Posted by By PAUL EREWUBA on
Former Green Eagles defender, Okey Isimah, has advised the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to allow the embattled Mikel Obi to join the Olympic team since Super Eagles' German Coach, Berti Vogts, declared few days ago that he could no longer guarantee the Chelsea star a permanent shirt in the senior national team.
Former Green Eagles defender, Okey Isimah, has advised the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to allow the embattled Mikel Obi to join the Olympic team since Super Eagles' German Coach, Berti Vogts, declared few days ago that he could no longer guarantee the Chelsea star a permanent shirt in the senior national team.
Vogts said he was prepared to give Mikel a second chance, but with no guarantees of a first team place after the youngster apologised for his refusal to turn up for the Nations Cup qualifiers against Uganda and Lesotho.
In a handwritten letter, which was faxed to the NFA on Monday, the 20-year-old midfielder described the incidents, which led to his suspension from the national team as "an unfortunate situation," and tendered his apology to all concerned.
Mikel wrote: "It is an unfortunate situation that I was misunderstood… I have never had any intention of disrespecting my country, the management of the NFA, the coaching staff and the players.
"If I have offended the country, the NFA, the coaching staff and the players due to this misunderstanding, I do sincerely apologise.
"I love my country and I appreciate the support of the… football-loving Nigerians during my troubled times. I will fly my country's flag positively at all times worldwide," Mikel's letter concluded.
The player told KICK OFF that he was genuinely sorry. "I really mean it. I am sorry about all this, and I wish to apologise to my teammates and all Nigerians," Mikel said.
Mikel's apology appeared to have gone down well with Vogts, who stated on Tuesday that he was ready to open the door to the youngster, but with a condition that Mikel must now fight to get his place back.
"The door is always open. We have played matches without him and Olofinjana and Okonkwo have done well, so he has to fight to get his place back.
"Just like there are stars in Chelsea, there are stars in Nigeria, and it is not easy for him to come back and get into the team."
However, Isimah, who plied his professional football career in Belgium, told Sunday Sunsport in an exclusive interview that Nigeria would be denied the ingenuity and immense skill that a player like Mikel possess if he's kept in the sideline in the senior national team.
He stated that instead of sitting on the bench in the Super Eagles, Mikel would be much more relevant in the Samson Siasia's Under-23 team with the present composition of the Olympic side.
On Vogts, Isimah, who held strikers to ransom during his playing days as a defender, said unequivocally that the Dutch is not the right coach for Nigeria at the moment.
''If you ask me, I would say that Mikel's ban is an issue of the NFA," he stated matter-of-factly. ''But when you look at the Olympic football event, I would suggest that Mikel should be included in the squad. If Siasia insists on having Mikel, it means he knows the magnitude of the event.
"The boy (Mikel) has apologised to the country, and I think that is okay. People do kill and make apologies; athletes do take drugs and tender apologies, not to talk of a boy who is helping us to boost our football. But this guy is a good player, he should be included in the Siasia's Olympic team.
''All the FA should be talking now is how to get the best materials for the team. It's not going to be magic winning at the Olympics, we have to parade our best materials.
''Talking about Vogts, I would say that our football could be developed, but not with Vogts. I don't think the German is the right coach for Nigeria now. I have been saying it. And I'm not talking because I don't like the white man. I am talking because of the kind of football we play in the country now. In fact, talking about our football development, Vogts does not come into the picture. He has not stayed much in the country though, but I don't think he is the right coach for us. I think a Nigerian coach would be better.
''Football is all about management, not strictly about coaching. We can have one million coaches for the Super Eagles, but without good management, we cannot get the best.
"We must upgrade the managerial skills of our coaches. Some managers know good players.
Managers go to watch their opponents ahead of an encounter, analyse their games and come back to tell you what he has observed, what should be done and then, he will plan ahead. Do we have such managers in Nigeria?
"I studied, planned, and managed football in the USA, so, I know what I am talking about. We must have people with integrity to manage our game, not people who chase players'' 10 per cent sign-on fees. We have not got to that level where football administrators live above board.
"Our problem is not in coaching, it is in management," Isimah concluded.