On Thursday, Super Eagles coach,
Stephen Keshi, released a 30-man list with six players on standby in
preparation for January’s African Nations Championship in South Africa.
The list is made up mainly of
regular home-based players who have played one role or the other since Keshi
took over as coach of the national team two years ago.
Captain Chigozie Agbim along with
established domestic league players like Sunday Mba, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Ajike
Uzoenyi, Muhammad Gambo, Gbolahan Salami, Ifeanyi Edeh and Benjamin Francis top
the list of the invited players.
But what caught the eye was the
inclusion of three members of the FIFA U-17 World Cup winning Golden Eaglets:
Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi and Dele Alampasu.
The trio was influential in the
Eaglets triumph- Nigeria’s fourth victory at that level- in the United Arab
Emirates.
The squad had hardly returned home,
when several pundits and followers of the game, came up with various
suggestions on what to do to ensure that the players moved on to become big
stars in their future careers.
While some suggested that the most
outstanding players in the squad should be given ‘triple promotion’ to the
Super Eagles, others insisted that the players must pass through ‘due process’
by graduating to the U-20 and U-23 national teams before getting an invite to
the senior national team.
The Eaglets success in the UAE was
majorly due to teamwork but the contributions of Iheanacho, Awoniyi and
Alampasu cannot be overlooked.
Outstanding players worldwide have
been known to ‘jump’ the grades- because of their exceptional skills- straight
to the senior national team.
For example, Pele, regarded as the
world’s best ever player, made his debut for Brazil in a 2-1 defeat against
Argentina on in 1957, aged 16 years and nine months. Even at that age, he
scored Brazil’s only goal to enter the history books as the youngest goal
scorer in international football.
Argentine superstar Diego Maradona
made his senior debut- also at the age of 16.
In recent times, the story hasn’t
changed either. Argentina and Barcelona star, Lionel Messi, made his full debut
in 2005 at the age of 18. His first senior game for Argentina came few weeks
after he led Argentina to win the 2005 U-20 World Cup, beating Nigeria 2-1 in
the final.
Pele and another Brazilian great,
Romario, in 2010, urged the Selecao’s then coach, Dunga, to include Neymar,
Brazil’s newest star, in his squad for the 2010 World Cup, after some heroic
performances by the brilliant youngster at the Nigeria 2009 U-17 World Cup.
Even though he was omitted from the
squad, the Barcelona star eventually made his debut after the World Cup at the
age of 18.
However, former Flying Eagles
defender, Mike Onyemachara, argues that the invitation for the Eaglets came too
early and has some questions for the Eagles technical crew.
Even though the 1989 U-20 World Cup
silver medalist admits that the invited trio has a bright future in the game,
he insists that the players need to wait for their time.
He said, “Why are we deceiving
ourselves? How can they invite such boys? Is it because they won the U-17 World
Cup? What is their intention? They should have allowed the players to pass
through the grades.
“If you take them to the national
team, who are they going to displace there? This rarely happens in Nigeria and
I am afraid it can affect the players negatively.
“The players are very good, no doubt
about it but they shouldn’t be in a hurry so that they are not rubbished.”
But Festus Odini, an U-17 World Cup
winner in 1993 and former Eagles goalkeeper, Joe Erico, believe that Keshi’s
decision is a right step in the right direction.
“It’s a good thing for the boys;
maybe (Keshi) wants them to get the desired exposure. The boys are still very
young; they need to be nurtured, they need to get experience at that level,”
Odini said.
In Joe Erico’s view, Alampasu’s
invitation is a justification for the young goalkeeper’s hard work and
perseverance.
Erico said, “I followed him
(Alampasu) from the J-League and I am happy with his progress. First time I met
him two years ago, when he was playing on the sands of the National Stadium,
Lagos, I told him that he could make it, if he put his head down.
“I used him in goal for an
international tournament in Lagos after then and I didn’t bother about the
number of goals he conceded. At last year’s National Sports Festival, he was
one of Lagos’ goalkeepers and I kept encouraging him because I knew he was
going to go places. I believe this is just the beginning of good things for
him.”
Iheanacho’s displays in the UAE were
phenomenal, scoring six goals to emerge as the best player of the tournament
and second highest goal scorer.
Despite a shaky start, Alampasu held
his nerves to emerge the best goalkeeper of the tournament, conceding just five
goals in seven goals while Awoniyi only got his chance when top striker Success
Isaac copped an injury early on in the competition.
The Imperial Academy star, Ilorin
grabbed his chance with both hands and scored four goals with some
scintillating performances.
In the past, some of Nigeria’s stars
at the U-17 level were tipped to shine at senior level but they failed to meet
the expectations of the nation.
Of course, Nigerians will be hoping
and praying that these newly upgraded Eaglets are on the right course to
international stardom.
Punch
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