Emmanuel Amuneke
Ex-international and former Golden Eaglets coach Emmanuel Amuneke has made a bold claim that the triumphant U17 boys led by him to the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile didn’t need a godfather to make his team.
There had been allegations of coaches and officials requesting for bribes and top officials vetoing names on final squad lists for tournaments but Amuneke said it wasn’t so during his time, he owe his players the truth and that is to believe in their ability.
“The important thing is to be honest with them,” Amuneke said during an Instagram Live Session. “I think I was so honest and straight to them. You know, the environment we all came from people don’t like the truth.
“I have young players, like my brothers that I was handling, I owe them the truth, and the truth is hard work is a non-negotiable term in whatever we are doing.
“We are in a country where people believe I must have a godfather. I must know somebody, one senator, for me to make it.
“You don’t need to know anybody. You need to believe in your ability. You need to continue to work hard. The people that will come around will be sent by God to help you to achieve your objective.”
He went on to reveal a few details of his selection criteria which was based on the intelligence of the players; “They know my philosophy,” he said. “When I saw them first I was not interested in how physical they look.
“What I judged first is the intelligence, how intelligent they are with the ball and then the physical, the tactical aspect of the game can always be worked on but decision making is very, very important.”
Amuneke coached the team to glory in Chile, a tournament where Victor Osimhen was the golden boot winner with 10 goals and Kelechi Nwakali was the golden ball winner.
Victor Osimhen in an interview with OmaSports fully acknowledges the role Amuneke played in his development as a footballer and in his life generally. “I owe everything I am and could ever be to Emmanuel Amuneke.”AMP
It was the last time the Nigeria enjoyed success on the world stage at the youth level going out early in the tournaments held in 2017 and 2019.
Images via Getty