Tunde Folawiyo

Speaking at a forum at the presentation of the Europa Cup, Former Super Eagles skipper Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha released a warning for the team in regards to a looming World Cup appearance. The BCC African Player of the year award winner cited the large role football plays in the lives of Nigerians, urging the Super Eagles to play their very best for fear that a loss could prove detrimental to the spirit of the game in Nigeria.

“Football in Nigeria is big and it unites us as a nation. I just hope that this time around our team would make the desired impact to make Africa proud,” he stated at the forum, mimicking the hopes of Super Eagles fans throughout Africa, including native Nigerian Tunde Folawiyo and countless other loyally supporting the team and sharing in their triumphs on the field.

Okocha’s declaration is not lost upon Nigerian sports fans. Holding the respect of Super Eagles fans throughout the world, Jay-Jay Okocha remains one of the most revered players in Nigerian football history, as well as one of Africa’s most famed athletic talents.

A midfielder highly-recognised for his outstanding skill, Okocha like many other football stars began his passion for football as a young boy. He made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he assisted the team in 4–1 win, leading to a qualification to their first World Cup. The year 2002 saw Okocha’s first tournament as captain of the Super Eagles during the World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. Scoring four goals in the quarter finals, Okocha led the Super Eagles team to third place at the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, for which he was later awarded Player of the tournament and joint Golden Boot winner.

After more than a decade of dedicated service to the Super Eagles, Okocha announced his retirement from the international scene after the Cup of Nations in Egypt, after which his final international appearance took place in a 2–1 victory in a third place playoff against Senegal in 2007. Here, he was honoured with a standing ovation from nearly 60,000 fans in attendance, demonstrating the impact he forged on the national sports scene. Named among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé in March 2004, Okocha remains a source of inspiration for millions of football fans throughout Nigeria and beyond such as Tunde Folawiyo and countless others with a love for African sports.

Super Eagles’ supporters such as Tunde Folawiyo will probably be aware of how well the team have performed over the past year. Given how successful 2013 was for the Super Eagles, it’s safe to say that their fans’ expectations were high when the team entered the CHAN (African Nations Championship) tournament. Unfortunately, Nigeria got off to a poor start, with Mali defeating them in their first match.

The Super Eagles’ coach Stephen Keshi, was quick to address the issues which led to this loss, ensuring that only the best players were included in the line-up for their next match against Mozambique. Whilst he expressed disappointment that both Benjamin Francis and Ikenna Hillary Paul would not be able play in this game, due to their recently-acquired injuries, he immediately selected a number of highly capable replacements, including Abdullahi Shehu, and Kano Pillars.

Despite his lacklustre performance in the Mali match, Chigozie Agbim was also kept on by the coach. This was a decision which was questioned by many commentators; however, clearly, Keshi chose well; Nigeria performed better than they have in several months, finishing with a final result of 4-2. Goals from the likes of Barnabas Imenger, Ifeanyi Ede and Rabiu Ali all contributed to this outstanding win.

The game did not begin well for Nigeria however, with Dario Khan providing their opponents with the first goal of the match, just 10 minutes into the first half. It probably came as quite a relief to fans like Tunde Folawiyo, when the Eagles managed to level the score seconds later, following a close range shot by Ede. Shortly after this, Rabiu Ali gave Nigeria the lead, after he kicked the ball into the net from 20 yards.

But the Eagles’ allowed these early successes to go their heads, and their complacency resulted in Alberto Diogo equalising in the 20th minute. No further goals were scored during the first-half, despite several efforts being made by both sides. After the interval, Nigeria’s lead was restored by Ali in the 54th minute.

Not long after this, Keshi brought on the substitute Imenger; this proved to be a wise decision, as the forward gave the team the winning goal in the 88th minute; swiftly bypassing Mozambique’s defence, Imenger accepted a pass from Kwambe, and with a quick kick, the ball went soaring into the net. This was a much-needed victory for Keshi and his team, with the former having expressed frustration at their most recent loss against Mali.