The Reasons For Eagles Failure in Brazil!!!

The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup has turned out to be the harbinger of the Brazil 2014 World Cup for Nigeria. It was a competition that witnessed haggling for bonus and going on strike on the road to the tournament; it was one that Nigerians say that the country could have done better if certain players were available to the team and one tournament that left the Super Eagles fans saying so many ifs afterwards.

 

In Brazil one year after, there are now so many ifs for a team whose performance has been voted largely to be below expectations. The road to the World Cup was again full of disruption and distractions also on the issue of cash.

 

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi is the man at the receiving end. It has been a competition of mixed reception for him. After the team’s opening match that ended goalless against Iran, he was heavily derided. Nigerians found their outlet through social networks with many castigating his selection. By the time Nigeria defeated Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 and gained a footing in the next round, he had regained a number of the critics who had gone the other side.

 

Nigeria fell by 3-2 to an Argentinean side powered by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria but the result was good enough to see the team through to the next round.

 

Indeed the performance of the Eagles against the South Americans rekindled hopes in many Nigerian fans.

 

Even though many had feared a wide margin defeat, the Eagles put up a brave fight before a curling Messi free kick separated both sides.

 

Even though many had feared a wide margin defeat, the Eagles put up a brave fight before a curling Messi free kick separated both sides. Even though many had seen Eagles in good stead to beat France, Keshi again came on the firing line soon after the 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Europeans ended the dream of a nation.

 

Keshi said afterwards, “I am used to criticism; it is a way of life for my people. The moment you lose a game all manners of coaches will emerge to tell you what you should have done and what the opponents did well. Even those who have never done anything with the game will suddenly turn armchair coaches.”

 

Keshi added that his immediate plan was to quickly get a break and be with his family he had missed for months as the country began the preparations towards Brazil.

 

Keshi’s contract expires in July and that has now become the next subject to debate. The manager had lamented that the Nigeria Football Federation had not made any reference to his contract renewal and therefore interpreted it that the World Cup could likely be his last outing as Nigeria coach. His employers have said they are open to his continued stay and the next few months will explain the true position of things.

 

Those who have criticised the Eagles performance are irked by two major factors. First is the show of indiscipline by the players. Whereas the French team spent their time training for Nigeria, the Eagles missed two crucial training sessions. They were fighting for what they called appearance fees. The fight had actually started in the USA while they were camping and all efforts made by the NFF and the Senate President David Mark to assure them that their money would be paid as soon as the world football governing body disbursed the funds to teams fell on deaf ears. And to buttress their point, the players embarked on a strike.

 

“It is not right that players would behave like that after Nigerians have gathered from across the world for them. We rode 56 hours to and from Cuiaba to cheer them and so we believe they will think of Nigerians first and do the right thing,” the President-General of the Nigeria football Supporters Club, Rafiu Ladipo, said in Sao Paulo before the game against France.

 

The match against France exposed the inadequacies of the Nigerian bench. The team held on until Ogenyi Onazi was injured and pulled out. Those who had complained about the team’s weak bench were vindicated as there emerged a big gap in the midfield which France rode through. Lack of a quality bench was the greatest weakness of Nigeria in Brazil.

 

A country that has one of the top scorers in the Spanish league in the person of Ikechukwu Uche, Sone Aluko of the English Premier League and Germany-based Chinedu Obasi had very little option left after the starting eleven.

 

Mikel Obi told FIFA.com after the match against France, “Honestly, I don’t think that we should be feeling bad right now. We’ve had a great tournament and today we showed the whole world just what we’re capable of, even when up against a great team.

 

“I think that we played really well from the start, right up until we conceded the opening goal.

 

“From that moment on, I’ll admit that we let our heads drop a bit.

 

“We couldn’t drag ourselves back into it, but none of that should take the shine off our performance.”

 

The midfielder said that his team were more than a match for France but believed that key mistakes in defence cost them.

 

“We were very organised. We knew exactly what we needed to do in defence against a strong team like France and, on top of that, whenever we had the ball we weren’t afraid to attack. We even had good chances to go in front ourselves. We got so much right, but mistakes do happen. What else can we say? We need to forget it and move on.”

 

Team captain Joseph Yobo played his 100th game for Nigeria on the last day.

 

“I’m moving on with life,” Yobo said. “It’s time to spend more time with the family and focus on club football. I’d like to thank the Nigeria fans and thank all the players. It’s been a pleasure, it’s been wonderful.

 

“I won the African Nations Cup, came this far at a World Cup I never thought I’d make because of injury. Hopefully (the young players) will carry on from here. We have done a lot of things behind the scenes, put a lot of hard work in together, As a leader, they know what I’ve brought in so it’s just to carry on from where we finished.”

 

One of the things Nigerians had been hoping on was to cross the second round into the quarterfinals after the dismal outings of 2010. Now they have to wait until Russia 2018 to place their hopes on another set of Eagles. But until then the debate continues how best to score these players and their managers.