Super Eagles former captain and goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, has blamed the country’s current goalkeeping problems on the inability of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other stakeholders in the nation’s football to create a succession system for national team shot-stoppers.

Reminiscing on his days in the national team, Rufai said that it was unusual for a goalkeeper to get Super Eagles’ number one shirt without going through the ranks, being with and understudying the leading top goalkeepers.

He said the country has suffered in the goalkeeping department because the role is no longer competitive as it is now open to all manner of journeymen.

“It is embarrassing that at this period of Nigeria’s football history, we are having goalkeeping issues in the Super Eagles. A country that has abundant talents and had also produced celebrated talents in the past, is now being ridiculed for mediocrity.

“It shows that we have failed in creating a transition programme that will produce ready replacements for retiring goalkeepers, as we did in the past.

“During my days, before I emerged the Eagles number one goalkeeper, I was made to study and watch top goalkeepers in the Eagles like Okala, Best Ogedegbe and others. I watched the way they handled their defence, the mental competition among the goalkeepers to still remain the top best.

“It was a big competition to get the Eagles number one shirt at that time. After getting to understudy the goalkeepers ahead of me, when I eventually got the number one position, I maintained the standard they laid for the position. This was how the celebrated national team goalkeepers emerged. This system doesn’t exist anymore in the Super Eagles,” he said.

Rufai said goalkeepers would definitely become better with time if they are made to learn from their seniors, adding that recruiting untested players and handing over the number one position to them will not help the country get the very best for the position.

“These days goalkeepers get automatic shirts in the Eagles. This is where the quality of the goalkeepers’ trainer comes into play. It is a very crucial position that must be handled by qualified retired goalkeepers.”

With the Cote d’Ivoire 2024 African Nations Cup less than four months away, Rufai advised the Super Eagles’ technical crew to also work on the team’s defence and all the other departments, saying that the goalkeeper would be vulnerable if the other departments are weak.

“It might be too late now to get a replacement for the current Eagles goalkeepers because a goalkeeper must have at least a month to prepare for a particular game. If there must be any replacement, the goalkeeper coming in must be the first choice in his club.

“Such a goalkeeper must be regularly active in his club to handle a crucial game. These are issues the technical crew and the NFF technical department must look into.

“During my days, before a game, Coach Clemens Westerhof will challenge the players, make them angry, which was his way of psyching up us to do better. This system worked for him.

“It doesn’t have to be the same way, but Eagles’ handlers need to do more to bring out the best in the players. We have skillful players in the Super Eagles,” he declared.