KESHI: ‘WHY I WANT ANICHEBE BACK’

KESHI: ‘WHY I WANT ANICHEBE BACK’

Posted: Jun 29, 2013

For the very first time since the Super Eagles were eliminated from the Brazil 2013
Confederations Cup, Super Eagles Boss, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi speaks to COMPLETE SPORTS SATURDAY exclusively like never before. Super Eagles boss opens up on lessons from Confederations Cup Speaks on Bonus rift, Yobo, Ike Uche and Ameobi Reveals plans for future. The Big Boss opens up on many controversies which dogged the Eagles before and during the tournament in Brazil. excerpts...

How would you assess the overall performances  of the  Super Eagles at the Confederations Cup in Brazil?

Keshi: Honestly, it was a great experience for me as a coach and lessons  learnt in Brazil will remain with me for a very long time to come.

Is it the experience you got from watching your senior colleagues barking out orders to their players?

It allows me to see clearly and look back and see if really I’m on the right track. Meeting Gerard Houlier was a great feeling for me. I was more than elated to have come face to face with Vincent Del  Bosque. You don’t  know  how I felt when the performance of my boys gave Spain a few

scares in our last group game. Besides this, the accolades which trailed that loss were highly encouraging and I  just keep learning as a Manager. As for the players, seeing the high level of concentration from several world class players in Brazil is more than a lesson to them. I mean the Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar and others. They (Super Eagles) must have learnt  from these games, the professional attitude and the discipline level of those players made them who they are today and I took time to talk to my players about this.

The general conclusion is that Super Eagles under performed in Brazil...

Overall, I wish we got to the last four and had the opportunity of trying our might with the likes of Brazil, Italy and possibly, winning the Cup. But sometimes it’s not what you propose in your mind that clearly comes your way. Man proposes but God disposes. Our desire was  to be there from the start of the competition till the end, but if you consider our journey from the beginning to the end, then I salute the players. We had a lot to battle with up to the time we arrived in Brazil; the food, change of weather, on and off,  we  were  just travelling all over the globe. I think the positive from Confederations Cup is that it will really help us prepare well for the Malawi clash.

The grey area of  the team seems to be the striking options. You must be highly disappointed that your strikers failed to fill the void in the absence of Emmanuel Emenike and Victor Moses.

Yes, we missed Moses and Emmanuel, but I am  sure all the strikers that featured in Nigeria’s colours at the Confederations  Cup did not go there with the intention of missing goals. It’s a satisfying moment when a player scores  goals and much more, it makes you feel fulfilled as a striker when you find the net in each game. You saw when Mikel scored his goal, he later told me that he was in another world when that ball went in and he did not even know how  to describe his feelings. Ideye, Mba, Ahmed and Ujah all wanted to score goals for Nigeria but they allowed that anxiety to overwhelm them. And when you allow anxiety to overtake you,   then you can’t score a goal. Honestly, Nigerians may feel bitter with the strikers but we can’t just throw the baby out with the bath water. I keep explaining that the traveling and busy schedules  affected the players.

Were you disappointed the strikers struggled to find the net during one-on-one occasions with goalkeepers?

I am not disappointed with my strikers; of course I know they will  improve  in our coming games. We will keep looking for better strikers so that another striker can take the place of any absentee. I am not angry with my strikers, after all I was  missing some key players.

There seems to be lack of a good bench, there were times the camera    spotted you looking gloomy when you stared at your bench. Should we look forward to fresh legs?

We are almost there; we are just looking for  a few good and solid players, so that if A is not playing, B can step in and fill the void. We are building a new team made up of young players. Look, Nigerians need to start shifting their focus  to the future, the talents abound  and they must be well harnessed . Some players may have to do extra  work  to come back into the team, while some will be given fresh opportunities to prove their mettle.

The public is  divided over Shola Ameobi. He had just one cap and that was all. He was expected to make it to Brazil but alas, that didn’t happen. Is Shola out of the picture now?  Should Nigerians  forget about him?

We had it nice with Shola when he came to play against Venezuela, left  to me, he was my number one player for  the AFCON until Newcastle issue came in. We left him to settle  his club engagements,  hoping that he would be ready for subsequent games involving Eagles. But he has not really shown  much interest in playing for  the national team lately. I tried reaching him to get his decision but it’s like he wants to be left alone for now. His wealth of experience would have been valuable to the team at a time like this.

Still talking about raising a strong bench, Danny Shittu  also  opted out of the team on personal grounds. Has that really shut him out of the national team?

He still has the opportunity of playing for his fatherland. Like I said earlier, all we need now is to strengthen our bench so that if A is not playing,  B can fill the void effectively . That is the lesson  of the Confederations Cup. Sam Sodje has also played for Nigeria before under Amodu. He also has  a good chance of playing for us, it is only when  a player  doesn’t have interest to play, then I won’t force him because we need  players  who are whole heartedly  ready to play, a bit of you will not do us any good.

Pundits have criticized you for dropping IK Uche and Obafemi Martins from the Confederations Cup. They labeled you as a  Manager who never gives players enough time to prove themselves  once such players fail to deliver in few games. What is your take on this?

Well,  you have to realize that there are lots of good players out there yearning to play for Super Eagles, there are so many good players out there who need just one opportunity to cement their place in the national team. The national team is no trial ground.  Besides, people need to realize that I don’t have 30 matches to play and I can’t just keep giving you all the chances. The few friendly matches we are getting now, have not come on a platter of gold, the FA had to  go the  extra mile to secure those friendly matches. It doesn’t take me ten minutes to know if you’re  a very good player.

When Moses came to the national team, we all saw his class and everybody agreed  that Moses will add glamour to Super Eagles. But if you show  us again that you still have a lot to prove then we will invite you. Ik Uche and Martins are not bad players. The national team is moving on and you need to show greater hunger on the pitch if you really want to be invited. We are building and it won’t be bad if our bench is as strong as, or even better, stronger than the first  eleven. As for IK Uche , we just felt it’s high time we invite Kalu Uche who has been doing extremely well at his club. So as long as Ik Uche is doing well in his club  and then shows us that he really wants to play, I can tell you he will be gladly welcomed into the team.

Cynics have argued that Victor Anichebe is one player that will complete the pack in Super Eagles’ quest to develop a potent attack, should Nigeria qualify for Brazil 2014. How do you intend to pacify the Everton star and talk him into changing his mind?

Anichebe is a great player no doubt. For me, he is a player that will make  the Super Eagles one of the most dreaded strike forces in the world. But we are seriously facing a tough time talking to the young man. I have resolved in my mind to visit him in  the UK.

Honestly, I can’t just sit back and lose this great player; he will be an addition to the team and if visiting him in UK is all I need to do to make him change his mind,  them  I am ready to do just that. I just want to focus on CHAN clash with Cote d’Ivoire in Kaduna then,  I’ ll find time to visit Anichebe. We have to really talk; hopefully he will accept to play for us. We need him as much as he needs us.

Joseph Yobo’s issue has refused to go under the carpet, where does Yobo stand in this team?

Well, there was no issue at all. The whole thing was blown out of proportion. Initially, the plan of the coaching crew was to give Yobo a befitting 100th cap, before we started  reading different  stories  in the newspapers when he was dropped from  the Kenya match.

I have no problem with Yobo. The present crop of Super Eagles defenders are not doing badly too even though experience is important. The team is still going through rebuilding and we will keep working, until we get the Super Eagles of our dream.

Finally, how do you exonerate yourself over  the bonus row that rocked the team on the eve of FIFA Confederations Cup?

I am really stunned when people said Keshi was the masterminder of the problem. The whole problem started in Nairobi when we were called in for a meeting after our win against Kenya.

On entering the room, I saw Mikel and Enyeama already seated, it was then I knew there was a problem. After all the talks and persuasion from the FA,  the players agreed to travel to Namibia with the promise that the bonus issue will be looked into. It was even worse in Namibia when the players again raised alarm over their bonus.

They also said NFF must pay them Confederations Cup appearance fee, money FIFA had not even paid then. I had to call people at the top to help us wade in to the matter; we were assured that the money will be paid in Brazil.

I returned to  my players and assured them of their bonus, informing them that the Presidency has stepped in, but they all insisted the money be brought to South Africa. I later got a call from the Ministry saying that I don’t have control over the players.

But I got angry and told the players to make up their minds as regards  who really wants to go to Brazil. After seeing my countenance, they now agreed among themselves to move on. We had not even trained  for a day after playing Namibia. We had scheduled our training for Friday evening, but a call came in that the first batch had to leave for Johannesburg  to connect  a flight to Rio and so we had to cancel our training. Unfortunately the first batch missed their flight.

FIFA had to step in; they assured the players they are even ready to pay the winning bonus for the Namibia game. They  stepped up search for  the next available flight and South Africa Airways too were doing everything to ensure we left  that Saturday. FIFA just kept saying Nigeria had to come to Brazil. We eventually left and arrived Brazil 3:30am and everybody went to bed. We never trained before playing Tahiti. I was surprised  to hear that I was the one instigating the players. I really  wanted the Confederations   Cup  because it will help us prepare well for  our game against Malawi. I am not disappointed with our performance, my target is Brazil 2014; there the world will see the true Super Eagles. ----------------------- complete sports