“Omo Imole, Omo gbogbo ebora, Omo Imole ti i j’ ogede agbagba, Omo eluku ara iraye, Omo egungun, Omo agemo, Omo egbaagbeje orisa, Omo obalufon, Omo imole to k’ ori omo e s’ odo”
A part of the eulogy of Remo Land praising the natives of the land as ‘child of light.’ And truly, light has indeed been shining in the town since inception.
Remo is an ancient region of Ogun state with a great history. It houses three local governments of the twenty in the state which includes Ikenne. Ikenne is the home of the famous educationist, Tai Solarin who indeed brought light to education in Nigeria.
In the football scene, football fans have seen the light since Remo Stars, an Ikenne based club, began to shine bright in the football space. Upon promotion in 2021, the stars have shunned even further and has brought more focus on the town.
A progressive finish in two years in the topflight and a representation on the continent has indeed shown that Remo Stars are children of light. But with all of that, the fairy tale has ended in bitterness on both continental occasions.
With the new season of the Nigeria Premier Football League to begin for the Sky Blue Stars with the visit of Rangers FC, Daniel Ogunmodede seems reenergized, refreshed and refocused.
Ogunmodede touched every question during his pre-match presser with ease, softness, calmness and assurance.
Remo Stars aim for the NPFL Title
Having missed out on the title last season to Enyimba by a point and a progression that saw them finish second from third in 2022, the aim for the Sky Blue Stars is the title.
When asked if that is the aim of the club this season, Ogunmodede replied with “we are very capable.”
He continued by saying “we are going to fight. We want to try, it is a difficult task, everyone wants to win it, so we will fight but yeah, we are good enough to win the league.
? To the north, east, south or west of Africa, the stars keep shinning ?
WE ARE BACK
BACK TO WHERE WE BELONG
WE ARE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
WE ARE REMO STARS #NPFL23Super6 | #WeAreRemoStars pic.twitter.com/SJRFAZGMB7— Remo Stars Sports Club (@RemoStarsSC) June 11, 2023
With the progress seen from the team in the last two seasons, Remo Stars are definitely a title contender. And with the consistency and quality of the team, it will be disappointing for their fans if they do not at least fight for the title.
Sikiru Alimi and the Remo Stars’ strike Force
Remo Stars are one of the very star studded teams of the 2023/24 NPFL season. The number of strikers on their payroll easily tells the story. NPFL’s big names – Sikiru Alimi, Samad Kadiri lead the quintuplet with their experience while Isaac James, Dela Akorli and Franck Mawuena complete the strike force of the team.
The strike force however are yet to hit the ground running. They could not provide the goals needed to progress in the CAF Champions League but Ogunmodede has faith in his lads ahead of the new season.
“We want to explore the experience of Kadiri and Alimi and we will exploit the youthfulness of Issac and others.”
The gaffer will be relying heavily on the strikers to produce the goals to help them clinch the club’s first ever major trophy.
However, fans’ favourite two seasons ago, Andy Okpe looks to have lost his place in the club. Despite being the club’s top goal scorer in 2022 with 15 goals, his time as a Sky Blue Star is over.
“Andy is not with the squad anymore. I honestly don’t know where he is.”
The Beyond Limits boys
Remo Stars’ football academy, Beyond Limit has started producing players for the future. Inter Milan’s Ebenezer Akinsanmiro is a very good example. And the club has recognized that with the promotion of some players into the first team.
Ayomide Ogungbe, Seun Odunsi and most recently, Stanley joseph have been promoted and they are expected to not only challenge but bring quality into the team.
“They were promoted because they have quality. They will get their chances and they will get their chances by merit and their work in training.”
Remo versus Rangers
Remo Stars are yet to lose against Rangers since promotion but a newly repackaged Rangers might be tougher than what they have faced in two years.
“We hurt Ilechukwu last season and he might be coming for revenge with his new team.”
The Sky Blue Stars were not involved in match week 1 actions due to Rivers United’s continental obligation and the gaffer feels it will be a little advantage for the Flying Antelopes.
“It’s our first league game, second for them but we have prepared well, they might be in gear already because they played last weekend but we will go out for the maximum point.”
Ogunmodede also mentioned that a few players are still out due to injuries.
“Isah Ali, Ayomide Ogungbe, Seun Odunsi, Victor Collins, Fabian Nworie are all out.”
The game will be a battle of two attacking coaches whose philosophies have been touted as one of the best in Nigeria.
A shared point or maximum point on the night, Remo Stars’ journey for the season does look reenergized, refreshed and refocused.