South Africa 2010

This “for better, for worse” vow between Nigeria and Argentina is beginning to give me goose pimples. It does appear as if no matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid meeting Argentina in the preliminary stages of any world competition, be it at the U-17 level involving 30-year olds, or at the Super level involving spent forces. Not to worry, because the Argentines are more worried of us Nigerians as a team than we are scared of them – yes quote me! Greece, we can sleep well, South Korea we know their antidote but Argentina is a different ball game because when they enter the field they really appear to be more than 11 players! Maradona, their mercurial coach, is capable of slipping in and out of the pitch as the 12th player, if need be.

Having completed the draws last Friday, all of the other 31 countries have started making preparations for the real thing except Nigeria. I know my country well enough to know that preparations may not start until mid May 2010 when all other countries would have completed their assignments and gone on pre-match break. For once, could the authorities at the Glass House please help my BP by preparing early. All this debate about hiring Foreign Coach is unnecessary. Whether the coach is black, white or green is not the point.
The point is that our Super Eagles have a problem: the inability to utilize chances and score goals. You may do all the playing but if you don’t score goals you will not go beyond the preliminary rounds. You hear? You win matches by scoring goals even if you have to use your hands sometimes, like Thierry Henri! So, what to do?

First – hire a tactician to sharpen our strike force into a lethal fighting machine. Anybody who has the ability to do this should be hired immediately without consideration as to where he comes from even if he is, again, from Modakeke, Brazil or an applicant from Holland. Football at this level is now big business so no amount paid by way of salaries or allowances should be considered too much. Second – find somebody, anybody, who can mould our midfield into an airtight mass of impenetrable concrete such that if you insist of penetrating you must have bruises to show your mother back home! Ask the Cameroonians how to go about it. If we have to hire Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to come and handle body building, let’s do it.

Finally, all tacticians must work as a team and there should be no question of one man working on, over, under or beside the other – just a team with one goal – keeping the World Cup in Africa (Nigeria) for a change! Since it is now clear that the South Africans are not hosting to win but for commercial considerations, lets tell the world that we are participating to win. That Cup must not leave Africa and God bless our team!

Tata, everybody

Napoleon.