Nigerian Football

Opinion: The Rude Awakening

Published

7 years ago

June 15, 2017

BY EMMANUEL NYABAM

Dear Mr Rohr and fellow Nigerians. This is an open letter on the Nigerian game. A lot has been said about Nigeria’s loss to South Africa last weekend. I won’t bother you with the drama that we used South African balls to play the match.

Ha! Maybe they had ‘jazzed the balls sef?’ Sikes! If I hear! I must commend Rohr as I am firmly one of those who did not want a foreign coach for our national team.

No doubt, the man has brought some stability to the Super Eagles and this was just one big bad day at the office.

The truth is that we did not prepare well for this game and we underestimated the resolve of Stuart Baxter and his boys. This game we should quickly forget and move on.

To Rohr, let me state my personal position to you sire. Nigerians cannot defend for their goal area and what we know how to do is attack with zest. Even that is now quite eroded with half baked players we now parade. They merely warm benches in their various clubs across the globe.

Let’s chronicle this fact. Nigeria has produced just one world class defender. His name sire, is Mr Terrible, oh sorry (in 1996 Olympics the commentator called him so) Taribo West.

Since his departure we have been graced by nearly ‘Champions and Omeruo’ the most recent after Tonight, has lost his way content to just play average football in some obscure club.

Let me push this treatise further; today how many quality centre backs are within our league or Europe now?

This means there is a dearth and the drought continues unabated. The likes of Elisha Gilbert are too slow though can be trained to improve.

Mr Rohr, the next thing I must state to you is that Nigeria and its players are dam too used to fire brigade approach so you must camp the players in a strict regimented camp.

I have found that Rhor needs to understand that he must treat our footballers like kids who need direction. It is how we are toned and it shows in our expansive bit useless play.

We are flamboyant and elaborate in painting the ball practically playing football at snail pace or better explained in the Nigerian lingo ‘go-slow’.

Herein, players who are late without reason must be kept out so discipline is holistic. He also needs this to speak to our arrogant mindsets that make us feel superior to our opponents.

With these two foregoing matters out of the way, it is time we build our philosophy of football. We can’t defend period.

In 1994 at the World Cup, Austin ‘Jay Jay” Okocha (the dancer who never fully blossomed) and should have played keep away so we knock out Italy gifted them the ball and they went on to beat Nigeria.

That set of players jokingly call themselves World Cup stars and for me they can enjoy their boast as the first to take us forward into the World Cup but their collective ignorance led to our ouster at the World Cup.

A quick roll forward we lost to Brazil in the first round with defensive posture. When we met again, and we had no option in a game we were losing we reverted to a back-three line and attacked which we understand like the air we breathe.

We went on to win the Olympic gold attacking and not defending. When the white witch doctor, Pillippe Trousier came, and with our team playing against Guinea, even a rampaging Titi Camera ended up playing central defence to escape Nigeria’s raving rampaging play playing with a back three line.

Alas some bungling ignorant chaps who had access to the then Head of State stage-managed Troussier’s ouster. Keshi played a loose four back system wherein he allowed for our expansiveness and passing freeing up Mikel Obi to play and lead us to a Africa Cup of Nations victory.

Lastly Siasia beat France in a friendly playing with a three-man back line which shocked France.

Sire, am I making sense now? Mr Rhor I appreciate your desire to rebuild our national team for longevity. My take sire, use the home-based Eagles team to bring in and train players who can adapt to your desired plans for a youthful team.

I ask you to look inwards and work with academies and help rebuild youth system. Sire, keep a data base because we lie too much about our ages. However there are drills you can use that help you expose the age cheats without necessarily doing medical tests.

Be empirical in your testing regiment and also sit with players individually placing your philosophical approach into their heads.

I would let you rest now and be back with my further thoughts on the way forward. Thank you for patiently enduring to read my missive sire.

Sporting Regards,

Emmanuel Nyabam Esq. ©2017

CLAPAI orphanage

Laconoscenza Ltd UK/Nig

Nigerian Football

Nigeria face tough defence as Burkina Faso lie in wait at U17 WAFU B AFCON qualifiers

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Defending champions Nigeria have been handed a difficult path to the 2025 U17 Africa Cup of Nations finals after being drawn in the same group as Burkina Faso for next month’s WAFU B qualifying tournament in Ghana.

The Golden Eaglets, who won the last edition of the regional championship in 2022, will also face Togo and Niger in Group B of the competition which runs from 15-28 May.

Hosts Ghana find themselves in Group A alongside Cote d’Ivoire and Benin in a tough-looking section of the competition to be played in Accra.

The draw was conducted by 1970s Ivorian football legends Kobenan Kouman and Die Foneye at the Ivorian FA headquarters in Abidjan on Friday.

Nigeria claimed their WAFU B U17 AFCON title by defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the regional final in Ghana two years ago.

However, they will need to overcome some familiar foes if they are to defend their crown and with the Burkina Faso finishing third at the last TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations, some exciting matches are expected.

Arch-rivals Nigeria and Ghana are among the two favourites and could meet in the final in Accra on 28 May, should they top their respective groups and make it through the semi-finals.

Ghana also have pedigree at this level, having the World Cup in 1991 and 1995 as they bid to reach the U17 AFCON finals on home soil.

The top two teams from the WAFU B tournament will qualify for next year’s U17 Africa Cup of Nations.

Groups:

Group A: Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin

Group B: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo, Niger.

Nigerian Football

Former Nigeria international, Onye recommends Amuneke-Siasia combo for Super Eagles

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Kunle Solaja

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Kingsley Onye, the left sided defender who was a member of the first Flying Eagles side to have a podium finish at the U-20 World Cup has suggested the employment of Emmanuel Amuneke as the coach of the Super Eagles.

He wants him to be assisted by Samson Siasia when the ban on the latter lapses in August. Alternatively, Onye pointed to Sylvanus Okpala as alternative to Siasia.

The Super Eagles are in dare need for a head coach as the clock ticks down to the Match day 4 and 5 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in which the team is trailing at the third position.

The two matches in early June are crucial for the Super Eagles to bounce back into reckoning as the team can not afford to drop any of the available six points in the duels with South Africa at home and away to Benin.

From this Monday, it is 41 days to the potentially challenging tie with South Africa, but the Nigerian national team has been without a coach since the expiration of the contract of Portugal’s Jose Peseiro shortly after the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Without mincing words, Onye remarked: “Emmanuel Amuneke is the right man for the job of the coach of Super Eagles. He has been there before.

“He tasted it and had been fantastic with the Nigeria youth team, the U-17 by assisting Manu Garba to win the U17 World Cup in 2013 and as head coach, led the Golden Eaglets to win the cup again in 2015.”

Onye who played for the Enugu Rangers in Nigeria before venturing to the UK but had his career scuppered by freak injury pointed out that the solution to Super Eagles’ technical deficiency is the appointment of an indigenous coach and that Amuneke is the man.

In buttressing his assertion, he declared: “As a senior team coach, Amuneke qualified a long standing absentee team, Tanzania for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

“His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.

“He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.”

Onye also looked at the personality of Amuneke in recommending him for the Super Eagles job.

His record as a player is also very impressive. He played and won with the Super Eagles, the AFCON 1994. He played at the Olympic Games and was also the first Nigerian to score two goals at the World Cup.

He has played at the African Games and also for top clubs in the continent as he was a member of the Egyptian giants, Zamalek. In Europe, he played for Sporting Clube de Portugal and then Barcelona before injury ended his playing career.

Nigerian Football

GTI enlarges coast…spreads from League fund-raising to Federation Cup

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Kunle Solaja

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Strategic partners of the Nigeria Football Federation, GTI Asset Management and Trust Ltd has expanded their scope of operations from fund sourcing for the Nigeria Premier League to adding the responsibility of getting the national cup competition back into its glamorous days.

The MD of the company, Abubakar Lawal at the unveiling a revamped Federation Cup which has been renamed President Federation Cup remarked that his company decided to take a bold step to support the national cup.

“I am the happiest man today, he said in the opening remark of the rebranding of the national cup through signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Sports and the NFF.

“Our company is also strategically involved in ensuring that the President Federation Cup is given necessary attention to thrive using The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF) as our vehicle to actualise this dream.

“Therefore, it is our vision that the oldest domestic football event becomes one of the best organised football events in the world in no distant future.”