Top 7 Eagles flops at the World Cup When the Super Eagles play their first game against Iran on June 16, one thing will be on the players mind and that is to perform well at the World Cup. FCNaija takes a look at the players that flopped for Nigeria in her past World Cups as we hope for a great Mundial. 1. Sani Kaita (2 May 1986) Sani-Kaita.jpg A quintessential case of fall from grace to grass, to many Nigerians, Sani Kaita represent that neighbour you don’t want to see first thing in the morning. The midfielder ones had a fledging career in the national side, he was an integral member of the Samson Siasia Flying Eagles side that got to the finals of the 2005 U-20 World Cup. He was also a key member of the side that got to the finals of the Beijing Olympics football event in 2008. He looks to have worked his way into the Super Eagles midfield and many believes he was going to make the defensive midfield position in the senior national his personal portfolio, he was well on his way to achieving that, until one minute of madness against Greece at the 2010 World Cup made him public enemy number one. Kaita for reasons best known to him threw a kick at a Greek player when the ball was out of play. The action which appeared unprovoked earned him a deserved red card with the score still at 1-1. Nigeria ended up losing the game 2-1 and many believed Kaita’s mental switch cost the Super Eagle the match. After that, it would have been suicidal for any coach of the national team to invite the combative midfielder to the side, it was also said that the player was advised not to return to the country for at least a year due to the deep resentment most people felt towards him. His career seems to fizzle away after that and he is finally back in the country playing for Enyimba. 2. Bartholomew Ogbeche: (1 Oct 1984) bathelomew-ogbeche.jpg Another key member of the Adegboye Onigbinde revolution. To his credit, Ogbeche wasn’t doing so badly before his invitation to the Super Eagles; his was a regular at PSG in the French league giving a renowned striker like Nicholas Anelka a run for his money in the side. After a series of average performance for the Super Eagles, the young forward hypnotized the entire country when he tried an audacious bicycle kick in a pre-World Cup Friendly match against Scotland. Instantly, Ogbeche became the talk of the town, not minding the fact that the bicycle kick did not find its target, everybody wanted him in the final World Cup squad and it would have been a mortal sin if he wasn’t included. Ogbeche was given the No 9 jersey as many tagged him the new Yekini. Well, what happened next was quite astonishing. The striker looked to have been overwhelmed by the event and he struggle to find any kind of form. In fact, the only positive thing in his performance was the commentator’s generous attempt to make him look good. At some point it seems the commentators were apologizing on his behalf. He was never at the end of any pass, was unable to take on defenders and he has no physical presence in the final third. In the end, Nigerians were quick to discard the young man into the garbage bin of history but many will not forget that bicycle kick. 3. Mobi Oparaku: (01 Dec 1976) Mobi Oparaku represented for Nigeria at the France 98’ World Cup and played in the right back position for the Super Eagles against Spain. The former FC Kapellen of Belgium defender had a bizarre game against Spain infact that was the only game he played as he was dropped to the bench for the remainder of the tournament. He was constantly pulled out of position and was responsible for both goals the Eagles conceded against Spain as he gave away the freekick that led to the first goal and could only admire Raul Gonzalez when he scored a beautiful volley pass the helpless Peter Rufai in goal for Nigeria. Mobi was taken off in that game in the 70 minute and replaced by Rasheedi Yekini which allowed Mutiu Adepoju slot into the right back position and kept the position for the next game. The Owerri born player struggled with heights and found aerial balls extremely difficult to deal with sometimes you’d imagine if he does the stretches in training because his legs seemed glued to his body in matches. 4. Isaac Okoronkwo: (01 May 1978) isaac-okoronkwo.jpg Isaac Okoronkwo made the Super Eagles squad for the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup and had the honours of playing alongside Taribo West in Central defense. He played for Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk going into the World Cup so the expectations were high on him but the Voltrun looking defender totally blew it with a shambolic showing at the Mundial. Okoronkwo’s positioning was pathetic and he was too nice to attackers especially if you put his hard face into considerations as he went three games without receiving a yellow card. His complacency left defensive partner Taribo West Vulnerable and with too much to do except nurse the pain from a bleeding head after trying to head all the defensive problems away. The defender looked over height and his running style made it extremely difficult for him to chase strikers or close down space which caused the team dearly as they failed to qualify from their group for the first time in the history of Nigerian football. 5. Rabiu Afolabi: (18 Apr 1980) Rabiu-Afolabi.jpg Rabiu Afolabi was a huge surprise when he made the Super Eagles squad for the South Africa 2010 World Cup after he failed to kick a ball at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup. The former Red Bull Salzburg benefited from a double injury to two of Nigeria’s recognized left backs to make his World Cup debut. Against Greece Taiye Taiwo was replaced by Uwa Echiejile due to injury in the 55 minute and in the 77 minute Echiejile himself was replaced by Afolabi due to another injury but the Eagles went on to lose that game 2-1. The excuse for Afolabi will be that he is not a natural left back but there are no excuses for poor defending and lack of ability to read the game as a professional footballer. Maybe the rabbit face defender was overawed by the occasion. 6. Pius Ikedia: (11 July 1980) Pius Ikedia was part of the Super Eagles squad to the 2002 Korea/Japan FIFA World Cup and played as a winger. Pius was one player Nigerians expected to take the World Cup by storm with his dashing runs and maybe add a few goals to his hardwork but none happened as he was a huge flop at the World Cup. The former Ajax winger played as a substitute in all three of the Eagles games and the biggest downside for the player was his constant bad timing as he sometimes over runs the ball or fails to find a teammate when in possession of the ball. Ikedia won our hearts at the junior World Cup hosted by Nigeria in 99’ and at 34 should still be in the current team as a senior player like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for England or Andrea Pirlo for Italy but in all honesty how many of our players still play top class football at that age maybe Osaze Odemwingie. 7. Femi Opabunmi: (3 Mar 1985) femi-opabunmi.jpg When talking about Nigeria’s World Cup flops they don’t come any bigger than Femi Opabunmi. Before heading to the World Cup in Korea and Japan 2002, the former Shooting Stars forward was the golden boy of Nigerian football. A year earlier, he was part of the exciting Golden Eaglet side that came second in the 2001 U-17 World Cup held in Trinidad and Tobago. Opabunmi finished as the topscorer of the tournament and also voted the second most valuable player of the competition. To many Nigerians a new star has been born and we have the good fortune that he was Nigerian. As luck would have it; the player became part of the Adegboye Onigbinde led revolution in the Super Eagles. The Osun state born tactician was charged with the responsibility of rebuilding the Super Eagles after some key players were ban from the side. Opabunmi became a central part of that project and he was included in the squad that went to the World Cup in 2002. Apart from becoming the youngest player to play at the World Cup, Opabunmi achieved nothing of significance during and after the tournament. His performance was so dismal that he went from Nigeria’s darling child to the biblical prodigal son. What was most painful was the fact that Opabunmi did noting of significance with his career after that and nothing has been heard of him ever since.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 12:18:18 +0000
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