The Super Eagles' inability to escape Group A should have come as no surprise to fans of the national side
By now it is no longer news that the defending champions of the African Cup of Nations, Nigeria, will not be able to defend their title next year in Equatorial Guinea.
Quite a shocking headline the news has been over these past few days, the disappointment has already given clubs like Stoke City and Villarreal something to cheer about as they had already been resigned to the fate of losing their key players during the competition in January.
On the other hand the dear Super Eagles supporters certainly do not need to bother themselves over the possibility of not being able to watch the games on terrestrial TV stations once again, after all their team is not even playing a single match there!
Only a fortune teller could predict such an end for a team that had just won its first title in over 19 years and for a coach like Stephen Keshi that had just won his first major title as a manager in not more than 22 months. Over the last few months, however, missing out on the African showpiece has begun to feel more and more inevitable.
Comparisons could be drawn to a literal tragic-comedy.
Keshi’s reign started with boom and fanfare and has, of course, ended in sadness and gloom.
Keshi | From Glorious Beginnings to Dismal Despair
Make no mistake about it, Keshi did perform a great job with the Super Eagles by pulling them off the bottom of the ladder of African football and placing them at the top of it. However, as has always been the case, the negatives are remembered as much at the end of such an adventure as the positives were when things were going so much better.
Questions have continued to pour in from all angles as to who is to blame on how things ended this way.
A good look at the aftermath of the 2013 Cup of Nations triumph reveals the major answers to all these questions.
In the team’s subsequent games, Keshi’s technical shortcomings were on parade as the team, at times, played without cohesion or purpose. He repeatedly used some players that were out of form and lacking match fitness, and failed to call up better replacements.
It’s little wonder that his side struggled to defeat less fancied teams such as Namibia and Ethiopia to qualify for the World Cup.
There is absolutely no mistake in placing these struggles back in 2013 side by side with the failed bid to qualify for next year’s Afcon.
Even in these recent matches, Keshi’s inability to assess new options was becoming painful, and clearly holding the Super Eagles back.
The writing on the wall for the Big Boss
How, for example, could the Big Boss believe that a player such as Sunday Emmanuel—who hasn’t managed to chalk up 120 minutes this season—would contribute more than men such as Bartholomew Ogbeche and Obafemi Martins. Those latter two players, for the record, have, between them, scored over 20 goals in more competitive leagues so far this term.
Yet Keshi persists with players with much less pedigree.
It feels like history repeating itself. How many times did Nigeria fans heave a collective sigh when we saw Reuben Gabriel lumbering along the touchline? Keshi’s ability to ignore high-profile players and opt for untested alternatives has exasperated fans.
He struck gold once, with Sunday Mba at the Cup of Nations, but since then, the failures have been to numerous to count.
The likes of Kenneth Otigba and Nedum Onuoha have been constantly ignored while a player like Azubuike Egwuekwe, an able but limited defender, is invited for every game.
In conclusion, no one but Keshi should be blamed for the Super Eagles’ present failings. Furthermore, sacking him is certainly not the solution as he still seems to be the best option available unless the NFF are buoyant enough to lure an accomplished foreign tactician.
Whichever option the NFF goes for, the boss who takes the reins into the future must commit to more of a meritocracy, ensuring that in-form players are picked and favouritism is resigned to the past.
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