Before the unfortunate injury of the Flying Dutchman, he was on fire for the team. He had scored 11 goals up to that time and his first class thinking and quick feet was a delight to watch for many many Gunners. However, as in recent past, Robin seems to be made of glass and he got injured again. But Le Prof had a perfect solution: Andrey Asharvin!

The only problem is that the little Russian is not a target man. While his talent and ability is undoubted, it could not be claimed that he’s a renowned striker. As usual, Arsene knows. And when the transfer window opened in January, everyone thought that definitely the Prof would at least buy a replacement for Robin while waiting for Nicklas Bendtner to regain fitness. Again, Wenger let the opportunity passed by when he could easily have bought Carlton Cole of West Ham.

Suddenly, the four crunch matches came against Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. The foolishness of Arsene came to the fore when Chelsea and Manchester United comprehensively defeated Arsenal. They could only pick four points out of a possible 12 and the title dream became more like a nightmare once again.

Prior to this situation, Arsenal had the opportunity to progress in the FA Cup against Stoke City. Wenger decided to field a much weaker team against an opponent that defeated his full side last season and he paid dearly for that; they lost the match by 3-1. Having not won any trophy for almost five years now, would it not have been most appropriate to concentrate on the FA cup to at least give the young talents at the Emirates a taste of success?

Rather Wenger decided that the FA was not top of his agenda and therefore lost out again on the chance to taste from the hallowed cup. So the league cup was out and now the FA Cup is out and the Premiership looks very achievable but the personnel is not really there as injuries (the albatross), of many teams has dealt serious blow to Arsenal’s title credentials again. Just imagine for a moment that Arsene actually bought two new players in the transfer window- a defensive midfielder and an outright striker, they could be singing a different tune now. The defeats to Chelsea and Manchester United were not really as a result of lack of trying but due to the absence of a good finisher. As a matter of fact, the last time the Gunners were at Stamford Bridge, they inflicted Chelsea’s last home defeat in the league. And guess who did the damage? Robin Van Persie!

There’s nothing wrong in having a set of beliefs. But there’s everything wrong in sticking with such when there are no results to accommodate the tendency. Wenger is guilty of this. We must not be overly inundated with past achievement to the detriment of current and future progress. While Arsenal as a team has declined on the field of play over the past six years, major competitors have evolved and became more competitive.

A deep look at Barcelona, a team Arsenal played in the Champions League finals of 2006 gives a very apt description of the realities at the Emirates. After that triumph, Barcelona did not rest on its oars and have since won another European cup. Meanwhile, Arsenal has won nothing and the team is still under the studious watch of Wenger!

Under Arsene, the team seems to take one step forward and two backwards. The silly policy on contractual extensions to players above 30 years is laughable at best. All Wenger and the fat cats at the Emirates need do is check out the roles players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, Michael Ballack, Raul Gonzales, Philipo Inzaghi play in their respective clubs. It is very disheartening to see the kind of goals being set at the Emirate-all financial!

While it is very imperative for a club to leave within its means, it is even more critical to achieve success on the field of play particularly when such a club is categorized among the elites in Europe. Arsenal has gradually but surely fallen off pace in tangible achievement and critical success in the field of play in the last five years and this is unacceptable. Wenger, whether he likes or not, has shown serious lack of ambition.

It also seems that he’s very comfortable with mediocrity having around in his team players like Silvestre, Senderos and Theo Walcott who I must say have been critically disappointing for Arsenal even when fit. Compared to the top goalkeepers in England, Manuel Almunia would be far behind in my pecking order. I doubt whether he would make my list of top 10 goalkeepers in England and yet Wenger sees in him the top class attributes required to be champions. Very laughable! He had it in his hands to have brought in Shay Given but in his usual dismissive manner passed over what would have been a brilliant addition.

While calling players like Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Barbatov etc overpriced entities, they have won tons of silverware for their clubs even as Wenger’s young starlets and ‘cheap’ stars have brought nothing to the Emirates. The foregoing is more than enough reason to rethink strategies and beliefs. The ball is currently in his court, but not for long with the potential exit of Cesc Fabregas; the jewel in Arsene’s crown!

The funny comments during the reception for the Super EAGLES after the CAN in 2004 that the team came back with ‘Golden Bronze’ because we defeated Cameroon in the quarterfinals was a joke carried too far! No matter what, a bronze can never turn to gold. And there’s a long distance between the first and third place. Crossing that mediocrity level should form the bastion of our future aspirations not only in African football but also in global competitions.

Losing by a lone goal to a youthful Ghanaian side deprived of the service of its most important player showed how low we have come in African football. Even the quarterfinals win over Zambia left little to be celebrated as our egoistic and unfit players struggled throughout to keep pace with their less illustrious opponents. They had to win at the end through penalty kicks thanks to goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s heroics.

Such was the distaste for this particular team that most people predicted that Ghana would defeat them. And true to these predictions, our team could not hurl themselves back from a goal conceded midway into the first half. The manner of that defeat showed how lacking in technical and tactical depth coach Ahmodu is. For everything thrown their way, the Black Stars had a way out. Our players kept doing the same thing over and over again until the clock wound down.

Now that the big one is just four months away, what should be the game plan to avoid an embarrassing participation in South Africa?

Most of the commentaries so far had focused on hiring another coach preferably a well-known and successful one. As far as this criterion is concerned, only two or three coaches fit that bill and are available. Gus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard and Jurgen Klinsman. Others are gainfully engaged with various European clubs and major national teams. However, to be very sincere and practical, would any of these gentlemen be prepared to come and work in our well-documented chaotic environment?

What some of our administrators have failed to realize is that the world is indeed a global village. All a Hiddink for instance need do is type in Nigeria plus football and he’s furnished with all the sordid details of our administrator’s lack of organization, commitment, respect, integrity and planning. Secondly, would any right thinking high profile coach be prepared to come and soil his reputation under these circumstances? What about the high salary that would be the standard for these types of personnel; would we be ready to pay?

These questions and many more should occupy the minds of those concerned as they look for another coach as I am now very convinced that Ahmodu Shuaibu doesn’t have the technical nor the tactical know-how to do great at the World Cup. The short space of time is another critical issue to look at. By now, we should be getting our plans fully on track and just be implementing in phases towards a successful participation at the competition

As a matter of urgency, the Technical Committee of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) should look for capable replacements for players like Chidi Odiah, Joseph Yobo, Yusuff Mohammed (out with a serious injury), Kanu Nwakwo, Seyi Olofinjana, Obinna Nsofor, obinna Nwaneri, Yusuff Ayila and Yakubu Aiyegbeni.  These players, except for Mohammed, have shown they are not fit, injury prone and incapable of making any serious contribution in our quest to do well at the World Cup.

While Kanu may be included in the party to South Africa based on other considerations apart from football, it is very important to make the team as competitive as possible. And this must be within the shortest possible time. With the composition of our group, only serious mindedness, commitment, preparation, focus, discipline and dedication would make us qualify for the next round.

A group consisting of Argentina, Greece and South Korea is not a soft one and Nigeria must be well toned to match up to any of these nations. Right now, the ball is in our court to get it right. Immediately we get to South Africa and the competition commences, it would be too late, far much so, to make any changes!

Angola 2010 took off to a most astonishing start as Mali came back from four goals down to take a point from the hosts. It would go down as one of the most memorable opening matches of any football tournament in the world. Reminiscent of the Golden Eaglets feat against their German opponents in the FIFA under 17 competition in Nigeria two months ago, this encounter had more significance as Africa’s best were on display. The excitement in the stadium was palpable, as the first lady of Angola was not left out of the euphoria as her national shot into a commanding lead.

I would have wished to find out how she felt at the end when the players crumbled to the determination of the Malians who must have been properly tongue lashed by their Nigerian coach. Such is the magic of football; the unpredictability, spontaneity makes it what it is: the best sport in the world!

Despite this impressive opening, the Angolan government, LOC and CAF must have been thoroughly shocked and embarrassed by the attack on Togo’s national team. It must have been a nightmare to hear that Togo’s officials and players were shot between the borders of Congo and Angola and within the oil rich Cabina region of the former war torn Jonas Savimbi enclave.

Africa, known for so much bad press outdid herself this time around! The rebels looking to score cheap political points made a grave mistake by attacking a contingent that had nothing to do with their agitations. And like all terrorists acts, this also does not make any sense. If they felt so strongly about their demands, they could as well have killed a few of their national team players or better still bomb their president’s palace! The people in authority should condemn this act in the strongest terms.

It’s so unfortunate that a game that has brought so much unity, development, empowerment, progress, advancement, education, well-being etc could be targeted in such a way. Since Friday, I have never ceased to wonder why the rebels in Cabina never bordered to think twice before embarking on this mindless attack. I strongly believe that there is a better way to passing our messages across and it is called DIALOGUE. At the end of the day, people must sit together to iron out differences whether they like it or not.

Despite the fact that this took place in Africa, it must not be used as a yardstick to judge us a people. Violence and mindless killings is not a monopoly of any continent. While it may not have occurred in the same circumstances being discoursed, I remember with sadness the killing of Pablo Escobar in August 1994 after the FIFA World Cup in the US. The killer shot him for scoring an ‘Own Goal’ at the tournament! It was such a shocking event.

My sincere condolence goes to the families of the dead and the Government of Togo. And for the players, your trauma is understandable and I stand in solidarity with you. All said and done, life has no alternative and those who know what this means will always treat it as sacrosanct.

Super Eagles

Our national senior team played her first match yesterday against the Pharaohs of Egypt. Although we have a better head-to-head record against the Egyptians, history was thrown into the dust bin as the Pharaohs came from behind to beat our over hyped stars 3-1 in a highly entertaining match. To think that Mohammed Abo Treka was out injured for the Egyptians says a lot about their level of preparedness for the tournament.

The Super Eagles who started out well in the first half and led through a brilliant goal from Chinedu Obasi fell like a pack of cards to three counter attacks from the Egyptians. Our defensive frailties was exposed time and again by the much more coordinated opponents. With this result and a team of half fit superstars, coach Ahmodu has a tough task ahead in this tournament. 

How does he explain the dropping of Femi Olubayo for Chidi Odiah who to all intents and purposes has not played any match for the past six months? I saw a coach that lacks the will and character to make the necessary change to a floundering team. Pray me; why did he allow Yakubu Aiyegbeni to stay on throughout the match when he was not making any meaningful contribution?

I hope the coach took time out to watch the match involving Algeria and Malawi. The lesson of that encounter is that football has changed in Africa and only the serious and determined win on the day. The game is no longer played by names; realities of the day determine who goes home with the prize.

With this in mind, Ahmodu must put his best foot forward against the Squirrels of Benin in the next encounter. Anything short of victory could as well signal the end for Super Eagles in the tournament. If Taye Taiwo is not ready to play, Elderson Echiejile should be first choice and so must it be for all other positions in the team. Competition should be the name of the game and the fittest players must always be first on the list irrespective of their names!

Personally, I have no ax to grind with Ahmodu for his choice of players and neither would it matter if I do; in Nigeria, people in ‘big positions’ hardly listened to others advice. My grouse with the man is his level of arrogance and self adulation! At the Press Conference organized by the NFF in Lagos concerning the forthcoming African Nations Cup in Angola, Ahmodu came out like a man who will never learn anything from history. He was very abusive and totally lacking in decorum.

When asked why he refused to pick any home based player in the first list submitted to the Federation; he threw caution to the wind and declared gleefully that the local league is nothing to write home about. He dismissed the existence of such talents as King Osanga and Chibuzor Okonkwo. The latter, in my honest opinion if far more reliable than the duo of Chidi Odiah and Apam Onyekachi, two players he included in the list despite their questionable fitness.

More significantly, Ahmodu said that there is no good training pitch in the country and as such the Super Eagles would not even ‘jog’ for their fans to see what manner of team he is taking to Angola. My mouth was left hanging at this statement knowing quite well that Nigeria just held the FIFA under 17 championship in the country. What happened to all the stadiums used during the event? I couldn’t help but ask Ahmodu if he has ceased to be a Nigerian!

The Teslim Balogun Stadium, Sanni Abacha Stadium,National Stadium Abuja etc have world class facilities and can hold any major international football match say less training activities of our senior national team. But our dear coach thinks or knows otherwise. And to reaffirm his belief, he declared with gusto that the camp of the team would neither be open to fans nor the press. It is his ‘great’ plan to win the Nations cup!

I have consistently wondered why we never seem to learn from our past mistakes as a people. We keep doing the same thing all the time and expect outstanding result- this is one form of definition of madness! Ghana, Cameroun, Egypt and Ivory Coast, our major competitors have already forwarded their final list to CAF while we are still battling to choose a training camp in Durban SA. Our unserious is legendary and it’s such a shame that we have continued like this all through these years.

Coach Ahmodu Shuaibu desperately needs help. He needs help particularly in the area of communication and relationship. I humbly ask him to go back to school to study communication and put it to practice immediately. He could also do with a bit of humility. Laying claim to being the best coach ever from the country is a bit off mark. I do not know of any trophy that Ahmodu won for the nation; I stand to be enlightened!

While it is arguable that Ahmodu by and large has done well for the country, it is also very true that he’s had more opportunities than most. This is his fifth stint as the Head Coach of the senior national team; a record considering Nigeria’s population! Instead of boasting and making unguarded statements, he should be more concerned about winning Nigeria her first CAN trophy since 1994. Anything short of this, he would be on his way out of the team and history would be repeated twice!

Two weeks ago, Chelsea was cruising and with the comprehensive defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates, not a few pundits declared that they are the Champions Elect of the Premiership. However, football is a very unpredictable game and the Blues have dropped 5 points in their next two games after that exploit. They were beaten by the new Billionaires of the league, Manchester City and had to battle it out with Everton for a point today at Stamford Bridge.

Similarly, Manchester United who trashed West Ham by four goals to nil last weekend amazingly lost to an unyielding Aston Villa at Old Trafford this evening. Much as they tried to get something out of that game, a combination of inspired goalkeeping from Brad Friedel and excellent rear guard display kept the Red Devils at bay. The animated expressions of SAF towards the end of the match shows that indeed, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

A quick look at the table shows a very interesting fact. Arsenal and Manchester United have both lost four matches while Chelsea has been beaten three times already despite their much touted performance and prowess. Liverpool also have been bettered five times already. The difference between the league leaders, Chelsea and the seventh placed Liverpool is 13 points and they have a game in hand. The way this season is playing out, there is not going to be a runaway winner and it will be as close as ever.

If Arsenal, the fourth placed team on the table wins both its two outstanding matches, it will only be three points behind Chelsea. And that will be game on again; a scenario that was almost inconceivable just two weeks ago.

The reality of this year’s EPL is that the champion could come not only from the so called ‘big four’ but within a new group that I tag the ‘emerging seven’. This group includes Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. This is my sincere take and I know that at the end of the day the winner won’t be by a mile; it could just be a point that would decide who clinches it.

Interestingly, Villa is now the new giant killer of world football. They have already beaten Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United; only Arsenal remains for them to have clean sweep of big scalps at least for the first legs. And at the rate Manchester City is going (never mind the fact that they have drawn too many winnable games), they will also take some scalps. All this just add to the excitement that’s already synonymous with the league.

While one may not be really happy with current happenings at the Emirates, the truth of the matter is that the man actually deserves the respect and cooperation he’s been getting so far. However, the reality of trophy less adventures of the past four years going five should sound the alarm bells in the minds of any serious fan of the Club. The last silverware won by the club was in May 2005 when they defeated Manchester United in a lackluster performance through penalty kicks. Since then, Arsenal deteriorated from being league contenders to Champions League football strugglers.

Within this period and immediately after the Invincible Season that ended in 2004, a stream of quality players left the club in droves without adequate or better replacement made by Wenger. From Edu to Pires, Parlour,Jens Lehman, Viera, Cole, Reyes, Henry, Gilberto, Flamini, Hleb, Diara, Toure, Adebayor; all good players left without quality replacements made. And while those that came in through the ranks did a decent job, the result is that Arsenal fell from being a top contender to also runs!

For all the players that left, Arsene only bought Diaby, Eboue, Rosicky, Walcott, Gallas, Lassana Diara (who left almost immediately), Sagna, Eduardo, Nasir, Andrei Arshavin and Vermaelen. Most of these players except for the trio of Rosicky, Gallas and Arshavin were unproven and unknown quantities; they could neither inspire confidence nor win matches! Other players came through the B team except for Cesc Fabregas fail to make any significant impact in the status of the team.

Therefore, the club became synonymous with youth and accompanying mistakes in high pressure matches too numerous to mention here. They flatter to deceive and a team that one could averagely describe as a top team in England became the laughing stock of analysts and pundits under Wenger’s Youth Policy. The Prof’s stinginess is legendary! He baulks at the prices attached to great players only to go for average ones that would never deliver the same results.

When compared to others within the league, Arsenal bought fewer players. The few brought in are mostly average, injury prone and inspire no confidence. Yet, the man believes that his team can win the league and CL!

The recent results from the Premiership points to the fact that for Arsenal, it’s going to be another long season. The team has played only four top oppositions and lost three of those matches. Never mind the slogan of Wenger that his team dominated the matches; what matters is the result! Against Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal became exposed and could not pick up even a point in those matches. Injuries or not, a good team must always dig deep to get required points even when playing poorly. There’s no reward in football for keeping possession; scoring goals and probably keeping clean sheets win matches!

The last result against Manchester City in the Carling Cup should be the clearest indication to Wenger that the world has left him behind. No right thinking manager would continue doing the same thing and expect a different result. Yet, this seems to be Wenger’s attitude and it is not only annoying but also disappointing. A critical criteria for measuring the success or otherwise of his policy is the result obtained against top teams; anything short of this is self-delusion!

Wenger should take a deep look his current model and policy. Simply said, it is not working. If care is not taken, Arsenal will continue to drop under Arsene and the reality will be the exodus of the few quality players at his disposal to other clubs. No player is categorized as a great until major trophies are won. This truth,’ am sure is not lost on the likes of Cesc, Arshavin, Van Persie, Gallas and Song.

Excuses have dried up for Wenger. He must at least admit to the failure of his much-cherished project. Four years is enough to test a model and one should be humble enough to admit mistakes and turn around in the right direction. For records purposes, Arsenal would not be renowned for the value of its share or what the club is worth in financial terms. It will secure its place in history by the numbers and quality of trophies in its cabinet!

Saturday, November 14, 2009 was a momentous day in the history of football in Nigeria. It was the day that our country qualified for the first World Cup to be held in Africa. Unfortunately for me, I could not watch the match live as I was away to Ibadan for a Reunion program in my alma mater. As the program was on, my mind kept darting between the message being preached and the event taking place in Kenya!

When I couldn’t bear it any longer, I sent a text message to one of my brothers to keep me abreast. He called back to tell me that he wasn’t watching the match. You can imagine my anger. I instructed him to go to my elder brother’s shop to watch and keep me informed!

Such was the importance of the match. We had to win and also hope for good news from Maputo. Like I wrote in my last piece; it was a battle to finish but in two fronts. And so the results came and at the end Tunisia lost to Mozambique and Nigeria defeated Kenya; off we go to SA 2010!

Nigeria joined Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroon and South Africa (the hosts) on the party. Algeria was to qualify four days later in Sudan, a neutral ground for the epic battle against Egypt. We did what we could not do four years ago when Angola denied us the ticket to Germany on head to head rule. This time around, we did it at the last minute thanks to a dogged performance from the team and the exploits of Mozambique against Tunisia.

Had Tunisia succeeded in beating the Mambas, we would by now be singing a different tune. The reality of our situation would have been in stark contrast to the euphoria all fans are currently feeling. Therefore, I join millions of Nigerians to thank the Mozambicans for doing us a big favour!

Having achieved our goal of qualification for the World Cup we must begin immediately to chart the course for a successful outcome at the event. The work started by the NFF and the Presidential Task Force on qualification for the tournament must continue. Our foot must continue on the pedal as we have not reached El Dorado yet. Nigeria must set a target of at least quarter final appearance for the team. Cameroon and Senegal remain the only African countries to have gotten to that stage. We must aspire to and beyond that level. If there’s a country to cause waves at the showpiece event, it MUST be Nigeria!

Nigeria must not just be in South Africa to make up the numbers. We must be serious participant and if we put our house in order, we might as well go all the way. This may sound too farfetched but there is nothing impossible to those who are ready to pay the sacrifice. From our administrators to the players and technical crew, all hands must be on deck to make a mark.

There are so many things to put in place and to discuss but the starting point is to set out the roadmap for the upcoming adventure. We must not indulge ourselves again in our notorious fire brigade approach. Careful planning must be done to prepare the team firstly for the ACN in Angola and subsequently for South Africa.

I do not subscribe to the current argument on whether Ahmodu Shuaibu should stay on as coach or that a ‘world class’ foreign manager be employed to take us to the World Cup. While I think that Ahmodu is a very arrogant man and quite stubborn in his tactical choices, kudos must be given to him for leading Nigeria to FIFA’s greatest spectacle. He did this for the second time (he qualified Nigeria for Japan-Korea 2002).

Coach Ahmodu qualified Nigeria for SA 2010 without losing any match whether from the preliminaries to the proper group stages. That is a record in itself. While it could be argued that the Super Eagles played without conviction and influence, they managed to cling on till the goal was achieved. Can we go ahead to play in such manner at the mundial and expect to win? The answer is for another day!

We have come to the cross roads where one wrong turn leads to a dead end, an end without qualification for the 2010 world cup in South Africa! This Saturday, November 14, 2009 is going to be either a great day or a sad day for a lot of Nigerians as the string of hope remaining would have been strengthened or snapped at the end of that day. Nigeria, a potentially great nation in any imaginable human endeavour is again at the mercy of other countries to qualify for the first world cup to be held in Africa. We hope that Mozambique would do us a favour by beating Tunisia and that Kenya would not be too fit for our over pampered stars to deal with.

And so we would be fighting two wars simultaneously on Saturday. Even America is finding that very difficult to do literarily! We are like the proverbial farmer that counts its chickens before the eggs are hatched. We think we are the best in Africa and yet are not ready to meet the demands of success. We are proficient in building castles in the air and do not know how to move into it. Why did it ever have to come to this?

Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Cameroon (most certainly), our contemporaries in African football are home and almost dry in this same quest. Ghana did it with two games to spare while the Ivorians triumphed majestically in their group. Cameroon, who fumbled in the beginning, has since turned around their fortune and the prospect of their qualification is right within their control; they just need to do the job and not wait for someone to lose somewhere!

Not a few people thought that Nigeria should qualify without too much stress from the group when the draw was made. We thought that even if Tunisia cannot and should not be written off; we can ably hand both Kenya and Mozambique. What a miss? We struggled against all the teams and only relied on supreme efforts from Ozaze to defeat Mozambique at the death in Abuja. Had the referee in Maputo in the first game of the group been the timid type, our fate would have been buried long time ago.

Right here in our ‘home’, Kenya, Tunisia and Mozambique ran rings round our Super Eagles. Had Kenya been blessed with a top class finisher, they would have beaten us in Abuja! Our midfield was not as mobile and physically fit as theirs was and well, Vincent did his best! The same could be said of our other matches as we struggled to assert ourselves as a force in African football.

While we were still celebrating our goal against the Tunisians, they replied with an immediate thunderbolt. Enaremo gave us a lifeline but   our defense connived to gift the Arabs an equalizer. We all know the story that has led us to Saturday. Now we are all praying and believing God for a miracle. Pray me, are those other countries serving the devil? The truth of the matter is that Heaven helps those who help themselves!

Just as Nigeria and Tunisia are looking to secure the lone ticket to the world cup, Kenya and Mozambique want to go to the CAN in Angola. So there’s no picnic anywhere for anybody. There are lots of things at stake. National pride, revenge, history, relevance etc, name it. Of all the countries, the biggest loser could be Nigeria. Having not featured at the world cup sin 2002, a generation of players will be retiring without tasting what it is like to be at the ‘great challenge’. And for a football crazy nation like ours, this would be a major tragedy.

Therefore, as we match towards this day, my advise to the Super Eagles is to be prepared to fight honourably for 98 minutes. They must be determined to write their names in gold. Their minds must not be divided; they can’t afford to think about Tunisia-the job at hand is Kenya. Defeat them they must! Since they have been training in secret, it must mean that they are ready to surprise us. We would forgive their sins of the past and be reconciled with them as soon as we qualify for the world cup. Anything short of this would be unacceptable.

Coach Ahmodu, this is your last chance! Never would it be possible for you to return as head coach of the national team if this quest ends in a failure. Why? You must be the record holder in the number of times appointed into this position. And ‘am quite clear that you have not really had any outstanding achievement during your spells.  If you swing this one and then go on to get us to at least the quarterfinals in South Africa; you would have over achieved!

Please use the best and prepared players; nothing must be left to chance. The Kenyans won’t take prisoners; likewise we must not! Super Eagles fly, fly like your great namesake and do your fatherland proud. The time is now to show your true spirit and bring smiles to the faces of millions of your compatriots. If you do this; we will all smile at the end as something tells me that Tunisia will not triumph in Maputo!

And the goal from Sergio Araujo of Argentina would have had even the great Diego Maradona clapping! After putting to sleep about four players from the midfield, he dropped his shoulders and unleashed an unstoppable shot from 25 yards to beat Bonilla. As superb as that goal was, it was not enough to stop the Columbians who accorded their fellow South Americans no respect to move into the quarterfinals.

Apart from a few hitches here and there, this tournament has been a wonderful one so far. With attendance improving by the day, no team would lay claim to lack of support across the country. As a matter of fact, it became glaring from the start that Nigerians, despite the hardship and their terrible living conditions are one of the most football loving people in the world.

It took me almost two hours to get into the stadium in Lagos for the match between Mexico and Brazil. The crowd was almost uncontrollable. The interesting thing is that the two teams on display had in attendance their “local supporters” who danced, and did the “vuvuzela” to the delight of all. Personally, I was amazed at the energy displayed by the trumpet blowers. And yet the Golden Eaglets are based in Abuja!

I have seen FIFA organized tournaments in the past where the stadiums were almost empty but that has not been the case in Nigeria. While we may not have the best infrastructures compared to our peers in world football, I dare say that we have the best supporters and fans in the game! The depth of the love an average Nigerian has football may be deeper than the proverbial well; we just love the game!

From kaduna to Lagos to Enugu, Abuja to Calabar; the world has been treated to the true reality of our country as that of a loving, accommodating and friendly people. We are indeed not what the world projects us to be!

While it is true that there are many criminally minded Nigerians out there, it is even truer that for every one of those, there are hundreds of thousands of genuine, struggling and determined people fighting hard to make their lives better. We could all see the joy in the faces of the people as they throng to the stadiums to watch the matches. These are not criminals but people who wants to enjoy themselves.

I will not pretend that I have not heard of the rumours of embezzlement from administrators of the game concerning this tournament but as they say- the fox must be chased away first before we return to the chicken! The truth of the matter is that all the Federations represented here in Nigeria have given kudos to the LOC for putting together a good game.

Most significantly, FIFA has continued to express its satisfaction with everything so far and that’s a big relief knowing the level of our preparations before the tournament. It must also be made clear that this is an opportunity for our administrators to impress the world football governing body for future considerations. It is a great opportunity that must not be squandered!

In Lagos, both Brazil and Switzerland took maximum points with the South Americans surviving by a thread against the Japanese. Abuja witnessed the first match by 4 O’ clock in the evening after the opening ceremony and Argentina took the leadership of the group from the early kick off.

But nothing that took place in the day compared to the drama between Nigeria and Germany! The match started on a frenetic pace and it was obvious from the blast of the whistle that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for the Golden Eaglets. And before long the Germans has take a two goal lead which even flattered the Nigerians as they could have been four goals down by the end of the first half.

Things became worse immediately after the restart as the score line became 3-0 to the Germans and it appeared at that stage that Nigeria’s case has been judged and the sentencing handed out! It however took a poor challenge and red cards for the Eaglets to wake up and they took the opportunity with gusto pulling all three goals back and almost went on to win the match at the death. It was a great advertisement for the game and ‘am sure Sepp Blatter would be smiling knowing that with the kind of players been churned out by the various federations, the future of the game is bright and much secured.

Now that the game has started in earnest, our Federation must step up to the plate to deliver on all expected indices. We must not allow this opportunity to positively project our nation to the world to pass unutilized. Neither must we allow the crave for personal aggrandizement to damage our collective goodwill going into the future.  For once, let us show the rest of the world that this is indeed a good country.

To this effect, all the various units of the Local Organizing Committee must be held accountable for their acts. We must move away from the tendency to sweep things under the carpet. Celebration of mediocrity and non performance must be a thing of the past. Those who have no business in sports administration easily get exposed in these times and they must be shown the way out as soon as they are found wanting. There are no two ways about it, we must be determined to be committed to excellence or watch other nations leave us behind.

FIFA said that much when we were advised to take a cue from Egypt on how to organize a football competition. We saw from the recently concluded under 20 tournament in Egypt that thing could be done right in Africa. Nigeria is a major country on the continent and we should ordinarily be setting examples and not being taught how to do things!

Our collective destiny must not be determined by shortsighted and mediocre people. We must learn as a matter of utmost priority to always put our best foot forward. Playing politics when simple competency should be the main consideration has led our country to its present situation. Going forward, we must resolve to do things properly and in the process bring glory to our dear nation.