Super Eagles got a morale boost on Monday ahead of their
World Cup qualifying clash against Namibia as Roger Palmgren quit his position as
Namibia coach after just a month in the role, saying he fears for the safety of
his family after receiving death threats. Read more
Eagles who beat Kenya 1-0 in Nairobi last Wednesday had
barely spent 72 hours in the Southern African country when the Swede resigned
to the surprise of the Namibians.
The head of the Namibia Football Association John Muinjo
told Reuters that there was no prior complaint from the coach before he quit.
“The president
of Namibia Football Association John Muinjo hereby announces the resignation of
the Brave Warriors’ head coach Roger Palmgren who tendered his resignation with
immediate effect this weekend due to serious threats directed towards him and his
family, as stated in his resignation letter,” the NFA said in a statement.
Palmgren was unveiled as coach on May 2 and led the team to
two 0-0 draws, in a friendly against Zambia and a World Cup qualifier in Malawi
last week.
Namibia face Nigeria in Windhoek in the qualifier on
Wednesday, with former Namibia midfielder Ricardo Mannetti placed in temporary
charge of the side. Both sides need to win the game. While Nigeria need it to
consolidate group leadership, the Namibians need the full points for a realistic
chase of the group ticket to the final round. Namibia trail Nigeria by four
points with two rounds of matches left.
Mannetti will be assisted by Ronnie Kanalelo for the Nigeria
game.
Meanwhile, in England, Chelsea returnee manager Jose
Mourinho has said Mikel Obi and the other old players from his first stint will
not get any special treatment. Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole,
Michael Essien and Mikel all played under Mourinho in his first stint at
Stamford Bridge but the Portuguese said on Monday none of them would be granted
special treatment.
He said, “It’s important to tell you, not them because they
know, there’s no privileges for them,” said the manager. “They know my nature;
they don’t have an advantage in relation to the others.
“We have
ambitions to add a couple of new players to improve the squad, increase the
competitiveness, but my biggest job at the moment is the all-round improvement
of the squad.
Culled from Punch newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment