THE last time Complete Sports wrote a story about Joseph Yobo’s birthday in 2009, we ended up with a law suit!

In the story, Yobo, then vice captain of the Super Eagles, (Nwankwo Kanu was captain) was reported to have led some of his colleagues to a nightclub in Abuja to celebrate his 29th birthday soon after Tunisia held Nigeria to a pulsating 2-2 draw in a crucial 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The result had put our qualification chances at risk, and the birthday bash story cast Yobo in bad light because he was thought to have been celebrating while the whole nation was mourning a disappointing result.

Although Complete Sports carried a front page retraction and apology immediately we realized that the story was not true, Yobo was already sufficiently infuriated and he insisted that he would still take the matter to court which he did. It took a chance meeting that I had with him in London nearly a year later for Yobo to back down and withdraw the suit, following our several appeals.

I have related the fore going story for two reasons. One, I want to write again about Yobo’s birthday and I hope I won’t get slapped with a court summons this time! Second, I heard from the grapevine while the last suit lasted that some fellows actually fanned the embers of discord. My self-disclosure is to make the point that this is not any attempt to patronize Yobo for “withdrawing his suit against Complete Sports.”

Last Sunday in Antananarivo, Yobo, now captain of the Eagles, showed that he is a worthy team leader when he scored the opening goal in our must-win 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar, en route to a 2-0 win. Because the match was not televised live and we didn’t know exactly what was going on, Nigerian soccer fans were held in great suspense as the clock ticked towards the 70th minute before Yobo struck to our collective relief. We were to learn later that the captain scored to from a corner kick by midfielder John Obi Mikel.
Obinna Nsofor’s “long range effort five minutes from time” was only an icing on the cake that gave the result a more respectable look for Nigeria.

If we recall that it was also Yobo that scored Nigeria’s late equalizer in our penultimate game away to Ethiopia in June, the import of his present role in the Super Eagles become even clearer. Twice in quick succession now, he has rescued Nigeria with two Very Important Goals (VIGs) bring our 2012 Nations Cup dream back on track.

The days when Yobo committed serial blunders that cost the Super Eagles dear, (aptly typified by the goal that ultimately denied us the 2006 World Cup ticket in a qualifier against Angola in Luanda in 2005) now seem long gone and forgotten. “Calamity Yobo” was a common headline in Complete Sports at that time because the player seemed  prone to conceding costly goals for club and country. But today, what  every Nigerian is talking about  is “Yobo the Hero.”

Joseph Yobo’s recent heroics actually remind me of “Big Boss” Stephen Keshi’s days as skipper of the Super Eagles under coach Clemens Westerhof. Keshi had a knack for scoring crucial goals which won him a great deal of respect from his colleagues and the fans. Yobo may not be as influential as Keshi, but with a massive 81 caps and seven crucial international goals now to his credit and counting, he may yet become a legend of Nigerian football.

Yobo clocked 31 years this week Tuesday, September 6, 2011 and the win last Sunday in Madagascar must have been a worthy early birthday present for him. Unlike two years ago when he was wrongly reported to have celebrated amidst a national disappointment, there is no reason why he cannot pop the champagne this time, especially with the lucrative extension of his loan deal at Fenerbache of Turkey. Happy birthday, skipper.

Our Fate in Our Hands

lCHIEF Adegboyega Onigbinde put Nigeria’s 2012 Nations Cup situation in proper perspective when he commented that “our fate is now in our hands,” following last weekend’s 2-0 victory in Madagascar. With our final group game coming up against current group leaders Guinea on the final weekend of qualifying next month, the coast is clear for the Eagles to grab the group’s sole automatic ticket with a handsome win in Abuja.

The Eagles are fully aware of what is at stake so, we don’t need to shout ourselves hoarse about the need for them to prepare well and seize the moment  when the Guineans come calling.

 But it won’t hurt to remind Samson Siasia and his boys that the last time we played such a crucial game in Abuja en route to the South Africa 2010 World Cup, Tunisia shocked 150million Nigerians by grabbing a late equalizer for a 2-2 draw.

On that occasion, we got a second chance to make amends because it wasn’t the final game. This time around against Guinea, there will be no second chances.

The Eagles must learn from triple defending champions  Egypt who have already been eliminated; as well as Cameroun and South Africa who are struggling to survive that nothing can be taken for granted in African football anymore. In spite of our home advantage in the final qualifier next month, we must not underrate Guinea. Like I always warn, Super Eagles beware!

Battle of Bangladesh

lDESPITE the 3-1 defeat suffered by the Super Eagles in their return friendly game with Argentina in Dhakar, Bangladesh on Wednesday this week, I am satisfied with their overall performance and I am positive now that a solid team is beginning to emerge under Samson Siasia.

Lax defending by our centre backs on Gonzalo Higuain cost us Argentina’s first and third goals; while a loss of concentration in midfield by stand-in captain Mikel Obi gifted Lionel Messi the ball to create the second for Angel di Maria to tap in. But, overall, the Eagles responded well to the challenge, especially in the opening period of the second half when they dominated possession and Chinedu Obasi scored Nigeria’s only goal from a Mikel cross.

If the Eagles can sustain the kind of performance they put up in the opening 15 minutes of the second half in all their games, we would soon be back in the top echelon of world football.

When we defeated Argentina 4-1 in Abuja last June, their excuse was that they paraded a make-shift team. This time around in Dhaka, they filed out all their top guns led by the best player in the world, Messi, but the Eagles were still not completely outclassed.

If anything, Nigeria can also claim that we didn’t present our full team in Dhaka as Joseph Yobo, Taye Taiwo, Uche Kalu, Osaze Odemwingie and a few others were also missing. But that is neither here nor there.

The result in Madagascar and the performance in Bangladesh bode well for the emerging new Super Eagles. What is required now is consistent improvement.