Hope that Nigerian football might have turned the corner from Sorrow Lane to Hope Avenue has been re-kindled with exclusive revelations of how the Flying Eagles comported themselves before, during and after the World Youth Championship in Holland.
Every Nigerian would have preferred a win over Argentina and FIFA themselves would probably have preferred a new champion after Argentina won four times previously. Coming only days after the Paris Club forgave $18 Billion of our burdensome external debt of $35 Billion, triumph by the Flying Eagles would have been the icing on the cake of a weekend worthy of celebration.
The competition came to a close a week ago with the Samson Siasia-coached boys going all the way to the Final, where they lost 1-2 to the Argies in what has generated worldwide debate over the propriety or otherwise of a referee awarding two penalties to a team during the course of a championship final.
There have been more debates and arguments over whether or not the team should ‘transmute’ straight-away to the Super Eagles – the senior boys who appear to be having a difficult time deciding whether they still want to play the game or not.
On the evidence of their performance at a competition for which they did not really prepare for (as in proper and adequate build-up), the Flying Eagles deserve kudos for going that far. Despite playing Brazil first in the competition (the mere suggestion of which would have made some other players turn jelly), the boys from Nigeria held their ground, kept their heads and delivered smartly and brilliantly.
They might have wasted too many chances and fluffed a number of opportunities that should have been put away, but then, how well did they prepare for the competition? The Brazilians were in camp for nine months. The Argentines, for the fact that they had won three of the five championships between 1995 and 2003, had decided this is the one competition they can dominate (they have only won the senior title twice, compared to bitter rivals Brazil’s five) and set out to do everything to prepare a strong and ambitious U-20 team each time.
Coach Jose Pekerman took the Argentine U-20 team to four tournaments, winning three. He only failed to win at Nigeria 99. He won in Qatar in 1995, Malaysia in 1997 and at home in 2001. He was then promoted to take over the senior team from Marcelo Bielsa.
It is true that had they put away some glaring chances in the first half, they would not have needed to be asking Norwegian referee Terge Hauge whether his decisions were fair. As a respected Nigerian sports journalist, Mumini Alao put it in his column titled ‘A Slap In The Face’ in Complete Sports of Tuesday, July 5: "In the first half, the Eagles could easily have been two goals up – Hauge didn’t stop us from scoring, he just wouldn’t help us!- even before Argentina got their first penalty against the run of play".
My position remains the same – I believe the referee was of no consequence on the day. It was not the first time we were playing a major championship final, and we have always played with the referee not favourably disposed to us. At the U-17 World Cup final in Canada in 1987, Brazilian Jose Wright did everything to ensure we did not win the trophy for a second time, as he blatantly favoured the Russians in all his decisions. There have been many other cases. We should have learnt this simple lesson over the years: Referees aren’t ever disposed to Nigeria winning final matches.
The Eagles were extravagant, and it did not only come in the final match. That was the hallmark of their entire campaign. In drawing with Brazil in the opening game, they had enough chances to wrap up the match. Losing to South Korea, with three minutes to go, was the height of complacency. Switzerland should have been swept aside with more than three goals and Ukraine very nearly escaped despite the plethora of chances we had to win it. We had to rely on a fluke lob by Taye Taiwo.
The game against hosts Netherlands in the quarter- finals was no better. John Owoeri, David Abwo and Solomon Okoronkwo should have swept the Dutch out of the match with a clutch of goals, but they didn’t. Gift Atulewa had the chance to put the matter beyond doubt in the penalty shoot-out after a Dutch player missed; he followed by fluffing his own kick. Yinka Adedeji could have taken it out of the Dutchmen after another of their players missed, but also threw away his own. We had to wait for a 24-minute session and so many missed heartbeats before the victory was achieved.
We should have won against Morocco by six goals – so much were the chances created. I knew then that we would have problems in the final, and the realist Samson Siasia admitted after the final whistle that though the referee was a stumbling block, his boys did not help matters.
The above is a frank distillation of what actually happened and what we could see, and what would have been had the team taken its chances that came in droves. John Mikel Obi proved he is a genius come from above, and while we have spent so many years looking for a replacement for Austin Okocha, here comes someone from the blues, and young enough. Some of the people we have been trying to see if they could step into Okocha’s shoes are even older than Okocha himself!
The euphoria that has followed the team all through the competition and after is justified, no doubt, despite the profligacy of the strikers. The midfielders did an excellent job and should be commended.
Sincerely speaking, apart from Mikel Obi, goalkeeper Ambrose Vanzekin deserves some respect. I had never seen him as a serious goalkeeper even since his U-17 days. Even after the African Youth Championship, I still saw him as an average goal- tender. He justified this with his strange performances at the WAFU invitational tourney in Bamako, weeks after the triumph in Cotonou. But he exploded in Holland, and it all came together for him at the right time.
He may not be ripe for the senior team (who says he cannot train with them anyway?) but he should be in the wings while manning the sticks for the Olympic team. It is a great idea to promote this team straight into the U-23 (Olympic) team, but there would not serious activity in that realm in the next two years.
The 9th All-Africa Games will take place in Algiers in July 2007, while the next Olympics hold in Beijing, China in the summer of 2008. The bunch would not be eligible for the 2007 World Youth Championship, taking place in Canada. So, the best thing to do is pick those of them who are good enough and let them have fun with the senior team.
Do we still have a senior team? I think so, though I would not pretend to know the composition right now. Is Okocha still willing to continue playing? Does Kanu still have the motivation to go on, after becoming the most decorated Nigerian player ever? Can we trust Joseph Yobo to keep his head on his shoulder and lead the team well from now? Would anyone be willing to still invite Yakubu Aiyegbeni for national team assignments, in the face of his abysmal outing against Angola in Kano?
The fulcrum of the new team would, seriously speaking, be formed by the likes of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, defenders Ifeanyi Udeze, Chidi Odiah and George Abbey, midfielders Kazeem Atanda Yusuf, Osaze Odemwingie and Kevin Amuneke, and strikers John Utaka, Julius Aghahowa and Obafemi Martins.
Aghahowa might have played at the World Cup finals but his hunger to play and score goals is still there. Were he to involved in the Kano match, we would have got a winner, somehow.
He might have caused the first penalty y kicking Lionel Messi unnecessarily in the box, but the overall output of Shooting Stars’ defender Ayodele Adeleye qualifies him to be considered for immediate promotion to the senior squad. He is alert, aggressive and must have learnt a few lessons from that episode, and from playing in the championship as a whole.
Israel-based Olubayo Adefemi has shown great versatility since he first played at the African Championship. He is a guy to watch. His overlapping runs are a delight, and he only needs to get into mainland Europe to hone his skills properly. Anyone remember his shot that hit the cross- bar against Morocco in the semi final? Then, his goal against the North Africans, coming after he had created the first goal that Taye Taiwo fired beyond the reach of the keeper.
Sani Kaita is also good player, but he needs to be street- wise. He can easily get swallowed in the occasion. He is a great ball winner and passes well, much better than Oluwaseyi Olofinjana. My quarrel with ‘Seyi has always been about his passes, not his ball- winning. He wins the ball to throw away to the opposition – that is wastage.
Felix Chinedu Ogbuke and Taye Taiwo are quite good. Taiwo was adjudged the third best player of the tournament, no more than he deserved. His high lob from a corner set the Eagles on course for a quarter- final ticket, with Ukraine confined to an early flight back home.
Yes, we probably would not have conceded those penalties were the impressive Apam Onyekachi not suspended for the final. The dark-skinned Trojan did a terrific job all the way from the first match against Brazil to the semi final against Morocco, before Uruguayan referee Laccionda opted to ensure he missed the final.
Then, he kept his cool like a seasoned adult (a teenager?) and fired two penalties against Holland the right way in the seemingly endless shoot-out that lasted 45 minutes. Then, that scorcher against Morocco deserves a chapter in any book on the FIFA World Youth Championship!
In essence, I am saying that goalkeeper Ambrose Vanzekin, defenders Taye Taiwo, Dele Adeleye, Apam Onyekachi and Olubayo Adefemi, midfielders John Mikel Obi and Sani Kaita and striker Chinedu Ogbuke should be considered for the senior team right away.
Isaac Promise still needs to convince that he can do more than he did – which wasn’t much. Solomon Okoronkwo must have kicked himself several times for having a poor tournament, as he showed during the qualifiers and the continental championship that he could sting. He simply refused to play at the world stage, failing to score from six yards several times.
Waidi Akanni, who played as a Flying Eagle 20 years ago and won a bronze with the side at the FIFA World Youth Championship in USSR in 1985 (chief coach, Samson Siasia was in the same team), is an official of the team that very nearly conquered in Europe. Akanni told Saturday Sports during the week, just after the Vice President, Atiku Abubakar hosted the contingent at the State House, that watching the mentality of the boys from the moment they landed in France for the belated training camp, he knew they would go far in the championship.
"You know we went with mostly local players from home and the preparations were not the best here. The NFA did not do enough to assist the technical crew. But when we got to France, the boys put all that behind them and set to work. I only noticed that there was some tension in the side because the home -boys thought that if the invited foreign-based players came, they (home –boys) would automatically lose their places. It was only after a week or so that they started relaxing and playing their game the way they should.
"When the final team was picked it touched some of the dropped players more than the others. Johnbull Edeki (of Insurance of Benin), Bernard Okorowanta, Emmanuel Joseph and others thought they would make the team, but when they didn’t, they took it with equanimity and started consoling the other dropped players. Siasia was there to explain it to each of them that not everybody could make the team, but that he appreciated their efforts and commitment.
"When we went to the invitational tournament in Tilburg, the boys were ready to go. They did their best there, and won the bronze. But I must say something for Samson Siasia. That guy is a true leader. It was the first time I have seen a coach who is ready to even give his arm to his players. He gave the boys everything they needed, even when it was all he had.
"In Tilburg, some companies came forward with sets of jerseys and shoes. Siasia collected everything from the NFA people and gave to the players. I have never seen a team where each player had seven sets of jerseys, seven sets of shoes and many sets of other wears. Siasia personally committed his own financial resources to the team each time, giving players some little, little monies when they needed it, or to motivate them.
"We then returned to France from Tilburg, and then when we finally went back to Holland for the championship proper, the team was held to a big welcome party by the Nigerian Embassy. The Ambassador, Mrs Lar and all her top officials were there, and the boys felt really honoured. "Their mentality was right for it, and I told Siasia there and then that I believed the boys could go all the way. Siasia has always believed in the boys, too. His only worry was that there was not enough time for the players to train together, get to know each other better and be more cohesive.
"By the time we played the first match, I felt it in me the Flying Eagles would sparkle. You know, when we went to the championship in USSR 20 years ago, we had a solid side, strong in the tackle and firm on the ground. Most of the players were confident and we played with that confidence. We were unlucky to lose to Brazil in the semi finals, especially with Augustine Igbinobaro having to lose a penalty. But, looking at this new team, I felt they would avenge for us. There is something about the team and the readiness of the players to give their all and even more just for the coach showed throughout.
"As far as I’m concerned, Brazil simply escaped. If you saw the match, you would agree that they should have been spanked. Of course, before a game with Brazil, you would have tension in any team. That happened to us in 1985; it happened to the new team as well. But we worked on the psychology of the players and they simply treated the Brazilians like another team.
"I say the Brazilians escaped because if you followed the team well, you would have seen that they improved with every match. We did not have the best of the build-up but at the tournament in Tilburg, we made some progress with co-ordination. If we had been availed a number of good matches before the competition, the boys would have been even better.
"So, really, if we had played Brazil in the third game, not in the first one, they (Brazil) would have been well-beaten. I am not joking.
"The second match against South Korea was a pleasant shock, yes. We were leading and we needed a win to be comfortable in the group, but even after the defeat, with only three minutes to the end, we still believed we would qualify. There is just something about the boys that radiates confidence and assurance.
"After the defeat, we just had to work on the psychology of the players again, to change their mood. You won’t believe this, but even after losing to South Korea, I still felt we would win the trophy!
"Siasia moved in with some strict rules after the defeat to Korea. He insisted that no player should be seen around the lobby of the hotel. He told them that once they finished their food, everyone must head to their rooms. They complied. Nobody violated the rule. And the seriousness was palpable. They knew it was win-or-go-back-home-in-shame against Switzerland.
"You will agree with me that Switzerland was a better team on paper, having beaten a South Korean team that defeated us. There were also some established players in the Swiss team, like the defender Philippe Senderos from Arsenal in England. But we knew we had a job to do and impressed it on the boys to do it clinically.
"The 3-0 win was a result of hard reflections and strict discipline, and that carried us to the Round of 16 against Ukraine. It was a tough game but we always knew we would win, and moving to Doetinchem to play the host nation, Holland did not present any fear or apprehension. We were ready.
"If our strikers had not thrown away some begging chances, we would have wrapped it up in normal time. All the same, we knew we had trained well in the penalties and were not scared to play the shoot-out.
"The only thing was some of the players had injuries. But we got through it and it was a relief.
"Siasia gave his own match bonus to the boys because he was moved at their performance, at the way they play for one another, at the way they listen to instructions and do the job. He felt excited by the boys and their readiness to obey instructions, even strict ones. Apart from his bonus, he was always giving the boys money once in a while.
"Morocco could not have presented much problem because we played them in Cotonou and we knew how to handle them. The boys said they would deliver and they did. If you followed the team well, you would see that they played for one another. When the strikers were finding it difficult against Morocco, the defenders took the initiative, and scored the first two goals. That’s how a team should play. In the final, you saw what happened. The referee gave them two penalties and denied us the one he should have given us.
"I believe in these boys. I believe they can rule the world at whatever level we want to take them to now".
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