All Eyes Are On Finidi George Now!
The right substitute gave us hope before an equalizer, as
Nigeria eventually won the match 4-3 in extra time.
27 years ago, in the 78th minute, Nigeria was losing 1-3 in
favor of Brazil. That match was played on the 31st of July, 1996, at the Men’s
Olympic Soccer Competition in Atalanta, USA.
The attendance of the historic clash was 78, 587 in Spyros
Louis Stadium, Athens, as the center referee remains Jose Maria Garcia
Aranda-Encinar, from Spain, a calm, decisive, and meticulous figure who
deserved to be named a street in Nigeria after him in the future as Nigeria not
only won the almighty “Samba Boys”, but made yet another come back in
the finals on the 3rd of August 1996 and won Argentina, by 3-2 with goals from Celestine Babayaro, Daniel Amokachi,
and Emmanuel Amunike; all sealed an audacious global soccer outing by the then
” Super Eagles of Nigeria” in the real sense of the name.
During the Semi-Finals against Brazil, Nigeria conceded in
the 2nd minute of the game by Flavio Conciecao, a midfielder, and in the 20th
minute, Brazil scored an own-goal by one of the star players, Roberto Carlos, a
defender.
The Brazilian team responded angrily with goals from Bebeto
and Flavio in the 27th and 37th minutes respectively; making a brace from the
spectacular Flavio Conceicoa.
The mouth-watery
encounter ended 3-1 in favor of the Brazilian team in the first half, with no
hope in sight, as 50% of the Nigeria fans had given up and deserted the stadium
while those who were watching in their houses haplessly and hopelessly went to
bed, hence indeed, there was no hope!
When the second half got started, and they were still losing
3-1, Victor Ikpea substituted Emmanuel Amunike in the 46th minute and scored
the 2nd goal in the 78th minute. This was the HOPE Nigerians and the rest of
the Africans that were hoping for Nigeria, just as it is today in the
leadership space of the “Resource Coursed” Continent needed in that
game to hope for an equalizer.
And in the 90th
minute, the real shocker came! The giant in Kanu Nwankwo, Papilo’s game
changer, manifested as he scored the 3rd and equalizing goal which forced the
match into time.
That was the time a soccer rule which says that any team
that scored a goal first after 90 minutes of play wins the match popularly
called the “Golden Goal”
What happens?
Kanu Nwakwo, or
Papilo, found the back of the net again in the 93rd minute and stunned the
world!
That goal made Africans proud! That victory snuffed the hell
off the ghost of superiority in the footballing psyche of the Samba Boys. That
soccer undress of the Brazilian team in Atlanta on the global arena, by the
“Original Super Eagles of Nigeria”, who lived up to that name down to
the early 90s, still hunt the Brazilian team to date. And the Golden Goal, at
large, placed Africa on the soccer map of the world, because to the rest of the
world, Africans, via Nigeria, have crossed the soccer Rubicon!
And so, headlines had it that the:
“Intimidating Brazilian Atalanta 1996 team with the likes of, Dida, a goalkeeper, Roberto Carlos, a Defender, Ze Maria, a defender, Aldair, a defender, Ronaldinho, a forward, Ronaldo, Ze Elias, a midfielder, Bebeto, a forward, Ronaldo, a forward, Rivaldo, a forward Savio, forward, Juninho, a midfielder, Ronaldo Guiaro, a defender, and Alexandre Da Silva Mariano (Amaral), a defensive midfielder; all collapsed like the wall of Jerrico!”
Today, almost everything in Nigeria is defeating. courtesy of poor leadership laced with a lack of empathy, corruption, and sordid disdain for competency, character, credibility, and capacity, amongst others.
Nigeria needs the right substitute in the sporting or football arena not less in the political sphere, in the electoral processes and management, judiciary, security architectures, education, health, infrastructure, science and technology, commerce and industry, marine, and blue economy, agriculture, foreign policy, power sector, etc; that will give us hope of an equalizer before the extra time for a win!
After the just concluded 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast under the head coach of a Portuguese tactician, Jose Peseiro, the Super Eagles of Nigeria emerged run-up with a 2-1 victory; Jose Peseiro and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), announced a mutual disengagement of Peseiro’s contract. The former Super Eagles forwarder, 1994 AFCON medalist, who was an assistant coach to Peseiro for 20 months, was appointed in an interim capacity to head the men’s team.
With that accomplished, the Former Real Bitis Star and UEFA Champions League winner with Ajax in a final against AC Milan in 1994-1995 alongside countryman, Kanu Nwakwo, oversaw a doubleheader of International Friendly Matches against the Black Stars of Ghana and Les Aigles of Mali at the Grand Stade De Marrakech, Morocco, on March 22nd and 26th, 2024. The game ended in a 2-1 victory for the Eagles against the Ghanaian Senior men’s team and a 2-0 defeat in favor of Les Aigles of Mali.
In a bid to boost the morale and inspire the Super Eagles who shall be lurking horns with the Bafana Bafana team of the Republic of South Africa and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic on June 7th and 10th respectively, 2024, in a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to be jointly host by the USA, Canada, and Mexico (North America ); the Minister for Sports, Hon. John Enoh, led the Nigerian Federation of Football (NFF), for the official unveiling of the former coach of Enyimba FC, Finidi George, at the Media Center of Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, on the 13th of May, 2024.
Already, the Super Eagles are third in the Group C table after two previous disappointing draws with Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Thereby, leaving Rwanda to lead the group with four points, followed by South Africa with three points.
Two things to look at in these two encounters are, how Finidi George would turn things around for a must-win two games next month to keep the faith of Nigerians participating in the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Competition after failing to qualify for the 2022 edition held in Qatar.
Second, is his managerial creativity to select from a pool of talented players placing merit at the level of performance above individualism to make them play his philosophical soccer devotion and ambition to the admiration of Nigerians and soccer lovers all over the world.
If there is anything that Finidi George as the substantive Super Eagles coach should do is to embark on the journey of confidence building amongst his players and make them play with “National Pride”, resonating with the spirit of Atalanta 1996, where the Eagles conquered the world with sterling performance. That journey begins with the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers South Africa and Benin next month. Anything short of this is unacceptable because Nigerians want to see the Super Eagles soar in North America come 2026
Who would be our Victor Ikpeba, and Kanu Nwankwo? First of all, get the players motivated and they will play for you.
All eyes are on Finidi George now!
John Mbonu Uchenwoke-Ekperechi,
writes, from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Campus.
