Posted by Festus Abu on
Worried by the injury problem, which may not place Everton defender, Joseph Yobo, in position to provide a full coverage for the Super Eagles at the early stage of the Nations Cup, coach Austin Eguavoen has pencilled down Russia-based Chidi Odia for a special role.
Worried by the injury problem, which may not place Everton defender, Joseph Yobo, in position to provide a full coverage for the Super Eagles at the early stage of the Nations Cup, coach Austin Eguavoen has pencilled down Russia-based Chidi Odia for a special role.
Informed sources close to the Eagles camp in Faro, Portugal, told our correspondent on Tuesday that Eguavoen, who was unhappy with the development, planned to deploy Odia from the right-back to the centre-back position if Yobo failed to recover enough for the team's opening match against Ghana on January 23 because of his experience.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Eguavoen said the CSKA Moscow star would be given a role in the central defence if the need arose.
'We are working on the possibility of any player in the team fitting into any position when there is a problem. Odia is one player who can fit into any position in the defence. If there is need to shift him from the right-back we will do so," he said.
The former Eagles captain dispelled comments in the media that the team would have problem in the central defence during the continental finals, saying he had confidence in the players listed for the role.
The PUNCH, Wednesday, January 11, 2006