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Author: Dr. David Ibeleme
Posted to the web: 6/28/2010 2:41:11 PM


Why Nigeria Crashed Out of The World Cup

Dr. David Ibeleme

After such a terrible performance by Nigeria and the other African nations with the exception of Ghana it is important to reflect on the things that were responsible for our non-performance.

1.  Poor Preparation

The team was generally ill prepared for the competition. We spent more time trying to get a new coach following the Nations Cup competition in Angola rather than better preparing for the world cup.

If we really wanted a different coach for the world cup the decision should have been made before Angola 2010 so that, that competition would have played a better role in our preparation. We eventually employed a new coach in March 2010 that was definitely too close to the world cup for us to have prepared well for the competition.

A new coach needs time to familiarize himself with and understand the players. Understanding players is not just about their preferred style and position but also involves understanding their temperament.

Osazeâ's comments after the world cup demonstrates that the coach did not fully understand the different personalities he had to deal with.

2.  The Number of Foreign Based Players

I believe we'll do better once we generally increase the number of home based players and decrease the number of foreign based players. This is because the hunger and passion of the professionals are not high enough. They are generally more committed to their clubs because of how well they are paid while the home based players are eager to shine in order to get better exposure and contracts.

Playing for the national team is not a big thing for these professional guys. Their level of patriotism is obviously not as high as our stars of old.

For many Nigerian players the zenith of their career is playing for a top European team, playing for the national team is not considered a major achievement for these guys once they have started playing for the big European teams.

Any locally based player called up for the national team is ecstatic and would do any and everything to keep his position in the team. The call up generally defines the height of his accomplishments so he is proud to play for the national team and does it with a lot of determination.

3.  Our Attitude Towards Foreign based players

Many African countries have spoilt their foreign based players with automatic call ups or selections. Playing in Europe shouldn't earn you an automatic international call up; it is not your one way ticket to the national team.

European Professional footballers who play in Europe or other nations never get automatic call ups to their countryâ's team, which makes them value their international caps.

As good as Cesc Fabrgas is, heâ's not in the starting lineup of Spain. Remember that he is the captain of Arsenal.

Nigeria and many other African countries do not have this philosophy. Shittu never played once for his club in the 2009/10 season but remained a first choice central defender for Nigeria throughout the same season. Kanu Nwankwo probably didn't start in up to ten (10) games for Portsmouth but maintained his position as Nigeriaâ's captain. You can't win international competitions with that kind of mentality.

Let the foreign based players “fight” for their positions in the national team. That way they will value playing for their country and cherish their international caps.

I was impressed to see Ghana bench Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari. These players had to fight for their place and come off the bench despite their experience and in Sulley Muntariâ's case even after playing a major role for Inter. Milan which won the European Champions’ League and all the domestic trophies in Italy.

4. The State of The African Leagues and National Competitions

The African leagues can be given better air time. I do not believe that the American MLS is better than our African leagues however they get better air time.

I believe that the Nigeria Football Association and by extension the African Football Confederation can invest more money into the leagues to give the players better exposure.

They should also technically force teams to pay a reasonable minimum salary rather than allow these clubs to exploit the players. This will limit the over enthusiastic desire of African players to leave the continent and also improve the standard of our football.

The African leagues can also be made better by giving the home based players more incentives e.g. let the African Footballer of the year come from those playing in Africa and not those playing in Europe.

Itâ's only in Africa that the footballer of the year doesn't play in an African league. As good as Messi is he is not the South American footballer of the year because he plays in Europe and not in South America.

Another incentive is what we do for the people that represent us nationally. Many Ex-players die poor with nothing.

Some of our national players are still waiting to get the things promised to them after winning the nations’ cup many moons ago. This ought not to be. Though it is a thing of pride to play for oneâ's country great tangible rewards must follow as well.

Each American footballer was promised close to Seven hundred Thousand Pounds if they won the world cup. I know Nigeria cannot afford this but offering tangible appreciations will go a long way in motivating the players.

The African Nations’ Cup should be limited to no less that once every three years. This will make winning the competition more valuable and give the players more needed rest. It is obvious that the world cup would not be so valuable if it was played every two years. This is also why the European championships are played every four years.

The African Nations’ Cup is generally relegated to a B or C class competition because of the frequency.

5. Over Respecting Our Opponents

Our players tend to seat back and generally play a defensive style once we are playing any of the soccer big names like Brazil and Argentina.

This is why we’ve been unable to beat them when it matters most. Itâ's like we’re so excited to be on the same pitch with them that all we do is watch them play.

We must respect our opponents no matter who they are but we must also play them with great confidence so that we can defeat them.

6. The Duration Of The European League

The long duration of the European season also affects the performance of our players especially those of them playing in England as many of them are tired and or injured.

This is why we cannot rely mainly on the players in the European league; we need to use more locally based players like I said earlier.

This is also why we cannot continue to play the Nations’ Cup every two (2) years like we currently do.

In 2010 most of the African players played for their clubs in local and international club competitions and also had to play in the African Nations’ Cup before the World Cup.

That is a lot of games in one season and itâ's not easy to be at your best in the World Cup for your country after such a heavy season.I hope the powers that be start taking stock. If not we'll be back in the 70s when African countries simply made up the numbers for the world cup.Stay strong.

 

Copyright © 2010 Dr David Ibeleme

Victorious Faith Ministries,

P.O. Box 4378, St. Annâ's, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.  W.I.

Tel /fax: +1(868) 625-6863 Email: vfmwo@hotmail.com , info@vfmwo.org website: vfmwo.org