Supporters sure of Germany 2006 The soft-spoken Yusuf also sends words of congratulation and encouragement to the female national soccer team, Super Falcons on the Athens 2004 performance, saying they have "improved tremendously" Q: The Athens 2004 Olympics is getting to climax. How would you rate the performance of the Nigerian contingents? A: It is unfortunate that Nigeria has not won a single medal in Athens. Nigeria has always waited till the last minute to start a ‘fire-brigade’ approach for championships. But this time around, it just didn’t win us any medal. It goes to show that there is not short cut to victory. The time to prepare for the 2008 Games in China is now. Q: So, how would you rate the performance of the Falcons? A: Oh! The Falcons worked very hard, but it was unfortunate they couldn’t make it to the final. I commend them for the brilliant performance. They should not relax after this time, but rather continue the impressive style. It goes to show that with enough preparation and exposure, we could excel. Q: Mary Onyali, just announced her retirement from international track. Do you see this as a welcome development? A: (Long pause, laughter) Mary is getting old and she has to leave when the ovation is loudest, but she should have left after the All Africa Games in Abuja. But now that she has announced her retirement, let us start the process of replacement. Replacing ageing athletes has always been a problem because we rely solely on government for sports development. I believe right now, the government should through a legislature make it possible for companies allocate some percentage of their profit for sports development and promotion. Q: So winning 10 gold medals as earlier stated by the minister of sports was never feasible. If you were the minister, what would do at this point? A: The Sports Minister only expressed optimism on our performance. There is a Yourba proverb which say: ‘If you say the Masquerade would perform, but at the end of the day it didn’t, there is no problem with that.’ If it was in Europe he could resign, but such things are very rare in Africa. He only raised our hopes which never materialised. It is now time for us to return to the drawing board for improved performance at the next Olympics. Q: What about our next World Cup qualifying game against Zimbabwe in Harare? A: Again, it is very strange and unfortunate that we find ourselves in an uncomfortable position in the group. The supporters club is organising a fund raising programme to attend our away games, because we reckon they are crucial to our qualification for the finals in Germany. We would do our best to ensure they get maximum support to qualify because ‘it is not over until it is over.’ Q: Can you predict the Zimbabwe result? A: By the special grace of God, we are going to pick the full points. The worst result we could get away is a draw game. Q: Why didn’t you club participate at the Olympics in Athens? A: We didn’t go to Athens in protest against the Greek Embassy in Lagos. They claimed there was an instruction from the Nigeria Olympics Committee, but we felt embarrased and insulted for any embassy to give us only 31 visas. We gave them our list after the Nigeria Football Association had scrutinised it, and going by that list, we could not have had less than 120 members in Athens. The Greek embassy just gave visas to those above 40 years only and left out the others not minding their travel history. Q: Thanks a lot for your time A: You are welkome
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