Super Falcons Would Have Qualified For The Olympics With Dennerby - Ebi

Super Falcons Would Have Qualified For The Olympics With Dennerby - Ebi

Tosin Oluwalowo

Former Super Falcons captain Onome Ebi says the resignation of Thomas Dennerby as the team’s coach was partly responsible for their inability to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

In an interview with our correspondent, Ebi, said Christopher Danjuma, who was appointed to replace Dennerby was not used to the team yet.

“It’s so sad because we were looking forward to playing at the Olympics because we‘ve not qualified for the last two editions and we really focused on qualifying but unfortunately, we did not qualify,” Ebi told The PUNCH.

“The change of the coach might have been one of the factors to our non-qualification because he has been with the team for quite a long time and he understands how to get what he wants from the team. The change of the coach with two weeks to a crucial game like that could have been partly a cause.

“He (Christopher Danjuma) does not know the team like the one (Dennerby) that left.

Dennerby walked out on his contract with the Falcons before the final round of the Olympic qualifiers against Ivory Coast over claims of interference from the federation.

The 60-year-old returned to his home country Sweden, where he sent in his resignation letter.

In his absence, the NFF named Danjuma as the Falcons coach. The new coach, however, lost to the Ivorians on away goal rule after playing a 1-1 draw at the Agege Stadium. This was after both teams had played goalless in the first leg in Ivory Coast.

Ebi also explained why the coach did not invite her and other foreign-based players for the crucial Olympic qualifiers.

“The authorities (NFF) invited only six professional players due to the nature of the competition. Thus not all professionals could make it and in Nigeria, we had some defenders who could handle themselves well in the competition, that is why I did not come,” she added.