Take a look at this picture. It is of smiling Super Eagles players in a very relaxed mood yesterday. It was taken on the balcony of their hotel as they prepared to go for the only training session the team had. As the big match, tomorrow gets closer, the Eagles coaches are working out what strategy and team tactics to deploy. Gernot Rohr is not taking anything for granted. Yesterday, as a first step, he decided to keep everyone but the most essential technical staff away from his training session. He wanted what is usually referred to as ‘closed training’, where particular tactics and patterns are worked out and rehearsed by the players likely to play.
Trust journalists, they would do anything to watch such practice. As a result of directives given to him by Gernot, Toyin Ibitoye, Media Officer of the Super Eagles was at his wits end persuading his colleagues in the media to understand why they should stay away and would not be a part of this particular training session. Actually, there were unconfirmed reports that Nigeria increased the number of security personnel around the Super Eagles and their training ground to forestall any breach. The next match is very important. Otherwise, Day 5 of the championship (Day 4 of this diary) was, once again, another relatively quiet one for the Eagles. Beyond training, they remained indoors in their hotel undisturbed by the madding crowd of fans and officials outside. The highlight of the day was the return of Samuel Kalu and the team’s doctor, Ibrahim Gyaran from Cairo. Following the incident of Samuel’s collapse on the field at training on the eve of the Nigeria/Burundi match, he had to be taken back to the hospital for more test to check his present health status. The team doctor and his special patient returned from the Cairo specialist hospital at lunchtime, walked into the dining room where the team was having their lunch, and a certain pall descended on the room in anticipation and anxiety. The room waited for the doctor’s words in bated breath. When he made his announcement it was beautiful music to the ears, sending the entire room into a frenzy of loud cheers and celebration. Samuel Kalu was tested and has been cleared completely. He is 100% fit again enough to resume with the team. Gernot was ecstatic. He now has his full complement of 23 fit players to choose from as the Guinea historic encounter approaches. Both teams have met 14 times in their history. Their Scores are even. Between them, both teams have won 4 matches, drawn 6 and lost 4 to each other since 1963 when they met in that year’s AFCON qualifier. The match tomorrow will establish superiority in terms of the records. So, as is usual in matches between them, it is going to be a Battle Royale!
Segun Odegbami
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