SASMON SIASIA’s honeymoon as coach of the Super Eagles is effectively over. At the time of writing this, the news flittering out of the Glass House in Abuja was that the top hierachy of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was ill at ease with the list of players that the coach had drawn up for the must-win Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in Antananarivo on September 3, 2011.

Expectedly, Siasia insisted on calling the shots in full, but the NFF technical committee led by Barrister Christopher Green were determined to vet the list. They were scared that Siasia may bring the house crashing down on their heads if he failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup which is a real possibility. They were determined to “interfere” if that would prevent their tenure from coming to an abrupt end on account of failing to secure a Nations Cup ticket.

The last time Nigeria failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals was in 1985 when a “Green Eagles”

team led by captain Henry Nwosu were knocked out of the 1986 finals by Zambia. Earlier that year (1985), the Eagles had also been eliminated from the 1986 World Cup finals by Tunisia and I remember Nwosu boasting before the Zambia game that, having lost the World Cup ticket, nothing would stop them from picking the Nations Cup ticket. Well, talk is cheap but it came to pass that Nwosu’s boast was an empty one. Following a goalless draw in Lagos in the first leg of the final qualifying round, Zambia defeated Nigeria 1-0 in Lusaka to complete our misery.

In the past couple of weeks, I have been reading a regular stream of boasts again that the Super Eagles would crush Madagascar to bring our 2012 Nations Cup dream back on track. If everything was normal, we should indeed crush opponents that are currently rated 155 in the monthly FIFA rankings and who had not won any of their last six matches including a home draw with minnows Mayotte, and an away loss to super-minnows Reunion Island. But these are not “normal times” with the Super Eagles and that is why the NFF are understandably apprehensive.

In spite of our so-called superstar status, the Eagles have recently been established as “poor travellers” in African football and now, every opponent looks forward to our visit with glee. Remember we lost 1-0 to Guinea in Conakry and needed a late equalizer to steal a 2-2 draw with Ethiopia in Addis Ababa during this qualifying series. We may have won all our matches at home, but was it not after beating “giants” Argentina 4-1 in Abuja, that we proceeded to struggle in Addis Ababa? For sure, the Super Eagles are poor travellers and that gives Madagascar hope, and Nigerians nightmares!

Siasia must win back the confidence of the fans by ensuring a comprehensive and convincing win in Antananarivo on September 3. There’s still another instalment of this column coming before the game, but I have decided to raise the subject now so that the coach will have enough time to digest and implement any ideas he finds useful.

The major thing Siasia needs to work on is the attitude of his players. I have noticed that the Eagles approach their away games with the wrong attitude. They do not like getting into “fights” with their aggressive but less illustrious opponents, believing that their talent and skill are enough to get a victory. Well, Guinea and Ethiopia have twice proved them wrong.

To win in hard Madagascar, the Eagles must start fighting from the first blast of the whistle. They must be strong and direct, and pin their opponents in their own half of the pitch. They must send the message immediately that they are in town for business and that they are not leaving without the three points. Sustained early pressure will suffocate the Madagascans and an early Nigerian goal will break their spirits. It would then be a matter of holding them firmly to the ground like an animal that had just been slaughtered.

But if the Eagles approach the game with their usual casual attitude of “taking things easy, the goals will come,”

Madagascar will grow in confidence the longer the game goes with Nigeria’s goals not coming. And that could spell doom for the Super Eagles. Nigeria must not wait for the goals to  come; we must go in search of them!
In spite of the pressure that is building up around Siasia and the Eagles as the big game approaches, I will not endorse the NFF’s attempt to force Siasia’s hands in the selection of players because I have always maintained that it is the prerogative of the coach to pick the team and  I stand by that global football principle.

But Siasia should realize that with that prerogative comes a huge responsibility of ensuring that the right results are delivered, failing which he might soon be out of a job!
Surely, Siasia’s honeymoon is over. Now, it’s make or break time.

Obi’s Kidnap Saga

SUPER EAGLES midfielder Mikel Obi’s father Mr. Michael Obi, was  a kidnap victim last week.

Thankfully, his release has been secured and the son should be in the right frame of mind when Nigeria confront Madagascar next weekend.

Remarkably, Mikel continued to play for Chelsea in the English Premier League during his father’s captivity and he churned out two great performances against Stoke and West Brom to demonstrate his mental strength. But I doubt if he would have been willing to do that for a country where his father was hijacked, had the old man not be found on time.

I want to appeal to future kidnappers to steer clear of our sportsmen and their families. These young people are doing our country proud and we shouldn’t repay them with such traumatic episodes.

Who Wins EPL 2011/2012?

lI HAVE received lots of sms text messages from readers asking me to predict the likely winners of the new English Premier League season. Having correctly predicted winners of the past two seasons, I have decided not to push my luck too far. So, this season, no prediction from me, especially as Qasim Elegbede and Kayode Ogundare have been doing such a great job of providing the expert analyses in i-Soccer.

However, I would like to hint that the season-opening Community Shield match between Manchester United and Manchester City, plus the first two weeks of league action have provided an “expo” for any discerning soccer fan on how the season will go.

In the Community Shield game, City showed their talent in taking a 2-0 lead, but (characteristically) rested on their laurels which allowed United to (also characteristically) fight back to win 3-2. If City manager Roberto Mancini fails to raise the bar of success for his expensively assembled and talented stars, then he should be ready to settle for second-best again because United remain as hungry as ever under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Chelsea will provide fierce competition to make the title a three-horse race. Arsenal (I feel sorry for Arsene Wenger whose troubles seem to mount everyday), Liverpool (who are still rebuilding and searching for direction under Kenny Dalglish) and Tottenham Hotspur (if they manage to keep Luca Modric) will scrounge for fourth place again.

Have I made any prediction? May the best team win!