25th Aug 2014 The situation regarding a coach for the Super Eagles continues to get messier and cloudier by the day. Negotiations at this point seem to have broken down, with Coach Stephen Keshi reportedly ready to move on.
In an interview with BBC Sports, the star coach is quoted as saying “I have moved on. I can only wish the country well for the future.” He goes on to add “I’ve had about seven countries approach me in the last two months but I kept them all away. There’s a game in two weeks (Nations Cup qualifier against Congo) but no-one is thinking about it and at the same time they expect you to win”
Coach Keshi then expressed his opinions about the cause of the entire delay saying “Sadly, I also think attention is focused more on the upcoming NFF elections and the national team is simply not a priority. I love my country and I am aware of the dream our fans had of me taking this team to the next level. While acknowledging the efforts of some people involved in the negotiation, I think others probably have other important things to do.”
Others don’t think he has much reason to be complaining apparently. Former NFF Technical Committee chairman and former Chief Coach of the Gambian National Team, Coach Kashimawo Laloko, seemingly unimpressed by Keshi’s various demands, has asked the NFF not to give in to Stephen Keshi, stating that he himself, will be available to coach the Eagles and for free. He says angrily according to a report from the Daily Independent “Keshi and his agent want to rip-off Nigeria. Where in Africa does a coach earn N15 million, if he cannot take N5 million, he should vacate the position for others to take the job.”
Hmmm, Coach Laloko also doesn’t think that Nigeria’s quickly approaching Nations Cups qualifiers merit any level of panic. As a matter of fact, he thinks that any coach could do a good job with the list already released by the NFF.
That’s not the end of it guys, Samson Siasia, former Super Eagles player and also a past coach for the Super Eagles, has volunteered to coach the Super Eagles if the situation seems beyond resolution. He, unlike Coach Laloko is worried about the qualifiers to be played in September and thinks that this situation has run for faaaar longer than it should.
All we can think is…qualifiers in 2 weeks? EEEEEEK!