Friday was perhaps my most anticipated day since I got to Morocco. Sure you remember the gist about the extremely cold Hotel Nezha we (my crew of about a dozen journalists from Nigeria) stayed for a night?
Yes, we had to return to our luxurious and extremely comfortable Rania Hotel by midday on Friday.
Yes, we did! We woke up, somehow somber and still sad about Deji Tinubu’s passing and quietly waited till noon before switching to Hotel Rania which actually is just four buildings away from Nezha.
We were excited again and prepared to meet the Eagles training session at 4:30pm. The three days we spent in Agadir seem to take its toll on us as we now have to start our acclimatisation to the biting Tangier cold weather all over again. It is not funny, but we’re coping.
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Friday’s training was the best I had seen the team since coming here. I enjoyed all the routines. Very competitive and exhilarating. Unfortunately, it came at a cost as two of the players got injured at the process as reported here (https://www.aclsports.com/8897-2/ ).
We went back home after training, watched Alexis Sanchez’s debut for Manchester United and I think that was about it for the day.
I have actually not been moving about like flexing around because I don’t think there are many interesting places here in Tangier and the cost of transportation if care is not taken can wreck one’s account.
Saturday
A day before the match is always full of activities for us. There is always the pre-match press conference where we Nigerian journalists are basically relied on to quiz the participants. I stand corrected but I think we have the highest number covering this event, maybe asides the host nation.
Feeding is going on fine. Indomie, Spaghetti, Tea. Ate some Moroccan food on the way from Agadir – Chips, Macaroni, Salad leaves and Chicken – I consider them waste of money jare. They can’t be like swallow, can they?
Press conference on Saturday was scheduled for 12:30pm while training is at 4:30pm. The pressers normally will not last more than an hour so we had three hours to wait before the training. We can’t afford to go back to the hotel, at least for cost sake.
We decided to spend the break time at the Media Centre of the Stadium and what a mixed experience it was. The Wi-Fi (as is most others) was madly fast but the cold was extraordinary. Well, we outlasted it and headed for the training.
A delegation of Nigerian parliamentarians came to visit the Eagles in training but just before we spoke to them, we saw two Nigerians studying in Tangier who have been supporting the Super Eagles since the start of this tournament.
It was very lovely to see both of them from South West Nigeria and that led to a couple of video shoots prompted by my friend Tobi Adepoju (Oga Nla Media). Yours sincerely was the anchor and they were surprised that I could speak Yoruba so well on camera. Well, you will start seeing the videos on Sunday.
It was a good day I must confess and those encounters with the Honourable members and the two students capped it up very finely.
We wish the Eagles good luck on Sunday and see you on Monday.
Cheers.
Why travel abroad, even if it on assignment, and be pining for Nigerian food. bros you yab o… Enjoy the opportunity to eat differently. You will be back soon enough.
Anyway keep up the good work.