Erstwhile African Footballer of the Year Emmanuel Amuneke has predicted a tough Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire , adding the quality of talented youngsters that will be on parade would certainly light up the continent’s most sought-after trophy.

Speaking with Tribalfootball.com, the former Barcelona winger and 1994 African Footballer of the Year, recalled his best years with club and country even as he counselled Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen following his recent Africa’s Best Player award.

“Yeah, we have seen already there are some excellent young (African) players who are currently playing in Europe,” Amuneke noted. “For example, we have a Senegal player called (Pape Matar) Sarr who is playing for Tottenham, there’s (Samuel) Chukwueze at Milan.

“And of course, Osimhen at Napoli. I think in the future we will see new names and new faces.

“The players we have now like Osimhen, Sarr, etc are doing very well and are representing the African nation(continent) very well.

“He (Osimhen) just needs to stay calm and focused. The good things will come to him,” he added.

Ahead of next month’s AFCON, Amuneke admitted there may be one or two surprises to come out of the tournament.

He continued: “I think we have young promises that we have been able to develop from youth level. I think this is a positive aspect regarding Nigerian football that we have seen these young players develop from the youngest age through now to playing in the first team.

“But still, we are well aware that football success doesn’t come only from this, but you have to get better also in other aspects. I can say for sure we have a promising young team. But we have to give them and create for them all the opportunities necessary to express themselves as best as they can.

“For some time now we have been introducing a new generation of players and we need to have some patience so they can get better.”

Voted the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 1996 after scoring the match-winning goal that helped Nigeria to win Africa’s soccer gold medal at the Atlanta’96 Olympics, Amuneke reflected on his glorious past.

“I would say the Olympic title and the gold medal that I won with the national team was a moment of pride for me,” Amuneke further said. “Also winning the African Cup of Nations was very important – but I would stick with the Olympic medal (as my favourite) because it brought a lot of attention to African football.”

On Barcelona days, he said :”Joining Barcelona was like a dream coming true. Every player or young player wants to play for a big team. Nowadays the situation has changed because young players only want to play for a big team but for me, it’s important to play where you can have continuity and grow as a player.

“Of course, still, teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc have that appeal where everybody wants to go and play.”

“My experience at Barcelona was good. Coming from Portugal to Spain it was a big step for me, but unfortunately injuries began to happen a lot. When these injuries occur you cannot give 100% as you are not in shape.

“But when this happens you need to be strong and have the confidence in yourself that everything will become better. You must remember this is part of the journey.” (The Nation)

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