We have traveled down this road before. It begins with a nerve-wracking journey through difficult world cup qualification matches only to arrive the tournament and quickly get eliminated in the early stages.
It happened in USA 1994, France 1998 and JapanKorea 2002. Will it happen again in Russia? The current Super Eagles team parades an exciting mix of talented youngsters and experienced players and so far, they have exhibited what it takes to go far in the world stage.
But make no mistake about it; the world cup is a different ball game. It is an event tinged with politics, racism and plenty of intrigues. African teams never seem to do well in this tournament.
A large part of the blame however lies with the teams involved and their respective football associations. In the case of t h e Super Eagles, politics of play- e r selection, poor funding and poor coaching hampered our progress in the past. Take the case of the USA 94 Super Eagles for example.
This was arguably the best Super Eagles side ever assembled. Analysts still acknowledge this fact to this day. This was a team rate d b y the BBC as having the deadliest strike force in Africa, with likes of Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi, Samson Sia-Sia, Victor Ikpeba and Emmanuel Amuneke.
On arrival at the world cup, the team did well in its early matches by decisively beating Bulgaria and Greece. But all of coach Clemence Westerhoff’s weaknesses were exposed in the match against Italy.
A combination of inexperience, poor team selection and poor tactical decisions by Westerhoff led to our elimination by Italy. The team however played neat, entertaining football and in the end it was adjudged the most entertaining team in the 1994 world cup.
The same thing was to repeat itself in France 1998, The coach that qualified the Super Eagles to this event, Phillip Trousier had his appointment terminated by the NFF just before the world cup.
In his place, a journeyman coach with dubious credentials was brought in to take the Eagles to the world cup. His name was Bora Milutinovic who was widely regarded as a mercenary in football circles.
He quickly dropped certain key players who had been involved in the qualifying process. Jonathan Akpoborie who played 4 out 6 qualifying matches and was rated as one of the best strikers in Africa, was dropped. Emmanuel Amuneke, who was struggling with injuries was invited.
Goalkeeper Joseph Dosu was involved in a car crash that was to eventually end his promising football career. Replacement goalie Ike Shoronmu injured his hand before the team could play its first match.
In desperation, veteran goalie Peter Rufai was drafted in at the last minute. Mobi Okparaku, a reliable midfielder was dropped and later recalled. During the tournament, the team recorded a shock victory over Spain. But when we came up against Denmark, Milutinovic’s weak coaching credentials displayed itself.
He clearly did not understand the individual strengths and weaknesses of his players. He desperately pressed unfit and injured players into the game. The game ended in defeat for the super Eagles and they crashed out of the tournament.
Japan – Korea 2002 was another disaster for the Super Eagles. Just like in France 98, Coach Adegboye Onigbinde was brought in at the last minute to replace sacked coach Amodu Shaibu who had qualified the team to the world cup.
Many analysts had openly complained against the choice of Onigbinde to handle the team. They were of the opinion that he was out of tune with modern football.
These fears were confirmed when we lost our opening match against Argentina and he brazenly blamed defender Taribo West for Gabriel Batitusta’s lone goal against the Eagles. He failed to see that his side was simply outclassed and outgunned by the tricky Argentine’s.
But for the superb goalkeeping of Ike Shoronmu, Nigeria would have conceded at least 9 goals. Taribo West was in his element and was clearly overworked in defense. The entire match was played in the Nigerian half of the field.
Taribo West was to go on to castigate Onigbinde as “having no business coaching the Super Eagles.” The Eagles were to lose their next match against Sweden which effectively ended their world cup ambitions.
With this troubling world cup history, what can be done to ensure that our current Super Eagles go beyond the group stages? The recent call by the National Assembly to the Federal government to use the monies recovered from treasury looters to fund our world cup campaign has generated apprehension, because this call is clearly an early warning sign.
As good as this suggestion appears to be, it is faced with legal hurdles. For one thing, all recovered loot is subject to legal clearance. Besides, the government of the day does not appear to be predisposed to adequately funding football or any other sport for that matter.
Extra time sought the opinion of notable professionals on the matter. Former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu is of the opinion that early preparations can make us go far in Russia.
“We must start preparing now. We must study the FIFA and CAF calendars to ensure that we arrange and play enough friendly matches. Every area of need must be addressed.
The Federal Government must support the coaching crew and also our players. We must never leave anything to the last minute. All hands must be on deck. Nigerian football has gone beyond the level of group stages in the world cup.
It would be a disaster to go through this qualification stages and be disgraced out early.” He warned. Ex –Super Eagles winger and Coach, Henry Nwosu, is also a stout advocate of friendly matches. He told Extra Time in a phone interview: “We must draw up a lot of friendly matches and make sure that we play them.
The coaches should invite additional players to camp. At least 100 players including the current ones should be put to trials after which a final list will come out. They must continue to seek better talent both at home and abroad.” “The NFF and sports ministry must approach the Federal government and corporate organizations for funds so that everything we need is made available. This money must be properly managed when it is received.
With all these, I am of the opinion that we can make our mark in the world cup. Thank God that we have a coach who appears to have settled down well with the boys. We need to assist him to get to at least the semi-final stages of the world cup,” he said.
For sports writer and columnist Oluwashina Okeleji, it is the player’s welfare that must be addressed if we hope to make any impact in Russia.
“The common feature to all these past eliminations is the thorny issue of match bonuses and allowances. Unpaid bonus derailed pour 1994 and 1998 efforts. This pitfall must be avoided at all costs this time around,” he also warned.
While the advice from the National Assembly is yet to receive a response from the Presidency, many observers are of the opinion that only the generosity of high-net worth individuals and corporate organisations can provide the necessary funds for our Russia challenge . It remains to be seen if the NFF and the Sports ministry can convince these select group to fund the campaign.
