By Onochie Anibeze
He was huge. The jacket he wore complemented his intimidating frame. His voice continuously soared. He was shouting instructions to the Eagles.

But he was on the stands and the Eagles didn’t hear him. That didn’t make him stop. He was so passionate that at a time he yelled that he needed some canes  for  Obinna Nsofor.  At this time he had attracted the attention of many around.

My colleague Ade Ojeikere  laughed and offered to supply some Bullalas (canes). The man said that he would gladly take delivery and would use them  well if he had his way.  Peter Utaka scored two goals but aside those goals he appeared to be struggling with simple touches on the ball.   He, too, would be canned if Theo Adegor  had his way.

He so entertained us with his remarks that I approached  him for his name. Eagles  scored four goals against Ethiopia.

Two days later, in a friendly match with Kenya,  Obinna Nsofor and Utaka  were confirming to all that they will not be part of Samson Siasia’s team  after his transition period that may last up to two years or more.

Siasia and his deputy Simon Kalika had, before the Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia, given a graphic picture of their dream Eagles. While Siasia appeared  to be modest  in his perception of a great team Kalika gave a picture of a complete perfect team.  He talked about  pressure football.

He talked about wing play. He talked about such an attacking game that would see the ball almost permanently in the opponents’ half.

He said that their Eagles will be so collective in defending and attacking that there would be no room for a play maker because everybody will be working.  They would opt for two central midfielders and play with four attackers so that they can make runs and have many crosses from the wings.

He talked about defenders and others closing in on opponents in such a way that their opponents will rarely have space.  After reading Kalika’s perception of his dream Eagles I noted that if teams can play this way then opponents will not exist.

Siasia was brief in his own projection. “I would want players who will run for 90 minutes without stopping, players who will play every match as if their lives depended on it, players who will be proud of the Nigerian jersey and fight to wear it,” Siasia said.

He   emphasized on attacking football.  I said in this column last week that if they practice and implement 70 per cent of this, Nigeria could be in the semifinal of the World Cup and that 60 percent of it could qualify us for Nations Cup and the World Cup. 50 percent of it, I said, would  see us beat Ethiopia by more than two goals.

I left for Abuja to see for myself  only the signs of what they said,  knowing that it would be premature to assess  their work after two matches  within three days.  Well, by my own assessment  they put in only 30 per cent of what they preached and hammered Ethiopia 4-0.

It simply meant that the opposition was weak and portends the task ahead and a bright future if they get it right. There’s still a lot of work to be done. But Siasia is building a team. He is in a transition period and needs time.

When the time comes, I don’t see any player performing the way Nsofor  and Utaka did and making the Eagles of our dream otherwise Adego would have a lot of caning to do if he would have his way.  He did not understand why Nsofor would not play simple football – pass out the ball in time and run into space. He did not understand why 80 percent passes of Utaka went to the opponents.

He did not understand why Victor Anichebe looked heavy  and why the Eagles were not making runs to create space in the first half. Utaka scored in the first minute and after that Eagles play became somewhat clumsy and the fans showed it in their reaction. But second half was better especially after the introduction of Osaze Odenwenge and Ike Uche.

Adego appreciated the touches of Joel Obi, Mikel Obi, the runs of Ahmed Musa, the sensational strike of Ike Uche that earned Eagles the fourth goal.  Based on the game plan of Siasia and Kalika, 4-0 against a weak opposition like Ethiopia is something to cheer but not to celebrate.

Siasia knows this and has publicly admitted he had a long way to his dream Eagles.  And when on Tuesday he started with the same team that lined out against Ethipia Nsofo and Utaka were, through their play, confirming that they would be among the players who will drop by the way as Siasia consolidates.

They were awful. Anichebe looked better and scored a beautiful goal against Kenya. They won 3-0. Seven goals in two games is really something to cheer but with Eagles passing the ball back so many times especially when it was not absolutely necessary and when there were openings to move forward is certainly not the type of pressure football Kalika had eloquently spoken of.

But let us appreciate the fact that they have just begun a journey and they need time to get to the destination.  It will take good planning, good training, discipline and many more games to get there.  My eyes are on them.