Nigeria’s under-20 national team, Flying Eagles’ coach, Aliyu Zubairu has revealed how he was able to revive his players’ dampened morale after they lost their first match at the just concluded WAFU B qualifiers in Lome, Togo.
Speaking exclusively to Sports247 minutes after his side beat Ghana 2-1 in the final on Wednesday, Zubairu recalled that his players were downcast after losing 1-0 to Burkina Faso in their first match of the sub-regional competition.
Zubairu, though, recounted how a resurgence came when he seized his players’ mobile phones and reminded them how Argentina won the last World Cup in Qatar, despite losing their opening game against lowly Saudi Arabia.
The tactician then admitted he was happy with the squad’s revival and eventual conquest of the competition, which served as qualification for the 2025 African U20 Cup of Nations.
The jovial coach enthused, “It means a lot to me, considering the fact that I did not have enough time to prepare for the competition.
“When I was given this job, many people were congratulating me, but I rather told them that they should sympathise with me because of the time frame.
“Considering the little time when I was appointed for the job, I had virtually only a month to prepare the team. That was the fear I had at the beginning.”
While further acknowledging that their route to the final was not easy, Zubairu went on to express satisfaction with his players for adjusting to his pattern and in following his instructions to the letter.
“All things being equal, I took the job, and we started gradually. Now, look at where we find ourselves.
“So, I am delighted and happy about the result. I am very happy. Especially when I remember that the major problem we encountered in this competition was the first match we played.
“Immediately we lost that match, I told the officials to collect all the players’ phones. I knew that leaving them to go to social media and seeing the comments of some Nigerians would definitely weigh them down.
“So, I asked the CSO to get all their phones, and I started giving them some pep talk to motivate them.
“I also gave them some instances to motivate them.
“Like how Argentina, at the last World Cup, lost their first match to Saudi Arabia but eventually went on to be the winner of the championship.
“I told my players that they too could do the same like Argentina. I believe in them, and I know what they can do,” Zubairu affirmed.
He then fingered some factors that accounted for his side’s shaky start to the competition in Lome, foremost of which was that they did not have the opportunity of playing top-grade build up games before the championship.
“It was just for the fact that we couldn’t have any international friendly to play before the competition.
“They didn’t have the experience of what playing against another country looked like. So, the match against Burkina Faso looked like a curtain raiser.
“But, immediately they overcame that one, they were able to spring up, and you can see the result now,” Zubairu concluded.
