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Siasia: What’s Happening?
By Toyin | October 3, 2009
If a question on which coach has the most pedigree and respect among teeming football fans in the country is posed, the answer is likely to be Samson Yebowei Siasia. There is ample reason for this. In the last four years, the former Super Eagles attacker has been the most consistent gaffer around. His tinkering of the various teams committed to him has been outstanding and no one can deny the fact that he indeed looked the part during the Under 20 tournament in Holland four years ago where it took the brilliance of Leonel Messi and the connivance of the referee to deny Nigeria the gold.
He subsequently took our under 23 team to the Beijing Olympics in China only to be felled again by the brilliance of the ‘little’ Argentine who provided the pass that took brought out our goal keeper, the confident Vansekin before the ball was lifted into the net by Maria. At the end of that encounter, Diego Maradona (the greatest guy to have ever played the game) walked into the pitch to congratulate Siasia and our boys for a job well done. Such was the class of the Bayelsan that it didn’t take the NFF long to chose him as the man to help Nigeria after the debacle of Ladan Bosso as the coach of the Flying Eagles.
The recent showing in the ongoing FIFA Under 20 tournament in Egypt has left at best, sore taste in the mouths of the faithful in the last two weeks. And this has deeply dented the reputation of Siasia, a man that many believe (and rightly so) would be the best person for the Super Eagles job in the nearest future. The foregoing is not as much about the losses recorded against Venezuela and Spain but more with the kind of players he selected to represent us.
He could be pardoned on the basis of preparations as we are notorious for poor organization and planning. But Siasia is one, if not the only coach, that is allowed a free hand in picking his team. It is therefore conceivable that he took the decision on the composition of the team. He even chose his assistant, who happened not to be a Nigerian!
How do we then explain away the poor quality of the players on the field? Ranging from the new captain to the old hands in the team, we have a bunch of footballers who are at best average. And this is not only in the contest of what we have witnessed in the past but in comparison to what other countries have on offer. I mean the nations that ordinarily we should be comparing ourselves with: Brazil, Ghana, Germany and Spain.
Having been fortunate to qualify for the second round as one of the ‘best losers’ (how I hate that term), is there any hope that this team can kick on from here? The truth of the matter is that our boys do not inspire any confidence in the fans. In particular, the attackers taken to this tournament are a bunch of toothless, and I dare say, aimless shooters who have left their scoring boots back in the country!
Surely we have better players than these and ultimately, the coach, as always, would bear the blame for the lethargic performances we have witnessed so far.
The second chance that Germany and Korea gave us should be taken with gusto and determination. If they are going to go down, they should do so with dignity; and I mean this with all sense of patriotism. We can’t be pushed around like nobodies when youth football is concerned. This set of Flying Eagles must know this and be determined to do us proud. If they fall like chickens, their future would have been derailed due to their spinelessness.
Whatever happens at the end of this championship, my respect for Siasia would not have diminished. Unlike some other people that we seem to have in abundance, he accepted his mistakes, blamed nobody and has promised to do better in the future. That for me is enough and I know he is capable of greater things.
If you doubt me, just take another look at the second halves of both matches with Venezuela and Spain. I also do not subscribe whole heartedly to the argument that he should have taken Udor and Macaulay to the event; only a foolish coach ties his destiny down to a bunch of players!
Topics: Nigerian Football, Success Pills, The Gaffer, Who Will Win |
October 6th, 2009 at 8:28 am
win or lose, i still believe in sia 1
October 6th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Win or lose, I want to say categorically that siasia is one of the very few coaches we have in this country that is discipline. Then if the good players are not discipline, lets select the average but discipline one and nurture them to stardom.