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Adokie bares fangs at Pinnick over Technical Adviser


By Tony Ubani Vaguard
Monday, August 16, 2004


DELTA FA Vice Chairman, Pinnick Amaju may have prepared a cane for his back without knowing it when he accepted a public debate with ex-international and former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Rivers State, Adokie Amiesimaka over hiring a foreign Technical Adviser for the Super Eagles.

Pinnick had drawn the flak of the erstwhile mercurial playmaker of the Green Eagles and the dreaded Rangers of the 70�s when he said that, �Ogunjobi is an ex-footballer, just like Adokie who failed to deliver Sharks�, Pinnick had fired after Adokie challenged NFA Chairman Ibrahim Galadima and Scribe Taiwo Ogunjobi to a public debate on the need for hiring a foreign Technical Adviser for the national team. And in a no-hold-barred interview, Amiesimaka described Pinnick as a truant who dabbled into what he knows nothing about.

�With due respect, my challenge was not to the world at large. Neither was it to Amaju Pinnick specifically. It was to the occupants of the influential and exalted offices of the Chairman and Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association, NFA, and not the ill-defined and inconsequential office of Vice Chairman, Delta FA. Poignantly, Pinnick�s sophistry is like the proverbial truant who, when asked who the Mother of Jesus was, wrote an essay on the life of Paul.

The issue is �do we need a foreign Technical Adviser for our national teams. Period! By the way, on football Administration, Pinnick should know what our local scene needs is committed resourceful people who�ll not join the bandwagon of CHEATS that �win� by hook or crook, but, will focus on development of local human resource, basic infrastructure and articulation of plan for sustainable success. In all humility, I would not have been praised to high heavens if I have nothing to offer�, Adokie said. Still smoking, Adokie said; �I sympathise with Pinnick for his non-descript office of Vice Chairman of a State FA. But, his ambition for higher office may not be realised with arguments like the ABSURD GENERALISATION of Nigerian coaches as being unable to shun ethnicity. His equally absurd solution as FA Executive, saddled with the responsibility of developing local talent (including coaches) is to hire FOREIGNERS.

How imaginative! How resourceful! Tell me, what has the laughably unenlightened allegation that the Shaibus, Chukwus and Ikhanas lack technical knowledge got to do with �Ethnicity�? By the way, what technical knowledge? What is the �sentiment� in saying, �just give Nigerian coaches the leverage so eagerly given foreigners and see how well they will perform?�. Adokie said the matter under consideration was too serious for cheap publicity seeking stunts.

�Did I hear Pinnick mention Joao Havelange as an example of an exceptionally successful football administrator? Someone should please inform Pinnick that Havelange is a Brazilian.

That Brazil is a vast, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial country. That Brazil has won the world cup a record number of times. That neither Havelange nor any other Brazilian football administrator ever appointed a foreigner as Technical Adviser, Manager, or Coach of Brazil! Infact, countries like Germany, Italy, Argentina, that have also won the world Cup several times will not even contemplate having a foreigner at the helm of affairs. Even England is regretting its decision to hire a foreigner, and is determined to change the situation at the earliest opportunity. Did I also hear someone say that, in line with modern trend, the newly appointed coaches of Holland and mighty Germany, respectively, are indigenes, even though relatively inexperienced in coaching, but respected ex-internationals? Oh, Nigerians, please �shine your eyes! Must we play second fiddle forever?�, Amiesimaka wailed.

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******** !Keshi condemns search for foreign coach
By HENRY OKODUWA,
Friday, September 10, 2004




Former Super Eagles captain, Stephen Keshi, is angry that despite the strings of good results Coach Christian Chukwu has been churning out since he assumed charge of the Super Eagles, the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) is still hell bent on contracting a foreigner to handle the team.

Keshi, who spoke to Daily Sunsport in Lome after his team, Togo, hammered Congo Brazzaville 2�0 in a World Cup qualifier in Lome, Sunday, wondered why Chukwu still deserved a boss after he has shown a consummate ability to produce the desired results.

"Look, sometimes I�m confounded about how we do our things in Nigeria," Keshi began, while barring his mind.
"I was under the impression that a coach was rated on the basis of what result he�s able to produce while he�s handling a team. As far as I am concerned, Chukwu has shown that he can handle the Eagles, from the kind of results he�s been eking out.

"I, therefore, don�t see any expediency in the hiring of a foreigner to handle the team.
"While I was preparing my team against the Congolese yesterday (Sunday), my mind was on how the Super Eagles will tackle the Warriors in Zimbabwe. But I later learnt that the Eagles triumphed 3�0. That, to me, was a fantastic result if it�s to be considered that it was achieved far, far away from home. It takes a good coach to do that.


"You know under what conditions coaches work in Nigeria. I�ve monitored the progress of Chukwu since he took over the team in 2002 and my verdict is that he�s done a very good job. So, if results are the criteria for judging anyone in a job such as this, then I would insist that we don�t need a foreign coach," he emphasized.

The Togolese coach, known as the �Big Boss� in his playing days would, however, profer that instead of the FA wasting time chasing foreigners with dubious credentials, they should invest in training and exposing Chukwu more to the dynamic and changing world of coaching, through refresher courses and crash programmes.

"I think this persistent and continual talk of a foreign coach is a distraction, which is capable of detracting from the small progress we�ve made so far in our quest for a Germany 2006 World Cup ticket.

"Instead of looking for money to spend on the foreign coach being expected, wouldn�t it be advisable to reserve a token to fortify Chukwu more technically, by exposing him to modern coaching trends abroad?
"I hear they want to hire one from Argentina or somewhere. But are we not unduly wasting time and putting pressure on Chukwu?" Keshi would further pose

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