Eddy Lord Dombraye fulfilled his dream of coaching in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) when he joined Lobi Stars of Makurdi in September 2021.
He played in Nigeria with Iwuanyanwu Nationale (Heartland FC) and Bendel Insurance before moving to Europe in 1998 and played in Poland, Serbia and Ukraine.
Eddy Dombraye arrived in the country as one of the few Nigerian coaches with a UEFA Pro Coaching License, determining to make a mark and improve the standard of coaching in Nigeria.
In this interview with The Athletic NG’s Emmanuel Chinedu, the 41-year-old opened up on how he joined Lobi Stars, his preparations ahead of the new season and also gives his opinion on Nigeria’s continental representatives.
How did you get the job as Lobi Stars coach?
”I knew that I was coming back to coach in the Nigerian league, but I never knew that it will be with Lobi Stars until my manager, Alicia Nikols, who is an African/American talks with the club chairman, who is also the Deputy Governor.
“But later on I discussed with the vice-chairman who is a licensed coach and has based in the United States for over 25 years, he has a different mindset, Mr Emmanuel Tama Aondofa, after that, then I summited my CV to the club and that was how I got the job as the new head coach of Lobi Stars Football Club.”
How is the team preparing ahead of the new football season?
”I don’t think any team is ready for the league to start today, because nobody knows when the league will start for the new football season, so we don’t want to push the players too hard, it’s really bad for the coaches but we just need to focus on our preparations and be ready to go whenever the league will start.”
What is your opinion about Nigerian representatives in CAF competitions?
”Honestly, I support all the teams representing the country in the continent, because if they win, it will be more slot for Nigeria but I feel more concerned because of the teams not having enough time to prepare for those game, because match fitness is really important in football and that affected teams like Akwa United, who were knocked out in the first round of the CAF Champions, but surely I will be supporting all the teams, both in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup.”
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