Nigeria 2010 World Cup qualification: The only choice.

Who said we have run out choice on the 2010 world cup ticket. There is always a choice and many people have blindly refused to see these choices we have, even the football administrators are also guilty of this ignorance. How can we take advantage of this situation we find ourselves towards South Africa World Cup 2010 to turn our football, our sports and indeed the country at large around. The solution lies in this article...

We have to understand the situation very well. If we fail to qualify for the world cup and heed to the call of many that we focus on the 2014 world cup then get ready to hear the same thing in 2014, remember what happened in 2006. Many fans are already thinking of cheap hotel and  business opportunities to explore especially online business.

We have to be in the soccer fiesta any true fan of soccer will tell you that you only enjoy the game when there is passion attached. That is why we have Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona and several other numerous fans passionately supporting these clubs in Nigeria. Personally I was not happy watching other countries play in the 2006 WC and it will break my heart if we do not make it to the WC again. And as I said we not going to the WC is never a solution to our problems. Some Nigerian players if you agree with me really deserve to be in this WC which is likely their last.

Then, if we qualify and go to the WC, are we going to display this dismal performance that we have put up in the qualifying round, I am sure many Nigerians will become hypertensive if we proceed to the WC with our present form. Going by unconfirmed report that most Nigerians (especially young people) are becoming hypertensive or suffering from one heart disease or the other is a true reflection of the state of the nation called Nigeria.

So I repeat again, do we have a choice? The answer is ‘yes’. Hear me out first before you crucify me.

My verdict: sack Amodu with immediate effect and bring in a caretaker coach to play our last qualifying match. Appointing Amodu as a coach was a blunder from the beginning. The guy commits technical blunder in every match. He doesn’t know the right combination to make with the players he has. He watches a game go wrong and look on helplessly like we watching from the fan stand or the television, making no input technically at all. He just gambles, remove this put this and the game is over. Otherwise how can a coach come out criticize his players openly and even say that the opponent was more tactical and technically sound? Either he does not understand those two words or he is so so naive in coaching. Did he hear what Diego Maradona said about Lionel Messi despite his poor performance in their campaign?

I keep saying it and I will say it again, we have players that can go to the world cup and get results, what we don’t have is a team with coach who will instill discipline and character in the team and bring out the best in them, play each player in the rightful position and know which match needs which kind of player. What did Hiddinck and Ancelotti do with Chelsea FC when they took charge? Was it not the same players? What is Capello doing in England and what did the England FA and even Ghana FA doing. Personally I have not seen any technically sound indigenous coach except maybe Siasia, though he has reduced his credibility by falling into a trap. Let our coaches go and improve themselves, go for courses and prove themselves, we put one of them possibly Siasia under the tutelage of the foreign coach.

So, sacking Amodu is the first vital step toward 2010 WC qualification.

Once the ticket has been secured, we proceed to employ the services of a world class coach (not the low voltage category-Berti Vogts). We allow the new coach to use Angola Nations Cup for test run and quickly give us a winning team. Then set a target for him to atleast take us to the knock-out stages of the WC in South Africa 2010.

Thirdly, we Nigerian start getting involved in how things are run because whether we like it or not it will affect us. We must ensure that credible people are put on that sit come 2010 when new officials are going to be elected in NFF.

Nigerian Football Federation case is an issue for another day; we need a fast-track strategy to change things there. Let us use them and qualify first.

Nigerians have been turned to mathematicians doing the permutation and combination. We hope the calculation works. The last game in Kenya will not only determine if we go to the WC, it will shape the face of our soccer in Nigeria.

What of if we don’t qualify, then we still sack him and continue with the plan but without the WC path.

We have no choice but to support our team through this fast track changes. Like it or not if we qualify, it will be difficult for you not to tune to Nigerian match in the WC. So what can we do than to join in the cause of providing solution? Call it patriotism or any thing you like, nobody can easily reject his own. We are hurt and heartbroken; that’s right but what can we do now?

Desperate situation calls for desperate actions. We have a choice to play this situation.