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Precious Dede

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Precious Uzoaru Dede (born 18 January 1980) is a Nigerian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Quotes

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  • In Nigeria, they see me as a role model and refer to me as 'mother' or 'mama'. When I was playing, my colleagues had a lot of respect for me and now, seeing me as a coach, they transferred that respect to me and made the work easy.
  • I was 20 years old and it wasn't easy then because I was still very young to be in the senior team. The coach I had then gave me lots of motivation and encouragement, and made me believe in myself.
  • I kept my first World Cup in 2003 and it was a tough set of games. However, my most memorable moment was against the USA in the third game. Even though we lost 5-0, I was the most valuable player in that game. My first World Cup outing wasn't easy. Playing in front of that big crowd seemed too much to take in. However, after the first experience, I came out very motivated and bold for the next one.
  • By the time the World Cup in 2015 came along, it was like I was always eager to play. I loved playing the big tournaments -- the World Cup and the Olympics. I loved being there and seeing the crowd cheering me on, watching me doing my best and doing what I love the most.
  • I was nearly raped sometime [ago] when I started playing football. That nearly discouraged me [from continuing my career]. I was travelling to Umuahia for a game and in the neighbourhood, [some men] were asking me out about seven of them. I didn’t know how possible [it is] for one person to date seven friends. I know I was very strong, I was [a] determined person. I knew what I was looking for and I tried to put that behind me.
  • Everyone knows me but I still don’t have friends because I use every little free time I have to do some more work. I came to India to achieve results. I am here for a goal and I’m not resting on my oars or using my time for other things until that goal is achieved.
  • Aside football, acting and entertainment are my passion. Fashion and designing is a third choice. I am a comedian. Anywhere I am, they spot me easily. First time I traveled with the Indian U-17 team to Turkey for International friendlies, I didn’t know I was already acting and people started laughing out loud, clapping and gathering around me. They were actually struggling to catch a glimpse of me.
  • I’m not afraid of growing old and I’m not afraid of death because I try to make every second in my life count by doing everything that pleases God. In the next five years, I will like to be somewhere peaceful with my twin babies…by His grace. I love kids and pets to a fault and admire people who are verbally captivating.
  • I really enjoy working as a goalkeeping coach and the best part is that I don't need to open any book to teach. I haven't come all the way from Nigeria just to visit India or participate for the sake of it. I am here because I want to create the best goalkeepers in India and each game we play, I want our goalkeeper to be the best player on the pitch.
  • I feel that I have tried after 15 years with the national team. For me that is a very good record, and it was about time I left the stage for the younger ones. They are equally good, they can carry on. I wanted to quit before the last World Cup, but I was asked to come back and play. It was very disappointing (Falcons performance at Canada 2015) because I’d thought we had what it took to get as far as the final or even the semis, but I thank God though.
  • Lots of people asked me, ‘Why are you going to India? It’s not a football country.’ But I told them that I was coming here to prove a point because, with this U-17 World Cup, we are working towards a goal. And we want to surprise the world.
  • The girls know what I’ve done and they look up to me a lot. I can see them paying really close attention when I work with them, and it helps that I can still step on the pitch and show them how certain things should be done. The other day, one of the girls came up to me and asked, ‘Mum — they call me that — can I ever be like you?’ And I told her, ‘No, you won’t be like me – you will be better than me. That is why I am here: to get you to that level.
  • It’s not all been easy, of course, because it’s a new environment for me and the culture and food are very different. But the Indian people are so warm and receptive, and the players — because they have the right attitude and willingness to learn — are developing very fast. Each one of them is a work in progress, but it’s clear the talent is there.
  • It was a very nice surprise to get the call from Thomas [Dennerby] asking me to do this job. The fact he picked me is a big compliment and it makes me very happy because to me, he is not just a coach or a boss or a mentor. He’s like a father. I have learnt so much from him on and off the field.
  • Women’s football is developing very fast, and it’s great to see. When I came through, it was very, very tough for a girl to start playing the game. There were so many barriers, particularly in certain parts of the world. But minds are opening now. Even in more ‘traditional’ countries, it’s becoming easier for girls to say to their parents, ‘I want to play football’. And I think players in my generation have helped pave the way for that. Unlike us, girls nowadays can now look around at women players who have achieved a lot and say, ‘I want to be like her’.
  • I gave myself fifteen years [to play with the Super Falcons]. Making it [a] hundred [caps] will be like taking another one to three years again with the national team because I ended in 2015. I joined the Super Falcons in 2000. I looked at myself twenty years then; 15 years and I was 35. I wanted to end when I was still at my peak; I wanted to leave football, I didn’t want football to leave me. I didn’t want to force myself playing football.

Quotes about Precious

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  • I am very happy to have Precious Dede here as one of my coaching staff. Some will be surprised by my choice of her [Dede] because we did not work together for much time in Nigeria. I like her a lot and I know she is a really good goalkeeper coach and also a role model. I'm glad to have Per Karlsson and Dede as assistants around now, with some good staff from India. I strongly believe we can achieve great things together with hard work.
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