Magnificient and Modest Imama Amakpakabo is the Chief Coach of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu.
Imama was an integral part of the 1985 Golden Eaglets set that excelled in far away China. He was the goal keeper of the epoch making set that won the maiden edition of FIFA U-16 World Championship, and by extension making Nigeria the first black nation to win a FIFA Organised competition. He later played for Sharks of Port Harcourt, Enyimba FC and Rangers FC where he is now serving as Chief Coach.
Apart from dishing out quality instructions from the sidelines, he is a fashionista and a poet. After a tension soaked encounter between MFM, FC and Rangers FC at the Agege Stadium, City People’s Sports Reporter Femi Fabunmi caught up with the amiable coach and he has this to say. Excerpts.
Are you satisfied with the performance of your boys today?
Yes I’m very happy with the way the these boys played today, it was a very interesting match and today’s opponent MFM Fc also gave a good account of themselves. In all it was a very good game.
It ended in a stalemate, were you expecting to win?
Sure, the expectation of every coach is to win, but quite unfortunately it didn’t happen 1-1 isn’t a bad result considering the qualify of our opponent, and it is an away game too.
How do you see officiating in the Nigerian leagues?
Officiating has really improved kudos to League Management Company (LMC) for doing a Yeoman’s job, moreso kudos to the Nigeria Referee Association, they have really tried.
Sir you were one of the few coaches around now that really played in the Nigerian league. How does that make you feel?
I think it is a great privilege for me to have played in the league, now I’m tutoring what I learnt some years back.
Really it is a thing of joy.
You were a goal keeper during your days at Sharks of Port Harcourt, how do you cope now that you are the Chief Coach of Rangers Fc?
As a goalkeeper at that time I was part of the team, please don’t forget that goalkeepers are first of all players, back then instructions were being dished out to us together. See the thing is I don’t think being a goal-keeper should stop a man from being the team manager or Chief Coach.
Rangers and Heartland of Owerri are the two club sides that haven’t gone on relegation since the inception of the league, what is the secret behind this?
Simple it is hardwork and dedication. Every Ranger players always have this at back of his mind that the momentum of the team must be sustained.
So, these players haven’t disappointed.
The club might not have won the league in many years. They have managed to sustain the momentum and philosophy of the club.
I really want to say thank you to every Ranger players both old and new.
As of now Rangers is on top of the NPFL, are you going to consolidate on this?
My target is to win the league this season, so we will do everything humanly possible to win. It this years.
Rangers haven’t won the Premier League title since 1984, can these present crop of players have all it takes to break the 32 years old Jinx?
Last season we finished 12th, and got to the Semi-Final of the fed cup. What we did was to identify our grey areas we worked on them, we also brought in new players to complement the old ones, so I think it is beginning to yield result.
Right now we are still on top of the league, should it end today we will win. However, one thing I will continue to tell my boys is that they have come to this stage, they shouldn’t rest on their oars, complacency should be completely ruled out.
Let me tell you something, we will break that Jinx this season by God’s Grace.
Sir, you were a member of the 1985 Golden Eaglet Squad that was just received few months ago by president Buhari, how does it feel to be remembered 30 years after?
It feels great to be remembered, it goes a long way to show that not only dead heroes are remembered, even living heroes too. Let me use this medium to thank the president once again, he could have chosen not to remember and award us, nobody would have done anything about it. Basically, it feels good to be honoued by a nation you served meritoriously.
What are you hobbies?
I love reading and writing a lot. I put down many of my feelings, I write poems, you can refer to me as a poet, it is just that I have many unpublished works with me, football is very tasking, so I haven’t had time to publish my writings.
Pls fill us in into your family background?
I hail from Rivers State, I was born into a large family of 11 boys and 11 girls, I went to school and I am also had the privilege of playing football. Today both are complementing each other.
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