Big Boss replaced by the King of the Qualifiers, but can the new man turn things around to ensure the champions are present at the Cup of Nations?
FEATURE
By Solace Chukwu
Some things in life are so constant you can set your watch by them: death, taxes, passing seasons and Amodu Shaibu as interim coach of Nigeria’s national team.
The Super Eagles' version of Groundhog Day involves the 56-year-old former coach of the BCC Lions, with whom he won the 1990 CAF Cup Winners Cup.
Amodu comes in for his fifth spell in 20 years in charge of the Super Eagles. He divides opinion like no other, but Nigeria seems strangely wedded to this soft-spoken man from the old Mid-West. He is perhaps best placed to work with the sort of meddlesome administrators that have always populated the Glass House: he is self-effacing, does his job with no frills and has the uncanny ability of fulfilling his brief but still leaving the furniture undisturbed.
This is in stark contrast to the blood-and-thunder approach of Keshi, who made a whip for his own back when he decided to tender a sulky resignation immediately after winning the Africa Cup of Nations improbably in 2013. He got talked out of it by an authority as high as the country’s president, and presumably received assurances, but hell hath no fury like the NFF scorned. This fact was seemingly lost on Keshi, whose allegations of sabotage only last week spoke of a drowning man losing all decorum; the boy who cried “Wolf!” one time too many.
Renowned scribe Chinua Achebe famously wrote, “One man cannot win judgement against an entire clan.” The Big Boss showed himself unwilling to deal with the human element within his squad, feuding publicly with left-back Taye Taiwo, Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche and Stoke City’s Peter Odemwingie. The latter would later mend fences for one final hurrah at the World Cup in Brazil, but the damage was already done to Keshi’s image.
Nothing offends the Nigerian sensibility quite like arrogance, and Keshi’s actions and responses alienated the popular support that had swelled in the aftermath of the Afcon victory. Keshi’s “my way or the high way” attitude was always doomed to fail. The Lone Ranger is a fascinating character because he has no allegiances and no tethers, but especially because he represents an ideal of misanthropic independence.
Keshi | Too many enemies, not enough success
In the real world, the ability to use popular opinion and support to your advantage is priceless. Being national team manager is equal parts ability, experience and diplomacy.
So, out with the old, and in with the weather-beaten. The appointment of Amodu is ostensibly for the final two Afcon 2015 qualifiers: away to Congo and at home against South Africa, after which a permanent manager will be employed. Nigeria are still in with a chance of qualifying; two wins should do it. Can the veteran deliver on this brief?
Well, when it comes to qualifying for tournaments, there is no more prolific manager than Amodu: he has twice successfully negotiated World Cup qualifying campaigns with the Super Eagles. In 2001, he was appointed with three games still to play and the team five points adrift of group leaders Liberia in qualifying for the World Cup in Korea/Japan. He delivered three wins, plundering nine goals and conceding none.
Similarly, he qualified the team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with a 100 per cent record, conceding just once and scoring 11 times in six games.
On both occasions, he was cast aside before the Mundial itself, amid doubts over his tactical ability and coaching methods. How can such a record be questioned?
Well, his tournament record is not great. In 2002, he led the Super Eagles to the semi-final of the Nations Cup in Mali, losing out to Senegal’s Golden Generation led by the late Bruno Metsu. While there is no shame in that, the performances of the team during the tournament were turgid and uninspired, albeit in one of the least memorable Cup of Nations tournaments in recent memory (the tournament averaged 1.5 goals a game, the lowest since 1988). That team was ultimately disbanded by the now defunct Nigeria Football Association (NFA) as Amodu lost control of the dressing room.
Amodu's team of 2002, uninspiring at the Cup of Nations
The 2010 Nations Cup was similarly underwhelming. Nigeria struggled through the tournament, and was nearly embarrassed by a hardworking and organised Zambia side in the Quarter Final, before arch-enemies Ghana put the Super Eagles out of their misery in the semi-finals.
Both tournaments were effectively dress-rehearsals for the World Cup, and Amodu’s teams, so resolute and free-flowing in qualifying, ambled raggedly to third-place finishes. When he has had a chance to spend an extended period with the team, his deficiencies have been laid bare: a lack of assertiveness and an inability to grasp modern tactical trends. It is telling that a man who has coached the national team on four separate occasions in the last two decades has no imprint on the team’s style or methods.
How Amodu handles the challenges ahead remains to be seen. He is no candidate to carry forward the reforms Keshi instituted before losing his way, but his reductive approach is perfect for steadying a rocking ship.
The NFF have not reinvented the wheel; the return to the familiar is the default response in a crisis. More telling will be who is appointed after November’s final set of qualifiers. However, going by Amodu’s antecedent, the new man can expect to lead the African champions to a title defence.
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