Chris Maduewesi
Member
Former Flying Eagles coach John Obuh believes that Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2015 Nations Cup because of the attitude of the Super Eagles players.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the Nations Cup tournament in Equatorial Guinea, after managing a 2-2 draw against South Africa, when a victory would have been enough.
Some have argued that the South Africans were more youthful and energetic than the Super Eagles, as they used their athleticism to stun Nigeria.
However, Obuh disagreed with this notion, pointing out that Nigeria's failure was not as a result of age.
“I disagree with anybody that is trying to tell me that the youthfulness of the South Africans played a role against us. I don’t think it’s about youthfulness, because we had a handful of youthful players in that team. It’s just that we took things for granted in that game. We were thinking that we were already there when we were not there," Obuh said on a locally based sports station, 88.9 Brila FM.
“Everybody would have to take a little bit of the blame. This is not the time to apportion blame. It is time for us to sit down and look at the situation critically. Who are you going to blame? Obafemi Martins, who is doing very well, how old is he? And you are talking about youthfulness. People like Sunday Mba, how old are they compared to the people that played? It’s not about age, it’s about making people understand the importance of each game.
“We need to be serious with the games that we are playing; the people who are managing football, that are coaching and the players. We need to show seriousness in everything that we do.”
Nigeria failed to qualify for the Nations Cup tournament in Equatorial Guinea, after managing a 2-2 draw against South Africa, when a victory would have been enough.
Some have argued that the South Africans were more youthful and energetic than the Super Eagles, as they used their athleticism to stun Nigeria.
However, Obuh disagreed with this notion, pointing out that Nigeria's failure was not as a result of age.
“I disagree with anybody that is trying to tell me that the youthfulness of the South Africans played a role against us. I don’t think it’s about youthfulness, because we had a handful of youthful players in that team. It’s just that we took things for granted in that game. We were thinking that we were already there when we were not there," Obuh said on a locally based sports station, 88.9 Brila FM.
“Everybody would have to take a little bit of the blame. This is not the time to apportion blame. It is time for us to sit down and look at the situation critically. Who are you going to blame? Obafemi Martins, who is doing very well, how old is he? And you are talking about youthfulness. People like Sunday Mba, how old are they compared to the people that played? It’s not about age, it’s about making people understand the importance of each game.
“We need to be serious with the games that we are playing; the people who are managing football, that are coaching and the players. We need to show seriousness in everything that we do.”