By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
After many years of being in the shadows of both foreign and Nigerian coaches, including the two former expatriate gaffers of Super Falcons, namely Thomas Lenhart Dennerby from Sweden with who he won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) trophy for Nigeria in 2018 in Ghana and later served four years under United States-born ex-coach Randy Waldrum who led Nigeria to finish 4th position in the last edition in Morocco, Super Falcons head coach Justine Pwanidi Madugu, has his work cut out for him when he leads out his team in a Group B opening match against Tunisia at Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca this evening.
Madugu is no stranger to the national scene. His coaching résumé includes roles as Assistant Coach of the Super Falcons since 2012, as well as involvement with Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team (Flamingoes), U-20 (Falconets), and the home-based Super Eagles at different times in his coaching career.
However, never has he been in the line of fire than taking up the arduous task of leading the most successful women’s national team in Africa, nine-time WAFCON winners, a regular FIFA Women’s World Cup campaigners since 1991 and counting as well as being the first African team to play in the Olympic Games women’s football event in Sydney 2000.
For 34 years, Super Falcons have been, not only an African brand but a global symbol of Nigeria and, by extension, Africa as the team has been playing in every major world football competitions either in the Olympic Games or FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
With the above pedigree, Super Falcons’s job is no longer for the unprepared, novice, or journeyman like Nigerians witnessed in the past four years which can be described as “the years of the locusts” when the Super Falcons failed to be Super under the immediate past head coach.
This is why the Adamawa-born football tactician and sports administrator of note who saw the rot at close quarters can not afford to fail this time his country’s football authority, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on behalf of the nation has handed him the opportunity to lead.
Armed with the highest football coaching certificates obtained from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) A license, UEFA certificates, and Masters Degree in sports-related fields, Madugu has all it takes to do a good job.
After all of the nine times Nigeria has won the WAFCON titles from the Africa Women Championship (AWC) under late Ismaila Mabo in 1998, the country’s indigenous coaches led Super Falcons to lift CAF Cup seven time with the only exception being in 2018 when Swedish Thomas Lenhart Dennerby won it for Nigeria in Ghana.
This said, all eyes are on Madugu even as he has no reason to fail in Morocco because the team he inherited is loaded to the hilt as he reclaimed into the squad experience players like Asisat Lamina Oshoala, who won African Women’s Footballer of the Year award a record six times and two-time African Best Women’s Goalkeeper Chiamaka Cynthia Nnadozie among others.
In fact, Madugu can not wait for the final whistle of the upcoming match between Nigeria and Tunisia to discover the result of what he has been cooking with his crew made up of another CAF Elite coach Ann Agumanu-Chiejine, a veteran Super Falcons goalkeeper and Awwal Makwalla, goalkeeper trainer.
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Also, the NFF leadership under the watch of Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau and General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi moved quickly to second two Sweden-born football tacticians Igor Krulj and Per Karlsson as Super Falcons Video Analyst/ Match Reader and Fitness/ Conditioning coach to work with Madugu to achieve results in Morocco.
This is why Madugu’s first WAFCON match in full charge will be critical not only for him but for his entire crew and the players because the ever critical Nigerian press will not spare to write and speak on the out come of the Super Falcons first match but the overall performance of the team at the end of the competition on July 26, 2015.
The Die Is Cast !
Let’s Go there !
