Shocks, surprises reigned supreme during the Match Day two of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League group stage during the week. Aston Villa and Lille sent shock waves to world football with their defeat of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, respectively on Wednesday. These games were won by a goal margin. No one in world football predicted these wins as many erroneously thought the best Lille and Villa would get from these games are securing a point each. But this was not the case.
Lille with their win broke Madrid’s 36-game unbeaten streak, while Villa’s victory re-echoed their 1982 1-0 defeat of Bayern to win their only Champions League trophy. Benfica’s 4-0 mauling of Atletico Madrid is another win that shook world football and of no less importance is Atalanta spanking Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 away to record their first victory in the new league format.
After two games, German clubs, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are dictating the pace at the top of the table having won their first two games alongside Aston Villa, Liverpool, Brest, Benfica and Juventus. Teams such as Real Madrid (17), Manchester City (8), Bayern (15), Arsenal (13), and Inter Milan (9) are in the second cadre of the league table. AC Milan with two loses are placed 32.
Nigerian league is also reveling in its surprises that have become a feature and not one off thing since the season kicked off about four weeks ago. Kudos must be given to the homes fans that have continued to maintain decorum despite experiencing heartaches of seeing their beloved side lose on home soil. While the fans deserve all the applause for maintain decorum, the Nigeria Football Federation support for the Nigeria Professional Football League board- the body responsible for the day to day administration of the league- desire to restore confidence in the league and ensure that true champion emerges at the end of the season must be given the thumb up. Also the home teams ensuring security at match venues that allows referees to perform their responsibilities without fear or favour should be applauded.
The president of the NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau in the week celebrated his two years in office but is there anything to celebrate? To me two years is not enough to assess a man who is expected to cleanse the Augean stable. When he mounted the saddle, Nigerian football was at its lowest ebb. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup with Nigerian clubs performance in CAF Inter-Club championships has been abysmally poor.
With the Annual General Assembly of Nigerian football holding at the Unity Hall of the Delta State Government House, Asaba this weekend, much is expected from this august body in terms of policy directions that the game needs in the country.
One of great concern in Nigerian football today is the issue of coaches for the national teams, the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons. There has been an unwritten policy in the country, that only European coaches have the prerequisites needed to coach these teams.
Even when we Nigerians that can better these foreigners, because of the inherent belief that they are not good enough they are never considered. And we have gotten to the state of believing that Nigerian coaches are only good as assistants, as ball boys to these foreigners. Even when circumstances constrained the NFF to hire an indigenous coach for the Super Eagles, they are treated as second-class citizens; they are looked down upon, and are made to believe that the NFF is doing them a favour for appointing them to coach the Super Eagles.
And this brings me to the issue of Austin Eguavoen, the Technical Director of the NFF, who the football house has asked to manage the Super Eagles in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series. The NFF as earlier noted was constrained to ask Eguavoen to coach the team because the body could not get a foreigner to accept to manage the team.
During the week, Eguavoen in an interview with Sports Radio Brilla FM, voiced out his concern if asked to take the Super Eagles job on permanent basis, stating that he would give the assignment a serious thought before accepting the offer.
“The Super Eagles job I’m doing right now if I were to switch permanently, it’s something I’d need to sit down, reflect and think about because it’s not a small job.
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“It’s a tough one, you have to give me a long-term contract with patience and clauses because winning is not guaranteed every week or day.
“You will give me time to tweak the team till I find what I want.”
He added: “The question is, will they (NFF) be patient with me? Because people now say this is Eguavoen’s fourth stint as the Super Eagles coach, well, agreed, but to let the people know, the first time I ever coached the Super Eagles in six months was in 2006.
“Every other time, it was either two months, two games or three. Then in Cameroon AFCON it was from December to March also covering the FIFA World Cup. Then people say fourth stint of Eguavoen coaching, it is not 100% correct.
“How can people just say Eguavoen’s fourth stint with the Super Eagles, have I ever coached the team for straight two years?
“All those saying fourth stints, should sit down and reflect, the only time I did six months was in 2006. Let us be objective in our criticizing,” Eguavoen said.
Eguavoen raised some concerns about how the NFF treat Nigerians coaching the team. And what are his concerns? The first is a long-term contract. The NFF is noted for not signing contract with majority of Nigerians that have coached the team in the past. The body will simply invite any of them to coach the team without contract. Though, one can’t blame these Nigerians for working with a body plagued with trust deficit, but the allure of coaching the Super Eagles or the Super Falcons might blind them into the reality of signing a contract.
But this is not the case of signing foreigners. These foreigners will insist of having a contract and the NFF will oblige them. Contract is a legal tender bidding the two together. It is the only document that defines their relationship and how to seek redress in case of a breach. Ask Ike Shorunmu who cannot press for salaries and emoluments owed him by NFF because he took over the job without a contract. Alloysius Atuegbu, Joe Erico and Godwin Izelein all went to their graves without collecting salaries and allowances owed them by NFF for lack of contract.
I think a valid contract will assuage the fear of the second issue he raised, which is patience. There is no denying the fact that raising a winning team takes time. It is not magical; hence there is the need to give a new coach the time he needs to build a winning team.
Nigerian football by now should have a policy not only about coaches for the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons, the indigenous football clubs should also be constrained to give valid contracts to their coaches, players and other members of staff. This is a policy that should not only be in place, but should be operational by now..
