IK’s Like Ginola, Cantona – Keshi -Cites French Stars In Striker’s Saga By Sam O’Femi Olusetire A new angle has cropped up in the saga about Villarreal of Spain striker, Ikechukwu Uche’s continued shut-out from the Super Eagles, as sources close to the Nigerian national team reveal that head coach, Stephen Keshi is citing a similar scenario with what happened in France on two occasions, when top stars, Eric Cantona and David Ginola were axed from the squad. With a lot of pressure rising against Keshi over his insistence on leaving IK Uche out, while alleging that the striker does not play to instructions, The Big Boss is now using the setting that saw former Les Bleus coach, Aimé Jacquet axe Cantona and Ginola from his squad to Euro ’96 in England, despite both players being in top form and idolized by their country’s soccer fans. Incidentally, Ginola’s woes were similar to what Keshi has said about IK, as it was due to tactical negligence on the part of the Newcastle United legend at the height of his career in 1993/94, as a setback came in November 1993, when he was blamed for the French team’s loss to Bulgaria, which eliminated Les Bleus from the 1994 FIFA World Cup. On his part, Cantona had always been known with a poor disciplinary record for much of his career, including a conviction for assault on a fan in 1995, and, though his disciplinary record was much improved after he returned from his eight-month suspension, Jacquet stuck to his guns and left the icon off his Euro ’96 hit list. By the time Cantonas suspension was completed, he had lost his place to Zinédine Zidane, as Jacquet revamped the squad with such that the icon, Ginola and Jean Pierre Papin lost their places in the squad and were never selected for the French team again, but the gaffer was eventually vindicated when he led the side to win the World Cup of 1998 on home soil. SportsDay has now gathered on good authority that Keshi has told close associates of his that he is ready to go the way of Jacquet, with a declaration that he will not allow anyone impose IK on him and is ready to take full responsibility over the matter. Interestingly, though, the same source served a strong hint that Keshi is not shutting the door on any player ahead of the World Cup and suggests that Uche could still make it into the Brazil 2014 squad if he shows remorse and apologises to The Big Boss. “The way it appears is that no manner of pressure will make Keshi change his mind. He has cited the example of Aime Jacquet with David Ginola and Eric Cantona, which is to say indiscipline of character and tactics must be checked in the national team. “Having said that, Keshi is not shutting the door on any player and says anyone who plays well for his club and shows good attitude can still make the World Cup squad. “I will just advise that Uche should find a way of talking directly to the coach and beg him, rather than going behind the scene asking the media to do PR stories for him,” said the competent source.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:30:29 +0000
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