Former coach of the Nigeria U17 team Manu Garba has suggested possible reasons why one of his wards at U17 level Chidiebere Nwakali was called up by coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.
On loan to Norwegian side Sogndal from Manchester City , the 20 year old midfielder was the surprise name in the Nigeria senior national team squad for the games against Algeria and Argentina released yesterday.
Manu who brought the midfielder to limelight said his call up is well deserved because he has some qualities the present Super Eagles squad lacks, and said he is unlucky to be playing in Norway.
” Nwakali is a special player. I can say it again and again. He is super talented. His qualities are too many to mention, he moves well and knows when to intercept and when a tackle is necessary. Aside that he is not scared of shooting “, Manu exclusively told Owngoalnigeria.com.
” He (Nwakali) is unlucky to be playing in Norway, his level is way beyond the league. The one thing which the Eagles lack which he will add is his ability to thread defence splitting passes and also initiate attack from the rare.
” With all due respect to the players I have handled, Nwakali has one of the best long passes, he can also play in multiple roles. I said to the press after our elimination from the U-20 World Youth Championship in New Zealand in 2015 that Nwakali’s absence through injury affected us”.
Osas Mahawi
