Sports Briefs
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JOSEPH Yobo, former Super Eagles captain, plans to celebrate his retirement from football with a testimonial match in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He insists all his 101 appearances for Nigeria are special to him and that he cannot single out any of his games in the national colour as better than the others.
“I feel fulfilled playing for Nigeria. In fact, all the matches were special. I cannot tell you I treasure this one more than the other. Whether it was a friendly game or a World Cup, there was this special feeling I had anytime I put on the national colours,” the former Everton and Fenerbahce defender said while ruminating on his time at the senior national team.
“Whether it was my debut against Zambia or my 87th against Rwanda when I became the most capped Nigerian at the time or the game against Argentina where I became the first Nigerian to reach 100 or even the last one against France, every moment was special.”
Yobo urged the new generation of Super Eagles to be more committed to the national team. “I am privileged to be the first Nigerian player to make FIFA’s exclusive Century Club. I feel so glad to have reached that milestone for my country. The younger ones should give the national team all their best. It is a privilege to be deemed worthy to wear the national colours in a country of over 170 million people.
“Things are not going so well at the moment but it is also time for the players to take it upon themselves and rise to the occasion. I have a strong belief that this generation will even be greater given the abundance of young talented players coming through the ranks and the youth teams. I am happy the NFF has paid enough attention to the age-group teams. That is the way to go. There will never be shortage of talents. Watch out for the Super Eagles in future. A solid foundation is being laid,” he said.
— Jun 6, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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