Take a bow, Amodu
Sport Guard
By Patrick Omorodion
During the turbulent last days of Shaibu Amodu as the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles last year, Nigerians cried out that the team were wobbly in their play and may not withstand tough teams even if they eventually qualify for both the African Nations Cup in Angola and World Cup in South Africa.
The Edo-born gaffer initially felt unperturbed, telling those who cared to listen that they should leave him and his players alone because what mattered to him and those who employed him was that the team were winning matches and would qualify for the Nations Cup and World Cup.
Qualify, they did but Nigerians were not still impressed and called for Amodu’s sack. This, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF would not accept and gave him the go-ahead to take the team to the Nations Cup in Angola.
The Eagles placed second behind Egypt in their group with six points. Egypt beat them 3-1 in the opening game. They scraped through Zambia in the quarter-final on penalties after a barren draw at full and extra time.
In the semi final, perennial rivals, Ghana’s Black Stars check-mated them by a lone goal and the outcry that followed that loss was nerve-wrecking. Amodu couldn’t take it anymore and was forced to tell the entire country and the world the Nigerian players he had for his assignment were just average.
But did anybody listen to him? Not even his employer, the NFF, which quickly ran overseas to hire a ‘world class’ coach, Lars Lagerback whom was paid a jumbo salary. The Swede just took over from where Amodu left, hit South Africa with the same players Amodu used for the Angola party.
Among these players were Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Sani Kaita who turned out to be Eagles kill-joy at the World Cup. Aiyegbeni for missing a sitter and Kaita for doing a kung-fu that will make Jackie Chan green with envy. He got a red card in the bargain and the Eagles never remained the same until they were bundled out of the World Cup.
Lagerback did not wait to be sacked like Amodu as he just went home from South Africa with his dollar-filled brief case and a scornful laugh.
Samson Siasia came on board and tried his hands, with support from the teeming football fans. This support is unequalled in the history of any Eagles coach, foreign or local but he failed to get the simplest job done, qualify the country for the Nations Cup, the first time in 25 years.
His place was taken by his friend and former team-mate, Stephen Keshi who has said he will try to rebuild the team from the local league.
His position was a result of the failure of any Nigerian player to get listed among those vying for the CAF Footballer of the year for 2011, a list that has a couple of Ivorians and Ghanaians. And he didn’t fail to express his sadness at this development.
With the Super Eagles not having a ‘grade A’ striker even though Ike Uche tries to fit in on some occasions and the resolve of Keshi to look in to the local league for some, calls have been pouring in for him to give out-of-favour striker, Aiyegbeni another chance.
This is the same Aiyegbeni who was among those Amodu called average players last year, getting rave reviews just because he scored a couple of goals in his return to the Premiership. Goals that were not out of this world like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez score week in week out.
As goals keep eluding Eagles strikers, even the ones Ronaldo could score with a back heel or his eyes closed, Nigerians are beginning to say that Eagles players are just average or below average, a position Amodu took and was almost stoned. Isn’t Amodu right after all?
