Chris Maduewesi
Member
Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has given the latest hint that Ikechukwu Uche will not make Nigeria's team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Keshi revealed that his reasons for leaving out the Villareal forward was as a result of the player's attitude to always have things done his own way.
Uche last played for Nigeria in the finals of the 2013 African Nations Cup against Burkina Faso,and has not been invited to the team since then.
“Ikechukwu Uche is not a player I have not seen play. Ike Uche’s problem is not about not knowing how to play football. His problem is that he wants to dictate how we play in the Super Eagles; he wants to tell us that the system we’re playing is not good," Keshi was quoted as saying on MTNFootball.com
"Uche has a very bad habit; if you put him in a game, he will not play to instructions and he did that in the final of AFCON (South Africa 2013) against Burkina Faso; he almost cost us the game.
“Again he did that against Zambia, in the second match when (Efe) Ambrose was given a red card. He was doing the opposite of what we told him to do.”
“And if you don’t respect your teammates and you don’t respect the team, then there is no point. I know he cannot do that in his club, then why do it in the national team? I don’t think I need a player like that in the team.”
It was initially believed that Uche would have been invited for next month's friendly game against Mexico,but it appears that there is more to it than meets the eye.
A member of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) revealed that Keshi swore not to take Uche to the World Cup,when they were going through the list of players invited for the Mexico game.
“Of course we asked about Uche when we discussed the list with him. As you know, he had already travelled and so defended via a conference call and said all that you (our correspondent) have mentioned now. He said Uche was a big distraction to the team going by the player’s attitude. As a matter of fact, after much talk on the player, he concluded that Uche’s problem was such that both of them could not be on the same team and so he has to coach the team to Brazil without Uche. But if he must play, then somebody else has to coach the team. It is that bad,” he told The Punch.
Uche has been one of Nigeria's most prolific players in recent years,and has this season scored twelve goals for his club in the Spanish La Liga.
Keshi revealed that his reasons for leaving out the Villareal forward was as a result of the player's attitude to always have things done his own way.
Uche last played for Nigeria in the finals of the 2013 African Nations Cup against Burkina Faso,and has not been invited to the team since then.
“Ikechukwu Uche is not a player I have not seen play. Ike Uche’s problem is not about not knowing how to play football. His problem is that he wants to dictate how we play in the Super Eagles; he wants to tell us that the system we’re playing is not good," Keshi was quoted as saying on MTNFootball.com
"Uche has a very bad habit; if you put him in a game, he will not play to instructions and he did that in the final of AFCON (South Africa 2013) against Burkina Faso; he almost cost us the game.
“Again he did that against Zambia, in the second match when (Efe) Ambrose was given a red card. He was doing the opposite of what we told him to do.”
“And if you don’t respect your teammates and you don’t respect the team, then there is no point. I know he cannot do that in his club, then why do it in the national team? I don’t think I need a player like that in the team.”
It was initially believed that Uche would have been invited for next month's friendly game against Mexico,but it appears that there is more to it than meets the eye.
A member of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) revealed that Keshi swore not to take Uche to the World Cup,when they were going through the list of players invited for the Mexico game.
“Of course we asked about Uche when we discussed the list with him. As you know, he had already travelled and so defended via a conference call and said all that you (our correspondent) have mentioned now. He said Uche was a big distraction to the team going by the player’s attitude. As a matter of fact, after much talk on the player, he concluded that Uche’s problem was such that both of them could not be on the same team and so he has to coach the team to Brazil without Uche. But if he must play, then somebody else has to coach the team. It is that bad,” he told The Punch.
Uche has been one of Nigeria's most prolific players in recent years,and has this season scored twelve goals for his club in the Spanish La Liga.