After
helping the home-based Super Eagles qualify for the 2014 African
Nations Championship, coach Stephen Keshi has an uphill task of leading
the squad to glory in South Africa, reports ‘TANA AIYEJINA
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi achieved
another first in Nigerian football when he led the home-based Super
Eagles to qualify for their first-ever African Nations Championship in
2014.
It was a sweet relief for Nigerian
followers of the game as the Eagles managed to hang on in Abidjan and
qualify 4-3 on aggregate for the competition scheduled for South Africa
early next year.
It is Nigeria’s first qualification in
three attempts having lost to Ghana and Niger in their quest to qualify
for the first two tournaments in 2009 and 2011.
Interestingly, the Nigerians will be
returning to South Africa as champions of Africa courtesy of their
Africa Cup of Nations triumph in February.
Keshi has given the domestic league a
huge boost with his inclusion of a considerable number of home-based
players in the senior national team. And expectations are expectedly
high of a fine outing by the team next year.
“We can conquer the continent again,” Sunshine and Nigeria defender, Godfrey Oboabona said.
CHAN is a competition for African
players playing in their domestic leagues and Oboabona may probably not
be eligible for the tournament when it kicks off next year due to
interests from numerous European clubs.
But the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
winner doesn’t doubt the capability of the squad put together by Keshi
and believes Nigeria boasts the best players in Africa.
Oboabona said, “We have some of the most
exposed players in Africa and that is an advantage for us. Some members
of the home-based Eagles like myself, (Chigozie) Agbim and Azubuike
Egwuekwe were part of the 2013 Nations Cup and Confederations Cup
squads.
“It has helped us in terms of experience
and playing at the big level. CHAN is an opportunity to tell Africa and
the world that we truly have one of the best leagues and players in
Africa. We can make it again.”
Seasoned coach, Godfrey Esu, believes
the home-based players have what it takes to win the tournament but he
fears that the poor administration of the league may rub off on
Nigeria’s chances if “we don’t put our house in order.”
The former Enyimba coach said, “We’ve
got the players, we’ve got the coaches but things are not in order. Look
at what happened to Kano Pillars on their way back from their
Federation Cup match. Enyimba played in Nasarawa, from there they went
to Abuja to play 3SC.
“They could not go to their base to
reinforce; they went straight to Abeokuta to play the Federation Cup
quarter-final. Now they still cannot get to Aba. They had to proceed to
Maiduguri for their next game. How can players perform under such
circumstances?
“If we put our house in order, I don’t see any country beating us in Africa.”
He added that finance and its management was a major problem in the league.
“Even when the finance is there, the
managers manage it wrongly. These are the things we lack. If we can put
all these things in order, I don’t see any African country beating us at
both club and national team levels.
“I have travelled round and I have seen the quality of players the North Africans have. They are not better than our own.”
The former 3SC manager also cited lack of continuity as a hinderance to Nigeria ruling African football.
“North Africans can stay in a club for
as long as 15 years; there is no need for them to move to Europe because
they are well-paid there but it is not so with us. Individually, they
are not better than us but their system is better.
“My fear is that when it is time for the
competition, all the players that were involved in the qualifiers would
have moved to Europe and we will start looking for new set of players.
“I am happy with the confidence Keshi
has in the local boys. The former coach hardly included any home-based
player in his squad.
Former Super Eagles hard-as-nails defender, Taribo West, is unequivocal on the Eagles chances of winning the competition.
He insists Keshi has a large player-base
to chose from even if his key players like Oboabona, Muhammadu Gambo,
Sunday Mba and others would soon join foreign clubs.
“It’s possible; we can win it. We have a
very good squad. In the (2013) Nations Cup, we had an incredible six
home-based players in the squad. That is a sign that we have a good
team. They learnt a lot from their foreign-based counterparts.
“I think Keshi has a large pool of
substitutes to pick from even though people were not happy with his
experiment at the Confederations Cup. But the competition was an
eye-opener for the boys he took there and it will be an advantage of the
team,” Taribo said.
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