Ahead of Ethopia
By Steve Oma-Ofozor / Lagos
As Nigeria prepares for the final phase of the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign billed for Brazil, former Super Eagles Chief Coach, Christian Chukwu, has warned the team against complacency, saying "Ethiopia could be dangerous."
Chukwu, speaking exclusively to Sports Week from his Enugu base yesterday, averred that for Ethiopia to have qualified for the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers means they have come of age and should not be underrated if Nigeria must scale through to Brazil.
According to him: "This is the very crucial stage of the World Cup qualifiers. All countries that got to this stage in their various groups are good, hence I'm kindly advising that Nigeria must not in any way underrate the Ethiopians.
"For Ethiopia to have knocked out South Africa to top their group means they are good. So, a serious preparation by Nigeria this time around is very key, no stone should be left unturned," he warned.
Going down memory lane, Chukwu revealed: "As much as Nigeria would not underrate Ethiopia, I do know that they have never beaten Nigeria before even while I was a player, the best they got against us was a draw, that record must be maintained, but times have changed, the game of football is changing too."
On the level of preparations for Nigeria, Chukwu affirmed: "One good thing for Nigeria in this play off is that the first leg is away, so there is need to study their weather very well for acclimatisation, because opponents can be very funny by looking for the very bad condition for their host," he emphasised.
As the preparations thicken, he noted: "National team camp does not last more than a week ahead of any tie, this means that Stephen Keshi must be thorough in his selection of players at this stage, only the fit who are playing regularly in their various clubs should be invited; no sentiment, no favouritism."
With only about three weeks to the first leg of the game, the Ethiopians have been talking tough, just as football pundits have been proffering solutions on the strategy Nigeria should adopt to survive the hosts come October 12, 2013 in Addis Ababa.
