Nigeria Content Online

Ahead of the
departure of Super Eagles for London to begin the final phase of
preparation for the 2010 World Cup, Joseph Yobo, assistant captain of
the squad has called on his team mates to shape up.

Yobo, who spoke on
Tuesday in Lagos at the unveiling of the world’s biggest football by
telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria, said the time had come for the
Eagles to wake up from and reclaim its place of prominence in football.

Fighting like men

The Everton of
England defender said the players owed it to Nigerian football fans who
had invested much emotion in supporting the squad these many years, to
raise their game in South Africa: “In the 1990s and early 2000s, people
talk so much about us. Winning was a habit and we’ve got to get that
winning habit back. That was a great time but, like with any great
team, which cycle had to come to an end, which it did quite quickly for
various reason – retirements, players coming in and out, change of
coaches and players lacking the right motivations.

“So now we’re
facing another terrain where our fans deserve nothing but our absolute
all. We wanted to do that at the Cup of Nations but we just couldn’t
patch things up. A lot of the good work that made the golden
generations needs to return; we must fight and die for our national
colours on the pitch,” Yobo said.

The Eagles
defender’s comment comes at a time belief in the squad is low but he
says that with the right mental attitude, team work and self- belief,
the team can get back to winning ways and once again regain the
confidence of Nigerian football faithful.

Yobo, who has
endured a difficult season marred by injury and a well publicised tiff
with his club manager, David Moyes, is hoping to make the cut when
Eagles coach, Lars Lagerback trims his squad down to the final 23
players by May 30.

Mental toughness is key

Even though he is
just 29 years, he is one of the experienced players in the squad
alongside Captain Nwankwo Kanu. If he gets Lagerback’s nod and gets on
the train to South Africa, Yobo and his colleagues in the Eagles
defence will have their work clearly cut out. They will have to cope
with the explosive pace of the mercurial Argentine, Lionel Messi, who
looks unstoppable at the moment.

“People have talked
about Messi but we need to show we are not there for him to have fun.
He is an incredibly talented footballer but so are all the other
players coming to the World Cup.

“He is special but
we will treat all our opponents with the same determination and
hopefully build a team spirit that will make us Super Eagles again,”
Yobo said.

He maintains that the key to not only stopping Messi but doing well at the World Cup is mental toughness.

“Strong mental
attitude, a great team work and self-belief can take us all the way in
South Africa,” he said. To achieve that he says everyone must be
focused and cast aside every other consideration:

“How much you earn,
where you play, what you have achieved at club level is not an
essential ego to move us forward, now we must prove on the pitch that
we are good then take it forward. All these years we talked more than
we displayed on the pitch, which I think has stalled our success and
growth. If we show that we are good enough, then the fans will be with
us – quite frankly everyone should be given that chance to show what
they are capable of,” he said.

The former
Marseilles of France player calls on Eagles coach, Lars Lagerback to
pick only the best players to represent Nigeria in South Africa.

“I know we are all
too keen on the World Cup but only the best is good enough for the
country. Last time in Japan we did not step out of the group phase, so
if we do that this time it will be a step farther. Then we will take
every game as it comes after that as it will be the knockout stage of
the tournament.”

The Super Eagles will play in Group B alongside Argentina, Greece, and South Korea in the preliminary rounds of the World Cup.