Courtesy: The Punch


It was an act of God – Disu

By Agency Reporter

Wednesday, 29 Apr 2009

Twenty years after the historic Damman Miracle , head coach of the 1989 Flying Eagles, Tunde Disu, has described the exploit as ‘an act of God.’

Disu, who also coached the Nigeria’s Five-A-Side team to the World Futsal Championship for the first time, said Saudi’89 silver was his highest achievement as a coach.

He said, “Damman Miracle was an act of God. In all my years as a coach, I have graduated from one stage to another but getting that result over the USSR was fantastic and still remained my best moment as a coach.”

The former Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Association said he capitalised on the Russians’ over-confidence to seal the memorable victory.

“I knew where the fault was; Chinedu Odiari’s absence in central defence caused the goals we conceeded. He was on the bench. But I convinced him to play and fortunately for us because Russia coach thought he had won he removed his best striker.

“Luckily, I had watched their tapes and knew them very well. So when they made those costly technical changes, I knew we had a chance,” he said.

He added that discipline and continuity were major factors in the team’s ability to beat the Russians and finish in second place behind Portugal.

He said, “The team had good preparation and the players were very strong because I believe in fitness. Besides, we had eight players from the Golden Eaglets of 1987.”

Disu said he was still in touch with some of the players.

“Of course it would be virtually impossible for us to meet at a single function. Tunde Charity is late and I think all the other players are married and have their families. But once in a while we get in touch when possible.”







Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com