By JOE APU
THE Super Eagles of Nigeria go into the CHAN 2016 with a big plus for them as one of the teams without a defeat. Aside this, her records at the world and African continental stages speak volumes for her. The country had qualifi ed for fi ve World Cups and had won the Africa Cup of Nations thrice.
According to statistics gathered from mtnfootball.com, Nigeria reached the second round of the World Cup in 1994 and 1998, but failed to go past the fi rst round in 2002 and 2010.
Nations Cup winners as hosts in 1980, the country had to endure a long wait of 14 years before picking up their second continental title at Tunisia 1994.
It was another 19 years before they will again be crowned champions of Africa in South Africa. The Eagles had been runnersup a record four times – three of those close shaves being against perennial rivals, Cameroon [1984, 1988 and 2000].
This talented team, also boast of fi nishing in third place on seven occasions.
The country had earned a big reputation, courtesy of the exploits of her teams at the various international age-group
competitions, as well as by the fact that it is today the biggest African exporter of soccer talents to Europe.
The Golden Age for the country’s football was in the 90s, when after winning the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, the country made a big impression on her World Cup debut that same year by reaching the knockout stage, before they landed an historic Olympic gold in 1996.
These exploits were the direct result of managerial stability that built a talented and disciplined side.
The fi ve-year stint of Dutchman, Clemens Westerhof, between 1989 and 1994, marked a time when astute planning and continuity saw the Eagles fl ying high.
Westerhof took the pains to discover and forge a unit of talented and determined young players who later went on to be only moments away from upsetting Italy at 1994 World Cup in the USA.
The 2016 CHAN, which kicks off in Rwanda on Saturday, could well defi ne Sunday Oliseh’s time in charge of Nigeria, as many will judge him by the results and performances of the team of domestic league players at this biennial continental tournament.
Expectations in Nigeria are again high the country’s ‘B’ team will go all the way in Rwanda after they fi nished third at this same competition in South Africa two years ago.
The biggest criticism against the former team coach, Stephen Keshi lined up in South Africa was that they were not really
representative of the best players in the Nigeria league as all the coaches were far removed from the domestic championship.
The result was that players like goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim and Solomon Kwambe, who only managed a handful of games for their local clubs, were picked ahead of better and fi tter player on the domestic scene.
That could not be said of the current CHAN Eagles, as the backroom staff led by assistant coach Salisu Yusuf
and Alloy Agu took the pains to scout for the best players to fl y the fl ag proudly for the ever-growing
Nigeria league.
In Rwanda, Nigeria will parade some of the stars of the past season – Tunde Adeniji and Chisom
Chikatara scored between them 29 goals in the last campaign, defenders Chima Akas, Austin Oboroakpo and Orji Kalu were consistent at their clubs, while Ifeanyi Matthew, Paul Onobi, Ezekiel Bassey and Bature Yaro were the driving forces for their respective teams.
Oliseh has had long enough time to pass down his ideas and philosophy to these players right from when he was named the country’s coach in July 2015 amid high expectations.
Several of these players had also worked with the coach in the full international squad.
He also had two weeks to train the team in South Africa during which time they played two warmup matches against teams who will also be at the CHAN – Angola and Cote d’Ivoire.
What he is therefore able to produce in Rwanda will most certainly go a long in determining the fortunes of the country in the coming months with crucial AFCON and 2018 World Cup qualifi ers fast approaching. At the end of March, Nigeria faces a double-header against Egypt in the qualifying tournament for the 2017 AFCON with experts in agreement that results of these two games could make or mar the country’s chances of qualifi cation to Gabon 2017. Good results in Rwanda will lift the
confi dence of the players, as well as fans leading up to these two big matches.
The results could also improve our FIFA ranking going into the draw for the World Cup qualifi ers in June. Nigeria is currently a poor 66th on the FIFA rankings and if this rating did not improve remarkably before the draw on June 24, the Eagles could get as many as two of Africa’s top teams in a final round of the World Cup qualifi ers to be played on league basis with only the overall winners booking.