FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes

Match Number 51 NGA – DEN Quotes

Comments taken in the mixed zone after the NIGERIA team’s official training session at the Stade de France, on the eve of match n° 51, NIGERIA-DENMARK (round of sixteen).

Mutiu ADEPOJU (8):

“We can’t say that we’re going to win the World Cup. A lot of teams have the potential to win the competition. We don’t see ourselves as favourites. Our asset for the match against DENMARK will be physical. We will have to go out and get the win by playing with conviction”.

Sunday OLISEH (15):

“The match against DENMARK will be difficult. Our strength lies in the enthusiasm of our young players. Our objective is to go further than in the 1994 World Cup in the USA. We have players capable of producing a good performance. But we’re realistic about the remainder of the competition. If we reach the quarter finals, it will be very hard because BRAZIL And CHILE are big teams. We will try to give it our best shot.”

Comments from the Mixed Zone before DENMARK’s official training session at the Stade de France, on the eve of match n°51 NIGERIA-DENMARK (round of sixteen).

Peter SCHMEICHEL (1):

“I’m happy to be training this afternoon at the Stade de France, despite the humidity. We’re not used to playing in these conditions. Luckily we’ll play our match in the evening. I wouldn’t say that the Nigerians play a slow game. They take their time to build up in midfield and then explode in attack. The aim of the game is to stop their accelerations which are no secret now “.

Per FRANDZEN (8):

“It’s going to be very difficult for us but we are going to try and get through and score some goals. To prepare for this match we have been watching videos. NIGERIA is a very good team. They are very good technically. But my hopes are high. I quite fancy a DENMARK-FRANCE final”.

Brian LAUDRUP (11):

“Our team is very different to that of 1996. I did not play then but my brother did. Since then we have changed the team coach and players so that the style of our game has completely changed. We didn’t get into gear straight away but we are hoping to have a good game tomorrow against NIGERIA, the most technical team in the world. We haven’t got the players to put on a show. Our game is rather more defensive and tight. We know that NIGERIA have their weak spots and when their game doesn’t go the way they want they become vulnerable. They are certainly the favourites to win, but sometimes the favourites lose. It should help us if it rains tomorrow because the heat doesn’t suit us”.

Michael LAUDRUP (10):

“Even if NIGERIA are the favourites and are a good team, it doesn’t mean that we’re coming to the Stade de France to play a minor role. If I thought that the Nigerians would win tomorrow, I wouldn’t see any point in going out there to play. We saw today that ITALY didn’t have it so easy against NORWAY who are supposedly a weaker team”.

The first Danish goal came after a few seconds of the match, and that was very important for us. I’m very satisfied with the result, which reminds me of the old Danish way of playing, as we saw in Mexico in 1986. Although it is impossible to say exactly why the team played so well I can say that it is easier to play against a technical team. NIGERIA are after all a very technical team, and for us it was easier to play them than a European team, for example. Our win, however, isn’t simply due to luck. Michael LAUDRUP(10) had a good match. Of course, we weren’t perfect throughout, but we kept up the pressure constantly. Now, we have to try to beat BRAZIL, they are the best team in the world. We will try to give them a hard time. We didn’t really prepare tactically for the game with NIGERIA. The DENMARK players found their positions well. We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare ourselves and we’ve only got five days to prepare for the quarter finals so we will try to relax. I thought it was a good idea to bring on Peter MOLLER (18), who hadn’t had a game up until now. He has put in a lot of practice and it pays to be patient and dedicated. In Peter SCHMEICHEL (1) we have a fantastic goalkeeper and we owe a lot of our victories to him. I can’t talk about weaknesses in the NIGERIA team because I was simply concentrating on the strength of the DENMARK team”.

Bora MILUTINOVIC, NIGERIA team coach”.

“Firstly I would like to congratulate DENMARK and I wish them the best of luck for the next round. Regarding our defeat, the team lost concentration when we were 2-0 down, it’s hard to come back after two goals against us. We didn’t play badly but we lost and we are disappointed. We now have to think about the future. After being 2-0 down, we had some good chances but we weren’t realistic enough. Now in any case it’s too late. I don’t want to blame any particular player, losing is always difficult. We shouldn’t forget that these are the same players that won matches and lost today. Everyone played as well as they could but unfortunately we didn’t win. Everybody wants to be world champions. We are the best team in Africa but we didn’t prove it today. As for me, yes it’s true I’ve always been eliminated in the second round of World Cup finals. But if there is any coach in the world who can claim to have a better record than me, let him say so. As for my future, I’m a football coach, it’s the only thing I know how to do. If anyone wants to call me… Now, I’m going to get back to a normal life and spend some time with my family. As far as I know, I haven’t said goodbye to NIGERIA yet. Anyway, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning. It’s true that in this World Cup, I was, in a way, involved with four different teams: UNITED STATES, YUGOSLAVIA, MEXICO and of course NIGERIA. I wish MEXICO good luck. I coached them for the World Cup in 1986, and tomorrow they are playing one of the best teams in the world. I hope they will win. Of course I’m also thinking of YUGOSLAVIA as it’s my home country. But for now I’m staying to watch the remainder of the competition”.

Michael LAUDRUP (10, captain):

“We played a great game for the whole 90 minutes. We are very happy to have qualified especially as there’s been a lot of criticism of the way we’ve played. It was incredible the way the team passed the ball around today. I’m really happy. Tonight has shown us that football can be a very strange game. Who would have placed a bet on us? I’m the first to be surprised by our performance. Often, when we score a first goal early on, we become more defensive. That didn’t happen today. Obviously, it wouldn’t be logical to make us favourites against BRAZIL and many people would consider us to be one of the weakest teams in the last sixteen. Of course, BRAZIL is a very a good team both collectively and individually. We’ll have to give 100% to compete against them”.

Jes HOGH (4):

“Everybody thought that we would get through the first round and the fact that we did took some of the pressure off. So we no longer have to deal with that burden. Despite the result being in our favour, it was flattering and we didn’t have a very easy game. Fortunately, we managed to keep our concentration 100%. But the Nigerians were very dangerous. From now on, we’ve a real challenge ahead of us, to beat BRAZIL, one of the favourites. We’ll try to carry it off. It’s always good to have a goalkeeper of Peter SCHMEICHEL’s (1) calibre. It’s very reassuring for the defence and could improve our chances for the next round”.

Brian LAUDRUP (11):

“We felt really good tonight. It was an important match and we got off to a great start. This made things very difficult for the Nigerians who were 2-0 down. NIGERIA has some fantastic players and was a difficult team to beat. We are now going to savour this victory and we’ll leave thoughts of BRAZIL until tomorrow. We hope for a win because nobody is expecting us to put in a winning performance. We’ve nothing to lose. We’re above all very happy to be in the last eight”.

Peter SCHMEICHEL (1):

“Our team played exceptionally well. This gives me a lot of confidence when the team defends so well. For such a small country, to play against the best team in the world (BRAZIL), is such a great achievement. It’s the best thing that could have happened to us. We’re very proud to be in a quarter-final. All our goals were very good. That was our best performance. We only felt the pressure at the end of the first half…and even that wasn’t too bad. That was because we were playing well and keeping the ball. We all played well as a team”.

Martin JORGENSEN (21):

“It was surprising to see Thomas HELVEG (6) score tonight. He only usually scores one goal a season for his club. This year he hasn’t scored at all and waited for the World Cup to do it! I usually call him uncle because when we play together he helps me a lot. And today, my uncle scored…”.

Okechukwu UCHE (5):

“I feel bad after this match. I can’t say right now what went wrong. I’ll have to see the video to understand. All I can say is that we kept on fighting and that we would have done even if we were losing 5-0.”

Sunday OLISEH (15):

“I think we lacked concentration. We didn’t manage to get organised on the pitch.”

Celestine BABAYARO (3):

“We thought we would beat DENMARK. Despite conceding 2 goals early in the game, we kept trying and we didn’t give up. Even though most of us are very disappointed, I’m personally pleased to have been here at all after the two operations I went through this year.”

Jay-Jay Austine OKOCHA (10):

“We have shown a lot of confidence since the start of the competition. But today’s defeat was not due to being over-confident, but to a lack of concentration and organisation.”

Victor IKPEBA (20):

“The Danes were stronger than us tactically. We weren’t alert enough at the start of the match. In life there are victories and defeats.”

Peter RUFAI (1):

“In the future, we’ll do better. Nonetheless, I’m satisfied with my performance. I can’t take responsibility for everybody else. Football is a team sport. The Olympic Games are not the same level as the World Cup. We were surprised at the start of the match. But we knew that DENMARK was a good team. We lost concentration, and that cost us the match.”