IF NIGERIA MUST BE AT THE WORLD CUP FINALS IN QATAR, AUSTIN EGUAVOEN MUST HAVE COMPETENT ASSISTANTS
Immediately after Nigeria’s elimination from the 33rd edition of Africa’s most prestigious soccer fiesta, the Africa Cup of Nations finals currently ongoing in Cameroon I called former Super Eagles Manager Samson Siasia to get his views and he made some observations which I absolutely agreed to.
One pertinent concern he raised is the fact that the Nigeria Football Federation must allow Austin Eguavoen to continue if we must be at the mundial as he is beginning to closely understand the boys and the personal issues and challenges they face as individuals, positing that only when a manager is closely related to his players at individual level such a manager will be able to bring the best out his stars and Eguavoen has been able to achieve that at a great level in his very short spell as the gaffer of the team.
Having said this, we must realize that the Black Stars of Ghana are still a veritable force to be reckoned with in African football regardless of their recent debacles at the Nations Cup.
The four-time African Champions and 2010 Fifa World Cup quarterfinalists are ready to spill blood to ensure qualification ahead of bitter rivals Nigeria.
Hence, I personally believe that Eguavoen will need a sound technical pool of assistants to help him qualify for the world cup finals ahead of the badly wounded Ghanaians who will come at Nigeria with all they’ve got on and off the pitch.
As a matter of urgency, the Nigeria Football Federation must come to reality with the fact that there are too many redundant personnel on the bench of the technical crew.
As far as I am concerned Salisu Yusuf is the only sound assistant Eguavoen has on the bench.
Joseph Yobo’s case is understandable as he is understudying the more technically superior managers to possibly take over in the future.
My only grouse with Yobo is the fact that he has not shown enough passion for the job.
At a time when Yobo was supposed to be on duty with the national team in the United States for a friendly tie with Mexico last year, he opted out and chose rather to be in the Super Sports studio as a pundit.
That alone should cost him his job as his actions were a dereliction of duty and lack of patriotism.
But since the Federation saw nothing bad in Yobo’s action it’s either they sanctioned his behavior or they otherwise overlooked him.
If Yobo can show enough patriotism he can be a future manager of the side.
Having said all this, I can’t fathom what Paul Aigbogun’s business in the senior national team is.
It’s on record, that Aigbogun remain one of the worst Coaches in the history of Nigerian Football, but the President of the NFF, Melvin Amaju Pinnick wouldn’t want to have anything to do with these concerns.
His Flying Eagles team to Poland 2019 is by and large the worst collection of footballers from Nigeria for international duties. I don’t know of any team that is worse.
I don’t know why Mr Pinnick should put ethnicity ahead of national consideration.
We are no fools, the NFF President should not be insulting the sensibility of Nigerians, we know he’s always putting Aigbogun in the forefront of important jobs because they come from the same terrain.
The same Mr Pinnick sacked Aigbogun as Coach of Warri Wolves when he was Chairman of the then Nigeria Professional Football League side for poor performance, so at what point Aigbogun suddenly became a genius and improved enough that he should handle our national teams.
After the Flying Eagles misadventure he went moribund and came out from nowhere to become the Assistant Technical Director of the NFF. Who is fooling who?
There is also the other name, Dr Terry Eguaoje.
To me his appointment again like Aigbogun, was hugely based on sentiment and an enormous insult not only to football loving Nigerians but to the very good Coaches we have in the NPFL and the Nigeria National League as well as the thoroughbred former Nigerian Internationals who are into Coaching.
Besides being the Technical Director, PA West Soccer; and founder of the loquacious body, Football Coaches Association of Africa Nations, FCAAN; what has he achieved in Coaching? Nothing to show.
For the goalkeepers trainer Alloy Agu, I think he has been sleeping on duty.
Alloy Agu’s case is even more painful as he remains one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Nigerian football yet we have the worst collection of goalkeeping talents in the long history of the senior national team under his tutelage.
We have very good goalkeepers in the NPFL yet that is one of our major weaknesses of the current senior national team.
The national team has suddenly become an avenue where players are being trained to sell to bigger clubs for financial gains to a few greedy individuals. I pity us.
We have never had it this bad. Agu must sit up.
I don’t know if the entire Board of the NFF sit to make these decisions on appointment of Coaches and I strongly doubt they do.
The NFF must draft in pool of competent assistants or simply allow Austin Eguavoen, Salisu Yusuf and Joseph Yobo to lead Nigeria through the playoffs.
MBUM FERDINAND
Head Of Sports Jay101.9fm, Jos.
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