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Nigerian Football - The Way Forward (3)
T HIS is the third and final part of my “Memoranda from Soccertalk archives” in which I have recalled articles earlier published in this column for the attention of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as we seek to chart a new way forward for Nigerian football.
The first point I wish to make with these memoranda is that, if the NFF are genuinely desirous of positive change in our soccer fortunes, there are enough investigative panel reports, committee recommendations, media articles and public suggestions in the archives to draw from. What we need is a three-man (or maximum five-man) administrative panel of patriotic and knowledgeable people to analyse the memoranda, aggregate the different viewpoints, opinions and recommendations and then formulate a workable and result-oriented formula for the NFF in the area of administration, coaching, grassroots and youth development, players’ discipline and welfare, marketing, etc. If the NFF then follow up with the courage to implement the short-listed ideas without fear or favour, Nigerian football which is currently in dire straits will soon be out of the woods.
However, since the immediate task before the NFF is to hire a new coach for the Super Eagles to replace Samson Siasia who was sacked last week, I have decided to recall an article that is relevant to that subject to round off my memoranda for now. Titled, “Eagles Need Technical Consistency,” it was first published here in Soccertalk on April 16, 2008. Read On...
Eagles Need Technical Consistency
EXACTLY SIXTY-EIGHT DAYS after Nigeria’s nomadic German coach, Berti Vogts, led the Super Eagles to quarter-final elimination at the 26th Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana, the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) last week Thursday announced two-time former handler, Shaibu Amodu, as the new manager of the national team.
I refused to contribute to the process of replacing Berti Vogts because I wasn’t convinced that the German should have been sacked in the first place, and I still stand by that view. Apart from the stupid clause (blame NFA, not Vogts!) In his contract which allowed Vogts to live abroad and work in Nigeria and which I would have insisted be revised if he wanted to continue to handle the Super Eagles, there was nothing else that happened at the Nations Cup in Ghana that would have made me support the removal of the German despite his dour and unispiring looks!
As far as 2006, immediately after that year’s Nations Cup in Egypt, I had described our Super Eagles, in spite of their bronze medal finish, as a progressively deteriorating team of “Boy Scouts,” and I predicted that they would not have matured enough to be title contenders even at the next finals in 2008.
On the eve of the 2008 finals in Ghana and with Vogts only 10 months old on the job, I rationalized that the only way the Eagles could make any impact was if the team – apparently still undergoing a rebuilding process – played with the “Nigerian Spirit” of dogged determination to defy the odds against them.
But I also warned that even that fighting spirit may not be enough to see them through and they could be eliminated as early as the first round because, in terms of player quality, the Eagles had fallen very far behind their major rivals in African football.
Of course, it came to pass that the Eagles, parading EIGHT debutantes in the squad, lacked the maturity for the big occasion and then, only a handful of them, typified by central defender Danny Shittu, were ready to fight with the recommended “Nigerian Spirit.”
Neutral observers were so shocked by Nigeria’s spineless performances in Ghana that they rightly dubbled the once mighty Super Eagles as “Super Chicken”. But I already saw this trait when I tagged them “Boy Scouts” two years before in Egypt.
On that occasion in 2006, I had observed very closely how the Eagles struggled against an under-strength Ghana, an out-of-sorts Senegal and a clueless Zimbabwe, but no loud complaints were heard about their performances simply because they won some fortuitous victories. In most of their games, the 2006 team survived only on the experience of Nwankwo Kanu who played as a super substitute until the then coach Austin Eguavoen made the mistake of starting him against Cote d’Ivoire in the semi-finals and the weaknesses of the Nigerian team were brutally exposed.
Berti Vogts was only at the formative stages of dealing with those weaknesses when Ghana 2008 came along. It was too early for his work to show and too early for him to get properly acquainted with his players. To make matters worse, Kanu the talisman got injured after the first game and several other key players including John Utaka and Obafemi Martins just couldn’t find their best form.
Admittedly, Vogts made some tactical blunders in his team formation and substitutions especially in the crucial quarter-final match against the host country, Ghana. But overall, we simply have to admit that the current Super Eagles are just not good enough to be a force in Africa football, much less on the global stage and that has been the case for several years now.
If the NFA had a properly set up technical committee or technical department with the right personnel and a properly spelt out job description, a simple historical research by them would have revealed how the Super Eagles have been on a free-fall since year 2000.
Clemens Westerhof spent five years, starting from 1989, to build the team that took Nigeria to the top by winning the Nations Cup in 1994 and going to the World Cup same year. Had Nigeria not boycotted South Africa ‘96 Nations Cup and consequently missed out on Burkina Faso ‘98, that team would probably have won for us another African title because they were clearly the best African team of that era.
Evidence of that was our Olympic soccer gold of 1996 which was made possible by the nucleus of Westerhof’s team, and the ease with which we qualified for the 1998 World Cup in France. We finished as unlucky runners-up to Cameroun at the Nations Cup in year 2000, still with the nucleus of Westerhof’s team.
Remnants of that team made it to Mali 2002 but, by then, the Super Eagles were in decline because they only managed (thanks to Ghana beating Liberia) to qualify for that year’s World Cup in Korea/Japan, while falling at the semi-final stage at the Nations Cup. The team continued to rot thereafter, but a so-called “Golden Bronze” helped paper over the cracks at Tunisia 2004 Nations Cup until the bubble finally burst with our failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
By then, the alarm bells should have been ringing loud enough in everybody’s ears, but yet another fortuitous bronze medal at the 2006 Nations Cup appeared to have blinded us again from reality. But now that we came back from Ghana 2008 empty handed and got knocked off our delusory number one rating in FIFA’s monthly “world rankings,” we have finally realized that the Super Eagles have been living on past glory.
Dear readers, what happened to Nigeria at Ghana 2008 was a culmination of EIGHT YEARS of steady decline by the Eagles and not a sudden bad performance caused by a certain Berti Vogts who refused to live in Nigeria. Vogts just happened to be the sucker in charge when the roof came crashing down on us. That is why I insist that his sacking is a mere palliative.
In the last eight years since 2000, the Eagles have been managed by no fewer than six coaches and I don’t know how we expect to build a successful team that way. We have had Jo Bonfrere (Ghana/Nigeria 2000), Shaibu Amodu (Mali 2002), Adegboye Onigbinde (Korea/Japan 2002), Christian Chukwu (Tunisia 2004), Austin Eguaveon (Egypt 2006) and Berti Vogts (Ghana 2008). Now, it will be Amodu again at Angola 2010 (if we don’t sack him again before then!) and probably at South Africa 2010 World Cup (if we get there!).
With each coach has come a different set of new players to the national team, different style of training, different approach to games and a different camp environment and general work ethic. In a team sport such as football that demands a lot of cohesion, how can we build a solid, winning side when we keep changing and chopping the coaching and playing personnel at the drop of a hat? The chances of success are very slim indeed and the Eagles have been paying a heavy price.
Football is both a science and an art. The scientific aspect of the game demands that you apply strategic planning, continuity, consistency and persistence in your methodology before you can achieve any results, and that is partly why Egypt are African champions again for the second straight tournament. The artistic aspects of football include the unpredictable burst of flair (for example, Solomon Kalou’s solo goal for Cote d’Ivoire against Nigeria in our group’s opening game in Sekondi), the element of luck or the moment of magic which can turn a game or tournament around in a flash. But even those do not happen without some scientific elements of preparation and tactics.
Amodu was probably the best choice amongst those shortlisted to replace Berti Vogts, but he will not fare any better than his colleagues who have been on the mantle in recent past unless the NFA realize the magnitude of the job at hand and give the new coach enough time and space to rebuild (repeat, REBUILD) THE NATIONAL TEAM.
What Amodu needs most is not just the regular payment of his salaries and ready cash for team logistics and training. He also needs a competent technical department in the FA to arrange regular international friendly matches; provide knowledgeable back-up for him in the area of scouting for the right calibre of players; constantly gather and analyse data on the performance of those players and opponents alike; brainstorm regularly on technical issues concerning the national team, then leave the coach and his crew to take the final decisions on team selections, formation and tactics based on all the data at their disposal.
The big question is whether the FA technical department and the technical committee as presently constituted are capable of playing those crucial roles. If the answer is no, then that is where the Super Eagles technical revolution should start from!
The Task Ahead
Back to the present, I would probably have been accused of campaigning for the retention of Samson Siasia as Super Eagle coach if I had published the foregoing article last week. But now that Siasia’s fate has been decided, it gives us the opportunity to talk more freely about the problems of the national team irrespective of who will be the next coach.
Admittedly, Siasia made his own mistakes which cost us the ticket to the 2012 ANC. But the facts in the 2008 article prove that Siasia is just the latest scapegoat for an impatient country that is suffering from a delusion of grandeur. But now that we have reached rock bottom again (see graph), let’s hope we will finally realize that the Super Eagles are finished (repeat, FINISHED!) as a force to be reckoned with in African football and that has been the case for some time even before Siasia assumed the mantle.
Whether we like it or not, we will now have to give the next coach the “time and space to truly rebuild the team.”
Furthermore, the NFF must also finally put sentiments aside and do something drastic about their moribund technical department in order for the department to provide the kind of support and services required to back up the national teams.
Eight coaches hired and fired within the space of 10 years (2001 to 2011) aptly tells the story of how we have been sacrificing coaches as the scapegoats for our deficient football administration, rather than finding a lasting solution to our fundamental problem which is the absence of a well articulated and honest youth development programme.
Weighing the task at hand, the Super Eagles are so poor now that it will be fool-hardly to expect any coach to guarantee us a semi-final finish at the 2013 ANC less than two years from now. Although it is not an impossible task, setting such a target for the next coach will mean we are still deceiving ourselves that we are one of the best teams in Africa. The FACT is we are not, so we shouldn’t include any arrogant clauses in the contract for the next coach. It will be enough if the coach lifts us from rock bottom, where we are now, and we get a ticket for the 2013 ANC. Whatever stage we reach at the finals should be accepted as part of our rebuilding process. That’s number one.
Second, no coach can guarantee us a ticket to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil the way we are now because so many other African countries have caught up with us. Just consider the jerky manner we struggled to qualify for South Africa 2010 under Shaibu Amodu (with help from some dodgy refereeing decisions along the way!) and you realize that 2014 cannot be guaranteed. Come on, let’s say the truth!
Deriving from that, the minimum that we need to give the next coach to put the Super Eagles back on track is FOUR YEARS, irrespective of his results in the short term. That means we should be targeting the 2015 ANC and the 2018 World Cup to make an impact again on the continental and global stage. But if any major success comes along before then, we will take it as bonus. That, in my opinion, is the modest target we need to set for the in-coming coach.
After all our hurried sackings of the past 10 years with nothing to show, the new coach must reap the benefit of a patient, consistent and tolerant future in the technical management of the Super Eagles. That is why we must make sure we get the right man because we will be stuck with him for some time whether the results in the short term are good or bad.
But if we insist that the new coach must also get us to the semi-final of the 2013 ANC just because we have a population of 150million people and we are the so-called “Giant of Africa,” then let’s get another sack letter ready again even before the new coach is employed.
Siasia’s Sacking
I HAVE close to 700 sms text messages in my GSM phone received during the past two weeks roughly equally divided between soccer fans for or against the sacking of Samson Siasia. I refused to join the debate because, having publicly alerted Siasia to the dangers represented by Guinea before the match was played, the rule of modesty demanded that I should say no more and allow the NFF to take whatever decision they deemed fit.
Considering the circumstances, it has to be said that the NFF took the right decision even though, as we saw with the sacking of Berti Vogts in 2008, the problem of the Eagles remain. But Siasia had to go because...
1. He did not fulfill the terms of his contract and best practice demanded that the relevant clause (termination) be applied.
2. His Eagles tenure had been badly fragmented by disciplinary issues that were blown out of proportion.
3. He had lost his swagger by having to “beg” for a second chance on the job. Even if he had been retained, his self-confidence would have been damaged and he would have become a “Yes-boy” to those who “saved” his job, a recipe for another failure.
4. The NFF couldn’t completely ignore the cries of revenge-seeking Shaibu Amodu supporters demanding that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
5. Coaching is primarily about results, and Siasia’s report card unfortunately showed that he was the first coach in 25 years not to qualify Nigeria for the Nations Cup.
Everything considered, I think the NFF was right to relieve Siasia of his job so that calm could return to the Super Eagles.
I plead with Siasia’s numerous supporters who sent me e-mails and SMS to take heart. His time will come again in the future.
Who Succeeds Siasia?
J UST DAYS BEFORE Samson Siasia was appointed Super Eagles coach last year, here is what I said in SOCCERTALK on November 3, 2010:
Local Coaches My 3rd Choice
I HAVE received knocks from some readers for expressing my preference for another foreign coach to take charge of the Super Eagles following the departure of Lars Lagerback after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Specifically, I recommended the hiring of a Dutch or Serbian manager and listed a Nigerian only as a third choice. I know that my suggestion is not popular with most Nigerian soccer fans, but I stand by it anyway.
Based on my knowledge of the inside workings of the national team and the general attitude of the players, (there’s a lot going on unknown to the fans), I have no doubt in my mind that foreign coaches are our best bet, at least for now.
However, I admit that the manner of Lagerback’s departure has made it difficult for another foreigner to be engaged so soon. Even I still feel robbed by the way the plucky Swede practically walked in on us, picked up a chestful of dollars and walked out on us. But it wasn’t his fault, really. We asked for it.
Keshi or Siasia will get the job now, partly because we’re all still smarting from the Lagerback “robbery” and partly because the NFF cannot afford the hefty salary of a foreigner. But when this latest indigenous experimentation is over, we will go looking abroad again, that’s for sure.
In spite of myself, though, I hope Keshi or Siasia will prove that Nigerian coaches who have been exposed to football at the highest level like they have been, are better than third rate for the Super Eagles. For our collective sake and for the sake of Nigerian football, I sincerely hope that they will prove me wrong. One thing is sure: whoever gets the job between Keshi and Siasia will also get my full support on the task ahead, Good luck, guys.
– Culled from SOCCERTALK, November 3, 2010.
TODAY in 2011, my position as expressed above has not changed. I still prefer a foreign coach, specifically a Serbian or a Dutchman for the Super Eagles. But if the NFF cannot hire one quickly enough or cannot guarantee the regular payment of his salary, then let’s give the job to STEPHEN KESHI, support him and say our prayers.
Why Stephen Keshi?
ON PAPER, Stephen Keshi has all the credentials to succeed as coach of the Super Eagles. Let’s look at some of them:
1. KNOWLEDGE: As a former skipper of the team (1984-1994); former assistant coach to Jo Bonfrere (2000-2001) and Shaibu Amodu (2001-2002), Keshi is very knowledgeable about the inside workings of the national team: player politics, management politics, bonus politics, etc. The next logical step for him from skipper and assistant coach, really, is to lead the team as head coach.
2. EXPERIENCE: Keshi has previous requisite experience of working as head coach of Togo and Mali. He made history with the former by qualifying them for the 2006 World Cup even though he was sacked before the finals.
3. PASSION: Keshi is passionate about Nigeria! Never mind what the media has said over the years about the “Big Boss” and his Mafioso style, Stephen Keshi is crazy about seeing his country succeed and he will throw himself completely into the Super Eagles job. With a little bit of luck, patience from the fans and the necessary support from the NFF (giving us a youth development masterplan!) and the Nigerian Premier League (giving us a good Premier League).
With some luck, Keshi could make the Super Eagles great again. But I will only recommend him as the next best Nigerian choice if we can’t find a suitable foreign coach as soon as possible.
NIGERIA’S COACHES AT THE ANC
1976 – Father Tiko (Yugoslavia) – 3rd position
1978 – Father Tiko (Yugoslavia) – 3rd position
1980 – Otto Gloria (Brazil) – 1st position
1982 – Otto Gloria (Brazil) – 1st Round
1984 – Adegboye Onigbinde (Nigeria) – 2nd position
1986 – Patrick Ekeji (Nigeria) - Did not qualify
1988 – Manfred Hoener (Germany) – 2nd position
1990 – Clemens Westerhof (Holland) – 2nd position
1992 – Clemens Westerhof (Holland) – 3rd position
1994 – Clemens Westerhof (Holland) – 1st position
1996 – Jo Bonfrere (Holland) – Withdrew
1998 – Philliper Troussier (France) – Suspended
2000 – Jo Bonfrere (Holland) – 2nd position
2002 – Shaibu Amodu (Nigeria) – 3rd position
2004 – Christian Chukwu (Nigeria) – 3rd position
2006 – Augustine Eguaveon (Nigeria) – 3rd position
2008 – Berti Vogts (Germany) – Quarter-Final
2010 – Shaibu Amodu (Nigeria) – 3rd position
2012 – Samson Siasia (Nigeria) – Did not qualify
Expert Opinions That I Share
“Siasia was simply a scapegoat. He (Siasia) should have known he didn’t have the materials to take us anywhere. The senior team is where you use ready-made players that have passed through the mill of programmed development. (There is) a basic fundamental deficiency in our football administration which translates to the absence of an articulated youth development programme. Do we have credible youth teams? Our football has been in steady decline since 1998. The decline continues.”
– Adokiye Amiesimaka, Former international.
“The Nigeria Football Federation should start to reorganize the game of football in the country before it gets to the stage where the name that our past heroes have built will be spoilt (by the current team).”
– Tunde Disu, Former technical director, NFA.
“We have never allowed any local coach such a length of time on the job like we did with Clemens Westerhof. Whoever we are bringing now must be given adequate time to rebuild the team.
It is ridiculous for Siasia to have agreed that part of the conditions for him to keep his job will be to qualify the Super Eagles for the Nations Cup. Football is a nasty game. When you don’t expect to lose, you find yourself terribly down.”
– Kashimawo Laloko, Former technical director, NFA.
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Comments
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Olutayo(usa)
Nov 04, 2011
Oracle/Octopus Mumini,i dof my hat again o.
As rightly dissected by u,NFF/tech committee followed ur 1st recommendation by giving Keshi the mandate of just qualifying for 2013 ANC but made the mistake of making d qtr finals in Brazil 2014.
What else to say? Why don't our admistrators read u,Odegbami's,Mastroudes' and possibly Amasiemeka's columns?Why can't they go to u guys even in the dark and get these solutions very cheaply?
Uhmmmmmmmmm.Will continue to support SE and if & when they mess up,the EPL/La Liga will come to my rescue!!!
Thank God for someone like u that makes football journalism a beauty to read and follow. -
قسم Qasim
Nov 04, 2011
KUDOS 2 U 4 DIS MASTERPEICE. I THINK BY NOW SIASIA'S SUPPORTERS SHOULD KNOW Y U REFUSE 2 COMMENT ON SACK... I PRAY NIGERIANS SHLD AV PATEINT WIT D NEW COACH MAYBE WE GET TINS RIGTH DIS TIME.
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قسم Qasim
Nov 04, 2011
KUDOS 2 U 4 DIS MASTERPEICE. I THINK BY NOW SIASIA'S SUPPORTERS SHOULD KNOW Y U REFUSE 2 COMMENT ON SACK... I PRAY NIGERIANS SHLD AV PATEINT WIT D NEW COACH MAYBE WE GET TINS RIGTH DIS TIME.
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Malomo Gbemi
Nov 04, 2011
We need a national football policy that will allocate spot for the home based player. the foreign based player can never give us the passion we need unless they can loose their place in the team. their club will not want them to play at the nation club so they play with 'the hand brake on" at the moment home base will not give their best because they know they will not make the team, they are just training material., let give them 30% slot in the team, they cam train together locally and form a team and they will always be fall back guys.. it doesn't make sense to have 8 attackers in the team that the coach wll not end up using , check our past success home based players have always play a part, they are ready to die on the pitch. what do you think oga mumuni?
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Dapsy
Nov 04, 2011
Dear Mr Mumini,
Thanks for that statement ''delusion of grandeur". A large number of Nigerians (NFF in paricular) are suffering from Chronic Delusion (with some Schizophrenia in the mix) as to the true state of soccer in this country. Do you believe that they are setting a target of Quarter Finals at Brazil 2014 for Keshi, when they have not even qualified? They are not even talking about nations cup qualifiers for 2013? Who are the materials to prosecute the project? The average age of Super Eagles players right now is 35yrs (may be more). Even the under 23 are worse. So where are the players? The most important thing now is putting structures in place to develop new talents not setting empty goals. If this is not done, the hiring and firing will continue. I hope somebody will stop think. Coaching is not the problem, the players are not just there. -
The Watcher
Nov 04, 2011
Thank you for the write-up! You successfully represented a case some of us have been pushing forward since 2000.
I only beg to defer on why you do not want to openly and clearly discuss the Siasia. You should not think Siasia lost the game because he did not follow your article. You should also not think that if per chance he even read the article and follow your advise, he would never have lost - football can sometimes be cruel. At the end of the day, what matters is who put the ball in the net - patterns and strategies are just the vehicles. On the day we lost to Guinea, I see players who could not put glaring chances into the net from inside the box. Few days later, one of them was getting the same thing right in his club. You only need poor performance by players to rubbish even the best laid out plans.
I hope you would get the chance to work closely with those in our NFF technical department in the future, but the truth is most coaches worth their salt do not depend on newspaper writing for their game plans. Even when they read it, they would not come out to say it because at the end, they bear the sole responsibility for failures. In this our era of government advisers here and there, I hope somebody can bring in people like you at least in that capacity into our football administration.
That said, I think your reasons on why Siasia deserved are still a little simplistic. Your various reasons 1 - 5 singly and collectively are the same reasons NFA/NFF have sacked 6 coaches in the last 8 years as you rightly pointed out. So where are they supposed to slow down and think?
Some people said Siasia deserved to be sacked just because he did not meet the CONTRACT targets. That to me is a simple approach to a complex issue. I think Siasia also committed the "delusion of grandeur" of he should not have sign the contract. If those that put together the contract are already suffering from an acute attack of this sickness, he did not need to join them. Sometimes you have to draw a line between patriotism and naivety. 2 wrongs do not make a right, NFF to me made the first mistake by refusing to admit our football need a surgical operation and coming up with a misplaced contract which a misguided Siasia went on and signed. But some would always want to go for competitions because of what the enjoy.
However, sacking Siasia to me is a miskake. When u want to make a decision whether a staff should be sacked, you look beyond the letters of your agreement to the spirit. If sacking is done by letter alone, a lot of us would be looking for new jobs every year. If Siasia is not the solution to the problem, why see his sack as one? We keep going around a vicious circle.
You believe a coach needs a minimum of 4 years to build something worthwhile, yet you readily conceded to someone that has spend less than a year to be sacked - not even on the strength of his results as some people claimed (he did not lose any competitive match in the qualifier).
That is why I fear for Keshi too. I don't think there is any major difference between him and Siasia and I wish him well. He has been a worthy patriot in the past. We have been down this road before. It would probably not matter what he does, it takes losing any crucial match, having a spat with a player, indulging a players or a run of bad results for him to be sacked.
Sometimes, it is possible to give an evidence that is the truth, but not the whole truth; the whole truth but something other than the truth. My prayer is that you would not have to reproduce this article again come 2014 or 2015. -
Expert Corner
Nov 05, 2011
Siasia Out! Keshi In! More Of The Same Thing!
Saturday, 05 November 2011 00:00 By Segun Odegbami Sport - Home
THE ‘Chief Justice’ got it right! I listened to Chief Adokie Amiesimaka, ex-international football player and one of the most erudite and informed commentators on Nigerian football, on Ray Power FM the other day. He said that Samson Siasia has been made the scapegoat of the present crisis in Nigerian football; that coaching is not the problem with the national team and that even if Nigeria were to hire the combination of Mourinho and Ferguson to handle the team, they would fail with honours giving the circumstances currently around Nigerian football.
He said that Nigerian football has stopped producing high quality football players as a result of a lack of developmental policies and strategies. He concluded that football in Nigeria has been on a steady decline since 1998, and that even if the right things were now done Nigeria would still have to wait till about 2022 to get back to the top of African football.
I totally agree with Adokie. What are being done now by the illegal board of the NFF are cosmetic. They are treating the symptoms and leaving the disease!
Take the issue of Samson Siasia for example. The man has been made the convenient scapegoat in this well orchestrated strategy to divert attention from the real source of the problems (the NFF) and hide under public sentiments.
Samson and his female counterpart in the national female team, the Falcons, have become the sacrificial lambs on the altar of public sentiment.
Samson made a few fundamental mistakes in the manner he dealt with disciplinary matters in the team, weakening it in the process. But until the team drew their last match against Guinea his defiant stance to do away with undisciplined players, many who now condemn him applauded him.
The real problem with that team that failed to qualify for CAN 2012 is less about coaching and more about the quality of the players. A team and its coach are only as good as the players they have to parade in the team. They are the critical success factor in determining success in football.
Would Barcelona FC be the same team without Lionel Messi, Iniesta and Xavi? Would real Madrid be the same without Christiano Ronaldo? Have the Super Eagles been the same without Okocha, Kanu and Amuneke?
The players make the team. Samson just did not have the quality of players that would have provided the kind of results that he boasted about and that Nigerians expected before the Guinean match.
The Super Eagles stopped playing great football many years ago. The team that qualified for the 2010 World Cup put up the worst display I have witnessed in over 40 years of my interaction with the game. The players were so ordinary they left no memories of their performances, and so inconsistent Nigerians unanimously called for the removal of Amodu even if he qualified the nation for the championship.
We forget so soon how bad the situation was and how other factors assisted the qualification process.
The problem with Samson is that he appeared to be ‘arrogant’ in his conduct, and unrealistic in his assessment of the players he had. The Super Eagles had long lost their physical and psychological edge and Samson was only slowly rebuilding the team, one block after another, in a process that would have still have led nowhere until and unless the domestic game is fixed and structures put in place to produce quality players from which a strong national team would be selected.
On top of that, Samson over-rated the impact of coaching on a team even when it does not have great players. No matter how good a coach is he would need good players to demonstrate his coaching prowess. Amodu Shuaibu himself, at a point during his reign, described the players in his team as average and some people wanted to crucify him.
With the quality of players available in 1980 and 1993, Samson would have walked over Guinea and made them look like school children. Not now!
Samson Siasia has been sacked and Stephen Keshi hired by an NFF suffering from a terminal disease called ‘illegitimacy’. That singular act is an announcement to all Nigerians that the problem with the national team is with the coaching. Losing to Guinea was so painful that no amount of theorising would temper the people’s desire and call for some heads to roll. The most convenient was Samson’s.
But, as Adokie said, if the system remains the way it is, not even 10 Jose Mourinhos will succeed where Samson failed. So, the coming of Keshi is just another musical game of chairs. He is being set up to fail also. My friend and former classmate, Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, put it this way: ‘One more nail in the coffin of Nigerian football. This is the only way I can describe Keshi’s appointment by our disturbingly clueless NFF. Once again we have succumbed to the blackmailing antics of our former internationals of the Westerhof era, who think we owe them our lives. Me, I don tire o’.
Yakubu may have been a little bit hard on the former internationals but he speaks for a lot of people.
Lets look at the real issues. The domestic leagues that should produce national team players of quality are in complete shambles. The Premier league of the 2010/2011 season has run for one year and is still has not ended. It must go down as the longest season in the history of the game in the world!
The Premier League board was without a Chairman through most of the season as a result of internal crisis that still have not completely gone away. The league has lost its sponsorships through some immature handling of very sensitive situations.
The NFF, like a cursed body, was constantly violating its own, as well as FIFA Statutes, by its unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of its member and has several court cases and unending controversies to show for it.
Corruption charges plague the entire football structure and there is no end in sight of a resolution of the power struggle between contending forces. Even my election case of August 26, 2010 in FIFA remains unresolved and irresolvable, hanging dangerously over FIFA’s neck like an Albatross. FIFA, for fear of the repercussions, has been unable to announce the result of their May 30, 2011 sitting over my petition of almost one year! But ijo wo ni maku o ni ku? Death is an inevitability!
There are no grassroots football development plans, programmes or institutions. The adoption and proliferation of artificial turfs for domestic premier league matches is perhaps the greatest mistake the country has made in its development strategy for football.
Artificial surfaces are a big mistake. They may look good for television but the damage to skills development and the spate of serious injuries make it detrimental to growth.
Finally, Nigerian football is still in the grip of a deep-rooted syndicate. Now an illegal body is running football and government is not being authentic about it, romancing with a body that has physically abused and disregarded the rule of law, and spiritually offended the elements through its unjust practices.
Peace and development cannot be built on such foundations. Nigeria must redeem itself by seeking forgiveness for embracing injustice, and do ‘restitution’ by making peace with all those the system has ‘wronged’ - appealing to the aggrieved and appeasing the elements! Until that time, I am afraid Nigerian football will continue to ‘wobble and fumble’.
• olusegunodegbami@hotmail.com
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Thompson
Nov 05, 2011
I had an argument with my friends on facebook that i was in support of the sacking of Siasia based on the fact that a coach is as good as his last result. I later went on to tell my friends to enjoy the EPL as there is nothing like sports or soccer in Nigeria anymore.I attended Adolo college in Benin city btw 1988 and 1993.In my last year the interhouse sport competition was not held and from 1994 the principal cup competition died in Edo state. Our youths continue to travel abroad in an alarming manner because there is no plans for us back in Nigeria .Our leaders keep recycling spent brains as administrators.When i left Nigeria in 2008 there was no more structures for sport development or programs and nigerians still wants results from international competition.What you give is what you get.I was shocked to see SS3 boys training in atheletics and soccer in my first day at Adolo college in 1988 and by 1991 there was nothing like that anymore.I still remember Samco stars of the old Bendel as a baby boy in the '80 and nine memebers went to represent Nigeria in china '85.Bendel insurance and NNB local derby.Ogbe Stadium is now past glory.Nigerian league was hotter than Epl but today what is the story? I grew up in a sporting home and my journalist neighbour supplying newspaper for us to read in the eighties.I saw all the games of 1984 nations cup at 9yrs and Mexico 1986 is still in my memory.i am so angry that we did not qualify because siasia was very poor in managing the boys he was in charge of and bring back the childhood pain of missing Egypt 1986 nations cup.
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Akawor Duwem Izychukwu
Nov 05, 2011
My mentor,
it is a wonderful piece you have here and i say well done.I debated with my dad on the siasia sack issue telling him that for now,sia1 just showed nigerians how goog a youth coach he is but not yet a coach for any nat'l team of repute anywhere.My dad was of a converse view though.I also share the same sentiments on foreigners coaching most especially the falcons.For the eagles,i want a german who can with time give us the kinda defensive discipline we so more crave and need right now and there after with his foundation,get a dutch man that would now add to that defensive discipline with the nigerian fluidity.On experience,'the big boss' is the best we have now and if the nff can asmuch as give to him the anonymity enjoyed by siasia but with a longer time frame,i knw he won't fail.We shouldnt like you rightly say give keshi the mandate of a semi final placing in 2013 nd the 2014 world cup but rather proceed to rebuilding the team for 2015 anc nd 2018 world cup tournaments respectively.And on the issue of technical department,employing oliseh would be a shrewd decision for nff and nigerian football...for whatever a belgian club saw in him to make him their director of football,we should be tapping from such experience wasting right now or the nigerian guy in chelsea! -
Zinzon
Nov 05, 2011
I support no other team in the world than the Super Eagles. Yes, I watch matches from the Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga etc but support none of them. Actaully, can't abide Nigerians who talk of these teams as if they know much about them, their history etc. I should be an Arsenal/Tottenham Hotspurs fan because I was born nearby but feel no affinity for them. The team I feel any affinity for is my father's home team, the SE. This is my background.
I believe in continuity, Siasia logically should have been left on the job after the failure of not qualifying us for AFCON 2012. This would have been the case had it all been due to ill luck, player error etc but most of nthe fault on the day were due to chief coach incompetence. For a start, his inability to master the qualifying arithmetic proven by the senseless decision to replace a defensive midfielder with a striker. Compare with the approach of the Guinean coach who at least had the wits about him on such matters. Secondly, where is the sense in leaving IK Uche on the bench whilst C Obasi (known for floating in and out of a game, actually floating out) was allowed to waste valuable time on it?
Now I have no "real" tournament football to watch until 2013 (if I am that lucky). Yes, he had to go, for now! -
Osvaldo
Nov 06, 2011
36 World Cup qualifying matches from 4 different confederations (CAF, AFC, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF) will be played next friday. To get all the information, please, visit: www.thefifaworldcups.com
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Eddie
Nov 06, 2011
I'm sorry, I'm no longer intrigued by your write up. You seem to wait till the event has actually happened (sacking of Siasia) before you write an opinion? If u are against firing coaches prematurely, u should've posted this in the previous week write up.
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Prince T
Nov 07, 2011
Good piece but somehow confusing and conflicting. Sacking coaches is part if not a major part of our football failure but sacking Siasia isn't? You should have given us your personal review of the match that he lost or drew and let's see what was actually responsible for not winning that match and that would be fair enough on your side. Adokie saw the sacking of Siasia as making a scapegoat out of him and you concur; confusing. I guess you mean he was sacked because he refused to follow your advise... In what way should indiscipline be handled in such a team? By indulgence? No team ever become anything thru indulgence, ask the Argetinian team to the last world cup with Maradona. Barring Siasia's arrogance what else did he do wrongly? Is it wrong to gradually build a team out of these tattered lot? You agree with me on the quality failure in the team. Do you know that many of them are struggling to keep their shirts in their teams? They would gladly sacrifice a coach to keep their shirts... 2012 CAN in January won't help them but if the coach is sacked they won't be sacked so they can come back 2013 Jan that's close enough. If these facts are not put into consideration Keshi himself is in for real trouble. You need to Do a research on the role players play in sacking their coaches and keeping their shirts... Barka de Sallah! Odegbami has spoken well. Unrighteous throne can not establish justice NFF
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Oriyomi Jim
Nov 14, 2011
Please note that the issue is not all departments of football but it just, we Nigerian are not producing good footballers any more. Also note that non of our footballers are in the top of their career or managing with top cup side in any part of the world and that is the true but we failed to understand the true.
However, we are not giant of Africa in football because the statistics via records connote we not one. So, why are we deceiving ourselves when we have bunch of an average and deceptive footballers. Deceptive because they only work add for job opportunity and not naturally good enough as a footballer. Imagine a person predetermine his career as a footballer without the gift of been good enough to be a footballer and all of these things happen due to the situation of the economy of the nation.
Nigerian prepare yourselves for the worst in all aspect of the economy not only on football. Solution(s) and Recommendation(s) are in the hand of God not humans but however, i can still forward to you some excellent Solution(s) and Recommendation(s). if need be. Thank you. -
Oriyomi Jim
Nov 14, 2011
Please note that the issue is not all departments of football but it just, we Nigerian are not producing good footballers any more. Also note that non of our footballers are in the top of their career or managing with top cup side in any part of the world and that is the true but we failed to understand the true.
However, we are not giant of Africa in football because the statistics via records connote we not one. So, why are we deceiving ourselves when we have bunch of an average and deceptive footballers. Deceptive because they only work add for job opportunity and not naturally good enough as a footballer. Imagine a person predetermine his career as a footballer without the gift of been good enough to be a footballer and all of these things happen due to the situation of the economy of the nation.
Nigerian prepare yourselves for the worst in all aspect of the economy not only on football. Solution(s) and Recommendation(s) are in the hand of God not humans but however, i can still forward to you some excellent Solution(s) and Recommendation(s). if need be. Thank you.
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Goodtalk
Nov 03, 2011
Mr. Mumuni, the problem with Nigerian football like you rightly pointed out were not the coaches but the administrators who lacked basic knowledge of how the game should be run. Come to think of it, Siasia was moving the nation in the right direction - building a new team.