Nothing hurts me any more whenever the Super Eagles have a game. I always expect the worst. Not that I don’t love my country, I do. The presence of negative vibes in the Super Eagles’camp before, during and after big games can, to say the least, suffocate anyone. The vibes that glamourise efforts and achievements, which pop up people’s adrenalin, are not in sync with the can-do-it spirit of Nigerians when games are being played. I’ve, since the France ’98 World Cup, developed a thick skin towards Super Eagles potopoto (rubbish in pidgin English) football . I discovered after the games, which Nigeria lost in France that the coaches, players and officials, NFF members inclusive couldn’t be bothered if Nigeria had just beaten and what the defeats or ouster from major tournaments meant to the Super Eagles’ teeming fans all over the world, especially on the streets in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.
Back home in Nigeria, during the France’98 World Cup, there was the possibility that Nigeria could meet Brazil at another big sporting event, two years after the Nigerian Olympic Dream Team 1 had beaten the Brazilians in Atlanta. If Nigeria had beaten Denmark in the second round game, Brazil was the next team, according to the fixtures. Sadly, the Danes beat Nigeria 4-1, expectedly but a lot happened back home. Fans, who had started making and distributing designed memorabilia and organizing warm up sporting activities for the match between the two teams (Nigeria and Brazil again) had their dreams thrown into the lagoon. Yes, Nigerians lost a lot of revenue from that fantasy pairing that never was. I digress!
So, when I saw Francis Uzoho palm a harmless aerial ball into his net, it was something typical of the Super Eagles during matches. My mind raced back to Uzoho’s heart-wrenching fall, not dive as the goal scored by Black Stars of Ghana’s captain Partey rolled lazily into the net at the National Stadium in Abuja. Uzoho’s needless error cost Nigeria her place among the comity of nations at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Only if Uzoho had followed the movement of the ball on the field before Partey’s lazy shot.
Several posers ran through my mind. The first was to see Jose Peseiro’s reaction to the miserable effort by Uzoho, not forgetting the cynical look of the team’s captain Wilfred Ndidi. But for rules of the game, Ndidi would have removed, at least, four teeth from Uzzoho’s mouth. Thank you Ndidi, for being the sportsman that you are. Ndidi, your look was captured by everyone who has seen the game.
Peseiro left Uzoho on the pitch for the 90minutes duration because he didn’t have a better goalkeeper on the bench. Those on the bench sat there because they live in European countries close to Portugal where the team played their matches. The second question would be to ask Peseiro where he saw those goalkeepers such as Adebayo Adeleye (Hapoel Jerusalem, Israel) and Maduka Okoye that he was scared to field after Uzoho’s own goal against Nigeria.
Of course, Peseiro was never going to field home-based goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo (Enyimba FC) for all the money in the world. So, the Portuguese stuck with Uzoho in goal for the second friendly in Portugal against Mozambique. Was anyone expecting Uzoho to shine against the Africans? Certainly not. You can’t give what you don’t have, dear reader. What stands out clearly from Peseiro’s response to Uzoho’s poor form is that we can measure the criteria used in picking Super Eagles players. The coach does whatever he likes by openly inviting benchwarmers and recuperating ones to camp. It is obvious that members of NFF’s Technical Committee are stooges who can’t expose Peseiro’s mercantile tendencies in selecting players for the country’ matches.
Incidentally, the NFF chiefs aren’t ready to dispense with Peseiro’s services even with the team’s sickening outings over time. Indeed, those African nations that would do well at the Africa Cup of Nations next are using their friendly games to strengthen their squads. They have the nucleus of their first 13 players. What their friendly games are doing for the coaches is to introduce depth in strengthen, width in they play and ensure that they can play at least four systems in either halves depending on how well or how poorly the opposition would play during matches.
Ironically, Nigeria has wasted the friendly games she has played so far if the team’s major problem is to search for a good goalkeeper when others have three equally good goalkeepers and more for some others such as Senegal. The NFF members and their choice of those who would function in key committees leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Had the technical committee been made of men of sterner stuff, they would have spoken to the two shambolic outings the Super Eagles played in the last ten days. We would have had an insight about howthe players were selected for the two matches against Saudi Arabia and against Mozambique.
The fallout from the technical committee members’ revelation would have shown us if they were part of the selection exercise. Isn’t time for Nigerians to know the parametres for picking players for games. During the Clemens Westerhof era, you could bet that goalkeepers such as Uzoho and Okoye won’t be considered. You could offered to put your head on the guillotine if Kenneth Omeruo, Tyronne Ebuehi, Joe Ayodele-Aribo, Chidozie Awaziem et al won’t go near the team’s bus let alone file out onto the pitch for matches given their performances in previous games. No prize, dear reader for guessing right that no benchwarmer would have made Westerhof’s list. Westerhof ignited the domestic league centres with his presence and young lads seized the stage to impress the Dutchman who took risk on those he discovered. Once Westerhof spotted a talent, he did everything within his power to expose them to European clubs. These boys returned to play in the Super Eagles much to the consternation of Nigerians who may seen the boys play the games years back. The transformation in their game was awesome. And made other young lads in the domestic league to take games seriously, while waiting for another Westerhof expedition to league venues.
Westerhof wasn’t a renowned coach but he knew what he wanted to achieve and went for it from his first assignment against Cameroon in 1989, dropping the big-headed boys. Nigeria lost 1-0, but the lessons learned were such that showed the calibre of players he invited to the team to fight for shirts.
No country’s football grows at the senior level. Growth in any soccer side starts from the nursery which is situated at the grassroots. Nigeria’s case can be found in the 774 Local Government Areas in the country, only with proper organisation. Sadly, all manner of people including the federation’s chieftains have corrupted the nurseries such that youth clubs now loan players to professional teams in the country. Youth clubs owned by top federation chiefs dominate the country’s age-grade squads with the squad’s coaches filling the few spaces left with their mercantile choices. Isn’t this why we don’t know how much the domestic leagues are worth in the country despite the Star Trek to Europe of our youth who strive to earn a living from playing the game?
