Daily Independent Online.
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Wednesday, July 07, 2004.
Calling a dog a bad name
By Tai Emeka Obasi
In 1993, the Super Eagles, led by Stephen
Keshi, hung Nigerian hearts on a faulty balance for the last twenty minutes in
that World Cup qualifier match against a playing-for-formality Algeria. Clemens
Westerhof had in attendance the best legs Nigeria could muster. When Finidi
George scored and we needed to hold the ball in the middle, the Dutch left a
hot Austin Okocha on the bench for 90 mins. By divine intervention, the match
ended 1 -1, a result that was enough to see us to USA.
In 1994, the same team had our hearts in
our mouths for the last twenty minutes when they battled the hastily assembled
Zambia for the Nations Cup gold.
Westerhof removed Okocha and brought in
Nduka Ugbade to, in the Dutchman’s wisdom, defend his one goal advantage.
Thereafter, Kalusha Bwalya struck the post and Peter Rufai made many daring
saves to deny Zambia the trophy by 2-1.
In 1996, the Super Eagles, under Philipe
Troussier and unarguably the best side in Africa, huffed and puffed against
Guinea that had only Titi Camera. Thanks to Dan Amokachi, we managed to beat
Gunea 2-1 en route France ’98.
Prior to Korea/ Japan 2002, Jo Bonfrere
assembled the best legs in Africa but couldn’t overcome Cecil
Attequayefo-led Aura Hearts of Oaks - represented Ghana. The same Bonfrere lost
to Liberia and a no-team Sierra Leone.
In 1998, with the best legs in Africa, the
Super Eagles, under Bora Milutinovic, lost 1-5 to Holland and 0-3 to Yugoslavia
in preparatory friendly matches to France ’98.
Before all these, Father Tiko, in 1977, had
led the Green Eagles to the odd-Odiye-goal loss to Tunisia for Argentina
’78. Four years later, his compatriot, Prof Otto Gloria led the African
Champions to a scandalous 0-2 loss to the same team we mauled 3-0 to win the
Nations Cup - Algeria - in same National Stadium turf.
The list is
endless.
I have recalled matches that were handled
by foreign managers. The Eagles, Green or Super, are known for letargic performances every now and
then. On record, the Super Eagles have never played to potentials on holiday
periods. Ask Westerhof and Bonfrere!
The team we presented against Algeria last
Saturday was the best team any sane man would have presented for Nigeria. The
team appeared to have played badly. I beg to disagree. I have replayed that
match twice. I usually do this to be able to analyse a match, tension-free. For
the record, the Super Eagles fluffed twenty scorable chances against
Algeria’s five! I don’t mean half-chances. Clear-goal chances. Go
and play back the tape! I'll lend my tape to whoever signifies interest.
Besides, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who impressed me
with the calm he approached things, Martins Obafemi and John Utaka were too
eager to impress or score, hence the fluffing of begging chances.
Despite Algeria’s early charges, the
Eagles recovered to dictate the pace but the inability to convert glaring
chances by Aiyegbeni, Martins and Utaka made things difficult for the entire
team, including the bench, as the match progressed.
The second half resumed with the Eagles
creating even better chances but the misses continued. At the same time,
Algeria was looking quite deadly with the few counter attacks they mustered.
It was therefore very difficult for the
bench to gamble with bringing in an attacker like Julius Aghahowa for injured
Udeze. Whoever advocated for such madness had his hidden agenda.
Between Utaka and Martins, Chukwu picked on
the Inter Milan striker, not because the workaholic was not performing but because
the player kept being overzealous.
But this is Nigeria where a dog is given a
bad name to hang it. Last time, they cursed Chukwu for bringing in an attacker
when the Angolans were foraging to score.
Yet somewhere, they claimed attack is the
best form of defence.
For the record, Coach Filipe Scolari, who
needed goals in front of home fans, talking of the Euro 2004 final between
Portugal and Greece, replaced an injured defender Miguel with another defender,
Paolo Ferreira.
And when the Brazilian badly needed an
equalizer, he replaced over anxious Pauleta with Nuno Gomes - both top
strikers.
And just in like manner, his opposite
number, Coach Otto Rehagel, needed to defend his one goal with everything
he’s got, yet he replaced his support striker with another striker.
These are world-class coaches. Here we bury
Chukwu for doing exactly what these men do.
I will continue to drum it in. Chukwu is
not the best coach in the world. He’s not even the best in Nigeria.
But as a stand-in coach, the chairman has
managed, despite constant harassment, to put a solid team on ground. Whoever
comes from anywhere now, will inherit a team that can hold it’s own
anywhere in the world.
I’ve watched Euro 2004 matches. No
team created as many chances against the other as Nigeria created against
Algeria. With a striking pair of Aiyegbeni and Martins, any coach has done his
best to put these acclaimed finishers within range. That they kept missing the
net was no fault of the coach or mine for that matter.
I know Nigeria, I know the NFA, I know the
Super Eagles. Our problem is not the players, neither the coaching crew. In a
short while, very short as it seems, I’ll be vindicated.
Before I forget
I will reply to the following letter from
my friend Emeka Obasi next week. Emeka wrote the way I did seven years ago to
initiate the ouster of Troussier. The French left, a "world class
coach" in Bora took over but the problem remained and I learned.
Evidently, my friend is yet to learn but he will have his chance soon, very
soon.
Emeka's choice of afficianados interests me
so much since I have axes to grind with each one of them. Read his letter today
and keep a date next week.
Re: Walking the
tight rope
After Onigbide’s sack owing to his
much anticipated stuttering performance with the rookies and his cousins he
took to the 2002 World Cup in the Far East Christian Chukwu was appointed as
the chief coach of the Super Eagles - a move that pleased and baffled
football enthusiasts in equal terms. Yes, while football buffs were relieved
that Onigbide was gone with his antiquated tactics but the choice of Chukwu,
who was rightly considered to be by far technically inferior to his
predecessor, left fans of the Super Eagles in pop-eyed shock - wondering
if the football authorities actually mean well for our football. But
Chukwu’s employers were quick to allay the consternation of the football
family when they explained that the arrangement was intended as a stop-gap and
that the tamely disposition of the man and not his technical competence made
him the most suitable local assistant to “a must-be- employed”
foreign Manager. The explanation was plausible enough at the time. Even ardent
critics shrugged off the grave danger of catapulting an acclaimed underachiever
and a confidence -bereft man like Chukwu to the dizzy heights of managing
our national team.
No thanks to the criminal ambivalence of
the football authorities towards the employment of the foreign manager and the
relentless pervasions shoved down our throats by Chukwu-philes in the media
like Tai Emeka Obasi -my namesake and my mentor-- Chukwu has remained in
the job and Nigerian football has been the worse for it. Let me state here for
the avoidance of doubt that I think Chukwu is very personable. Tai Obasi does
not love him any more than I do. But I honestly do not think Chukwu has either
the competence or the clout to manage a big team like Nigeria.
The man has demonstrated shocking want of
intelligence in his decisions in the most crucial of moments—vs Brazil in
Abuja when we badly needed to rub in salt to the wound we inflicted on them in
Atlanta, the nail-biting draw against Angola in Benin that almost cost us the
ticket to Tunisia, the dismal performance vs Morocco in Tunisia and the hasty
and face-saving expulsion of key players after the humiliating loss, the
embarrassing loss to the Senegalese under 23 National team in the last LG Cup
in Abuja, and the latest heart-rending loss vs Angola.
That avoidable painful loss in Luanda! Even
the Nigerian Community in Angola thought that his substitutions in the match
were at best imbecilic- the
introduction of attackers at a time the Angolans were relentlessly
foraging our crumbling defence. He decided to close the stable door when the
horse had bolted introducing Olajengbesi after the Angolans had scored in the
85th minute. Dyed in the wool partisans of Chukwu would rather have you focus
on his incidental accomplishments -the LG Cup 2003, the victory over
Cameroon- our bogey team- in Tunisia, and the good run in the Unity Cup
-instead of emphasizing on his dim-witted decisions and his pathetic
inability to command the respect of the players which have fetched Nigerians
heartbreaking results in crucial matches.
Tai Obasi expectedly thinks that the loss
to lowly Angola was only a blip since we still have ten more matches to go in
the World Cup qualifiers but I think that Chukwu and his self-serving
paymasters and supporters alike have pushed the patience of passionate Nigerian
football fans, who see football as the only redeeming feature of the failed
state called Nigeria, to its elastic limits. I am not sorry to say that I align
myself with views of football aficionados like Paul Bassey, Mumini Alao, Dudu
Orumen-- that Chukwu has proved to even his die-hard partisans like Tai Obasi
that he is incapable of managing the glut of talent we have in our National
team and should be replaced with a tested foreign manager as a matter of grave
urgency.
