Former Super Eagles defender Ben Iroha believes for the best interest of Nigerian football! Stephen Keshi should continue to be in charge of the national team now that the crisis rocking the Nigerian football fraternity has seemingly been resolved.
The world soccer governing body, FIFA, on Friday lifted the suspension placed on Nigeria for perceived government interference and the court injuction against the Aminu Maigari-led board of the Nigeria Football Federation.
Now that the warring parties have resolved to let bygones be for the good of Nigerian football, Iroha while speaking with Completesportsnigeria.com from his base in the United States of America says Keshi should be appreciated for his good job while in charge of the team.
“Stephen Keshi has done well. His time as coach of the Super Eagles have been wonderful.
“He won the African Cup of Nations last year despite the challenges the team faced. Players now work very hard to earn their places in the team.
“Keshi has brought discipline to the team and he should be encouraged,” Salinsa, who won the 1994 African Cup of Nations as a player of the Super Eagles and also represented Nigeria at the USA 94 World Cup in the USA with Keshi as captain of the team said.
Keshi remains a strong candidate for the job of the South African national team coach andJuly 26 have been picked by the South African Football Federation as ‘Decision Day’ to know who will steer the destiny of the Bafana Bafana forward, with qualification to the 2018 World Cup in Russia the prime target for the South Africa Football Federation (SAFA).
Iroha however refused to talk about the NFF issue that has ended on a positive note. The one-time Vitesse Arnhem of Holland left back only offered to say: “Okay good. Good for Nigerian football”.
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COMMENTS
It is good that people like Ben Iroha, a former and a respected coach in his own right would acknowledge that Stephen Keshi, the man who successfully seduced Nigerians into believing in the Super Eagles again, deserved some credit after all! But not so some of his former colleagues in the Super Eagles and many hatchet-job journalists and sundry white-world-class-coaches contractors within the Nigeria media establishment and the Technical committee of the NFF. For many of them, for as long as Keshi remained unable to change the colour of his skin and pick all their favoured players or tribesmen to Brazil, he will never be good enough to deserve any credit from them. While, Keshi is obviously not indispensable, I am both glad and sad to see him finally frustrated out of Nigeria. But the record books will stare the greatest of his haters in the face – the man always ends up being frustrated out of Nigeria into better and greater placements in life! All those contractors in the NFF Technical committee fronting for white-world-class-coaches only need to check what happened when the Obakpolo NFF board forced the guy out of Nigeria. I am sure Nigerians, especially those who felt his successes in the Super Eagles were down to luck; men who don’t mind cutting their noses in their desperation to spite their faces, would soon see how lucky the man is indeed. And I hope his luck elsewhere won’t cost Nigeria very dearly very soon, if you know what I mean! With the revelation of people like Babatunde and Oshaniwa, the know-it-all armchair- Tv -studio experts should at least humble themselves to admit that the man who sweated morning and evening and also interacted with those boys outside the field at least saw and knew one or two things about those boys that the fake clairvoyant football contractors didn’t see or know in their offices where they were wheeling and dealing and suffocating in their tribal effusions!
@Emmanuel, very well said. I strongly believe Keshi could be Nigeria’s coach ever! Yes, I meant EVER but unfortunately, he chose to stick to his old habit of player racketeering! He won the AFCON with a very inexperienced bunch of players and has done excellently well to bring back passion to a lethargic super chickens and made them SUPER again!
However, he didn’t do himself any good after compromising in player selection for the world cup. A clear example is a certain kaduna player (not any of the regular starters in the team) told folks in kaduna he was so certain of making the squad to the WC…..and he made it! This is a player that hardly played football for both clubs and country last season! Is it coincidence that these three players MANAGED BY THE SAME AGENT; Reuben, Uchebo and Nwofor who hardly played for their respective clubs made it to the WC ahead of Igiebor, Mba and Ideye despite being central to Nigeria winning the AFCON and qualifying for the WC?????? You may need to dig for answers on the conditions for the return of both Osaze and Yobo!
Keshi has done well and has enjoyed a lot of rewards for his efforts too.! Mind you all the cash donations to the team after winning the AFCON did not go through the NFF! The Peak and Pepsi commercials nko? ??? Who incited the players to skip training before the 2nd round game against France? Why were the players awake till 2am discussing sharing formular of the over $3M from the presidency when they such an important game against France?
For me, Keshi has done better any foreign coach we have had but he is not without blemish! It’s not about one tournament but consistency and integrity! !!!
The best thing for Naija is a WORLD CLASS foreign coach with a track record for harnessing young talents!