silver medal at the 2000 edition before adding bronze medals at 2002, 2004 and 2006 AFCON to his list of honours.
