When the 11 Super Eagles players chosen by Austin Eguavoen file into the Baba Yara Stadium pitch on Friday, they must be 11 Nigerian players with character. These players must have the inner belief, courage, and awareness that the match is a must-not-lose encounter.
I say this because of an encounter I witnessed with Lolade Adewuyi between Ghana and Nigeria in 2007 that showed explicitly that whatever the tactics and techniques prepared for these derbies, it is the players that make it work.
Flashback
November 16, 2007, Nigeria’s U-23 team, the Dream Team, led by Samson Siasia, needed at least a draw against their Ghanaian opponents to hold their destiny in their own hands with one game to go in the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympic Games. It was the time of the rise of Asamoah Gyan and the belief around Accra was that the Black Meteors would get the job done.
There were rumours (unproven) that the referee had been ‘juiced up’ by the Ghanaians, but there were also counter rumours that the Nigerians had done the same for which they were accusing their hosts. The venue of the encounter was the Accra Sports Stadium and as early as 2 p.m, the stadium was almost full and the overwhelming colours were the Green and Yellow of Ghana’s flag.
I was at the hotel of the U-23 team on the Thursday before the encounter and spoke with both the coach and goalkeeping coach, the late Best Ogedegbe. Both were apprehensive, rightly so, but they were quietly confident because of the way the players had responded since they got into Accra on Wednesday.
Fast forward to kick-off and for the first five minutes, I was afraid, not just about the thought of losing the game but being embarrassed by a massive scoreline.
Then the tactics were thrown overboard.
I remember that both Ebenezer Ajilore and Obinna Nwofor came to the sideline to say something to Coach Siasia, who at that point was flustered because the pre-match tactics seemed not to be holding water and it looked a matter of time and not when the Ghanaians would break through.
Apparently, both players came to tell their coach what they intended to do. Ajilore went and man-marked Gyan while Nwofor dropped into midfield from his flank role and slowly the Nigerians quieted the storm.
The goalkeeper, Ambrose Vanzekin, also played a starring role as, on two occasions, the Ghanaians should have scored in one-on-one matchups, but Vanzekin came out trumps. Throughout the 95 minutes of the match, Vanzekin’s voice could be heard clearly over the din of the Ghanaian fans. In the end, the team eked out the 0-0 scoreline needed. In leaving the stadium, the Ghanaian fans, who agreed that the Nigerian team was better than theirs, applauded the Nigerian team.
Poignantly, I remember a short conversation between Coach Siasia and Vanzekin in which the goalkeeper literally told his coach to ‘shut up’. He brazenly told his coach not to worry about the tactics but he promised that whatever happened they would not be beaten.
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That 0-0 was really not a result of Siasia’s great tactics.
On the pitch, the players found solutions to the challenges posed by the Ghanaians-both individually and collectively.
The first leg against Ghana on Friday for one of five African tickets is not as dire, but the Eagles must play and get a favourable result as if it is the only match they have to play to get to Qatar.
Advice to Eguavoen
Thus, this encounter needs a special type of player. Individually, the Eagles must be in battle mode-no quarters must be given and none must be taken.
Every Super Eagle chosen must put in everything to win their individual duels; ready to face unfair calls from the centre referee; able to tune out the yelling from the stands; and be 100% focused on achieving the goal, which is getting a result that gives them the advantage for the second leg and not playing catch up.
For this, we need 11-14 players with the character to withstand the heat of battle and come out of the fire unscathed.
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