Why it will be difficult for Eagles to beat Cote d’Ivoire – Tijani Yusuf

Nigerians have been quite disappointed with the nation’s football in recent times, what do you think is responsible for the dwindling fortunes? We have a lot of problems as far as our football is concerned. The present board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said that they are re-building and you know it takes quite a […]

Nigerians have been quite disappointed with the nation’s football in recent times, what do you think is responsible for the dwindling fortunes?
We have a lot of problems as far as our football is concerned. The present board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said that they are re-building and you know it takes quite a long time before you build a team. For instance the Brazilian team, they are re-building; if you look at the FIFA ranking, they are number 10 now in the world ranking and these people were number one for so many years. So it takes some time, diligence, dedication, honesty to reach there. So Nigeria will have to be patient with the present board. Nevertheless, there are a lot of things to be done, if we are to attain the level we attained before. If something gets spoilt, it takes some time to put it back into shape. You have to look at the factors responsible, then, you will start building up and repairing what had gone bad.
Looking at the rebuilding process especially of the Super Eagles, do you think the coaches are actually doing the right thing?
Well, you see, to build up a team is very difficult because it is usually easier to destroy than to repair. So repairing will take some time but I was a bit disappointed when I heard over the news that NFF ask the coaches to bring the list, it is never done anywhere. You will put it in the contract of that coach that if he fails to perform, he will be sacked but now you are giving him an excuse. He will give us his players and now he is submitting it and it is subjected to omission, removal and inclusion. When he fails, he will say he is not responsible. Like the Brazilian team, the coach will not allow anybody to tamper with his team and you can see what happened. That is why I said our coaches should go for re-training and seminars in overseas. Look at the Brazilian coach, we have been shouting Spain, Spain, World champion, European champion but look at how they were demolished. The Brazilian coach can read the game and he now knows the antidote for any formation and that was what he did in that match. That is what our coaches should do. Let us give them support. They should go for workshop, seminar, training and re-training continuously. But you see, I don’t know the last time Keshi went for any of such courses. That is what we should be doing, not only for him, even for people in the technical department of NFF.
There are calls for some of the experienced players that have been excluded from the national team, like Osaze Odemwingie to be recalled to the Super Eagles, what is your own opinion?
I support it. You see, I once presented a paper in Abuja, there is what we call cohesion in Psychology. If there is no cohesion, even if you have 11 Maradonas, 11 Peles, 11 Messis and 11 Ronaldos without cohesion, you cannot go anywhere. What do I mean by cohesion, I am a player and you are a player but because we have been together, if I nod my head, you should know what next move I am going to make; that is cohesion. Our team that played Spain recently was a good team but because of lack of experience, exposure and understanding, they could not perform even though it was one of their best games so far. If there is cohesion, there will be a significant improvement.
The home based Eagles are playing Cote d’Ivoire in the 2014 CHAN qualifiers at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna this weekend, what are your expectations?
Well the expectation of Nigerians is that we should win but there are lots of factors to be put into consideration before you win. When are they camping? I am afraid, we have not been playing together and we want to win and we are playing a country like Cote d’Ivoire where there are also lots of talents. It is going to be difficult. Our expectation is to win but we have not been doing fine in this competition since its inception for the local players. Nevertheless, we expect our players to win the match so as to move to another level because the home based players have proved themselves that they are good but in a team game, you have to come together, work together for some time before you can produce result.