The engagement of Stephen Okechukwu Keshi as Super Eagles coach
in 2011 offered Nigeria football new beginning. From the background of a failed
bid to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, Keshi’s
era saw the country qualify for the tournament in South Africa and won it, for
the first time in 19 years.
He wound back
the glory days of Nigerian football and Nigerians were quick to compare the
Keshi-tutored Super Eagles squad with the iconic class of 1994. In the height
of the team’s fairy-tale ride at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South
Africa, the debate was loud in both low and high places. But that has become a
distant past.
In the euphoria
of the Afcon glory, when accolades were still pouring in from all over the
world for the history-making Big Boss, as Keshi is fondly called, the former
national team captain stunned Nigerians when, in a no-holds-bar interview, he
told a South African radio station that he had resigned as coach of the Eagles.
He became the beautiful bride of Nigerian football, particuarly when he said a
number of countries were in queue for his signature. The Senate President,
David Mark, one of Keshi’s strong backers intervened and promised the Delta
State born tactician that his complaints would be looked into. Keshi sheathed
his sword and qualified the country for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The team’s
outing at the global showpiece left much to be desired. After a lethargic
goaless draw with Iran, the Eagles struggled to an uninspiring 1-0 win over
debutantes, Bosnia and Herzegovina and lost their best match 2-3 to a Messi
inspired Argentina side. The team qualified for the second round.
To the team’s
apologists, it was time to see Keshi create history with Nigeria in Brazil by
being the first man to take the national team to the quarter finals of the
World Cup. France was between Nigeria and this wish. When the time came, the
Super Eagles level of commitment was questionable as their resistance was feeble.
The team fell 0-2 to France in a match many thought they were capable of
winning.
But events
before that match — like the players’ boycott from training and the all night
meeting between officials of the NFF and the players did not show a team ready
for such an important assignment. More embarrassing was the team’s
confrontation with the Senate President, David Mark in Brazil. It was a
national embarrassment. All this may have taken its toll on the players, which
was evident during play.
After their
elimination from the World Cup, the Super Eagles have played four matches in
the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. For the first time in decades,
Nigeria lost a home game 2-3 to Congo, in Calabar, a gosless draw with South
Africa. In the midst of these poor results, Keshi remained adamant in his
choice of players he invited to the national team. Experienced and free-scoring
players like Obafemi Martins in the Major League Soccer, Ikechukwu Uche in the
La Liga, Haruna Lukman, a good attacking midfielder, Victor Anichebe, Afcon
2013 hero, Sunday Mba among others were ignored by the Big Boss.Reasons he gave
for not inviting them were either selfish or untenable, in most cases.
The next match
against Sudan proved to be the biggest test case for Stephen Keshi as the
Eagles lost 0-1 in Khartoum. However, the Eagles made amends in the return
fixture by beating Sudan 3-1 in Abuja. This was too little and too late to save
the neck of Keshi who was angling for a fresh contract with the NFF. His
disengagement was announced hours after the 3-1 win over Sudan.
A member of the
Executive board of the Lagos State Football Association, Mojeed Adegbide said
that the decision by the Nigeria Football Federation to relieve Coach Stephen
Keshi of the Super Eagles job did not come as a surprise to him, after a series
of poor results by the national team.
“We all saw it
coming,” he started. “Given the way the Super Eagles played against Sudan, even
as we ended up winning 3-1, we were not comfortable.
“We cannot take
that kind of attitude to Congo and think we can take anything from there. A
stitch in time saves nine,” Adegbide said.
The Lagos FA
member refused to attribute Super Eagles Afcon 2013 success to Keshi’s
technical savvy.
“A lot of people
feel the feat performed by the team in South Africa was sheer luck. And to a
large extent, the team’s performances since then have given credence to those
who hold that school of thought,” he said, adding, “it is funny to find this
same team under the same technical crew that won the trophy in 2013, struggling
in the 2015 qualifiers this way. Out of four matches they have only four
points.” He said Keshi should go to those countries that he boasted wanted him.
“Is it not embarrassing to see a World Cup coach, an Afcon champion working
without a contract?. Let him go to those countries he has always said were
waiting for him to say yes.”
Veteran Coach,
Godfrey Esu said Keshi ‘dug his own grave’ with his style of management. “He
allowed his Afcon success get the better of him,” Esu said.
He accused Keshi
of being selfish and said the disengaged Super Eagles caretaker coach was far
behind the times in modern management. “In modern football, you don’t work
alone. At that national level you work with a team behind you…a team that will
be advising you. Some coaches work with very strong public relations people and
aides who go about monitoring players all around the world for you. There is no
way you do it alone. I think Keshi was selfish.”
Esu looked at
the appointment of Amodu Shaibu on an interim basis and observed that “Amodu is
not a new man. He has been active and knows the terrain. He has been following
the national team and even went to Brazil with them.”
General Manager
of Super Sport Felix Awogu would not shed a tear for Keshi but pointed out that
the problem with Nigerian football would not end with Keshi’s sack. “No, it is
not about Keshi because there are a lot of deep rooted issues in the team.
“Siasia came in
and ended up the same way, The same scenario, because we heard of some players
that were preferred at the expense of others; the same thing we saw under
Keshi. Until our coaches are held to defend their choice of players invited for
team selection the problem will remain. Our coaches run a system of exclusion
in the national team and it is not good for our football.”
He frowned at
the choice of Coach Shaibu Amodu because according to him, the nationa deserves
an apology from Amodu. “He should make a public apology over his avowed
rejection of home-based players.
“As a stake
holder in Nigerian football, I am not comfortable with Amodu who openly said
there were no good players in the Nigerian league.”
Awogu said
Nigeria needs a coach with a big heart. A coach who would not allow himself to
be tossed around. “We need the best coach, from anywhere, local or foreign,
black or white.”
Source: Vanguard Newspaper (Jacob Ajom)