Former Nigeria international midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, has spoken about the lessons he expects Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club, Rivers United, to learn from their training tour to Spain.
The Port Harcourt club is currently in the Iberian Nation in their fifth and final phase of pre-season ahead of the 2016/17 season. Adepoju said that the exercise would earn the ‘Pride of Rivers’ rich rewards if they effectively key into the project.
“This is very important for them. This is a team that finished second in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and they just won the Super Four now being the best team (in Nigeria).
“They are preparing for the CAF Champions League and coming to Spain is very important for their preparations. “I believe they will be able to learn and see many things. The structure here in Spain is very different from what we have back home in Nigeria. “This is part of the partnership that between the NPFL and La Liga.
“We hope Rivers United learn from this and try to replicate same in Nigeria,” Adepoju said.
On his part, the leader of the United delegation and Rivers State Commissioner for Sport, Honourable Boma Iyaye explained that the trip to Madrid will positively impact on the football club.
“We are excited to be in Spain as it will be a very useful experience for us. “There is a lot to learn. First, we are here to put finishing touches to our pre-season preparations as we prepare for the NPFL, the Federation Cup and the CAF Champions League. “The football culture in Spain lays emphasis on winning and we want to imbibe that aspect into our psyche.
“We are excited about the training facilities here and the maintenance culture on display in Villarreal. “We will take that back to Nigeria and also look to learn from the technical dept of Villarreal CF,” he said.
Rivers United bear Villarreal B 1-0 in a test game on Wednesday at Mini Estadi and will next face CD Roda in their next tune up game in Spain on Monday, December 19.
