'Why Chukwu Should Tinker Eagles'
By Gani Fawehinmi
Having carefully studied the state of our football and our prospect and preparation for the World Cup 2006, I wish to appeal to Nigeria as a country and Nigerians as a people particularly the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to stop the nauseating dithering on the issue of a National Coach to lead the country to the World Cup 2006.
I have come to the irrestible conclusion that, any attempt to employ a foreigner as our National Team Coach for the 2006 World Cup will amount to the worst disservice to the course of football in Nigeria and it will be tantamount to an assault on our national ethos and indeed sporting integrity.
The trend all over the World now is for each serious footballing country to apoint capable and experienced national of such country to coach their team to the World Cup particularly in 2006.
Only a couple of days ago, the German football machine appointed Jurgen Klinsmann as its national coach to prepare the German team for the 206 World Cup.
That was the first time, ever that Klinsmann will be saddled with such responsibility in Germany. Klinsmann was a notable German player. Germany did not go outside her shores to appoint a foreigner for such a sensitive position.
Before him, there was Franz Beckenbauer who distinguished himself as a German player before becoming a national team coach. The Germans most times promote one of their own to lead their squad to the World Cup.
In the same vein, Holland has also announced the appointment of the 'flashy' Marco van Basten, a former player for Holland and a national of Holland to coach that country's team for the World Cup 2006. Van Basten was a successful player for Holland.
Bulgaria is another country that is also playing the nationality card in the appointment of its national team coaches. That country has also appointed one of her own, Hristo Stoichov who was a notable player in the team, even when Nigeria trounced Bulgaria 3-0 in USA 1994 World Cup.
There are many other instances which have established the incontrovertible fact that the World Cup is so sensitive a venture that ability, experience and above all loyalty are crucial criteria in the appointment of a country's national coach.
Nigeria will fail in the World Cup if it fails to appreciate these criteria. It is these indices that have led me to appreciate the need now to confirm Christian Chukwu as our national coach for the World Cup 2006.
Therefore, Nigeria must drop the idea immediately of appointing any other person or any foreigner at this crucial time as the national coach or by whatever name called.
What we want we have in Chukwu -ability, experience and loyalty. Some of his credentials are confidence inspiring. They are: that he was appointed current Eagles coach on 5th August 2002, was the captain of Enugu Rangers International FC that won the African Cup Winners Cup in 1997;
That he was Captain of the Green Eagles in March 1980 when Nigeria won the African Nations Cup for the first time;
That he was one of the coaches that groomed the team that won the first U-17 World Cup in China in August 1985;
That he was the coach with Clemens Westerhof when the Super Eagles won the African Nations Cup in Tunisia on 10th April 1994 for the second time;
That he was the Chief coach of the Kenyan national team in 1998;
That he led the Eagles to win bronze in February 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia where the team broke the jinx of Cameroonian domination in major competitions.
I appeal to the Federal Government of Nigeria particularly General Olusegun Obasanj to put a stop to any plan to drop Chukwu for a foreign coach. If we don't, we will be conscientiously dropping our chances of winning the World Cup as a result of lack of patriotic altruism, nationalism, loyalty, established capability and well acknowledged experience. All these qualities can be found in Chukwu. In Chukwu I trust.
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