By John Egbokhan
Ex-international Yisa Sofoluwe is a man of very few words. He seldom speaks. Rather than speak, he allows his action do the talking for him. During his time playing for Nigeria,  Sofoluwe was a no-nonsense defender. He was feared by the opposition strikers, most of whom could barely come close to him to contest the ball. They feared he was going to clinically take the ball away from them.

Little wonder he was nicknamed the “Minister of Defence” for his timely tackles and strong defensive performances.

BRAZIL, Campinas : Nigeria’s midfielder John Obi Mikel takes part in a training session in Campinas, Sao Paulo, on June 18, 2014, during the 2014 FIFA Football World Cup. AFP PHOTO

He won 40 caps and scored 1 goal for Nigeria and was their regular left back between 1983 and 1988. He featured for the Eagles at the 1984 and 1988 African Cup of Nations, winning two silver medals in both finals. After the 1988 season, he left his then Nigerian club Abiola Babes, to seek the proverbial greener pastures n Belgium, where he went into oblivion.

He later returned to Nigeria and later quit the game. Sofoluwe has been quietly going about his thing, without much fuss. He lives a normal life but has remained close to the game that shot him to limelight without the attendant fortune. .

These days, Sofoluwe, an assistant coach with NNL side, Gateway United, religiously follows the national team. He monitors the strides of the current set of Super Eagles players and like other football fans, watched the opening match of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifying series between Nigeria and Congo in Calabar.

Congo inflicted a 3-2 defeat on the reigning African champions, a result that Sofoluwe said does not surprise him

Speaking in an interview with Saturday Vanguard Sports, Sofoluwe said that “in the first match against Congo, our players took it very easy with their opponents. Their approach, especially in the first half, was most unprofessional. They thought that they were playing against their juniors.

“They were not serious at all in the first half and that made the Congolese the edge, which they utilised and scored the goals that our team had no answers to.  Our players mindset was that because they were at the World Cup in Brazil that they were going to whitewash Congo. But before they knew what was happening, they had been hammered and there was not way back for them”, added Sofoluwe, who also offered his expert view on Eagles second match against the Bafana Bafana in Cape Town on September 10.

Sofoluwe

The match ended in a barren draw and Sofoluwe felt that the African champions were lucky to earn a point against the new-look South African side.

“In the second match, they were lucky to get a draw because the South Africans were in control of the game but lacked the finishing in front of goal.  Our players, despite raising their game above what they showed against Congo, did not do enough”.

Sofoluwe said Nigeria failed to record in both matches because of poor preparations and bloated egos.

“As African champions, our players think that they have arrived. They think that  getting to the second round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was a ticket to beating Congo and South Africa. They think that things are still the same.

“They are surely living in a fantasy land because things have changed and the realities are different from what they are still perceiving. They need to be serious because things have changed and the sooner they come to to terms with the new song, the better for them”, Sofoluwe said with a note of authority.

The weakest link in the Eagles appears to be the midfield, which is supposed to be effectively marshalled by Chelsea defensive midfielder, John Obi Mikel. In the game against Congo, Nigeria lost the battle of the midfield, likewise in the match with the Bafana Bafana.

Mikel has been on the receiving end of harsh words from soccer experts, most of whom feel that he should be dropped by Coach Stephen Keshi from the upcoming match against Sudan on October 10. But Keshi has remained adamant in his preference for Mikel to anchor the midfield of a struggling Eagles side.

Keshi still retains the belief that Mikel is a vital element in the Nigerian set-up, stating during the week that “Just because he is not playing in his team (Chelsea), that does not mean I cannot use him in my team, that is the choice of the coach.

“But in my team, if I think that he is good shape, with the wealth of experience he has, all his years in the Champions League, I think he’s very important for us in the team, and we just have to make the best of the situation.”

But responding to Keshi, Sofoluwe said that “even though I do not want to single out any player or talk about Mikel, I still feel that Mikel is not s special player. This is a national team, where all the players are supposed to have equal opportunity, so I do not know why one player is seen to be special”.

Some Nigerians have been playing down Nigeria’s chance to qualify for the 2015 AFCON but Sofoluwe said it was up to the players to reply their critics by returning to winning ways next month. “Only the players can answer that question on our chances to qualify. They need to wake up from their sleep and start winning matches”.

On Emmanuel Emenike’s lack of goals in recent matches for Nigeria, Sofoluwe said that “it is not a big deal that he is not scoring. I feel that he will soon find his form and start scoring again. These things do happen at times to players. Even at the World Cup, it happened to Brazil. Let us give him time”.