MANAGERS DIARY

It takes a lot to bring a perfect team to reality. It goes down to the evolution of creation, how units became whole. This system is what brought about the giants of yesterday and the powerful of today and will inevitably evolve rulers of the future. But the mystery of its balance is yet to be understood. A perfect idea was what brought the nonagenarian into the topmost heirachy; creating Opal FC. Von Platino, Italian breed, Mexican by birth, turned the Fantastic Junior Amateur Football Club to a world class soccer club that it is now. Speculations have erupted about why the big time bussiness man invest in an underdog brand far from his field. Maybe he wants to win the hearts of the Nigerian masses, or he wants to loot us like the rest of his kind did in the pre-colonial era. No one really knows for the fact that the tycoon reportedly had an aversion for soccer. The club was handed over to his son, Anold in his death, who was the true mastermind behind Opal Football Club. Disguising sometimes as a pauper, he'll sneak at every training pitch he came accross, searching for the right talent. That was how he found me in the dusty environment of Kano. My parents had sent me there to be properly groomed in Islamic Knowledge, but Mr Anold was the one who foresaw my true potential: a knack for football, not dried leaves. It was the happiest day of my life when my parents agreed to let me pursue my heart desire. Surely, nobody could ever envy the path of my life 'cos I never really had a good career. A brutal knee injury ruled me out at the early stage of my football career, but this was soon to be a blessing in disguise. I was named manager after losing our coach to cancer. 21 years on the sideline gave me more than enough experience to manage the team. Just like every other manager, I had my playing formula which needed one more ingredient to be efficacious, a sharp striker. Following in my boss' footsteps, I went from place to place in search of the right talent. Finally,I found him, just like L'afolabi was found. He's also Nigerian but he has no dreadlocks. Black hair, chocolate skin, dark blue eyes, perfect physic for a starlet. I think he goes by the name Nelson. Yes, Nelson.