I’m not a seer. I don’t claim to be one either. I enjoy speaking the truth to constituted authorities no matter whose ox is gored. As a watchdog, which is what journalism professes, I strive to raise the alarm over impending problems early, especially those that stare us in the face like a sore thumb. My heart bleeds when mundane suggestions are being applied to problems which can be solved only if those in authority are eager to rationalise a bit on solutions offered by discerning people. I dare to be different.
Here in Nigeria, we thrive on demonising the messenger, leaving the message and its content unattended to until they consume us. The death knel for the game here began in 1994, in the United States, when our players with the backing of our officials refused to leave the noisy hotel where we were camped for a more serene place to train ahead of the second round tie against Italy. No prize for guessing right that the Azzurris beat us 2-1 to exit from our maiden appearance at the senior World Cup in the US.
For all that Clemens Westerhof did to repackage the team to greater heights, he was humiliated by the boys he assembled, nurtured and exposed to global football. I knew back in the days that we were going to pay dearly for it. Sadly, it has come to pass. The World Cup holds again with the US co-hosting with Canada and Mexico with Nigeria’s flag not among those in the comity of World Cup nations to be hoisted in the three countries in 2026. Add Westerhof’s humiliation by those he made to the pain which Johannes Bonfrere experienced after he guided the country to the Atlanta1996 Olympic Games, winning the gold medal of the boys soccer competition, you will agree that what hit us in Morocco on November 16 was karma waiting to happen.
For the records, the gold winning team returned to Nigeria without Bonfrere, who in tears with his whole body pink with rage boarding one of the KLM flights from Atlanta to Amsterdam – alone, all alone. I was at the airport live to witness this traumatic moment with the late Chris Eseka patting Bonfrere’s back to take heart. Yes, I reported this story for Thisday newspapers back in 1996.
Super Eagles players became absolutely unruly choosing the coaches they wanted to play with and literally picking the players they wanted. Again, the 1998 World Cup was a fiasco, so much so that we had an injury laden assemblage of players who got selected not by their present form but by their pedigree in the game and for the team. It got so bad that holidaying players among them joined the team in Amsterdam after Holland annulated us in one of the friendly games before the Mundial.
Renowned telecommunication giants intervened by sponsoring six wise men to interview coaches in London to pick the best as the next Super Eagles Technical Adviser for the 1998 World Campaign. This exercise was fruitful as it chose the white witch doctor, Frenchman Phillipe Troussier. Troussier introduced the 3-5-2 formation which sought to bring in new players to compete with the USA 1994 World Cup star and the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games gold medallists. These spoilt brats ensured that Troussier was replaced in spite of the fact that Nigeria got the ticket with games to spare. In concert with a cantankerous top sports brass, they booted out Troussier with Nigeria going to the Mundial with half fit players.
Point here is that our players found companionship with top sports brass in government to hijack the system. This systemic problem is one of the banes of our game. The White Witch Doctor returned the following year to guide Japan U-20 boys to win the silver medal after losing 2-0 to Spain at the 1999 FIFA U-20 competition hosted in Nigeria. I won’t forget to add the late Shuiabu Amodu who qualified the nation twice (2002 and 2010) for the World Cup but was dropped for reasons best known to those who took the decision.
For this writer, Eric Chelle should be paid off because he is a mono track coach as evident in the second half of the game against D.R Congo. The coach watched in awe as the Congolese tossed the ball around the pitch with no counter tactic to stop them. You could see from the way the Congolese played that they had practised for the penalty kicks by bringing their substitute goalkeeper who shone like a thousand stars, stopping Nigeria’s first two kicks and the last one taken by Semi Ajayi, much to the consternation of the Nigerian coaching crew. Many had thought that Chelle would have introduce William Troost Ekong for the penalty shoot-out. He didn’t but chose to chase the juju carrying official.
Chelle made the subject for his removal tenable by being concerned with the sprinkling of water by one of the Congolese officials each time our players were going to take a penalty kick.
“During all the penalties, the guy of Congo did some voodoo every time, every time, every time,” Eric Chelle told ESPN Africa, while demonstrating the action by raising an arm.“This is why I was nervous and went after him.”
What a shame! I reckoned it was part of the Congolese mind games. After all some of our players scored theirs, even with the official sprinkling water. Those saying it is too close to ease off Chelle on grounds of the forthcoming AFCON starting from December 21 are poor students of history.
Yes, the internet never forgets. It revealed that: ” Brazil used four different coaches during the entire campaign (qualifying and the final tournament) for the 2002 World Cup.
”The coaches were: Vanderlei Luxemburgo (coached the first 8 qualifying games). Candinho (coached for a single match). Émerson Leão (coached for 3 games).
‘’Luiz Felipe Scolari (took over for the final 6 qualifying matches and led the team through the World Cup final tournament, which they won). Luiz Felipe Scolari was the sole coach during the final tournament in South Korea and Japan, where Brazil won all seven of their matches to lift the trophy.”
Howzat Sir, as we appeal in cricket. Indeed, England gave German coach Tomas Tuchel the Three Lions’ job very close to their qualifiers. Tuchel has guided them to eight victories on the trot without conceding a goal in eight matches. Need I waste space to list out Tuchel’s coaching exploits? Football’s greatest nation, Brazil have chosen an Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti as their coach to the 2026 World Cup. Here in Nigeria a few arm chair analysts disturb our ear drums with cheap talk that no foreigner has won the World Cup. True, who says it won’t be broken soonest? Yet these people have their kids schools everywhere overseas but in Nigeria.
Super Eagles’ major problem is with coaching arising from poor selection of players. Until we jettison our penchant for players with experience for those doing well on current form, we will always rue our losses. We need to dust up the 10-year master plan drawn by the former Sports Minister Sunday Dare and implement it to the letter. That way, we would have provided the platforms for any Nigerian interested in being in the NFF. Not this dubious pattern where the 36 States and the FCT’s chairmen having the voting advantage to install one of their own into the board.
The government should direct that funds approved for the NFF are paid directly to the federation’s account. If there are allegations of misapplication of cash, then the EFCC and ICPC officials cab be directed to do their jobs.
One would have asked the NFF to reveal how much they paid to prosecute this failed dream? A staggering figure which could also have been used to recruit a top level functional manager like England and Brazil have done? Both managers were club coaches making their World Cup debuts in 2026.
