Goal gets up close with the ex-international turned Super Falcons trainer after sealing a place at the 2016 African Women’s Cup of Nations in Cameroon
In seven months, Nigeria senior women’s coach Florence Omagbemi will lead her emerging squad to defend their African women’s title in Cameroon.
The Super Falcons defeated Senegal 3-1 on aggregate to qualify for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations. They will head out in search of their eighth continental title after failing to qualify for this year’s Olympic Games as well as missing out on a medal at the 2015 All-African Games. Omagbemi has a lot of work to do to get the Nigerian women buzzing again on the continent.
In this interview with Goal’s Samuel Ahmadu, the 41-year-old, who was captain of the team at three World Cups and reached the quarter final at USA ‘99, shared her experiences in charge, the rising competition in women’s football on the continent and challenges ahead.
Goal: After years of active football, how do you feel getting the chance to coach the Super Falcons?
Florence Omagbemi: I want to thank the [Nigeria Football] Federation for giving me the honour to come as a coach. Because having played for the team for years, giving me the opportunity to come back in a different capacity to coach the team is a great honour for me. I am very grateful for it.
In the space of a month as a coach, you’ve successfully led the Falcons to their 10th African finals, what was the experience like for you?
It’s a good experience. It’s just like giving back. Having played for the country, you know the system and the routine and the players and being there as the leader of the team. And I experienced a lot of competitions with the group; the World Cup, the Olympics and the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. And now coaching, I just want to bring my experience that I had in previous years with the team and try to make sure the players are doing well. This is my own way to come back to the group and share my experience with them. I’m very grateful and happy too. I want to give the glory to God and want to thank my technical crew, [my assistants] and the players for putting out their best out there to play for the nation. This is just the beginning of a journey though, we still have a long way to go. It’s a good start for the group since it is a transition for the team with the technical crew. I will call that a good start because it is not easy when you’re transiting to a new group and making sure that everyone is on the same page with you. I’m happy for the responses of the players because they embraced the situation and all came out to play and that’s why we were able to get those good results. But since we still have time to prepare for the Nations Cup which is coming up later in the year, we still need to take care of a lot of stuff with the girls. We want to try and recapture our position back as the leading team in Africa because most of the teams we are going to play in Cameroon are teams that are doing well. We want to do well since we are going there to defend the title. All teams coming to the tournament are all after the defending champions which is normal. We just want to focus on that and try to increase our level of play and by God’s grace, try to retain the trophy.
Recalling your horrible experience and draw in Dakar, did that really bring you any concern before the second leg against Senegal as regards qualifying?
Not really at all, actually it was just one of those games. All the games you want to play, you’re going out there to win that’s the mindset of the coaches and the players. Nobody is going out there to play and say I don’t know if I’m going to win or draw but at the same time you want to make sure you get your team together and when you play well the result will speak for itself. Going to Senegal, we had intentions to go to pick a win but we got a draw. We played against a team that wanted to get a win too because everybody is fighting for a ticket to go to Cameroon. So when they qualify and play in the first round and they were coming to play in the second round. It was a good match for us. Every team has their different way of approaching the game, some are technically good, some are tactical but some are physical. But same time you want to adjust to any situation you find yourself. We are happy with the team we played in Senegal even though they were a physical team but at least they gave us a different approach and how we will be dealing with situations like that. It was a good result, playing outside the country. It’s just that Nigeria had not played Senegal before. But most African teams want to get to the level of Nigeria and even exceed Nigeria. Even at the last World Cup in Canada, the three teams that represented Africa in that competition did their part even though the last team came out in the second round but they did their best. But the more we get good opposition in Africa, the better for African football.
Nigerians were scared seeing Oparanozie’s touching face injury in the first leg against Senegal, can you share your own account of what happened in Dakar?
As a coach, my own approach to the game is just that when I go out to play a game, I focus on my team and how the opposition is playing against my team, that’s how I respond. Most teams come with different approach depends on the strategy the coach wants them to play. You only have control over your team but at the same time the game we played in Senegal was glaring, we played against a physical side. I’m not going to go deep down into how the referee officiated the game or what went wrong. I will not say what the coach did was wrong because that’s his own way he want his team to play. But it was just unfortunate we played against a very physical side that had so much unnecessary contact with our players. But I don’t have control over the situation but the referees do have the control over the game. We learnt from that experience with the approach and how they came out to play. So if we have such experience in Cameroon we will have a better way of dealing with them. We played against them in Abuja the same team and it was much better than in Senegal. Because most time you’re out there you don’t go there to control the referees or tell the opposition how to play. When you come out there you find a strategy and a way out of dealing with the situation for you to come out victorious. That was exactly what we did in the two legs we played against them.
You paraded virtually a different team to the one that won the last African title, what informed your choices and what do you make of their performance during the qualifiers?
I give credit to all players that were invited to the team. It was a pool and most of the players we had in camp were from the last World Cup, All-African Games and those currently doing well with their club sides. So we brought everyone in to have a chance and at the end of the day we the technical crew got down to numbers of those ready or prepared for a particular game. So those are the ones we used during the qualifiers. When we regroup again, every game you want to take at a time and want to know what players are in for that particular game. Not that the others who are not playing were bad but we focus on the ones that you know you are ready. It was a good pool and we had the young, old and new players but those we used were those we thought were ready for that particular game.
How will you react to media rumours about your insistence to have the Falcons’ job on a permanent basis before you joined the team?
I don’t know where that story came from. When I heard the story, it was like breaking news to me because I don’t know who came up with that story and I’ve never discussed any issue as regards that to anyone. Like I said earlier on, I’m grateful for the opportunity given to me from the Federation and I want to thank all out there who gave me the support and believed in my ability to do it. Fighting for a particular position or trying to convince the Federation, I don’t know where that is coming. It still feels to me like breaking news.
What do you make of African women’s football now recalling how it was during your playing days?
Just like the men’s game, you have different trends and different formations and approaches. Likewise with the women side, as the game is improving, you want to catch up with the new trend and want to make sure you’re on the same page with everyone, even the European countries, the South Americans, the Asians and other developed countries in the game. So as the game is progressing, just make sure you’re on the same page with everyone. Just like the male side and in the days we played and even now, there is a lot of difference in terms of formation, pace and decision making in all aspects of the game. We are all working towards that direction but all the same like we’re now in 2016, when we get to 2017 and 2018 different trends will have come into the game and level and approach. Just make sure you remain on top of your game as players and coaches.
Do these put any pressure on you or pose any extra challenge as your team hopes to retain the African title?
Every African team that went to Canada – Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria – did their best and learnt a lot from that experience and they will be bringing it back to the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations. And even teams that played in the first round of the qualifiers against top teams that are not going to be in there and likewise those that qualified. I believe everyone is going to Cameroon to play well and get a good outing. Likewise the Nigerian team, we are in there and we know what is at stake. And the players and even the coaches know that too. It is not easy playing in the qualifiers and Nations Cup which is always competitive for you. And it’s good because when you have more competitive teams out there it helps the level of play and helps the coaches and players to grow. And when they have the opportunity to play at the international level like in the Olympics and World Cup, you get more from the teams.
What will you be asking from the Federation to ensure smooth final preparations to defend the African title in Cameroon?
I believe the Federation knows better and it’s just all about preparation and they have their plans on ground to get the team in good shape and give us a good preparation before the tournament in Cameroon and to play some good friendly games and get everyone going just like they are doing for the male side. We are working closely with the Federation and they are doing their part to make sure the team is in good shape. The players are aware having secured the ticket just as the technical crew and know there is another hurdle to cross by going there to defend the cup. When we regroup, we will have a better preparation base on the Federation’s plans for the team. I want to thank them (NFF) for their support so far.
