Use Mexico to prove critics wrong -Umeh tells home Eagles

By George Aluo

Former Team Manager of the then Green Eagles, Chief Mike Umeh (Ozodinobi) has tasked the home Super Eagles to use the Nigeria, Mexico friendly in the United States to prove their critics wrong.

Umeh who alongside Clemens Westerhof led the Eagles to the Algiers 90 Nations Cup where Nigeria finished with a silver after losing narrowly to the hosts Algeria noted that the Algiers 90 Eagles were predominantly home based.

“When we went to Algiers, nobody gave the home lads any chance…we called the bluff of the big boys in Europe and went to the Nations Cup with the likes of Aloy Agu, Herbert Anijekwu, Moses Kpakor and co and the end they became a hard nut to crack. Algeria was only lucky to have run away with a 1-0 victory in the final. Most of the boys that went to Algiers thereafter became Super stars…I think these boys plying their trade in our domestic league can use the Mexico friendly to show that they are also good. I want to commend the NFF for putting the friendly together. The ball is now in the court of the boys to go out there and prove their mettle,” Umeh said.

Photo: Chief Mike Umeh (left) with the AFCON trophy .

Umeh, a former acting President of NFF said the Eagles German tactician can only build a solid team by not outrightly overlooking the home lads, even as he pointed out that the late Stephen Keshi also won the AFCON with a team that had home based players.