Baldwin Bazuaye is lamenting the absence of Nigeria at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations which begins in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, saying the Super Eagles will regret missing out on the tournament. The former Nigeria winger believes the Africa Cup of Nations fans will particularly miss Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi, Lille goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama and CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa. Nigeria, who missed out on a place at the 2012 continental finals co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, returned a year later to win the championship in South Africa. But the African champions failed to qualify for this year’s tournament after a series of poor performances in the Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group A qualifiers. The Eagles missed a gilt-edged opportunity to defend their title in the tiny West African country after they battled to a 2-2 draw against South Africa in the last qualifying match in Uyo on November 19, when they needed just a win to book their ticket for the competition. The three-time champions finished third in the standings with eight points – leaving South Africa and Congo to book the two automatic qualification spots with 12 and 10 points respectively. And FIFA ’85 Under-17 World Cup winner Bazuaye, who lamented the development, says the continent will miss the glitz and glamour of the 58-year-old tournament with Mikel, Enyeama, Musa and other Nigerian stars not on parade alongside the likes of the duo of Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony, as well as Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Cameroon’s Stephane Mbia and Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan in Equatorial Guinea. Bazuaye urged the Eagles and the Nigeria Football Federation to put the disappointment of the country’s failure to qualify for this year’s championship behind them and plan for the next finals. Bazuaye, who urged the NFF to seek help of ex-internationals to make the Eagles great again, appealed to the Edo State Government to pay him his two-year salaries for coaching Bendel Insurance
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 08:30:58 +0000
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