Greg Etafia has been in the building, and is answering your questions! Today, he discusses the Swallows debacle, Nigerian footballing talent, and what Swallows means to him.
Looking at the matters at Swallows, what do you think went wrong that resulted in them being relegated, and what needs to be improved for them to get back to the PSL? – Thimboro
Greg Etafia: You know, eish, I can't answer that question, because the people in charge know what to do. As a part of the team, you just have to support and do the best you can do. It's up to the people in charge to do what they need to do.
With so much Nigerian talent scattered all over the world's top leagues, why do you think Nigeria is struggling to dominate world football? – Lapo_Molebatsi
GE: There was a time Nigeria was dominating everything. The only mistake Nigeria made, I think, is that they pushed the U23s into the senior team and not step by step, so they didn't fit in. Because you had the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha and during that time there was great unity in the team; after that, there were not a lot of players coming up to take over some of the positions that were being vacated. Right now, I think the younger ones are coming through, they are all over the place. There is great Nigerian quality around. We need to get them to love their country again, though, because most of them will refuse to play for the national team. The talent is there, but they don't want to play because there is too much politics in the set-up.
What was life like before Swallows? – Nikolaos Kirkinis
GE: You know, most soccer players like me come from a poor background. You have to work hard to achieve what you need. I did well back home, I was well-known. I played in all the junior and senior Nigerian teams. Then a lot of things happened, with the politics and all, and I had to leave. But at the end of the day I'm very grateful and very humble to be in South Africa with Swallows. Swallows is my life, come rain, come shine, anything, I'll always appreciate Swallows for what they've done for me. I owe my life to Swallows, I can never turn my back on Swallows because they've given me all my life and I'm willing to die for Swallows. That's why there is only one team I've played for in South Africa, there was a lot of opportunity for me to go to other clubs. Three times I was supposed to sign for another club. There was a time Chiefs and Pirates were looking for me, but at the end of the day I decided that I was going nowhere, and I still owe Swallows all my life. I'm very humble and grateful, it is just an unfortunate situation at the moment, but at the end of the day Swallows will always be my home. I'd be happy to die for the team.
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