The Nation Newspaper

Tag: eagles

  • Keshi calls ‘ Euro stars

    Keshi calls ‘ Euro stars

    Even though  some Nigerians have beckoned on the Super Eagles’ head coach, Stephen Keshi to resign from his position to give way for another experienced manager to thinker the team, recent happenings of the Big Boss within and around the senior national team show otherwise.

    Keshi was hired as the Eagles’ coach late 2011 after the then head coach, Samson Siasia failed to qualify the team for the 2012 AFCON when the Eagles played a 2-2 draw against Guinea when a win would have landed Nigeria in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012 AFCON.

    The Big Boss led the Eagles to the AFCON success in 2013 but couldn’t secure a berth to the next edition slated for Equatorial Guinea 2015.

    Keshi also oversaw Eagles’ abysmal performance at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup due to lack of quality players.

    The Eagles only barely qualified for the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil before they were eliminated by France who dominated the affairs but for the heroics of team skipper, Vincent Enyeama.

    Many have called for the non renewal of Keshi’s contract that ran out at the end of the last year World Cup but the former Eagles’ captain has not yielded as he was also in charge of the national team for the 2015 AFCON qualifiers which he could not deliver.

    Despite the overwhelming calls for his resignation, Keshi has stayed on and the rumour of his having the blessings of the presidency to continue as Eagles Boss has not subsided at all.

    To show that the Big Boss does not plan to vacate the country’s senior national team job just yet, SportingLife reliably gathered from some players of the Super Eagles that Keshi has started making phone calls to them to intimate them about his programme for the next AFCON qualifiers and how the players would figure in his plans.

    Toronto FC of Canada striker, Bright Dike confirmed to SportingLife that Keshi had called him to enquire update about his recovery from the injury he sustained last year and that the Big Boss assures that baring injuries he would get a recall to the Eagles for the 2017 AFCON qualifiers.

  • Eagles talk tough ahead Abu Dhabi friendlies

    Eagles talk tough ahead Abu Dhabi friendlies

    As the days draw nearer for Home-Eagles to take on Cote d’ Ivoire and Sudan in friendlies in Abu Dhabi, some Home-Eagles’ stars are talking tough ahead of the matches.

    Kano Pillars’ Captain,Theophillus Afelokhai, one of the goalKeepers in the Eagles Squad has expressed optimism about the outcome of the matches adding that they would give their best in the two encounters.

    “We are preparing very well for the two matches which we know are important to us the players and also Nigerians, we will prove to Cote d’ Ivoire that we are also good enough to play in the Nations Cup. We the home-based players, with the opportunities given to us, we really need to prove ourselves to Nigerians at home and do it the way the professionals are doing it to make Nigerians proud,” he said.

    Meanwhile Solomon Kwambe of Warri Wolves was a bit modest in his remark though he still expressed confidence on the readiness of the team to take on the two sides in the encounters.

    “The spirit in camp is high and my colleague are concentrating on the training and the game too. But it’s a game of football, I can’t promise. But I want Nigerians to keep their hope on us and pray for us so that we can get the desired result,” Said Kwambe.

    Nigeria will first take on Cote d’ Ivoire on the 11th of this month before settling it with the Sudanese side three days after.

  • Eagles get Abuja friendly before Abu Dhabi trip

    Eagles get Abuja friendly before Abu Dhabi trip

    Super Eagles will play at least one friendly match against an unnamed team in the country – probably in Abuja – before leaving for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, a top official of the team has told NationSport.

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has lined up two friendlies for the national team against Ivory Coast and Sudan in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE on January 11 and 14, 2015 and the Media Officer of the Eagles, Ben Alaiya told NationSport that at least one friendly match is being arranged for the team as a tune up game in the few days before their departure.

    Alaiya said all was well in the Eagles’ Abuja camp and the players were responding to instructions from the technical crew headed by Assistant Coach, Dan Amokachi.

    He also confirmed that the 25 players in the team’s camp are expected to be whittled to 19 at most two days before the trip to the UAE.

    Eagles, the cup holders of the Africa Cup of Nations, missed out on a place in the 2015 edition and the NFF is using the friendly matches to keep the team busy ahead of future competitive games.

  • Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire friendlies: Eagles in high spirits —Agbim

    Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire friendlies: Eagles in high spirits —Agbim

    Captain of the Super Eagles’ home-based squad, Chigozie Agbim has revealed that the mood in camp is very high.

    Speaking to footballlive.ng from the camp of the national team, Agbim says the ultimate objective of the team is to win the Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire friendlies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    Hear him: “The mood in camp is high and the spirit is good. Considering that the league is on break, there are no injuries and so everybody is excited and prepared to give all.

    “The two games that we want to play are not easy games so we are set to do everything to make sure that we record two wins and I’m sure that every player in camp is ready to achieve that.”

    The Super Eagles will not be part of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea but will nonetheless continue to get back into shape. 19 players are expected to be selected by Assistant Coach Daniel Amokachi

  • Keshi should dump Eagles, says Erico

    Keshi should dump Eagles, says Erico

    Joe Erico, another veteran football coach has said the present predicament of the embattled coach of Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, was Keshi’s own making.

    The former Super Eagles’ coach who voiced his opinion on megasport, a radio programme has said Keshi should have candidly resigned his position as Super Eagles’ Head Coach after his victorious outing in South Africa 2013, a tournament which brought back Nigeria’s Pride in African football after 19 long years of waiting to emerge as the AFCON Champion.

    In his opinion, Eriko said he would have resigned if he were to be in the ‘Big bosses’ shoes as it is advisable to leave when the ovation is high :

    “ Keshi has stayed too late as far as I am concerned, I was asked this question sometimes ago, that if it was to be Erico ? And I answered that I would have left immediately after the Nations Cup, probably I will extend it to the World Cup, but at the end of the World Cup I would have left. I told Keshi to leave at that time because you have to leave when the ovation is high.”

    When Erico was reminded during the interview that Coach  Keshi was not sticking around on his own, but had the Presidential call and backing, Eriko responded that: “The President is a human being, He will leave there one day, He is serving, Keshi is also serving. If you are satisfied you stay, if you are not satisfied you leave. Keshi has done very very well, He should just leave the stage now as far as I am concerned,” Erico said.

  • Ajayi unlikely to join Eagles

    Ajayi unlikely to join Eagles

    Reports suggesting that Arsenal central defender Semi Ajayi will link up with the Super Eagles squad in Abu Dhabi next month for exhibition matches against Cote d’Ivoire and Mali might not come to pass.

    Assuming Nigeria had qualified for the 2015 African Cup of Nations(AFCON), the English Premier League side would have no choice than to release the former Flying Eagles stopper or face the wrath of football’s governing body, FIFA.

    In theory, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) cannot twist the arm of Arsenal to part with Semi Ajayi, as the aforementioned games are outside the international window.

    The 21-year-old’s agent, who is a man of few words, confirmed as much after he strongly hinted that his client may be unavailable for the friendly matches.

    “I am not sure Semi will feature in the games in January. At the moment, everything is up in the air,” said Semi Ajayi’s agent to SL10.ng.

    18 months have now passed since the centre back trained with the Flying Eagles, only for him to be dropped by John Obuh before the squad left for Turkey for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

    Semi Ajayi confided to SL10.ng that his priority is to represent the country’s Olympic team.

  • FIFA RANKING: Eagles drop to 43rd place

    FIFA RANKING: Eagles drop to 43rd place

    • Still 9th in Africa

    NIGERIA’S senior national team have dropped a place to end 2014 as the 43rd best team in the world and ninth in Africa with a total point of 656, according to the latest FIFA world ranking released on Thursday.

    This fall is due to the Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea.

    Nigeria started the year in 41st position in January and in February, continued their slow and steady fall as they dropped six places to 47th and maintained it in the March ranking.

    The team then moved up the ladder as they were rated 45th in the April standing and in May, moved a spot upward to climb to the 44th spot in the world and sixth in Africa and also in the June version of the grading.

    The country’s biggest progress in the ranking came in July as they climbed ten places to 34th spot following their impressive World Cup campaign in Brazil despite getting knocked out by France in the second round  of the competition and also in August. Nigeria again moved upward by a point in the ranking to clinch 33rd spot.

    The African champions then fell four places to the 37th best football-playing team in the world according to the ranking released in September. By October, the team nosedived again by five places to 42nd and maintained the position in November.

    North Africans Algeria ended 2014 as the best team in Africa followed by Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire while the Black Stars of Ghana became the fifth best team in Africa and are ranked 37th in the world.

    World champions Germany topped the final ranking of the year for the second time since 1993, while South American giants Argentina and Colombia finished in second and third place respectively.

  • Elephants want Eagles

    Elephants want Eagles

    The Elephants of  Ivory Coast will be  pursuing the possibility of playing a friendly against the Super Eagles, supersport.com can report.

    This would be a part of a two game regional tune up for AFCON. The second team selected are the Black Stars of Ghana.

    The Ivorians, Cameroon, Mali and Guinea have been put together in Group D, an almost all-West African affair and so, are seeking to prep themselves up for the Afcon Group D battles with friendlies against these two strong neighbouring countries.

    The Ivoirians now led by the mercurial Herve Renard have recently been dubbed as under AFCON for the second time in their history.

    As we know while the Black Stars made AFCON 2015, Nigeria did not.

  • Home-based Eagles play Mali, Cote D’ivoire

    Home-based Eagles play Mali, Cote D’ivoire

    In kick –starting its pledge to ensure that the Senior National Team, Super Eagles is engaged for all the FIFA –free days available next year, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has secured two international friendly matches for the team prior to the 30th Africa Cup of Nations finals.

    NFF General Secretary,  Musa Amadu, confirmed on Wednesday that the Eagles will confront two teams they battered on the way to a third African title in South Africa early last year, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in January 2015.

    The Super Eagles will confront 1992 African champions Cote d’Ivoire, whom they edged 2-1 in the quarter-finals in South Africa, on January 9, and take on fellow Eagles of Mali, who were overhauled 4-1 by the Nigerians in the semi finals in South Africa, four days later.

    “We are working round the clock to make sure that the Super Eagles will have opponents for all the FIFA windows available in 2015, and we are happy that the two games with the Ivorians and the Malians are sealed.

    “The Elephants and the Les Aiglons are on their way to the 30th AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, so they are sure to give our team good games.”

  • Get foreign coach for Eagles now

    Get foreign coach for Eagles now

    Former Super Eagles left back, Celestine Babayaro has called for the appointment of a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles.

    Babayaro blasted that there is no coach in the country qualified and capable of replacing Stephen Keshi to handle the senior national team.

    The former Chelsea of England influential defender confessed that the Eagles situation has worsened to a state of despair that only a highly rated foreign coach that would be able to salvage the team to bounce back to reckoning.

    “The Super Eagles need a world class coach because of the level they have grown to. We cannot now go and bring anyhow coach to coach the team. And, I have not seen that coach in Nigeria for now and even in Africa.

    “And there is no big deal about engaging a foreign coach because top countries like England who has better structure and football development at a time went for a foreign coach. At a time they had Ericsson and after Capello. So, if England can go for a foreign coach, why can’t Nigeria go for one,” he said. Celestine was quite angry with the failure  of the Super Eagles to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations and wants drastic measures to be taken in order to revive the Eagles.

    “Of course, Super Eagles still has what it takes to get back to the top. But we have to do things right which is to start by getting a foreign coach. I really believe that the Super Eagles will surely rise again.”