The bitter taste of the Super Eagles non-qualification for the African Nations Cup 2012 in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea is still very hard to swallow for many proud supporters of Nigerian football. It has thrown up another reason for the not too passionate Nigerian fans to give the Eagles the boot and focus on their adored European club sides. Nevertheless, the Nigerian game must learn from its many debilitating setbacks and come out better. What needs to be in place in the next two years is for Nigerians to look back and smile at this and many other failures?
Needed: Players who can hold their own
It’s no use going round in cycles. It will be timely for all Nigerians to admit that Nigerian players are not just average, they are mediocre. Long gone are the times when a Kanu Nwankwo would score three breathtaking goals in the last 15 minutes and give his Arsenal side a 3-2 victory over Chelsea. There were times also when an Austin Okocha would elicit continuous joy from the Reebook stadium faithful and ensure victory for Bolton amidst mesmerising tricks and flicks.
It then behoves on the Eagles of 2013 to as a minimum, hold their own on the field of play. It’s disheartening to see the Eagles not being able to string 10 continuous passes together since 1994. All players called upon must be able to accomplish the basics of football: hold possession, pass the ball, make runs, shoot and score. It’s no use being called an international if defenders can’t concentrate on defending, midfielders can’t break play and initiate attacks, and strikers can’t hit shots on target in the least. Goalkeepers must also be willing to organise their defences, and come to the party when called upon on occasions.? Every player of the Eagles in 2013 must understand that Nigeria as a country is always bigger than their comparatively modest achievements in their professional careers. The call is for players who are ready to ‘spill their blood’ on the field of player like their Atlanta 1996 Dream Team heroes.
Wanted: Coaches who can nurture talents
The fact that Nigerian footballers are talented is not debatable. But talent alone has never been enough as the present state of Nigerian football attests. Dutchmen Clemens Westerhoff and Johannes Bonfrere were the last of Nigerian coaches who managed and maximised the talents of Nigerian footballers on a global scale. After them, Nigeria has been bedevilled with journeymen and tactically inept coaches. T
he Eagles technical crew of 2013 must be replete with coaches who can groom and manage the talents of the Eagles and make them play at optimum levels. It’s a sad commentary when one observes that the Super Eagles have inexplicably churned out their worst performances in critical ‘do or die’ matches since 1994.? Denmark, Cameroun, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, Ghana, Angola, Egypt and recently Guinea have all taught the Eagles bitter lessons on how not to show up for crucial matches. The Nigerian trainers on those occasions were lacking in technical depth, failed to read the handwriting on the wall and allowed the occasion to swallow them by not reading the riot act to players before and during the games. If riot acts must be read after matches, then the 2013 Eagles coaches must be above board.
It is no use selecting players just to fill up selfish pockets, protect ‘national’ interest and swell the ranks. The coaches must ensure that no one player has monopoly of any playing position on the pitch. Home-based or not, the coaches must understand that every Nigerian player deserves an equal chance to don the national team’s jersey.
To be appointed: A proactive football Federation
The quest to achieve success for the Eagles of 2013 rests squarely on the shoulders of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Surely the NFAs – those with ‘No Future Ambition’ – for Nigerian football must be eased out of the system immediately. A starting point will be for the government of the day to stop funding football in Nigeria. That will weed the federation of the football jobbers and visionless administrators who have been feeding fat from government’s largesse to the Eagles.
If any blame is to be apportioned for Nigeria’s dismal Nations Cup qualifiers, (and many preceding qualifiers) the Federation cannot exonerate itself.? It took forever for Nigeria to appoint a coach ahead of the qualifying series. Nigerians expected a coach to be named for the country even before the first ball of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was kicked.
Of course, every member of the federation knew that Swede Lars Lagerback would not step on the shores of Nigeria after the World Cup to continue as coach – just as it was with Westerhoff (1994) Bora Militunovic (1998) and Berti Vogts (2008). A football federation that continues to sack coaches after every major tournament on impulse and fails to put in place a long term plan for football development will mortgage the future of Nigeria football way beyond 2013.? The present football statutes for membership to the board of the federation must be revised to pave the way for only those with good intentions for Nigerian football to emerge.
All of the bickering in Nigeria’s courts and the Court of Arbitration for? Sports in Switzerland over NPL, NFF, CAF and FIFA seats will be eliminated if the Government allows a proactive federation to emerge ahead of 2013.? The federation to be in place must be one that will play friendly matches for the good of the team only and not for myopic reasons.? A transparent culture that will culminate in openness to constructive criticism will be key attributes of the ideal federation. Scandals, fraud, corruption, ineptitude and shambolism must not be associated with NFF and Nigerian football ahead of 2013.
Desired: A corporate backbone
‘Guinness the Match’ was the hallmark of corporate backing for the Eagles in many years. Incidentally, that initiative brought colour to Nigeria football since 1994 and put the Argentine ghost to rest for once. Fond memories of the Eagles 4-1 success of that day resonate in the minds of fans, players, administrators, and the football press till this day.
For the Eagles to fly in 2013 and beyond, corporate backing will need to be more than the knee-jerk reactions we have seen in recent times. More Pepsi Academies, Shell Cups, MTN Street Soccer Leagues need to be in place.
The practice of smiling to the bank at the expense of vulnerable young footballers over phoney football talent hunts needs to be done away with. Companies will need to draw up 3, 6, 8 and even 10-year strategic plans to move Nigeria football from its present doldrums to the needed level of international relevance. The norm of packaging Nigeria football for international audiences only needs to be given a rethink. Let Nigerian club sides be availed of the needed sponsorship deals – shirt rights, stadium naming rights, invitational tournaments – from the vast sums of monies budgeted for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.