Heartland's Agba dreams World Club Cup competition
By Christian Okpara
HEARTLAND of Owerri's midfielder, Uche Agba, is looking beyond the final match of the 2009 CAF Champions League against TP Mazembe of Congo DR, to the World Club Cup competition, which his team will qualify for if it won the African title.
Agba, whose goals from deep in midfield have played a huge part in Heartland's qualification for the CAF Champions League final, told The Guardian in Kano after his team's 1-0 defeat of Pillars in the semifinal of the competition that his ambition was to line up against the super stars of Barcelona in the World Club competition.
According to Agba, "every footballer wants to play against the best in the world, so it would be a dream come true to pitch my skills against Leonel Messi, Thierry Henry, Iniesta, and the other giants in Barcelona.
"These players are the best in the world but they are still human beings. It is just that they are more exposed than we are playing in Nigeria.
"I know that lining up against them will show the world that we have good players in Nigeria. But first we must beat Mazembe to qualify for the competition," he said.
On the national team, which door seems closed to home-based players, Agba said, "it is an anomaly that a country that has three teams in the semifinals of the continents biggest competitions cannot find any player from these teams worthy of the playing for the Super Eagles.
"The Tunisian team that almost beat Nigeria in Abuja had seven players who were in the Etoile du Sahel side we beat 3-0 in Owerri and drew 1-1 in Tunis.
"Now, tell me what makes the Tunisian league better than our own that they will get players from there into their national team, while nobody from the Glo league qualifies to play for Nigeria? I hope the authorities will examine this thing very well so that we will also use our best players," the former Lobi Stars midfielder pleaded.
