•Nigeria qualifies in style for football’s global showpiece
The recent qualification of the senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles, for the forthcoming 2014 World Cup taking place in Brazil next year is a reaffirmation of Nigeria’s often-ignored national qualities of determination, endurance and optimism.
The country’s journey to Brazil 2014 was by no means an easy one. Having been given a bye in the first round, the country was drawn in Group F in Round 2, where its opponents were Malawi, Kenya and Namibia. Although all are lower-ranked than Nigeria, such is the competitiveness of modern African football that none of them could be written off. In the end, Nigeria won three games and drew three to qualify at the top of the group with 12 points. The next opponents were the Walias of Ethiopia, a team that had attracted much admiration for the fluid cohesion of its play. Over two legs, the Super Eagles triumphed, recording hard-fought victories away and at home, and becoming the first African country to book its ticket to Brazil.
The bitter disappointment of Nigeria’s non-qualification for Germany 2006 has taught the harsh lesson that World Cup participation is no nation’s birthright, and the seriousness with which the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Chief Coach Stephen Keshi and the Super Eagles prosecuted the qualification campaign is commendable.
For once, the NFF ensured that the coach and players got all the logistics and other support that they needed, and made certain that the team was not distracted with unnecessary quarrels over money and other administrative lapses. Coach Keshi was a tower of strength, continually reassuring Nigerians that the team would qualify. The players were models of diligence, confidence and purposefulness. The relative ease with which the country eventually qualified, compared to other African teams, is a tribute to the success of their joint effort.
Nigeria’s qualification for Brazil 2014 marks its fifth appearance at football’s most prestigious tournament. It will be the second time that the country will be showing up as African champions, the first being its memorable outing in 1994 in the United States. The forthcoming tournament will have special resonance for Nigerian football fans, given Brazil’s widely-accepted status as the spiritual home of the game, as well as the global esteem in which its brand of football is held.
As is usual, there is pervasive hope that the country will do well at the tournament. As current African champions and an acknowledged continental football power with many professional players plying their trade in some of the world’s most prestigious leagues, and a never-ending production-line of exciting new talent, expectations of a sparkling performance are indeed high.
However, experience has continually shown how such dreams have often crashed against a harsh reality. In 1994, Nigeria was within minutes of a famous win over the Azurri of Italy when a momentary lapse of concentration enabled the Italians to snatch victory from the jaws of imminent defeat. France ’98 was tainted by infighting and over-confidence which resulted in a scandalous 4-1 drubbing by supposed minnows Denmark. In Korea/Japan 2002, the Super Eagles scored just one goal and were thrown out in the first round. South Africa 2010 was yet another story of underachievement and disappointment.
To achieve success in Brazil, the Super Eagles must emphasise its strengths and minimise its weaknesses. Prominent among the latter is the disturbing tendency to indulge in debilitating internal strife at the expense of comprehensive preparations. Instead of focusing on the tournament, administrators, the media, coaching staff, players and other critical stakeholders often engage in needless quarrels which conspire to weaken team unity and cripple strategies for success. The situation is worsened by the heavy weight of expectation from the fans who are convinced that the team is condemned to do well.
If the mistakes of the past are avoided, and the new spirit of focused cooperation continues, Brazil 2014 might well record Nigeria’s finest hour in world football.
