Adepoju moves on, dreams better days Nigeriasports.com: Long time no news about you, what’s been happening, Mutiu? Adepoju: Well last season I played in Cyprus and I finished my contract with them, now am waiting to take up another contract with any club Nigeriasports.com: What is the name of the club you played for Cyprus? Adepoju: AES Limasol. Nigeriasports.com: News from the wire recently has it that your agent was searching for a club for you in Spain and in England, how far has he gone? Adepoju: Well am still waiting but I think the one in Spain can not go through until the transfer window re-opens in January but I am still looking to the other side of Europe. Nigeriasports.com: So presently what are you doing, just training? Adepoju: Yeah, just training, waiting for the moment that I will find another club. Nigeriasports.com: Tell us your experiences playing in Spain, Cyprus and Turkey and all that, tell us how is been with you? Adepoju: Not too bad but I can not tell you that it is as good as when I was playing in Spain, the mentality is different and the style of play and the style of management of the clubs there are different especially in Turkey and Cyprus. I wouldn’t say that I had a good time there in Cyprus and Turkey but all the same I tried my best, In Cyprus the club I played for got to the final of the Cyprus cup and we finished fourth in the league and got to the final of the cup and lost to a last minute goal with the result ending at 2-1. Nigeriasports.com: We wish you all the best as you continue your search for a new club but for how many more years are we expecting Mutiu Adepoju ‘the headmaster’ to be on the pitch? Adepoju: I just want to take it step by step, at the moment am just thinking of this year just to play this year and if I can still go on I’ll take another year but if I can not get a club then I will just have to leave and move on with my life. Nigeriasports.com: Alright many footballers when they are thinking of retiring they turn to the Far-East or even the Middle East or USA’s Major league soccer, are you thinking towards that direction? Adepoju: Yeah, my agent is looking toward every possibility even the Far East and Middle East are not left out, but whatever comes I will just take and finish my career in the best possible way. Nigeriasports.com: Lets leave club football for the moment and talk about the national team, since 2002 world cup when you last appeared for the national team Super Eagles what do you think the team has become over the past two years. Adepoju: Well the fact is that because of the distance I have not been able to follow the national team and actually I don’t know the set of players that are there now but according to what I have been reading on the websites and in the newspapers I think the set of players we have now are doing fine and I hope they get to their best and qualify Nigeria for the world cup in Germany 2006 and to bring Nigeria more laurel than we did in 2002. Nigeriasports.com: Okay we were talking to Emmanuel Amunike the other day and he said since there has been no good winger like him since he quit the national team that he would not mind an invitation to come back to play few games for the national team, are you thinking towards that direction Adepoju: Of coming back to play for Nigeria? Some few games for Nigeria (nigeriasports.com-yes) No, no, no, I think my time in the national team has passed and its been two years since the last time I was in the national team at the world cup and I think when you are being shown the door you just have to follow it because I don’t want to do something that will spoil my image because I have done a lot for Nigeria and I don’t want to go back and ridicule myself like lots of players did, I can not do it. I think they have shown me the way out in 2002 and I think I just had to retire because having played in the national team for so many years it was time to leave it for the players coming after me, However if I get invitation to serve in another capacity I will surely help my country, but not to go and play again, my time ended in 2002. Nigeriasports.com: This issue of foreign coach is all over the place now, NFA are stuck on getting a foreign coach while the minister and president are not disposed to that, what do you think? Adepoju: It all depends on the NFA but in my own opinion Christian Chukwu and Eguavoen have been doing very fine, so why not give them the chance to continue without distractions since they have been winning their matches. I think the players too have been responding to their training and they respect them and everybody wants to win, I really think that they have been doing well and why not let us give them chance to continue that is my own opinion, I don’t know what other people think about it but I think if we don’t give our people the chance to try and do their best and we don’t support them with all the facilities they want. I do think we have world standard coaches that also played the game and I think they should be left alone to carry on. Nigeriasports.com: Which set of players have impressed you of late? Adepoju: I think martins, Obafemi martins is a wonderful player and he has been playing for Inter Milan and he’s been doing very fine, I am not surprised because is the sort of player that is ready to work and I think we just have to make use of his Nigeriasports.com: Alright finally I know you must have a message for your Nigerian fans? Adepoju: Well its been long since they have seen me but I just want to tell them that I am in Spain but am not playing now but waiting to get a club and I hope that when I get a club everybody will hear about me again, I just wish all my fans and everybody that loves me well and their families too. Nigeriasports.com: Alright Mutiu thank you for talking to us. Adepoju: T; thank you, thanks for calling and thanks for being interested in my welfare and my where about, say me well to everybody back home.
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