How Super Eagles job Was Osaze Odemwingie got it wrong on the project
Osaze Odemwingie
Before Finidi George was named as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, former Nigeria international, Osaze Odemwingie raised some fundamental questions on why he preferred a foreign coach for the national team. Here, Desmond Ekwueme examines Osaze’s stance and puts up a strong argument on why ‘no player can be bigger than his coach’, domestic or foreign. A must read.
“A local coach will not command the ego of Super Eagles Big Boys. In fact, they(local coaches) are agents for these players; looking for an avenue to push their players.”
actually this is one of the issues osaze Odemwingie has truly speak on it that at times many people love themselves rather to love the all and he says local coach can not control the ego of super Eagles Big Boys , rather to put a foreign
The above quote was credited to Peter Osaze Odemwingie, ex-Super Eagles forward who had a memorable career both for club(s) and country. I stumbled on the quote on the wall of a friend.
There are three major issues he raised in that comment. First was ego. Second was that the indigenous coaches cannot tame the ego of the Big Boys. Third was that the indigenous coaches are agents looking for avenues to push their players.
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MY RESPONSE
Permit me to say that Odemwingie was not talking to me but just expressing himself as a major stakeholder in Nigeria Football.
If persons like Odemwingie do not add their voices to this huge debate, who should? Needless saying that he is entitled to his opinion just like everyone else. I must commend Odemwingie for being bold to speak out his mind unlike others who are even more influential than him yet, choose to either keep mute and watch things go from bad to worse…or carry out vicious jobs underground just because they want to be members of the technical committee or ambassadors of the NFF.
Straight to the issue. I wish to remind Odemwingie that his first AFCON appearance where he had a splendid outing , talking about Tunisia 2004 was under an indigenous coach, Christian Chukwu to be precise.
Odemwingie was playing for La Louviere of Belgium then and there were scores and scores of top quality foreign based players in Europe. He was one of the youngest players in that squad that finished third place behind Morocco and winners cum host Tunisia. He was 22. Six other players were 21 and Greg Etafia the youngest was 19.
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The first choice goalkeeper in that tournament was Vincent Enyeama who then played for Enyimba International FC of Aba. Two other reserve goalkeepers Austin Ejide and Greg Etafia were playing for Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia and Maroka Swallows of South Africa.
Going by Odemwingie’s argument perhaps, Chukwu would have been gagged by the foreign based clouts of Ejide and Etafia to dump Enyeama on the bench while settling for any of the two foreign based goalkeepers.
I equally wish to remind Odemwingie that when the trio of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Victor Agali and Celestine Babayaro breached camp rules in that tournament (Tunisia 2004 AFCON), the leadership of the NFF led by Dominic Oneya and Secretary General Taiwo Ogunjobi met the players and Chukwu in separate meetings to reach a disciplinary decision.
The trio then played for Portsmouth of England, Schalke 04 of Germany and Chelsea of England. They were part of the “Big Boys” in the squad, but they were expelled from camp irrespective of the fact that they were key foreign based players.
Suffice this to mean that no foreign based player can be bigger than any coach whether indigenous or foreign except the FA is behind such a player or group of players like we recently witnessed in the international friendly handled by Finidi George where a few players were being disrespectful to the coach….and got away with it.
Given the array of Nigerian stars in Europe during the Tunisia 2004 AFCON yet Chukwu included Enyeama and Romanus Orjinta both of Enyimba in the squad. I guess this doesn’t suggest that both players belonged to Chukwu or he was their agent. Of course, we all saw that they were the best domestically in their respective positions then.
Going further, I wish to remind Odemwingie that Late Stephen Keshi took 17 foreign based players and six local or domestic players to South Africa 2013 AFCON. 19 members of that squad were debutants.
If truly indigenous coaches can’t control the ego of foreign based players, perhaps it would have been difficult for the star of that tournament, Sunday Mba of Enugu Rangers Int’l FC to emerge. The foreign based players would have forced Keshi to keep Mba on the bench while they were fielded.
Mba wasn’t the only domestic or local player that featured prominently in that team. There was Godfrey Oboabona of Sunshine Stars of Akure who benched Joseph Yobo, the team captain who was playing for Fenerbahce. There was Ejike Uzoenyi of Enugu Rangers Int’l FC among others.
Read more to understand the main reason to get the issue of changing coach
THE ISSUES
1.Players ego: Talking about players ego and the inability of Indigenous coaches to control them. No player in the world (club or country) is bigger than his coach.
As said earlier it is the duty of the FA to rally round the coach, support him and arm him with required powers to instill discipline in the team. When the FA empowers players against their coach, they create an avenue for anarchy.
2. COACHES AS AGENTS
This is a topical issue just as it is global. But there’s a difference between a coach identifying talents and recommending such to a club or another coach…and a coach who makes money from sales and transfers of players . There is also those who influence a player or players inclusion in a team just to boost their images and enhance their chances of being transferred.
Former Manchester United defender, Henning Stille Berg then manager Lyn Oslo of Norway between 2005 and 2008 recommended John Obi Mikel to Sir Alex Ferguson before Jose Mourinho, John Ola Shittu and Chelsea pulled the transfer string that landed Mikel at Stamford Bridge.
Will it be right to address Berg as an agent working for his former coach and club (Manchester United)? You can now understand why I said this is a topical issue.
Coaches aren’t supposed to be agents but they play major roles in the transfer of players especially the ones they have genuine interest in. It therefore depends on what this interest is.
It is up to football stakeholders to understand and fashion out ways of handling the issue of coaches interest in the growth of players which many tag as playing the role of agent.
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3. FOREIGN PLAYERS AND EGO
It must be made abundantly clear that the fact that a player plies his football trade in Europe doesn’t make him superior to his coach or colleagues particularly those in the domestic scene.
It is the media and the FA that create monsters out of these foreign based players who then put on a larger than life attitude when they storm national team camp.
As a matter of fact, we know a player by his performance and commitment to the team’s growth and not by his base or club he plays for.
Why won’t foreign based players feel too important these days when in the national team camp there is not a single home based player making the first team…. even when there are in camp, they’re seen as players who just make up the number in the squad.
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