2017 AFCON: Why We Failed

2013 AFCON: Distant Memory

It’s the day after we have failed once again to qualify for Africa’s biggest football showpiece, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). I still have a heavy heart. The disgust still lingers on almost 12 hours after the game as I write this. Gone are the days when we castigated our coaches for winning bronze medals at AFCON. Now, we can’t even qualify again. How on earth did we get to this situation? Here are some of the major reasons I think are responsible:

FOOTBALL ADMINISTRATION

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) under Amaju Pinnick has since September

2014, overseen a dark period for Nigeria football especially when it concerns the

Amaju Pinnick: Overseen More Failures Than Results

country’s flagship team, the Super Eagles. As much as the U-17 team, the U-23 and the Super Falcons have won laurels in the last two years of Amaju's tenure, the inability to qualify for consecutive AFCON is failure personified. And this comes from making choices that have turned out to be disastrous. The obvious one was appointing former captain Sunday Oliseh as coach of the team. From what I’ve gathered, appointing Oliseh wasn’t a unanimous decision by the Executive Committee of the NFF. If it had turned out successful, no one would be talking about it. But it didn’t. Sunday Oliseh oversaw one of the worst reigns of any Super Eagles manager (I’d get to that in a bit). So, the failure of Oliseh goes all the way back to failure of the NFF who appointed him.

Oliseh The Saviour or Quitter? 

Appointing Oliseh isn’t just the only anomaly of the NFF in recent years. There have been too many misplaced priorities and half-truths projected to Nigerians. Sometime last year, Pinnick publicly announced that the NFF had reached a deal with a commercial bank to foot the bills of the then Super Eagles manager, Sunday Oliseh. There was so much fanfare made about that deal and the football house got enough praise from fans and the press for it. Fast forward months later, the inability of the football house to pay the bills of the coach was one of the reasons given by the manager for leaving the position. I was reliably informed by two members of the Executive Committee that the supposed deal with the commercial bank had not been concluded. So why on earth would you come out publicly to talk about a deal when it is yet to be concluded? I don’t even want to start talking about the kit deal reportedly reached with Nike. That also has been enmeshed in so much controversy.

As if these were not enough, at a time when the NFF has been crying about lack of funds due to the harsh economic situation, there were still funds to take members of the congress which comprised state FA Chairmen and Secretaries to a ‘Capacity Building’ in London. This was at a time that the salaries of some of the national team coaches as well as bonuses of some of the national team players had not been paid (some haven’t been paid till now I gather). I was told that a bank actually foot the bill for the training. And I ask: would it not have been better to channel those funds to better use? If the money used for the Capacity Building had been used to settle Oliseh’s salaries, would we have come to the situation where a coach would ‘abandon’ his job three weeks to a crucial qualifier?

SUNDAY OLISEH

And that brings me to another reason why we will not be on the plane to Gabon next year. Former coach Sunday Oliseh can point to all the inadequacies he had to put up with from the NFF; he can point to the lack of motivation in terms of non- payment of salaries and bonuses; he can as well point to his statistics of losing just one competitive game in 14 matches and rightly so; but truth of the matter is that his reign remains one of the most cantankerous reigns of any of Super Eagles manager.

It is on record that under his tenure, former captain Vincent Enyeama retired from international football after an unnecessary public spat. Under him, Nigeria failed to get out of the group stages of the Championship for African Nations (CHAN) – a tournament we had finished as bronze medalists before he came into the picture.

Africa's Guardiola? Naaaaaaa! Not Even Close 

And to make matters worse, three weeks to the biggest games of his managerial career, he decides to leave his position. From my experience of covering the CHAN tournament in Rwanda, it was quite obvious Oliseh lacked the mental strength and decorum to manage the Super Eagles. As a player, his fiery and hot temper was public knowledge. Years after retiring, one would have expected the former captain to have mellowed down. Unfortunately, Oliseh had not. On the eve of Nigeria’s final group game at CHAN against Guinea, a simple question from me to him on what his message to fans would be if he ended up not qualifying for the knock-out stages of the competition, elicited a response that showed how petty Oliseh can be. He went on a rant that ended with him asking me to pack my bags and leave Rwanda if all I came to the press conference to do was to be negative. Just because I was probably the only journalist at the presser who was bold enough to look at the possibility of Nigeria losing and not qualifying? Weeks later, he went a step further and put out video calling critics “insane”.

As far as I am concerned, oliseh saw the enormity of battling Egypt, saw he had burnt a lot of bridges with the NFF and most fans and decided to take the easy way out to avoid being technically responsible for Nigeria’s failure to secure an AFCON ticket. Unfortunately, he can’t run away from this dark shadow. He also shares part of the blame….

TO BE CONTINUED

CREDITS
Pictures courtesy goal.com and pulseng.com 

This article first appeared as a column Sixth Sense on Independent Monitor on Thursday March 31st, 2016.

PHARAOHS MUST FALL

                         

As you read this, it is 24 hours to the very crucial match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Pharaoh’s of Egypt in an African Nations Cup qualifier at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna. The build up the game has been all about Arsenal teenager Alex Iwobi. The 19 year old has had a whirlwind week starting from a super performance last week against Barcelona in Arsenal’s 3:1 defeat; a scintillating display at Goodison Park on his first start for Arsenal; a late surge from the English FA to get him to play for the Three Lions; and reportedly ending in a hospital after food poisoning. Confirming the food poisoning issue on his twitter handle, Iwobi noted “Had the maddest food poisoning but I am good now and feeling ready for the Egyptian match.” The good news for us is that the episode has been resolved and as at Tuesday evening, the Arsenal man joined the rest of the team to train in Kaduna ahead of the game.

Arsenal Teenager Alex Iwobi

The last ditch effort by the English FA to get Iwobi not to honour the Super Eagles invitation may not be unconnected with his scintillating performance in the last one week. Unfortunately, that seemed to be a lost cause because his father Chuka had always wanted his son to fulfill a dream he could not achieve. According to Iwobi’s father Chuka, “it wasn’t a difficult decision for me (to convince Iwobi to play for Nigeria). I played football when I was younger and it was my ambition to play for Nigeria but my dream didn’t eventually come true. So when the opportunity came and Alex got the invitation, I spoke to him and I said to him, give it a go. He agreed with me and he came to Nigeria and we loved it. The fans have been great, the press has been great and it’s an honour to play for Nigeria.”

Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna

Staging the game in Kaduna has been a contentious issue since last year when the announcement was made especially for fans who live in the Southern part of the country. A lot of fans have not forgotten Nigeria’s inability to make it to the 2006 World Cup in Germany after a 1:1 draw in Kano. Most fans still believe that the weather in Kaduna would favour our opponents who have most of their players based in Egypt and they may have a point. But the Nigeria Football Federation cannot say no to a state government willing to host its national team and foot most, if not all of the bills, especially, in this day when the football house has been crying of being cash strapped. More importantly, the NFF has now moved forward the kick-off time by an hour. The game will now be played at 5 pm as opposed to the original scheduled time of 4 pm. With temperatures expected to be up to 36 degree centigrade on Friday, it is only wise to play the game when the temperature would be mild.

To the game proper, Samson Siasia has a hard task in front of him. With the spate of injuries to some of his players on the eve of the games, an already hard task has been made a lot more difficult. A lot has been made about AS Roma’s Mohammed Salah and Arsenal’s Mohammed Elneny. But truth of the matter is that the Pharaoh’s of Egypt will most likely target the Super Eagles fullbacks. No one is certain who would start in those positions but that is one area Siasia would need to get it right if Nigeria is to get any result, at least from the first leg.

Unlike Siasia who is on an interim basis, Egypt’s coach Hector Cuper seems to be on a knife edge. According to reports from certain quarters, the former Valencia and Inter Milan coach is facing the sack if results against the Super Eagles do not go his way.  A source in the Egyptian FA told Complesports newspaper “Cuper has been given a two-match ultimatum by the Egyptian Football Association. He has been told to beat Nigeria and ensure Egypt qualify for Gabon 2017 or face dismissal. EFA chiefs were not impressed with the team’s performance against Burkina Faso and have warned Cuper to shape up and pick valuable points in Kaduna and Alexandria, if he hopes to retain his job.”

Hector Cuper Egyptian Coach

Cuper might not be a very popular name amongst football followers but the Argentine is a very sound manager. His Valencia side in the early 2000’s reached two Champions League finals in a row in 2000 and 2001 playing amazing football in the process. Maybe, if the team had won any of those titles, he would have had more fame than he presently does. But some of us won’t forget the Gaizka Mendietta’s, Claudio Lopez’, Kily Gonzalez’ of this world in a hurt who made that team thick. Agreed that his present Egyptian side may not be that talented, but Cuper is optimistic.

We can bear the Nigerian national team,” the former Inter Milan manager said during his interaction with the media on Sunday in Cairo. “So, I promise we will give everything in this match, but I cannot promise a win outright.”

One only hopes for the sake of Nigerian fans that the Pharaohs fall in Kaduna.


-This piece first appeared as a column, Sixth Sense, on Port Harcourt based newspaper Independent Monitor on Thursday March 24th. 


CREDITS
Iwobi/Stadium pics courtesy goal.com
Hector Cuper pic courtesy premiumtimes.com 

IS RIVERS UNITED A DOLPHINS RE-INCARNATE?

         

Rivers United File Out Against Enyimba

 It is just six games into the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and for newly formed (or is newly renamed?) Rivers United, there seems to be the familiar failings of the defunct Dolphins Football Club, one of the clubs that merged to form this new entity. For the whole of the 2014/2015, Dolphins actually never managed a win away from. It is no surprise the 3 time NPFL Champions only managed to escape relegation on the final day of the season by just a paltry one point ahead of its sister club Sharks -who ended up in the lower division and ultimately, resurrected with the merger of both clubs to form the new Rivers United. If you think the rot only goes that far, well, think again. Even two seasons ago, Dolphins also did not win a game away from its home ground, the Yakubu Gowon Stadium (former Liberation Stadium). All the 15 wins they got in the 2013/2014 season were won at home with only 6 points got away from home courtesy of 6 draws.

For as long as last season went, coach of the defunct Dolphins Stanley Eguma had one reason or the other to explain the club’s failings. It was either his boys “lost concentration,” “the referee was against his team” or his players “did not play to instruction.” It became such a theme that some journalists in Port Harcourt never bothered to ask for his post match reactions again because they could easily predict what he would say. Fast forward months after, Dolphins doesn’t exist anymore. We now have a combination of Dolphins and Sharks to form Rivers United. Eguma is still in the saddle but those failings seem not to have found a way to go away.

After the home game against Nassarawa United on Match Day 5, Eguma explained some of the reasons behind Rivers United’s poor start to the season away from home. Hear him: “We are in need of reinforcements in certain areas. We have been playing certain players out of position.

Stanley Eguma Rivers United Coach

“Chigozie Ihunda is a natural right back but because our first choice left back, Ali Chiwendu is injured, we are playing him (Ihunda) in that position.

“Ayobami (Asekunowo) is a central defender but he’s been made to play at right back and that’s why he did not have a good game (versus Nasarawa United).

“In subsequent matches, we will have our players back to our usual positions and that will see us play our normal game,” he said.

Rivers United in Action 

Since that explanation, one game has been played: last weekend’s 3:2 defeat against newly promoted Niger Tornadoes. With the game played in a neutral ground, the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja, one would have expected Rivers United to have seen this as a golden opportunity to get a valuable point or three away from home. But after about 70 minutes, the team was already down by 3 goals. Yes, there was a late onslaught, but at the end of the day, the team still lost.

Coach Eguma was quick to explain the situation again. “We started quite well but we conceded that goal from a free kick at the stroke of half time.

“In the second half, we conceded two quick goals as my players lost their heads.

“The good thing was the fight back but we will try to correct our mistakes from our next match.”

Like my colleague Paterson Mgbeoji noted when we analysed this on our radio show, football game is played for 90 minutes. It doesn’t matter if you come out all guns-blazing in the second half or last 20 minutes of a game if you’ve ended up conceding 5 in the opening period. For many of his critics and fans whose numbers have somewhat increased in recent seasons, the Rivers State born tactician has asked for a bit of patience. According to Eguma, “What we have is a young team. People are expecting us to play like Enugu Rangers, Kano Pillars and Enyimba but it is not possible at this stage.

Eguma: Facing The Sack? 

“Most of them are playing together for the first time. It’s just the tactical input and the experience of a few of them that has carried us (over the line) in the games we have played so far.”

However, we will soon stabilize and everyone will see a better-playing Rivers United team,” he said.

Problem is, these explanations and excuses are beginning to sound all too familiar. For a coach who has had two spells with the defunct Dolphins spanning 10 years (and counting) with two trophies in his kitty, a lot more is expected. Yes, we haven’t even gone one-third of the season and it might be too early to judge; but if you consider what has happened in the last two seasons, then, probably, there isn’t much to hope for. It is high time we started seeing a better playing Rivers United team away from home starting this weekend against 3SC in Ibadan.

-This piece first appeared last week  Thursday as a column, Sixth Sense, on Port Harcourt based newspaper Independent Monitor.

CREDITS

Pictures courtesy goal.com, citynews.ng and completesports.com

DO WE NEED A FOREIGN MANAGER?

Ever since the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Pinnick told the whole world in far away USA that the football house would no longer employ indigenous coaches to manage the country’s national football team, the race to become the next Super Eagles manager is already on. Never mind the fact that Samson Siasia is presently occupying the hot seat, albeit temporarily, a thousand and one people have already signaled their interest to lead the national team of the world’s most populous black nation.

Jo Bonfere: I Want Eagles Job Again.

 

Former Super Eagles manager Jo Bonfere set the ball rolling last week when he granted an interview to the BBC stating he is “the right man to return Nigeria to glory days in Africa and the world". Before that interview came out, I had a chat with a high ranking member of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) who told me over 40 coaches had either called him, sent their CV’s or made enquiries about the availability of the job. He specifically mentioned former coaches Philip Troussier, Clemens Westerhof, Jo Bonfere as some of the foreign managers who were willing to take over as Super Eagles manager. If I had any doubts about that claim, Bonfere’s interview days later has now confirmed this.

One may want to ask, what is so special about the job that is attracting this kind of interest? Apart from winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, Nigeria’s Super Eagles haven’t really been that fantastic. They are languishing somewhere in the 63^rd position in the world and 11^th on the continent in the latest edition of the FIFA rankings for the month of March. Truth of the matter remains that despite these low rankings, the Super Eagles job still remains one of the most lucrative at least this side of the Sahara.

Oliseh: 8th Highest African Earner.

According to a report by Ghanaian blog gazettaghana.com, Frenchman Christian Gourcuff who manages the Algeria National Team reportedly earns $70,000 monthly and is the highest paid in Africa.  Michel Dussuyer of the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire earns $58,000 monthly in second place while Black Stars of Ghana coach Avram Grant reportedly earns $50,000 monthly. Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh was the 8^th highest paid manager on the continent with his 5 million naira salary or approximately $26,500 monthly. For a country where the average person reportedly lives on less than $1 a day, that is an outrageous amount and one anyone would want to jump on.

1994 AFCON Winning Squad

More so, ever since the golden age of Nigerian footballers won the AFCON in 1994 and subsequently dazzled the world at the World Cup in the United States, Nigeria has gained the respect of many football fans. Even if 22 years after, the Super Eagles are not as strong as they were, people still accord the team some form of respect. And that I think is what still attracts these coaches.

1980 AFCON Winning Team

Question however is, do we really need a foreign manager? Apart from Otto Gloria and Clemens Westerhorf who managed The Green Eagles (as they were called then) and the Super Eagles to AFCON titles in 1980 and 1994 respectively, the closest Nigeria has had to a successful foreign coach is Jo Bonfere who managed Nigeria’s Olympic team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. According to the Dutchman, others have been unsuccessful “because they come with the arrogant attitude of being a world class coach and a big name to perform magic there, and that wrong notion meant they had no passion, desire and the required knowledge to succeed on the job.” Former managers Lars Lagerback, Philip Troussier, Berti Vogts to mention a few, seem to be ones Bonfere was referring to I guess. Bottom line is, can we really get a manager who would not make these mistakes? I know someone out there is saying, hey, why not take one of Jo Bonfere or Clemens Westerhorf since they have managed the Super Eagles. But then again, what have they done since they left the Super Eagles job?

More so, in this day when our economy is going through tough times and the clamour for

Scenes From National Stadium, Lagos In 1980

#BuyingNaijaToGrowNaira is at an all time high, will it economically wise to employ a foreign manager who most likely would demand more than the $26,500 Sunday Oliseh was paid? We all know the back and forth the NFF has had with erstwhile coach Oliseh and others before him over payment of his salaries. What foreign coach would want to undergo the same treatment?

I have consistently said that I will only support the call for a foreign manager if we go all out to get a world class coach. When I mean world class, I mean coaches in the same grade as Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola or Arsene Wenger. Yes, I agree that these coaches may find it difficult working in our terrain because of the too many bottlenecks we have administratively, but if we really want to go for anyone, then, it has to be the VERY BEST!

It does seem some at the Glass House may not totally be in agreement with Amaju Pinnick’s decision to go foreign. I have spoken to at least two members of the Executive Committee of the NFF who confided in me they are not totally in support of a foreign manager despite not been happy with the way former manager Sunday Oliseh left. One Executive Member actually told me, “We are doing everything in our power to ensure Samson Siasia gets a great result in the double header against Egypt. Trust me, if that happens, he will get the job on a permanent basis.”

We are waiting!

CREDITS

Jo Bonfere's Pic courtesy Complete Sports

Sunday Oliseh's Pic courtesy theherald.ng

1994 AFCON Squad Pic courtesy goal.com

1980 AFCON Squad Pic courtesy footballlive.ng

1980 AFCON Win Scene Pic courtesy dailymail.co.uk 

This piece first appeared last week on Sixth Sense- my column for Port Harcourt based newspaper Independent Monitor. Sixth Sense comes your way every Thursday.

-Ufuoma