Keshi’s wake up call

 

Finally, it took a ten man Black Stars of Ghana to ensure that Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi and millions of soccer crazy Nigerians face the reality of the task that will face the national team at the World Cup in Brazil this summer.

Keshi’s reign as national team coach has been terrific and rewarding as he has met the targets so far given to him by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), while we wait for his semi final shot at the World Cup, but his methods, tactical approach during matches have left yours sincerely and other objective minded fans on his capacity to lead the Nigerian senior team to any meaningful success at the World Cup.

The just concluded Championship of African Nations (CHAN) has finally exposed Keshi’s limitations technically and tactically with his bunch of clueless home-lads who mostly failed to express any content on why they were in South Africa.
It’s been a long while Nigerians watched their national team without confidence.

The road to Brazil BY KENNETH JUDE

Now that Nigerian’s opponents in next  year’s world cup to be staged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is known, it’s high time those at the helm of affairs of the national team and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), led by the amiable and charismatic Aminu Maigari swung into action by ensuring that the country’s National team performs at optimum when hostilities gets underway in June 2014.

Preparing for the 32–Nation soccer fiesta is not a tea party regardless of the barometer one uses in analyzing a tournament Nigeria has featured on four occasions without really making any meaningful impact except in 1994 where the Super Eagles, under the stewardship of Clemence Westerlof put up scintillating and spell-binding performances that saw them progress to the next round before losing in extra time to a Roberto Baggio’s inspired Italy. It was and has remained the best moment in the much beleaguered Super Eagles.

Conquering Group F

Stephen Keshi has continued to tow the path of luck since he took over the reins as the coach of the senior national football team. I must give it to him, the “gods of soccer” may be smiling on him and Nigeria may actually hit the quarter finals of the World Cup next year in Brazil. 

Watching the FIFA World Cup draw last Friday, I saw the relieve on the faces of Nigerians after being pitched against Argentina, Iran and new comers Bosnia-Herzegovania in Group F. 

Most soccer pundits have handed the draws as “lucky” for Nigeria, others have expressed caution in our approach, while some have urged Keshi and his technical crew to take each game seriously irrespective of the opposition.

The road to Brazil (Back pass with Amos Etuk)

 

Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi is a man that God has favored as it seems in his present capacity. Love him or hate him, love his techniques or hate his tactics, Keshi has kept churning out results despite the scathing criticisms over most times his tactics to the game.

Keshi is set to make history once again, in 1994 in he captained the Super Eagles to their first world cup outing in the United States of America, qualified Togo for their first ever World Cup berth at Germany 2006 and at the moment he is only ninety minutes away from taking Nigeria to Brazil next summer having won the Ethiopians by 2-1 in the first leg away encounter of the final qualifiers of the African zone.