Keshi, Eagles need to Spanish lessons

Nigeria have just managed to win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in nearly two decades and the destructive egos is already creeping in.

Stephen Keshi claimed he dropped the likes of Osaze Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins to build a team of committed footballers who are ready to work as a unit. But looking at recent performances and problems around the squad, I think the Super Eagles coach will need to evaluate his work on his 'building a team' mission. Is the team moving in the right direction?

Appraisals are where you get together with your team leader and agree what an outstanding member of the team you are, how much your contribution has been valued, what massive potential you have and, in recognition of all this, would you mind having your salary halved.- Theodore Roosevelt, former president of the United States.

Interestingly, it looked like Rooselvelt had the Eagles in mind when he made the statement above, especially amidst the fiasco over unpaid bonuses for Nations Cup success. I personally do not agree with those criticising the players for demanding their $10,000 pledged bonuses. If there has been an agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), then the administrators must fulfill it. Before making a decision, there must be a budget and discussions on how funds are raised; this must include revenue from sponsorship.

Clearly the challenge confronting the national team is beyond the performances on the pitch, but I intend looking into some administrative aspect in other discussions. My concern here is that there are indications that Keshi and his Eagles appear to be pressing the self-destruct button that may quickly tarnish their feat in South Africa.

You will never be able to obliterate their continental feat in the annals of Nigerian football, but how excellent and complementary it would be, to work even harder as a unit to prove that your achievement wasn't a flash in the pan?

Spain won the 2008 European Championships and followed it up with the World Cup triumph in South Africa two years later. They also retained their continental title last year. It has been a period of incredible dominance for them both at the national team and club levels. Seven of the players who started for Spain against Uruguay on Sunday play for Barcelona, who have ruled Europe over the last decade, while Real Madrid had three representatives.

 The fierce rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is well known, yet coach Vicente Del Bosque has managed to keep the spirit of collectivism and focus among his players when it comes to national duty. Their work ethic and tireless sacrifice on the pitch is admirable, pressing as a unit, making movements to creating passing options and obliging the discipline to find the best man available with passes to achieve team success.

Keshi hasn’t attracted many friends in the NFF for his resignation threat and public criticism of the football body hours after his team’s AFCON success, and it is safe to assume he would be fuelling the insinuation of ‘luck’ if his team continues to play like they did against Tahiti on Monday night in Belo Horizonte.

Though injuries to the likes of Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses and Ogenyi Onazi hasn’t helped the team, yet playing to the gallery in a major competition rather than chasing team glory is a worrying trend for a young team. Despite their 6-1 win, Keshi should be concerned that the 10 clear-cut chances were wasted due to selfish quest for personal acclaim.

Anthony Ujah was poor in the first half and consequently replaced minutes after the break, but it was frustrating to see that the Eagles didn’t correct the basics of finding the right man in the best position towards goal. Even Ujah’s replacement, Brown Ideye ridiculously battled to get a touch on the ball which had already strolled over the goal line, just to get his name on the score sheet.

Whatever Keshi saw in Anthony Ujah which earned him a place in thie Confederations Cup team, I hope he has seen enough that the Cologne striker has blown his starting chances after lethargic performances against minnows Namibia and Tahiti.

The Eagles must put their indulgence against Tahiti behind them and concentrate on working as a unit with a quest to win for Nigeria, not playing for watching scouts. They will need to put to curb their profligacy in front of goal to do well in this competition. The lesson from Spain must be a good resource material for Keshi, which must be eloquently passed across to his players.

The legacy is not particularly about this Confederations Cup, it is about what makes a great team. Great teams don’t win once, they replicate success.