Jonathan sad over Eagles bad luck in South Africa

President, Goodluck Jonathan, has revealed his pain over the disgraceful manner the Eagles crashed out of the World Cup. He stopped short of blaming the players for the calamity, which saw the Eagles take an early bow.

Eagles

The Eagles crashed out in the first round of the first World Cup to be staged in Africa when they finished bottom of Group B with a point from three matches. They managed only a 2-2 draw with South Korea after losing their first two games, 1-0 to Argentina and 2-1 to Greece.

Sources at the presidency hinted that Jonathan was unhappy with the team’s performance, despite his personal support for them, the players lacked the commitment to fly Nigeria’s flag high at the World Cup in South Africa. He made his feelings known when the a delegation led by the Sports Minister Ibrahim Bio paid him a visit to brief on the world cup.
“Mr. President met with the sports minister and some other top-ranking officials at his office soon on their arrival from South Africa. He told them he was disappointed that despite all the support accorded the team, the players did not have the commitment to rise to the occasion,” said a sports ministry official

At a special send-off dinner before their departure to England for a training stint ahead of the World Cup, President Jonathan promised the Eagles huge financial rewards if they won the World Cup.

He later visited the team at their Johannesburg hotel, where he promised a $ 1 million bonus on behalf of a top Nigerian businessman for them to win their opening group game against Argentina as the rest of Africa was looking at them to make history.