Kanu, Utaka, better than Drogba - Christian Chukwu
Former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, insists Nigerians have no business losing sleep over Cote d’ Ivoire’s key players at the upcoming Ghana 2008 Nations Cup finals.
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AFP

Nwankwo Kanu, in action for Portsmouth. His long stay in English football has fetched him a kingly honour.
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AFP

John Utaka in action for Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday.
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Didier Drogba

Most Nigerian international football followers believe that Eagles strikers will find it difficult penetrating the Elephants’ defence which will be manned by the Arsenal duo of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, while the Nigerian defenders will have their hands full trying to contain Chelsea attackers, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali and Benin Republic are to clash in Sekondi for their group games.

But Chukwu, who has won the Nations Cup as a player and coach, specifically said that Drogba was being given more respect than he deserved on the field of play.

The lethal Chelsea striker ended Nigeria’s dream at the semifinals stage at the last edition held in Egypt when his controversial finish helped the Elephants to the final.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone, Chukwu, who expressed disappointment at the concerns expressed over the Ivorien team, said Nigeria has the quality to curtail the rampaging Drogba.

“Drogba is a good player, a good attacker but he’s only an individual. At Chelsea, he has players who supply him quality passes. I don’t think he has such players in their national team,” the Rangers coach said.

The former Harambe Stars of Kenya coach predicted an impressive showing for the Portsmouth’s duo of Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka at the Ghana 2008 and insists that the two players would constitute the greatest threat in the opposite direction when the Eagles engage the Elephants on January 21.

“The Ivorians are also thinking of what to do to stop Kanu and Utaka. They are better players and will give the Ivorians much more trouble. I wonder why we are talking of Drogba without talking about Kanu and Utaka who are more dangerous,” Chukwu added.

He warned the Eagles against underrating any team in the championship, appealing to the players to approach every game at the event seriously.

“We should play every match as if it is our last in the competition. The game is developing fast on the continent and every country is a potential threat. We shouldn’t say because we are playing against Benin and relax but rather we should play them as if we are playing against Cameroun or Egypt,” he said.

Chukwu disagreed with critics that Marseille’s Taye Taiwo would be the Eagles’ undoing in Ghana.

He said, “Taye is good enough for the Nations Cup. There’s no player that is above mistakes. We should consider his strength before drawing conclusions. There’s no perfect team in the world, not even Brazil.”

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