Former Super Eagles B coach Salisu Yusuf has exclusively told Completesports.com that Nigeria’s embarrassing performance at the ongoing 8th African Nations Championship (CHAN) being co-hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, is not a true reflection of the quality of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
Poor CHAN Start for Super Eagles B
The home-based Super Eagles have lost their first two Group D matches – 0-1 to title holders Senegal on matchday one, and 0-4 to Sudan on Tuesday night. The results mean Nigeria have made a painful early exit from the competition.
Yusuf Defends NPFL Quality
Yusuf, currently Head Coach of Coton FC in the Republic of Benin, guided the home-based Super Eagles to a silver medal in the 5th edition of the tournament in Morocco in 2018. He insists it would be wrong to judge the NPFL based on the team’s shambolic display in Zanzibar.
Also Read: Yusuf Eyes Ligue 1 Glory With Coton FC After Settling In Benin
“No, not at all. The Eagles’ performance in the CHAN in Tanzania shouldn’t be seen as a reflection of the quality of the NPFL,” Yusuf told Completesports.com on Wednesday night.
“The NPFL is a top league, one of the best in Africa. That the Super Eagles didn’t do well in the CHAN tournament should not be used to rubbish the Nigeria Premier Football League.”
Yusuf Calls for Better Super Eagles B Organisation
The 63-year-old tactician stressed that rather than criticise the players or the league, Nigerians should question the team’s organisation and preparation for the tournament.
“A team is as good as its organisation,” he said, hinting at the importance of coaching input.
Also Read: CHAN 2024: I Don’t Believe We Could Lose 4-0 To Sudan –Super Eagles AFCON Title Winner
“Was the team well set up or organised? These are the questions that should be asked and answered.”
Super Eagles B Next Fixture
Nigeria will face Congo on Tuesday, 19 August – a ‘dead-rubber’ game for the Super Eagles B before returning home.
By Sab Osuji
7 Comments
Oga Salisu Yusuf, if the quality of the Nigerian league was that good, when last did a Nigerian team win the African champions league?
Better yet, 2018 was the last time we qualified for chan. That means, the league was acutely deteriorating too
See who’s talking!
Rubbish League!!!!!
What Yusuf just said was good but lacked sense..
We don’t need to blame the coach. The boys are not good. Simple.
CS stop giving platform to dishonest people. Salisu is making a statement just to come back to relevance. A league that has not made Semi finals in the confederation since most of us departed Nigeria over 15years ago after Enyimba last made us proud from the time of Felix Anyansi. Our league is corrupt and Salisu is one of the bad eggs to blame for this predicament.
Most of the coaches in the Npfl are as bad as their club owners. They keep recycling around clubs in the country and continue getting bad results. The only good ones like Coach Fidelis and ogunmodede has also fallen below standard due to lack of competition from technically sound coaches. Nigeria need young coaches to go for top Fifa training and get solid accreditation from reputable sporting institutions: before they’re intergrated into the system in batches for them to wrestle away these con unqualified recycled fake coaches.
Here we go again, The question to ask is why didn’t the NFF allow fidelis and ogunmodede take the team to CHAN, they know the system better than Chelle. He should have gone their as an observer. He should take the heat for this because he selected those players. It clearly shows his tactics doesn’t work and we fault those questioning his tactics. You started a 17 year old kid to start as a Libero all because he got signed by Leeds united academy, and who do you blame? The top scorer in the league was benched, so if their is any corruption lets start with chelle.
Another disaster waiting to happen is the flying eagles