Former Super Eagles coach Fanny Amun believes the mentality of home-based players especially from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) is the main reason they have not been invited to the national team in recent years.
Amun revealed that the mentality and way of thinking of the players who are based at home are consistently very poor in a Facebook live interview with Football Doctors on Sunday.
“Olumide Harris and Duke Udi were typical examples of what I am saying when they were invited to the U-20 national team in 1995,” the Japan 93 U-17 World Cup winning coach remarked.
“Olumide Harris and Duke Udi preferred to pass the ball to themselves because of their Shooting Stars connection. Udi would send the ball to our goal area instead of passing it to his teammates, and Harris would play the ball up to the opponents area end up killing a Monkey or pluck Mongooses with his final shot.”
The Japan 93 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning coach explained that there’s nothing wrong in inviting players born by Nigerians in the Diaspora because the national team should comprise of Nigerians home and abroad.
“I don’t even know the tribes of the players I took to Japan U-17 world cup in 1993. I later discovered that there were more Igbos in the team. It is the national team of Nigeria not a sectional team and it is very important that we give everybody equal opportunity,” Amun added.
He however appreciated the former Nigeria Football Federation chairman Pinnick Amaju for inviting players born abroad to the national team adding, that we should not encourage such practice at the age group levels.
Fanny Amun led the Nigeria national under-17 team to victory at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
The Osogbo-born tactician in 1993 coached the Nigeria national under-17 team at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Japan, helping the team win the competition.
He coached the under-20 team in 1995 at the 1995 African Youth Championship, hosted by Nigeria and was appointed assistant coach of the Nigeria national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
Amun later became the Secretary-General for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) before retiring as an Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Sports in 2007.
