23 Jun 2009 |
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| No matter what you think about Nigerian football, one thing that unites all commentators at the moment is that the current Super Eagles team is simply not good enough. After watching the team hobble through three World Cup qualifiers, there appears to be a consensus that something has to be done if the team is to first of all qualify and then represent us well in South Africa 2010 and the preceding African Cup of Nations in Angola. We have drawn two matches and managed a laboured win in one, playing some of the drabbest football ever to emanate from Nigerian feet. All three games were easily winnable had the team been properly managed and inspired but as things stand, we are grateful for the meagre five points we have in the bag, when we know we should have nine. To add insult to injury, regional rivals Ivory Coast and Ghana have shown us how things should be done winning all their first three games. In both instances, they have gone away to hostile territories in the form of Guinea and Burkina Faso and Mali and Sudan respectively and returned victorious. Only the dishonest will try to claim that the problem with our Eagles goes beyond its current handlers. For once, I cannot find any fault with the administrators, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), the government or the sports ministry. We have instituted a presidential task force, which provides the team with all it needs and funds have been made available for every demand.
Some commentators have taken it upon themselves to blame the players for our fate but that is just silly. When an army fails in battle, you do not blame the foot soldiers. It is the general who carries the can. Others have asked whether our players are good enough but I put it to them that we have at least as if not more talent in our current Super Eagles as Ivory Coast and Ghana have in their teams. They are, however, playing better than us because their coaches have blended them into cohesive units that operate the way a football team should. Looking back to Germany 2006, I recollect watching Trinidad & Tobago play with panache, finesse, artistry and chemistry. They are the smallest nation ever to feature in the Fifa World Cup and did themselves proud, picking up a point in a very competitive group. Results apart, this small nation making its World Cup debut passed the ball around in a crisp manner that fills me with shame when I watch the disjointed way in which our Eagles currently play. The only reason why they equipped themselves so well was that they were managed by one of the game’s greatest coaches in the form of the Dutchman Leo Beenhakker. If Nigeria really wants to do well in both tournaments next year, we simply have to employ a coach of this calibre. We cannot support the incompetent, inept, limited and bungling Amodu Shaibu and then expect to do well. That is asking to have it both ways. At the moment, Mr Beenhakker is managing Poland, who are involved in a bitter qualification battle in Uefa’s Group Three. Other teams in the group include Slovakia, Northern Ireland the Czech Republic. Of late, Polish football has been in dire straits as it has suffered a talent dearth and I believe that Nigeria can exploit this. Were I the NFF chairman, I would begin surreptitious negotiations with a coach like Beeenhakker now. Indeed, I would draw up a list of top coaches whose teams are unlikely to make it to South Africa and start talking to them now. As soon as any of the teams these coaches manage are officially out of the running, I would commence talks with one of them about taking over the Eagles. There is no lack of talent out there and I for one cannot fathom why with the resources put at the South Africa 2010 project’s disposal, we have ended up with the most limited coach we could find. If our Eagles were managed by a coach of the calibre of say Beenhakker, Luis Van Gaal, Frank Rijkaard, Gus Hiddink or Arsene Wenger, we not even have any need for a presidential task force in the first place. One of these veterans at the helm, assisted by say Samson Siasia, would be the perfect solution to our woes. Not only would it solve the immediate problems but it would also provide us with continuity as the one indigenous coach who has proven his mettle could take over managing the team after the World Cup. For some reason, however, we appear reluctant to take the necessary if brutal action required. If the green, white, green flag is not flying in South Africa next year, we will have to collectively hold our hands up and accept the blame. Under Amodu Shaibu, our Eagles are nothing but an eyesore. Our future is in our own hands but are we courageous enough to take the required and decisive action. Ideally, I would like a Beenhakker in place before we play Tunisia in Abuja in September but late is better than never. Over to you NFF
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If only we had the kind of coaching crew that Ivory Coast and Ghana currently enjoy, I for one am in no doubt whatsoever that Nigeria would have an unassailable lead of nine points at the top of our group. Anyway, one cannot turn back the hand of the clock, those dropped points in Tunis and Maputo cannot be retrieved, so we have to look forward.
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