The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Why Eagles – always?

    Why Eagles – always?

    Soccer unites Nigerians. It is the opium of the people. Families are divided among clubs, not so with the Nigerian teams.  Surprisingly, the followership of the female national teams is more. The distinguishing aspect of the women game is that is less troublesome – irrespective of the results. Indeed, other teams lose without qualms. It is considered normal- the usual soccer slang “you win some, lose some.” Case closed.

    For the Super Eagles, everything stops in the country when the team plays. Eagles’ players are icons. They play for some of the best teams in the world. Their popularity is awesome. It is more when they are outside the country. You marvel watching other nationals show so much excitement towards any Nigerian on match day with many calling them Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Peter Rufai etc. Even our departed stars’ such as the late Rashidi Yekini’s exploits are celebrated. You see more of the excitement on the faces of our hosts in foreign lands. Talking to Nigerians on the streets, at hotels, malls and at airport lounges brings a lot of fulfillment to these foreigners that you imagine how they would conduct themselves when they eventually see our stars such as Kanu. Such a spectacle is better imagined than expressed in words.  Such is the popularity of the beautiful game, which knows no bound, creed and tribe. And so when the Eagles lose games, informed analyses are made, largely targeted at the administration in the Glasshouse chieftains, leaving the players and coaches free of any blame.

    Other national teams across the gender give us joy despite the pittance paid to the players and coaches. Today, we are at the U-17 World Cup for women. We beat Brazil in a warm-up game ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We are U-17 World Cup champions (back-to-back) for the boys, just as we are the African Champions in the U-20 category for boys. Nigeria’s senior female team are 37th in the world, despite their recent decline because we have refused to replace the ageing one among them. Didn’t the NFF supervise these feats?

    Many would argue that Sunday Oliseh cannibalised the Eagles, leading to the exit of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and star striker Emmanuel Emenike. Oliseh’s era, no doubt, derailed the Eagles so much so that it took Ahmed Musa’s good thinking of relinquishing the captain’s arm band for Mikel to bring peace, love and team spirit back to the Eagles. And it explains why Mikel was marvelous in the last two matches.

    Oliseh ran away from this defeat. We may blame NFF for picking him. But Oliseh came highly recommended by FIFA and CAF technical experts at a time many Nigerians denounced the thought of bringing in a foreign manager. Need I say we have had enough from our USA’94 stars as it concerns coaching the Super Eagles? I digress! Even if we had won this game – from an objective analysis of it – you cannot be inspired, you cannot be inspired by it.”

    One isn’t saying that NFF and its workings are perfect. NFF chiefs made conscious attempts at getting the Eagles a conducive environment to perform. Even the players acknowledge the new dawn in their affairs. Why they have refused to excel when it matters remains a puzzle. The Eagles raised objections when they were paid their draw allowances in naira. Can you beat that? Of course, NFF rallied to get their bonuses in dollar bills. I hope they haven’t infringed on one of the rules of this administration.

    Eagles enjoy limitless benefits, which other national teams watch with envy. Yet the Eagles are the ones who cause us much heartaches and disappointments.

    The loss on Tuesday sank into the players after the game. Many of them sat perplexed on the pitch. The journey back to Nigeria from the stadium was quiet. Mikel couldn’t travel with the team and you won’t blame him. He gave his best. Perhaps, if our players had shown the type of zeal, zest and enthusiasm we saw during the dying minutes of the game in Alexandria, the story would have been different.

    Our players must change their attitude towards the national teams. The age-grade players do very well, largely because they are not stars. Some of them who progress to the senior teams copy the destructive old habits of the regular stars, such that it is difficult to pinpoint where the problems of the team lie. When we win matches, we don’t blame NFF, but when we fumble, the barbs are out.

    If we must excel in big tournaments at the senior level, our coaches must learn how to cultivate the habit of sharing the compartments of their teams to tested technocrats or coaches for proper post-match analysis.

    Egypt’s coach Hector Cuper has an 11-man technical backroom staff who sit after games to discuss matches and plan for the next game. Cuper is running his big mouth now, but television footages during the game inside the stadium showed a man in awe, wondering what the Nigerians would come up with next. They never really did, hence this boasting session by the coach. Will you blame him?

    “I am very happy that we are on the verge of qualification to the African Cup of Nations. I am especially proud of managing this group of players who fought on the pitch for 90 minutes to secure the win for Egypt,” Cuper told the press after the match.

    “I am happy with my players’ fighting spirit. They did their best since they love their national team a lot.”

    “We played very well in the first half. The second half was not as good as the first, but that normally happens when you come against a tough opponent like Nigeria,” he continued.

    “We threatened the Nigerian goal with many counter-attacks, but were unlucky to finish them. We also could have easily conceded a goal during the match. We should all be happy now that we are on the verge of qualification, although we know that we made a lot of mistakes that we will work on fixing in the upcoming period,” Cuper said.

    So, Siasia et al, what were the Egyptians’ flaws? How well did our counter strategies work? This is the new trend in coaching, which our coaches must imbibe.

    When the South African referee issued the first yellow card to Oghenekaro Etebo, I told those close to me in the stadium that Siasia shouldn’t allow him return for the second half; otherwise, he would be shown the second card or be brutalised because the Egyptians had no answer to Etebo’s flawless displays in the midfield. When the referee flashed the second yellow card at Aminu Umar, I concluded that nobody needed to tell Siasia that those two battlers in our midfield should be replaced. A talented Eagles side like the one we paraded in Alexandria could afford that luxury, given the fact that their replacements would have been Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi. They both play for Manchester City and Arsenal in the Barclays English Premier League. Need I talk about their abilities?

    I’m sure that Siasia won’t have any difficulty picking his squad for the Rio 2016 Olympics, not with the remarkable way Mikel, Moses and Ighalo played. The trio should be selected as our overaged players. Mikel’s, Moses’ and Ighalo’s inclusion would give the Dream Team VI the depth to achieve another Olympic Games’ gold medal feat in soccer like, it happened in Atlanta in 1996.

    … And this

    This isn’t funny at all. It isn’t also an alibi for the defeat Nigeria suffered in the hands of the Pharaohs in Alexandria. It is an attempt to look at the other side of defeat.

    If we had got the results that we desired for the qualification ticket of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Gabon, it would have been a different ball game. No excuses for our loss to Egypt because the Egyptian security operatives were battle-ready for the urchins. The Egyptian Falcons, the name at the back of the plain clothed operatives and their counterparts who were dressed in bullet proof vests, gave Nigerians at the stands hope in the event of the fans becoming unruly.

    When the Egyptians scored, the contents of plastic bottles were poured on us but the operatives stood up to the irresponsible act. Where I sat down, I counted 48 combatant men, who though young knew their onions. It was evident that the urchins knew their pedigree in the business of crowd violence. They kept their cool.

    One must commend the Egyptian government for the level of security provided within and outside the stadium, although the way in which the crowd dispersed from the premises was tardy and raised doubts if the operatives could have responded, had Nigeria beaten Egypt.

    But my hunches tell me that the operatives knew their job. They could have ushered us onto the pitch and ensured that the entire place was cleared before our departure.

  • Mikel, forgive Mourinho

    John Mikel Obi is easily Nigeria’s biggest football ambassador in Europe. He ranks next to Nwankwo Kanu in terms of being the most decorated Nigerian footballer. Like Kanu, Mikel has won the UEFA Champions League diadem. Kanu and George Finidi danced on the UEFA Champions League winners’ dais with Ajax FC of Amsterdam in 1995. Mikel has won the Barclays English Premier League trophy, like Papilo. The Chelsea legend – yes, Mikel is, given what he has achieved for the star-studded English side – has won the English FA Cup like Kanu, the difference being that Papilo has won the trophy in two clubs (Arsenal FC and Portsmouth FC).

    Whereas Kanu can point at his Atlanta’96 Olympic Games’ soccer gold medal, which Mikel doesn’t have, the Chelsea midfield pearl can eye his gold medal earned for winning the Europa League title in 2013, as one trophy Kanu hasn’t touched. But Kanu towers over Mikel, having won the Africa Footballer of the Year diadem twice. The closest that Mikel has got was the runners-up slot two years ago, which many African football purists felt belonged to the Nigerian, not Ivory Coast’s Captain Yaya Toure. I don’t want to join the debate because my views on this award and its owners, the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF), are known to readers of this column.

    Mikel ranks as one of the most successful players at Chelsea, having survived many chops from different managers in the last 10 years. But could he have achieved these feats if Mourinho had turned his back on him in those troublesome times at Chelsea, especially after his injury spells?

    Mikel had better watch his utterances; otherwise, the next coach could ease him out, having read some of the unpleasant things ascribed to the Nigerian about Mourinho. It is easy for Mikel to say that he would join the Chinese train. Yet, he needs to break more records at Chelsea. Indeed, he is being tipped to replace John Terry as Chelsea’s captain (that will be the day), only if the new manager Conte wants to retain Mikel next season.

    I’m not trying to compare Mikel’s feats with Kanu’s. Impossible. The parallel here is that Kanu left clubs without rancour. He also didn’t rain abuses on his former managers, including those who refused to sign him after they thought he had passed his prime in the game. Today, most European managers have high regards for Kanu. They relate with him. Television stations tumble over themselves to have him face their cameras, not forgetting to recount his glorious moments in the game.

    The same cannot be said of Mikel, who despite playing for just Chelsea has refused to allow his former coach Mourinho rest. Mikel seizes every interview to drag Mourinho on the turf as if he is the only player who had a rough time with the Special One. True, Mikel has the right to express his feelings, but he must consider how the subject of his message. Is Mikel not worried that Mourinho hasn’t dignified his rants with a response? Mourinho has shown maturity. Yet it is expedient to remind Mikel of those glorious days when Mourinho preferred a rookie Nigerian to tested and trusted European internationals.

    After all, not once did Mourinho list Mikel in the transfer window beyond the media speculations, which were unfounded the moment a new season began. What does Mikel expect those who Mourinho sold to other clubs to say? They have moved on and allowed Mourinho to stew in his mess of unemployment. It is alright for Mikel to be unperturbed by his rants. But it is instructive to remind him that some of his comments may return to haunt him, especially if he chooses to earn a living doing football or sports business.

    Mourinho is a European brand. His mates like him, even though they detest his guts and antics. Perhaps, Mikel should in his quiet times ask what he would say to Mourinho if they find themselves inside the elevator in a shopping mall. Would he expect Mourinho to respond, if he greets him? That’s if he has the courage to do so. Mikel may have resolved to do other things outside sports. But, a cordial relationship with everyone he meets in the course of playing the game is the best testimonial for the Mikel brand, going forward.

    Mikel can write his memoirs later and dedicate as many chapters to Mourinho. But he must be wary of libelous statements which can be held against him. True, there is the culture of players/managers’ spat and manager vs manager crossing of swords among the Europeans. But it is alien to Africans, except Mikel wants to be the exception to the culture of respect for elders.

    It will be cruel for Mikel to remember only the bad side of his stay at Chelsea in the Mourinho years. I need to remind Mikel of his early days at Chelsea when the Portuguese took particular

    interest in the Nigerian by getting someone to talk him out of his juvenile acts. I wonder what Mikel would have written about Mourinho had he been sacked by the Portuguese in those periods when he lost form. Mikel owes a greater percentage of his achievements to Mourinho. And he needs to be told so.

     

    Nigerian coaches must improve

    The beautiful thing about coaching for the soccer tactician is the result he secures from matches. Hence the dictum that the coach is as good as his/her last result. One is therefore excited to ask Nigerians coaches what they have done with the domestic clubs in the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF’s) inter clubs’ competitions.

    It is true that most Nigerian teams recruit too many players and even coaches whenever they secure the qualification tickets. But would you blame them when such outfits win mostly league games played at home – please don’t ask me how they do it? But the management members know the details and opt for new handlers and players who will deliver the results without heartaches. What these management members lose sight of is that teams need to blend through quality matches. This is a major flaw more so in a country where the domestic league’s calendar is not in sync with what operates overseas.

    Maybe the Nigerian coaches’ body can stop its members from taking others’ jobs simply because they want to prosecute continental matches? On the hindsight, this kind of decision could be laughable because the clubs have the right to hire and fire people that are surplus to requirement or those who don’t have the prerequisite knowledge to meet their dreams. It happens elsewhere.

    I laugh when people make cases for Nigerian coaches to handle the Super Eagles. The only significant qualification that some of these coaches have is that they played the game at the highest level. Their Curriculum Vitae as coaches are for kindergartens and I wonder how such teachers (sorry coaches) can impact anything new to established professionals, such as John Mikel Obi, Alex Iwobi, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo et al.

    Our players are better exposed than our coaches. In fact, most Nigerian coaches won’t dare sit on the bench if FIFA and CAF decide to enforce the rule where only certificated coaches sit on the reserve bench like we have in Europe.  But they won’t because all fingers are not equal, especially with developing countries, such as ours. Put simply, there is no way a Standard Three teacher can teach a PHD student. It is a misnomer. And that is how Nigerian coaches are to our better exposed players.

    In the past, we had coaches, such as Adegboye Onigbinde, Alabi Aissen, Patrick Ekeji, Shuiabu Amodu, James Peters, the late Willy Bazuaye et al, head to Germany and other European countries for coaching courses. Little wonder these coaches, especially Onigbinde and Amodu, did well with our national teams.

    Have you ever listened to our coaches’ post-match comments? You will weep. It is even worse at half-time. Let me not bore you on some of the things they say before matches – like asking us to pray for God’s guidance as if the opponents don’t know God too.

    Indeed, 20 coaches were taken to England to improve on their knowledge. Only four of them could function on the computer, much to the consternation of the English men who were told that they were some of the best in the domestic game. Rather than being taught the rudiments of the game, they were first taught how to function on the computer.

    The NFF must insist on having only knowledgeable coaches for our domestic teams. On no account should a coach without a badge be allowed to train any club. This idea of former players becoming coaches without attending coaching courses must stop. It won’t cost the NFF much to invite renowned coaches to come here during the off season to re-train our coaches, possibly grade and motivate the good ones among them by taking them to Europe for further refresher courses. That way the dropped coaches will strive to improve to join the big ones heading for Europe.

    The National Institute for Sports (NIS) seems to be producing coaches. But there is serious doubt about the quality of training these coaches receive, if their products totter seasonally to make an impact at the continental level.

    Our coaches cannot compete with the best now. They must strive to improve themselves by returning to school during off seasons. They must learn the new tricks of the game, even online, until such a time they can source for the cash to physically attend courses. Many people were educated through remedial courses and are big players in their endeavours. That is the truth.

  • Commissioner decries violence against women

    Commissioner decries violence against women

    Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs Dr AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef has condemned women abuse.

    AbdulLateef said it was wrong for people to abuse women, imploring women to see themselves as commissioners in their homes.

    He urged women to rededicate themselves to their primary responsibility.

    “A society starts from the home, to have a good home, women must rise up to their responsibilities,” he said.

    Attributing the increasing cases of social vices to poor parental care, he said women’s role was fundamental to proper child upbringing.

    The commissioner urged women to demonstrate good examples to promote societal value.

    “Women should develop more interest in their children. Today, many women especially nursing mother will leave their homes at dawn and will not come back until dusk”, he said.

    AbdulLateef said women should not be used as chattels, but celebrated.

    According to the commissioner, no one has celebrated women like Allah, who dedicated a chapter of the Quran, Suratul Nisai, to them.

    “Women are the children incubating factory. When you trained a girl-child, you have train the world. Women today are fighting for women liberation; this should not be their focus. Their focus should be how to take good care of the future leaders of this country. Focus on how the young ones will become professionals in different fields irrespective of the gender. Women should dress in a very modest manner and not in a seductive way that influences men negatively,” he stressed.

    AbdulLateef warned the public against thinking that it is not good to educate the girl-child, emphasising that no child should be denied education for any reason.

    “Women are not in any way inferior to men. It is unfortunate that women are used wrongly. Women are used to advertise tyres, bicycles and even men’s wears. Women should fight back to regain their lost glory and value system,” he added.

  • Can we trust Eagles?

    I’m scared. Anytime Super Eagles players promise to beat any opposition the way they are sounding now, they falter. I’m worried about the loud noise of what they promise to do to the Pharaohs of Egypt. I would rather our boys keep quiet and allow their feet do the talking on the field instead of the words of assurances from everyone.

    Our players have caused us pains with their lacklustre approach to key matches. They have not shown commitment to our matches, especially the crucial ones, such as the two impending ties against the Egyptians. They prosecute these games as if they are doing us a favour.

    Make no mistake about my intentions here because our players are incredibly talented and formidable – if they play to their full potential like they do with their European clubs. They never produce a quarter of what we see them exhibit with their European teams, making most pundits tag the Eagles – big-for-nothing. Perhaps the only exception to this rule is that the Egyptians are no minnows, hence the Eagles could fight them to the finish – that is just a wish on paper which must be actualised over the two legs in Kaduna on March 25 and in Alexandria on March 29.

    With the players’ reassuring words, Eagles chief coach Samson Siasia may be tempted to parade the big boys – much to his peril. Our big boys have failed us when it mattered most. They hardly give their best. They jump before the tackle and run aimlessly on the field. Siasia needs to pull his ears to know what happened in the past. We need boys who can run for 180 minutes in the two-legged ties. We need boys hungry for glory, not millionaires who would be playing safe, securing their feet for their next European club’s match.

    Against Egypt, we want boys who place their feet firmly on the ground to win balls from the Egyptians. We need boys who don’t need any prompting to know that no Egyptian should be left unmarked in vital areas. We need boys who won’t spend the better part of the 180 minutes running to the sidelines to drink water to quench thirst. We need boys who won’t put their hands on their hips in the course of the match due to exhaustion.

    Simply put, Siasia should parade more of home-based players than these millionaires, who will simply walk away, if we don’t qualify (God forbid) and remain in Europe until the next national assignment. We are tired of seeing our Europe-based stars line up before games to apologise to Nigerians after a failed expedition. I insist Siasia that an admixture of home-based players and those millionaires who are actually playing for their teams should be fielded. No to 100 per cent Europe-based stars. Dare to take a risk with the home-based lads who have the strength and who live here and know what to expect from Nigerians if we fail to qualify (again, God forbid).

    Of all the goalkeepers, Carl Ikeme stands out. The team’s defenders, I dare say, should include many home-based players since the Egyptians are fast and operate best from the flanks. Home-based players can slide, tackle the Egyptians and won’t bat an eyelid to check their bodies for bruises. Our turf’s grass is rough, not the carpet-like ones that our foreign legion are used to in Europe. None of our Europe-based stars dares celebrate sliding on our pitches. He will leave the pitch immediately into an ambulance – no hyperbole. We need Trojans to fight the Egyptians. We need men who will stand toe-to-toe with the Egyptians and play as if their lives depend on the two ties. I won’t pick them for Siasia because he is better qualified than I am, but he should heed my plea.

    I don’t blame Siasia for inviting 42 players to camp. I must commend him for having the courage to sack two home-based players who reported late to the team’s camp. I hope he has the guts to send home any foreign-based player who comes late. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Siasia must not encourage any Animal Farm setting in the Eagles camp, if he hopes to succeed.

    If I were Siasia, I won’t parade Oguenyi Onazi in the first team. He hasn’t played for Lazio FC of Italy in the last five games, although I suspect that the Nigerian is being punished for daring to inform the club’s management that he should be allowed to join Liverpool FC of England during the last January transfer window. I feel strongly that John Mikel Obi should be allowed to function in the team’s holding midfield position like he does for Chelsea. A situation where coaches give Mikel a free role in the midfield is laughable because he doesn’t look like one who can score goals effortlessly. Anytime Mikel scores a goal, the world celebrates because it is a rarity. Make no mistake, Mikel is talented. But such free roles should be given to more enterprising players who score goals with aplomb. Oghenekaro Etebo is strong and quick. He is a master at hitting the balls on rebound and marks tightly. Onazi can perform this role too, but I doubt his fitness level. I also hope that Onazi has learnt how to control his temper after the needless red card he bagged in the game against Swaziland in Kaduna.

    I will suggest we rush the Egyptians from the blast of the referee’s whistle, taking advantage of the inclement weather. The Egyptians will take us to high altitudes in Alexandria, which should suit our foreign legion. Early goals will unsettle them since we need to win the game and set the stage for the fight-to-the-finish clash in Alexandria, four days later – not enough time for either side to prepare adequately.

    Siasia is already talking about making Victor Moses and Mikel the pivot of his team against Egypt. Good talk coach, but Moses’ fitness level is questionable. He has not played for West Ham recently. Even when he is fit, Moses plays in the second half or plays for not more than an hour if he starts a game. This should worry us, especially for a player who has been out of the Eagles for a while. Siasia needs to ask Moses critical questions, if he wants to function at the team’s pivot in Kaduna and Alexandria. Moses functions best as an impact player – one who sits through the first half and goes into the game in the second half to destroy the opposition. But will Moses not feel hurt, if he is asked to sit on the bench in the first half? Moses won’t dare say a word if he is asked to start a game from the bench but for Nigeria, he would think that he is too big to sit on the bench. Pity. That is where the Nigerian has a problem and I hope Siasia can massage these big boys’ egos while selecting his team for the two matches. Siasia could play Simon Moses, who did well in Genk’s UEFA Champions league game on Tuesday. He played for 69 minutes which means he is fit.

    I share in Siasia’s sentiment that we should believe in this team and support them but he needs to plot his strategies right, including ensuring that key men, such as Saleh in the Egyptian side are rendered otiose. If he thinks that the Egyptians won’t man-mark Mikel, Moses, Ighalo and Musa, he has a shocker awaiting him, first in Kaduna, then in Alexandria. These players play in Europe and Egypt’s manager, Hector Cuper, is too experienced to allow the quartet enough space.

    The Egyptians collectively don’t need anyone to show them who the best players are. An intriguing line of home-based players would serve as the first shock for the visitors in Kaduna. It would also send them thinking about what to expect in Alexandria. The element of surprise is critical. I urge Siasia not to pick a predictable line-up that would suit the game plan set by the visitors.

    I expect the Eagles to attack from the referee’s whistle – vintage Siasia. But what kind of system would he opt for? Frankly, if Mikel plays as the holding midfielder, then the coach can parade Ahmed Musa, Ighalo and Moses, with the West Ham loanee dropping into the midfield intermittently.

    The trio can outrun the Egyptians. Their speed can compel the visitors to commit fouls in vital areas. This raises the poser if Siasia has the men to convert dead ball situations. Aside, the coach’s message to the trio and indeed his players should be a selfless approach to the game. The freest person in front of the goalpost should be given the ball to tuck into the net. Even if he misses the first chance, he shouldn’t be denied a second bite at the cherry.

    With 43-year-old goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary recalled for the Nigerian assignment, Siasia needs to stress the need to hit the ball on target whenever they need to do so. Asking an elderly man to man the goalpost means that they have problems in that area. Such an ageing star should be retired from the goalpost in Kaduna with a dozen goals. Wishful thinking? That is the spirit, dear reader.

    If you don’t crack the ball to beat the goalkeeper, you don’t win the game. Our players must not play to the gallery because goals come from direct efforts towards the goalpost to beat the goalkeeper.

    We need goals because they could count in our favour, if both teams tie on the same points. The head-to-head rule will apply. Siasia must ask NFF men for the rules of the competition. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in 2012 where the Eagles surged forward to score more goals rather than hold tight to their 2-1 lead against Guinea in Abuja.

    If Siasia and indeed the boys knew the rules, they would have sat back to defend the lead, which was relatively easier than to look for more goals. It was the search for goals that gave the Guineans the leeway to score the equaliser and send Nigeria out of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

    Good luck Super Eagles.

  • BATTLE AGAINST THE PHARAOHS: Siasia gets Egypt’s tapes

    BATTLE AGAINST THE PHARAOHS: Siasia gets Egypt’s tapes

    •Eagles’ coaches study Pharaohs’ vidoes
    •NFF perfect logistic details

    Super Eagles players would not confront their Egyptian counterparts blind folded following the efforts made by chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to secure the video tapes of the Pharaohs.

    Consequently, the NFF technical committee gave the team’s chief coach, Samson Siasia copies of the tapes that they have just as they duplicated them to give to body’s Technical Director, Shuiabu Amodu to peruse.

    Indeed,  the NFF chiefs are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to ensure that Nigeria beats Egypt in the first leg game slated to hold inside the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna from 4pm.

    Already, the NFF have literally relocated to Kaduna to monitor how the stadium complex and playing pitch are been redesigned to meet the international standard with emphasis laid on security before, during and after the game to avoid a situation where the egyptians experience any unsportsmanlike conduct which could neccessitate reprisal attack on the Nigerian contingent when they head for Alexandria for the return game on March 29.

    Interestingly, those who should know at the Glasshouse in Abuja informed Sportinglife on Sunday night that Eagles’ foreign legion have been directed to fly straight to Kaduna on March  20, while those who have their ticket routed through Abuja should arrive in the country on March 19, where they would be taken to Kaduna the next day by road.

  • Bad losers at work

    The long knives are out again at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Failed football administrators and those who lost their positions in previous restructuring of the Glasshouse are back at their old game. They want the house flattened because they are no longer there. It doesn’t matter if this distraction costs Nigeria the right for her flag to be hoisted at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

    Sadly, even those who have been indicted by probe panels over their nefarious activities when they were at the NFA, as the body was then known, are now shouting at the roof top concerning the body’s maladministration. If those disturbing the media with their warped comments had set the right templates for growth during their time, we won’t be faced with the systemic problems inherent in the Glasshouse.

    Indeed, such unguarded utterances by failed NFF members and staff gave credence to the new accounting order by Muhammadu Buhari administration meant to seal some of the flaws in the system. Now that the administration has come to grasp with the uniqueness of funding sports which must compete with other nations with discerning templates for revenue generation, it should do everything possible to get the National Assembly to pass the NFF Act. That way NFF would be run by professionals, whose pedigree in business is profound, not this setting where jobbers, influence peddlers and lickspittles seize the unfriendly environment arising from a defeat to heat up the polity.

    This crossfire of tales not backed by facts put the NFF in bad light, making it extremely difficult to woo investors to do business with it. No credible firm will associate its goods and/or services with a product mired in controversies. These cynics must learn how to take defeats on the chin. There are three results in the game of soccer- wins, losses and defeats, which most times help such teams to know their strengths and weaknesses. The NFF has suffered yearly reorganisations which have done us no good in terms of results, largely because we are bad losers.

    Need I restate my previous argument that a body which bankrolls 11 national teams every year cannot be solvent, especially with its critics heating up the polity with frivolous claims and craving that these teams win all their matches?

    Unfortunately, policy summersaults, including frequent changes in the personnel at the Glasshouse, have made it difficult for anyone to do business with the body. One of such policy changes is the TSA, which accounted for the delays in paying Oliseh’s wages. And the coach wasn’t convinced by Sports Minister Solomon Dalung’s plea that he would be paid soonest. The minister met his promise but Oliseh’s mind was made up and he quit the job. Sports in Nigeria, especially football, need a four-year budget meant to ensure that cash is available over the period to adequately prepare the sportsmen and women like it is done in other climes.

    Perhaps, the government needs to adopt the community-based sports sponsorship programmes and see how it can constitute a sports lottery board to have enough cash to run the industry. It also could set up a probe panel to find out how money sourced under previous lottery schemes was spent. Of course, such funding will be adequately monitored and those given the money made to account for.

    Sunday Oliseh’s resignation has stoked the fire, with fifth columnists creating incredible scenarios as if the incumbent NFF board members weren’t the same people who piloted the country to a back-to-back FIFA U-17 World Cup wins by the Golden Eaglets and guided the U-23 Olympics Eagles squad to winning the African Championship, for the first time, in Senegal, among several laurels that we have recorded.

    Oliseh has the right to resign. He is free to spit venom at his employers, provided his facts are correct. But he must remember that Nigeria is bigger than he is. And having helped to raise the country’s profile in the game, it would be a travesty if he destroys such a legacy on the altar of getting back at a few people who he feels has hurt him.

    If Oliseh feels strongly that his contract was breached, he should seek redress at the appropriate quarters. I’m glad that NFF men have apologised for the error in recruiting Oliseh, if indeed it was. I’m excited too that the NFF didn’t flinch in naming Samson Siasia, Emmanuel Amuneke, Salisu Yusuf and goalkeeper Alloy Agu to lead the Eagles through their two-legged ties against Egypt in Kaduna on March 25 and Cairo on March 25.

    It is true that the first-place team in Nigeria’s group will immediately qualify for the 2017 AFCON. What is equally true is that Nigeria stands the best chance of being the best loser among the qualifiers, if the Eagles beat Egypt in Kaduna and win her remaining two games against Tanzania in Nigeria and against Niger. So what is the fuzz about Oliseh’s resignation that has brought out the beast in most interlopers in this issue?

    Is this the first time that Nigeria has changed coaches deep inside the qualifiers? So, what makes Oliseh’s case different? After all, Shuaibu Amodu has got us qualified several times from more difficult settings. So, why is Oliseh likened to Pep Guardiola by many fifth columnists who keep harping on the refusal of the NFF chiefs to consider the coach’s conduct before employing him, as if it is a criterion for picking coaches? If NFF ignored Oliseh for another person, these same people would have cried wolf, given the way they stampeded the Glasshouse chiefs to making Oliseh the only candidate for the job after Stephen Keshi was eased off.

    I hope that Oliseh can learn from Siasia’s return. I recall telling Siasia in one of my columns here to withdraw his law suit against the NFF when he was sacked because he could return to the job. I urged Siasia to learn from “sacked” Amodu and Adegboye Onigbinde had been brought back to the Eagles job anytime there was a crisis in the team? Siasia, are you not back to the Eagles job despite the harsh words you used against me at a press conference? Such is life Oliseh. It isn’t too late to put all that has happened behind you and focus on watching Nigeria at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations than being linked as one of the remote causes of Nigeria’s absence (God forbid) at the tournament in Gabon.

    If Oliseh sticks to his guns, then Siasia will write his name in gold if he pulls the Eagles through the games against the Pharaohs of Egypt in Kaduna and Alexandria. Siasia said he is used to this pressure cooker setting. All he needs is the support from everyone. And they can’t but back Siasia in this daunting task.

    The biggest fillip in his favour ahead of the two games is the assurance from the players that they would fight for the points in the two games as if their lives depend on them. Well said guys but please save the commentaries for the pitch. Anytime our players run their mouths before matches, I panic. I hope their battle against the Pharaohs will be different. The players should strive to scale the Egyptian hurdle to stabilise the workings at the Glasshouse.

    I’ve seen Siasia’s 42 men, comprising 20 stars from the foreign legion and 22 domestic league players. The interesting aspect of those selected is that they represent close to 80 per cent of the good players that we have. It won’t be difficult for Siasia to pick his best 23, having worked with many of them. He also has seen them play.

    Siasia’s three goalkeepers, Carl Ikeme, Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa from outside Nigeria, can do the job in Kaduna and Alexandria. I admire his choice of defenders, except that I don’t see how he can play younger boys from the domestic league. Well, it is his job and he has it cut out for him. Good luck, Siasia.

    The defenders hold the key to our qualification for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, especially in the second leg tie in Alexandria, where I expect the Egyptians to deploy all the tricks in the books to win. I expect the Egyptians to fall freely even from the sound of Nigerian defenders tracking them in any of their onslaughts. Defenders Abdullahi Shehu, Elderson Echiejile, Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Stanley Amuzie and Kenneth Omeruo are experienced to know how to keep the tricky Egyptians out of the vital areas. Mistakes shouldn’t be made.

    How many countries in Africa have the quality of midfielders that Siasia wants to use to inflict pains on the Egyptians over the two legs? Oguenyi Onazi, John Mikel Obi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Okechukwu Azubuike, Alex Iwobi, Aminu Umar and Aaron Samuel are some of the best that any team needs to rev its attacking onslaughts – only if they are focused. The strikers are Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Moses Simon, Odion Ighalo and Fernando Adi. These strikers have been scoring goals with aplomb in Europe.

    No expertise is needed to know that the home-based lads are training materials, who will hold fort until the arrival of the big boys. However, some of them such as Aggrey, Chikatara, Etebo and Mohammed could make the cut as reserves or possibly additions to the squad for them to watch the big boys pull the chestnuts out of the fire in Alexandria.

    For me, it doesn’t matter who plays. What is sacrosanct is the unity of purpose among the players before, during and after the two matches. Up Nigeria! Up Super Eagles!

     

  • New dawn for the local league

    Good old Onikan Stadium is still looking derelict. The management and members of the Ikorodu United FC Lagos tried to repair the edifice ahead of its Nigeria Premier League matches. But the repair works could not cover the fact that it had been long abandoned. There were still structural defects but Ikorodu FC’s management should be congratulated for bringing life to stadium. The scruffy dressing rooms have been cleaned. The sanitary systems are functional. There is hope that the place could be better as the matches hold weekly. The drainage has been dug but not tested because the rains are not here yet. Onikan Stadium’s pitch is notorious for its waterlogged conditions when it rains.

    In fact, I kept pinching myself at half time when I saw several sprinklers watering the pitch. It meant that there was sufficient water for the players and match officials to wash up and, perhaps, make a decent appearance at the post-match conferences like we see in most European matches.

    I like entering the stadium three hours before the kick-off. I like to capture the off-field details that people ignore. I want to see the level of security provided, especially at Onikan where urchins run amok when unchecked. Last Sunday was different. The Chief Security Officer of the stadium was truly in charge. He stopped early callers’ vehicles. He allowed you in after vetting the documents he saw. He wasn’t overzealous. He was courteous. This is commendable.

    The arrival of the two teams (Ikorodu United and Abia Warriors) was dramatic because they are not traditional teams with immense followership like Enyimba FC of Aba, Enugu Rangers FC, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan etc.

    The players walked pass to the dressing rooms unheralded. The management of Abia Warriors didn’t help by hiding the fact that CHAN Eagles sensation Chisom Chikatara was still with the team. The fans would have stormed the stadium had they known that Chikatara would play. Nigerians love such stars, irrespective of the clubs that they play for. The thought of taking pictures and getting autographs is enough to motivate them to watch Chikatara live.

    Most journalists were stunned to see Chikatara in Abia Warriors’ line-up. He lived up to expectation. Credit must go the young but talented Ikorodu United boys who fought their visitors till the end of the game.

    In vain did I search for those bottled drinks and alcoholic beverages that brought out the beast in the yoyos in Onikan. Not a bottle. Instead, there were plastic water bottles with the sellers standing by to collect them once the contents have been guzzled. It simply means that such items will no longer serve as weapons for those vagabonds.

    The car park behind the state box wasn’t rowdy. Parking was orderly. It was quite nostalgic seeing ardent fans again. Many I had not seen since the 90s. Some took me by surprise from behind, covering my eyes and it was quite a difficult task knowing who it was. Once set free, the loud noise and backslapping told the story of how long ago we had seen. Many had died like I later found out. How time flies.

    Soon it was time to move towards the sitting areas since the teams and the referees were on the pitch loosening up for the thriller later in the day. I was appalled by the poor quality jersey worn by Abia Warriors players, knowing that their chairman Emeka Inyama dresses very well. In contrast, Ikorodu United’s shirts and pants showed clearly that the owners of the club were ready for business. So poor was the quality of Abia Warriors’ warm-up kits that it was difficult to spot Chikatara.

    Trust me, I asked Inyama why his team’s warm-up kits were of poor quality, reminding him of Sunday Oliseh’s jibes that such jerseys could give the players skin disease. Inyama laughed his hearts out, telling me that his kits for the season would be in the country the next Trust me, I asked Inyama why his team’s warm-up kits were of poor quality, reminding him of Sunday Oliseh’s jibes that such jerseys could give the players skin disease. Inyama laughed his hearts out, telling me that his kits for the season would be in the country the next Tuesday. I believed him.

    I felt out of place watching the game inside the state box. I had no choice because I was a guest of the LMC. But sitting there gave me the opportunity to see how Ikorodu United’s management would manage the small space.

    As the clock ticked closer to the kick-off, I noticed a surge of high profile Nigerians wearing replicas of Ikorodu United shirt. I was excited that many of these distinguished Nigerians came with their wives and kids – a forbidden thing in those troublesome times of the Nigerian league.

    I was bowled over when the chairman of the club stopped intruders from hijacking the seats in the state box. I shouted “thank God” when the chairman told everyone that those in the state box were gold card holders. I wasn’t shocked, given the successes recorded by GOTV, which incidentally was the crest on the shirts worn by Ikorodu United’s players.

    What the chairman’s revelation about gold cards told me was that all the seats had been paid for the whole season, albeit for Ikorodu United’s remaining 18 home games. It also meant that there were silver cards to be bought, if not already sold out for the state box extension down to the popular side, where the bronze card holders can watch the matches. Are you surprised? Certainly not. It meant that there are Nigerians who think that all that is practised in other climes can be perfected here if the owners of clubs have the political will to implement the new ideas.

    If Ikorodu United’s owners can use their clout to get their friends and business partners to buy up the tickets in all the three categories, the cheats at the gates who ruin the business, knowing how much clubs earn per match would go home hungry – that is if they are not caught when two fans meet to sit on one chair. A fake ticket holder would be in soup. It would also help the club checkmate all the fraud-gates within the stadium. I’m excited.

    Sitting at the state box didn’t stop me from doing my job. I walked around to see how the referees, the players and their officials interfaced before the match. I looked out for the match commissioner and was encouraged that he was a young man who did his runs before the game, during and after. Gone are the days of appointing tired people who dozed off during matches and relied on views from people around to for their warped reports in the event of any unsportsmanlike incident.

    All the rules for the game to hold were met. I saw retired FIFA badge referee Calistus Chuwkujekwu scribbling notes from where we sat at the State Box, doing his job as the independent referee assessor. I wasn’t surprised by Chukwujekwu’s conduct. We met at the back of the stadium. He didn’t fracternise with the two clubs’ officials nor did he announce himself as the assessor. It didn’t occur to me that that was the reason he was in the stadium until there was roar over the delay by the referee to sound his whistle when an Ikorodu United player was fouled.

    “Ade, I knew you would ask me my view on this incident. The referee was right to see if the tripped player would ride the tackle. The moment the referee knew that he had lost the control of the ball, he sounded the whistle,” Chuwkwujekwu said. I nodded in approval and a few people around us when I asked the question shook their heads in approval.

    As the game continued its ding dong no thanks to the fact that it was the first game of the season, I watched to see how the referee would conduct the match, using his linesmen and how he would protect them from the overzealous fans who would take advantage of the perimeter fencing around Onikan Stadium to intimidate them.

    The referee was brilliant. Again, I must commend Ikorodu United’s management for keeping some of the club’s officials in the black spots of Onikan Stadium to control irate fans. There was this incident where the linesman signalled rightly for a goal kick but the fans felt it was a corner kick decision. They ran towards the linesman but close to six Ikorodu United officials rushed to the spot to calm the fans and lead them back to their seats. They beckoned on the plain clothe security men who stayed there till the end of the game. Need I say that the security arrangement was water tight?

    But my star attraction of the day weren’t the 22 players and the six substitutes that played. It was not the match officials or the retinue of LMC chieftains at the Onikan Stadium. Nor was it the galaxy of journalists who watched the 1-1 draw game.

    Stand up and be counted little Tomisin Adewole, the seven-year-old, who awed me with his faultless understanding of the trend of the game. His comments after most incidents shocked me. I was shocked further when he did the right thing when a player missed a sitter. I couldn’t resist his sharp knowledge of the game. I engaged him and went home thinking.

    His English was top of the drawer. His receptive knowledge of the game was stunning. Tomisin spotted a Manchester United shirt number 7. And I asked him why?

    Tomisin said: “I wanted to wear this shirt. You can see that my brother has his (touching his brother, Tomilola, who wore shirt number 9 but was also engrossed in the game). Manchester United is my English team. But I support Real Madrid.”

    Tomisin’s, Tomilola’s and their elder brother’s presence at the Onikan Stadium last Sunday represents the new dawn of the domestic game. It is also in sync with the Buhari administration’s change mantra. Take a bow, Daddy Tomisin for having the courage to come to the stadium with your three young soldiers. I hope many would take a cue from the Adewoles and identify with the beautiful game.

    I felt fulfilled after the game. The players and officials hugged themselves while the fans walked out the stadium discussing the high points of the game with glee.

  • A WORD FOR SIASIA

    In this period of lent, so many things have crossed my mind. Some I have waved aside as illusions not worth sharing here. I have slept over others and considered a few as being achievable. One of such images that I have contended with, which can be realised, is watching for the second time Nigerian youth celebrating on the Olympic Games’ dais as champions of the football event in Rio d’ Janerio, Brazil later in August.

    I was in Georgia, Atlanta in 1996 when Nigeria, led by Nwankwo Kanu won the gold medal of the Atlanta’96 Olympic Games. The circumstances at that time now stare us on the face. The only difference is that a Nigerian would be the history maker not a wiry Dutch who led us to victory, yet rubbed mud on our faces by refusing to return with the winning squad to Nigeria. Although the Dutch tactician had a good case, he would have had the best opportunity to seek justice if he had swallowed his pride.

    Immediately after Nigeria lifted the trophy at the 1993 U-17 World Championship, football pundits predicted that some the players in that Golden Eaglets squad would rule the world. Many reckoned that if they were kept together and given the right training, Nigeria could surprise the world at the 1998 World Cup held in France. This prediction never happened because we are such a disorganised polity. Rather than motivate the people who ran the structures that produced the winning squad, we pulled them down. Bystanders wanted to be part of history without the prerequisite knowledge. They ended up corrupting the template. Rather than sustain the tradition of instituting excellence we celebrated mediocrity because of their ineptitude.

    It is instructive to note that Nigeria’s debut at the 1994 World Cup in the United States further raised the hope that 1998 would be first time the most prestigious soccer trophy would be coming to Africa, but this never happened because our players could not manage success.

    Twenty-two years ago, Clemens Westerhof brought belief into our game with the resounding manner in which the Super Eagles tore through its opponents at the USA’94 World Cup. Perhaps, if our football authorities had listened to Westerhof’s suggestion that the players be relocated to a more serene accommodation, Nigeria would have been the first African nation to play in the final of the FIFA World Cup as debutants. After all, Bulgaria that the Eagles whipped 3-0 in the group stage won the bronze medal.

    Names such as Austin Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Emmanuel Amuneke, Uche Okechukwu, Daniel Amokachi et al joined the emerging Eaglets, such as Nwankwo Kanu, Celestine Babayaro, Emmanuel Babayaro, Wilson Oruma, Mobi Okparaku, Ibrahim Babaginda and Karibe Ojigwe (Lord have mercy, where is this guy now?), to rock the soccer world with stunning results, especially the comeback 4-3 victory over Brazil in the semi-finals.

    Products of the USA ’94 squad and the World Champions in 1993 structure a remarkable understanding with those from the domestic league but who were already in Europe making waves. They include Victor Ikpeba, Tijani Babangida, Taribo West, Kingsley Obiekwu (aka Shagari), goalkeeper Dosu Joseph, Teslim Fatusi, Abiodun Obafemi and Garba Lawal.

    The squads of USA ’94 and Atlanta ’96 excelled. It didn’t come as a surprise that both teams remain the talking points of the beautiful game here, irrespective of the galaxy of dropped stars, Jonathan Akpoborie.

    Happily, Dream Team VI’s Coach Samson Siasia passed through the grill of fairness in the choice of players by Westerhof. Even when Saisia earned the wrath of the Dutch for failing to pass the ball to an unmarked Rashidi Yekini –may his soul rest in perfect peace- in one of the qualifiers, Westerhof still picked Siasia for the final list because he was the best in his position. Siasia went on to score a goal against Argentina in the group game. Nigeria lost 2-1.

    Siasia can make history only if he selects players with initiative and the hunger to succeed. These two traits are the hallmarks of teams whose players fight for every ball until the game is won. Siasia shouldn’t restrict his team to the best 11 men. Big games are won by players on the bench. Tactical changes leave the opponents gasping for breath and fans wondering why such lads didn’t start the game.

    Siasia must pick a team of 22 talented players eager to give their best. Such players must be selfless. They must be prepared to pass the ball to the person in a more advantageous position to score. Matches are won by teams that score goals, playing as a unit. If Siasia wants to write his name in gold in Brazil, he should forget about his past achievements. He should listen to wise counseling. And this includes looking at some of our new internationals who did well at the FIFA U-17 World Cups in 2013 and 2015. Many of them are in Europe, learning the ropes in youth academies – which should make them better players. The national team isn’t a place to teach players how to control the ball or shoot into the net or other basic skills which should come to those invited like second nature.

    Siasia, I’m not a coach. But renowned coaches have these young Nigerians in their folds. It is good I list them for you to know who and where they are. Permit me to state that among the Eaglets squad that lifted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2013 diadem under Garba Manu’s tutelage, Kelechi Iheanacho (Man City), Musa Yahaya (Tottenham Hotspurs), Chidiebere Nwakali  (Man City), Chidera Ezeh (FC Porto),  Zaharadeen Bello (Kano Pillars), Taiwo Awoniyi (Liverpool FC/FC Frankfurt) and Success Isaac (Granada FC) deserve to fight for shirts in the final 23-man squad for the Olympic Games.

    As for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2015 set, players, such as Ejike Ikwu, David Enogela, Michael Kingsley, Samuel Chukwueze (Arsenal FC), Kelechi Nwakali (Arsenal FC), Victor Osimhen (Wolfsburg FC), Funsho Bamgboye and goalkeeper Akpan Udoh, should be invited.

    Add these kids to those who secured the Olympic Games ticket for us in Senegal you have a damn good team. Siasia ought to start his camping in March, armed to the teeth with skilful players hungry for glory. I sincerely do not think that Siasia needs overage players for Olympic Games.

    I will also suggest that NFF chiefs sit Saisia down to see the need for him to allow Emmanuel Amuneke work with him because he knows the bulk of the players in the 2013 and 2015 squads to guide him in his final team selection. It would pay Siasia more if he consults with ex-internationals for players they think can make the difference in his team.

    For instance, Nwankwo Kanu has identified Alex Iwobi, who has just been elevated into Barclays English Premier League side’s first team as the next star for the country. Can Saisia fault Kanu’s judgment of Iwobi’s talent? Arsene Wenger won’t sign anyone who isn’t skillful with the ball. Hey, Iwobi is Okocha’s nephew? Shhh… he must be extremely skillful. I wish he could truly be better than Austin Okocha? Can there any player like that again? Okocha was matchless. Take a bow, Jay Jay Okocha.

     

    Was Dalung misquoted?

    I’ve been combing the media for the denial of the story that Sports Minister Solomon Dalung was quoted to have said that the YouTube video on Sunday Oliseh was manipulated. It is true that such things can be edited but we need to ask Dalung why Oliseh apologised to his employers. If Oliseh didn’t say what was shown in the YouTube, he would have denied it and sought legal options. The other question to ask the minister has to do with the contents of the recording.

    Are the allegations recorded on the YouTube not what happened in the CHAN Eagles’ camps in Pretoria, South Africa and Kigali, Rwanda? Or didn’t Dalung appeal to the coaches, players and officials to bear with the government over what they were passing through in Rwanda? Or was that one also contrived on YouTube?  The setting where the recording looked like a house not a studio?

    Is it not true that the NFF are indebted to Oliseh to the tune of N10 million? Or is the minister also saying that the aspect where the coach told us how much he spent to feed the players in the YouTube recording was contrived? Did Oliseh not reveal how much he had spent to treat himself in Belgium in the recording? Or was that also manipulated? Does the minister think that video recordings are static images like pictures that can be manipulated through photo shop?

    Honourable minister, you did well to resolve the matter. And NFF chiefs credited you with that. It is, therefore, preposterous for anyone to say that the recording on YouTube was manipulated in any form.  Oliseh has erred and apologised. The minister did well to plead with the NFF to temper justice with mercy. Case closed, honourable minister. I digress.

    I hope the sports minister read Funke Oshionaike’s complaints about the way ping pong players were treated during the qualifiers for the Olympic Games.

    Oshionaike alleged that the money she spent to attend previous competitions had not been refunded. She lamented her inability to compete for the Olympic Games ticket in Sudan because she was broke. But will the minister call her to find out what happened like he did with Sunday Oliseh? Read my lips.

    Honourable minister sir, the Olympics is less than five months away, and not a word from you or the ministry on how we are preparing for the games? Isn’t Dalung worried about our ill-preparedness? Would Dalung be surprised if we return from Brazil with drug tales like we have seen with the All Africa Games? With this kind of poor preparations, desperate athletes might opt to cheat for glory by taking steroids. You want to take a bet sir?

    At the London Olympic Games held in London, Nigeria didn’t win a medal. I don’t need an oracle to predict here that we will not win a medal. It would be worse because all our athletes would crash out of all the events in the first round. Prophesying doom? Not really. Just being realistic, folks.

  • Oliseh’s unkind words

    Melvin Amaju Pinnick, NFF’s president, was startled that I stayed away from the crowd at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, after the unveiling of Sunday Oliseh as the Super Eagles coach when my colleagues were flashing their business cards and taking the coach’s numbers.

    Pinnick felt I wasn’t sure if Oliseh would attack me after the kind of questions I asked him at the interactive session. The NFF President insisted that I worked with Oliseh since he was now a mature person. I pleaded with Pinnick that I was only meditating. Not convinced he offered to give me Oliseh’s numbers. I looked away as Pinnick was surfing his phones for Oliseh’s numbers.

    Vintage Pinnick, he retorted: “Ade something dey under this silence. Abi, you and Oliseh get wahala bifor? But, Oliseh no show say e know you bifor because I ask am when you ask your questions that jolted us all? Ade, tell me wetin happen make we resolve am. Oliseh na nice guy, walahi.” I smiled and pleaded that my decision be respected.  Pinnick walked away.

    Indeed, during the Vincent Enyeama and Oliseh brouhaha, I called Pinnick to seek his views on the matter. He talked a while and gave the phone to Oliseh, who stated his side of the story. And I went to town with all the sides. Trust me, I seized the opportunity to get more exclusives.

    Ten minutes later, Pinnick called. “Ade na wa for you sef. You just wan get exclusives. You and Oliseh no yan at all pass tori for your papers. I come ask Oliseh if e know you but he no fit figure who you be. I go give you all him numbers make una dey for the yan. Na good person. Mature.”

    I laughed aloud and told Pinnick that the leopard cannot change its spot. He understood and dropped the phone, knowing that I would do justice to the stories, having also spoken with Enyeama, who again couldn’t figure out who I was.

    I have never had an encounter with Oliseh but I didn’t enjoy how he treated people dismissively. I reckoned it was his style and always kept my distance.

    When I heard his outbursts on Youtube last Sunday, I wasn’t shocked. He only acted to type. As far as he was concerned, the calabash must been broken, so that its content are emptied with its foul smell- no matter whose ox is gored. But Oliseh wasn’t man enough to announce his resignation. And I wonder how he intends to work with people he has maligned.

    My take on Oliseh’s childish rant is that he feels that the money may have been released to the NFF and someone was deliberately holding on to it. He reckoned that throwing down the gauntlet would stop the trend. What Oliseh didn’t consider was that the Buhari administration isn’t one to pander to the tantrums of sports men and women, including their coaches, like the Jonathan government did several times. This new administration is meticulous and knows what approvals have been done and would turn the blind eye to frivolities like the Oliseh rants.

    I’m not surprised that Oliseh has apologised. He may have realised that the lack of cash at the NFF wasn’t because someone kept it in his accounts to yield dividends. Rather, the new government is careful to stop the leakages in the system.

    I hope Oliseh will be courageous to name the journalists who came to him to pay them to publish good stories. No media person would seek financial aid from the Super Eagles coach, who is always in the news for the right and wrong reasons. Besides, Super Eagles have a credible media officer, Toyin Ibitoye, who picks his calls – no matter how late. Indeed, Oliseh helps the journalists with his posts about his movement on the new media, making it easy for journalists to do stories on him, for anything else to balance their reports. I therefore challenge Oliseh to name those who asked him for cash.

    Now that Oliseh’s apology has been accepted by the NFF, what would he be telling his backroom staff, some of whom he accused of being witches and wizards? Will Oliseh ban his lieutenants from putting their hands inside their pockets for fear of avoiding being hyponotised? Why does Oliseh want the Eagles to play in Port Harcourt again? Did he not say that he contracted virus from staying in Port Harcourt and Abuja? Will Oliseh have the face to confront Governor Nyesom Wike after his virus claim? Again, will Oliseh blame anyone if the fans in Kaduna boo him during his stay in Kaduna, after his objection to the Super Eagles playing against Egypt in the city? I hope Oliseh isn’t losing his popularity with soccer crazy Nigerians.

    Oliseh isn’t mature. And it is evident by his recant on utterances that he willingly posted on YouTube. Nobody will take him seriously. He has lost face with his employers, who would be wary of him. I digress!

    It is easy for critics of the NFF to ask what marketing initiatives the body has to generate cash to run its activities. What most critics lose sight of is that we have 11 national soccer teams across the genders, such as Super Eagles, CHAN Eagles, Dream Team VI for the Olympics, Flying Eagles, Golden Eaglets and Sand Eagles for the men. The boys have the U-13 and U-15 categories.

    The women national teams include Super Falcons, Falconents and Flamingoes. Most times, at least two of them prosecute tournaments about the same time that you wonder if we shouldn’t streamline the competitions that we attend. But the flipside to this question is what the players of the dropped team would be doing beyond kicking the ball within their localities? If you look at the performances of the 11 national teams, it would be difficult to drop any of the three female teams because they are better rated than all the male teams, except the Golden Eaglets, who have won the U-17 World Cup five times.

    Will it be right to drop the biggest brand in the Nigerian market, the Super Eagles? I don’t think so because graduates of our age grade teams need to find expression of their talents with their mates in other climes playing for the country’s senior team at the FIFA World Cup. The Dream Team side has been Olympic champions in 1996 in Georgia, Atlanta and runners-up in 2008 in Beijing. The U-20 side has been many times African champions and finalists at the U-20 World Cup in 1989 (Damman Miracle) and Holland 2005.

    Would it be right, therefore, to scrap the Sand Eagles? I don’t think so because they have been to two Beach Soccer World Cups like the Super Eagles. It is instructive to say that this team achieved their feats without having a league series in the country.

    So, how much does the NFF need to run football with these 11 teams? Of the 11, only the Super Eagles are marketable. The rest don’t pull the fans to the stadium like the Eagles. Nigerians adore the Super Eagles more than others, although they sit up late to watch them when they are winning games. Yet, their preference is the Super Eagles.

    Only telecommunication giants Globacom has been consistent in bankrolling our soccer teams. Several attempts have been made to get sponsors by both the government and public spirited people. Nothing has come out of such an exercise simply because private sector operators would like to know what is in sports sponsorship for them to leverage their goods and services.

    Now that we have forgiven Oliseh, we need to review some of the clauses in his contract that gave him the impression that he is untouchable. Asking coaches to rub minds with technical bodies is not a Nigerian concept. It is a way of helping the coaches to resolve some knotty issues with the team. Such a coach is at liberty to accept or reject such suggestions, since the buck stops on his table.

    Besides, it is about time the sports minister included the salaries of coaches in the National Sports Commission (NSC) staff salary vouchers. That way, it would be easier for the coaches to appreciate the enormity of the changes introduced by the Buhari administration. It is obvious that NFF cannot find the cash to fund 11 national teams adequately. And it appears that we are scared to prune the teams to a manageable size because of the popularity of soccer in Nigeria.

    Oliseh’s grouse with his employers stems from lack of funding. Once we can develop a system where our coaches’ wages are duly paid, the furore of the last 12 days won’t happen.

    Even if the NFF gets a N10 billion yearly sponsorship package, it won’t solve the problem of funding when one game involving the Super Eagles, for instance, costs close to N70 million. The reason is that the Eagles and those teams with foreign-based players are paid in foreign currencies. Multiply $5,000, which is the least amount paid for winning matches to the players, by 23 and the number of matches the Super Eagles will play. Won’t this make N10 billion otiose?

    Camping of Super Eagles players in high brow hotels is standard, especially for security purposes. Besides, these boys are rich and are exposed to such exquisite treatments in their clubs. They cannot settle for less with Nigeria. Sadly, the value of the naira to foreign currencies leaves much to be desired.

    The NFF must learn to meet its obligations to the coaches and players. Yet, both parties should always remember the rosy periods and learn to bear with their employers when things go awry as they often would.

  • Gbolahan Salami’s fate

    Where is Gbolahan Salami? Did I hear  you say which Salami? Ok. Let me ask again; where is Salami, aka Balotteli? Oh my God? Sometimes, such nicknames come back to haunt us. I hope this is not what has happened to Gbolahan Salami, Nigeria’s CHAN Eagles captain and last season’s Globacom Premier League top scorer.

    So what about Salami? Well, wherever he is today, he must be ruing his situation, having chosen the pursuit of the Golden Fleece to an unnamed club outside Nigeria rather lead the country’s home-based Eagles to the ongoing CHAN Championships in Rwanda. This isn’t the first time Salami has chosen self above country. Shortly before the team was to play against Tanzania in Dar es Salam, Salami left the camp because his travelling documents were stuck in one of the European embassies. The Eagles missed Salami’s bravado and sharpness in front of the goalkeeper. Nigeria played out a barren draw against the Tanzanians.

    I won’t blame Salami for choosing the European transfer option, especially with the backlog of unpaid salaries and allowances in most Nigerian clubs. But he has been through this before. He knows that deals don’t come easily during the January window, largely because European clubs are looking for quick fixes – players with pedigree to block leakages in their teams, not upstarts, such as Salami – with due respect to his talent.

    Salami ought to have known that as the team’s captain, he would get better and bigger European contracts from direct negotiations with him than through agents or managers. Rwanda has been invaded by club scouts searching for “cheap” talents just as we have heard that they are falling over themselves for Nigeria’s wonder kid, Chisom Chikatara.

    Indeed, it would have benefited Salami more if he joined his mates in Kigali. Salami would have given the coaches the option of playing two goal-scoring strikers instead of changing winning formations simply because one striker is nursing an injury. Salami’s bustling style which is reminiscent of Daniel Amokachi of yore, could have helped the CHAN Eagles. He would have scored goals with aplomb. He would have been the poster star of the tournament. And the scouts would love to come in droves for his signature. Salami wouldn’t have needed any agent to do his bidding. As the poster boy of the competition, negotiations would be done directly, with his agent listening.

    One must remind Salami that European clubs want regular internationals. He is an international but would need to show his suitors clips of past games, instead of giving them the opportunity to watch him live as they are doing with Chikatara. But would the Eagles chief coach Sunday Oliseh give Salami another chance to fight for a shirt in the team after two incidents of dumping his squad?

    Salami will get a shirt, if selected for the camp but most coaches stick with winning squads. Oliseh won’t want to bank on Salami a third time, having been disappointed twice. He would definitely rely on Chikatara, who must learn from Salami’s mistakes.

    Salami’s fate reminds this writer of the need to get NFF chiefs to call registered agents for a meeting where they would be reminded not to cajole our players who have national assignments to prosecute, except the deal have been concluded before the lads are invited to the camp.

    Agents are destroying our emerging stars with their promises of juicy contracts when they know that transfers during the January window are targeted at tested players who will make immediate impact not fledgling star, such as Salami.

    The NFF must warn these agents and scouts not to confuse the players now that the 2016 Olympic Games beckons. My fear is that with the Olympics slated for August, we are likely to have the scenario where our talented players sneak out of the country in search of better deals in Europe. These home grown players jump at anything. Such offers give them the best chance to earn a living from playing football, unlike what they are faced with in the local leagues. These gullible boys easily multiply the meagre cash in foreign currencies by the going rates in Nigeria and head for such destinations at the behest of shylock agents. I digress!

    Salami’s loss, like they say, is Chikatara’s gain; yet the former in the CHAN Eagles would have been a strong arsenal in the team’s armoury. Sadly, we are out of the CHAN Championships in Rwanda with Chikatara, Usman Mohammed, Chima Akas, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Austin Oboroakpo and Ifeanyi Mathew as new names for the Super Eagles. These players form part of the positives from the country’s disappointing outing.

    The CHAN Eagles didn’t do well at all. They were poor in set pieces; they didn’t know what do beyond sending long balls to Chikatara, who evidently became a marked man after his hat-trick against Niger and intelligent strike against Tunisia. The team was largely unimaginative in its play; the players couldn’t send passes to themselves to force their opponents to make mistakes, especially in the game against Guinea. CHAN Eagles played as if they were told that a draw result was all that they needed to qualify. So, when the Guineans struck, it was clear that we had no plan to score goals.

     

    Oliseh’s laughable excuses

    One can excuse Sunday Oliseh of some of the blame because he was out of the country attending to his health. I hope he took down notes, which should include devising other ways of scoring goals – set pieces and teaching the boys how to shoot accurately in front of the goal area. But Oliseh must responsibility for the team’s ouster. It is laughable that he is talking about moral issues when he should bury his head in shame that we couldn’t qualify from a group that had Guinea, Niger and Tunisia.

    Since Oliseh got this job, I have refrained from scolding him, largely because I have been accused of not liking Nigerian coaches. But the truth is that Nigerian coaches have not grown from being players in their utterances and actons. Otherwise, what does Oliseh mean with this ignoble excuse: “It’s a big disappointment, but I’m proud of my boys, even though we did not go through. They gave a good image of themselves. Somewhere inside it was difficult for the players. They have given their best; they needed that lift and they couldn’t find it then.

    “We came out to win, but we did not play. My players are human and there is limit to what they can hold. For some morale reasons, they couldn’t fight it today. My players have children and families. Adult tournaments are not youth tournaments,” said Oliseh.

    Is Oliseh saying that the Sport Minister’s stay with the team didn’t address the issues he was talking about? Did they not tell Nigerians that they were given all they needed to excel before and during the competition? Did NFF not provide Oliseh with the logistic support for him to succeed? Is it not true that everything he asked for he got? NFF secured a camping site in Pretoria at the high performance centre. The federation organised two international friendly games against Cote d’ Ivoire and Angola? So what does he mean by moral issues? Did the minister not explain to them the reasons for the delay in settling their matter? Oliseh didn’t know the boys because he wasn’t with the team in Port Harcourt.

    Oliseh must shut his mouth because he got all that he needed. What manner of moral issues is he talking about given the fact that Samson Siasia delivered the trophy with the U-23 side, Dream team VI, with his mother held captive by kidnappers? Siasia is my man of the year for how he managed to put aside the trauma of his mother’s kidnap for a national assignment? Oliseh, please learn to own up to your faults.

    Those who didn’t make their mark in Rwanda should be dropped. The NFF needs to have a permanent coach for the CHAN Eagles who should periodically be made to present his team against the Super Eagles, whenever they are in camp, ahead of any international assignment.

    I align with the thoughts of NFF President Amaju Pinnick, who reiterated that the African Nations Championship is “both developmental and preparatory for bigger challenges”, and said without mincing words that the Federation would now shift focus to the qualification race for the bigger Africa Cup of Nations. There could also not be a better response from the Glasshouse chiefs than to apologise for the woeful outing in Rwanda.

    Former Green Eagles Captain Christian ‘Chairman’ Chukwu, ruing Nigeria’s ouster from CHAN offered insights into what to do with the team.

    Chukwu said:  “Well, that’s football for you. There is nothing any of us can do to change the result. It’s just unfortunate. However, I will like this CHAN squad to be kept together to form the bulk of Super Eagles so that in the next competition we will be certain we have a team already on ground.”

    We, however, need to have a basis for picking national team players, such that people don’t say that we left our best players at home when our teams are eliminated. This task of picking the best players rests with the chieftains of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), whose duty is to ensure that proper evaluation of players exists in the system.

    The Nigeria Premier League is the only competition where those in charge don’t see anything wrong in not having the best players’ XI of each week which will also result in monthly awards for the best players, as we see in most European leagues.

    What it simply means is that in a month, we would have had 30 names that will be constant in the weekly selection of 11 players. It means also that we will have monthly between these 30 and 44 names of outstanding players in the domestic league.

    With this evaluation chart, no coach would dare list any outsider, knowing that his employers have a list of outstanding players in the league. The task of picking these players should be handled by the NFF Technical Committee, headed by Shuaibu Amodu, in conjunction with those that the NPL would pick to handle such a sensitive assignment.