CHARLES OGUNDIYA 
Former Super Falcons forward, Stella Mbachu, in an interview with CHARLES OGUNDIYA, advised current national team players to be more dedicated to the game. Excerpts…
Recently, the 1999 Class of the Super Falcons players were given awards by the Nigeria Football Federation, how do you feel as a member of that team?
I was so excited; nobody thought that such an event would come up but God made it possible. I really give the glory to God and also we appreciate the NFF for honouring us the way they do the Super Eagles. It was a thing of joy for all us that were part of that team and also the award night at the Eko Hotel in Lagos.
What would you say was the secret of your success at that time?
Then we were so dedicated, World Cup was our problem then, how to qualify, how to get to quarter finals. We took it upon ourselves that no matter what it took we must qualify, we must play well, we must do well. So, that made us come together and discuss. We always told ourselves as ‘we’re going out for this game, we are going to do something great.’ African championship, we always won it. In our own time, none of those African countries could challenge us, until the day all of us started retiring. The team at that time was very strong and the pillar that was behind it was Coach Ismalia Mabo; that man is a father and a coach. He is the one that put us together, he united us. And everything was going smoothly, very well for us. Whenever we didn’t perform to his expectation, the way he would call us together and talk to us as a father that made us to resolve that, ‘no matter what it took, we were going to do something and make sure that we play our heart out. We were also very dedicated, disciplined, determined, we always wanted to do it. That is why when we went for that World Cup in 1999 in the U.S., you could see the way we started our programmes, from the friendly matches to that the World Cup proper, it was so fantastic, so nice. We played together, that’s the foundation of what we achieved at that time.
Moving from an active player to a coach, what really informed that decision?
I have a passion for football and coaching. I want to raise talents and make sure that people come through me. I want to be proud whenever they mention some great players and it will be traced back to me that I brought them up. That has been my passion. I want to raise players that would play beyond whatever you think I have ever achieved in football.
How did you come into football?
I came into football when I was in the village with my brothers and sisters; after school then, we would take the ball, just run around, play it around. So, one fateful day, when we came back from school and as usual started playing ball, one boxing coach from our local government, saw me. He called me and said to me that with what he was seeing, that I could play football; he informed me of a team in the village that was about to raise a female team, he also said the local government also had a football club and that I should come for training. I said I didn’t have the time, that I might not come; he however was persistent and one day, I decided to go and the way I played, I was actually dribbling all of them on the field, people were shouting where is this small girl coming from? That same year, the club registered for the Imo State FA Cup, from there we represented the state and that was how my football career exploded.
While choosing football, what was your parents’ reaction to such a decision?
My parents never stopped me from playing football for one day, but when people saw me playing, they started complaining to my parents, wondering why they were allowing their daughter to play football, but they would explain to them that it was my hobby and nothing was wrong with it. That was how they always overlooked things like that. So when I started making it, all the people that were complaining hitherto started enjoying my game and loving what I was doing.
As a coach with Heartland Queens of Owerri, what are your plans for the club?
Heartland Queens is a household name, but the former government never encouraged the team, they always ignored them, but at a time, when this new government came in, they started showing interest and promised that they would do everything to make sure we perform well and achieve something great.
What would be your advice to the current Super Falcons?
I’ll advise the current Super Falcons to be dedicated, be serious, unite, have the passion, train very well, work hard and they’ll achieve it because in our days, we worked hard and gave it our all so as to write our names in gold while also putting our country on the world map through football.
