Nigeria coach will work with Tom Saintfiet
Saintfiet backs himself as Nigeria's technical director
Tom Saintfiet tells BBC Sport he is confident he is the 'right man' to help put Nigerian football back on track.
On Wednesday the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) gave
the Belgian a four-year contract as the country's technical director.
"It doesn't matter where you worked before, it doesn't matter the age or the rich CV you have, " he said.
"It's the quality you have and the determination and the way you want to work together and the knowledge."
And the 39-year-old was quick to outline his role and ambitions as he returns to Africa after previous spells in The Gambia, Namibia and Ethiopia.
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“I'm very convinced that there are a lot of quality coaches in Nigeria ”Nigerian football's technical director Tom Saintfiet
"My main role will be to assist
and advise the local coaches who are there [already], to create the
circumstances, the structure and the ideas to reach our goals. ," he
explained.
"Nigeria has to be at the big tournaments and wants to win things.
"My role will be to assist the coaches who are there to work together and reach our goals.
"I'm looking forward to the task, I'm not losing sleep, I know my qualities, I've proved in the countries that I've worked that I can do a very good job and that I know African football."
Saintfiet is well aware of the opposition and severe criticism that will greet his appointment.
"I expect such questions, but let's not forget that the big names who worked in the last years in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria for the World Cup, they under performed and even after that," he pointed out.
"I'm a young boy, I'm 39 with 15 years of experience as coach, but that show that I have some quality and I know African football very well.
"Let me remind you that former Chelsea coach Andres Villas Boas worked for Virgin Islands as coach and no one questioned if he would be the right person for Porto or Chelsea."
Instead of challenging the opposition he says he is going to concentrate on working with all those involved in Nigerian football.
"I'm very convinced that there are a lot of quality coaches in Nigeria. They have achieved a lot with the local clubs and qualifying for big tournaments," he said.
"I would like to to work with them to take Nigerian football back to the big level and make them one of the big nations again in world football."
One person who is unhappy with the choice of Saintfiet is former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde, who led Nigeria at the 2002 World Cup finals.
"Tom Saintfiet is not the right choice; he is a wrong choice for the position of national technical director," he said.
"That is my personal position on the appointment, but I wish him the best of luck."
But the NFF have defended Saintfiet's appointment.
"We didn't get any Nigerians applying for this role and we expect our coaches to support Saintfiet," NFF board member Chris Green told the BBC.
"As for the fans I think they should be patient with the NFF and the new technical director. The future is bright and we can't get there by pulling down positive and promising plans."
Fabrice Muamba: family release hospital picture on Twitter
The family of Bolton's Fabrice Muamba has posted a picture of him on Twitter from his hospital room.
The 23-year-old collapsed on the pitch after 41 minutes of play and was "dead" for 78 minutes.
He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and 15 defibrillator shocks before he reached hospital.
The former England Under-21 international was rushed to the intensive care unit of the heart attack centre at the London Heart Hospital, where he has remained since.
The picture was tweeted on his behalf by his fiancee Shauna, who said: "Fab wanted me to post this pic for you all and to also say thank you for such overwhelming support."
Muamba was given 15 defibrillation shocks
in total - two on the pitch, one in the tunnel, and 12 in the ambulance -
each giving a 300-joule electric shock.
The day after Muamba collapsed, Bolton and the London
Chest Hospital reported that he was moving his arms and legs, breathing
independently and able to recognise family members and respond to
questions appropriately.
Dr Andrew Deaner said that he was able to talk to Muamba a few days after the attack, and described the recovery as "miraculous".
The cardiologist was at White Hart Lane to watch the game and came from the crowd on to the pitch to help Muamba.
Deaner spoke to Muamba after he was taken out of his medically induced coma, and was heartened that the footballer was able to make a joke just two days after the cardiac arrest.
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“Tell him everyone at Everton fc is still praying for him shauna xx”Everton captain Phil Neville to Muamba's fiancee Shauna on Twitter
"I whispered into his ear, 'What's your name'," recalled Deaner, with Muamba giving his name in response.
"I said, 'I understand you're a very good footballer'. And he said 'I try'."
Bolton doctor Jonathan Tobin helped treat Muamba in the ambulance.
Tobin said: "It was 48 minutes from the time he collapsed to the time he reached the hospital and it was a further 30 minutes in the hospital they were working on him without his heart having a muscular beat.
"In effect he was dead in that time. We were fearing the worst and didn't think we'd get the recovery we had. It's incredible."
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor told BBC Sport: "Seeing Fabrice Muamba smiling is the best news of 2012.
"The football family coming together and the quality of the medical assistance has been a really good news story. We all hope and pray that it continues."
It is not known whether Muamba will ever be fit enough to play top-flight football again, but Trotters chairman Phil Gartside says the club will find a role for him should he have to retire.
"He will be here as long as he wants to be," Gartside told BBC Radio 5 live.
Zaire-born midfielder Muamba has made 148 appearances for Wanderers since joining from Birmingham for £5m in June 2008.
Muamba treatment timeline
- 1813 GMT: Muamba collapses on the pitch due to a cardiac arrest 41 minutes into Bolton's FA Cup quarter-final with Tottenham at White Hart Lane
- 1819 GMT: Medics move Muamba to an ambulance after failing to revive him on the pitch in front of a stunned crowd
- 1901 GMT: Muamba arrives at the London Chest hospital
- 1931 GMT: Muamba receives 15 defibrillator shocks in total before his heart starts beating again
Owen Coyle thanks Tottenham for Fabrice Muamba support
Bolton manager Owen Coyle paid tribute to Tottenham after Tuesday's
rearranged FA Cup quarter-final defeat for their care of midfielder
Fabrice Muamba.
Muamba, 23,
collapsed at White Hart Lane 10 days ago
after suffering a cardiac arrest and remains in hospital.
Coyle admitted Tuesday's return to White Hart Lane had been "emotional" but thanked Spurs for their support.
"We have been truly humbled by the care and concern shown by everyone at Tottenham for Fabrice," said Coyle.
His side were beaten 3-1 by Spurs in what had been a difficult night for Bolton's players - who had earlier visited Muamba in hospital. Before the match both sets of supporters and players took part in a minute's applause in support of the midfielder.
"There's been continued improvement but there such a long way to go," Coyle told BBC Radio 5 live.
BOLTON'S NEXT FIVE PL GAMES
- Wolves (a) 31 March
- Fulham (h) 7 April
- Newcastle (a) 9 April
- Swansea (h) 21 April
- Sunderland (a) 28 April
"Where he is today with regards to 10 days ago is huge. We have to thank everybody for the strength and support.
"That has been a big player in Fabrice's recovery. As
horrible as those events were, there's been a real positivity about what
has come out from it.
"We have the best game in the world, bar none but to see it in such a good light, although we don't want to see the scenes that we did, it was great."
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp added: "We are not quite there yet but it has been a miracle to see the boy recover as he has.
"Everybody's spirits couldn't be better, when he left here that night we all feared the worst. We keep getting good reports every day and that is just great news.
"It was an horrendous night. Those of us that were here will never forget it. Please God he makes a recovery like we hope he will."
Earlier Coyle had written a message of thanks in the matchday programme ahead of the game.
"On behalf of everyone at Bolton Wanderers and our supporters, I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Tottenham Hotspur - the staff, players, management and fans - for their support for Fabrice and his family at this difficult time," wrote Coyle.
"Harry has been in touch regularly to check on Fabrice's progress and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has been in regular contact with our chairman Phil Gartside.
"The family have appreciated the many messages of support from Spurs fans.
"Tottenham's club doctor Shabaaz Mughal, the medical team and paramedics in attendance at White Hart Lane last Saturday played a vital part in giving Fabrice the best possible chance after his cardiac arrest and I would like to thank them all.
"He has a long road ahead of him and the messages of support have been a great source of strength and energy for everybody. Thank you all."
Getty Images
In the goalscorers market, Didier Drogba is the 4/1 (5.0)
favourite to open the scoring. Di Matteo surprisingly preferred
Fernando Torres in midweek but, with squad rotation a possibility,
Drogba could get the nod here and he’s scored in his last four matches
against Villa.
Getty Images
Kalou delighted with 'important' away goal as Chelsea beat Benfica
The Ivorian forward got on the end of a Fernando Torres cross to give the Blues the edge going into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Stamford Bridge
27 Mar 2012 22:38:00
Kalou struck in the second half, meeting a Fernando Torres cross to give the Blues the lead and the advantage of an away goal as the tie heads back to Stamford Bridge next month.
"It's a good result, the away goal is very important," Kalou told Sky Sports.
"It was a good game, everyone worked hard and when you do that as a team it makes it easier to win.
"Everyone worked hard today. We deserved to win the game and I wasn't worried about the late chances. We are ahead by one goal and we have to get ready for the next game now."
The Ivorian has found his first-team opportunities limited this season but returned to the starting line-up due to Chelsea's busy schedule of late.
"You want to play every game but the manager makes the decisions and you have to respect that," Kalou said.
"He gave me my chance to play and prove myself on the pitch and I'm happy to play and give everything I can."
Didier Drogba had been caught on camera appearing to feign fear at drawing Benfica following their victory over Napoli in the previous round but midfielder John Obi Mikel added that Chelsea's performance proved the seriousness with which they had approached the fixture.
"We know what a good side they are," Mikel insisted.
"Coming here, we knew it was going to be very difficult. We put in a hard shift, kept defending and hoped we could get a chance [to score] and that's exactly what we did.
"This result means a lot for us. Coming here, we knew if we could get a win or a draw that would allow us to go back home and seal the tie.
"Getting a victory is fantastic and we just have to keep going and hopefully we can get a good result at home and go through."
Mikel also backed Roberto Di Matteo's decision to make changes for the Benfica clash following their draw against Tottenham on Saturday.
"Whatever decisions the manager makes, we just have to get on with it," the Nigerian added.
"He's the manager, he decides who plays and I think everyone on this team is very happy.
"The guys on the bench you could see coming to the pitch – they all know how important this game is for us."
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