Super Eagles players
Former Super Eagles striker Jonathan Akpoborie has insisted that coach Stephen Keshi’s success
with the Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and the team’s performance at the
2014 World Cup are not enough reasons to retain him as Nigeria coach.
Akpoborie’s argument stemmed from Nigeria’s results in their last ten matches in which they have
won just one, against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and lost four, including a 2015 AFCON qualifier
against Congo in Calabar.
The former Wolfburg forward blamed the Nigeria Football Federation for not being proactive and
taking decisions based on sentiments.
“The decision to retain Keshi as coach was based on sentiment. When you make vital decisions
on sentiment, you lose. Keshi may have led Nigeria to win the AFCON but a coach is as good as his last game.
Keshi’s last games were nothing to be proud of,” Akpoborie told our correspondent on the
telephone on Wednesday.
“There were coaches who won the UEFA Champions League or were impressive at the World Cup
that were fired after their teams’ poor performances at later competitions.
“I’m not saying we should get rid of Keshi right away, because we don’t have an immediate replacement,
but the NFF should have put their acts together in moving the team forward.”
Akpoborie said the team had failed to improve on their standard since Keshi took over in 2011.
He observed that the team had been poor in the aspect of team work and coordination in recent matches.
“In team work, the Eagles have nothing to show and have lost too easily. If we continue to lose games
like that, we have the tendency of not qualifying for the 2015 Nations Cup,” he said.
“I believe we have to wait and see if Keshi can qualify the team for the Nations Cup before we do
anything at all. If they are going to give him any contract, the NFF must include a clause that he must
qualify for the Nations Cup.
“Before Nigeria crashed at the World Cup, before the defeat to France, there were rumours that Keshi
was on the verge of joining South Africa or some other African countries, but those offers are no longer there and
that is why he settled for Nigeria. If he had a serious offer, he would not waste any time in dumping Nigeria
because they would pay him better.
“The crisis in the NFF and the issue surrounding the Eagles has nothing to do with patriotism.
The only patriotic party in the whole issue are the millions of Nigerians cheering the team no matter what happens.
These Nigerians have been lied to by administrators every day; they tell them things they want to hear,
not what is happening.
“It is important for the NFF to put its house in order so that it can come up with a better contract with Keshi.”
Akpoborie could not easily identify the major problems causing the Super Eagles’ poor performance,
but he concluded that Keshi had not been professional in addressing them.
“It is difficult to pin the Super Eagles’ problem on the coach’s tactics or his selection; there are
other seemingly minor issues that could have contributed to the team’s inability to perform to expectation.
We can say the team was affected by the instability in the NFF, or we can put the blame on
the supposed pressure from the NFF,” he said.
“But whatever it is, the coach is a professional who has played both in Europe and in Africa and
has managed three national teams, so he should know how to handle any such problems.
“While he is demanding big contracts from the NFF, the team has failed to improve on their standard
right from when he took over. I’ve not seen any improvement in the team.
“The selection of players is controlled by sentiment which should not be so. The coach should be able
to control himself when sentiment beclouds his judgement during selection. Any player who is a
Nigerian and have the quality to be in the team should be invited to play.
“The best players should play for Nigeria but I’m not convinced that the players in the Eagles are
the best we have.”
Despite the poor start to their campaign in the race to the 2015 AFCON, Akpoborie believes the Super
Eagles still have the chance to qualify.
He said, “Everything is possible. We are still a big name in African football and this should count for
something; we’re the team to beat. The whole world will laugh if we don’t qualify; the pressure is high.
“I expect the NFF to quickly have a contract for Keshi and include a clause that Nigeria must qualify
for the 2015 Nations Cup. It is too late at this stage to begin searching for a new coach unless we
want to forget about Morocco 2015 and start planning for the 2017 edition.”
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