We only need to work harder (1)

The rays filtering through the shutters of my room at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh appeared to agree that the future is indeed bright and we should simply be ready to put in the efforts needed to sustain us on the road. Two matches in two days could not have constituted renaissance but they […]

The rays filtering through the shutters of my room at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka, Bangladesh appeared to agree that the future is indeed bright and we should simply be ready to put in the efforts needed to sustain us on the road.

Two matches in two days could not have constituted renaissance but they brought hope and came with properties that we had always been praying for in order to take the step to the next level.

Against Madagascar in Antananarivo, we needed very much to win, with the media aptly tagging the game ‘make-or-mar’, ‘win-or-walk’, ‘make-or-break’, ‘win-or-bust’. And the players responded, despite some irritation at the initial, and got the win.

Yeah, it looked very tough and there were those who had lost hope, as the clock ticked beyond the hour mark in Antananarivo. On my seat, my mind kept replaying dreadful memories of Addis Ababa, where we expected victory but had to be struggling to earn a point in the end, and when we did equalize, the winner failed to come.

However, eight minutes after the hour mark, Captain Yobo stepped up and did what he has done so many times before in the past – lead the way in exemplary manner. The strikers took a cue and Obinna Nsofor got another and we earned three precious points that has taken us close to a place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea – though of course, we still need to work hard to beat Guinea by the minimum margin next month.

Without those two goals, we would not even have had the heart to approach the friendly in Argentina with so much gusto. I am told that some persons would rather have us cancel the match and forget everything if we had failed to win in Madagascar!

The win made every other thing easy and we all felt happy on our way to Dhaka, Bangladesh by that all-business-class seats jet.

Strength, resolve and character are the hallmarks of every great team and I believe we are seeing these qualities in the Super Eagles at the moment. With hard work aimed at achieving consistency and commitment from all concerned, effectiveness will be uploaded and we can then talk of more hard work.

The papers have talked about the lavish reception and the royal treatment that the team got in Bangladesh – which are bound to come if the world takes you serious and you take yourself serious. Somehow, I reflected that the match in Madagascar was so important to us that at a time, we were wondering how we would be able to take in the match against Argentina without hurting the process and the preparation for the former. On hindsight, I believe we did the right thing to accept the match.

Now, having played Argentina twice in three months, and with credible results each way (we even had the upper hand if you put both results together), the onus is on our Match Agent (s) to work out even stronger opposition that will make the Super Eagles even stronger.

Surely, the matches against Argentina have toughened the texture of the Eagles. At kick-off time at the Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka on Tuesday, Nigeria was 38th on the FIFA ranking while Argentina was  9th. Argentina have won the FIFA World Cup twice while Nigeria have only been in the Round of 16 twice.

By all means, the South Americans are the global powerhouse of the game, but our boys went in there with great determination and belief and we nearly pulled it off.

I have never doubted the ability of the Nigeria football player when given the opportunity and the platform. Should we be able to pull more matches of high calibre (and I see no reason why we should not), the team can only get better and better.

The road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals would be rough but it is said that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. From the Day One of the World Cup qualifiers, with matches against Malawi and the survivors of Kenya/Seychelles and Namibia/Djibouti, to the final two-leg against one of the best teams in the continent, it would inevitably come down to character, steel, resolve and the question of who wants it more.

I am not a technical person or instructor, but against Argentina, I saw, like everyone with an ordinary eye (as different from technical eye), a battling performance and a commitment to the cause that is heartlifting.

When suffering a 4-1 humiliation by our boys in Abuja on the first day of June, the South Americans made heavy weather of the fact that they came with a second-string team. No problem. In Dhaka on Tuesday, we were also there without several of our top stars.

There is no taking anything away from goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba who did his best, but the truth is that our first choice goalie is Vincent Enyeama and he was not in Dhaka. Enyeama stood tall against the Argentines at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year summer (the two teams’ last competitive meeting) and would have driven some scare into even Messi himself (remember Messi found no way past our Vincent then). Also, Captain Joseph Yobo, left back Taye Taiwo, midfielders Kalu Uche and Yusuf Ayila and forwards Osaze Odemwingie and Victor Anichebe were absent.

Even Emmanuel Emenike, who scored one of the goals against Argentina in Abuja in June, was injured though he was on the bench in Dhaka. Going back to the team that played against the Argentines at the FIFA World Cup, there was also no defender Chidi Odiah and midfielders Haruna Lukman and Dickson Etuhu.

So, we can also go on and on about the fact that we did NOT field our first team.

While I have nothing to say about the little irritation that developed before the team’s departure, which resulted in one player being axed for the game in Madagascar, I must point out that there are minimum universal code of ethics that guide being a member of a group or a community, and discipline is a key one. I am happy that the Head Coach dealt with the issue as appropriate and the player has himself realized the mistake and apologized to the group, the NFF and Nigerian football fans.

Back to the gains of Dhaka, I have joy that all the players gave their all. It was a big match by every standard (even though a friendly, the attention that the Argentine team received and their passion to avenge the loss in Abuja increased the stakes) and our team was not found wanting.

Messi’s magical flick that resulted in the first goal and the mazy run down the right flank of Eagles’ defence that resulted in the second simply confirmed the man to be the World Best Player. We have seen him do similar things in almost every match and against every opposition.

We simply would have gotten more from the game if Obinna Nsofor had not miscued his shot from that wonderful early opportunity created by Brown Ideye, and that elegant run by Ahmed Musa, if he had skewed his final shot a little to the left, and not a little to the right (this has absolutely nothing to do with political ideologies of yore)!

Next time, the South Americans would perhaps want us to play in Buenos Aires. And why not? The two teams have played in Abuja and played on a neutral ground. We would not mind going to their home in South America.

And we would also can do with more world-class games as we prepare for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the finals proper. Well done, Super Eagles.

Captain Magnificent!

Joseph Yobo has been so magnificent in his commitment to national assignment that I am compelled, against the grain of regular discourse, to heap plaudits on a man who truly deserves some.

Since fully taking over as captain of the Senior National Team following the retirement of Nwankwo Kanu after the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last year, Yobo has shown remarkable sobriety, humility and excellent flair for team harmony, and yet energy, dynamism and patriotic fervour that he is no walking on the path of the greats.

In Antananarivo, he once more showed fragrant leadership qualities. He had his club career to deal with and could not join the team in Abuja, but Yobo flew all the way to Madagascar to join the team on the same day the delegation arrived.

Then, on Sunday, the leader came up with the very important goal that showed the strikers the way.

On reflection, Yobo has scored a number of very crucial goals for Nigeria. Against Algeria in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying game in Abuja; against Sierra Leone in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Freetown; against Equatorial Guinea in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Malabo and; against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa in June. I can go on and on.

Well done, Captain Magnificent.

Hail Supersand Eagles…

The National Beach Soccer team, Supersand Eagles, deserve our commendation for the steel, creativity and energy they put on display at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup finals in Ravenna, Italy.

Whatever was the result against perennial world champions Brazil in the quarter finals on Thursday, the team has shown its ability at the highest level and we must praise the way they bounced back into the competition following an opening-day loss to Russia.

For reaching the last eight alone, Coach Adamu Audu and his boys have matched our previous best at the competition – a quarter final berth that ended with a 3-1 loss to Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro in 2007.

NEXT WEEK: We only need to work harder (2)