I am drawing inspiration from the fountain of philosophy.
‘Curse not the darkness, for underneath it are hidden treasures’.
The above is not an exact quote. I have added my words to a quote whose origin I do not even recall as I write this. The words have been a nutrient to my understanding of life for decades, resurrecting at critical times when distracted from the higher blessings that come out of every disappointment.
Admittedly, it has been hard to put behind the pain and anguish of Nigeria’s failure to qualify for Qatar 2022, and to concentrate on what next to do to stabilize the flailing ship of Nigerian sports as a whole, and football, in particular.
‘Failure’ has started to take its toll on the psyche of Nigerians and the number of victims is mounting, distracting even those not directly involved in football administration in the country from looking beyond Qatar at the greener pastures that lie elsewhere in the vast sports firmament.
The distractions have been many and worrisome. The entire technical crew of 5 indigenous coaches, three of whom are ex-internationals of legendary status, have been consumed already, fired without the opportunity to re-apply or to appeal.
All the other coaches in all the cadres of the national teams have suffered collateral damage. They may all have been fired!
Augustine Eguavoen, the temporary head coach of the Super Eagles, has resigned from his temporary assignment. He may have been returned to his previous position of Technical Director, a position higher in authority and responsibility within the football-house structure than that of coach that he temporarily held and ‘failed’ at. How that works out as a development strategy I cannot work out.
Also Read: CAF Announces Draw Dates For AFCON U23, WAFCON And CHAN
It even gets more complicated.
Until a few weeks ago, before the two matches against Ghana, one-time African Footballer of the Year and very well-travelled Nigerian coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, was touted as one of those most qualified as an indigenous coaches that could take over the job of the national team. He was, in fact, an anointed-coach-in-waiting of the Super Eagles.
Then, to reinforce the coaching crew after the failure at AFCON 2021, he was added to the Augustine Eguavoen-led consortium of coaches as a support-act for the last two crucial matches against Ghana, an assignment that lasted less than one month.
The two matches have now been ‘adopted’ as his own litmus test. The failure of the team has become his own failure as well, as his chances of becoming national team coach have now gone with the wind. So, also have the chances of any of his other Nigerian ex-international colleagues. They are now considered birds of the same feather. Great African football players do not make great coaches. That will become the tune for another decade.
Then came another mind-blower.
Last week, the Federal Ministry of Sports met with the board of the under-fire Nigeria Football Federation, NFF. It was reported that they assigned the responsibility of proposing new coaches for all the national teams, including those that have been doing well, within a period of 5 weeks. From the report of the meeting, there is an obvious bias in the body-language of the NFF officials that they are leaning towards a foreign coach for the Super Eagles. This is less than 6 months after sacking the last one.
Meanwhile, the technical committee of the NFF is not a body of technical experts. Many are members of the failed board.
Except there has been a foreign coach in waiting, given the manner the teams’ technical crews were sent packing, this is already an accident-waiting-to-happen. It is a hurried, medicine-after-death prescription.
Definitely, another foreign coach, so soon after the 6 wasted years of Gernot Rohr that were the foundation of the present poor state of domestic as well as international football in Nigeria, is not a well-thought-out-enough reaction to the present fiasco.
Also Read – Odegbami: The Crash-Landing Of The Super Eagles
The issue of another foreign coach at this time is delicate. It will definitely get the full attention of those of us vehemently opposed to going back to that old, tested and failed route – hiring unknown, journey-man coaches without pedigree, or serious credentials, from Europe on the basis of the colour of their skin and the ‘slavery mentality’ that Whites are of superior knowledge and experience, without any evidence in our history that they achieved what Nigerians never did.
So, we live to see.
The football administration that has lasted almost 8 years and failed to deliver on its primary mandates of developing domestic football, winning international laurels and taking the senior national team to the World Cup, is now driving the responsibility to take us into the immediate future with less than 6 months to the end of their tenure.
It is preposterous. I just can’t get it. Things do not add up. This is like returning to our vomit, adopting a process that has failed over and over again, and hoping for a different result! I tire o!
At the end of the day, all the above are distractive to those of us that have chosen not to dwell in the pit of failure and grope helplessly in despair and frustration. Live’s best treasures lie aplenty in the ‘dark unfathomed caves’, so, we shall not curse the dark places.
The entire world recognizes Nigeria’s potentials to become one of the greatest sports nations on earth, if only the country did the right things. After the debacle of Qatar, that’s where the country should be heading to, converting the ‘failures’ into lessons and stepping stones, thinking new ways going forward, looking out for new ideas and fresh faces.
In this quest, one mistake that must not be made again is to discountenance the twin ‘towers’ of History and Experience.
Nigeria has a very rich history of foundational football administration and grassroots football development from which football administrators, after the new elections into the board of the NFF in September 2022, can drink lavishly.
In doing so, they will avoid the mistakes and pitfalls of the past, and chart a new path.
Experiences, positive and negative, become valuable weapons to have in navigating the minefields of the complex world of football. Those experiences cannot be bought in the marketplace. They are not taught also in the classrooms of Harvard or FIFA. There are still a few persons in Nigeria imbibed with that rich past, neglected and wasting, that can be of help in the process of charting that new path.
Finally, the world is a different planet from what it was even 20 years ago. Nigeria is now full of young, vibrant, smart, innovative and creative thinkers that can envision how to lift Nigerian sports above the present plateau where the country has remained for almost 3 decades, and threatening to go southwards. The country must identify and find them, create the opportunity for their participation in the process of change, and add them to the new ‘mix’ that will not be distracted or deterred by the fear or the pain of past failures, but challenge them to become the candles that can expose the treasures in the present ‘darkness’.
Nigeria has a few months to think through a new future, and then act. Qatar 2022 is, but should not be, a distraction.
The country must rise above it, now, take useful lessons from it, and from the debris, start to make courageous, hard, painful but correct choices without which the present opportunity will be lost.
Without doubt, it is a daunting task and a great challenge. Football has the power to rise from the debris of Qatar 2022 debacle to become a model of change for the whole country.
Segun Odegbami
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COMMENTS
Well said the mathematical. Hater’s gonna hate.
Thanks @WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR! Oga @ TALK YOUR OWN, Uncle SEGE asked or rather confirmed my own reason for supporting the disengagement of ROHR then; WHAT HAS A FOREIGN COACH or TA that we love to call them due to our SLAVE MENTALITY and INFERTILITY COMPLEX ever achieved that an INDIGENOUS COACH with all the so called BRIBE TAKING( borne out of being paid peanuts and owed salaries and allowances) never did???
OTTO GLORIA won AFCON 1980 and failed to qualify for WC
BONFRERE JO won AFCON SILVER in NIGHA 2000 and was struggling to qualify for France 1998
BORA MILUTINOVIC made 2nd round of 1998 WC
WESTERHOFF won AFCON 1994, qualified for USA 94 and made 2nd round after 5 years with all his salaries and allowances fully paid!..Please note; 5 uninterrupted years!!! The most successful FOREIGN COACH ever!
BERTI VOGTS crashed out in the QUARTER FINALS at AFCON 2008
LARS LAGGERBACK…what a name, crashed out in the first round of 2010 WORLD CUP
ROHR spent almost 6 years to qualify for WC 2018 got his ass booted out in the first round and won AFCON BRONZE in 2019!
Above represent the best returns we got from so called FOREIGN TECHNICAL ADVISERS
Now juxtapose these with the much maligned LOCAL COACHES
ONIGBINDE won AFCON SILVER 1984 and crashed out in the first round of 2002 WC
PAUL HAMILTON won AFCON SILVER 1988
AMODU SHUAIBU qualified SE to 2 WCs and won AFCON BRONZE 2002 and still being owed from the meagre salaries and allowances
CHRISTIAN CHUKWU won AFCON BRONZE 2004
AUSTINE EGUAVOEN won AFCON BRONZE 2006
STEPHEN KESHI qualified for WC, won AFCON GOLD 2013 and made 2nd round of 2014 WC in less than 4 years with backlog of owed salaries and allowances thereby matching the BEST EVER returns from the foreign mercenaries in less years than the best performing amongst them and also earned less and got owed!
What then has these TAs achieved that our indigenous coaches hadn’t??????
No country has ever achieved any meaningful success in international football with a foreign manager! Not 1.
All the foreign coaches only milked ENGLAND. Their best performances have been from THEIR OWN (apologies JIMMYBALL)
Ditto BELGIUM ..the SPANIARD has spent almost 10 years to match what THEIR OWN gave them at MEXICO 1986!
Even the great LUIS FELIPE SCOLARI couldn’t give PORTUGAL the EUROS until SANTOS came!
I think the only exception in recent memory was the German OTTO REHEGAL winning EURO 2004 for GREECE!
@Mahmud Shuaib… thanks so much for this mature post. The slave mentality with most black men means they love whitemen and his whiteskin more than themselves… I mean by default, this ties to inferiority complex on many levels. There are those who believe the local tincture blend popularly hawked around and drank around most South Western States called “Agbo” is more potent in curing fever than any orthodox medicine… these set of folks once feeling feverish will look for the next accessible “Agbo” seller to buy and drink… tell them anything else can help them better and they will laugh at you, it’s all in the belief!
Likewise, there are football fans in Nigeria who believe no matter how quack a whiteman is in coaching, he is better than the best local man for the job… Eguaveon is not the only Nigerian with coaching badges, there are lots of them. Get the proper fits for the job and give them a solid contract with their choice assistants… $25,000 is already a lot of money monthly for the likes of Amuneke, Finidi, Manu, Ogunbote, Boboye, Makinwa and Olofinjana. Rome was never built in day.
If the coaches with the right mentality and knowledge of the game are hired and contractuality asked to employ merit in player selections and invitations, Nigeria would have gotten 75% of its failures at senior football remedied. Then again, money has to be pumped in, and investors sought to help properly fund our league and have it properly reformatted with better sponsorship and crowd attendance. The solution we seek to address our footballing fails are 100% within, and on the home front. Even with the moongod Rohr, player selections and invitations was questionable. let us stop deceiving ourselves. Most of the foreign coaches hate living in Nigeria and only appear days to important games… that can’t be a longterm solution by a stretch of the mile… enough said!
Paul Hamilton didn’t win AFCON silver, it was Manfred Hoener. Belgium won bronze at the WorldCup with a foreign coach. If you want to know football has left our local coaches a long time ago. They’re only stuck with part glories of 94 in 2022. They don’t know how to prepare our players tactically in an important assignment.
That’s why when it matters most Eguavoen failed. You forgot to mention that since we’ve been qualifying for the WorldCup in 1994 the two times we’ve failed to qualify was with local coaches??? Lmao!! Awọn Oluya dede. The reasonable fans predicted this doom but your emotional sentiments beclouded your reasonings.
We have problem in this country. Imagine the writer blaming the oyinbo man who qualified for the two competition wasted by our own. How many home base players did Eguavon invited and what effort has he made to improve the standard of the league ever since he has been working as the technical director and when he was later made the head coach? This Odegbami is just been wicked,bias and sentimental to all this oyinbo people. He sha want people who he can market his players to as the head of our football team. Having seen that the local coaches have failed he is still looking for ways to imopose them on us.
Thanks @Ayphilly and @Tayo
Slave mentality it is Uncle. Where the NFF executive members are missing it and probably will continue missing it, is the rush to search for a foreign ‘massa’ to coach the national team just because the Super Eagles lost to the FIFA away goal rule and therefore didn’t qualify for Qatar.
Nigeria gained independence since 1960 and won’t it be incompetent on the part of the NFF executive committee members that it is a foreigner they are still groping and gallivanting all over the place to appoint as our coach after all these years of self dependence? Where is the place of the local content policy which people like Uncle Sege so much bought into? Are the NFF not supposed to be ashamed that they haven’t ensure a domesticated approach to the management of our football business? And what stops them from begging Augustine Enguavoen and his team which comprises of Yusuf, Amuneke, Aigbogun, Yobo and Alloyuis(or another keeper trainer) to take up the job being the most qualified domestic staff?
From every available statistics and facts, the Eguavoen coaching crew performed creditably well that is if we are to discountenance the fringe exuberance displayed by players like Simon and Uzoho amongst others that let us down.
Conclusively, we have rejected appointment of a foreign coach for the SE, that is one, and secondly the so-called foreign coach should through this medium be told that we are not slaves and that he will not be welcome in Nigeria irrespective of his monetary negotiation with the NFF. That is our ‘oiyel’ money that is meant for us. The NFF is put on notice that it is our own which is very qualified anyway that we want there.
I’m sorry to say this but you are overusing the word ‘slave’ which tells me you have a serious identity problem and are overcompensating.
Only a traumatised, racially-oppressed, under-exposed black man sees every white person as a slave driver and every black man that engages one as having a ‘slave’ mentality. Self-esteem issues maybe?
Yes, it sounds good and makes you look good (to some fellow ignoramuses) and definitely plays to the race sentiment (“Oh see me, I’m black and proud like James Brown”), but they are empty words. Sound bites with no real bite.
If you really want to prove how competent you are, do the damn job and leave everyone behind looking at your brake lights.
That’s what real black men do all over the world, beating white oppressors at the game, not going around avoiding white people, getting nowhere and blaming ‘slave mentality’ to compensate for their own incompetence.
They say to get ahead in a world shared with white people, a black man has to be twice as good. In Nigeria, we are not even asking for that. Just show your pedigree before coaching the Super Eagles. No free ticket. What have you done to earn the role? What are you doing to improve yourself?
No free ticket. Go and compete first then come back to apply with your results.
Until then, stop complaining and hiding behind ‘slave mentality’.
You are not going to get the SE role just because you are black, Nigerian or know somebody.
Sorry.
@Mahmud Shuaib lines have some resemblance to what one Mr. Pius Obemhen, an erudite commenter on this platform posted some days ago on this vexed subject, drawing the attention of the NFF on one hand and the general SE fans on the other hand to failings of the past Super Eagles foreign coaches. Let’s juxtapose that with @Odukpor comment, it becomes obvious that monies meant for local development is what the Amaju led Football Federation is about to squander in the name of hiring a foreign coach. And the worst of all the foreigners are not better qualified as our local coaches. And another thing is that the foreigner won’t be interested in our local league and will just be there inviting foreign based players when the need arises.
Lenukwe:
It is a confirmation that the SE fans are responding and many more would in no distant time toe the line of facts. My biggest problem with these foreign coaches transversing the length and breadth of Africa and Nigeria expecially is, they hardly develop our local league. Just look the Belgium Blueprint that Austin Eguavoen has started implementing by identifying with the locals and also visiting local league to watch football matches. He also invited players in the local league to the senior team. Instead of improving on that the NFF, not Nigerians is interested in foisting a foreign coach on us, forcing the failure driven away from cameroon down our throats and some idiotic SE fans seem to be celebrating the nonsense. Even if we are green, we no go greee.
Odegbami is a disgrace he should keep his mouth shut during his playing days did he qualify Nigeria to the world cup
NFF should be ashamed that it is a foreign coach they are negotiating with to take charge of the Eagles. They should know it is a failure on their part that up till now, there is no domestic coach that can be appointed as Eagles’ coach. The news filtering in is that of a failed former cameroonian coach, a coach that could only win a bronze medal in the recently past Afcon and that is a medal Eguavoen won some few years ago. I want to believe what I’m hearing is not true otherwise, the NFF members must be ready to be replaced by foreigners because they too have failed. How comes they are discussing with a foreign coach whose credential is far below that of Eguavoen???
@ Mahmud Shuaibu Thanks a lot for your wise write up . I have always been saying all this for years over here , No country has ever won the World Cup with a foreign Coach and it will never happen because it goes with Petriotism not just football alone and which can never be bought with money.The day Our Corrupt Government will wake-up and take sports Administration in general seriously and put the square pegg in a square hole better for our sports.Why is this current deeply Corrupt NFF officials and all the so called Technical Departments not resigning after this world cup qualifiers debacle? No it won’t happen because this nigeria but it can in other climes were sports Administration is taken seriously like in Algeria which is Africa not Slave Masters Europe though. Senegal and recently Cameroon after many trial and error with different white journey men cum Foreign Coaches take bold step by hiring an ex international Aliou Cisse for over 8 years now with the full support of the football Administration over there and today he’s delivering the goods as expected but not here in Nigeria were we have over one million
arm chair
Coaches both online and offline that knows better football tactics than our own Local Coaches and to add salt to injury they are now labelled(One dimensional Couches) so with all this distractions at play one will conclude that we are not yet serious and ready to develop our sports industry in general both the Fan’s and the Administrator’s and with deep Corrupt mindset in bedded in NFF a short cut route to a Foreign journey man Coaches is the easy way out to the detriment of our football both domestic and foreign continues untill we give our local Coaches the full maximum support needed with well structured salary package as per there foreign counterparts till then its a pity for this contraption called Nigeria. Peace
Somebody should tell the NFF that in the event they bring an abino to us as a coach, we shall pour into the streets to stone them and the so-called coach. We are good with local coaches irrespective of their achievements despite the limited time accorded them so far.
Lol…. Just as expected. Carefully hopping over the main factor that led to the failure of the team ranging from the premature sacking of a coach who already had a blue print for afcon success and world cup qualifiers and replacing him wirh mr technical inept adviser that couldn’t tweak his tactics when it mattered most and couldn’t even observe that the Ghanians had switched to 5men at the back to counter waves of our wingers only to be informed by a player. You have failed to call out ur “own” for his tactical deficiencies but how would u when he was the product of your evil plans against a just man. I wonder what would’ve been the tone of this useless epistle of yours if it were rohr that failed at afcon and world cup qualifiers respectively. As expected, u turned a blind eye to the tactical ineptitude and hovered around the skin colour of our next coach. This shows how evil, wicked and shameless you are, mr ex cricket international. If u were a man of integrity, you should have bluntly lambasted mr “una own” for his tactical deficiencies which were what led to our shameful outing at afcon and world cup qualifiers in modern history. I thought u said you were willing to sail and sink with your own, why are u now complaining. Shameless man.
Well said @ Oakfield, but in terms of hiring a new manager, I will emphatically agree that we continue with local coaches from amongst OLISEH, Finidi, EGBE, Manu Garba, AMUNIKE etc. Let us continue to fail, if ever with them until we get it right. Truth is, it cannot be worst than it is at the moment. NIGERIA IS WAY TOO DISORGANIZED TO ACCOMMODATE A TRULY SOUND FOREIGN MANAGER. AT THE MOMENT, BRINGING A FOREIGN MANAGER IS ONLY GOING TO PUT MONEY IN THE POCKET OF THE AGENCY THAT GET THEM IN AND FEW OTHER BENEFICIARIES, AS THERE IS VERY VERY STRONG CHANCE, 99% CHANCE, THAT NIGERIANS’ SYSTEM OF DOING THINGS, BOTH FROM THOSE MANAGING OUR FOOTBALL AND FANS, WILL FRUSTRATE WHOEVER THAT FOREIGN MANAGER MAY BE, TO A POINT OF EITHER RUNNING AWAY OR REMAINING AND FUNCTIONING AS MERE STOOGE IN THE HANDS OF THOSE CRIMINALS. IT WILL THEN BE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.
SO FOR ME,I WILL SAY,LETS SINK N SWIM WITH THE LOCALS, INSTEAD OF GIVING US FALSE HOPE IN THE INTERIM BY GETTING A FOREIGN MANAGER.
A FOREIGN MANAGER FOR SE, WITH OUR MENTALITY, IS ONLY A WILD GOOSE CHASE,AS THAT WILL LEAVE US GOING IN CIRCLES FOREVER WITH THAT CHOICE. THE MENTALITY OF 99.9% OF NIGERIAN IS SELFISH; (THE AS LONG AS IT BENEFITS ME MENTALITY).THAT HAS TO CHANGE FOR A FOREIGN MANAGER TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH OUR SE. TOO MANY STAKE HOLDERS HAVING TOO MANY SELFISH INTEREST EVER SINCE FOOTBALL HAS BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH MONEY. STILL A BIT DECENT WITH FEMALE TEAMS BUT WAIT TILL WHEN MONEY STARTS TO TAKE OVER.
I HAVE LEARNT TO BE HAPPY IRRESPECTIVE OF SE PERFORMANCES AND NOW HERE, ENCOURAGES EVERYONE ELSE TO DO SAME. I SUGGEST FOR THOSE YET TO MARRY, GO MARRY A SWEET WOMAN. AND ANYTIME, NIGERIA IS PLAYING EAT SOME SOLID POUNDED YAM WITH UKAZI OR EGUSI SOUP WITH LOTS OF BUSH MEAT, OKPOROKO,SHOWBOY, PERIWINKLE ETC IFEMADU LOLZZZ. TOP THAT UP WITH NKWOBI AND BIG STOUT BY THE CORNER. AND THEN AND THEN, ASK YOUR WOMAN TO DRESS IN SOME SPECIAL G-STRING STROLLING LOOSELY PASS YOUR VIEW WHILE MATCH IS ON. AND AFTER THE MATCH; WIN OR LOOSE, LIE DOWN CLOSE TO YOUR WOMAN AND THAT MATCH WILL BE FORGOTTEN REALLY EASILY AND QUICK.
PLEASE AND PLEASE, I SUGGESTED YOUR WIFE AND NOT THOSE OPIOUS COLOURS OR AKUNAKUNAS OR SLAY QUEENS, FOR THESE WILL ONLY FINISH WHATEVER IS LEFT OF YOU.
This write up is nonsense, i only see dribbling tackist nothing more. Nigeria technocrat is all life interest and no national interest. Mathematical want people they can control and push there players to the national team, nothing more, nothing less
Have asked this question here once, will ask it again, could anyone on this forum profess to know this game better than Mr. Engineer Segun Odegbami [MON] administratively and otherwise? Well-educated, well-travelled, played the game at the highest level, been in locker-rooms, understands players’ mentality, knows what it takes to succeed in the game at the highest level, been in locker-rooms, but is constantly being disrespected by some people who probably didn’t even play the game in primary school. Just laughable!
Then he should apply to coach the SE if he is so knowledgeable and stop writing grammar.
Na grammar you wan chop?
Punditry is one thing. Practicality is another.
Well I must confess odegbami is confused and does not love this country.Anything he likes let him write.He is a grand failure just as his suggested and failed local coaches
Who among our local coaches has taken any of our local teams beyond the group stages of the CAF club competitions in the last 5years? What has been the performance of our local coaches outside our shores in the last two years?. How far has any of our local coaches taken the us at the under-age competitions in the last 6 years. These and more are begging for answers before I can support any local coach to handle the super eagles. I am in support of the best coach for Nigeria. No local coach has been able to reach Stephen Keshi standard.
Stephen Keshi was not even a local (coach of a Nigerian football club). How they want us to accept anything substandardly is hurting me…
How can you go to the market to buy oranges but because a white skin foriengner is selling the ripe ones you end up buying spoilt oranges sold by an African/Nigerian…’our own’ mentality is racist!
who go lose?
Dr.Drey is loading his blazing guns… its gonna be bloody here!
Just waiting for Dr. Drey to reply to this agbaya and his deceptive write-ups. Mathematics my foot! Ex-International my Sheet! Black Racist!
If we hire a foreigner,it does not mean we have slave mentality.I am sure the education odegbami has is not from his village but the white man’s.We must be humble enough to accept that the so called white man is ahead in many areas of human endeavour including football playing,administration,financing,equipment,training faclities,coaching etc.some of these countries have played this game 300years before the first ball was kicked in Nigeria.some of us who are clamouring for local coaches schooled abroad,send our children to school there,played professional football there(and not in our villages which we now claim is at the same level as the white man’s country).please show me any black coach that is at the level of guardiola,klopp,Mario zagallo,pasarella.Arrigo sachi.mourinho etc etc.Also show me which black coach has won the world cup before.we are just hypocritical and full of ego
Have you heard of Nuno Espírito Santo from Sao Tome? Coached Valencia, Porto, Wolves and Tottenham.
FINALLY, our own Mr Arithmetical Segun Odegbami has put pen to paper and as usual, his writing, is like my baby’s diaper; full of S**T. I hope Mr Odegbami and his co propagandists, are enjoying with satisfaction, the full measure of their ill action. Agbaya.
@Odukpor, that means Eguavoen and his team are continuing based on the policy of continuity. There is no argument about that apart from the few bitter fans who are yet to recover and it’s like they are deluded to believing a foreign coach as against a domestic one will be better.
I really do not want to comment on this discourse but let me say this, such bitterness led to the destruction of Fifa equipment at MKO Abiola just because Uzoho couldn’t stop the slow shot from Thomas Partey, then Nigeria was ousted from Qatar. I for one initially felt bitter but had long moved on. What Nigerians are asking of the NFF is to lure (not lore) Eguavoen back to continue from where he stopped. And if need be,let them beg him for the sake of our darling Eagles.
Deluded? Probably you are politely abusing them because of their choice to remain bitter. I would rather you allow them be since there is freedom of expression. But the major challenge right now is we have only three months to an important engagement and the SE needs to qualify first before talking of winning Afcon gold. By that I mean Afcon23 qualifiers is around the corner. Are we sure the NFF would have the time to discussed with a more qualified coach within this time? My advise would have been after the qualifiers then we begin to talk about a foreign coach if there will be any need for it anyway.
Chief Odegbami you might have played this game but l doubt if you appreciate that the game has really evolved to a level that results play out based on the tactical acumen of the coaches/ technical team if not you would not be suggesting that we should continue with a local coach. The point is l am yet to see any local coach that can handle the SE. I appreciate your sense of nationalism but we don’t have the material and we were terribly exposed in the game against Ghana that even the Ghanaians Otto Ado sympathized with our team. You also concluded that Rohr’s Eagles was unsuccessful and you based your conclusion on the fact that we didn’t win any trophy. We might not have won any trophy (WC and Afcon) but qualifications for competitions was hitch free. I need not emphasize that you contributed to his premature sack and we can all see the repercussions of lacking the patience to allow that project to conclude. I would rather advise that you channel your nationalistic fervor to getting our olds players to get/acquire knowledge. You can use your influence in the government, nff and among ex internationals to drive this. The local coaches need upgrade on the modern game and that his an understatement. Before Keshi coached SE, he was already a successful coach. He qualified Togo for WC. Football has since evolved significantly from then to now. Football is not about entertainment! It’s business, it’s high-stake(result oriented), it’s is deep tactics. Having quality players doesn’t even guarantee you anything if your coaches lacks the tactical acumen. A tactically sound technical team with group of average players would outwit you. Let’s work on getting so many tactical professors locally. I think that is what our institutions should work on because there is a huge gap in that area otherwise our quality players would suffer. We may not be able to get the best from them.
Another problem is that the coaches NFF is negotiating with are half baked. That is why Nigerians feel it is slave mentality. Imagine Antonio Conceicao who couldn’t win Gold for Cameroon in the recently past Afcon and the jobless Portuguese, Peseiro to come and replace who? Meanwhile Augustine Eguavoen has better credentials compared to these jobless coaches. You see why Nigerians are not finding it funny with the NFF?
Are u guys normal??? Why can’t we call a spade a spade? Whoever is paying you to write this BS here must be doing a good job. You guys must think all Nigerians are fools…”Eguavoen has better credentials my ass” Can you list all Eguavoen’s credentials and dates let’s see. Eguavoen and his 9 thieves are the worst thing to ever happen to our football. Go and improve urself, no. Search for jobs with clubs and take them to Caf, no. But they want to coach super eagles. All our age grade teams are nothing to write home about because of these bribe takers and archaic mindset thieves. I’m glad Pinnick is focused on recruiting a foreign coach, a coach who’s not Hausa, Igbo, Edo, Yoruba etc. Who would select players on merit and not to appease all stakeholders. Who does not care about rubbish federal character.
Uncle you remember me na.. Even me tire o. I couldn’t help it than to reel out what you pointed at, “The issue of another foreign coach at this time is delicate. It will definitely get the full attention of those of us vehemently opposed to going back to that old, tested and failed route – hiring unknown, journey-man coaches without pedigree, or serious credentials, from Europe on the basis of the colour of their skin and the ‘slavery mentality’ that Whites are of superior knowledge and experience, without any evidence in our history that they achieved what Nigerians never did”. Gbagan!
Kelewa Bizmo, the relevance of what Chief Segun Odegbami is saying is that non is entertaining distractions. And that Nigerians must continue to ensure that the local inputs remains the mainstay after all Rome was not built in a day. I would like to borrow your Gbagan!
Those of you that are against the idea of hiring a foreign coach for SE after the shamebolic display of our so called (self-acclaimed) ex professional footballers ( seeing it as a “slave mentality” ) should go and tell DANGOTE to stop employing those white men in his company even when it’s so obvious that our young engineers are miles behind.
Rohr (a white man) didn’t need 2 months to kick start his above 75% upward progress of the SE considering where he picked the team from after “their own” dumped our darling SE in the mud of not being able to qualify for “AFCON” on 2 consecutive accession.
He came in and made qualifies to tournament look like “CHILD’S PLAY” ( INTERHOUSE SPORTS) to the point that our EX CRICKETERS thought it’s easy and assume that “ANY” local coach can achieve.
When the chips were down, they all saw how deficient those below average EX rubbish are.
A man fought from Day 1 till the final round and qualify with a 2 points gap, met all his targets given to him by his employers in style….their 9 local content (ex rubbish) were asked to just come and do the finishing job, they failed woefully and can’t even score a single goal from open play after 180 useless minutes.
Our local coaches have caused us a lot of heart breaks and it’s only those that went and stayed at the backyard of western education claiming to be this and that when their attitude proves they’re miles behind civilisation will clamour for any of them to be given that office of a head coach.
Let me repeat myself because it’s for emphasis, Rohr didn’t request for 2 months to take us from where they dumped us to where they saw the team and started admiring it, he ONLY needed the Tanzanian dead rubber game to show us what we will enjoy until he is racially relieved of duty by some failed personalities that never succeeded outside the shores of this local biome called zoogeria, oh I’m sorry; NIGERIA.
Look at it; our 9 ex rubbish were first brutalised by an apprentice coach from TUNISIA, he single handedly took them to the pitch and tought them how the game of soccer is played both TECHNICALLY AND TACTICALLY using a covid 19 rampage team.
The Ghanaian talented and well equipped coach both TECHNICALLY AND TACTICALLY lead by ADDO repeated it again when he reduced our boys (the SUPER EAGLES) to an ordinary SUPER CHICKENS, a team that produces top scorers in almost every qaulifiers suddenly becomes toothless under our 9 USELESS-WISE MEN.
SOME FAILED FELLOWS STILL WANT US TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR FAILED, INEPT AND THE REAL MECHANIC LOCAL COACHES.
WE’VE GONE TOO FAR TO ACCEPT THIS SUICIDAL MISSION.
BUT WAIT o, how many of our EX INTERNATIONAL RUBBISH HAS EVER EXCEL WITH OTHER NATIONAL TEAMS APART FROM KESHI?
SOME INDOLENCE WILL MENTION AMUNIKE THAT WENT AND REAPED WHERE HE DIDN’T SOW AS A MATTER OF MOST FAILED NIGERIANS ARE, THEY always want to reap where they didn’t sow…..BY THE TIME HE WENT TO AFCON WE SAW HOW GOOD HE WAS AFTER 3 MATCHES.
Can’t our ex rubbish be an assistant coach of leceister city just like toure?
Is it only the SUPER EAGLES they can handle?
Let me rest my case here while waiting for answers from sane personalities.
***SHALOM***
Chief Odukpor, you want to go back to slave mentality?
You don’t have to buy odegbami’s comment. He is not shoving it down anyone’s throat. It’s your choice to accept or not. Only wish those with negative mind can have a one to one with this man and let him break down the NFF for you. I was opportuned to have met him several years ago in casablanca when our flight was delayed. We decided to take him up on some issues clouding the NFA as it was called back then, and my God i was astonished by how vast he was in the knowledge of the game. I can tell you those in NFF don’t want a man like him running the affairs of the game in that country. The man is a technocrat to the core, myself and several passengers had a chat with him for close to 3 hours that we forgot to even eat our lunch. Am happy a member broke it down between the achievements of the foreigners employed and our own local coaches. The major problem have noticed with some Nigerians is the idea of not accepting continuity. How many of our local coaches were given time like the foreigners even when they failed. There heads are always called for immediately something tragic happens with our own. But when it comes with a white man, give him time to gel. The fact still remains we don’t appreciate our own. Most of this foreigners are just fortunate that Nigeria is blessed with talents. I expected countries to be calling out Rorh’s name by now. Some african countries have let there coaches go, why is Rorh still jobless.
Do you have some spicy peanuts left?
Yes in excess, do u need some
I thought you gave it all to the good Doctor.
Se you go perform CPR when he begins to choke.
My belle o. You are lucky that the good Doctor is giving lectures at the moment. Or else he would have given you CPR.
Give who CPR,CPR are for liars. Obviously he is lying to his students for classroom. I would rather take classes with sensible people. Let his asslickers attend his class
Haha haha. You are playing with the cobra’s head o. For your sake let’s hope he never gets to read these exchanges. He is still enjoying the spicy chicken that went with the peanuts you gave him the other night. Hahaha.
Guess you one of his mouth piece, let him continue to lie to them at the Vienna zoo where he stays. His cage number is 666, incase you have some nuts to offer him.
Kenneth you have said it all. Our local coaches should be given time to make mistakes and learn from them. Few months is not enough.If they are given half the time given the white men our local coaches like Amuneke,Manu,Amokachi, Sylvanus Impala, can deliver.
I support Odegbami 100 percent. In short it’s time he is chosen to lead the NFF.He has tried in the past to contest but was frustrated by politicians who know nothing about football and it’s administration.
Can we launch Odegbami for NFF Chair campaign? Please let us connect on WhatsApp. My WhatsApp number is ±2310886521273/+231777521273
I am Akosa Ike a Liberia based Nigerian journalist.
“No country has ever achieved any meaningful success in international football with a foreign manager! Not 1” – Mahmud Shuaib aka Jimmylie (DE MORPH LORD)
Big lie Mahmud.
Guus Hiddink led South Korea to 2002 world cup semifinals.
Herve Renard won Afcon for Zambia in 2012.
Roberto Martinez led Belgium to world cup semis in 2018, and finished up with bronze.
Mahmud apologize to Jimmylie, and Jimmylie responded.
One person apologizing to himself, and having a conversation with himself!
Loooolz. Za Za Za!
What is he apologizing for. He was referring to the World cup. Even your white thrash coach won bronze. It’s April now why hasn’t he gotten a job yet.Since he loves qualifying with games to spare. Comoros and Mauritius should have gone for him
Odegbami is talking rubbish. He was one of those shouting to sack Rohr
‘With immediate effect’ with no plan for a competent successor. Now yawa don burst he is talking as if he wais not part of the big mess. Let him name the lokcal coaches that have done so well in the NPFL that we will be thanking God that we have finally found at least a coach that has proved himself. Let him challenge our local coaches to go and improve themselves.
Yes, the Oyibos may be “journeymen” but our own coaches siddon for house and will not even get up to go to school.
Let him talk about them instead of bringing racism into the discussion.
The irony is that Odegbami’s whole national career started and ended under ‘Oyibo’ coaches. Father Tiko and Otto Gloria. Even at IICC they had one journeyman coach “with no record” called Alan Hawkes.
So to now start bringing skin colour into the matter is hypocritical.
Any coach that wants to coach our beloved Super Eagles should first prove that he is better than the other candidates, whether he is white or black.
The Super Eagles should be above sentiment and not be used for experiment or personal gain. Our NIGERIAN coaches have not covered themselves in a clean, white cloth and we are still trying to recover from TWO national coaches accused and punished for corruption.
Our story is plenty.
If Rohr was still our Coach we would have made the world cup
During the group games of the Afcon. The play was good. But from then onwards it became obvious that Mr Eguavoen was outwitted. My take is that we should always strive to be the best at what we do. Irrespective of racial bias. Mr Eguavoen can strive to be the best coach ever by taking courses over and over again. Maybe pick up a Nigerian club side to implement and perfect some of the new ideas he has learnt. What stops Mr Eguavoen from being a coach of Real Madrid. Then we can have the Super Eagles Discussion. I think we should bring Rohr back. The odds of getting a good Coach Foreign or Nigerian would cost some good amount of money. Unless NFF does some sound scouting which would unearth a nice upcoming coach with good ideas regularly updating himself and willing to take up The Super Eagles challenge whether Foreign or Nigerian. Until we have that, we should bring back Rohr to coach the Super Eagles
I AM LAUNCHING A CAMPAIGN STYLED
ODEGBAMI FOR NFF CHAIR.THOSE INTERESTED SHOULD LINK ME UP VIA MY WHATSAPP NUMBER +231886521273/+231777521273
Chief Engineer Segun Odegbami is a rare gem. A Godsent …exfootballer,(accomplished) an Engineer, and prolific writer.
He has several times in the past, frustrated from leading the NFF by corrupt politicians who know next to nothing about football. It’s time football administration is left for former accomplished footballers with basic education.
Look at the transformation Etoo Fills has brought to Cameroonian football within a short time.