REALITY CHECK FOR SUPER EAGLES My friend, Yomi Osunware asked me to share my views on why I think the Super Eagles will win their Nations Cup qualifying game against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the course of our conversion yesterday afternoon. Yours truly was quick to point out to him that I do not believe they can win the game and as a matter of fact, I do not wish that they come out victorious in the game against the boys from Mandiba Land as Adeyemi Sodeinde will call them. Rather, its a reality check situation for Eagles, their handler, Stephen Keshi and the NFF at large. I have actually decided to lay low untill they fail to qualify for the Nations Cup before I voice out to slay them, but I guess its not gonna be a bad idea to air my views before then anyway. Yesterday, Nigeria managed to escape FIFAs axe by reinstating Aminu Maigari as NFF chairman but the situation is still boiling. I think the football federation has done the country a great disservice by avoiding the ban. They really can do with this ban at this point in time, so as to be able to re-evaluate and probably re-structure their house before it is too late. Because one way or the other, this ban will still hit the NFF, sooner or later. The NFF issues is one to talk about another day. Now to the Super Eagles proper. I was not so upbeat about the game they played at the U.J. Eusene stadium in Calabar on saturday against Claude LeRoys Congo as the tennis match between Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori gave me a much more better option than to watch an Eagles team that had Mikel Obi as the best player on the pitch that evening. Says so much about the current Super Eagles team. A team that has Austin Ejide in goal should not be paraded as a national team for fans to pay to watch. I have never seen a more out-of-shape looking goalkeeper than Ejide. How then can I hang my hopes on such a team. A team managed by Stephen Keshi cannot earn my support for obvious reasons. Yes, they won the African Cup of Nations last year and I was quick to point out it was won on mother luck. It was won by the worst assemeblage of players I have ever seen donned the green shirt of Nigeria. Afterall, Greece won the Euros in 2004 by playing one of the ugliest football we have ever seen. So, whats the ish about that? And in Stephen Keshi, the Eagles have a coach who lacks the technical ability to change the game from the bench. His technical ineptitude was further exposed at the mundial in Brazil. How and why is what we are all in the know of. LeRoy won the game from the bench on saturday when his Congolese side battled to win from losing position. Thats tactical awareness. Keshi needs not convince me further because his attempts at trying to show his technical dexterity will further reveal the rough edges that abound about it. And talking of the Eagles team. The last national team Nigeria had was the Sunday Oliseh led boys that went to Mali in 2002. They played their heart out and it was glaring they were the team to beat. They lost to a more disciplined Senegal side but they had their dignity intact. They were the last set of players to wear the green and white jersey with pride. They knew they had the hopes of over 150 million (Nigerias population then) on their shoulders. The same cant be said of the current Eagles team. Its high time we faced the reality in this situation and quit the patriotism play for once. They might go on to win the game against South Africa owing largely to the better head to head stats between the two sides, but then that was when the national team had some guile and gut which is obviously no more now. And even at that (if they win), it doesnt rule out the fact that this team need to be overhauled starting from the coaching crew. And then some players need to be axed from the national team with John Obi Mikel leading the pack. Who says Mikel cant be dropped? Antonio Conte just axed Mario Balotelli in the Azurri national team and he already has two wins in two matches. That is what I call guts. Way Forward... > Removal of Stephen Keshi and replace him with a better tactician. Enough of all the nationalistic dogmatism. Jose Pekerman is an Argentina and he is the coach of Columbia national team. If you must pay top millions for a coach, hed better be worth it. National or or not. > Organise a farewell party for Mikel and others to remove the cancerous elements from the team. Ejide should not be spared, with Victor Moses following closely. > Inject fresh blood into the team. Dedicated Nigerians who are ready to play with pride and passion for their counnltry. FOOT NOTE And if after we have tried those restructuring steps, the national team still fails to improve, then football is a lost cause in the country, we should focus on Cricket and Rugby, after the order of Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa. ...gcon...
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 04:12:56 +0000
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