Posted by Human desires. Never satisfied!
Some people prefer it chilly when it’s hot, and vice versa when it’s cold. Never stop searching for what isn’t.
Many years ago, at the then-University of Ife in Ile-Ife, these lines were taped to the office walls of my project supervisor, Dr. Olarenwaju Babatunde Smith (who later became a professor).
Those words still come to mind now whenever I think about the millions of Nigerian football fans that exist today.
Even before the Super Eagles play a football game, these supporters always want them to win, regardless of whether they think they can win.
Even though the Super Eagles under Gernot Rohr played fairly uninspired football before to the 2019 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) in Egypt, they consistently produced results.
They had earned a spot in the Russia-hosted FIFA World Cup of 2018.
They could have won the match if they had exercised tactical discipline, but they fell to Argentina in the second round.
The coach’s technical skill and tactical strategy, according to Nigerian supporters, lost the team the game and their elimination from the World Cup.
And the clamour for his sack started. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), his employers, will not budge. They wanted his contract to expire because they thought he was under a subsisting contract.
For this reason, they permitted him to continue and pursue the 2019 AFCON. However, the Super Eagles’ supporters in Nigeria remained unimpressed.
Their disastrous journey came to an end in the semifinals when the Desert Foxes of Algeria, headed by Riyad Mahrez, defeated them 2-1. Calls for Rohr’s dismissal started despite their bronze-winning performance, with many claiming he was no longer good enough to tweak the team.
The NFF foot dragged till very near the Cameroonian 2021 AFCON, at which point he was disengaged and Austin Eguavoen was drafted to replace him.
even if just momentarily.
In the group stage, Eguavoen and his team shone, going perfect 3-0 and earning a perfect nine points from three games.
There was a lot of optimism that the team would perform well in the tournament. Many believed they would automatically qualify for the quarterfinals when they were placed with Tunisia, who qualified as one of the best losers.
Unfortunately, their dreams were dashed as a more tactical Tunisian team defeated a poorly positioned Maduka Okoye with a single goal, requiring a well-executed free kick from a respectably safe distance. After that terrible performance and the subsequent loss of his ticket for the 2022 World Cup, Eguavoen was fired.
Unknown in the world of football coaching, Nigerians were informed that Jose Peseiro’s hiring came about at the suggestion of the self-proclaimed “Special One,” Jose Mourinho.
Football fans, in contrast to Mourinho, never witnessed the new Portuguese player’s style of play as the team started to fluctuate from friendly to competitive games.
Once more, the call for change was heard, and the NFF believed that Ibrahim Gusau, the new Sheriff, ought to be removed from office. The nation was taken aback when the NFF announced that Peseiro had consented to a pay reduction and would thus prolong his contract until after the 2023 AFCON, which he qualified for despite only dropping one match against Guinea-Bissau in 2024.
Fans’ morale was low, even though they were in a group with Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
They thought the host Cote d’Ivoire would be the obvious favorites and the Super Eagles would not get out of the group. When the team’s Trojan horse, Victor Osimhen, equalized with an inch-perfect header in the first game against Equatorial Guinea, their concerns were all but verified.
Peseiro’s defensive tactic of “parking the bus” in the style of his countryman Mourinho became evident after that.
Even while it caused them to have reflective moments, at least Nigerians were starting to recognize a pattern from the team.
Half a loaf of bread is better than none, as they say
Others, despite Peseiro’s impressive accomplishments, continued to doubt his ability to address his lackluster play, which caused supporters with fragile hearts to have elevated blood pressure.
Many of Peseiro’s new followers were unaware that, despite the thrilling victories, he had no backup plan in case he ran into a team whose coach had a better strategy or had closely examined his pattern.
Peseiro was thus already dreaming of winning the AFCON on his debut after beating Bafana Bafana of South Africa on penalties in a hard match that claimed the lives of a few of Nigerians.
especially considering he was going to be facing the host he had vanquished 1-0 previously.
After dropping their first two group stage games, the Ivorian team had again changed their coach. Peseiro exuded confidence, but the Ivorians were adamant about never losing to the Eagles twice in the same competition on their own soil.
Emerse Fae, the caretaker coach and former Elephants player, observed that the Nigerian team was already fatigued, particularly after the taxing semifinal match against South Africa, so he dug deep, analyzed the team, and devised a plan to exhaust them.
He proved that it was effective as he overcame a goal deficit to win 2-1 and match the Super Eagles’ three AFCON titles.
All of a sudden, the same negative supporters—among them the Sports Minister, John Enoh—are chanting a different song: Peseiro ought to be given more time, similar to what Clemens Westerhof received before he began to succeed. sweltering and freezing.
However, they overlooked the fact that the Super Eagles were not playing good football throughout Westehof’s tenure. They thrilled so many fans that FIFA felt compelled to name them the World Cup’s most entertaining squad in 1994.