The die is cast. The search for Super Eagles head coach which began some weeks ago has finally ended. A coach has been appointed. He is Finidi George.
Does he need any introduction? Certainly not. He did not only play the game to the highest level, but he shone like a trillion stars hence, the sporting media nicknamed him THE GAZELLE.
From Calabar Rovers FC where he exploded like a bolt out of the Blues, he got noticed by Clemens Westerhorf then manager of the Super Eagles. He was invited and he never looked back. He pocketed the right wing shirt and position.
Finidi landed in Holland to commence his football journey in Europe. He assisted Ajax Amsterdam to win the prestigious UEFA Champions League alongside his compatriot, Nwankwo Kanu who last year appointed him head coach of two-time CAF Champions League winners, Enyimba Int’l FC of Aba.
Finidi would go ahead to feature for Real Betis in La Liga where his dazzling wing play coupled with his scintillating pullouts made him one of the most outstanding wingers in Europe.
THE ROUGH ROAD AHEAD ( “May your road be rough was a 1964 classic by late Tai Sholarin”)
Only the heartless and unpatriotic would pray for Finidi to fail in this latest assignment. Yours truly wishes he succeeds but given the very peculiar nature, environment and system we operate in Nigeria, we know success won’t come easy. Finidi would have noticed the excitement that greeted his announcement is somehow subdued. If Nigerians were to go to the polls for a new Super Eagles coach, not supervised by Mamudu Yakubu’s INEC , he wouldn’t have emerged. But that is immaterial now.
Finidi’s road will certainly be rough.
Why?
The same praise-singers or sycophants who are celebrating him at the moment would be the ones to pull the carpet off his feet if he doesn’t stand and stay firm.
The entitlement mentality of his supporters would drag them into imposing players on him….and once he rejects the players, hell is let loose. Finidi knows that literally all Nigerians are football experts and coaches.
By putting his feet on the ground, he must say no to such moves and insist on inviting the best players on form to make up his squad.
WELCOME TO HELL
Permit me, Finidi, to tell you three short stories which may be useful to you as you assume duties as Super Eagles head coach. But he must first decide if he’s hired as the manager or a coach. Westerhof was not a coach but a manager and that was why he engaged a technician in the person of Bonfrere Joe .
In Dallas, Texas, where Super Eagles camped for USA ’94 World Cup, Michael Emenalo was injured and he needed to be replaced. The team was about moving to Boston for the first game. The consensus decision was for Emeka Ezeugo to be drafted in given that they were both defenders.
Hell was let loose as few board members of the then NFA wanted Tijani Babangida to replace Emenalo. Clemens Westerhorf who was a part of the meeting stood his ground that he needed a tough tackling defender like Ezeugo to replace Emenalo.
Incidentally, both players made the squad as the battle for Babangida’s inclusion faced another tough challenge with the decision to bring in Victor Ikpeba who was doing so well in AS Monaco before the mundial commenced. I hope Finidi can put his feet on the ground and take such decision. Westerhof insisted he wouldn’t mind taking the entire team from one family if that would give him result .
My second story is the Germany 2006 World Cup qualifier against Angola. The game was moved to Kano instead of Lagos or even Port Harcourt at a time the weather was not favourable to our foreign based players.
Against all odds, the game took place at the Sani Abacha Stadium and Super Eagles failed to pick the ticket because the foreign based players struggled all through the encounter , no thanks to the scorching heat from the blazing sun. Can Finidi put his feet on the ground to insist that such game should be played in Lagos? Of course, that World Cup miss cost Christian Chukwu his job because he couldn’t put his foot down.
My third story is the hiring of Stephanic who eventually didn’t get the job. Once Philippe Troussier was fired, the NFA sent yours sincerely and Col. Abdulmumini Aminu (retd) to Germany to get his replacement. Aminu couldn’t make the trip as he was denied visa following the political issues of that time. Nigeria was treated like a pariah state because of her military government.
I got to Germany and did what ought to be done as I discussed with Stephanic and his agents. On the eve of their arrival to negotiate with the NFA and sports ministry, the head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha passed on. Of course, there was confusion everywhere. The foreigner and his agent were abandoned at the Sheraton Hotel and left at my expense. All efforts to reach my superiors to just tell the foreigners to kindly go back to Germany as there was a change of government following the death of the head of state failed. This is personal experience. The powers that be in NFA and sports ministry avoided the man invited by the government of Nigeria like a plague.
Finally, the issue was resolved after four days. And a decision was taken to bring in someone else. Bora Milutinovic. The point here is that in such crisis which is peculiar to our clime, it will take a coach who is strong-willed to stand firm. I hope Finidi can stand firm under such pressure.
LESSONS FROM DIKE, NWOSU
Finidi must be reminded of how Henry Nwosu who had an illustrious career at club and national team levels was messed up and kicked out by the same people who orchestrated his employment as Golden Eaglets coach.
Once he was appointed head C
coach of Golden Eaglets, players started flying into camp from all corners with all manner of complimentary cards and notes from sponsors. At the end, he assembled a terrible team that could not stand African oppositions.
Alphonsus Dike who holds a Masters degree in Sports Psychology and remains one of the most revered coaches in the country was the first to experience Nwosu’s ordeal with Golden Eaglets. The former Vasco da Gama and Green Eagles player accommodated players from high profile individuals within the football system in his team (Golden Eaglets) and in the end, the team couldn’t make much impact and aspersions were cast on Dike.
ETHNIC & RELIGIOUS BROUHAHA
Soon, same people who claimed to be the facilitators of Finidi’s employment as Super Eagles head coach would remind him that players of a particular ethnic group are dominating the national team.
They would form a pressure cum lobby group to press for another ethnic group under the aegis of marginalization. The whole idea behind this is to destabilize Finidi’s plans and programme.
Once this fails, expect the cries of religious intolerance. Finidi may be accused of favouring players of his faith or religion as against other religion or faith. Some highly placed individuals could set him up through unguided comments in the media.
THE MEDIA WAR
Finidi must be prepared to engage in media wars. But it is better he stays away from controversies which the media could feast on. Giving the influential role of the media, Finidi shouldn’t be surprised that a section of the sporting media could be sponsored to pull him down.
Needless reminding Finidi that no one fights the media and wins. Therefore, he must be cautious. He must find a thorough media professional to work with aside the Media Officer of his team. He needs an experience hand to guide him in his public utterances to avoid falling for a set up through vicious questions.
When the sporting press begins to publish injurious stories, Finidi must be quick to read the handwriting on the wall to understand where the trouble is coming from, why and how to resolve whatever crisis is embedded in it.
KESHI’S STORY
When Stephen Keshi was appointed Super Eagles Head Coach some people who felt the ex-international rode to the job on the crest of their contacts and connections wanted to manage him as representative(s). They equally wanted to be his scout(s) who will be fishing out and recommending talents to him.
Keshi turned down their requests. These were people who blackmailed many on ground that Keshi was initially being denied the job because he was from South South, Delta State precisely.
As soon as Keshi rejected their demands, they set out for the pull-him job act. These were the same people who called themselves his South South brothers.
At South Africa 2013 AFCON, they approached the leadership of the NFF after Super Eagles first two game suggesting that they can get Keshi’s replacement in a matter of days. They called Keshi , an arrogant, cocky and saucy person who doesn’t listen to advice .
Keshi in his usual style ignored them and focused on his job. Once he won the AFCON trophy, the detractors disappeared from the scene.
These people are still very much around. In fact, they’re with Finidi as you read this. Soon they will organize a party in Lagos in honour of Finidi.
They shamefully claim to be journalists at some points.
HOW YOU WILL FAIL OR SUCCEED
Failure or success is in the hands of Finidi. He certainly has the capacity or experience to succeed. Like they say, experience is the best teacher but will Finidi allow his experience to decide and dictate his approach, style and pace on the job?
If he listens to too many advisors then, he possibly becomes a victim of too many cooks which spoil the broth. He must apply wisdom else he appears a dullard before the public in this huge task.
To succeed, Finidi should adopt the templates of Westerhorf and Keshi respectively. Part of their approach was to build the Super Eagles around home based players since the domestic league is the pool from where most of the players are drawn from.
Westerhorf attended the Algiers ’90 AFCON with an entire home based squad. He finished the tournament as runner-up. Keshi took six home based players in the squad of 23 and he won the tournament.
Any coach who discards or turns his back at domestic league players to focus solely on foreign based players will bite his fingers in regrets. Rohr was a case study of such coach who refused to develop the domestic game.
WILL FINIDI PICK HIS ASSISTANTS?
It would be nice if the NFF allows Finidi to pick his assistants. If this is done then, it behooves on him to look around and among his colleagues to pick who to work with.
A coach is as good as his assistants. Finidi must leave sentiment aside to pick someone even better than him among his colleagues. There’s no time for dilly – Congratulations Finidi.
•Fan Ndubuoke is a media professional. He served as board member of the NFF and former Special Adviser to Cmdr. Emeka Omeruah former Minister of Sports. He was President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and immediate past Executive Chairman Imo State Sports Commission. Ndubuoke writes from Owerri
