Keshi: Oboabona Will be Hard to Replace

Keshi: Oboabona Will be Hard to Replace

: Aug 28, 2013

--ITC stops defender's Rizespor debut

Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi has revealed he will find it hard to find a capable replacement for Godfrey Oboabona ahead of next year's African Nations championships in South Africa. Oboabona has been a consistent stalwart in Keshi's Super Eagles teams, and was a key member of the B team that qualified for the CHAN.

"I am very happy for him," Keshi told KickOffNigeria.com. "Our prayer for all of them is that they get the opportunity to go out. Not only to make money, but also to become better players and better persons."

As his side get ready to launch their challenge for the Chan title, Keshi says finding a replacement for Oboabona will be tough as his move now makes him ineligible to compete at the Finals, which is open only to players playing in their home leagues.

"It is a big hole to fill for Chan because he is highly committed, has a good work ethic and is a leader.

"We will look for somebody, but it won't be easy. Godfrey has accumulated a lot of experience by playing every single match for us and to get another player to do the same thing will be tough.

"There's a lot of work involved to get them to that level but people don't realize it.

"It's going to be a tough task to replace him but I wish him all the best and hope that he will go on to bigger things soon," he added.

Meanwhile  Oboabona failed to make his Rizespor debut on Monday as his new side lost 1-2 at Trabzonspor.

The Nigeria defender who joined Rizespor last week was hoping to pull on the strip for an official game for the first time on Monday.

But he was unable to do so despite travelling with the team to Trabzonspor as his International Transfer Certificate is yet to come through from Sunshine Stars.

Oboabona was forced to watch from the stands as his side suffered a league defeat. ------------------------- complete sports

If u ask me, Oboabona is not an exceptional player, why he wud be hard to replace is a question only Keshi can answer...