Liberia bashing ends Keshi gamble
Professionals - Mikel, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses
Liberia regret | Eagles ratings
Samm Audu
writes that the professionalism with which the Eagles dispatched Liberia at the
weekend would have all but ended Stephen Keshi’s year-long gamble on players
from the Nigeria Premier League.
Saturday’s 6-1 thrashing of the Lone Star was by no means a vintage display of football, but the purposefulness with which the team went about the business of the day cannot be lost on any one.
What was most instructive about this game was Stephen Keshi’s choice of personnel for the business end of the business.
In June, the Eagles coach started five players from the Nigeria Premier League in a 2014 World Cup qualifier in Malawi, but against Liberia in Calabar only two of them survived the purge.
Keshi was courageous to give players from the domestic league a chance to stake a claim for places in his team from the moment he took charge of the Eagles in November.
These players are hungry for success and you could afford to keep them in training camp for as long as you wish, unlike their Europe-based counterparts, whose commitment to the national cause has long been questioned and who can only show up less than a week to a game.
And the NPL players responded admirably – Godfrey Oboabona, Juwon Oshaniwa, Azubuike Egwuekwe and Papa Idris in defence, Gabriel Reuben in defensive midfield as well as Ejike Uzoenyi and Uche Kalu in attack.
Keshi kept faith with these players even in the face of allegations of having mercantile interests in them just as top officials, desperate for immediate results, were becoming increasingly nervous.
So, how long could this experiment run?
As long as the fans and by extension the officials remain convinced that is the route to follow.
Last month’s 2-2 draw in Liberia was an eye opener as the Eagles barely survived the audacity of a bunch of players based mainly in the backwater leagues of Asia.
The chaos in the local league has not helped the cause of the players in the national team.
The kick-off of the new season has been suspended so as to thrash some lingering issues, from sponsorships to leadership questions.
This can only affect the chances of the NPL stars making the final cut to South Africa 2013 as their match fitness would be compromised by a long and uncertain off-season, while their overseas-based counterparts are fully engaged.
Keshi himself has raised fears over the fitness of the home-based players and that caused him to pick only seven from a 22-man training camp for the match against Liberia.
As it stands, Reuben’s chances of making the final squad to South Africa 2013 now hang in the balance as he will be sidelined by as long as three months with a groin complaint.
Oboabona and Egwuekwe look good to hold out and be on the flight to South Africa in January with only the man-mountain Egwuekwe sure of a first-team place by then.
Up front, it would be a feat for Uzoenyi to be considered ahead of the likes of Nnamdi Oduamadi, Obafemi Martins and even Ahmed Musa, who made the most of playing as a left winger on Saturday.
It would therefore be safe to say that by next year’s AFCON, Keshi would have come full cycle about waging his bets on players from the local league and he may well revert to an all-foreign pros squad as was the case for both the 2008 and 2010 tournaments.
Saturday’s 6-1 thrashing of the Lone Star was by no means a vintage display of football, but the purposefulness with which the team went about the business of the day cannot be lost on any one.
What was most instructive about this game was Stephen Keshi’s choice of personnel for the business end of the business.
In June, the Eagles coach started five players from the Nigeria Premier League in a 2014 World Cup qualifier in Malawi, but against Liberia in Calabar only two of them survived the purge.
Keshi was courageous to give players from the domestic league a chance to stake a claim for places in his team from the moment he took charge of the Eagles in November.
These players are hungry for success and you could afford to keep them in training camp for as long as you wish, unlike their Europe-based counterparts, whose commitment to the national cause has long been questioned and who can only show up less than a week to a game.
And the NPL players responded admirably – Godfrey Oboabona, Juwon Oshaniwa, Azubuike Egwuekwe and Papa Idris in defence, Gabriel Reuben in defensive midfield as well as Ejike Uzoenyi and Uche Kalu in attack.
Keshi kept faith with these players even in the face of allegations of having mercantile interests in them just as top officials, desperate for immediate results, were becoming increasingly nervous.
So, how long could this experiment run?
As long as the fans and by extension the officials remain convinced that is the route to follow.
Last month’s 2-2 draw in Liberia was an eye opener as the Eagles barely survived the audacity of a bunch of players based mainly in the backwater leagues of Asia.
The chaos in the local league has not helped the cause of the players in the national team.
The kick-off of the new season has been suspended so as to thrash some lingering issues, from sponsorships to leadership questions.
This can only affect the chances of the NPL stars making the final cut to South Africa 2013 as their match fitness would be compromised by a long and uncertain off-season, while their overseas-based counterparts are fully engaged.
Keshi himself has raised fears over the fitness of the home-based players and that caused him to pick only seven from a 22-man training camp for the match against Liberia.
As it stands, Reuben’s chances of making the final squad to South Africa 2013 now hang in the balance as he will be sidelined by as long as three months with a groin complaint.
Oboabona and Egwuekwe look good to hold out and be on the flight to South Africa in January with only the man-mountain Egwuekwe sure of a first-team place by then.
Up front, it would be a feat for Uzoenyi to be considered ahead of the likes of Nnamdi Oduamadi, Obafemi Martins and even Ahmed Musa, who made the most of playing as a left winger on Saturday.
It would therefore be safe to say that by next year’s AFCON, Keshi would have come full cycle about waging his bets on players from the local league and he may well revert to an all-foreign pros squad as was the case for both the 2008 and 2010 tournaments.
Samm Audu
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