Remo Stars head coach Daniel Ogunmodede marked his 100th game in charge as the Ikenne-based side began their Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title defence with a 1-1 draw against Rivers United at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta.
Ogunmodede, who guided the club to their first-ever NPFL title last season, has now overseen 100 matches, recording 53 wins, 20 draws, and 27 defeats.
His side has scored 132 goals under his leadership, including the 2024/25 campaign where they amassed 71 points from 38 matches, winning 22, drawing 5, and losing 11 to become the first Southwest club in 25 years to lift the league trophy.
Ogunmodede is one of the Assistant coaches in the Super Eagles. Photo Credit: NPFL/X
Reflecting on the milestone, Ogunmodede said:
“Personally, it was an important game for me because it was my 100th match as head coach of Remo Stars, and I really wanted to win it. But this is football.”
He added: “We could have lost, and that’s football. I needed the win more; the team needed it too. We know we are champions, and everyone wants to beat the champions.”
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The coach acknowledged the challenge of playing away from their traditional home ground.
“We didn’t play at our traditional home ground, but that’s not an excuse. Personally, I’m satisfied with the result because we didn’t lose. Conceding in the second minute brings panic, but we responded well, even without one of our key players (Victor Mbaoma),” he said.
Daniel Ogunmodede. Photo Credit: X
Ogunmodede also reflected on the absence of fans in Ikenne:
“We missed our fans, and maybe we could have won if we played at our home ground, but this is football. Familiar grounds matter psychologically, but we’ve played outside our home and won before. We’ve also drawn in Ikenne, so playing there doesn’t guarantee victory.”
In 2015, he joined Remo Stars as assistant coach to Nduka Ugbade while also managing the youth team.
He helped the club secure their first-ever NPFL promotion in 2016 before taking charge of the senior team in 2020.
In September 2021, he led them back to the NPFL after they finished as runners-up in the NNL playoff Group A.
Remo Stars lifts NPFL 2024/2025 title ahead of Rivers United. Photo Credit; X
From 2021 to 2022, Ogunmodede served as assistant coach at Portuguese side CD Feirense under Rui Ferreira.
Ogunmodede, 45, returned to Remo Stars in 2022 to and led them to back-to-back second placed finishes in the top flight, in 2023 and 2024.
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Now 45, Ogunmodede continues to implement his philosophy known as Ijaball, a tactical blend influenced by José Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp, and Pep Guardiola.
