These Eagles are playing with our emotions, says Adelabu

Former International, Adegoke Adelabu has said the Super Eagles’ unstable performance at the ongoing African Cup of nations (AFCON) in Egypt has made them an unpredictable side.

Nigeria progressed to the quarterfinal of the competition after a 3-2 slim win over the defending champions, the Lions of Cameroun played at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt on Saturday. Nigeria ended the Group B of the AFCON as runner up, losing 0-2 to debutants, Madagascar, after beating both Burundi and Guinea 1-0 during the group stage of the tournament.

However, the Eagles bounced back by sending the defending champions, Cameroun out of the AFCON in the Round of 16. Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Adelabu said the Eagles always come up with surprises when you least expect something good from them, adding that one cannot say specifically the tactics and formation the team has adopted so far in the championship.

“By now, people are supposed to have understood the Eagles, especially the one we have in Egypt. And that is the major problem we have about our national team that has played four matches and yet you cannot pinpoint the strength of the team. “It is at a time when you have lost hope in the Eagles, that you will see them spring a surprise by performing one kind of wonder. You won’t even know how they did it because all you know is that they have won the match. How they did it remains a misery because you can’t be able to say it,” he said.

Adelabu added: “As a sports scientist, I was trained to read matches by Eagles’ former coach, the late Otto Gloria. He helped me on how to read matches and from there I developed interest. I know a team that is planning and a team that is not.

“The only thing that is working for the Eagles is that whether they plan or not, any team that wants to beat them must control the game. We win even when we don’t know how they did it. This is because once their opponent makes any mistake, you just see them score.

“I always believe that God looks at the emotions of Nigerians and decide to give them victory. That is how you know that they don’t have any plan because you won’t see any tactical plan or changes in their games. All you see them do is run round the pitch and the next thing you see them scoring cheap goal(s). I think God always uses this wins to compensate us.”He said it is still a mystery that the team have had modest success even when they have not worked for it.

“How can you sit down to watch your country play and you cannot look at the team and say this is what they are doing from the coach’s inputs. These Eagles are just playing with the emotions of Nigerians because Nigerians’ expectation is high based on what we have achieved in the past. I know one day we will get it right,” he stated.