The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Green Eagles

  • World-class doctor operates Fregene in major surgeries

    FORMER Green Eagles’ goalkeeper, Peter Fregene is recuperating at the Intensive Care Unit of the Reddington Hospital after undergoing two major successful surgeries.

    About three months ago, Tina, wife of the former goalkeeper who won the Nigeria FA Cup with both ECN and Stationery Stores, cried out for a lifeline for her ailing husband.

    Contrary to the widely held opinion that the former shot-stopper suffered from stroke, his wife said it was discovered that he had paralysis as a result of a spinal cord injury.

    Fregene had battled this ailment for 18 years before billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola came to his rescue and offered to pick up his medical bills after Tina’s passionate appeal to Nigerians to save the life of her husband.

    Last Wednesday, two major operations were performed on Fregene at the Reddington Hospital Victoria Island Lagos by one of the Best Neurosurgeons in the World, the United States-based Dr Olawale Sulaiman.

    Otedola flew in Dr Sulaiman into the country from the United States, to perform the surgery on Fregene who had been bedridden for three years.

    Before Otedola’s lifeline, the 71-year-old former Nigeria International moved only on his buttocks or was supported to move around his house, a routine which drained his energy and that of his ageing wife.

    Former Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola took Reneger to Lagos where he had an operation some years ago but further treatment was discontinued due to lack of funds.

    Similarly, the former Delta state governor, James Ibori, also funded his treatment at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) during his tenure. Apart from these, no further help came the way of the septuagenarian former footballer.

    The Delta state-born footballer was a member of the Nigerian team that participated at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and two years after Fregene broke into the Green Eagles squad.

  • Amuneke

    Some Lagos ball fans could still remember, and recall with zest and fondness, the exploits of Juma Pondamali, the Tanzanian national team goalkeeper, and his heroics at the 1980 African Cup of Nations in Lagos.

    The then Green Eagles, the Nigerian national football team, had in the opening match, raced to a 3:0 lead.  But then, the Tanzanians began a comeback with two straight goals!  The stung Eagles responded with a blitz of attacks.  But they had the cheeky, heroic, and acrobatic Pondamali to to contend with.  Eventually, Nigeria nicked a final fourth goal to wrap up the match at 4:2.

    But the abiding hero of the evening was Pondamali.  Still, he could have ended up the villain, had Tanzania won, or even levelled up.  That was 1980 Lagos and its fickle fans!

    Which is why it is gratifying that 39 years later, it would be a Nigerian, Emmanuel Amuneke, that would restore to Tanzania Nations Cup action, since that 1980 exploits of Pondamali, who before the coming of the Nigerian, was drafted in as Taifa Stars goalkeeper trainer.

    On the face of it, Tanzania’s triumph was not spectacular.  Qualifying for AFCON with eight points from a maximum 18 available can’t be said to be brilliant by any standard.  But it was good enough to nick a second place after Uganda, ironically the same neighbouring country the hosts took to the slaughter slab, on that memorable day at the National Stadium, Dar-es-Salam.

    Still, it was the stuff with which epochal records are set.  To start with, Tanzania put three un-replied goals past Uganda — Uganda that, all through the qualifying series, had not conceded a single goal.  Then, on that memorable night too, Tanzania made AFCON qualification, 39 years after their last participation in that championship.

    But as much as qualification matters for that East African country, which not a few still consider football innocents, the attractive brand of football Amuneke’s Tanzania played was simply a breath of fresh air — short and crisp passes, fluid midfield and a sharp and potent attack, that somewhat hints at the “Barcelona” still left in Amuneke.  In his playing days as an imperious winger, Amuneke had stints at the Catalan Camp Nou.

    But also beyond national glory for Tanzania, it is also personal redemption for Amuneke.  Amuneke in 2015 went to FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, and his Golden Eaglets became world champions.  It was the cadet team of Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Nwakali and other young and twinkling stars.

    That team graduated into the national U-20, but couldn’t even qualify for the African championships proper.  That was because it got eliminated by Sudan in what could pass for a freak.  The Flying Eagles had won the first leg 1:0 away but lost the return leg in Lagos 2:3.  Thus, they got eliminated on superior away goals difference.

    So Amuneke, supposed the new rising star in the Nigerian football coaching galaxy, plummeted like a comet, after but a brief dazzle!  But then shortly after, came the Tanzania offer, which many didn’t think much would come out of.  With Tanzania’s AFCON qualification, therefore, it’s a new dawn of personal redemption, for Amuneke, in his coaching career.

    Nigerians are very critical of their own, particularly in the fickle field of Nigerian football, with the penchant to win all of the time.  But it is clear that despite organization that painfully lags behind talent and competence, in Nigerian footballers and coaches, there would appear some innate qualities to be acknowledged and cheered.

    First, it was Stephen Keshi (God bless his soul!) that took tiny Togo to the World Cup for the very first time; and later became only the second in history to win AFCON as both player (Tunisia 1994) and coach (South Africa 2013).  Now, it is Amuneke breaking, for Tanzania, a 39-year AFCON voodoo.

    While we congratulate Amuneke for his historic feat, wishing he would twinkle with Taifa Stars to further develop that country’s football, we call on Nigerians to start celebrating the best from our country. That shows the great heights Nigeria can attain, if we all put in our minds and hearts.

  • Lack of dedication, Rangers’ problem – Akabueze

    Lack of dedication, Rangers’ problem – Akabueze

    A former Rangers International FC of Enugu and Green Eagles winger, Emeka Akabueze, says the current players’ not being as committed as the older generations was responsible for the club’s dwindling fortunes.

    Akabueze told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday day in Lagos that the players of old were always playing for the fans and not for money.

    NAN reports that Rangers was founded in 1970 but has never been relegated from the Nigeria Premier League. It has won several honours and last year won the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).

    It has won in total the Nigeria Premier League seven times in 1974, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984 and 2016 and Nigeria FA Cup five times in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1983.

    The club was also finalists seven times in the competitions in 1971, 1978, 1987, 1990, 2000, 2004 and 2007; won the Nigerian Super Cup in 2004, Africa Cup Winners’ Cup in 1977 and was finalist in the African Cup of Champions in 1975.

    However, it started the 2016/2017 NPFL on a low noted, threatened by relegation. It has overcome the threat and has since the second stanza of the league struggled to do well.

    Rangers are currently 13th on the NPFL log with 32 points after 25 games.

    “During our own time, we always have the interest of the fans at heart. We always consider the market men who had to leave their stalls to watch us.

    “We were always conscious of the fact that if we lose a game what will be their reaction. They left their businesses to support us.

    “Whenever we lose a match, we dare not exchange pleasantries because everybody will be sad and that was the spirit then, we are concerned.

    “We think much about our fans because we don’t want to lose them as well we want to always increase our fan base; unlike now when money has taken over,’’ he said.

    Akabueze, a die-hard fan of Rangers, said that monetisation had rubbished the flavour often enjoyed in football, adding that passion was no more the driving force of many footballers.

    “The issue of money has really damaged the entire system. Players no longer play for their passion of the game but what will be paid to them at the end of the match.

    “A player will not follow you to a club for the purpose of playing with passion, it is about how much he will receive at the end of the game.

    “Football is more than the money in it but the presence of money has rubbished the entire system. I think the system needs an overhauling.

    “We need to change our mentality from monetary gain to passion for the game that is the only option to move the game forward,’’ he said.

    Akabueze alleged that the present crop of players also lacked respect for each other, adding that there was a hierarchical order in the team which all must abide with.

    “Players don’t respect themselves anymore and that is a problem. During our own time, we recognise our seniors and we accorded them due respect, we were not rude.

    “If we were rude, we might get a dirty slap. Some of our seniors like Stephen Keshi were in the team with us and we were not rude to them. All these are missing now.

    “Can you imagine a team will play a home game and lose, then the next thing you see them talking and discussing happily? You can’t try that during our time.

    “Also, an amateur player without a club will be heard saying that he has a manager somewhere. How can players without clubs already have managers and that is what has been,’’ he said.

    Akabueze added that Nigeria football could be at par with other football countries in the world if the system was changed to reflect standards.

    “If we want to have the standard like other advanced countries, why not? But we need to do the needful. The system must conform to the standards.

    “If we take a look at an average football fan in Nigeria, they all have clubs they are supporting overseas to the point of fighting for those clubs.

    “Then we ask, can we do the same for Nigerian club sides? Yes, we can but we need to look holistically how we run our clubs in Nigeria.

    “We can get there; we can find the same enthusiasm for foreign clubs replicated in Nigerian clubs if we want to have it.

    Akabueze said that the  was doing its best to standardise the league but it must be complemented by other football stakeholders.

    “The LMC is trying its best to return enthusiasm to the league, but we must all compliment it and support them.

    “For example, when MFM is playing in Lagos, their fans will come out and say let us support our team, not for the international teams alone.

    “The LMC is trying to do it but we Nigerians are the ones to patronise ourselves, if we do that then the teams in Nigeria will grow.

    “We must also ensure that discipline is restored back to the national team so that everything will be put in place for the prosperity of the national team,’’ he said.

  • Emeteole: Image of everything football- Christian Chukwu

    Emeteole: Image of everything football- Christian Chukwu

    Former Super Eagles Coach, Christian Chukwu, has described late Kelechi Emeteole, also a former Super Sand Eagles coach, an “an image of everything football.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Emeteole died in the early hours of Wednesday in a New Delhi hospital in India, where he was receiving treatment for throat cancer.

    Emeteole was aged 66.

    Chukwu, who spoke with NAN on Thursday in Enugu, said it was unfortunate for the former coach to depart for the great beyond when his wealth of experience was still needed.

    He added that “I am yet to recover from the shocking news of Emeteole’s death yesterday.

    “I am personally saddened with the development. Emeteole lived on and for football.

    “He was an epitome of everything football, who passionately love the game and gave his best and time to see it grow.

    “A good team player and one that understand the need for team-work, and to maintain a united team while as a player in the national team and in all the club sides he had handled.

    Chukwu and Emetole were former team mates in the then Green Eagles under the tutelage of late Yugoslavian coach, Tihomir “Tiko” Jelisavčić popularly known as “Father Tiko”

    He was also a member of the bronze winning squad at the 10th African Cup of Nations in Ethiopia in 1976.

    Emeteole won 17 caps for the national team between 1975 to 1977 and scored four goals.

    Popularly known as “Caterpillar”, Emeteole played alongside Idowu Otubusen, Samuel Ojebode, Zion Ogunfehinmi, Kunle Awesu, Muda Lawal, Joe Erico and others too numerous to mention.

    He also plied his trade with Rangers International FC of Enugu at the height of the club’s reign in Nigeria and the African continent.

    For his coaching career, Emeteole later served as an assistant coach of the Super Eagles.

    Between 2007 and 2009, he was the Head Coach of the beach soccer national team, now known as the Super Sand Eagles.

    Emetiole also had coaching stints with notable clubs like: Spartan FC later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri, El-Kanemi of Maiduguri, Lobi Stars of Makurdi, and International FC and Rangers International of Enugu.

    He led Iwuanyanwu Nationale to the final of CAF Champions League in 2009.

  • Ndidi’s award excites Amiesimaka

    Ndidi’s award excites Amiesimaka

    Ex-Green Eagles Winger, Adokiye Amiesimaka, says recent young player award bestowed on Wilfred Ndidi by English Premiership Club, Leicester, is a big plus for Nigerian football.

    Ndidi, 20, a Super Eagles midfielder and former Nigerian youth international, joined the EPL side from Genk FC of Belgium.

    Amiesimaka told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from Port Harcourt on Wednesday that the award by the former league champions showed that Ndidi was a top quality player.

    “For him to be given such an award by Leicester who won the Premier League only last season is obviously a plus.

    “It means he is a top quality player and its impact on us here is good, by virtue of the fact that he is a member of the national team,’’ he said.

    Amiesimaka, former Chairman, Sharks FC of Port Harcourt, said the award was also an indication that Nigerian football had a quality player in one of the best organised leagues in the world.

    “Even more importantly is what we’ll do with that plus, how do we make the most of that in the national team and how will it benefit us?’’ he said.

    He said that the derivation of the award should be translated to his optimal use in the national team to achieve good results in major national and international matches.

    Amiesimaka said that the welfare of Ndidi and other members of the national team should be a priority to excel in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Russia 2018 World Cup qualifying matches.

    NAN reports that Ndidi started his career playing for the Lagos-based Nath Boys Academy in the Lagos Junior League (J-League) and won numerous accolades.

    He then played as a central defender for Nigeria’s youth team, the Golden Eaglets in 2013 for the African U-17 Championship.

    He later played for the Manu Garba U-20 youth team of Nigeria that played in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

    Ndidi was called up to the Senior Nigeria team, the Super Eagles, on Oct. 8, 2015, making his debut in the friendly game against DR Congo.

    He also played again a few days later in the 3-0 win against Cameroon, when he replaced Mikel Obi in the 63rd minutes.

    He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     

  • Kelechi ‘Caterpillar’ Emeteole battles cancer

    Kelechi ‘Caterpillar’ Emeteole battles cancer

     

    If there is one thing former Green Eagles defender Kelechi Emeteole needs now, it is N2million to free him from the strong hold of throat cancer. Information available indicate that the former Heartland, Rangers and Elkanemi coach would need a surgery to arrest the situation that has confined highly mobile sweat merchant to a place.Although the various clubs are yet to react officially it is being reported that the three clubs owe him before their relationships went sour.

    The caterpillar as he was popularly known during his hare days in the national team took over as Rangers Coach from John Obuh, but the job lasted only three months before he was sent packing and current coach Imama Amakpakabo handed the job.

    Emeteole did not only captain Heartland when he was still playing the game but made in and out return to the Nazi Millionaires as coach a record five times. Emeteole was equally engaged by Elkanemi Warriors after coach of the side Salisu Yusuf was appointed Assistant coach of Super Eagles

    Emeteole, incidentally handled the club in 2011 when they earned a return to the Premier League after gaining promotion from the Nigeria National League (NNL).

    His disengagement from the clubs center on what club officials perceived as poor results in Nigeria Professional Football (NPFL)

  • Like soccer, like country, the example of Stephen Keshi

    Like soccer, like country, the example of Stephen Keshi

    THERE are those who have remarked about the striking similarity between the trajectory of soccer in Nigeria and that of the country’s development over time. This may not be surprising after all. For, soccer in Nigeria is a veritable national religion. For many, the golden era of Nigeria’s development lies in the past. They refer to the thriving groundnut pyramids of the first republic, the booming Cocoa and Cotton industries, the healthy and vigorous inter-regional competition for the provision of infrastructure to name a few. These were followed particularly during military rule by the years of the locusts industrial scale corruption, bureaucratic lethargy, administrative inertia and an astounding blindness of vision and paralysis of mission.

    In the same vein, for so long many looked to the past to tell the story of Nigeria’s soccer glory. The Nigerian soccer team the Green Eagles made its first emphatic impact on the African continent when it won the soccer gold medal in the 2nd All-Africa games held in 1973. The team finished 3rd in the 1976 and 1978 African Cup of Nations competitions before winning the royal diadem as African soccer champions in 1980. In 1984 and 1988, the Green Eagles reached the finals of the African Cup of Nations losing to Cameroun on both occasions.

    It was, however, in 1994 that Nigeria reached the zenith of her soccer glory. That year Nigeria became Africa’s soccer champions once again. The team went on later that year to put up a superlative performance at the USA World Cup that she was rated 5th in the FIFA World ranking the highest ranking ever achieved by an African team. Nigeria further confirmed her soccer prowess when in 1996 the country’s Olympics under- 23 football team became the first African team to win gold at the Olympics soccer event. The sky seemed to be the limit for the national soccer team. Enthusiastic Nigerians changed the team’s moniker from Green Eagles to Super Eagles. But the country’s soccer fortunes inexplicably began cascading downhill.

    After a promising start in the 1998 World Cup competition, Nigeria crashed out after being mercilessly whipped 4-1 by Sweden. In the 2002 World cup, the country could not go beyond the second round of the competition. Nigeria could not even qualify for the 2006 World cup event. And in the 2010, World Cup fiesta in South Africa, the Eagles performed so miserably that the team was kicked out in the first round. Despite her size, resource endowment and abundance of soccer talents in the country, the Eagles were also unable to repeat the 1980 and 1994 feats of winning the African Nations Cup. Disappointed Nigerians promptly re-christened the team ‘Super Chickens’.

    Like so many other areas of the country’s national life, it was believed in some quarters that what was necessary for Nigeria’s soccer success was the appointment of foreign technical advisers who were seen as having the expertise, exposure and experience to bring the best out of the country’s footballers. Thus, a plethora of foreign coaches were hired to tend the national team at various times. They included Otto Gloria, Gottlieb Gaoller, Manfred Hoenner, Clemens Westerhof, Jo Bonfre, PhillipeTroussier, Bora Milutinovic, ThijsLibregts, BertiVogts and Lars Lagerback. Despite the success of one or two of these men, they still could not stem the downward slide of Nigerian soccer.

    When Nigerians were given the opportunity to manage the national team, the support they enjoyed was only half hearted and they were hardly given the wherewithal to succeed. Thus, Nigerian coaches that handled the national team at various times Paul Hamilton, Shuaibu Amodu, Festus Onigbinde, Christian Chukwu, Augustine Eguavoen and Samson Siasia could not make the desired impact. When Stephen Okechukwu Keshi was thus appointed as the Super Eagles national coach in 2011, many wondered what magic wand he had to rescue a team that seemed irredeemably trapped in mediocrity.

    Born on January 23rd, 1962, Stephen Keshi has had an illustrious career both as a player and a coach. He had a brilliant playing career with the New Nigerian Bank Football Club of Benin, Stade d’ Abidjan and Africa Sports of Cote d’Ivoire, Anderlecht of Belgium and of course the Nigerian national team spanning over a decade. He coached the Togo national team between 2004 and 2006 qualifying that country for its first World Cup tournament, Germany 2006. Unfortunately, after this feat he was shoved aside and a foreign coach appointed to lead Togo to the tournament. Keshi was appointed manager of the Mali national football team but was sacked in January 2010, following Mali’s exit from the qualifying stages of the Africa Cup of Nations an example of the desire of African football authorities for instantaneous success without going through necessary processes.

    As national coach of the Super Eagles, Keshi moved decisively to stamp his authority on the team. Discipline has been his watchword. No longer do so-called super stars stroll leisurely into camp believing that an automatic shirt is theirs for the picking. The intense competition for shirts under Keshi has impacted positively on the psyche and performance of the team. Again, Keshi has insisted in picking players he believes in based on current form rather than being forced to play certain players by extraneous forces. He knows the buck stops at his table and he is ready to bear the responsibility for his choices.

    Another fundamental innovation by Keshi is the opportunity he has given players in the domestic league to fight for shirts in the national team. Before Keshi, it was almost an inviolable rule that only players plying their trade in foreign leagues could don the Eagles coveted jersey. Keshi’s new approach has stimulated healthy competition in camp, boosted confidence in the domestic league and an era where certain super stars felt they could hold the national team to ransom.

    It is thus not surprising that Stephen Keshi has recorded remarkable success with the Super Eagles within a short time span. He not only qualified the team for the 2013 African Nations Cup in South Africa, Nigeria went on to emerge as continental soccer champions. He thus became one of two Africans who had won the African Cup of Champions as both player and coach. He also led Nigeria to the 2013 Confederation Cup in Brazil where the team beat Tahiti 6-1 but lost 1-2 to Uruguay and 0-3 to Spain, the world champions. For a team still in the process of re-building, Nigerians still gave Keshi kudos for this performance.

    On 16thNovenber, 2013, the Super Eagles under Keshi qualified for the 2014 World Cup scheduled for Brazil by beating Ethiopia 4-1 on aggregate in a play- off. Once again, Nigerians talk about the national soccer team with pride and confidence. They know that the re-building process in the national team still has some way to go. But they are assured that with Keshi’s courage, determination, composure, professionalism and ‘never say die’ spirit, the nation’s soccer is on the right track. For making such a dramatic impact within such a limited period on a national soccer terrain that had seemed so hopeless, it is no surprise that Stephen OkechukwuKeshi was in strong contention for this newspaper’s Man of the Year for 2013. In his sphere of specialization, he has demonstrated leadership qualities that will serve Nigeria well in other areas of national endeavour.