Sunday, September 6, 2009 was a case study. The super flops tried to soar where they never toiled. Tunisia's Carthage Eagles, parading players who are plying their trade in their local league, made mincemeat of the imported players called Super Eagles, who could not give a good account of themselves, when the opportunity offered itself.
Now we have started our permutations. Yes, we may qualify if we win our two remaining matches and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia lose theirs. What if, and what if, all the way!
Why couldn't we plan to win instead of developing virtuosity in permutations?
World-rated living football legend Pele (Eduardo Donascimento), who stuck out his neck in favour of the Super Eagles to soar in South Africa 2009, should be having a serious rethink now.
Sani Ndanusa, Minister of Sports, who was said to have cried in the dressing room after the abysmal outing of the team, was supposed to oversee the preparations. Poor Minister! Who were you trying to assuage, or is that another form of PR?
There are no two ways about it, folks. Big names that cannot perform do not play Football. This is a scenario we have always had in the Super Eagles. Players who feel they are too big to be committal should never be invited into the team again. In selecting the players to feature, sentiments should please not be given any room at all, because that will only invite failure, which is fast becoming the middle name of the Eagles.
Look at this scenario: John Mikel Obi blasting Joseph Yobo and the rear men for not living up to expectation. What was his own contribution to the terrible outing? This is case of the pot calling the kettle black. Only a few players distinguished themselves in the pack. It is easy for people to say failure is an orphan, while success is a family, but it is only after one has sincerely tried and still failed to clinch the prize that one would know that ill luck could have set in. In this case, the Tunisians' Carthage Eagles showed that they could not be cowed, right from the first blast of the whistle. Rather, they rattled the Super Ducks, who exhibited their unpreparedness from the outset.
Patriotism aside, reality is one virtue that can never be wished away. When Emeka Enechi, of Sports Day, wrote a treatise prior to the match and raised some questions on the theme, 'What if we lose the match?' myopic people angrily asked for his head. Who is laughing last now?
For a goals-shy side like Nigeria's Eagles (I never saw them as Super), guarding Hard-scored goals should have been one of their unique selling points. Keeping the one goal difference towards the dying minute of the game would have made the difference, but alas, what do you expect when someone who is supposed to marshal the defence is busy gallivanting over the whole place with a former Miss Nigeria? Please, don't get me wrong! I know that 'all work and no play makes Jack a crazy boy', but playing when one should be busy planning for a good cause is the mother of all craziness.
Honestly, we should look very critically at our planning acumen, which should also involve preparation, psychology, etc. Just look at the commitment and doggedness of the Carthage Eagles: they were determined not to let go, and it paid off for them, thereby forcing us to go back into our trenches. This scenario should be shunned.
Must we always be put in a tight corner before we strive to find our bearing? Look at Ghana: they have started sharpening their preparation towards South Africa, after qualifying.
When Obama visited Ghana, sentiments took over here in Nigeria and we started tearing the world apart. You can now see the difference between Nigeria and Ghana.
Compatriots, sentiments cannot lead us anywhere. We should learn to take the bull by the horns; only then will things start taking proper shape. Re-brand Nigeria, by all means. We shall get there, but let's do it right.
It is not new to anybody that the Arabs are a never-say-die race; they will always fight and fight until they get what they want. That was exactly what played itself out that dark Sunday.
My genuine and honest parting shot is that we should start looking at the possibility of drafting Samson Siasia's under-20 team to fill the vacuum in the Super Eagles, with a strong caveat to a few members of the present pack, who may be given a try.
Source: Vanguard
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