Houseparty in the Andes

A lot of questions have been asked over the past two weeks concerning the ‘motivational package’ that the Nigeria Football Federation has for the Flying Eagles. Surely, there is ‘motivational package’, and this will be unveiled as the team starts to win its matches at the tournament, which is what we expect. However, I must […]

A lot of questions have been asked over the past two weeks concerning the ‘motivational package’ that the Nigeria Football Federation has for the Flying Eagles. Surely, there is ‘motivational package’, and this will be unveiled as the team starts to win its matches at the tournament, which is what we expect.

However, I must state here that the prime motivation at this level should be for a player below the age of 20 to be playing at a FIFA World Cup. While the FIFA U-20 World Cup is actually FIFA’s second biggest tournament, it is the biggest for every U-20 footballer, who has not broken into his country’s senior team to be able to play at the quadrennial senior tournament.

Everyday, the media is awash with stories of Nigerian, nay African players going on ‘trials’ abroad to attract interest of foreign clubs and possibly earn a contract. But this is not the appropriate way, for the club in question is unlikely to offer a player, who has only come to ‘offer’ himself, a commensurate contract.

It is time that African players realize that the biggest platform for ‘trials’ is the FIFA tournament, whether the U-17 World Cup or the U-20 World Cup. Therefore, the biggest motivation for our players in Colombia should be the fact that they are on the biggest stage, with the very rare opportunity to showcase their wares before a global audience watching with rapt attention.

That global audience includes, of course, the international scouts, who serve the interest of the big and not-so-big clubs, and who are usually at the venues of these major competitions to ‘scoop’ the most promising talents for their clients.

Which was why one could not really understand the step taken by three members of the Flying Eagles’ African Youth Championship squad to give their international passports to their agents till such a time that they were effectively unable to be granted visas to Portugal for the training camp in Faro, Portugal ahead of the competition in Colombia. Although one of the players eventually made the team, the two others will perhaps, regret their action and wish their would be a second chance.

Another big motivation for the Flying Eagles’ squad is the pedigree of our dear country at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals.

I recall that the first-ever FIFA tournament that Nigeria qualified for was the then FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship, which was the previous nomenclature of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. That was in 1983, when the Flying Eagles defeated Guinea on aggregate to reach the finals in Mexico. The team then defeated Cote d’Ivoire over two legs to lift the African title.

I also remember vividly that in Mexico, the Flying Eagles won their first match (Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA finals match) 1-0 against the then Soviet Union, in a match played in the city of Monterrey. The goal-scorer was Tarila Okorowanta.

In 1985, the team that had the likes of goalkeeper Alloy Agu, Samson Siasia, Monday Odiaka, Mark Anunobi, Andrew Uwe and Michael Odu defeated Tunisia over two legs for the African title, and then won its first match at the World Cup in the former Soviet Union, 2-0 against Canada, on the way to winning the bronze medal at the expense of the host nation, with goalkeeper Christian Obi so marvelous in the penalty shoot-out after a scoreless affair over 120 minutes.

Two years later, it was not to be a glorious opening match, as a combination of indiscipline and arrogance wrecked Nigeria’s boat. Playmaker and talisman Etim Esin was shot in the leg during an authorized night-out and it reflected in his game in Chile, with the Flying Eagles dazed 4-0 by Brazil and limping out of the competition at group stage.

In 1989, there were no such mistakes in the team coached by Olatunde Disu and we even witnessed a miracle, which happened in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. After beating the host nation so gorgeously in the opening match, the Nigerian boys came from four goals down to draw level within the final 15 minutes against Soviet Union (again!) in the quarter finals, hold out in the extra time and then achieve victory in the penalty shoot-out. History books still capture this feat in glorious terms.

It was to be 10 years later before the Flying Eagles would return to the global finals. Ejected from the qualifying for the 1991 competition (so pompously retained by hosts and holders Portugal) as a result of a FIFA ban, the Flying Eagles limped out at group stage of the 1993 African Youth Championship, failing to make the ‘worlds’. In 1995, we hosted the African Youth Championship and came third, but when FIFA took away the World Championship that we were to host in the 11th hour, we boycotted the finals in Qatar.

As hosts in 1999, the Flying Eagles failed to sparkle, losing out in the quarter finals to Mali in Enugu. It could have been better. We were not even at the African Championship in 2001 and in 2003, lost out at the continental event in Ethiopia. Two years later, Samson Siasia’s boys won the African title and reached the final of the World Championship in The Netherlands, losing to Argentina.

That was to be the last ‘FIFA World Youth Championship’. In 2007 in Canada, it became the FIFA U-20 World Cup. But our Flying Eagles crashed out in the quarter finals in Montreal and returned home to prepare for 2009.

Samson Siasia returned to the helm after a relatively poor outing at the African Championship in Rwanda, but the time was too short for him to make impact at the World Cup in Egypt and his players were simply not up to it. Germany eliminated the Flying Eagles in the Round of 16 in Suez.

Fittingly, the NFF has allowed the man who took the U-17 team to the final of the World Cup two years ago to ‘graduate’ to the next step, and he has done well by winning the African Youth Championship. When the Flying Eagles start against Guatemala in Armenia at the FIFA U-20 World Cup tomorrow, they would not be playing as strange bed-fellows.

Cohesion and coordination are values not lacking in this team, and certainly, there is discipline. In our participation at FIFA’s second biggest competition in the past 28 years, there have been lessons learnt and knowledge has come in quantum about the kind of mistakes to avoid.

After winning their first match in Mexico against Soviet Union, the leading lights of the Flying Eagles broke camp and were nowhere to be found until the day of the second match against Brazil. Goal-scorer Tarila Okorowanta’s distaste for strict rules are well-documented, but he went off with two other players. Against Brazil, they were all a shadow of themselves in the first 45 minutes, by which time the Brazilians were 3-0 up. It ended that way. A 0-0 draw with The Netherlands and the Nigerian team was eliminated.

The Etim Esin saga also resonates. Discipline is important in every human endeavour, and the fact that such things have not occurred again means we have learnt well.

I am also enamoured by the resolve of Head Coach John Obuh (the Kabukabu man!) that his team will take it one-match-at-a-time in Colombia. This principle is very key to success in football. Obuh adopted the same principle in South Africa and despite all the odds (prosecuting the tournament with only 18 players, several injuries, inability of some ‘star players’ to live up to billing, et cetera), he conquered.

Several times in the past, when our teams had under-rated the opposition and instead looked ahead to the next match, we had ended up with a black eye and a bloodied nose.

I particularly remember the Senior National Team, Super Eagles’ encounter against Denmark at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was reported that while the Danes were preparing hard and plotting strategies to win the game, our players were looking ahead to a quarter final match with Brazil (the Nigeria U-23 team having beaten Brazil in the semi finals of the Olympic Games two years earlier) and locked in a robust debate with FA officials over why they should be paid win-bonus upfront and how much (before the match is played)!

At the end, it ended 4-1 against the Super Eagles, and at the post-match conference, Brian Laudrup, who led Denmark’s orchestra on the day, said: “A football match is never won until it is played. Nigeria should learn to count one before four”!

There is a spirit within this Flying Eagles’ team that elicits confidence. Our first match is against Guatemala, which we must take serious, and taking one match at a time, we should be able to deal with. It would not be easy, and I am happy Obuh and the players realize this. Two years ago, Samson Siasia’s boys felt they were ‘too much’ for a Venezuela team that had no pedigree at this level. But we lost that match and were condemned to beating Tahiti by a wide margin to make it into the Round of 16.

The houseparty in this South American nation will be something to savour. There are also countries like Egypt, Mali and Cameroon from Africa; host Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador and Argentina from South America; France, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Austria and England from Europe; New Zealand from Oceania; Mexico, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica from Central America and; Saudi Arabia, Australia, Korea Republic and North Korea from Asia.

Argentina are the kings at this level, but their Group D is a tough proposition, with the ever-efficient Mexicans, the hard-running North Koreans and the lively English to deal with.

The Nigeria Football Federation has spared no resources in preparing the Nigeria team for this competition. May the Flying Eagles do our country proud.

Wishing Enyimba, Kaduna United, Sunshine Stars the very best…

The group stage of the 2011 CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions will hot up this weekend with our representatives in full flow. Enyimba FC will clash with Cotonsport Garoua in Cameroon (today) in the CAF Champions League, while in the Confederation Cup, Sunshine Stars play veteran African campaigners JSK in Algeria (that match was played yesterday) and Kaduna United take on Club Africain in Tunis (Sunday) in a match that kicks off at 10pm!

I am wishing the three teams the very best in their encounters. Enyimba, having slipped to a 2-2 draw with Al Hilal of Sudan on the opening day, must go for the three points that will boost their chances as they head to the halfway mark. A win in Garoua – an ambience they are familiar with – would prepare them for another three points at home to Raja Casablanca before the start of the second half of the campaign.

Sunshine Stars should not rest on their oars following victory over DC Motema Pembe on the opening day of the Confederation Cup group stage. They must enter the pitch in Algeria with total determination, to take no prisoners. That is the only mentality for any team to come away with something from North Africa.

Kaduna United, having drawn 1-1 with Inter Clube of Angola in Kaduna on the opening day, are condemned to a good outing in Tunis. Club Africain are certainly much more experienced campaigners in Africa and would be no sitting ducks.

Next Week: Coaches and Coaching