As early as 7am on Friday morning two young men
claiming to
be friends of Stephen Keshi had arrived at the team’s ibis Hotel,
ostensibly to
see the coach and relive old times. Sidibe, as one of them later
identified
himself, waited patiently until Keshi came down to se him.
When he left, Keshi said he feels really at home
as he has
seen several people he met as a young player of Stade D’ Abidjan, but
quickly
added that he knows the people too well to let down his guarDd
“They
don’t joke
with football, so I won’t be surprised if they revive their old habits
of
sprinkling animal blood in the dressings rooms or even attempting to
poison the
food the players will eat. Yes, I feel at home but I am a Nigerian first
and
foremost and I must protect the integrity of my country.
The match between the Eagles and Elephants will
be played at
the Stade R. Champroux and its an astro turf. The Eagles had their
training
there on Thursday and Friday’s evening training is also scheduled for
the
ground.
The Nigerian side will spot their tradition green upon green,
while the
host are expected to don their traditional orange colours.
In Thursday’s training, Godfrey Oboabona and
Rabiu Ali, were
exceptional, though all other players gave their all as Keshi continues
to
confuse onlookers about the probables for Saturday’s game.
Oboabona even
had a
near fatal aerial challenge with Etebor Oghenekaro, as the battle for
shirts
hots up but the medical crew were up to the task.
“The competition here
is good
and I am sure that the players we have here can hold their own against
any
national team in the world”, the Sunshine Stars captain declared at the
end of
the rain soaked training session. Today’s match is scheduled for 3:30pm
local
time, which is 4:30pm Nigerian time.
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