Bilardo: We can't complain
Carlos Bilardo, Argentina general managerMy first thoughts are that this is a good group, because our main goal was not to travel too much. For that it's just perfect. But it's not an easy group – on the contrary I think it's very difficult In 1990, everybody thought that Cameroon was easy and we ended up losing the first match. Korea [Republic] are strong, but we know them very well. Nigeria are difficult too, and Greece have shown in recent years that they can compete against big teams. If it wasn't Greece, it could have been Portugal or France, so we can't complain. But we are confident, of course. [Diego] Maradona and I have been to two World Cup finals, which is not bad! I hope this will continue next year. In 1986 we had Maradona as the key to our victory and now we have [Lionel] Messi. He's our decisive player. I haven't spoken to Diego yet, but I am sure that he's confident.
Shaibu Amodu, Nigeria coach
This is a very important tournament for Nigeria and we are all aware of the expectations on our shoulders. We are in a difficult group – with Argentina, Greece and Korea. This is a similar group to the one we had at the 1994 World Cup and I don't want to talk about history but people will remember how we performed at that tournament even though people thought we wouldn't do well. This World Cup is an opportunity for African teams to showcase their ability to the rest of the world. The most important thing for Nigeria will be to do well in this tournament – our ultimate goal is to proceed to the knockout stages. In a World Cup, you need a good start and then you can build from there. We have the players who are capable of representing this continent with pride but we need to gel as a team and believe in this dream. We have played against some of our opponents before and we have an idea of what we are up against.
This is a very important tournament for Nigeria and we are all aware of the expectations on our shoulders. We are in a difficult group – with Argentina, Greece and Korea. This is a similar group to the one we had at the 1994 World Cup and I don't want to talk about history but people will remember how we performed at that tournament even though people thought we wouldn't do well. This World Cup is an opportunity for African teams to showcase their ability to the rest of the world. The most important thing for Nigeria will be to do well in this tournament – our ultimate goal is to proceed to the knockout stages. In a World Cup, you need a good start and then you can build from there. We have the players who are capable of representing this continent with pride but we need to gel as a team and believe in this dream. We have played against some of our opponents before and we have an idea of what we are up against.
Huh Jung-Moo, Korea Republic coachIn a World Cup, there are no easy matches, so I have no reason to complain about our group. We are up against very strong teams. Every game we will play is difficult but we also had tough assignments in the Asian qualifying round. Obviously a team like Argentina will start as favourites. They have very good players who are well-known but that is not a problem for us, we are used to starting from the back. We played against them at the 1986 World Cup and we lost but with the experience gained and lessons learned, we hope we can do better. In 2002, no one gave this team a chance but we went to the semi-finals. Some people will say we're not one of the favourites and that is fine – my biggest concern is injuries, we have been very unlucky with injuries lately and I want to travel to South Africa with a full squad. What we learned in 2002 is that good preparations are always very important, we have to be fully prepared and ready for all the games we will play.
Otto Rehhagel, Greece coach
Argentina will be the clear favourites in our group, they are number one. They are a very good and dangerous side, I think all the teams in the group will struggle against them. I think it is only fair to say that the three other teams will be aiming for second. So it is up to all of us to fight for the second spot and I think we all have an equal chance of getting to the second round. We have to start well and work hard to stay in South Africa for the knockout stages – that will be our main aim. Once you are in the knockout stages, then anything is possible. I don't want to make any predictions, I’m not good at that. From here, we need to study our opponents and plan ahead.(fifa.com)
Argentina will be the clear favourites in our group, they are number one. They are a very good and dangerous side, I think all the teams in the group will struggle against them. I think it is only fair to say that the three other teams will be aiming for second. So it is up to all of us to fight for the second spot and I think we all have an equal chance of getting to the second round. We have to start well and work hard to stay in South Africa for the knockout stages – that will be our main aim. Once you are in the knockout stages, then anything is possible. I don't want to make any predictions, I’m not good at that. From here, we need to study our opponents and plan ahead.(fifa.com)
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