The Super Eagles Of Nigeria Must Stop Crawling

The Nigerian Super Eagles took the silver medal of the last CAF ANC 2024 held from January 23rd- Feb 24th in Cote d’Ivoire. Despite coming close to winning the competition, their play was a collection of uninspiring performances that finally took them to the final stage where they were beaten by a wobbly Ivorian national team who had also scrapped through to the finals. Surprisingly for the Super Eagles, then tutored by the Portuguese Jose Peseiro, their greatest strength was in the defensive and pressing capabilities of their star striker, Victor Osimhen who had earlier won the African Footballer of the Year award on account of his goal-scoring prowess which helped Napoli FC, Italy, win the Italian scudetto. Osimhen’s individual efforts to press from the front, greatly helped Nigeria scrape through from the group stages to the final match of the CAF African Nations Cup, but it also affected him upon his return to club football as fatigue had set in to make him miss several matches.

Fast forward to June 2024, the Super Eagles have underperformed in their last two World Cup qualifier matches, against South Africa, in Uyo-Nigeria and Benin Republic in Abidjan. Against South Africa, they barely survived, though they had one of their best performances ever during the second half of that match and equalized to keep the game at 2-2.

 

 

Last Monday’s match against Benin Republic was terrible and hugely contrasting to the events, in 1980, which led then President Shehu Shagari to change their name from Green Eagles to Super Eagles. Yesterday's match which they lost 1-2 against Benin Republic was a cacophony of individual errors, absolute sluggishness, and indifference of the players to show their positive capabilities when it was most needed. This is absolutely a shame to behold, despite the glimpses of brilliance some of these players show in their club sides.

The mesmerizing attacking skills of Segun Odegbami and Felix Owolabi, coupled with the midfield dexterity of Aloysius Atuegbu and Muda Lawal, ensured that captain Christian Chukwu, Okey Isima, Kadiri Ikhana, and goalkeeper Best Ogedegbe enjoyed warmth and absolute tranquility around their defensive territory. Serenaded by the fluidity of their play and the ecstasy it generated amongst the over sixty thousand cheering fans at the National Stadium, Lagos during the CAF ANC 1980 Final, President Shagari was extremely excited at this performance which Nigeria won 3-0 against the Desert Warriors of Algeria that he changed the name of the Nigerian football national team from Green Eagles to Super Eagles! After this feat in 1980 and the superlative performances of the Stephen Keshi-led 1994 team, the current Super Eagles arrangement has gotten worse as a team good at causing pain to innocent Nigerian Football fans. A Nigerian newspaper article affirms that five Nigerians died watching our team cause heartache during the CAF ANC 2024. With their current level of bad performances qualifying for the 2026 World Cup appears impossible but we wait to see!

Coach Finidi George's lackluster performance in his four matches sways the clamor for local coaches for the Super Eagles strongly against them because he's not new to our current bunch of players and the NFF management. He must do the needful and make these players understand the passion of an average Nigerian Football fan! He must get a psychologist to educate them to enrich their Nigerian persona. These players must show passion in order not to set Nigeria’s football development backward or else leave the stage for more passionate and skilled Nigerian footballers to lead us to glory! Still, we pray this current collection of Nigerian footballers does not become a lost generation!

 

 

 

 

                             

The Twists And Turns Of The 34th AFCON Competition

 

 

Video: The goal that crippled the Super Eagles(Courtesy CAF_Online)

The 34^th AFCON hosted by Cote D’Ivoire carried with it some of the most dramatic moments in African football. It was a bundle of excitement, determination, and the vicissitude of fate in diverse actions of our daily lives.

It started with the confusion of the Elephants sacking their coach Jean Louis Gasset, after losing two matches whilst on the verge of exiting at the group stages from a competition they were hosting.  Their 0-4 loss to Equatorial Guinea was damning with their victors considered a far lesser football force and their most prominent players wallowing at the bottom of the lower leagues in Europe, compared to the Ivoirians who had players rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s best! The situation looked crazy, with the hosts on the brink of being eliminated, spectators dried up at the venues, leaving the stadium for birds, visiting fans, AFCON officials, and cameramen.

The twists and turns of the competition saw the hosts narrowly qualify for the second round and the local spectators returned to the stadium and the tension of the knockout stages began. Most of the matches were predictable, but in the matches at Abidjan (Egypt vs Republic of Congo), (Nigeria vs Cameroon), Yamoussoukro (Senegal vs Cote d’Ivoire), and San Pedro (Morocco vs South Africa), everyone expected fireworks and indeed, the drama these matches was much. The match between hosts Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal rose to its crescendo and against bookmakers' predictions, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire did the unexpected by beating the defending champions. It was an unexpected result; the Taranga Lions had not lost within the African continent for over two years and losing to Cote D’Ivoire, who had crawled to the second round as one of the best losers, looked unfathomable. Alas, it was about football, the game of drama! South Africa beat Morocco, Egypt lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria beat Cameroon.

The quarter finals had giant killers Cape Verde who had beaten Mauritania in the second round playing against South Africa in the quarter finals. It was an exhilarating match, with both sides looking equally matched and it dragged into penalties, where the South African goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, made an everlasting statement in AFCON folklore by saving four penalties, to take his team to the semi-finals. The Elephants continued with their heroics and cut down the Mali national team in the last minute and last kick of the extra time and in another dramatic fashion. They had started to believe in themselves. The local coach Emerse Fae, had tweaked the team to play to their full strength but their initial stumbles, still made them less considered by other teams.

With their underwhelming performance at the 33^rd AFCON Competition in Cameroon and losing the FIFA World Cup in a despicable manner, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, stumbled to a draw in their first match against Equatorial Guinea and beat eventual winners, Cote D’Ivoire in the second match. They came with a large collection of brilliant players, including Victor Osimhen, the African Footballer of the Year but their style was unclear. Like Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria’s confidence as they progressed in the competition. Nigeria overcame the onslaught of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the semi-finals, but in the finals, against the Elephants, despite taking the lead they could not continue to soak the pressure with the Ivoirians boosted by the home crowd. It was a sad ending for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, but for the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, it was a dream come true.

 

PLAYER POWER & SUPER EAGLES VICTORY AGAINST COTE D'IVOIRE

A day after Nigeria’s victory over Cote d’Ivoire at the AFCON2023, Nigeria’s Coach Jose Peseiro posted the quote below on his Twitter handle @JosePeseiro

 

"Yesterday we won an excellent match against Côte d'Ivoire, supported by a strategic plan that was impeccably executed, by the quality, intelligence, determination, and mutual help of our boys. It's up to us to keep our FOCUS on training, rest, and nutrition in order to beat Guinea Bissau"

 

THE POSSIBLE RESURGENCE OF THE SUPER EAGLES

After struggling to a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their first match of the AFCON 2023, players of Nigeria's Super Eagles were reported to have held a no-holds-barred meeting to articulate the way forward in their quest to win the AFCON 2023 title. Playing against the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire in their second match on the 18th of January 2023, the team came out differently! Though not firing at their full potential, the Eagles subdued and snuffed life out from the Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire. The Super Eagles won 0-1, through a penalty converted by Captain William Troost-Ekong. They broke the jinx of the Super Eagles always losing crucial matches whenever they adorn their all-white Jersey and beat the Ivoirians at home for the first time. The boys showed they have the grit to squeeze out results and overwhelm severe pressure! Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina, and Stanley Nwabali showed their inestimable passion to excel whilst getting some support from their colleagues. Possibly, they have come to the realization that their indisputable legacy in Nigerian football folklore, can only be realized through good results that would attract the love and absolute support of the Nigerian football supporters and not otherwise!

 

For a nation boasting a huge collection of skilled football players plying their trade in some of the best leagues in the world, the dilemma of seeing the Super Eagles stumble and crumble even against the least opposition has remained a painful reality for every Nigerian football supporter.

 

 

THE ROLE OF PLAYER POWER

The striking reality about their performance was that it showed the success of the players meeting before the Cote d’Ivoire match, as we also witnessed a remarkable change in their tactical approach hitherto noticed since the Peseiro era began. The fluidity of their play, aggressiveness to subdue the opposition, and resilience to succeed was far better than their performance against Equatorial Guinea and most of their past matches.

 

The capability of football players to take their destinies into their hands, support and/or undermine their coach is well reported in World Football. As articulated by coach Peseiro in the above tweet, the support of the Super Eagles players was a game-changer that positively enhanced Nigeria's chances in the AFCON 2023. Hopefully, they shall further improve in their subsequent matches and their realization could be a turning point in the fortunes of Nigerian football.

With a single group match remaining in their group, the Super Eagles stand a very good chance of qualifying for the next round and their continued success in the AFCON2023 would be a lasting testimony to confirm that the victory over CIV was not a fluke.

 

 

 

ANC2023: SUPER EAGLES OF NIGERIA, FAVORITES OR BYSTANDERS?

The African Nations Cup starts off in Cote d’Ivoire within a fortnight and the Super Eagles of Nigeria are participating. About thirty years ago, they ranked the 5^th best nation in the world and attracted so much global attention through the scintillating performance of the team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA. This was the apogee of Nigeria’s football history. The Super Eagles won the 1994 ANC in Tunisia and players such as Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeba,  got huge transfers to some of the best clubs in Europe.

Fast forward to 1996, the Nigerian football team won the gold medal in the Olympics, beating the star-studded teams of Brazil and Argentina, on their way to achieving this feat. Kanu Nwankwo won the CAF African Best Player Award, in 1996 & 1999, and Victor Ikpeba followed in 1997.  These events occurred just within six years after Professional Football was legalized in Nigeria. Most of the players had just left the local league. Thompson Oliha, playing for African Sports D’Abidjan(Cote D’Ivoire), same with Finidi George, Ajax Amsterdam, Ben Iroha, Vitesse Arnhem were recurring features on Coach Clemence Westerhof’s team list in the 1994 team and under Coach Bonfere Jo, Joseph Dosu, ‘owned’ the goalkeeping shirt and never crumbled to the onslaught of Bebeto, Romario, Diego Simeone, Gabriel Batistuta, and others.

 

THE SUPER EAGLE: ANY HOPE FOR OPTIMISM?

Amidst a conglomeration of minnows, the Super Eagles qualified for the ANC in Cote d’Ivoire, but not without several heartaches and drama! They lost at home to minnows and have not won any friendly match for three years. On paper and in current form, Nigeria boasts of possibly the best array of established African players, paying for good clubs across the World. From Victor Osimhen(Napoli FC, Italy), Ademola Lukeman(Atlanta), Maduka Okoye(Udinese), Ola Aina(Nottingham Forest, England), Victor Boniface(Bayer Leverkusen, Germany) Alex Iwobi(Fulham, England), Adebayo Adeleye(Hapoel Jerusalem, Israel ). Herein, the paradox begins! Coached by Jose Peseiro, a Portuguese, whose success ratio in his coaching career rates below 35%, the Super Eagles, has turned to a team without flair, style, guile, or tactical sagacity to overwhelm even the most unprepared opposition. He’s lost more matches than any other coach of the Super Eagles and even with the unique talents of the team, watching the Super Eagles has become a nightmare!  His disgust for players in the Nigerian league is palpable and has never manifested any attribute to consider him a good coach!

SUPER EAGLES SUFFERING THE BURDEN OF INEPTITUDE

Football is filled with so much drama and unpredictability! Sometimes, even the so-called minnows overwhelm giants and we hope the Super Eagles can replicate the feat of Denmark, in the 1992 European Nations Championship! Captain Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo, remain the only survivors of coach Stephen Keshi’s team that won Nigeria’s last ANC trophy in 2013 and expect that at the twilight of their careers, they’d be able to motivate the current players’ to a good result. Victor Osimhen just won the African Best Footballer award, Victor Boniface, has successively won the Bundesliga Best Player of the Month award for four months starting from August. These successes offer good reasons for Nigerians to be optimistic about Nigeria’s chances but the trajectory of the team under Jose Peseiro leaves much to be desired. Whilst questions continue about the competence of the coach, it is further worsened by the actions of the Nigerian Football Federation, who continue to owe Peseiro backlogs of salaries, and attributing his performance to this anomaly would be in order! The pessimism surrounding the Super Eagles’ participation in ANC2023 and Peseiro’s below-par reign will continue to instigate debates, unless they prove the pessimists wrong and give Nigerians a reason to smile and celebrate, after the ANC. Only such success would guarantee him a place in the annals of Nigerian football history.

 

Super Eagles of Nigeria: So Much Quality, Great Suspense!

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Nigerian Super Eagles Qualifies for 2023 CAF African Nations Cup On the 13th October, the draws for the 2023-24 African Nations Cup was released by the Confederation for African Football, CAF. Nigeria was drawn in group A, comprising hosts, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea. Opinions differ on our chances for qualification, but using past, current records and team quality, Nigeria ranks above all these teams. The Nigerian Super Eagles has won the African Nations Cup thrice, 1980, 1994 and 2013. Her performance thereafter has been lackluster; they failed to qualify for the next two editions, for reasons far removed from the availability of quality players. What Hope for Nigerian Super Eagles? Fast forward to 2023, and Nigeria is again set to compete with other African Nations for the highest football competition in Africa. It is a very important competition for every participating nation and it is expected that football clubs across the world with African players would have to contend with losing these players (for nations that qualified) for the January tournament. Fans and supporters of the Super Eagles would as usual remain in palpable suspense, despite the huge talent and quality of players available to the team. On current form, Nigeria, boasts of a very formidable team, good enough to overwhelm any other African team, but alas, the Super Eagles, disappoint, when more is expected from them. Some contrary opinions would want to posit about the passionate sentiments of Nigerians to complain whenever the Super Eagle stumble, but this is far from the truth! For ages, no knowledgeable Nigerian football fan can articulate our football style or philosophy because no Super Eagles coach have for over a decade, been able to impose a definite style, whether ultra attack or defence minded or even the kick-and-follow! We thrive on the individual brilliance and/or collective brilliance of a minority few!

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Even during the Super Eagles period of her highest apogee, their downfall has always been traced the off-the field issues, such as bickering over allowances and jaundiced team selections. For a team comprising Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Sunday Awoniyi, Samuel Chukwueze, Gift Orban, Kelechi Ihenacho, Wilfred Ndidi, Ola Aina et al, why should a Nigerian worry about its good performance? That question remains the crux of confusion that bedevils the Super Eagles! During the CAF ANC 2021, in Cameroun, she started well, beating defending champions, Egypt,1-0, beat Ethiopia and Guinea Bissau, 3-1 and 2-0 respectively at the group stage, then surprisingly lost 1-0 to Tunisia, in a lack luster match, wherein fans only saw the ‘shadows’ of the players, rather than their real quality. On the 23rd March 2023, playing against lowly rated Guinea Bissau, in Abuja-Nigeria, during the African Nations qualification match, she lost 1-0. Despite taking revenge by the same margin four days after in Bissau, the embarrassment had already been done to the fans. The nation suffered the same pain, when after getting a scoreless draw against Ghana in the last match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, the Super Eagles crumbled to a 1-1 draw to lose qualification to the 2022 World Cup. Her recent results in international friendly matches remain appalling!

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The Super Eagles has got enough experienced players at the moment, to help steer a positive direction for glory and register their names in Nigerian folklore history. That remains the easiest opportunity for an assured performance for them as we expect the Super Eagles to brighten Nigerians morale from our bated silence in our current societal ignominy!