NFF Considers Appointing Eguavoen Permanent Super Eagles Coach

WE SHOULD NOT BE CARRY AWAY WITH RESULTS ONLY. WHAT REALLY MATTER IS THAT CAN THIS LOCAL COACHES INSTILL DISCIPLINE INTO THE TEAM. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT KESHI ALSO WON AFCON CUP & QUALIFIED FOR SECOND ROUND OF WORLD CUP. BUT AFTER THAT WE FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE AFCON.
IN 2011 PREMINARY U-23 OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS QUALIFIER, EQUAVOEN DID CREDIBLY WELL BY DEFEATING HIS OPPONENTS BY 3-0,4-0,8-0 AND QUALIFIED FOR U-23 AFCON PROPER. BUT AT THE END, FROM U-23 AFCON THEY FAILED WOEFULLY BY NOT QUALIFY FOR LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAME.
OUR LOCAL COACHES ARE HIGHLY SENTIMENTAL AND BRIBE-TAKER

Eguavoen Should Not Be Full Time Coach
___ Of The Super Eagles ____

As the Super Eagles continue to navigate the current Afcon campaign in thrilling style with a beautiful brand of football and a record breaking 100% group stage win record, traction is building for the NFF to coronate Interim Guru Austin Eguavoen as Permanent Gaffer.

In truth, the Super Eagles have performed like royalty in the tournament thus far against all expectations owing to how badly primed they were. The team’s pre-tournament preparations foundered in the quagmire of the NFF’s own making because of their sacking of Gernot Rohr so close to the showpiece.

The NFF was largely pilloried at the time by many commentators who were friends and foes alike of Gernot Rohr. The battle ground wasn’t about Rohr’s brand of football, it was timing. History teaches us that sacking a coach so close to a major tournament is recipe for participation disaster.

However, the brand of football-meal on offer by the Super Eagles thus far in Cameroon has been nothing short of delicious and digestible. The Interim coach put in place by the NFF is vindicating what was a balsy and somewhat reckless move of giving Rohr his marching orders.

His inheritance? a team expected to win the Cup of Nations. His pedigree? part of a golden generation of Super Eagles players with an interesting tactical philosophy as a coach. His name? Austin Eguavoen.

And already Super Eagles have broken new grounds under the 56 year old Sapele born Interim Coach in this Afcon. Nigeria are: the only team with 9 points in the group phase; the team with best goals difference; the team with the most diverse goals scorers; the team with the perfect split of goals (3 goals in each half), and the only team yet to concede in open play.

Eguavoen has turned the Super Eagles from ranked outsiders to the team to be feared and avoided like a plague.

But, the business end of the tournament has just begun and for me, it is too early to talk about giving Eguavoen the job on a permanent basis. But, let’s be indulgent to get ahead of ourselves for a minute and imagine he does deliver that pot of gold at the end of the green white green rainbow for Nigeria fans in this Afcon, should he be retained as substantive Coach?

I will have to say no, purely based on the model that the NFF appear to be promoting according to recent media reports.

The NFF are a gambling organisation. They like to play Russian Roulette with the feelings, yearnings and aspirations of fans with their experimental approaches. Sometimes it works but often it fails spectacularly.

The organisation are looking at Eguavoen performing the dual role of Technical Director and Head Coach of the Super Eagles. An interesting concept on the face of it but one riddled with complexities and problems once you start to scratch beneath the surface.

The two roles are very different. One is strategic, the other is operational. One is heavily short term while the other is primarily long term in outlook. One is oversight whilst the other administrative. One involves interacting more with senior administrators while the other involves interacting with players. To amalgamate both roles is to underestimate the nature of work needed for each to meet set aims, goals and objectives.

For me, the NFF needs a full time Technical Director and a full time Head Coach of the Super Eagles each with unencumbered, unmuddled and delimited remit. That is the only way forward for Nigerian football in my humble opinion.

However, should the NFF revert to type and announce Eguavoen in the dual role of Director and Coach, one can only hope that they get away with it, much of the way their disgraceful handling and poor timing of Rohr’s sacking is proving to be a runaway success.

Confusion don start

Another good thing about coach Austin Eguavoen is that he already knows what he wants and also very interested in our local league.

The Social Networks are buzzling with news about the Super Eagles of Nigeria resulting from the current performance of the Team.
The Super Eagles are flying seemingly on the right flight path. I would love to sound a bit more optimistic, but memories of the past make me resist the urge to.
Like some Nigerians, me too has come out of my shell to join in the celebration of the moment. However momentarily it might be, I will just relish it. I am not a good weather fan. No, I just tried to save myself from the disappointments that often, accompanies the team.
Without more ado, let me say, like most Nigerians I am delighted seeing the Super Eagles currently doing well beyond most expectations.
Some of the glaring questions, which come to mind are: Couldn´t this have been done in the past? Why now? Can this be sustained?
To answer these questions, let me state here some popular quotations which are familiar to some of you.
“You can get it if you really want…but you got to try….”
“Those who forget the past and think only of the present are certainly going to miss the future”
Also, as it is related to this topic, I would like to mention a story once told of a boy, who was admiring an artist who had carved a lion out of some wood. He asked the artist in awe: “how did you know that a lion was hiding inside the wood?” The carver replied to him thus: “son, in every wood, there is a Lion. You only need a good carver to bring it out for people to see”
Of course, this could have been done in the past. To cure an Ailment, you must know the cause. If we really want to succeed, then we must look back and identify the reasons why we have failed. If we really want to fix the identified problems, then we must work towards fixing it. Do we have the necessary tools and know-how required to fix the problems? Yes, we have, to a large extent. As a technician, I will tell you this: Nothing is more frustrating than having a good knowledge of how to fix something but lacks the tools to do it. Yes, one can improvise, but it should not become the norm rather it should be an exception. Conversely, bad technicians with good tools. What if both are present? Good Technician with good tools? Environment, motivations etc becomes factors you cannot ignore.
I have read lot of comments here online. Most have made lot of sense, some less so. Everyone shares one thing in common though: the love of the Game and the Super Eagles. You might not agree, but if you have the tools at your disposal, you will find out, that most of the views here would be reflected upon several things like age, exposure, occupation, education, characters etc of the people behind the write-ups. One thing is clear though, even if you are not a cook, when you are given a delicious meal to eat, you can tell the difference between a good or a bad meal. Hmmn, but that again is debatable because one man´s good meal is another man´s poison!
Yes, the Super Eagles can be what they are now, if the people directly responsible, stop putting square pegs in round holes. Having the right persons and the right tools to do the right things is one thing. But it also requires an enabling environment and motivation (not only praises, but good timely pay too.
To end, a quick reminder of those (I am not saying it´s wrong) to those who are against the dismissal of the former coach Gernot Rohr. As a coach, he himself understand better than most of his supporters that, it is very normal in this business to get sacked by employers for different reasons.
In Germany where he partly originates for instance, Bayern Munich which is the dominating and most successful club there have fired several “successful” coaches in the past that have won some laurels for them. Most recently on the list, was Nico Kovac. He won the Domestic League and Cup titles the same year (“The Double” as it is called) and then got fired during the next season. In other less big club, almost everyone will protest the decision. That´s one of the reasons why Bayern München dominate since years. This is their 10th consecutive league title chase. Players and Coaches knows the standard and they would be shown the exit if they falter. Other clubs, just accommodate and wait for the ”right” time to act.
Sacking a coach before a major tournament leaves a sour taste in the mouth no doubt but it is not a rare occurrence, especially in the business of football. “Success” is not a guarantee not to sack a coach especially with bigger clubs who have high standards of operation. The health of the team and set goals of the Team stands above all else. The reason why this is a discussion in Nigeria, is mainly because the NFF has lost its credibility and most people don´t know how it is done elsewhere. And in addition, the inability of most human beings to separate emotions when making critical decisions.
I am neither for nor against the appointment of a local or foreign coach. In my opinion, the better suited candidates should be given the job. Whether this was planned or not, maybe we will all just fall in love with this delicious meal and start asking questions about how the hell did we miss the cook? Just maybe.