Eagles Albatross: NFF or Keshi

Idris Adesina

Fans of football in Nigeria have witnessed a lot of positives and negatives with the country’s national teams in recent times but none has been so heartbreaking as the recent lacklustre performances of the men’s senior national team, the Super Eagles.

After waiting in limbo for 19 years to win the third Africa Cup of Nations, the last being in Tunisia in 1994, the Eagles brought back the smiles on the faces of many Nigerians when they brought the trophy back from South Africa in 2013 but since then, the high hopes the fans have of a new look and title challenging Eagles, have continued to wane.

The decline in the fortunes of the team began when they narrowly qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil following their topsy-turvy results against opponents in the qualifiers which made the fans watch most of the matches with their hearts in their mouths. Nigeria qualified for the quadrennial event with a last minute draw secured through an Obinna Nsofor’s goal against Kenya in Calabar.

At the mundial itself, Nigeria were drawn in Group D alongside Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran. The Eagles have been touted to qualify from the group with Argentina – which they eventually did courtesy of four points secured after a draw against Iran and a defeat of Bosnia.

Their first match against Iran, which ended in a goalless draw, earned them a lot of criticism back home as the fans and critics said the team was not made up of the best players which the country had to offer. However, a spirited 1-0 win over Bosnia and a 3-2 loss to Argentina earned a little praise from the critics both home and abroad.

In the second round, the Eagles met France and lost 2-0 but the match, according to critics, showed the lapses in the critical sectors of the team – the midfield and attack. Nigeria conceded the two goals in the second half after a Blaise Matuidi’s brash tackle saw Ogenyi Onazi substituted for a less performing Rueben Gabriel.

After the World Cup began the journey to the Eagles’ AFCON title defence and the champions were drawn in Group A with Congo, Sudan and perennial foes, South Africa. Once again, the hopes of many fans and critics were that the Eagles should find the group an easy one but many were shocked.

The Eagles lost their first match on home soil in 39 years to Congo 3-2 in their first match of the Morocco 2015 AFCON qualifiers in Calabar and four days later, they drew goalless with South Africa at the Cape Town Stadium, leaving them in a must-win situation for the remainder of the qualifiers if they are to head to Morocco for their title defence.

The latest results from the team sent many tongues wagging once again about what could be really wrong with the team. While some have offered administrative ineptitude on the part of the Nigeria Football Federation, others have postulated a problem with the coaching techniques of Stephen Keshi.

When Keshi took the Eagles’ job in 2011, he promised a gradual rebuild of the team from what he met and he was supported by the fans as he took the team through the 2013 AFCON qualifiers and through to the title.

Keshi earned both praise and otherwise as he managed the team to the AFCON title and the World Cup qualifiers but the criticism rose to the peak on the twilight of the 2014 World Cup when he did not invite players who had performed well for their clubs, the likes of Ikechukwu Uche, which the critics was responsible for the team’s woes till date.

They argued that the wrong selection he made to the World Cup and subsequently the two Morocco 2015 qualifiers in September was very evident in the 2-0 loss to France and the 3-2 loss to Congo.

Some other critics too have questioned the technical competence of the Eagles manager. This they said was what caused the team’s exit at the World Cup as the team collapsed immediately Ogenyi Onazi was substituted for Reuben Gabriel in the 2-0 loss to France.

Keshi presently is handling the team in a temporary capacity with the team as his contract had ended immediately after the World Cup in Brazil and talks for a new contract has yet to be concluded but it is said that he should exit the team as he had tried his best for them.

Ex international Jonathan Akpoborie believes the Eagles need a new and better coach. He opines that the NFF has not been proactive enough in the search for a manager for the Eagles.

“The decision to retain Keshi as coach was based on sentiment. When you make vital decisions on sentiment, you lose. Keshi may have led Nigeria to win the AFCON but a coach is as good as his last game. Keshi’s last games were nothing to be proud of,” Akpoborie told our correspondent in a recent interview.

“There were coaches who won the UEFA Champions League or were impressive at the World Cup that were fired after their teams’ poor performances at later competitions.

“I’m not saying we should get rid of Keshi right away, because we don’t have an immediate replacement, but the NFF should have put their acts together in moving the team forward.”

Also, former Eagles midfielder Garba Lawal said Keshi’s selection policy in the national team.

Lawal told Brila FM, “It is obvious that we need fresh players in the team because whatever the coach is doing is not going right at the moment.”

“As a coach you need to change, a positive change. But he keeps insisting but for how long,” he said.

The former Levski Sofia of Bulgaria player added, “For how long shall we keep building a team because till now, we are still building but for how long. We don’t have a team yet and we are still building, every time we are building but for how long.” 

Victor Agali, a former Eagles striker, believes that the non invitation of Ikechukwu Uche among other players is a contributory factor to the recent performance of the team adding that a dispute netweeen players and the coach ought not to influence their invitation to the national team.

 The former Shalke 04 of Germany striker said on Brila FM, “It happened to me as well during my playing days, where you have players falling out with coaches.

“But it’s not about IK Uche and Keshi, It’s about Nigeria, the country’s image when it comes to football.

“I just want to plead with those involved, Uche and Keshi; to help reach an understanding because it’s about restoring the image of our country.”

But Keshi had replied his critics on Brila FM, “If I see fresh faces that are good and can bring something tangible to the team, why not, I will invite them.

 “It’s their country, they are entitled to play for Nigeria, so why not. If I see and they are willing to play for Nigeria, why not, I will.”

Hence, as the double header qualifier against Sudan approaches, the temporary coach has invited players for the matches and he gave a first time call up to little known players like Aaron Samuel, who plies his trade in China, Hope Akpan of Reading, Anyora Ugonna of Haugesund and Sunday Emmanuel, an Austria based player.

He also handed a return to Eskisehirspor of Turkey’s Raheem Lawal neglecting Uche and Seattle Sounders’ all time individual goal scorer, Obafemi Martins.

Meanwhile, other critics believe that the crisis in the NFF leadership also contributes to the team’s problems. These believe that Keshi should continue with the job adding that the NFF should stay off the team.

They believe that the NFF leadership lack direction adding that the federation forces players on the manager when competitions approach.

Taribo West, ex Eagles defender, said the crisis in the ranks of the NFF contributes to the problems in the Eagles adding that the non conclusion of the contract talks between Keshi and the federation affects the plans of the coach.

“The main thing that ought to be done would be left undone and we all can see it now,” Taribo told our correspondent.

“This madness by the NFF must stop. The madness in terms of not celebrating what is ours should stop. What Keshi is demanding is not too much for them to pay. How much is he demanding that they can’t pay him?” he said.

The former Inter Milan player added, “I played under the foreign coaches that they hired then; Thijs Libregts and Bora Milutinovic, who did not achieve what Keshi has achieved. He took us to the second round of the World Cup which only one foreign coach, Westerhoff, achieved.

 “They should talk to him and let him continue the work he had started with the team and if they know that they don’t want him again, they should let him go and hire another full time coach who will handle the team.

“They should stop wasting time and get into some action.”

But Akpoborie also said, “The crisis in the NFF and the issue surrounding the Eagles has nothing to do with patriotism. The only patriotic party in the whole issue is the millions of Nigerians cheering the team no matter what happens. These Nigerians have been lied to by administrators every day; they tell them things they want to hear, not what is happening.

“It is important for the NFF to put its house in order so that it can come up with a better contract with Keshi.”

However, some other critics believe that the players themselves are the problem of team.

Yisa Shofoluwe, an ex international said, “The way our current players play is very appalling. They don’t play as if something is at stake. The last match was a testament to that fact.

“They could be forgiven for the first match say because they are coming back together after a being apart for a while but the second match was also bad. They don’t play with the zeal the older generation of players had.”

The defunct Abiola Babes defender also believes that the blames from the performances do not belong to the coach.

He said, “They need to see the way the Cameroonians played the Ivoirians. Those players knew what was at stake and played with all they had.”

He added, “I don’t believe that the coach has all the blames when a team performs poorly. The players should take the chunk of it.

“Is it the coach that will teach them accurate ball judgment or when to pass the ball or when to dribble past an opponent or when to shoot at goal? No. it all depends on the players themselves. A player should be able to make the right judgments on the pitch.”

Also Garba Lawal shared Shofoluwe’s sentiment.

Lawal told our correspondent, “The federation has nothing to do with the way players play on the field. The politics of the game is done in the glass house while matches are played on the football pitch.”

The Atlanta 1996 gold medallist said, “The players are supposed to give their best on the pitch because that is where their business lie. How can anybody say the politics in the NFF is affecting the team when it isn’t the federation that will play the games for them?”

“These players fly in before the matches and fly out immediately after so how can the federation troubles affect them? They are just not committed like the days of old,” he added.

As the new NFF executive is ushered in, fans and followers of the game await the influence they will have on the Eagles in the remaining laps of their journey towards the Morocco 2015 AFCON as their decision would either confirm or rebuff the claims of critics in the change of fortunes of the Nigeria national team.