Eagles need another Okocha to rule again – Kpakor: Nigeria were expected to build on their South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations success with a respectable showing at the World Cup in Brazil last year – by becoming the first African team to reach the semifinal of the global showpiece. The continent’s best record at the tournament so far is the quarterfinal appearances by Cameroon (Italia ’90), Senegal (Korea/Japan 2002) and Ghana (South Africa 2010) respectively. Moses Kpakor was one of the former internationals optimistic about the Super Eagles’ chances of making it to the last four at Brazil 2014. But the Super Eagles were sent packing from Brazil after their Round of 16 2-0 defeat at the hands of France. While some sections of the local media gave the players a tongue-lashing and subjected Stephen Keshi to heavy criticism following his side’s second round exit at the championship, some die-hard national team fans celebrated the side, hoping the African champions would win the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to make up for their early exit at the World Cup. However, the Eagles failed to qualify for the January 17- February 8 continental championship taking place in Equatorial Guinea. And the future of out-of-contract Keshi has been the subject of debate since November 19 when South Africa rubbed salt in the wound by holding the Eagles to a 2-2 draw (in Uyo) in a game Nigeria needed just a win to seal their Equatorial 2015 berth. Former Nigeria midfielder Kpakor says he is disappointed with the manner of the Eagles’ two defeats in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and maintains the national selectors should make attempts to find a “special player” for the team to regain their fear factor. “We need a special player like (Austin) Okocha to make the Super Eagles a tough side again,” the Algiers’90 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist told our correspondent during the week. “(Currently) we have many mediocre players in the national team and this is not helping the country. “The team lack a technically gifted player like Jay Jay (Okocha). We couldn’t qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations because we lacked a player to drive the team like Jay Jay. The Super Eagles became stronger with Jay Jay in the midfield when he played for the team. “He created a lot of chances for the team and scored important goals himself. His ability to create scoring chances helped the Super Eagles at USA ’94 World Cup as well as the Under-23 team at the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games. “We have not got any player to play his role since Jay Jay retired from the national team. We should begin the search for another Jay Jay if we are serious about becoming a top team again. “The Super Eagles lacked a creative midfielder during the qualifiers and this must be corrected.” The former Abiola Babes player added, “We need to overhaul team. This (Equatorial Guinea 2015) is not the end of the Africa Cup of Nations and we must prepare for the next one. “We couldn’t qualify for the 2012 edition (in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea). But we came back strongly the following year to win the tournament in South Africa ( after winning the competition on home soil in 1980 and in Tunisia in 1994). “We need new blood in the team and I think we can get some good players in the domestic league if we search properly. “I don’t know if Keshi will be allowed to remain as Eagles manager. I feel his contract should be extended by the NFF. He deserves commendation for winning the Africa Cup of Nations and for taking us to the second of the World Cup in Brazil. No foreign coach has taken us beyond the second round of the World Cup. We got to the second round of USA ’94 under Clemens Westerhof. We also crashed out at the same stage at France ’98 under Bora (Mitutinovic). “If the NFF decides to extend his contract, he should drop the majority of the players who played in the qualifiers. “As far as I’m concerned, only Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Sone Aluko, Vincent Enyeama and Ikechukwu Uche should be retained. “We need new defenders because the ones there are not good enough for the national team. They disappointed during the qualifiers. “We need players who are hungry for success.I don’t believe the majority of the players in the Eagles are hungry for success.” The former BCC Lions captain says his former Eagles’ teammate Keshi cannot solely be blamed for Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the Equatorial Guinea finals, saying the Nigeria Football Federation should accept blame for the Eagles’ 3-2 defeat by Congo in their Equatorial Guinea 2015 Group A opening match in Calabar in September last year. Kpakor said, “The NFF was in disarray before the game, hence we lost. The defeat had a psychological effect on the team. I don’t know why people chose the period of the qualifiers to fight over positions in the NFF. “Keshi is being critcised because we couldn’t qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations this time around. I don’t think he should take all the blame for the failure. The NFF should be blamed for not putting their house in order. “I don’t think Keshi is the problem of the national team. We have people who are pursuing their own interests managing our football at all levels. “We have been producing half-baked players in the country since the Golden Generation left because of bad management. “The majority of our players didn’t play street football. Most of the players these days are playing because they want to make money, not because they love the game. “Many of our foreign-based players are not playing for big clubs because they didn’t develop properly before leaving the country for professional football in Europe. “There is nothing much Keshi can do to make them better players because he has just a short period of time with them. “We played for street clubs and got selected for local government and state tournaments. The players who played for the big clubs in my days were spotted at such competitions. “You can hardly find playing fields in most of our cities today. Where are the state and national youth tournaments in which players were discovered? “We must accept that our football is in a mess. The game has been destroyed by people who are pursuing their self-interests.” The 1990 African Cup Winners’ Cup gold medallist says the country will find it difficult to produce the calibre of players that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia and the 1996 Olympic Games men’s football gold in the United States. He said, “No, it’s impossible. The economy is very bad now and the league is in a mess. There were good structures in place in our days to produce quality players. Things have changed for the worse these days. “Westerhof selected many players from the domestic league because it was competitive. The home-based players competed for roles in the team with their foreign-based counterparts. “I was a regular in the national team, despite playing in the domestic league. I lost my place in the team due to the career-threatening injury I sustained in a league game against Iwuanyanwu Nationale. The injury denied me a place in the Tunisia ’94 and USA ’94 squads. “Westerhof was able to work on the home-based players because their clubs allowed them to be in the national camp even when the league was on. We learned a lot during the period of camping. And it showed in our game in the league. “It’s not possible these days because no club would release their players when there is no guarantee they would be selected for tournaments.” Kpakor insists the Eagles don’t need the services of a foreign coach to reclaim lost glory. “We don’t need a foreign coach because we have capable homegrown managers to turn things around,” the former Lobi Stars team manager said. “it’s colonial mentality and we know what FA officials get for themselves when they bring a foreign coach.”
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 01:50:45 +0000
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