The Super Eagles of Nigeria have ceased to bring smiles to
the faces of football loving fans in the country in view of the
state of the team over time. Despite winning the 2013
African Cup of Nations, the Eagles failed to qualify for the
2015 tournament in Equatorial Guinea after a second round
exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil causing heartbreak to so
many Nigerian fans.
Thankfully the Super Eagles handler has now settled the
controversies trailing his contract with a two-year deal after
months of uncertainty since his contract with the Nigeria
Football Federation, NFF, expired in 2014. He has to
however sort out a few things if the Eagles will fly back to the
pinnacle.
1. No one coach is a monopoly of knowledge
The advice from football analysts and fans cannot be pushed
away as it will go a long way in helping the Coach and the
team. The new contract given to Keshi includes clauses that
will ensure he works with the Technical Committee which
should be a welcome development.
Keshi should be receptive enough to the suggestions from this Committee to
allow harmony so the team can return to its glory days. He
must accommodate well intended suggestions from people
for the good of the game in the country.
2. Work more with the team and less with the media
Show me a successful coach and I tell you a coach that has a
strong relationship with his players. Keshi must ensure he
builds a strong dressing room rapport with/within his
players and resolve all grudges in the dressing room. There
is really no need to wash dirty linen before the media. The
success on the pitch starts from the dressing room.
Keshi must understand the feelings of his players and ensure a
balance without the knowledge of the media.
3. The improvement of Academies and Grassroots football
Countries like Germany and Spain who have made great
marks in the world of football did no magic but only looked
inward. Nigeria has several football academies in country
but the essence of such academies has not been fully
utilized. Keshi should go back to the drawing board
especially to our various academies, discover raw talents,
nurture them and develop them into stars to ensure the
National team has a lot of options for use.
Nigeria must get over the era of “if Mikel or any other player
is not in action or fine form; it turns to an automatic bad
day.” We must learn to develop our various talents and
show them to the world just like Spain, Germany, Brazil and
so on.
4. Integrate players from various junior teams to the
Super Eagles
Anything good should be emulated by the Super Eagles.
England as a national team has always integrated young
players in their team. The likes of Wayne Rooney, Theo
Walcott, Joe Cole and the rest were integrated into their
national team from cadet sides. Lionel Messi, Neymar and
the rest went straight to the senior team from various youth
teams. It helped their development and they contributed to
the success of the team. It is important to stop discarding
youth players consistently. Graduating talent from the age
grade teams to the Super Eagles will be a great service to the
ambition of the national team.
The likes of Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho and other
outstanding young players should be introduced into the
senior national team in order to aid their development. The
coach should use this opportunity to expose these young
lads because the more they play with the experienced
players; the faster they grow and improve.
5. Learning must continue
The general notion that no one is perfect also applies to
football. Learning is a process that should have no end.
Coach Stephen Keshi should ensure he gets refresher
courses to enable him get up to speed with the latest
developments in the game. A lot of technicalities are lacking
in the Eagles and their general play which has brought
limitations to our game.
It is in the best interest of the team and Keshi to understudy
any reputable coach in any top European club for some
months for a refresher course so that he can be acquainted
with new skills before he reconvenes the Super Eagles team.
Visiting some of the top sides globally to observe training
methods amongst other things will do the gaffer a great deal
of good.
By Timothy Aiyeku
ff @timmysax66
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