President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday congratulated the Golden Eaglets on their 2-0 victory over Mali in the final match of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup held in Chile. He has also assured them of heroes welcome.
The President through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, applauded what he called “the exemplary zeal, determination, commitment, hard work, patriotism and soccer artistry” which the Eaglets displayed throughout to win the championship for a record fifth time.
The statement read in part, “The President believes that by their triumph in Chile, the Eaglets have shown the world that the indomitable Nigerian spirit is alive and waxing stronger.
“For the President, the Golden Eaglets’ latest victory on the global stage is an affirmation of the significant progress Nigeria is now making towards positively redefining and rediscovering its potential for greatness in the comity of nations.
“The President joins other proud Nigerians in awaiting the Golden Eaglets triumphant return to a heroes’ welcome from a joyous and grateful nation.”
Meanwhile, amidst reports that foreign clubs are seeking the signature of striker Victor Osimhen, former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, has warned the 17-year-old to take his time and avoid rushing into signing any contract with any of the clubs.
The Eaglets scored 23 goals in seven matches and Osimhen scored 10 of them to emerge the tournament’s highest goalscorer.
The Ultimate Strikers Academy player, who also won the Adidas Silver Ball of the tournament, also became the highest scorer in the history of the U-17 World Cup with his 10 goals surpassing the nine scored by Frenchman Sinama Pongolle and Souleymane Coulibaly of Ivory Coast in 2001 and 2011 respectively.
Tottenham Hotspurs are reportedly leading the chase for the youngster after his performance at the tournament but Onigbinde, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, warned Osimhen to be careful about his choice.
“Players at this stage of their careers need to be careful and need lots of advice from people close to them about the choices they make,” Onigbinde said.
“Osimhen should be careful and avoid rushing to just any club that comes his way. He should understand what each club has to offer before making his choices. He should be sincere and learn from the mistakes of those before him.
“Many players like that have shone at the U-17 level and failed to make it after then. When they get to the various clubs that sign them, many discoveries are made and they just fritter away and are unheard of.
“If he is sincere to himself and is careful of his choices, he will have a good career.”
Onigbinde added that winning the U-17 title should not be over celebrated, but advised that the win should serve as an eye-opener to solving the country’s football challenges.
He said, “I, like every patriotic Nigerian, congratulate the team on their victory in Chile but it should not be overdone because we need to plan ahead for these set of boys so that they will not end up like the others that have gone before them.
“We have won the competition four times before this but how many of the players from those years grew into the national team?”
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