allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Santana Declares 'War' Against Eagles (Page 1 of 2)

Beginning from 2 p.m. Nigerian time today, it is going to be total 'war' as declared by Bafana Bafana Brazilian coach, Joel Santana when the South African national side host the Super Eagles in a make or mar 2010 World Cup/Nations Cup qualifier in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth.

Still trailing behind with four points, eight less than the Eagles 12 as leaders of Group 4, the South Africans desperately need today's match or risk missing out of the 2010 Nations Cup which neighbours, Angola would host and thus become a World Cup host who could not qualify for their continental championship.

As a build up today's tie, the South Africans as well as their visiting Nigerian counterparts have been pouring out their concerns over the match which neither side would want to lose, to maintain the no loss record in case of the Eagles and for the host, to keep qualification hope for the Nations Cup alive.

On arrival in Johannesburg Tuesday, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who will stand in as team captain in the absence of Nwankwo Kanu and his vice, Joseph Yobo, told the South Africans point blank that they were there not for a friendly parley but to win and maintain the 100 percent no-loss record they have had over Bafana Bafana in competitive matches in their previous five outings.

He told South African journalists who interviewed him at the OR Tambo international airport on arrival not to be deceived by the non availability of Kanu, Yobo, Obafemi Martins and John Mikel Obi as those on ground for the crucial game a equally dangerous with the ball.

"Let's not talk about the players who are not here. We are professionals and we're here to compete. This is a strong team with good players and of course we believe we can beat South Africa," Aiyegbeni told the Sowetan News.

Continuing he said, "We have a good record against (Bafana Bafana) and we want to maintain it. Yes, we have qualified (for the next round of the qualifiers), but that does not mean we should not play to the best of our ability."

His team mate and Portsmouth of England winger, John Utaka was not as blunt as Aiyegbeni as he expressed some respect for the South Africans some of whom he said he knows in the Premiership and the French league. "I know most of the Bafana players, not just those in England or Europe but even those playing here," Utaka said.

"This is going to be a tough game. South Africa have to win and I think the crowd, and being at home, will spur them on. We are here to do our best and obviously we don't want to lose, but I will not say we will beat them," he said, but added that "We want to end the qualifiers with a 100 percent unbeaten run."

The level of confidence is not limited to the players as Coach Shaibu Amodu has equally warned the South Africans not to expect any compromise from his squad because "In the sprit of fair play, there is no such a thing as favours. We have to play competitive soccer to our utmost best, as usual. Of course the aim is to win."

Santana, who is seemingly under intense pressure to perform following the team's poor showing so far in the race, is however not begging for any favours and has told his players that it is a 'war' they must win or they forget the 2010 Nations Cup. "We have to fight and fight hard against Nigeria. It will be a war on Saturday. I respect Nigeria but do not fear them. They have shown us respect by bringing their best squad to play us and we will adopt a positive attacking approach to the game."

Two former captains of Bafana Bafana Eric Tinkler and Neil Tovey have also cautioned on their team's approach to the game, stressing that the Eagles would not be an easy nut to crack even on the bumpy Port Elizabeth stadium pitch.

Tinkler called on Bafana Bafana fans to turn out en masse to cheer their team against Nigeria as they are going against the visitors as under-dogs and advised them to "play like you have never played and as if your lives depended on it. Go for broke and make us proud."

Tovey on his part forwarded an "Attack, Attack, Attack" message to the team as their only solution to stop Nigeria in the match which virtually all South Africans have rightly dubbed "all-or-nothing 2010 Africa Cup of Nations group four qualifier."

"A draw is no good to us. We need to win to give ourselves a chance to qualify for the next round. We cannot do that if we sit back and allow Nigeria to come at us. We need to get on top of Nigeria from the start and get our fans on top of Nigeria and make sure we use our home-ground advantage as best we can," Tovey was quoted as saying.

Tinkler however disagreed with Tovey, who led Bafana Bafana to their one and only Nations Cup victory on home soil in 1996 on the choice of venue for the match, stressing that the bumpy pitch would be the decider for them as there would not be enough Nigerian fans to cheer the Eagles there.

"It was a good idea to take the game to Port Elizabeth. If it was played in Gauteng, Nigeria would have had massive support from Nigerians living here. Also, the pitch will work in Bafana's favour. It will be the leveller."

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