SmartyPants: By now it is no news to any Nigerian sports fan, that Augustin Eguavoen and his entire team have been relieved of their duties at the helm of affairs of the Nigerian National team.
Most Nigerians are happy with this development, with some claiming that his immediate predecessor, Gernot Rohr would have delivered better results. However, a simple analysis of events will clearly demonstrate that Eguavoen did a fine enough job given the circumstances.
I will attempt to undertake this analysis by demonstrating, first that Eguavoen has a better record than one might realize, and secondly by comparing the performance of his Super Eagles with that of Afcon winners, Senegal, and runners-up Egypt.
When Gernot Rohr was sacked a few weeks to the Afcon, knowledgeable sportspersons decried the move, citing the difficulty any new coach would face in setting up the team to play to his own patterns. In analyzing Eguavoen, therefore, it must first be understood that the new boss was operating under extreme pressure, with little to no time to work with the players, play friendly games, and so forth. He was thrust immediately into the challenge of the Afcon and the subsequent challenge of world cup qualifying.
In this sense, Eguavoen eventually became a victim of his own success.
Few Nigerians, or football fans anywhere, would have expected Nigeria to defeat Egypt, talkless of the ease with which it was done. Egypt would go on to be the eventual tournament runners up, slaving out draw after draw. Interestingly, Senegal, the eventual winners, adopted a similar approach in getting to the final, barely managing 9 goals in open play in the entire tournament. For some perspective, vincent Aboubakar of Cameroun scored 8 goals on his own. This fact will be shown to be relevant subsequently.
For now, the point is that, after entering the tournament with very low expectations, coach Eguavoen immediately delighted and raised the expectations of Nigerians by leading the team to three successive wins, while playing some exciting football.
And then came the shock round-of-16 exit at the hands of Tunisia. The Tunisians had studied the Nigerian game plan which was rather simple: pass it to the wingers and let them dribble. The Tunisians set up defensively and effectively contained the threat of the most dangerous nigerian winger, Moses Simon, relying, themselves, on a largely ineffective strategy of counter-attacking.
On the whole, the game appeared set for extra time - barring the intervention of the sublime, or the ridiculous. As it turned out, it was a ridiculous error from fine-boy Maduka Okoye whose poor attempt at saving a speculative long-range drive led to the only goal of the game. This goal was also the first and only goal Nigeria conceded in open play at the Afcon.
I suspect most people would agree with me that there is not much a coach can do about a goal-keeping error. Except, perhaps, play another keeper. So Nigerians began to clamor for the changing of Maduka Okoye. Apparently, Francis Uzoho of some unmemorable club side in Cyprus, or Enyimba's second-choice goalkeeper, John Noble, would be much better options than the pretty boy who is on loan to Sparta Rotterdam from Watford. I admit I was one of those.
So began the qualifying playoff games. Nigerians were prepared to forget the Afcon failure since the prospect of the world cup loomed and Ghana surely would be dispatched easily. Pretty boy Maduka claimed to be ill, though, there are many of us who believe his malaise was/is merely one of discontentment at the abuse he suffered at the hands of irate Nigerians.
The not quite-as-pretty Francis Uzoho, then, to the satisfaction of most Nigerians, was left to reclaim the spot that was once his. It is important to point out that Francis Uzoho was once a highly rated goalkeeper plying his trade in the Spanish top flight.
Eguavoen's team went to Ghana, ostensibly, set up to play for a draw so as to leverage the home advantage in the return leg in Abuja. The game, an ugly 0 - 0 draw played out accordingly. Nigerians, who always expect to win, were disappointed and left grumbling. The coach should have used Ademola Lookman some said. Etebo should have started becasue Bonke was useless others chimed. Moses Simon should be dropped, yet another group chorused.
At the press conference before the game in Abuja, one sports journalist asked Moses Simon whether the coach should yeild to calls to play Ademola Lookman since he (Moses Simon) had been caged for since the Tunisia game. Eguavoen, appears, now, to have listened to all of these voices. In the second leg in Abuja, he dropped Moses Simon for the first time, starting new boy Ademola Lookman in his place, along with Ogenekaro Etebo in place of Innocent Bonke, and Dennis Emmanuel on the right flank. The court of public opinion had their way, and the results? Predictable.
Ademola Lookman looked unable to cope with the physicality of the opponents, and was ineffective. Etebo lacked match fitness and kept giving the ball away. He was also nowhere to be found when Thomas Partey of Ghana fired off a speculative shot from 5 yards out of the Nigerian box. That Partey shot was eerily similar to the one Youssef Msakni scored just a few months earlier, to end Nigeria's world cup hopes.
The lanky Francis Uzoho couldn't get down early enough to save the tame shot that sqeezed it's way under his huge frame and into the corner of the net. Apparently, the problem wasn't Maduka's fine face after all. This time, though, unlike in Garoua two months ago, there was an immediate response. Ademola Lookman was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded after a VAR review.
All the Super Eagles needed to do was score, and we expected that they would. After all the Ghanaians came to joke around right? Wrong! While Nigeria had the upper hand in terms of possession, there was simply no penetrative edge to it all. And so, the sorrow of Garoua became the agony of Abuja.
All of this is now water under the bridge.
Eguavoen and his team have all been sacked by Amaju Pinnick, the NFF don. Interestingly, Pinnick, who hired both Eguavoen and his predecessor Rohr, has now sacked both while he himself remains securely ensconced within the NFF seat of power. Logically, if all the people you hired failed to do a job well then at the very least, it is clear that you are not fit for the role of hiring people for that job. Amaju Pinnick, if he were honorable, should have resigned by now, for overseeing, arguably, the worst Nigerian footballing disaster of the past 20 years!
But that is now beside the point. The real question is, did Augustine Eguavoen really fail to deliver? Let's examine his record.
Of 6 competitive games, Eguvoen's eagles won 3, lost 1, and drew 2. That is a decent record at any level.
And it wasn't as though this team was playing slouches either. The one defeat came to Tunisia, who are going to the world cup after convincingly dispatching West African heavyweights, Mali. The two draws came in fiercely contested ties with arch-rivals Ghana.
This is a decent record for any coach. Much more so for one who has had as little time as Eguavoen has had while being under as much pressure as he has been, from the media and higher-ups in the NFF who have always tried to dictate tactics to him.
Now, to buttress the point, consider the good fortunes of Senegal. Like Nigeria, Senegal played out their world cup qualifying games with an overall draw, conceding once in Cairo, and scoring once in Dakar. Both times by way of an own goal. Their good fortune was winning the resultant penalty shootout. Senegal are also the current Afcon winners, but their displays were boring and intrepid throughout the tournament, relying on the same defense-first strategy Eguavoen employed in the world cup qualifying games.
Their performances were certainly not better than anything Nigeria played. And what of Afcon runners up Egypt? They played through extra-time 4 times, going to penalties 3 of those 4 occasions, and repeating that trend by going to penalties with Senegal in the world cup play offs.
Of the top African teams, objectively analyzed, it is clear that Nigeria under Eguavoen has not performed unexpectedly poorly. Gone are the days of struggling to draw or defeat relative minnows like Cape Verde, or conceding 4 goals in 2 minutes against the likes of Sierra Leone. Eguavoen was on the right path with the Eagles, and given the little time he has had, should have been allowed another year or two at the helm of affairs.
Today, unfortunately, thanks to the grandstanding of Amaju Pinnick and the ever so forgetful Nigerian media, his competent run at the helm of affairs will be wrongly remembered as a calamitous reign of sorrow.
DadaHammed: Ordinary Dubai that were begging Nigerians to come stay in their country just about10 years ago.
The kain vex wey Nigerians go take vote out APC next year. E go shock urchins, dem go cry well well.
It has nothing to do with APC but everything to do with the Nigerians that give other Nigerians bad names with the activities they engage in when they travel.
From cultism to robbery etc Good move by the government of UAE unlike our own who are opening our borders to terror recruits.
gaby: Na touts don dey get mouth now even dey hold press conferences with graduates serving as their P.A's and calling them sirs.
If I had known, just after my primary education I would have taken up a trade straight up. If I had embraced auto mech over 30 years ago, by now I should be able to start talking about building my own brand of cars. It is doable and a mind thing.
Who school epp these days for Niger...
Many kids and youths look up to the MC Oluomos of this world and reiterate the rhetoric above...
Corridon: Rubbish. So the rally is more important than millions of Nigerians going about their businesses!
On a Sunday?
Please be Obi-dient with your senses intact.
With that being said, if you're a youth and you're following Tinubu without any benefits accruing to you long before now, and you're following him because he shares the same ethnicity as you then you're the biggest MUMU!!!
Obojuju: God forbid that Tinubu and Shettima triumph at the 2023 presidential election and proceed to complete two terms. Power will thereafter be liable to rotate to Northern Nigeria, which will probably produce a Muslim. At the end of two terms of that person, following the two terms of Tinubu-Shettima and counting back to the two terms of Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s presidency would have been occupied by a Muslim for pretty much a quarter of a century or for 27 out of 32 years going back to the administration of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Children born at the beginning of this period may end up with the impression that Nigeria is indeed an Emirate in which only Muslims are entitled to aspire to the highest office.
Unfortunately, Christians don’t get the message being passed by this action. If it succeeds, in the next 8 years, political parties will only field Muslim candidates. They will tell you that if they present a Christian candidate, that they won’t win. That the North will not vote him, and they need northern votes to win. They will automatically sideline Christians in the politics of Nigeria. Then gradually, our laws begin to change towards a Muslim nation. The Hijab ruling is a clear example. Christians better stand your ground in this election or be eliminated. Once they vex, they attack churches and kill worshipers and its normal. They stone Christians in the name of blasphemy and its normal. Christians better vote wisely
epondudu: Summarize version: the list of the wanted persons by INTERPOL OVER DRUG AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING,DEVELOPING , ARMED ROBBERY , RAPE ,ASSAULT RELATED OFFENSES.
trutharena: Check the Igbo well, before now, the media space is all about IPOB and Nigeria is a zoo.
As soon as Obi got the ticket, they all switched mouth and started campaigning massively for Peter Obi and started tagging anyone that speak against them an efulefu and cancelling them.
But the same Igbo will attack a Yoruba supporting Tibubu by calling them tribalists and yet over 99% of them are always speaking in support of Peter Obi.
But some Yoruba lack self awareness, they are being gaslighted and used by the Igbos and forming woke on social media and getting guilt tripped.
As a Yoruba, you can support Peter Obi, Atiku, or Kwakwanso but if the reason you are supporting any of these guys is due to the gaslighting by other tribe , then you are foolish.
If you are a young person, why will you support Tinubu?
I know you are at liberty as to whosoever you want.
Shattuck: guess you didnt get the message,even though the attack on awolowo was sad, but same igbo voted for obasanjo twice even abiola won anambra state, you hate the igbos but you didnt get the part where awolowo warned him against being the fulani slave, guess you dont have any issue with being a fulani slave. I support obi so many others do too, and i am from edo state, you cant tell me not to vote obi, but to vote tinubu.
This isn't the point.
You can't blackmail Yorubas to vote for you on the premise you stated.
The Igbos deserve the presidency - FACTS!
Peter Obi is a better candidate than the rest - FACTS!
The youths won't forget what Tinubu and APC government did at the Lekki toll gate October 10 , 2020 - FACTS
trutharena: This is for some of the sophistico Yoruba youth that fell for the antics of Ibo people that always say they hate Tinubu not because he’s Yoruba and bla bla bla.
Awolowo was stoned when he went to the East to campaign back then and this is Pa Adebanjo the same Afenifere guy laying claim to that. Is Awolowo also a bad person like Tinubu according to the Ibos? Or why was he stoned?
Azikiwe campaigned easily in the SW but Awo was stoned in the SE for campaigning.
That’s the same thing they are doing to Tinubu. They are making sure he won’t be able to campaign in the SE, where they term any Igbo that support Tinubu as efulefu and always cancel them.
Yet the same people want to be left alone to campaign in the SW while some Yoruba guys with severe confusionists complex will be sheering them on.
The Yoruba are the only tribe in this country without tribal consciousness and it is as tho something is wrong.
Regardless, there is need for balance.
With all the tit for tat philosophy of the SE, how far has it gotten them?
You don't win by attacking issues with zeal alone. You have to apply wisdom and knowledge.
You want us to pay the Igbos in their coin and without realizing that we would be playing into the hands of even more sinister anti-Yoruba elements.
The situation requires tact than youthful exuberance.
SecretAgent770: Twitter music and Spotify glamorizing Igbo and Shayo in various degrees on their tweets. These are lyrics off Last Last Burna boy’s hit song. Caution should be taken when glamorizing Drugs and Alcohol in popular culture as you can see a Nigerian user warning Twitter Music���
This is an eye opener for all the Yoruba omo ales that are supporting Peter Obi: Obi's emergence, simply because of the primordial hatred the ungrateful Igbos have towards the Yorubas, will lead to underdevelopment in the South West!
Coldie: If those are the questions u have for Peter Obi that means Peter obi is not corrupt.
Nigerians the fact can speak for itself; Here is what happened in the so called #250million case, note the money wasn’t found in Peter obis convoy it was found in possession of one of his aides in Lagos state while he was in transit. Efcc and police did their investigation and found no wrong doing, guys remember how obiano was picked up by efcc for questioning immediately his tenure ended, if Peter obi was corrupt efcc would have picked him a long time ago. #250million question “It was also discovered by the committee from Ejike Onwusogbulu that the amount that intercepted by the police in Lagos was N255,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Five Million Naira) and not N250,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million). The money from investigation ws an overdraft facility withdrawn by Ejike Onwusogbulu from Fidelity Bank Plc, N0 7 Ziks Avenue Awka on Thursday 28 May 2009. (see document of the overdraft facility attached P. 70-74). “The committee found out from Ejike Onwusogbulu that he withdrew the money for the purposes of Direct Purchase of the contracted vehicles from Dealers in Lagos who are more inclined to cash and carry transaction. “The committee discovered that the said money withdrawn by Ejike Onwusogbulu ie N255,000,000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Five Million Naira) was the money intercepted by the Police in Lagos . The Governor corroborated the fact that Ejike Onwusogbulu was the owner of the money and that the said vehicles intercepted with the money were his going for routine servicing in Lagos and that he was aware that the contractor gave the money to his driver. “It is the recommendation of the committee that as the police and the EFCC are yet to come out with any report, this report should be accepted as a working document pending when investigation report of the police and EFCC are sent to the committee for the committee to fully report to the House”, the report added.
They said he invested state funds in his family busy but they won’t tell u that the investment he made makes the state a shareholder in the company and they receive dividends in millions yearly from the companies he invested them in.
Nigerians I know u people are not comfortable with igbos ruling but we know amongst these 3 candidates Peter obi is the best amongst them. Any decision we make will affect not u but ur children Buhari is almost done with his 8years then add another 8years then imagine if Nigeria is still in this mess 8years from now do u know what u would have lost
Apc guys If u trust Tinubu debunk what the poster said
Politics / Re: Bianca Ojukwu Marks Wedding Anniversary With Story Of Cake Maker Despising Her by zinizta: 4:27am On Nov 26, 2022 
Hmm, Igboland again!!