…TAN Assures Nigerians
Despite the crisis rocking the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) has assured Super Eagles’ fans that the team will bounce back from its disappointing second round exit at the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.
Former junior international, Waidi Akanni, who is TAN’s sports coordinator, noted that the team should be kept together with few inclusions made to beef up the squad.
The former Flying Eagles Star said the team showed resilience in the face of serious opposition at the World Cup and predicted a better future for most of the players that took part in the tournament.
He also praised President Goodluck Jonathan for wading into the appearance few disputes that put the players at loggerhead with the NFF.
“I must say that President Jonathan did well by nipping the appearance fee crisis in the bud. It shows that he is a leader who listens to the people.”
Akanni stated that the president has shown that he wants sports to grow since assuming office by putting funds into sports development.
Speaking further on the Eagles, Akanni noted that there were great potentials in the country to make the national team great.
“We have so many players who are national team materials. So, the onus is on the coach to widen his dragnet for talents that can make the Eagles fly again.”
He also said that preparation for the 2015 Nations Cup qualifiers should begin in earnest to ensure Nigeria successfully defends it title in Morocco.
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COMMENTS
i will say that the problem was not the money issue but the lack of a playmaker in the team, that is where the problem is and i will say in all our matches we play 10 men mikel wwas minus one hence the injury of onazi said it all
Unknown to you and many others, super eagles players were affected heavily by the bonus crisis and some other factors. Just read the story from Odemagbami:
HOW NIGERIA GOT MONEY AND LOST TO FRANCE
June 30 was Nigeria’s test. The Super Eagles needed to go past France. Considering the traditional styles of play of the two teams I had given the match to the Nigerians. For 80 minutes they fought hard and well and justified my confidence. The French were confused. They did not know how to cope with the pace and physicality of the Nigerians.
Then, in the last 20 minutes, everything that had been wrong with the team since before the start of the World Cup reared its ugly head.
The team had no time to prepare well enough. Some key players were missing through injury, poor form, or were out of favour.
Stephen Keshi’s list had not included enough quality players, both in the field and on the bench. Specifically, the team did not have a creative player, an anchor, in the midfield to hold the team together. Onazi, the lone fighter in that area, sustained an injury against France and was replaced in the 70th minute. The players suddenly looked completely exhausted.
Unknown to most observers the team and its officials had spent the better part of the previous night counting and sharing money – bonuses of matches not won, appearance fees that had not been paid by Fifa and other allowances, flown into Brazil by the federal government.
The team had missed a training session, threatened to boycott the second leg match, and so on, to make their point. Under the weight of all these challenges any team would collapse.
The demands may appear to have been a ‘small’ matter, but remember, it is the small issues that make a big difference!
Nigeria, thereafter, lost focus at the critical moment of their greatest challenge and sacrificed what could have been their greatest achievement in World Cup football on the altar of lucre. The players chose, through their acts, to end their chase of the 2014 World Cup at that point.
So, the fire in the team was extinguished. As a friend said after the match: ‘when the fire goes out, it dies!’
Against France, that was the turning point for the Super Eagles, the thin line that took them from the periphery of victory to the depths of defeat.
read full story at this link: http://www.supersport.com/football/blogs/segun-odegbami/Lights_out_for_African_teams