The Super Eagles have deposed their manager, but will the Big Boss's departure really solve many (or even any) of the nation's footballing follies?
The memory of Ahmed Musa running towards Stephen Keshi after scoring that goal against Sudan in Abuja still lingers in the minds of Nigerians. One can imagine that he must have whispered something like "Boss! I just saved your job".
Unfortunately, two goals from the Nigerian forward were not enough to save the coach as Keshi was sacked the next morning.
One suspects that will affect morale of players like Musa, Juwon Oshaniwa, Ogenyi Onazi, Emmanuel Emenike and a couple of others.
I know a lot of people have for long agitated the dismissal of the former Nigerian football team coach, but I don't think it is the "best" thing to do, especially at a point when all the Super Eagles have left is two qualifying matches.
Sometimes, it’s easy to wonder if it's really Keshi's fault that Nigeria lack good playmakers ever since the retirement of Jay-Jay Okocha. Is he also to blame for the decline of John Obi Mikel?
Sometimes, it’s easy to wonder if it's Keshi's fault that Nigeria’s players can't create chances with set pieces when the players don't even make it to camp on time.
Sometimes, I wonder if Nigeria's football problems are more to do with the coaches than the available Nigerian footballers and the bad football structure that has not been able to build and groom class players here in Nigeria.
The NPL has grown in maturity and broadcasting but has it grown to provide quality football? Positioning of players while on field, football tactics and the whole approach in general remain questionable in the domestic top flight.
The Pepsi Academy has, over the years, grown flabby and out of shape. The Kwara Academy has lost its tracks and the question becomes what exactly is happening to Nigerian football? Over the years, the performances of the Super Eagles’ youth sides have proved that there are lot of talented players here in Nigeria.
Remember that Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere to be found when Mikel and Taye Taiwo won awards at the Fifa World Youth Championship at Holland in 2005. How can the performances of the youth sides be genuinely world class while the senior boys are losing at home to the Republic of Congo.
Does the infrastructure of the nation and the association truly help these talented young players realise their potential?
Hopefully, readers will remember Dele Alampasu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya and the like are somewhere trying to improve and no one is there for them. Yet, we get to blame them later in life when their football career don't blossom as it should.
They need the support and the infrastructure now.
In the words of a legend of African Football, Jay-Jay Okocha, "Anyone that blames Keshi or the boys is short-sighted. Our football is long dead and gone. This is just the confirmation."
How can the men in power not see the sense in that?
Keshi was patriotic, he did all his best to keep his job, to keep coaching the national team of his beloved country. According to many fans, he has delivered the best he can. The Nations Cup was won in South Africa, and a last-16 qualification at the World Cup is something that Nigerians should always appreciate.
One cannot exonerate Keshi from his lapses, although he is not alone in having weaknesses, but can Nigeria continue to sack managers on a whim when things become a little stale or struggles begin to appear?
Is the Super Eagles’ problem really coaching? Or should Nigeria begin to look towards the growth of footballers and structure?
Unless the nation can address the problems at the foundation of the footballing pyramid, the woes will continue for the Super Eagles.
Shaibu Amodu has been reappointed as national team boss, his third term. Based on past performance, it may well bring qualifying success (or redemption in this case) but it’s unlikely to bring long-term renovation or short-term revolution. Had Samson Siasia been given the nod, it would surely have been a similar story.
Is it too farfetched to imagine Keshi returning somewhere along the line, when the honchos in the Glass House have eaten themselves and need a saviour?
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