Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has attributed his outstanding performance to his teammates and management, noting that this was his first African Cup of Nations.
Nwabali said this in an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday after the team was hosted by President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa.
He said “I played this AFCON with help from my teammates. They really tried for me and guided me. Even the management of the team, coupled with the fact that it is my first AFCON. For a goalkeeper, being in a tournament like this for the first time is really tough. But as things got going, my teammates kept encouraging me.
“People are always talking about how I play my football in terms of confidence, but the confidence comes from my teammates because we have a lot of leaders in the team that go the extra mile to talk to me because they have been there before me.
“In football, you must start somewhere. I didn’t start in a big place when I started my football career. I was not born as a goalkeeper but talking about how I found myself here, I passed through different stages in Nigerian leagues before I travelled out and it’s just been one year and I have been famous ever since I left Nigeria.”
He also condemned fans cyberbullying his team member, Alex Iwobi, saying if he found himself in Iwobi’s shoes, he would have broken down.
“It is not nice to be honest and I hope the world will watch this interview. I know the country we have found ourselves in; everyone is desperate to win, everyone needs the cup, even when you are playing against the biggest country in the world, you want to win. I like it and I enjoy that spirit but it’s not easy and if the bullying happens to me, I will break down.
“I could remember the interview I granted earlier and I told them that a lot of people are waiting for me to make a mistake and then they show themselves on the internet but bullying Alex Iwobi is not nice.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect this from the president. Even when he was announcing everything, I started imagining what will happen when we win the cup.”
Chioma Kalu
Follow us on:
 from the president. Even when he was announcing everything, I started imagining what will happen when we win the cup.”</p>
){kind=link}