Enyimba Technical Adviser, Usman Abd’Allah, says Rahimo of Burkina Faso lost the opportunity of edging out the People’s Elephant in the Preliminary Round of the CAF Champions League in the first leg decided two weeks ago in Ouagadougou, Completesports.com reports.
Abd’Allah spoke after the two-time African champions thrashed their fellow West Africans 5-0 in a one-sided return leg match played in an empty Enyimba Stadium Aba on Sunday. They advanced to the Second Preliminary Round 5-1 on aggregate.
The soft-spoken gaffer posited that Rahimo FC, an academy side formed in 2012 – according to their President Rahimo Oudrago, had Enyimba on the cliff hanger in Ouagadougou but failed to take the advantage.
“We started our preparation late. It was just 10 days or less than two weeks of training before the first leg match in Burkina Faso,” Abd’Allah said.
“The 1-0 defeat we suffered in Ouagadougou did not reflect the true flow of the game. It could have been much more which would have put us in more difficult position.
“They lost the game at home in the first leg, not today [in Aba, Sunday August 25].
“We are still rebuilding. Today, you saw three players sharing five goals in the game. It points out the fact we are gradually building up and hopefully, we will get better.”
Reuben Bala and Stanley Dimgba scored twice each while Stanley Okorom added his name on the score sheet as Enyimba cruised to a comfortable 5-0 win, 5-1 on aggregate to seal their passage to the next round of the competition.
By Sab Osuji
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COMMENTS
What about Kano pillars who said they will not underrate a team far better than them and in the second they were humbled and should have even conceded more goals… All these naija league teams are not ready to win, until our league is well is privatised before we will see results else it will be a sell and chop business. How can a team be waiting for a corrupt Governor to sponsor them.
Coache win the cup before you boast because you all have excuse as your plan B after you loose
Can the same be said about Manchester or Even a division 3 team in England let’s wake up. After the Felix Anyansi led Eyimba team that conquered Africa the rest is back to school of selling their best players to buy land Cruiser and all sort at the expense of soccer loving Nigerians. The love of the game is now depriciating because of monetary values.
And we still want them to be invited to play for super eagles
thank u very much 4 dis response
God bless you @ Chima. Our league is a total disgrace.
Number one problem with the league and how it impacts on our clubs in African competition:
1. When does the season begin, when does it end?
The 2019 season ended in June just weeks to the beginning of the CAF champions League and the CAF confederations cup. They had less than 6 weeks to have a break, recruit and register players plus train for competitive matches. The other African countries thus had a month extra to prepare.
The season 2019/20 has not started ama we don’t know when they will start. Other African countries have already started their leagues, so they are at least a second month better prepared.
A simple example. Niger Tornados just a coyote of weeks before the commencement of the CAF confederations cup, let go 11 players, retained only 8 and “invited 20”. Just two or three weeks before their first match.
How anybody expected they will select from the 20, register them, train and gel into a coherent team beats me.
The clubs are being set up to fail. Simple follow CAF or FIFA calendar will put us on an even footing with other African countries and not see us starting two or three months behind the rest of the continent
Talking about the pathetic state of the Nigerian league is like beating a dead horse.
The problem of the Nigerian league is not far from the problem affecting most sector in the Nigerian state; a failed system run by a political class that have no idea of what they are doing; they have one thing in mind; to make money and care less about setting a good legacy.
We say we hide under the guise of a captalist state but still run on a unitary system; where everything is vested in the hands of the government in the centre; presidency and governors.
And that unfortunately is the problem of the Nigerian league. It has the name of a private Entity,the Npfl ; but major stake ( most clubs and such) are government run.
We remember vividly when the Nigerian government still have a heart,and care about doing the work ; the Nigerian league had substance. It was vibrant. The good days of shooting stars,Bendel insurance, Julius Berger, Bcc lions,Ranchers bees,Enugu Rangers, iwanyanwu nationale, Delta force,Calabar rovers,Stationery stores,Abiola Babes etc to name a few; a healthy blend of government run clubs and private entities who were ready to invest in the league due to the fact that things ran smoothly.
The management of the league (which was the Fa),had a good PR department,more so a good marketing department,who just don’t sit down and wait for government to come sponsor; they went out there to get sponsors ; and the sponsors were willing to invest cause the league was marketable, the Fa cup too; and they were dealing with less corrupt officials and they believed in their investment would have returns cause the fans were invested too.
In international competitions,I could beat my chest that at least one Nigerian club would get to the semi finals of any of the Caf club completions (even if we didn’t win it then ); Julius Berger, shooting stars, bendel insurance, Kano pillars etc all played in such..
The only club being run well(surprisingly so,being government owned) is Enyimba.
They have built on a legacy created by Orji Kalu and Anyansi (both who love football) ;
Every governor that has come in to run Abia state( even Orji) has understood that Enyimba has a legacy to maintain.
Enyimba came from nowhere ,and right now is the record holder of the Nigerian league in terms of championship.
The management,he government and the fan base understand what winning takes; and so no surprise enyimba keeps doing well.. don’t forget Abia warriors is from Abia too but lack that drive ,Enyimba has built.
Although,they still have a long way to go, but Enyimba is the only Nigerian club I am proud of.
Akwa united ,Rangers, Mfm,Kano pillars are trying to go the same vain but they would have to do a lot to get to Enyimba’s status. Rangers got history,Pillars got the crowd;they should used it; for crying out loud Pillars ,Dangote is from Kano!
Well, don’t want to bore you all with a long write up.
It is just sad the way things are in Nigeria; we are far bigger than were we are
Blame the organizers of our league. If you don’t put your house in place, you can’t expect miracle to happens overnight.
Same thing goes to the Super Eagles and all our national teams. We did not put the right people in charge of our sports.
All we are seeing are former politicians and business men. This can’t help our sports to grow.
Where Doctors are needed, they put lawyers there. That is the main problem.
No wonder we having Coach Rohr, coach Agu and Ayegbogun or his is name called?
It is a shame. I’m really sorry for my Country. God bless Nigeria!!!
_A Step Forward for Eyimba; Several Steps Backwards for the NPFL_
At the back of their impressive 5:0 defeat of Rahimo of Burkina Faso over the weekend – 5:1 on aggregate – Enyimba Technical Adviser, Usman Abd’Allah said in the article above: “We are still rebuilding. Today, you saw three players sharing five goals in the game.
It points out the fact we are gradually building up and hopefully, we will get better.”
The irony of the whole situation is that, regarding the league in which they play their football, that statement could not be further from what obtains in reality.
Simply put (and I am deliberately twisting the Technical Director’s statement), the Nigeria Professional Football League is not rebuilding, it is gradually and speedily declining and hopefully, things will not get worse!
But why are we where we are and can things actually get better?
In my view, the problems confronting the league can be mapped in one simple acronym: STEP.
S – Social : Going to watch football matches is a social experience which is grossly under-tapped in Nigeria. Just see the second paragraph of the article above that party states: ‘one-sided return leg match played in an EMPTY Enyimba Stadium Aba on Sunday’.
This is the same Eyimba that is meant to be a recent pacesetter in Nigerian club football. With many local fans opting to follow foreign clubs, indigenous football will continue to decline.
T – Technological : How many of our stadiums have state of the art facilities? What are the technologically creative means of bringing these matches to audiences at home or on the street? Are the grasses in our stadiums lush green? Even among fellow African countries, we lag behind in this area.
E – Economical: Now we are getting to the heart of the matter. How many people have the economic means to go to stadiums to watch matches? People are struggling. Even if they want to go, where are the affordable trains, trams, planes, buses or personal vehicles to take them there? How are the clubs funded? Do they sell shirts or merchandise? Do they offer guided paid tours to their stadiums? How is the league marketed? How do they attract investors? How economically attractive is the league as a ‘product?
P – Political: We have seen how certain state governments have bankrolled clubs but this model is not sustainable.
Nigeria is not a failed state (far from it); it is politically stable. However, I don’t think that the political structure has provided enough favorable climate for the domestic league to thrive. A top UK politician once called Nigeria a ‘fanatically corrupt state’. From that premise comes a culture of greed, selfishness and zero planning across sectors.
If the fabric of the state is corroded by corruption on an industrial scale, aspects of the society – including domestic football – will continue to suffer.
Prognosis:
The issues facing domestic football in Nigeria have different facets. However, the political factor seems the most compelling.
Once the political will, attitude and orientation alter for good, then this will be felt in all aspects of society, not least in domestic football.
@deo
I must say, I like your STEP analogy; and your prognosis intact;
Permit me to further;
And I am going to use Enyimba has an example to buttress my point.
The reason Enyimba is doing so well both abroad and internationally is simple; the Enyimba management have understand the dynamics of how things should be run even in a toxic corrupt environment like ours.
They understand money is meant to be spent to make more money;
Enyimba knows who they are,what they want to be and what to do to keep being who they are.
They have understood how to blend politics with sports; to the extent Enyimba is more like a movement
In that part of The country.
Enyimba has their own stadium; ( a stadium built for the city of Aba,the aba township stadium;
but rightfully christened the Enyimba stadium).
The stadium is always full anytime Enyimba plays; and though not in quantity,they do sell Jerseys,t shirts and souvenirs.
The only reason Enyimba match versus Rahimo was empty,it was because Caf ordered the match to be played behind closed doors,due to the unruly behaviour of the Aba fans in the last match.
Enyimba is a club that knows how to do the business. They get most of the best players in the league and some in neighbouring African countries;and as well,the best technical mind,no matter where you are from and your fee. And if they sell .they replace with someone equally good .
There is always a good relationship between the players,the coaching crew, the board and more importantly,the state government. There is this unison in Enyimba ,that’s why most of the players on the league always want to move to Enyimba.
We shouldn’t forget that they are not the only club owned by the Abia state government on the league.
The reason Abia warriors are not like organized like Enyimba is just in the word; they are not as organized.
And that’s the problem with the Nigerian league,the Nigerian system and the Nigerian state.
We got intelligent minds; we know what’s good and what we want.
We got the people,the players, quality;
And as you rightly said,
We lack that will to get things done..
Yes. We are blinded by corruption; but a corrupt man with a will to get things done, would still get things done,albeit ,in that way make more money.
That’s what most of the west does.
The West ,Most Asian states are fantastically corrupt (borrowing Cameron’s phrase) but the difference between them and us, is they get things done.
For them money is a means to an action; but class drives that action, so they seek legacy,class first,cause they know it would bring them money,even more to be gotten under the desk.
For we,money is everything. We just want to steal and steal caring less for anything else.
Enyimba got it right.though not there yet,they are trying; the Nigerian league is just dragging on them.
And if The Aba Elephant can get it right, so can the rest of The league,and Nigeria at large.
I am just saying.
Thanks Bro.
@Mr Hush,
News reports state that is because of inadequate food lights, no electronic score board and inadequate CCTV”
Not about unruly fans
” African football’s governing body said the stadium, which re-opened last year after major renovations, still lacks adequate floodlights, CCTV cameras and an electronic scoreboard.
CAF is due to launch another inspection of the stadium following the match.
Enyimba, two-time winners of the Champions League, said they are confident they can fix the problem should the squad reach the group stages.
Last year, CARA Brazzaville of Congo complained about the floodlights at the stadium during a CAF Confederation Cup game at the venue”
https://www.firstpost.com/sports/nigerian-winners-enyimba-ordered-to-play-caf-champions-league-preliminary-match-behind-closed-doors-over-stadium-concerns-7196001.html/amp
Inadequate flood lights, CCTV and no electronic score board