Weeks after the sack of former Coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, the Interim Coach, Augustine Eguavoen, and his Coaching Crew are yet to come out with a footprint for the National Team as the African Cup of Nations 2022 championships draws closer
By Akinwale Kasali
Mixed feelings had greeted the appointment of interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen. Some hailed the decision of allowing an indigenous Coach to lead the team to the continental showpiece, while some faulted the decision to appoint Eguavoen who had not had a successful coaching career.
He led the Super Eagles to a Bronze medal finish at the 2006 AFCON tournament in Egypt, and also made a cameo appearance in the coaching department for few matches, but his performances in the domestic league with Enyimba in the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, ended in disaster.
With the National side struggling in its matches, the need for it to be strengthened was necessary. This led to the sack of the Franco-German tactician.
However, since after the sack of Rohr, there has not been any development and footprint for soccer enthusiasts, fans and analysts can point at to show that the three-time AFCON winners would add to its medal haul.
Eguavoen had earlier said that he was inviting 40 players, whose bulk will be those who had been playing for the National side with just five new players to make up the 40.
This move has led to series of questions been posed by analysts and enthusiasts.
Why would you invite 40 players and you intend picking only 23? Why the waste of resources in inviting such large number of players? There is limited time for you to do thorough screening for the invited players?
These and more are questions begging for answers.
Olalekan Ologbon, a sport analysts and General Manager, Kosach Football Academy, faulted the move by Eguavoen saying how on earth a coach would invite so much players with just weeks to the tournament.
“I don’t know the rationale behind the choice of Eguavoen, but his moves and decision will affect the performance of the team.
“The players Rohr used to prosecute the AFCON and World Cup qualifiers are superb, their usage on the pitch and the poor interpretation of matches led to his sack. All Eguavoen needed is to stick with these players and add two to three players, not naming over 40 players and you will still drop 17. That is wasteful and unrealistic for a coach that wants to succeed”.
Babatunde Balogun, a soccer enthusiast, said the sack of Rohr was wrong. Though, he didn’t say he shouldn’t be sacked, but not weeks before a major tournament.
“The appointment of Eguavoen in my own opinion is not the right choice, because he has been off the radar and he doesn’t have a blueprint for the National team.
“Inviting 40 players shows that he has no plan, no direction and no blue print.
“It will be a miracle if he would repeat the AFCON 2006 Bronze medal winning. I don’t see us going far in the tournament”.
Nigeria is grouped alongside seven-time AFCON Champion, Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau.
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