These are sad times in Nigerian football.
The events of the past two weeks have opened up a can of worms, plus the opportunity of a microscopic look beyond the superficiality of the incomprehensible drama.
There is ‘madness’ in the air.
Nigerian football is currently being white-washed and sun-dried in the global information superhighway.
Suddenly, nothing is right about Nigerian football, not even the seemingly improving domestic leagues, the steady growth of the women’s game, the explosion in the domestic football business, and the mushrooming of academies.
All these have been set aside for the failure of the Super Eagles to win one simple football match at home against the weakest team ever to defeat them in history, a team annoyingly being coached by a foreign man rejected by Nigeria for taking Nigerian football back many decades. That singular defeat has also, now, taken Nigerian football development back several decades, nullifying even the small gains at AFCON 2023.
Worse still, the loss by the Super Eagles and the resignation of Finidi George, have both been dwarfed by the cursing and ranting (from ‘nowhere) of Victor Osimhen.
It is now the most-talked about issue in the Nigerian football space, setting off mayhem in the football structure – what to do or not to do with Osimhen.
On the current billboard of Nigerian football are all the ugliness, the illegalities, the mediocrities, the injustices, the frailties, the failures in the system, everything in all their nakedness, tiworo tiworo! It is so bad that no one knows exactly what to make of it all, or how best to resolve the resultant issues.
Permit me to peer through my microscope into why in 5 short months, Nigerian football plunged from near the pinnacle of ultimate success to the dung of an unprecedented and most shameful defeat. What could have gone so drastically wrong?
The reality is that at the end of the day, it is the players and how they perform that determine the measure of success or failure of football administrations. When a team wins, everything is right. When a team loses, everything is wrong. It is as simple as that. There are no in-betweens.
Even the era of football administration in Nigeria that is often referred to as a model is only so rated because the Super Eagles played extremely well and won trophies for Nigeria in the early to mid-1990s. Inside the boardroom, at the time (I was a witness), it was also chaotic.
Some 5 months ago, Nigeria broke its own standards. The country rewarded ‘second-best’. She rewarded a team that did not win the trophy in a way such as the world had never seen befor
In history, Nigeria had lost, rather painfully, several finals of previous AFCONs. Twice, in 1988 and 2000, great squads of the Eagles’ that were even glaringly ‘robbed’ of their moments of glory were not welcomed with blaring trumpets, and no celebrations were held to honour or reward their valiant efforts.
Put that side-by-side the Super Eagles of AFCON 2023. No one had confidence in the team. For almost one decade before, they had won nothing, had not impressed very much, had not produced outstanding performances and performers, and so on. All of this under the tutelage of foreign white coaches.
Then, Cote d’Ivoire in January of 2023 happened and the same players that broke the hearts of Nigerians with a lethargic performance in the final match were accorded a heroes’ welcome, feted, honoured and handsomely rewarded by the government.
That gesture was totally out of character with the norm. It must have come with a consequence or a price, as an impetus or a depressant. The players may have concluded they were special indeed.
From amongst them, the most celebrated player before, during and after AFCON who did not deposit one single moment of magic, a single moment of brilliance for posterity to play back and celebrate in testimony to Africa’s Best Player, instead goes on a ranting spree in ‘unjustifiable’ anger, spewing out venomous words like the pus from a wound against his own coach. He was not even a part of the humiliating loss to Benin Republic!.
This can only be the product of some ‘madness’ in the air of Nigerian football. He even went to the extent of announcing that he does not care even if he is never invited to the national team again. Who says such things?
I am muted by the events of this past week. I choose not to speak about them beyond the following:
Finidi George’s resignation
Finidi George and the whole idea of hiring an indigenous coach for the country were not the desired options of the current football administrators. Finidi’s reluctant engagement was wrapped in so much bad-blood and negative intentions that it was doomed to fail!
There was no way he would not have failed even though losing to Benin Republic was never on the cards, and is a totally unacceptable result. So, Finidi’s decision to leave the poisoned Chalice alone by resigning is the most honourable thing to do.
Microscope on the Super Eagles
I am looking microscopically at the Nigerian players.
What has been staring the country in the face for over a decade is the dwindling number of exceptionally-gifted players in many positions on the field.
For several years we stuck with a goalkeeper that was glaringly short on safe-hands. I cannot understand why two foreign coaches definitely stuck to him. Is it confirmation that there is a deficit of great goalkeepers in the country?
At the full-back positions, only Ola Aina has shown consistency and exceptional brilliance down the right-side of the field over several years.
The left-side has been the opposite, porous and so weak sometimes that Aina has had to be moved to the left-side to cover up for this weakness on occasions.
The centre of Nigeria’s defence line has been weak.
At AFCON 2023, William Troost-Ekong rose to the challenge and provided leadership and great cover for that weakness.
The first goal scored by Benin Republic against Nigeria in the absence of William clearly confirms this glaring weakness. There are no bona fide central defenders currently in the Nigerian team.
In the midfield, Nigeria has a few names like Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi. They are very good players until you start to compare them with those before them, the engine room of most of Nigeria’s great teams of the past – Samuel Garba, Haruna Ilerika, Mudashiru Lawal, Henry Nwosu, Jay Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Kanu Nwankwo and so on? And I do not mean any disrespect to the midfield players in the current Super Eagles.
There is an array of many good forwards in the current Nigerian team, but goalscoring has been in serious deficit, a reflection of their completeness compared to a glorious past that would surely include amongst many great names, that of Finidi George, the scapegoat of a failed system.
That is the reality.
By Segun ‘Mathematical’ Odegbami, former Super Eagles captain, ex-NFF Board Member, ex-Club Chairman
That’s how bad Nigeria is, Chief Odegbami suddenly removed the name of the NFF in this whole mess, instead, calling players name again, didn’t he hear when troost ekang was telling the whole world he was fit for this matches, see, what happened was just the height of wickedness from both NFF and finidi, they refused deliberately to recognize some influencial players, for reasons best known to them, thinking there are replacements everywhere, they forgot, two people can never be the same,who God bless,no man can do anything about it, I guess finidi wanted his own boys, even Ademola lukmon that was invited, was as a result of his Europa League performance, knowing that,any attempt to leave him out, will make a mess of their plans, everything collapsed on their head, even Osimeh offered to come support the team,this people refused, now, rather than speak to power,my oga is beating about the bush,so, which players finished second in afcon,and, which players is Odegbami talking about,na waooo
From the Look of things, Nigeria needs a foreign NFF, not just a foreign Coach.
Well said as always. Whether foreign or local, I hope the NFF have a Coach in place by the end of July 2024 at the very latest so that the Coach can have a month to follow our players as the foreign leagues resume before calling up and injecting some new blood into the team in September 2024 for the AFCON qualifiers. Those 6 games between September & November gives us ample opportunity to RESET the Super Eagles towards Maroc 2025/26…the world cup ticket may be gone n it shld not even be a set target for the new Coach…indeed lets stop setting targets and work more on proper Administration of the team/game.
As usual mathematical have blamed everyone one else apart from himself, finidi( representative of local coaches) and the NFF.
I respect Odegbami alot, but will advice him and Nigerian s of like mind to stop scap-goating anyone. His repulsive discription of Osimen is horible. Osimen has the right to be angry if he felt his medical situation meant nothing the the Team handlers. And should have the wisdom apologise if he erred. Osimen is not the problem and Odegbami should know better considering how the country used players and abadoned them when injured.
Osimen may not have scored in the last afcon. Odegbami and the array of Stars he mentioned did not score in every tournament. They had their good and Bad days. Ronaldo, Messi, Mbape don’t meet expectations always. Osimen, by the way, is not the first to fall out with his Coach and handlers. Ronaldo fell out with M. United when he had enough. Stephan Keshi was Nick named ‘Big boss’ for his no nonsence attitude. I am speechless someone of Odegbami’s calibre does not know better.
This Segun Odegbami talks too much!!! He has always advocated local coaches,see where it has landed us now. Shame on him seriously!!
He was supporting Finidi when he was appointed and now that Finidi failed,he is now saying NFF never wanted to appoint him in the first place.
Again check online,Segun Odegbami was one of the people that rose and vehemently condemned the renewal of Peseiro’s contract after AFCON.
Nigerians don’t take.Segun Odegbami serious,he speaks with both side of the mouth.
Ogegbami, the mathematical, I greet you, you have spoken so much, and you speak well, like you said, where are the special players in the team,
The problem in the national team is obvious for everyone to see, whether you believe or not we have good players, that can take us to the semi final of the world cup, but how to manage them effectively and get result is the problem.
Our mid field is not working, On the absence of non , can we convert Victor Boniface and lookman to lead the midfield , while Osimhen will be in the fore front, I don’t think we have much problem in the defense and goal keeping department,
Mr. Ogegbami, please we need your knowledge and experience, come and coach our super eagles, and give us happiness, I believe you are the right person now, Or probably, we should call back Mr.Finidi, address the issue on ground, give him maximum support, He will surely succeed.
If the matter on ground is not resolved and the NFF bring Amuneke, without support, he will fail also.
The NFF should forgive Osimhen, Osimhen too should apologize to Mr.Finidi, Let the right players be invited in the right positions, there is no way ,we will not win matches.
Political, Religional, financial sentiment is a factor that kills a system, If the NFF appoint a coach and some of the players don’t like the coach, the players will make all effort so that the coach will be sacked , that is what happened to Mr. Sunday Oliseh, and is now repeating on Mr. Finidi
Our Ex international, should please not take side, they should come out to assist by giving advice on the way forward to succeed.
After all, the development of success in the game of football is not a single responsibility, but a collective responsibility by all team members, including the coach, medical team members, NFF , the media and the masses in general.
My prayer, Oh God, help us to qualify in Jesus name.Amen
This man talk much. Which one be original player
Odegbami is a very bad egg in our football world. He’s more of a destroyer than a builder. He has long taken the NFF by the throat, and forcing his desires down their throat.
He is a racist to the cure. He has always criticise the appointments of foreign coaches – calling it WHITE MAN or FOREIGN MAN. He has never seen anything good about the coaches including Westerhof who made a mark in the history of our football.
He is a stunt advocate of local coaches. It was himself and Piknic that forced Finidi down the throat of the NFF hence he could not say nor see anything wrong in what they did to our football,not even a coach calling out an injured player who did play as the cause of his failure, rather talking about the players qualities. ODEGBAMI YOU’RE A HYPOCRITE who shy away from the truth.
Did you listen or read the interview of Spallitte on Jorginhno, taking responsibility of the player’s performance instead of blaming him, but your friend and legend and the best coach, FINIDI was calling out and blaming his players for his losing to Benin republic under the coach you masterminded his sack. SHAME ON YOU.
Mr. Odegbami is very much aware of the politics in Nigeria’s football. Everything starts from the NFF, all the way down to the players. We need to understand that, it is very difficult for football to succeed in Nigeria because there is no unity in the system, starting from the NFF. The NFF has been taking up the responsibilities of the coaching, players and other activities that don’t belong to them. They are the ones who invite players to camp and all those responsibilities. Most times, the coaches may not be involved in selecting players for matches. That role should never be their responsibility. My father used to say to us that, once the “source” of the river is polluted, you cannot expect to drink a clean water, whether you fetched the water from the middle or the tail end of the river, everything will be polluted. That is what is wrong with Nigeria’s football. If those at the NFF are competent enough, there won’t be cases where half-baked coaches are employed to handle the Suoer Eagles. Also, how can the players not misbehave when they know that they are coming to the Super Eagles camp on the invitation of their godfathers in the NFF? The same goes with the coaches appointed for the team. My father’s proverb has summed up the major problems hindering the growth of football in Nigeria.