My fears for Nigerian football – Ajilore
From IDU JUDE, Abuja
Saturday, November 28, 2009

Ajilore •Photo: Sun News Publishing

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What do you think the team did not do right in their campaign for the 2010 World Cup ticket?
Good question. You see, there is one thing in football which many Nigerians do not know. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose to your opponents. There is nothing wrong with the national team nor the coaching crew.

People should know that the Super Eagles were a depleted team after Berti Vogts’ era and it was when Shaibu Amodu took over that new players were brought into the team from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since then, the team had been trying to blend and there hasn’t been a real championship to test the ability and compatibility of the team, except the World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers with a couple of friendlies which yielded some positive results.

How would you assess Berti Vogts’ era?
The Super Eagles lost their form during the Ghana 2008 Nations Cup and we are still trying to build a new team. Nigeria should know the difference between building a team and having a standard team. Let me ask you a question, when was the Beijing Olympics held?

It was after the Games that some U-23 players were drafted into the senior national team. You see, some of us just started with the Super Eagles trying to gain ground. Sincerely, it is not easy for the old and the fresh players to quickly blend and start playing as a team.

What have the Nigerian football fans done wrong?
Nigerian football fans do not know how to encourage their players when things are not going their way on the pitch. Nigerian football fans have a wrong perception about Nigerian football. You cannot win all the times because other countries are equally working hard to secure victory. So, when things are not going in our favour we should learn how to cheer our team.

When I returned to my club after our match against Tunisia in Abuja, my colleagues were asking me what really went wrong. They couldn’t believe that Nigerian fans could boo or attack their players after the match. It is an unfortunate incident. I pray this will not repeat.
After the match, angry fans attacked our bus, hauling stones at us and in the process some players were injured.

Are you saying the fans should not express their grievances even when its glaring that the players are not committed?
Any body can be angry when their team are not doing well, but the solution is not in booing. Besides, you don’t solve a problem by creating additional problems. No player will be happy to lose a game, especially in the World Cup qualifiers when most matches are beamed live all over the world. Now tell me, can a player show lack of commitment? Some may do it but I cannot.

You said you felt the shock
Yes, because nobody was supporting us. It seems as if we were playing for another country. It was as if the game was our own alone. The people should show love because nobody wishes to travel all the way from Europe to lose at home. It is just that sometimes things fail to turn out as planned. Even, the sports journalists contributed a lot to the fans’ madness.

Did you say the press?
Yes, this is to tell you that we read everything Nigerian press write about us. You people have the sharpest pens all over the world and when the people on the streets read what you write, they are ready for war. I am not saying that I am not a product of the press, but you make people and kill the people. Our technical crews in various clubs all over the World read Nigerian papers on the net.

That is the reason players sometimes snub whom they know before and what follows is complaints about the players’ stupidity. You write about us and 90 per cent are negative publications.

Now that Nigeria have got the ticket, do you think this team can make it?
There is nothing wrong with the team or the coaching crew. What the team need to do is settle down, play more friendlies and do the final blending. As I told you earlier, it is the mixture of old and new players and you know what that means.

Nigerians are calling for new boss for the Eagles?
Well, it is not for me to recommend who heads Eagles, but what I can tell you is that I am happy with the current technical crew.

Do you think with your present form you can make the World Cup team?
It is going to be a very big challenge for every player in that team, not only me. I have to go back to do my best at the club level and prepare for the camping if invited for the World Cup and the Nations Cup. I know that I have a very tactical side in the Dutch league and that is capable of putting me in shape.
It is all about self discipline and belief that you can make it.

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