In a season where there is no harvest whatsoever, something has gone terribly wrong. But wait a minute, how can all the national teams fail to do well at the same time? And how can all the clubs at continental level also fail to make an impact? Something is obviously wrong and it is not a problem that should be left solely at the doorsteps of the coaches.
Last night, like millions of other football loving Nigerians, yours truly went to a viewing centre to see our Olympic Eagles fail to fly against the Junior Terranga Lions of Senegal. It was a show of shame and though I had not seen their first encounter against hosts, Morocco, I was told that it was a better performance from the first match. There was just no sense of organisation exhibited in the Olympic Eagles game play.
Lack of organisation has been the bane of our football woes as a country. It has to be said, that Nigerian football rose to a level of world acknowledgement in the mid-nineties and was sustained till early in the millennium. The most significant factor behind that rise was the presence of abundant talent within our borders. Another factor was the presence of two Dutch men in Clemens Westerhof and his compatriot Johannes Bonfere both of whom led the country to Nations Cup glory in 1994 and Bonfere alone was in charge when the Dream Team won the Olympic Gold in 1996.
Today, there is a dearth of talent on the local scene and there is no manager in the mould of the two Dutch men at the helm to turn water into wine to the delight of football crazy Nigerians. It is now that we must ask ourselves how it is possible that there is no harvest of talent anymore?
But how could talent suddenly fail to spring up in a country of over a hundred and fifty million people? What is suddenly wrong? The answer that is being thrown around shamelessly by the media is that the President was right when he proposed a self-imposed two year ban. Another that is being suggested is that all the coaches are amateurs and have no experience to take after the Dutch masters. The latter is one that nearly all Nigerians subscribe to as they are all quick to castigate coaches Samson Siasia and Austin Eguavoen.
Hold on a second, could it be possible that all the coaches, Siasia, Obuh, Eucheria, Eguavoen and the coaches at our club sides have become inept overnight? I think not. These managers have played their parts to steady a foundering ship but the apparent lack of organisation and talent are two issues that cannot be wished away no matter how hard we try. Good coaches do not transform ordinary players overnight to world stars so we cannot blame the managers solely for our downfall.
Where has the talent gone? What do we do to get our football house organised? How do we return our football to the desired level and sustain it? These will be thoroughly addressed in the next piece. Right now the small cows are at on the bank of the Nile, something must be done. If nothing is done about the organisation called the Nigerian Football Federation with view to making it an organisation capable of sustaining our desired level in the sport then we must continue to hope and day dream.
Something must be done urgently about the high rate of exodus of our players from the domestic scene most of whom leave to leagues of countries like Pakistan, Syria and Sudan to seek greener pastures while those who make it to Europe do not get contracts as European clubs are worried about the Nigerian age factor. A lack of talent at home and too few in Europe have pressured our coaches to do more than they can and they will fail miserably like they have. In the next piece, I will reveal in detail the situation and proffer a little solution which I hope will be listened to in the right place. Until then let us watch others play the game.
Last night, like millions of other football loving Nigerians, yours truly went to a viewing centre to see our Olympic Eagles fail to fly against the Junior Terranga Lions of Senegal. It was a show of shame and though I had not seen their first encounter against hosts, Morocco, I was told that it was a better performance from the first match. There was just no sense of organisation exhibited in the Olympic Eagles game play.
Lack of organisation has been the bane of our football woes as a country. It has to be said, that Nigerian football rose to a level of world acknowledgement in the mid-nineties and was sustained till early in the millennium. The most significant factor behind that rise was the presence of abundant talent within our borders. Another factor was the presence of two Dutch men in Clemens Westerhof and his compatriot Johannes Bonfere both of whom led the country to Nations Cup glory in 1994 and Bonfere alone was in charge when the Dream Team won the Olympic Gold in 1996.
Today, there is a dearth of talent on the local scene and there is no manager in the mould of the two Dutch men at the helm to turn water into wine to the delight of football crazy Nigerians. It is now that we must ask ourselves how it is possible that there is no harvest of talent anymore?
But how could talent suddenly fail to spring up in a country of over a hundred and fifty million people? What is suddenly wrong? The answer that is being thrown around shamelessly by the media is that the President was right when he proposed a self-imposed two year ban. Another that is being suggested is that all the coaches are amateurs and have no experience to take after the Dutch masters. The latter is one that nearly all Nigerians subscribe to as they are all quick to castigate coaches Samson Siasia and Austin Eguavoen.
Hold on a second, could it be possible that all the coaches, Siasia, Obuh, Eucheria, Eguavoen and the coaches at our club sides have become inept overnight? I think not. These managers have played their parts to steady a foundering ship but the apparent lack of organisation and talent are two issues that cannot be wished away no matter how hard we try. Good coaches do not transform ordinary players overnight to world stars so we cannot blame the managers solely for our downfall.
Where has the talent gone? What do we do to get our football house organised? How do we return our football to the desired level and sustain it? These will be thoroughly addressed in the next piece. Right now the small cows are at on the bank of the Nile, something must be done. If nothing is done about the organisation called the Nigerian Football Federation with view to making it an organisation capable of sustaining our desired level in the sport then we must continue to hope and day dream.
Something must be done urgently about the high rate of exodus of our players from the domestic scene most of whom leave to leagues of countries like Pakistan, Syria and Sudan to seek greener pastures while those who make it to Europe do not get contracts as European clubs are worried about the Nigerian age factor. A lack of talent at home and too few in Europe have pressured our coaches to do more than they can and they will fail miserably like they have. In the next piece, I will reveal in detail the situation and proffer a little solution which I hope will be listened to in the right place. Until then let us watch others play the game.
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