Again, the Uyo game, between the Super Eagles and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana,last Friday, typifies, for me, the facts about the Nigerian team, inspite of the high and almost overrated expectations from the team.
From a few comments that I’ve read about the game, it appears many are yet to come to terms with the fact that the farthest value one could get from this generation of players is just the results that would keep the team attending tournaments, at best playing well, but not hopeful of winning events.
The last few years have exceedingly showed this. Before the last AFCON in Cote d’ivoire, only a few gave the team any chance, but it adjusted well and reached the final. The team played an unorthodox defensive style, strange to the history of the team in AFCON , and the man responsible for that, Jose Peseiro, parted ways with the federation.
Fast forward to last Friday( four months after) – the same players, but under a new manager, Finidi George, who is now trying to make the team play authoritatively offensive, as known with our football… drew a game at home against South Africa…World Cup qualifier!
It almost backfired, the game could have been lost. Credit has to go to the boys’ sublime second half display which exemplifies the team’s collective strength if there’s enough time to train, play and sleep together ( 3 or 4 weeks).
However, such luxury won’t ever be available for qualifying games, except in preparation for tournaments. What it implies is that the Eagles, as a legion from different European clubsides, won’t ever be excellent in qualifiers but in tournaments.
Today’s Bafana Bafana may be different as it boasts of a good number of players from Mamelodi Sundowns, one of the best African sides of this age. This gives it the chemistry to play with fluidity everytime. Against Nigeria, South Africa has become another eternal rival like Ghana and Cameroon in years back.
I don’t envy Finidi George. He has the hottest football job and assignment at hand. He has to somehow, everytime be tactically ingenious to get this team going. It’s not in the hands of these players, their talents aren’t organic, not native as were with Odegbami, Keshi, Okocha, Kanu, Yekini, Siasia and many more of the past.
Forgive these players, that’s their level best. ….didn’t you see they couldn’t sing the new national anthem?
