Away from the battery of cameras and in the hallowed corridors of Al Jazira’s dressing room in Abu Dhabi, Manu said both President Jonathan and his wife more than anybody deserved praise for the feat he achieved with his team.
He recalled it was only President Jonathan that hosted the team upon their team’s return from the African U17 Championship, where they came second.
“This trophy is for President Goodluck Jonathan, who had a strong belief in us despite the fact that we came second at the African championship,” Manu said.
“We were really fired up when he hosted us after the African Championship and we are looking forward to meeting Mr. President again with the World Cup.”
Manu described President Jonathan as a very lucky man after the Golden Eaglets followed the footsteps of the Super Eagles for winning a major trophy in 2013.
The senior national team started the year with glorious outing at the AFCON in South Africa and the Golden Eaglets World Cup win is more than an icing on the cake as 2013 drags to an end.
He revealed that his wife was the first person he called immediately after the final whistle of the match that saw his young guns dethrone Mexico as champions and entered the pantheon of world football as the first to win a record fourth world title.
“In fact, for the past four months I was not able to see my wife because of the nature of this job and I’m so happy that all the efforts we put into this work was not in vain,” he said.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank my wife so much for taking care of the home front.”
Manu also heaped praise on both Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State and Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, His Excellency Ibrahim Auwalu who rode on the team’s bus in company of NFF’s President Aminu Maigari for a dinner reception hosted by the Nigeria Embassy in the UAE.
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