TOUCHING REVELATION OF HEARTLAND'S CAPTAIN, CHINEDU EFUGH

Before last Sunday's Federation Cup final match, Heartland captain, Chinedu Efugh, had led Enugu Rangers International to two previous finals at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, but failed to leave the arena with a trophy.

Interestingly, Heartland had not won a trophy in the last 18 years and the light-skinned defender, who had developed a phobia of sort for the Teslim Balogun Stadium, therefore, sought the face of God for victory against Enyimba International of Aba with a vow to go straight to the church to give thanks to God as soon as he returned to Owerri with the trophy. God not only granted his wish, but also surpassed his expectations.

Heartland, not only defeated Enyimba 1-0 to break the 18-year old jinx, Efugh scored the winning goal. To crown it all, he was voted as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the final match. For scoring the winning goal, he earned for himself N1million courtesy of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State in addition to another N1million for each of the players from the governor.

In this exclusive interview with Saturday Sunsports, Efugh tells the story of how he was haunted by two previous unsuccessful attempts at winning a trophy inside the Teslim Balogun Stadium, the inspirational speech by Governor Okorocha to him and his teammates inside the dressing room before the match, his MVP award and lots more. Excerpts:

A miracle
'Winning the Federation Cup is still a miracle to me. We, the players, as well as the management of the club (Heartland FC) really planned towards the victory. We realised that we had nothing to offer in the league, so we put everything we had into the Federation Cup to ensure we lifted the trophy.

'The victory means a lot to me, my teammates, the fans and the good people of Imo State, because we have broken the jinx that had trailed the club for a long time.

'Since I came to Heartland, I have always heard about this jinx, that Heartland could not win a trophy. And I had always said it was a lie, that it was only a matter of time, at God's appointed time, no man or woman would stop Heartland from winning trophies. This victory signifies the beginning of so many good things to come to Imo State.'

Gov. Okorocha's magic
'We dedicated the Federation Cup victory to the Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. His presence at the stadium did the magic. We were determined to win because we did not want to let him down. He met us in the dressing room and told us that the Governor of Abia State boasted during their telephone conversation that Enyimba would disgrace Heartland in the final of the Federation Cup. But on behalf of the team, I gave him my word that we would not let him down.

'I assured him that at the end of the match, he would call the Abia State governor and tell him something he would not forget easily. Thank God at the end of the day we emerged victorious. We are happy and the people of Imo state are happy.'

Career achievements
'This is the first time I have lifted a trophy as captain of a team. I captained Rangers for years, but had nothing to show for it. When I arrived at Heartland, I came close to winning the CAF Champions League in 2009 but we failed to do that in Congo. I was not the captain then, Victor Ezuruike was the captain, he later left for Dolphins of Port Harcourt. So, I would say that winning the Federation Cup was a great moment for me. I feel great lifting the Cup and breaking the jinx for Imo State. I'm very happy to be honoured.'

Vow
'I dedicated the winning goal to God because I recall my days at Rangers. Twice I was at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos for Cup finals, but twice I left disappointed. I played in the Super Four; we came last. I also led Rangers in the FA Cup final against Dolphins in 2008, but we lost and ended up with the second position with no trophy to show for our effort.

'So, when we arrived at the stadium on Sunday, I said to myself if I should lose again for the third time, people would see me as somebody who is jinxed. I sought the face of God and I made a vow to Him. I said 'God, if there is anything you are going to bless me with, let it be the Federation Cup trophy, let me be the one that will captain Heartland to break the jinx of not winning a trophy in many years'.

'I made a personal vow, which I must fulfill in the next couple of days because God answered my prayer. God is my witness before leaving the hotel for the Federation Cup final, I said: 'God if you do this for me, as soon as I return to Owerri with the trophy, I will go straight to the church to fulfill by vow'. And I am going to do just that without waiting for anybody to tell me what to do.

'I only asked God to give me victory, but I was surprised that He not only gave me victory, but also crowned me with the victory goal and the MVP award. So, for me, one with God is majority. God did it is style for me. In fact, I'm going to do more than I promised to do for the church.'

MVP
'The MVP award means a lot to me. I never expected it. I thank God for being voted as the MVP. I was determined. I decided to give my all to ensure that my team won and I am happy that God crowned my effort with victory and the MVP award. I shall live to testify the goodness of the Lord.'

Pressure
'So many things were going on in my mind, but I prayed to God that we must not concede any goal to warrant the match going into penalty shootouts. Penalty shootouts are very dicey, anything could happen. We prayed and made lots of sacrifices as a team. We believed in God and committed everything to God. I spoke to the defence line, I told them that no matter what, we must not cave in.

'I told the midfielders that we must play our hearts out to win the trophy. I told them that it was better for us to play badly and win the trophy than play to entertain the fans, but lose at the end of the day. That was why it appeared like we were under pressure at the dying minutes of the game.'

Courage
'Nobody gave us a chance against Enyimba, because if you look at the Premier League log, we are down the ladder compared to Enyimba. And to add salt to injury, Enyimba's Coach Okey Emordi boasted that he would use the Federation Cup final as a training match for the CAF Champions League match. That was what challenged us. It gave us the courage to fight them very hard for the trophy.

'We were seen as the underdogs, that was their greatest undoing. They forgot that we have player with continental experience in Heartland. We have only been unlucky in most of our league matches. But we thank God, because He used Heartland's position on the league table to deceive some people about the real quality of the team. We knew our worth.'

Prayer
'It is natural that at the end of every season some players would want to move to other clubs. For me, my prayer is to move to Europe, but God knows the best. The only thing I pray for is that we should not repeat the mistake we made when the league started; we never prepared well.

'This time around, I believe that with the support of his Excellency, Owelle Rocha Okorocha, the team will plan well for greater achievements.'