Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle, raised the hopes of Nigerians on Monday, 24 hours to the decisive Group D game of the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). He said his wards would come out smoking against the Falcons of Sudan, having lost the opening group match 1-0 to cup holders Senegal on August 5.
“We have plugged all the loopholes noticed in the last game and the players are now ready to get the full points against Sudan,” the Franco-Malian gaffer said. Not a few believed him. After all, he had shown flashes of brilliance while handling the Eagles’ A team.
But it turned out a totally different game as Nigeria faced Sudan on August 12 in Zanzibar. The encounter had barely hit the 23rd minute mark when Eagles defender, Leonard Ngenge, scored an own goal that set the stage for a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the Sudanese.
Just before recess, Sudan struck again via a ball-handling penalty committed by Ngenge as the Nigerians continued to put every foot wrong.
Sudan continued their free rein in the second half and it took only ten minutes for them to score the third goal through a mesmerising move that tore the Eagles’ defence into shreds. In another seven minutes, the Eagles, who had by then lost all the energy for a fight back, conceded the fourth goal.
A bewildered Chelle, on the Nigerian bench, could only look on as his counterpart Kwesi Appiah wound down the clock to scuttle any Nigerian chance of a resurgence. With his coaching image thoroughly battered having conceded five goals over two games without scoring any, he now has an academic last group game against Congo on August 19 in Dar es Salaam to probably win and save his face as he prepares to lead the Eagles back home.
Former Nigeria international, Mutiu Adepoju, who xrayed the disastrous 4-0 loss in an interview with TheTabloid.net on Wednesday, described the match as unfortunate.
“Yes, football can be cruel sometimes. But some results can also be unacceptable, such as this very humiliating defeat to Sudan. I personally found it unbelievable that a team that qualified for a championship would end up losing a game so badly like this as if there was nothing at stake,” Adepoju said.
“The players simply didn’t give the game their all and I think the country deserved far more than gave on Tuesday. There was no way they could have put up that shambolic performance and still expect to achieve anything,” he said.
Adepoju dismissed talks that the players’ poor quality contributed to the country’s dismal outing at the CHAN event.
“As far as I am concerned, these players are the best that our domestic league can offer. They played regularly for their clubs in the last season and I can’t imagine them not being ready for the task at the CHAN. They have only proved that their mental readiness is suspect and there is no excuse for their failure,” he also said.
Adepoju also dismissed talks of whether the domestic coaches could have done better at steering the team away from the CHAN disaster. “Chelle didn’t do it alone, he has two domestic coaches with him and for taking the decisions together they also have to take the blame collectively,” he said.
On the consensus that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is to blame for not preparing the Eagles’ B team adequately, Adepoju also differed: “It’s practically impossible for the NFF to camp the team for the whole year. Since they all have their clubs where they play week in week out, the best the NFF can do is to camp them pre-tournament and try to arrange some tune up games.”
The former Super Eagles midfielder, popularly called ‘Headmaster’ for his prodigious heading skills, believes the CHAN Eagles can still rule Africa in the near future: “We have got the talent in the domestic league. What is required is for us to harness the talent and make them competitive. The current team lacks the competitive edge and this can be easily seen.”
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