Former goalkeeper Peter Rufai says he is hoping to give Super Eagles Technical Adviser Augustine Eguavoen some worrying moments on Sunday at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos.
Rufai, who is one of 17 ex-internationals listed to play in a novelty match to celebrate politician Bola Tinubu’s 70th birthday, said he hopes to “confuse Eguavoen’s mind” with his performance.
“It is a pleasure and privilege for me to be part of this match, which is to celebrate an icon of grassroots football development, especially in Lagos.
“It is also an opportunity for me to give back to Lagos, which I came into in my Christmas shoes then for football trials and I then went on to train, got selected and was given a car at age 17.
“So, I am a made-in-Lagos Nigerian who is proud to play in Lagos and be part of celebrating a Lagos icon.
“But, another thing is that I am going to use my performance to cause confusion in Eguavoen’s mind about his choice of goalkeepers.
“I am going to perform well in the match so much that my former teammate Eguavoen will start to think about inviting me to the national team for the World Cup finals,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rufai is expected to play in the novelty match alongside 11 former teammates in the Super Eagles’ squads to two World Cups.
The twelve of them were part of the squads to the FIFA World Cup finals of 1994 and 1998 in the U.S. and France respectively.
These are Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Tijani Babangida, Garba Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju, Victor Ikpeba, Uche Okechukwu, Taribo West, Ike Shorounmu, Dosu Joseph and Jonathan Akpoborire.
The five others in the list of players for Sunday’s novelty match are Victor Agali, Abiodun Obafemi, Ifeanyi Udeze, Julius Aghahowa and Victor Ezeji.
Significantly, Rufai was called out of international retirement for the 1998 World Cup finals after some impressive showings at club level then in Portugal and Spain.
“The joy I have about this Sunday’s match and the way I feel are like those I used to have when getting set for a World Cup match,” the man popularly called “Dodo Mayana” said.
He also said he was confident about getting a starting shirt ahead of and even getting more playing minutes than Shorounmu and Joseph.
“I am confident of getting the shirt ahead of others, even though the match is one that will involve all of us. The spirit of such a match is for an opportunity for all to show what they used to have and what they can still show.
“Even Alloy Agu, our teammate then and now the goalkeepers’ trainer at the Super Eagles, will want to be part of this match if he has the opportunity.
“It is an event that will give us all, especially the three of us (Shorounmu, Agu and I), the opportunity to see each other and try to re-live the rivalry of those years,” Rufai said.
NAN reports that Rufai was for several years teammate with Eguavoen, as well as new Super Eagles’ Chief Coach, Emmanuel Amunike. (NAN)
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