CAF competitions : Osim wants Nigerian teams to be fortified
By Ifeanyi Eduzor
Ex- international, Bob Osim has advised the country’s representatives in next seasons CAF continental competitions to fortify their teams ahead of the championships.
Two time CAF Champions League Champions, Enyimba FC of Aba and Remo Stars of Ikenne, Ogun State will be representing the country in the continental elite tournament while Rivers United of Port Harcourt and Bendel Insurance of Benin will be flying the country’s flag in the CAF Confederation Cup and Osim believes that fortifying the teams on time will help them put up a good performance at the continent.
” I watched the Super 6 in Lagos and the Federation Cup finals at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta State and I discovered that our teams are good but they lack quality strikers to put the ball behind the net.
“When you look at the Super 6 you’ll discover that the teams did not score much goals throughout the duration of the weeklong championship and even at the Federation Cup finals, Bendel Insurance only managed to score against Rangers through penalty which shows that our attackers are not fully in the games.
“I want the teams to realize that continental football is quite different from the football at domestic scene because you’re meeting the best in the continent and as such must be fully prepared for the challenge”, he stressed.
According to the former Calabar Rivers handler, there is still enough time for the various management of the clubs to fortify the teams and avoid the embarrassment we’ve been facing recently with our teams not making any meaningful impact in the continent.
Osim believes that with proper recruitment and motivation of the players, they can bring continental glory to the country.
“The truth must be told that most of the players are not well motivated. When you have faulty recruitment and backlog of unpaid salaries, match bonuses and allowances, you can never get the best from the players but once these issues are sorted out, I can bet you, the players will put in their best and not disappoint’, he concluded.
