The players who travelled to South Africa in early 2013 to compete for Nigeria at the Cup of Nations largely fell into two categories. There were those who starred for the Super Eagles, the players who brought the trophy home, who proved themselves, who thrived under Stephen Keshi’s leadership and who have etched their name into national folklore. However, as prevalent as those success stories might be, there is, remarkably, a large dichotomy between the fortunes of the various squad members.
For every revelation, for every Sunday Mba, there is a Nosa Igiebor. For every starlet who emerged from the shadows to play a major role, there is another whose showing was highly-anticipated, but who flopped and floundered on the high stage.
It is amazing that such a successful squad contained two such differing contingents; those who were made by the AFCON and those who were broken by it.
Five of the AFCON squad have not been called up since the tournament. It’s not that they haven’t played; they haven’t even been invited to return to the fold. The likes of Nwankwo Obiorah, Ejike Uzoenyi, Juwon Oshaniwa, Joseph Yobo and Ike Uche must surely be questioning whether their winner’s medal will be their last evidence of participation with the national team.
But for Keshi’s unswerving confidence in his abilities, it might have been a similar story for Nosa Igiebor. It is a rare thing, certainly, that the members of such a successful side have enjoyed such differing fortunes since their career-defining journey together.
One of the hardest hit, at least in an international context, is Ike Uche. Before the tournament, I highlighted the Villarreal man as a potential Golden Boot winner.
“On his day” I wrote, for another publication, Uche can “score against any opposition, and with support from the likes of Ahmed Musa and [Victor] Moses, could score a hatful against some of the tournament’s weaker defences in Group C.”
How wrong I was!
Uche failed to progress on his fine form from the second half of 2012. Having scored four international goals between June & October he hit a brick wall at the AFCON. He began the tournament on the bench, entering the fray to little effect in the opening games against Burkina Faso and Zambia.
Against Ethiopia, in the Super Eagles’ final group game, he started the match as Ideye Brown and Ahmed Musa were relegated to the bench. He was unable to influence proceedings and was withdrawn, cutting a fairly beleaguered figure in the process.
In the famous Quarter-final victory over Cote d’Ivoire and the magnificent Semi-final demolition of Mali, he was an unused substitute, watching on as Victor Moses, Ideye Brown and Emmanuel Emenike provided the Nigerian attacking threat. When Keshi did require an impact substitute, he didn’t turn to Uche, but to Ahmed Musa.
The Spain-based forward watched on as Sunday Mba changed the face of a continent—witnessing the glory that he must have hoped would be his.
Following Emenike’s injury, Uche was recalled to the starting line-up for the final against Burkina Faso, preferred to Musa, who retained his substitute role.
This match was an immediate opportunity for Uche to seal redemption. Had he made an impact, of any kind, scored a goal or made an assist, he could have retained his eminence among the Super Eagles forwards.
He couldn’t.
His movement off the ball was admirable, but generally, Uche was wholly unable to impose himself upon the fixture. It should have been the game of his life…he was replaced by Musa after 53 minutes, leaving the likes of Mba and Moses to steal the limelight.
Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. To let such a big match pass you by might be regrettable, but to let such a major tournament, as part of such an exceptional generation, come and go, without leaving a trace, is almost unforgivable.
Keshi certainly didn’t appear in any mood to sweep Uche’s anonymous performances under the carpet and later criticised the forward for being a divisive influence. He was dropped for the first post-AFCON clash, a World Cup qualifier against Kenya, and hasn’t been seen since.
Tellingly, he wasn’t even invited back for the Confederations Cup in Brazil during the summer. This tournament was an occasion for Keshi to reintegrate those who had previously failed him or to trial new faces ahead of the World Cup twelve months later.
He chose to do the latter.
Uche was overlooked as the likes of Joseph Akpala, Anthony Ujah and even Mohammed Gambo (the cursed collection) were given a chance to show what they could do in the famous green of Nigeria. None of that trio has been recalled to the squad since their ill-fated sojourn to Brazil, and none should be anticipating an invitation to the main event next summer.
But should Uche?
Even after the failings of that threesome last summer, Keshi has turned elsewhere before recalling the Villarreal man.
Victor Obinna has made a case for inclusion and is a more versatile player than Uche. Bright Dike and Shola Ameobi looked good in the recent friendly against Italy and offer something different to the forward line. Even Obafemi Martins has been given a look-in since Uche last pulled on a Nigeria shirt.
But few Nigerians, few strikers, can claim to be in as scintillating form as the discarded centre-forward.
At the time of writing, Ike Uche is the joint-fourth top scorer in La Liga. He has scored eleven goals in only ten starts for newly-promoted Villarreal, becoming one of the side’s key men in the process. He is also in the league’s top ten most fouled players; clearly his movement has been causing extensive problems for opposition defences, forcing them to resort to the dark arts in order to stop him.
Despite being in the country’s second tier only last season, a combination of Uche’s goals and Giovanni dos Santos’s fine forward play have hoisted the Yellow Submarine into the European qualification places.
Can Keshi ignore the 30-year-old for much longer?
While the AFCON may have been an unfortunate aberration, it’s important to remember that Uche’s scoring rate for the national side is impressive.
He has found the net 18 times in 44 appearances and currently sits joint-fourth in the national all-time scoring charts. His goals-per-games ratio is considerably better than the likes of Peter Osaze Odemwingie, Kanu, Yakubu Aiyegbeni or, pertinently, Victor Obinna.
Keshi’s issue in the past has clearly been the striker’s attitude and his commitment to the cause (or lack of it); if Uche can prove that he is willing to work for his moment in the sun, or if desperation and fear overcome Keshi, then one of the Super Eagles’ finest finishers might be set for a swansong in Brazil.
