Lobi Stars head coach, Solomon Ogbeide has stressed that there is no cause for alarm despite the Pride of Benue tough CAF Champions League Group A draw.
The reigning league champions were drawn against three former champions of the flagship competition in the mold of Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) who were winners in 2016; Wydad Casablanca of Morocco who won the competition in 1992 and 2017 and ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire who emerged champions in 1998.
But Ogbeide while speaking on the draw noted that Lobi Stars underdogs tag after the draw will help them negotiate their way past the three former champions to pick a spot in the quarter final.
“If I had the wish to choose where I would be born, I would have chosen America but in the CAF Champions League we do not the luxury of deciding the team we are going to face,” Ogbeide began in a chat with SportingLife.ng.
“We relied on the luck of the draw and we have been drawn against Wydad Athletic Club Casablanca, ASEC Mimosas and Mamelodi Sundowns who are former African Champions at one time or the other. We will give the six games our best shot. People have taken us as underdogs and we like it like that.
” We are going to do our best to ensure that we represent the country very well. Nigeria has not been rated that low and we are going to fancy our chances too. We are going to give a good account of ourselves.”
Lobi Stars are billed to face Mamelodi Sundowns first at home in the weekend of January 11-13, 2019 and Ogbeide assured that they are going to take the game to the South Africans to ensure that they start the group phase on a winning note.
“We already know that they are a good side and we are going to take games as they come. No Nigerian gave us a chance that we are going to go this far. Many people say we didn’t win the league but we won the Super Cup against Enugu Rangers and are also through to the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
“We know the aspirations of Nigerians and we are going to try to meet their yearnings. We only have one representation in the competition and it doesn’t augur well for a country as big as Nigeria to present a team in Africa. We are going to try our best to ensure that by our performance, two teams will represent Nigeria in the competition next year.”