Legend

Gangling Yekini is the highest goal scorer for the Super Eagles. His 37 goals in just 58 appearances for the senior national team put him in the league of top scorers like Alan Shearer, Miroslav Klose and Michael Owen etc whose return rates are very impressive. There are many firsts to his name. He was the first Nigerian to be voted Africa’s best, he scored our first ever goal at the World Cup and he remains Nigeria’s highest goal scorer.

I remember his humility, simplicity and almost reclusive nature. It was the last description of him that brought to the surface the alarming news that he was mentally unstable and that he needed help. While I am not in a position to comment on what caused his death, the truth of the matter is that Yekini’s last days were not the ideal.

As football fans all over the country mourn the death of arguably the finest finisher Nigeria had ever produced; I believe it is an auspicious time for our government to reflect on the pathetic state of our Nation. The situation on ground is more than enough to cause sudden death.

With no proper medical facilities, people are dying on a daily basis. Where available, the doctors are on strike or don’t just care. We can be better than this as a Nation and losing one of our best athletes prematurely should motivate our rulers to do what is necessary to give hope to the people.
Rest in peace Rashidi Yekini!

I remember the unfortunate match between the Super Eagles and the Guineans at the Abuja National Stadium. That match was already concluded as won by our various football analysts and commentators. Only a few sounded the cautionary note that ‘it is not over until it is over’. At the end of the day, Nigeria failed to pick the maximum points and thereby missed the plane for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Arsenal banking on their wonderful last outing at San Siro went to Italy thinking they would do something great against AC Milan but they were taken apart by a rampant Rossonerri who must have been extra charged to take revenge. Many are the experiences in the past few months that have endeared the game even more to the people.

Barcelona, the football lords of Spain and Europe are currently trailing Real Madrid (their bitterest rivals) by 10 points. And had it not been for the mercurial and unplayable Lionel Messi, Madrid would be at least 15 points clear at this stage. What’s more? Even Pep Guardiola admitted that the advantage is that of RM; an unthinkable comment for the past three seasons!

Chelsea and Arsenal are struggling to make the CL place in England while high riding Tottenham holds a seven point advantage over their London rivals. The reality on the ground in the EPL is that at least two former super powers in that division may not make the CL next term.

Finally, Keshi announced a 21 man team for the Nations Cup qualifier in Rwanda. What made news is the recall of a certain Yakubu Aiyegbeni and the inclusion of 10 home based players in the side. While these two actions signifies boldness on the part of the coach, what stands to be seen is the effect that the decision would have on the reaction of the people in case the Super Eagles fumble in Kigali.

Fortunately, they did not fumble as they were able to play out a goal less draw in Kigali. From what I heard so far, the team put in a good shift in the game and they thoroughly deserved the point they got from a ground that is becoming very difficult for all oppositions in Africa. I would do a review of the match and the new era of leadership in the team in my next post.

For five consecutive seasons now, Arsenal had mastered the unenviable feat of losing ‘soft’ games. Throwing away precious points like its getting out of fashion. What with the unbelievable result at Newcastle less than two years ago? Leading in the Premiership with four goals up and yet ending up with only a point. They led at Wigan by two goals and ended up losing the games with three goals conceded in eleven minutes.

Arsenal is arguably the only team in the EPL that would concede a goal in the dying seconds of three consecutive matches at their home ground. It is just not the stuff champions are made of!
As I sat watching the drama play out in Wales on Sunday, I couldn’t help but notice the urgency of the Swansea midfield in going after the 50-50 balls. I watched in horror as firstly, Alex Song and then, Aaron Ramsey play themselves into all kinds of troubles. The case of Ramsey was so pathetic to the extent that it would take only such an ‘understanding’ manager as Wenger not to have shunted him out within the first seven minutes of the restart.

For starters, players like Ramsey, Walcott, Arshavin and Benayoun are to a large extent average. While they may sparkle once in a while, the consistency needed to deliver the goods is missing. Theo Walcott (I have to admit he has improved from the one trick pony he’s been all his life) should deliver more than he currently does. While his crosses have been a bit better, it is his lack of quality decision-making that numbs out his game. With speed being his major strength, he needs to learn how to run into space without falling foul of the offside rule. This he was able to do only once against Swansea and that was about the only contribution he made in the entire game.

When one compares Arsenal’s defensive mistakes to other top sides in the league, one would be left wondering about what Monsieur Wenger had been up to in terms of keeping the rear guard tight. I do not intend to be sarcastic, but Mertessacker is more of a liability than asset as far as defending is concerned. At least with what I have seen so far, he is too slow to really succeed at this level.

Agreed that injuries have dealt Wenger a tough hand, the acceptable practice is to play to the strength of each player. Putting a sluggish and rash Djourou at right back is likely to have consequences. This we saw in the game against Fulham when he collected a second yellow for a very clumsy challenge. And with just six minutes to go, Arsenal gave away the match by shipping in two goals.

Szczesny is good. He could be great one day but his rash decisions has cost his team too many points this season. This is also as his brilliance at times had saved them by their skin. What then is missing? Consistency.

That simple word is currently missing in Arsenal’s dictionary. Until they find it, it might just be another season- nothing won, nothing gained and unlike the past; they may become the latest entrants among the elites into the Europa League.

Once Upon a Time

A couple of weeks back I wrote about the unproductive year that 2011 turned out to be for our football. As far as that year was concerned, our football had the worst season of its existence in a long while. Now the issue is no longer year 2011 but 2012 and what we have to do to revive, resuscitate and re-energize our beloved sport going forward.

It has troubled me to no end that no Nigerian was among the top three CAF best African players that was deservedly won by Yaya Toure of Cote D’Ivoire and Manchester City. In the past, we were the kings of African football. Nothing worthy of note could be said about African footballers in Europe without ample mention of Nigeria players. From the likes of Rashidi Yekinni to Stephen Keshi, Austin Okocha to Kanu Nwankwo, Daniel Amokachie to Finidi George to Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, etc. We were on top of our game.

Nowadays, one could hardly mention any Nigerian footballer at a top 20 European side playing consistently in the first team. As I thought hard about this, I was able to come out with two names: Mikel Obi and Joel Obi of Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively. Even at that, Mikel seems to be out of favour at Chelsea as one Oriol Romeu has made him a bench warmer of late. The same is true of Taye Taiwo who could have made the cut had he not become a laughing stock and object of derision at AC Milan.

Our captain, Joseph Yobo plies his trade in the fourth tier of European football in Turkey. What defines our present status is that the top performer for Nigeria as a Nation in the past five months is fans object of hatred, Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Playing for the bottom team of the EPL, the Yak as he’s fondly called, has demonstrated unusual ruthlessness in front of goal for Blackburn and currently is among the top five scorers in the league.

This without doubt is the highlight for Nigeria in the current European season. Just before someone reminds me of one player in Norway, Malta, Ukraine, Turkey or Belgium, let me reemphasize my earlier statement that I’m considering only the top 20 teams in Europe. And my top 20 refers to the following clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Olympic Lyon, Ajax, Arsenal, Valencia, Bayern Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, Liverpool, FC Porto, Sevilla, Olympic Marseille, Borrussia Dortmund, Manchester City, and Juventus. While this list may not be sacrosanct, playing for any of the clubs mentioned above signifies an athlete that is on top of his game.

As I looked back at our Flying Eagles team to the last FIFA under 20 tournament in Columbia, I couldn’t help but harbour a little hope that some of those players will yet do Nigeria proud. My hope is little due to the fact that a leading light in that group of promising players, Ahmed Musa has just left to join CSKA Moscow in what could be termed another journey into oblivion. Just ask the likes of Obafemi Martins, Obinna Nsofor and Osaze Odemwengie!

As we navigate the course of the year 2012, I pray that something positive would begin to develop out of our game even as we commence the gradual climb up back to the top of the ladder.

This cannot but be helped by a radically different administration that is committed to the good of the game and not self-interest. As they sit at home (hopefully) to watch the Nations Cup this January, it is my hope that something would stir up the passion for the motherland in the hearts of the people at the helm of affairs of our football. May they begin to look for ways and means forward for football; dearly beloved sport of Nigerians. Happy New Year.

Grounded Eagles!

With the same mindset, I want to thank those of you that have religiously followed my posts and stood with me despite my inconsistencies in reacting to major events that concern football in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Like we usually say at the beginning of a new year; my resolution is to pay more attention to all these events, be more regular on this page and provide deeper insights and analysis going forward. So help me God. Meanwhile, compliments of the season and I wish all of us a wonderful, fulfilling and prosperous 2012.

It would be save to simply say that this was one of the (if not the worst) years in Nigerian football history. Without mincing words; it was a disaster of year as far as our football is concerned. I still cringe at the fact that Nigeria would not be represented at any major football competition next year. Starting from the Nations Cup in January, every fan would only be content supporting their various European and local teams. The last hope of any action was the very poor Olympic team that fell like a pack of cards in Morocco last month.

It is very hard to explain how we got here but one thing is certain; we had it coming a long time ago. Like in virtually everything that has to do with our national life, we chose to play politics with the most critical things and then end up the laughing stocks of the world. Let me digress a little. Nigeria is the only country in the world where the Customs would auction critical equipment meant for power generation to a private individual even when the containers were FGN.

We handle things like poorly trained mercenaries who are only interested in getting their money while damaging everything irretrievably in the process. Even our coaches look forward to the failure of each other!
I am looking forward into a detailed study by those who should know on what happened to Nigeria football wise in 2011. It would definitely be an interesting read. How come we failed to make any impact in the year? From one competition to the other, we failed woefully. Our much vaunted superiority in African female football was unceremoniously trampled on by Cameroun as the Super Falcons failed to make the 2012 London Olympics. The ‘Dream Team’ later followed suit as Equavoen assembled one of the most lackluster teams in that cadre in the history of our male Olympic football teams.

Our Golden Eaglets failed to even qualify for the Junior African Championships in that age group say less of representing us at the tournament proper. From the height of the second place at the 2009 FIFA under 17 held in Nigeria, we failed to even pick a ticket for African qualifiers for the world cup. How do you explain such retrogression?

Fans favourite, Samson Siasia despite his good records in most of his national assignments damaged his reputation and that of Nigeria by failing to qualify for Gabon-Guine Bissau ACN. It is as bad as it is as one of my friends would say when faced with a grim situation. Siasia became the first coach in 26 years to fail to in navigating the Super Eagles to a Nations Cup appearance. Amazingly, he did this without losing a match!

Our local football clubs all failed at the last hurdles in getting their hands on pieces of silverware in CAF competitions. Some were eliminated at the quarterfinals while Enyimba failed to sooth our pain when they failed to score any goal against their Moroccan opponents in the two legs of CAF champions league as they got knocked out when it mattered most.

John Ombu and the Flying Eagles represented the only light in a very dark and bleak year. France eventually exposed their weakness and eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under 20 tournament in Columbia. What however came to the fore at that completion is that our future could be bright if things are done the right ways by putting round pegs in round holes. Ombu nearly got it right with the right mix of players who barring pride, indiscipline and poor attitude would one day form the nucleus of the Super Eagles.

The main man

What has been the hallmark so far is the performance of Tottenham Hotspurs who are riding as high as anybody else and giving as good as they get. They have scalped their bitterest rivals, Arsenal already. They took Liverpool to the cleaners and went on an incredible 11 matches run in which they took 30 points out of 33. If that isn’t amazing, then I wonder what is.

Newcastle took everyone by surprise until they faltered recently. With what could be termed as an average team, the Toons played with character, flair and believe not seen since the days of the late Bobby Robson. It is save to say that they have done extremely well so far.

The grand masters of the EPL remain Manchester United. Having been bundled out unbelievably so from the UEFA CL, SAF’s men rolled up their sleeves, dug deep, gritted their teeth and got back into business. Since the humiliation of that defeat to their city rivals, they have managed to pick up lone goal victories and took maximum points from matches they were second best in. Now that’s the secret to being champions: Pick the maximum points even when not playing well.

Over the past few seasons, something has always been the problem with Arsenal. It’s either too many injuries, horrible goalkeepers, average defenders, poor marksmen etc. what is however glaring to most is that the core of the team is weak. That is the midfield and defense is not up to par when compared with major rivals.

What however happened during the summer left much to be desired of the management style at the Emirates. Top players known to be definitely on the move were allowed to disrupt the spirit in the team and proper replacement plan was not put in place to numb out the sharp edge of the inevitable. And so Nasir, Fabregas, Eboue and Clichy left and by so doing created serious gaps in the team. While Wenger might have been thinking he would get away with blue murder once again, the humiliating defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool ignited the flurry of late hour business that brought in Santos, Mertessacker, Arteta and Benayoun. And the results have been dramatic since these gentlemen came into the side.

From the horror performance at Blackburn to the naïve display at Tottenham, the Gunners turned around their season in style by that classy win at Chelsea and consolidated with impressive wins against teams they ordinarily struggled against in the past. It is however heartwarming and apprehensive at the same time that the vast improvement in Arsenal’s fortune and move up the table could be traced to the boots of Robin Van Piersie. Why the apprehension?

RVP’s physical fitness situations in the past could fill up two books written as memoirs. As far back as I can remember, he has never played the whole season for Arsenal in his seven years at the Club. Now he’s the captain, the top scorer, chief motivator and rallying point. What would be the fate of the team and its strong run if anything happens to RVP? This is a question that only Wenger could answer but I know that the obvious solution is to pick up a decent striker on loan in January. Did I hear someone say Henry is available? Then go for him Le Professor!

The problem of most EPL top teams is over use of their main players. Arsenal more than any other is guilty of this. From the days of Thierry Henry, to the days of Cesc Fabregas, to Jack Wiltshere and now RVP, Wenger (due to lack of quality bench) had over depended on his top stars and sometimes have had to pay the heavy price for that. Few players could play the whole season year-in, year-out without suffering the consequences.

While much has been said about Wenger’s fielding of young players in the League and FA Cups, the truth is that the main matches are played by the first team and best players. These matches could easily reach the 50+ mark in a good season.

It’s quite pardonable (even unreasonably so) that Arsenal would not the winning the EPL this season again but Wenger must do all he can to ensure at least Champions League qualification and a drink from the FA Cup. He could do this by adding a decent striker and a full back to relieve RVP and put Arsenal’s best defender, Thomas Vermaelen back where he belongs; in the central defense. And lest I forget; Merry Xmas to Y’all!

The Yak is back!

It all started with the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the Nations Cup. In quick succession, our local football sides crashed out of their various African championships and before one could say ‘Jack Robinson’, the Super Falcons were bettered by their Cameroonian counterparts in the race for the LONDON Olympics. The poor, lackluster, colourless and undisciplined ’Dream Team’ assembled by coach Eguavoen enveloped the only hope we had left in thick smoke by the fiasco they exhibited in the African qualifiers for the football event of the Olympics in Morocco.

Without mincing words, the year’s been a disaster for Nigeria in terms of football. Our poor outing in all cadres of the sport showed a kind of retrogression never witnessed in our recent history. It is absolutely unbelievable that Nigeria would not be at the Nations Cup and Olympic together. But this is the excitement of the game. It is such an unpredictable sport that even the most convinced are often left bruised by the turn of events.

Manchester United could not qualify for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions’ League. But this is not the news!

The main gist is that they were left high and dry by a lowly European side called FC Basel. Someone said the Red Devils must have had ‘psychological blockage’ thinking they were playing Barcelona (a team that had done them in twice in the finals of CL in the last three years) due to the name and colour of the jersey of the Swiss side. One thing is however true: Manchester United played poorly and they got knocked out.

It is also a strange play out in the EPL as the new ‘boys on the block’ Manchester City annihilated their main rivals right there at Old Trafford to at least hold the first half of the bragging rights. They are perfectly perched at the top of the log looking down confidently on others. Former ‘big boys’ Arsenal and Chelsea have both faced serious crisis at different times this season. While the Gunners struggled from the first blast of the whistle losing four out of their first seven games, Chelsea got knocked of their stride by a determined QPR side that threw everything at them at Loftus Road mid October.

Their previous impressive home record became a farce as Arsenal came, saw and conquered. Another followed that defeat from a witty and bullish Liverpool. Chelsea, like Arsenal has since returned back to winning ways with the last being an emphatic but controlled drubbing of Valencia. The Gunners even managed to be the first English side to qualify for the round of 16 in the CL with a game to spare never mind the drama that later took place in Greece.

Unsung teams like Newcastle and Tottenham raced up the league table living Arsenal and Liverpool behind. Who knows what might happen at the end of the season with Manchester City hoping to emulate the Gunners side that went the whole hog without losing a game through the season 2003/2004?

Montpellier; yes, Montpellier are topping the league in France and for a change, Madrid is tops in Spain. So far so good; so exciting! And as the first part in the long line of El Classico comes to town this Saturday, I can’t help but imagine that there’s still a lot of twist and turns awaiting us lovers of the game.How about the ‘decay’ of Inter Milan? That team just went dead as soon as Mourinho left them. It is very difficult to explain but the implosion of Inter shows how good a motivator Jose Mourinho is.

I have taken more than cursory look at three players this season and I couldn’t keep my eyes of the Senegalese Demba Ba of Newcastle. Is the guy that good? Yes he is that efficient at least. At the risk of sounding too African, I think Alex Song is the best and most creative defensive midfielder out there right now. Just take a look at his assist for RVPs’ first goal against Borrussia Dortmund at the Emirates in the CL and you would definitely concur with me.

Finally and miraculously so, Nigeria topmost striker in Europe at the moment is no other person than the object of hiss of most fans for a most infamous miss at the World Cup; Yakubu Aiyegbeni. The guy is scoring goals and looks like he’s just getting warmed up. I mean the guy is bulky, sluggish and sometimes seems lost but hey; he’s right on cue for Blackburn!

In the past, the issue of discipline cropped up regularly with our national teams particularly the Super Eagles. Players strolled to camp when they like offering no cogent reason for delays. When pushed to act properly, some of them would go ahead to leverage on their influence with the ruling class and intimidate their handlers to soft pedal. This had been the lot of our football and the results have not been great except for the glorious years under Clemens Westerhoff who was able to instill discipline in the team and damned the consequences.

The latest in the long saga of this vice was played out recently under the new coach Stephen Keshi when John Mikel Obi refused to play any out of the two friendly matches organized for the team. He claimed to have back strain. The extent of his ‘injury’ was revealed on Sunday when he started for Chelsea against Liverpool. It took his poor display for Villa Boas to shunt him out after the first half.

Unlike other nationals, Nigerian players tend to turn themselves into something else once they make any headway. And often times than not, their progress is quickly halted by their haughtiness. One cannot overemphasize this as the reality stares all of us in the face to the extent that yesterday’s promising players have been turned to fringe stars in their respective clubs.

One thing the likes of Mikel Obi fail to realize is that without the platform Nigeria offered them, they would be nobodies today. I do not know of many prominent Nigerian players whether in the recent past or present that got into a major European club without having played for the country at one time or the other. Those that made it big without this experience actually are few and far in between.

I have heard people say severally that the arrogance displayed by our players is due to the fortune they command and the poverty around them. While this may be true, it should however be noted that none of our egoistic current Super Eagles players earn up to the likes of Samuel Eto ‘O Fils, Yaya/Kolo Toure, Seidou Keita, Michael Essien, Haruna Kone, Didier Drogba etc. Yet these gentlemen answers national team calls with dedication, discipline and commitment.

Going further up the ladder, distinguished players such Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Pierse, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas and so on cherish playing for their countries more than the average Super Eagle player. For someone like Messi for instance, winning big with Argentina must be his greatest aspiration. He knows that without this, he would forever be in the shadow of many of his compatriots.

A smart player should also have an eye on history. Joseph Yobo just equaled and eclipsed the all-time appearance record previously held by the late Mudashiru Lawal. This was also a record that would have been broken by Jay Jay Okocha but he chose to play selected matches for the Super Eagles while helping his average Bolton team out in England. While some play for money, other more perceptive athletes engage in the game for history.

I believe without any iota of doubt that Nigeria can succeed on the big stages of African and world football again. This however would only be possible on the altar of sacrifice, selflessness and untainted discipline.

Coach Stephen Keshi therefore must be ready to be both tough and understanding with his choice of players. Anyone that exhibits any form of indiscipline should be shunted out of the team. He must be ready to step on toes, break barriers, court controversy and like Westerhoff; damn the consequences.

He took this closeness to Aghahowa to a new level when he screamed on radio that the NFF (then NFA) had disrespected the marksman by buying him a business class instead of first class ticket for a trip to Nigeria to play a match for the team in preparation for the 2004 nations cup in Tunisia. I could recall telling one of my younger brothers that ‘these types of people would eventually destroy the player’ and was proven right when unlike the striker, he could not even score a goal at the tournament paving the way for the emergence of Obafemi Martins as the new sensation.

Today, nobody remembers either Aghahowa or his self-appointed mouthpiece, Friday Nwankwo Kujah. Similarly, Obafemi Martins that took over from Aghahowa is far from a first team berth in the Super Eagles all due to one act of indiscipline or the other. Pride, they say, goes before a fall.

Football is a very popular sport. Arguably, it is the most popular sport in the world and the best players are usually exposed to a great media attention that if not well managed could lead them into thinking that they are demi-gods. Just as everything that has a beginning must have an end, the popularity, dominance and relevance of players would always thin out at one stage or the other. The ones that remain long in the memories of the fans are mostly those that managed their fame, fortune and influence with humility and grace.

Virtually everyone remembers players like Pele, Maradona, Cruff, Beckenbeur, Zidane, Baggio, Cafu, Maldini, Bergkamp, Ronaldo, Matheus etc due to the fact that they lived their lives in humility if not serenity. All these players never held their clubs or nations to ransom on over estimation of their self worth or importance. Quite remarkably, they were ready to ‘die’ on the field of play for their countries. I remember Diego Maradona crying like a baby when Argentina lost the finals of the FIFA world cup to Germany in 1990. Such was the emotion and the determination to make his nation proud.

Unlike their counter parts in Europe and elsewhere, Nigerian players, as soon as they make any headway in their careers become uncontrollable, haughty, undisciplined and lacking in patriotism. You would now be hearing that they couldn’t fly business class except first class when on national call-ups. These were guys that got a break and quickly forgotten where they were coming from. For a decent individual to note however is that nothing last forever. Fame today goes up in smoke tomorrow.

One of my favourite Nigerian players of all times is Kanu Nwankwo. By and large, he remains the most successful Nigerian player till date. Having won trophies anywhere he played, nobody could deny him the right to that lofty praise.

With little findings and informed comments from those that should know, Kanu is also adjudged as one of the most humble Super Eagle players. Exceedingly rich beyond imagination, Kanu is down to earth, loving and determined to help the needy. Any wonder that of all the players that won the FIFA under 17 tournament for Nigeria in 1993, he is the only one still playing actively and earning income on a weekly basis. I strongly believe there’s a correlation between the length of a players’ career and his humility.

Players like Carlos Tervez, who is currently making news for the wrong reasons typifies absolute pride and indiscipline in the modern game. Having everything at his beck and call, he forgets that the only thing that is constant in life is change. He should ordinarily be grateful that he has options in life due to his God given talent rather than turn himself into a ball of rage and incomprehensible explanations for his conducts.

What’s more? A team that came to his rescue after his bust up with SAF and named him captain is the same platform he is using to mess up his already battered image. Whether he likes it or not, the team would forever be greater than him and definitely would outlive his stupidity. If he cares to know, there is a greater, far better player from his country who despite personal achievements and accolades has remained grounded and humble. It is not too late for him and others of his ilk to take a cue from Messi!