Super Eagles: Great outing, high expectations

The last few days have been quite exciting for members of the Super Eagles. The team, which was not reckoned with by many pundits before the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, returned to heroes’ welcome after beating all odds to finish as the second best team at the championship.

Although the manner of their defeat in the final game of the competition by hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, did not amuse many of their admirers, the Super Eagles succeeded with just seven games to win back the trust of their compatriots, who were still smarting from the disappointment of their darling team failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

In the last two years, the Super Eagles have had a no love lost relationship with Nigerian football fans, who saw the current crop of players as a bad advertisement for the country’s game, which at some point was rated as the fifth best in the world. And so, Cote d’Ivoire 2023 was a welcome development, which many now hope would be sustained by those in charge of the team.

Among the optimists, who see a bright future for the game, is no less a personality than the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Gusau, who told The Guardian in Abidjan in the wake of the Africa Cup of Nations final that one of the gains from the country’s participation in the championship is fans’ renewed love for the Super Eagles.

Gusau said that he is thrilled that Nigerians have started loving the team again “unlike in the past when all we got were abuses and insults.”

He promised that the NFF would continue working to ensure the Eagles maintain “the current high standards, beginning with the choice of coach.”

He said: “Nigerians across the country prayed for the Super Eagles, instead of abusing them. The love for the team this time is unprecedented and we will try to ensure it remains that way. It manifested in the players’ performance because they were relaxed and played without fear.

“We are going back to look at how to take the Super Eagles to a higher level and I can assure Nigerians that we will do everything possible to keep the standard high.”

Former national team captain, Segun Odegbami, who supported Super Eagles’ adventure throughout the championship, said the team’s performance has shown that given the right environment it can reclaim its position among the best in world football.

He cautioned that now that the country has announced its return to the elite league of African football, efforts should be made to sustain the momentum by the choices made for the team going forward.

He recalled that at the start of their journey, there were few believers in the “Super Eagles’ cause, understandably, because, in the past two years or more, they had not been impressive. With the state of the Nigerian economy, sponsors of the national team had been very few and the people’s enthusiasm was low.”

According to Odegbami, all that changed three weeks into Africa Cup of Nations.
On the eve of the AFCON final game, Odegbami said: “The Super Eagles have become the biggest and the most courted brand in Nigeria. Organisations are now falling over each other to identify with their success. They can see how football has captured the imagination and interest of 200 million Nigerians and driven them into a frenzy of hope, happiness, and unprecedented excitement. With five million television viewing centres in Nigeria, and growing, over 100 million Nigerians must have been watching every match of the Eagles all over the country.

“Flights to Abidjan have been sold out for all the airlines. I am besieged, even as a nobody in the football establishment, with requests for how to get tickets for the final match. State governors and even the Presidency have become regular callers and visitors to the Eagles. Several companies and agencies of government have already donated large sums of money to the players with the promise of more when they cross the finish line.  And there are many more lining up to do justice to their effort.

“Abidjan will witness a flood of the high and the mighty in Nigerian society on Sunday, and the President of the country himself may be coming to be a part of the cheering army of Nigerians.”

The former Green Eagles’ captain said the Super Eagles have raised the bar and therefore will need to sustain the progress made in these three weeks through hard work and dedication, cautioning that the team must not be allowed to revert to its old ways.

Most of the reactions after the Africa Cup of Nations have been on the need to ensure the Super Eagles get a top-quality coach to take over from Jose Peseiro if the Portuguese’s services would not be retained by the NFF.

Already, the Algeria Football Federation are reportedly keen on taking Peseiro from Nigeria with a mouthwatering offer.

After Peseiro’s exploits at the AFCON, the Portuguese tactician is the Algeria FF’s favourite candidate to take over the Desert Warriors, according to DZ Foot.

Peseiro is reportedly in contact with Algeria FF boss Walid Sadi, but the Portuguese tactician is waiting to clarify his situation with the NFF.

His contract with Nigeria expired at the conclusion of the AFCON, but it is not yet clear= if the NFF wants to extend his deal.

Many followers of the Nigerian game are against giving the former Porto manager a new deal. They blame Peseiro for Nigeria’s loss in the final game through the ‘wrong choices he made in the game’. They also caution against hiring journeymen, whose only credential is that they played for big European clubs.

“We have a crucial World Cup qualifier against South Africa in June and we must be careful how we approach that game because the Bafana Bafana have shown that they are equal to all in African football,” former Enyimba star, Iyke Ogbonna, said. “Nigeria was only lucky to beat South Africa in the AFCON semifinal and they will be ready for revenge in the World Cup qualifier in Uyo.

“They beat us once in Uyo and will be gunning to repeat that feat in June. Our AFCON exploits will amount to nothing if we lose to South Africa and fail to qualify for another World Cup.

“Whatever the NFF is doing about the coach, they must do it fast because time is of essence. Any slip and it is over,” he said.

Ogbonna warned the NFF to beware of agents peddling some coaches’ names for the Eagles’ job, warning that the federation should look for qualified personnel, whether foreign or indigenous for the job.

“I have seen some people trying to market Emmanuel Amuneke, Daniel Amokachi and even Salisu Yusuf, but my question is ‘what has these people done to qualify to coach the Eagles.

“We saw what happened when we sacked Rohr and brought Austin Eguavoen, who was a monumental failure. We should be careful with the choices we make. There should be no room for sentiment here again,” he said.