Sports
Yes, Nigeria Needs A Foreign Coach
We are looking for
the best man for the job, not the best English man” – English FA chief, Martin Glein on the next Three Lions coach.
What else do I need to buttress my position than this quote? These are the inventors of the game but for the third time in recent times, they are not ruling out the possibility of a foreigner taking charge of the national team.
There is a proposal to have U21 coach Gareth Southgate on interim basis for about a year to supervise the World Cup qualifiers.
He could land the job on permanent basis afterwards, but the FA know his limitations and the odds against him. They have Claudio Ranieri and Arsene Wenger on their wishlist in the long term.
But here we are contesting the rationale behind NFF’s decision to hire a foreign coach. You could argue against the delay in hiring the foreign coach given the enormity of the assignment at hand; you could also contest the quality and qualification of the in-coming coach; but you can’t contest the fact that we need to look beyond these shores this time.
Nobody can comfortably argue in favour of an indigenous coach being at the helm of the national team during these World Cup qualifiers. We have stood behind them for eight years now.
Yes, beyond the four months Lars Lagerback was on the saddle in 2010, local coaches have been in charge since 2008. During this period, we have used six of them namely Shuaibu Amodu, Austin Eguavoen, Samson Siasia, Stephen Keshi, Sunday Oliseh and Salisu Yusuf. But where is our football today?
In six AFCONs during this period (if you include the already bungled AFCON 2017), we have missed four. We have not been to three of the last four and for the first time, we are missing AFCON back-to-back. So, from being the traditional bronze medalists at AFCON, we are no longer guaranteed a ticket which the likes of Cape Verde now secure with more ease.
This is where the confidence reposed on our indigenous coaches for the last eight years has placed us. So if you were the NFF president today, would you still go for an indigenous coach? What indices would you be relying on to take such a decision?
If you keep doing something the same way and it is not working wouldn’t you do it differently and see if it works. If you persist on that faulty formula, that is the definition of FOOLISHNESS.
Most of the countries bossing us on the continent today have foreign coaches. We keep sticking to what we have and keep retrogressing. At the risk of being lampooned by the indigenous coaches and their apologists (as if I hate them more), the truth must be told.
We have exhausted all we have here and nothing seems to be working. There is a new generation of coaches coming up like Emmanuel Amuneke, Imama Amapakabo and Kennedy Boboye. We have to wait for them to develop but before then, a foreigner should be on the saddle.
We need somebody who doesn’t know anybody here; that will not take recourse to any players agent. We need somebody to eschew sentiments; extend invitations and make selections on merit and bring us back to winning ways.
Yes, our football is at that point when we must get our playing personnel spot on to move on. May be I’m being so blunt; but the fact is that questionable selections, biased invitations fueled by ‘paddy paddy’ players’ agents have been the bane of our national team for the past eight years.
That is what has brought us to where we are today. That is what has brought this GIANT down to its knees. That is what has made this ELEPHANT a prey for ANTS.
At some point, England fell back on the likes Sven Goran Erickson and Fabio Capello. Now they have failed again with an indigenous coach and have not ruled out the possibility of hiring a foreign coach.
Perhaps, we will also argue that we have better indigenous coaches than England. Will we also contend that we have more established internationals than a country that has the likes of Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Garry Neville also eyeing the job. But they are simply being frank with themselves.
I’m more concerned with how soon this new foreign coach will be unveiled. The argument to allow a local coach execute the October World Cup qualifier doesn’t hold water. Our group opponents Algeria just signed on a Serbian coach. This announcement should not go beyond next week. Three months is ample time to prosecute a World Cup qualifier and get a result.
Of course, he will have the formality AFCON qualifier against Tanzania to get a good look at his boys in a competitive setting.
We also have to be concerned about the qualifications of the coach. We are not looking for a Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho, but we could get a decent enough coach. The fact is that the Guardiolas don’t come to Africa. Most of the coaches who come to this continent hone their stuff here. We may not get a Grade A coach but we can get a grade B or C+ but not a D. Once we sort out the timing and the quality of the coach, it’s okay.
Let’s do what we have not been doing for the past eight years – hand a foreign coach a long-term contract.
We will come back to our indigenous coaches, they are here with us. But we need a revolution.
Nwankpa Jnr is a sports analyst
Clement Nwankpa Jnr
Heartland Technical Manager, Emmanuel Amuneke has praised his players for not losing focus at the crucial moment in Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Shooting Stars in a NPFL Matchday 24 fixture in Owerri.
The Naze Millionaires defeated the Oluyole Warriors through Chukwuma Agor and John Bassey goals in the 31st and 88th minutes with Mustapha Adam’s 80th minute spot kick a mere consolation for the visitors.
Amuneke while speaking to journalists shortly after the encounter, said his boys showed the zeal and determination to seal the three points and that despite the shenanigans of the centre referee, Kolawole Emmanuel, the boys were never troubled.l
“We were eager to get the three points and we were aware Shooting Stars are a good side and won’t allow us to have our way easily,” Amuneke told journalists in Owerri.
“We planned for them and almost throughout the entire game, they were never a threat to our team. We were able to control the game from the beginning. It was unfortunate how the game ended. We were just focussed on the three points and we are thrilled we got it. It was a very good game from both sides but we subjected them to constant pressure almost throughout the game.”
While he was asked if he believed his boys could finish the season impressively, Amuneke was evasive but noted that he and his players would continue to work harder.
“Everything in line is possible but we know that nothing happens without hard work. We will continue to work harder and continue to see how we can grow as a team. We have a lot of young players in the team. Some of them just got their topflight breakthrough.
“We didn’t lose focus at the time of the controversies. We continued to do the same thing we have been doing and taking the game to them.”
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, turned the sod of the new Olympic-standard 25,000-capacity Bayelsa Stadium project at Igbogene, Yenagoa, as part of the activities marking the fifth anniversary of the Senator Douye Diri administration.
The former Nigerian leader performed the ground-breaking ceremony as Governor Diri restated his appeal to the federal government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), oil firms operating in the state and the private sector to join hands with his administration to develop sporting talents.
The Federal Government through the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) equally thumped up Governor Diri for initiating the project.
Dr. Jonathan expressed delight over the project, saying as a Bayelsan, he was duty bound to celebrate with the state government for the progress so far achieved.
He lauded Diri’s developmental strides, urging him not to rest on his laurels and that the contractor and the state government should ensure the project met the highest standards.
Jonathan also called on the state and federal governments to set up a sports fund to cater for sportsmen after their active days and encourage younger ones to be involved in sports.
He said: “This is my state and I have to celebrate with the government for the progress so far made. This is an iconic project that will develop the state. Please do not rest on your laurels as we want this stadium to meet the best standards.
“I am happy with the presence of relevant federal government officials. I hope they will guide the state well and support where necessary.
“As a country, we must have a fund to care for sportsmen. The federal and state government can think about it so that the younger generation will be interested in sports.
“I am happy that you gave a target of 24 months and I hope that by that time I will escort President Tinubu to Bayelsa to inaugurate it.”
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has condoled the family of former Nigeria international midfielder, Ayo Ogunlana, who died in Kaduna on Friday after observing his early-morning walk.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, showered tributes on the departed midfield pearl, who was a star attraction during a number of important Nigeria FA Cup battles in the 1980s and held sway in the middle for the Super Eagles in the late 1980s, and at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Algeria.
“We are very sad to learn of the sudden passing of Ayo Ogunlana, only a couple of weeks after the demise of another former Eagle, Moses Effiong (a member of the 1980 AFCON-winning Green Eagles squad, in far-away USA). Ogunlana was a great midfielder who made playing football look so easy with his majestic touches and turns, and his magnificent free-kicks.
“We pray that the Almighty will grant both of them eternal rest and grant the families they have left behind the fortitude to bear the losses.”
Ogunlana was magisterial in the midfield as Nigeria overhauled Guinea and Zimbabwe to qualify for the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations, and was imperial against Cameroon in a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Ibadan that the Super Eagles won with an emphatic 2-0. He also played in the 1990 ECOWAS Cup competition that Nigeria hosted in Kaduna.