Before Eagles confront Devils, Bafana Ahead of Nigeria’s crucial AFCON qualifier matches, some stakeholders are of the view that the controversial sack and recall of Stephen Keshi as the Super Eagles coach, his frosty relationship with the Pinnick-led NFF and other issues may not be in Nigeria’s best interest. IKENNA OKONKWO examines the situation. By November 15, next week Saturday, the eyes and fragile hearts of soccer-loving Nigerians will certainly stick with Super Eagles when they confront their Congo counterparts in faraway Pointe-Noire, the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo. Undoubtedly, nothing short of outright victory is all that Stephen Keshi-turtored side needs to stay on course ahead of next years’ Nations Cup. Should anything less than 2-0 become the outcome of the crucial AFCON qualifier, especially for the Eagles, Nigeria, three times AFCON king will fail to berth in Morocco or wherever is confirmed as host country for the African nations’ cup. At the moment, Bafana Bafana of South Africa who still have scores to settle with their Nigerian counterparts are toping Group A with eight points while Giant killers, Red Devils of Congo, are in the second-placed with seven points. Third-placed Nigeria has four points one point above Sudan that is placed at the bottom. Since the current qualification series began, Coach Mashaba managed-Bafana is yet to win any match at home but have been spectacular away. And so, Eagles need to do extra work even when they have picked up their points against Congo. With the permutation still on, similar circumstance which almost played out in 2011 when Super Eagles failed to qualify for 2012 Cup of Nations after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Syli National of Guinea inside Abuja National Stadium. It was an encounter which the country’s senior national team needed to win with nothing short of 2-0 but that was not to be, despite the fact that most ‘big guns’ including Osaze Odewingie, Ike Uche and Mikel Obi were on parade in a match which most of them were adjudged complete flops. Actually, most football enthusiasts described what led to the teams’ lackluster performance as sabotage against the then tactician Samson Siasia who was later sacrificed before Keshi came on board. And after Keshi stirred up hope with a 3-1 win against Sudan who shocked Eagles 0-1 in Khartoum, some football followers were traumatized when they woke up to hear that the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF led by Amaju Pinnick has sent the former Mali and Togo handler parking and installed Shuaibu Amodu as interim Coach, a situation that even Sports Minister Dr. Tammy Danagogo described as ‘shocking’. But with the unfolding of events, Keshi who has won the Nations Cup as both a player and a coach was recalled by President Goodluck Jonathan and immediately, the dual citizen gaffer recalled Ike Uche who he has sidelined for barely two years. Considering obvious feud existing between Keshi and Pinnick-led NFF, many are already in doubt on whether the football house will still give the team the necessary backing needed to finish well in the remaining two games. NFF Board, under Pinnick had quickly issued a press release after President Jonathan ordered them to reinstate Keshi claiming that Amodu pleaded for the return of his former assistant to oversee the outstanding games. Despite what appeared like a swift step to cover up, fans are still in doubt on how Super Eagles would cope with existing and impending distractions. One of them, Bayelsa United team manager, Nwankwe Tarilaye, said; “Keshi should not return. What kind of working relationship will he have with a board that pushed him out? In the first place, sacking him wasn’t the solution and now that he is back, the Big Boss must learn from criticisms of all Nigerians.” For Izuchukwu Nwakooma who resides in Umuahia, “It’s laughable that Keshi has agreed to continue as Eagles’ coach even without a contract. What about the many countries he claimed were after signing him on? With the intervention from the powers that be, nobody can talk to Keshi again. We’re in for poor results from the Eagles.” Mohammed Abdulraman who hails from Taraba state, said; “Keshi is the best for Nigeria; no doubt about that. I don’t know why NFF sacked him in the first place”, he stated. On his part, Sunshine Stars of Akure chairman, Hon. Akin Akinbobola is of the view that Keshi’s return would give impetus to Super Eagles desire to qualify for the 2015 AFCON. According to him “It is very important for all of us to bury the hatchet and find a peaceful ground towards solving the problem. It is not a problem for a particular group, but something that affects the passion of all soccer loving Nigerians”. He further added that “We cannot achieve anything by dragging the name of the country in the mud all the time. It is important for every stake holder in the country to embrace peace and work together as members of the same family”.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 15:42:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015