Clemens Westerhof asked more questions in his comments shortly after Nigeria’s match with Equatorial Guinea on Sunday afternoon. He was disappointed that Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw in their opening match.
His tenure in Nigeria arguably remains the best. After qualifying the Eagles to their first World Cup in 1994, Nigeria ranked 5 in the FIFA ranking, the best any African country has ever attained. He also won Nigeria’s second AFCON in Tunisia.
”Who are those players?”, he asked about the Eagles in Ivory Coast. “Who is the coach of Nigeria? How long were they in camp? How long have they all been together?” he asked repeatedly, not allowing for answers.
The Super Eagles will have to improve for Thursday night’s high-profile showdown with Ivory Coast, the hosts who opened proceedings with a comfortable 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on Saturday.
”This is not Nigeria. I know Nigeria and how they play. I know the strength of Nigeria. I wanted to see football. I didn’t see football. This is not my dear Nigeria”, Westerhof said regrettably.
Before he dropped, he wished that the Eagles did not lose their second match against hosts Cote d’Ivoire. ”If they lose, they won’t have the confidence to play the last Group match against Guinea-Bissau. I’m disappointed. But they can raise their game. I hope they do so.”
Chidi Nwanu who played under Westerhof, reacted from his base in Belgium. “Is this walking football?” he texted while the game was on. When it ended, he reacted with this question. “Is this how low Nigerian football has fallen? I cancelled many appointments today to watch our team. It was not worth it after all. Tell me, is this how bad our football has fallen? Mikel Obi has been saying a few things about our problems. I think they should listen to him.”
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