The fading light of the Super Eagles
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- Category: Sports
- Written by ODEGBAMI ON SATURDAY
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On the eve of the 2010 the light of the Super Eagles seems to be fading fast.
The team may have qualified to play in the 2010 World Cup, but what is apparent to all is that in doing so the team did not put up a great show. The Super Eagles may also have won their usual Bronze medal at the 2010 African Cup of Nations but everyone that watched them play during the championship knew they did so without the characteristic fighting spirit, class or style that transformed them from ‘Green’ to ‘Super’ many years ago after the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. The Super Eagles of the last decade have gradually faded to become but a shadow of the great teams of 1980, 1994, 1996, and even 1998. The 2010 team, even with a good array of some reputable players, has failed to impress football followers and live up to the high expectations of those that thought that by now they would be one of the best teams in the world. Instead, the team has failed to fly high, has not won anything of note in recent years, has not produced truly exceptional players, and has definitely not won the hearts of Nigerians. The team, under Amodu Shuaibu, did not reflect all of the capability and potentials of the country.
Could that explain why on the eve of the 2010 World Cup the team has been unable to arrange first class friendly matches against quality opposition as part of its essential preparations? Is that why the team’s rating (not FIFA ranking) in the world has gone down to such low heights that rather than have teams queuing to play against Nigeria, arranged and proposed matches are being cancelled or rejected.
The NFF are finding it increasingly difficult to secure grade A matches for the Super Eagles six weeks to the World Cup. It will be quite interesting to find out from Mr. Lagerbeck what his personal experiences have been in this regard. He obviously needs these friendly matches to engage and test his 45-man squad. Within a short period he needs to bring down that number to around 23 so that he can now concentrate on his core team in readiness for the challenge commencing June 12. I read that the few countries showing interest in playing the Eagles are offering what amounts to ‘pea-nuts’ for what should have been very lucrative matches for the NFF. The offers to play Nigeria are becoming increasingly uncomplimentary and sometimes even insulting. Why should the Eagles’ fees be reduced to a ridiculous figure such as I read recently was being offered the team to play against Columbia? - 150,000 US Dollars.
Memory lane
All national teams have their market value. Until the FIFA rankings provided some kind of standard measure ratings used to be dependent on performance at the highest levels of the game and against the top teams in the world. Up to the early 1990s none of the first-world football nations would agree to play a friendly match against most African teams including Nigeria. When the Green Eagles went on training trips and foreign camps outside of Africa in the 1970s and 1980s only clubs in Europe and South America accepted to play against them. Even most of the matches played against clubs were considered practice games and played without fee-paying audiences. Only on a very few occasions did some national teams agree to play the Eagles and these were not giant football nations - Canada in 1976, China in 1977, Greece in 1978, Bulgaria in 1978, and…
By the early 1990s, after few African players had found their way to some European clubs, and Cameroon created a major scare at the Italia ‘90 World Cup by beating well established teams, and several African players were creating good impressions about the African game, the profile of African teams had started to rise. The dramatic change for Nigeria came when the Eagles qualified for the World Cup in 1993 and won the African Cup of Nations in 1994. At the USA ‘94 World Cup the Nigerian team’s performance won for it such global respect that remnants of it has sustained even till now 16 years after. Global recognition came almost immediately. Two months or so after the 1994 World I went to England, the most discriminatory of all the first-world football teams, proposed a friendly match against the Super eagles, and the English were only too glad to accept. It was unbelievable. This was something that was unthinkable only a few months before. The England match marked a turning point. Shortly after the England match at the famous Wembley Stadium in London I recall visiting the offices of the Belgian Football Federation in 1995 with Amodu Shuaibu and confirming a friendly international match between the Eagles and the Belgian national team in less than 10 minutes of conversation. The Belgians were willing to alter their fixed football calendar to suit any date the Eagles chose to play them.
The few years after that became very interesting. Nigeria could play virtually against almost any country in the world just for the asking. Thats how high the profile of the country rose. Within a few months after the 1994 World Cup an invitation came from the United States Soccer Federation inviting Nigeria to participate at the 1995 Gold Cup. Nigerian football, refreshingly different in its pure unadulterated style of attacking football became a toast of the world. Even the poor performance at the 2002 World Cup plus missing out entirely from the 2006 edition did not entirely dent the country’s profile although it must have adversely affected it. The balance was provided by the country’s performances at junior levels. Until after the 2002 World Cup a game against Nigeria was always hot-cake for even the most developed football cultures in the world. It was not too difficult to arrange matches against Paraguay, Scotland, Germany, even Brazil and Holland. The Nigerian team had the pedigree, the reputation and the authority to negotiate attractive performance fees in hundreds of thousands of US Dollars even for friendly matches often played before huge international audiences and shown live on television. All of this before the present decline that has crept on the country ever so stealthily and so quietly, like a thief in the dark, began. Until now many Nigerians did not realise how bad the situation has become.
It is embarrassing that Nigeria, World Cup qualifier, on the eve of the 2010 World Cup, would not only find securing friendly matches against the big teams impossible, but would also be offered embarrassing fees as reported in some papers to play friendly matches in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. 150,00 Dollars was the fee paid to the Eagles some 16 years ago. It is preposterous to be offered such sums today. But thats is the situation, a simple and clear illustration of the poor shape of Nigerian football at all levels. How can we now look back at the past few years and count them as success years for Nigerian football? Go to the Ladbrokes website and check out the betting odds for all the teams going to the World Cup. It paints a very grim picture . If you are usurious betting man do not put your money against Nigeria going beyond the second round in the championship. No one is putting their money behind such an expectation. It is like throwing money down a flooded river.
I wonder why against this background the same group that has contributed the most to bring Nigeria’s football finally to these depths can propagate to be getting endorsements of support from all over the country to continue along the perilous journey that leads to the pits not the peaks for another 4 years! Nigerians can smell a rat and know better than to be led by the nose! Soon, they shall rise.
Lagerback’s list
I have been asked severally by journalists to comment of Lagerback’s 45-man list of invited players from which he will draw his last 23 to South Africa 2010. Three things interest me in the list. The first is that after scouring the European football landscape in search of players Lagerback still goes ahead to invite all but two of the players Amodu Shuaibu used during Nigeria’s near-death experience in qualification matches for the World Cup as well as the African Cup of Nations that no one wants to remember for poor performance! The other interesting aspect is that many of the players have lost their first team positions in their various teams since the African Cup of Nations. What does that tell us?
The second thing of interest is that Lagerback unearthed a few hitherto not-so-familiar names of some Nigerian players in Europe. Without any known planned matches before May 22, (I may be wrong in which case I eat my word) I wonder where he would be able to effectively test the players to choose between them and the older Eagles.
The third thing is that without watching more than a handful of domestic games, Lager beck has been able to identify and invite some Nigeria-based players. What chances do the home-based players have, with their limited experiences and the absence of a long-term camp and friendly matches to aid their rapid growth? Would he pick any to colour his new-look Eagles?
I guess the best time to assess and comment on Lagerback’s team would be when he finally announces his 23-man squad. That team would surely reveal a lot about the fate of the Nigerian team during the World Cup. We are waiting and watching.
NFF claims Nnaji’s victory
It is funny and ironic that when Ray Nnaji received a response to a letter he wrote to FIFA concerning his quarrel with the NFF, both sides are could be singing songs of victory and vindication by FIFA. It was the NFF that first went to town with a press realise that FIFA has sided with it against Nnaji by telling the barrister that it (FIFA) would not interfere in the internal matters of Nigerian football. But did their letter tell Ray Nnaji to go to hell? No, it merely confirms FIFA’s age-long philosophy of granting every national association and its members the independence to deal with their internal affairs without interference from any third party including FIFA itself.
The scare-mongering of the NFF will soon come to nought the way they are going about executing their plans to secure a second mandate through foul and fair means. FIFA is not interested and does not interfere in the internal affairs of its members associations. So does it pass down the law that no association shall interfere in the affairs of its members and affiliates except on technical issues related to association football. By stepping on the toes of Ray NNaji the NFF is riding on the back of a tiger! The days ahead will be very interesting indeed, FIFA or no FIFA.
Our papers
The fading light of the Super Eagles
Category: Sports Written by ODEGBAMI ON SATURDAY Hits: 840
On the eve of the 2010 the light of the Super Eagles seems to be fading fast.
The team may have qualified to play in the 2010 World Cup, but what is apparent to all is that in doing so the team did not put up a great show. The Super Eagles may also have won their usual Bronze medal at the 2010 African Cup of Nations but everyone that watched them play during the championship knew they did so without the characteristic fighting spirit, class or style that transformed them from ‘Green’ to ‘Super’ many years ago after the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. The Super Eagles of the last decade have gradually faded to become but a shadow of the great teams of 1980, 1994, 1996, and even 1998. The 2010 team, even with a good array of some reputable players, has failed to impress football followers and live up to the high expectations of those that thought that by now they would be one of the best teams in the world. Instead, the team has failed to fly high, has not won anything of note in recent years, has not produced truly exceptional players, and has definitely not won the hearts of Nigerians. The team, under Amodu Shuaibu, did not reflect all of the capability and potentials of the country.
Could that explain why on the eve of the 2010 World Cup the team has been unable to arrange first class friendly matches against quality opposition as part of its essential preparations? Is that why the team’s rating (not FIFA ranking) in the world has gone down to such low heights that rather than have teams queuing to play against Nigeria, arranged and proposed matches are being cancelled or rejected.
The NFF are finding it increasingly difficult to secure grade A matches for the Super Eagles six weeks to the World Cup. It will be quite interesting to find out from Mr. Lagerbeck what his personal experiences have been in this regard. He obviously needs these friendly matches to engage and test his 45-man squad. Within a short period he needs to bring down that number to around 23 so that he can now concentrate on his core team in readiness for the challenge commencing June 12. I read that the few countries showing interest in playing the Eagles are offering what amounts to ‘pea-nuts’ for what should have been very lucrative matches for the NFF. The offers to play Nigeria are becoming increasingly uncomplimentary and sometimes even insulting. Why should the Eagles’ fees be reduced to a ridiculous figure such as I read recently was being offered the team to play against Columbia? - 150,000 US Dollars.
Memory lane
All national teams have their market value. Until the FIFA rankings provided some kind of standard measure ratings used to be dependent on performance at the highest levels of the game and against the top teams in the world. Up to the early 1990s none of the first-world football nations would agree to play a friendly match against most African teams including Nigeria. When the Green Eagles went on training trips and foreign camps outside of Africa in the 1970s and 1980s only clubs in Europe and South America accepted to play against them. Even most of the matches played against clubs were considered practice games and played without fee-paying audiences. Only on a very few occasions did some national teams agree to play the Eagles and these were not giant football nations - Canada in 1976, China in 1977, Greece in 1978, Bulgaria in 1978, and…
By the early 1990s, after few African players had found their way to some European clubs, and Cameroon created a major scare at the Italia ‘90 World Cup by beating well established teams, and several African players were creating good impressions about the African game, the profile of African teams had started to rise. The dramatic change for Nigeria came when the Eagles qualified for the World Cup in 1993 and won the African Cup of Nations in 1994. At the USA ‘94 World Cup the Nigerian team’s performance won for it such global respect that remnants of it has sustained even till now 16 years after. Global recognition came almost immediately. Two months or so after the 1994 World I went to England, the most discriminatory of all the first-world football teams, proposed a friendly match against the Super eagles, and the English were only too glad to accept. It was unbelievable. This was something that was unthinkable only a few months before. The England match marked a turning point. Shortly after the England match at the famous Wembley Stadium in London I recall visiting the offices of the Belgian Football Federation in 1995 with Amodu Shuaibu and confirming a friendly international match between the Eagles and the Belgian national team in less than 10 minutes of conversation. The Belgians were willing to alter their fixed football calendar to suit any date the Eagles chose to play them.
The few years after that became very interesting. Nigeria could play virtually against almost any country in the world just for the asking. Thats how high the profile of the country rose. Within a few months after the 1994 World Cup an invitation came from the United States Soccer Federation inviting Nigeria to participate at the 1995 Gold Cup. Nigerian football, refreshingly different in its pure unadulterated style of attacking football became a toast of the world. Even the poor performance at the 2002 World Cup plus missing out entirely from the 2006 edition did not entirely dent the country’s profile although it must have adversely affected it. The balance was provided by the country’s performances at junior levels. Until after the 2002 World Cup a game against Nigeria was always hot-cake for even the most developed football cultures in the world. It was not too difficult to arrange matches against Paraguay, Scotland, Germany, even Brazil and Holland. The Nigerian team had the pedigree, the reputation and the authority to negotiate attractive performance fees in hundreds of thousands of US Dollars even for friendly matches often played before huge international audiences and shown live on television. All of this before the present decline that has crept on the country ever so stealthily and so quietly, like a thief in the dark, began. Until now many Nigerians did not realise how bad the situation has become.
It is embarrassing that Nigeria, World Cup qualifier, on the eve of the 2010 World Cup, would not only find securing friendly matches against the big teams impossible, but would also be offered embarrassing fees as reported in some papers to play friendly matches in preparation for the 2010 World Cup. 150,00 Dollars was the fee paid to the Eagles some 16 years ago. It is preposterous to be offered such sums today. But thats is the situation, a simple and clear illustration of the poor shape of Nigerian football at all levels. How can we now look back at the past few years and count them as success years for Nigerian football? Go to the Ladbrokes website and check out the betting odds for all the teams going to the World Cup. It paints a very grim picture . If you are usurious betting man do not put your money against Nigeria going beyond the second round in the championship. No one is putting their money behind such an expectation. It is like throwing money down a flooded river.
I wonder why against this background the same group that has contributed the most to bring Nigeria’s football finally to these depths can propagate to be getting endorsements of support from all over the country to continue along the perilous journey that leads to the pits not the peaks for another 4 years! Nigerians can smell a rat and know better than to be led by the nose! Soon, they shall rise.
Lagerback’s list
I have been asked severally by journalists to comment of Lagerback’s 45-man list of invited players from which he will draw his last 23 to South Africa 2010. Three things interest me in the list. The first is that after scouring the European football landscape in search of players Lagerback still goes ahead to invite all but two of the players Amodu Shuaibu used during Nigeria’s near-death experience in qualification matches for the World Cup as well as the African Cup of Nations that no one wants to remember for poor performance! The other interesting aspect is that many of the players have lost their first team positions in their various teams since the African Cup of Nations. What does that tell us?
The second thing of interest is that Lagerback unearthed a few hitherto not-so-familiar names of some Nigerian players in Europe. Without any known planned matches before May 22, (I may be wrong in which case I eat my word) I wonder where he would be able to effectively test the players to choose between them and the older Eagles.
The third thing is that without watching more than a handful of domestic games, Lager beck has been able to identify and invite some Nigeria-based players. What chances do the home-based players have, with their limited experiences and the absence of a long-term camp and friendly matches to aid their rapid growth? Would he pick any to colour his new-look Eagles?
I guess the best time to assess and comment on Lagerback’s team would be when he finally announces his 23-man squad. That team would surely reveal a lot about the fate of the Nigerian team during the World Cup. We are waiting and watching.
NFF claims Nnaji’s victory
It is funny and ironic that when Ray Nnaji received a response to a letter he wrote to FIFA concerning his quarrel with the NFF, both sides are could be singing songs of victory and vindication by FIFA. It was the NFF that first went to town with a press realise that FIFA has sided with it against Nnaji by telling the barrister that it (FIFA) would not interfere in the internal matters of Nigerian football. But did their letter tell Ray Nnaji to go to hell? No, it merely confirms FIFA’s age-long philosophy of granting every national association and its members the independence to deal with their internal affairs without interference from any third party including FIFA itself.
The scare-mongering of the NFF will soon come to nought the way they are going about executing their plans to secure a second mandate through foul and fair means. FIFA is not interested and does not interfere in the internal affairs of its members associations. So does it pass down the law that no association shall interfere in the affairs of its members and affiliates except on technical issues related to association football. By stepping on the toes of Ray NNaji the NFF is riding on the back of a tiger! The days ahead will be very interesting indeed, FIFA or no FIFA.