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That FIFA has finally decided to clamp down on this outrageous
crime in football is a welcome development. How sincere this decision is and
how successful the war will be, will be based on how serious FIFA is, and how
desirous national football associations are.

Nigerians must therefore, appreciate the current Sports
Minister, for his bold directive to all sports associations in Nigeria, to
ensure that all athletes representing Nigeria in any age-grade competition,
must undergo a mandatory age verification test.

Lulu obstacle

Thank you Bio, but would your ‘big boys’ inside the Abuja glass house,
especially your classmate, Sani Lulu, obey? Will the loquacious, ‘basket-mouth’
Secretary General, agree with you? I am very sure that millions of Nigerians
have not forgotten the war of supremacy between Sani Ndanusa, your predecessor,
and Sani Lulu, over the age verification method the Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) should adopt in order to confirm the true ages of the players who
represented us during the last U-17 FIFA World Cup tournament hosted by this
nation.

While Ndanusa insisted on using the M.R.I. equipment, Lulu
posited that parents of the players should be invited to verify the true ages
of their children. Well, thank God he did not suggest that the ‘men’ should
place their left or right hands on their heads and touch either the right or
left ear with such hands. Please don’t laugh, because this is not a laughable
issue. It is an issue that must be treated as absolutely unacceptable.

This obnoxious practice totally negates the fundamental
socio-political, economic, educational, and behavioural principles of football.
Perpetrators of this aberration including parents, school teachers, head
teachers, principals, coaches, and members of the so-called NFF, must be told
very unambiguously that they are not assisting in a process by which millions
of Nigerian children can be exposed early in life to the spirit of fair play,
respect, hard work, teamwork, self discipline, and tolerance. These are
attributes that can prepare our young ones for future leadership roles. Our
young ones must not be encouraged to cheat. Besides, it must be clearly
understood that this is one of the reasons largely responsible for the moral
decadence presently experienced in homes, schools, faith-based organisations,
and work places today.

Women also involved

Maybe it is important for Nigerians to be reminded that this
nation has paraded about 170 footballers in the last 9 editions of the FIFA
organised U-17 male competitions. But less than 10 of these 170 have been able
to make it to the senior World Cup level. Why? Simply because we have been
cheating.

The situation is not getting better anyway.

With the recent female players paraded by Nigeria against the
South Africans at the women U-17 World Cup qualifiers in Abeokuta, I was
ashamed and regretted going to watch the match. Haba! Even a blind man could
feel the fact that we paraded women, and not girls, as did the South Africans,
simply because we must win and qualify for the female World Cup. And because
that will enable some heartless individuals line their pockets with some hard
currencies.

Well, South Africa justifiably lodged a protest with FIFA
against Nigeria. It is interesting, but not surprising, that FIFA threw the
protest overboard, claiming, according to very reliable sources, that “South
Africa’s protest had no basis because Nigeria’s team was made up of young
players. Had they been older, it would have been a different scenario…”

FIFA unhelpful

Hmmn, anyone who claims that those women who represented us
against South Africa were U-17 girls should be subjected to a “head check” in
Abeokuta or Yaba.

FIFA’s response has not also helped matters at all. However,
this not surprising. That is why I mentioned earlier on that the success of
this so called M.R.I. tests will depend on whether FIFA is serious about it or
not.

My position has to do with what has been suggested many times in
this column. There is the urgent need for the sports ministry to educate
Nigerians, especially parents/guardians, on the negative implications of
age-falsification. Can Bio achieve this with Lulu and his cohorts?

Genuine grassroots football development supporters in Nigeria do
not sincerely think so. May God rescue this nation from the grips of enemies of
Nigerian sports, especially football. Amen.

The Super Eagles
are now ranked 21st in the world after dropping a step in the latest
rankings released by world football governing body, FIFA yesterday.

The team however
remains Africa’s third best team as Egypt still leads the continent
sitting pretty in the 12th position after moving one step up. World Cup
bound Cameroun maintains its 19th position in the World, which makes it
Africa’s second best team.

Little changes

Only about 20
friendly matches were played worldwide in the last few weeks.
Accordingly, there were only minor changes to the latest edition of the
world rankings the last to be published before the 2010 FIFA World Cup
South Africa.

The neck-to-neck
battle for top spot between leaders; Brazil and European champions
Spain continues as the former still leads the pack.

However both teams
have a clear lead over the chasing pack of Portugal, Netherlands and
Italy who are ranked 3rd and 4th respectively.

Trailing even
farther behind, after Germany, Argentina, England and France, are two
teams not in for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa; Croatia and Russia
– who are likely to lose even more ground after the tournament.

Meanwhile, hosts
South Africa have received a boost, winning not only two friendly
matches, but also gaining seven places in the ranking (83rd, up 7),
which is more than any other team. The team coached by Brazilian Carlos
Alberto Parreira, has not lost in ten games.

The only other
teams to climb five or more places were Oman (91st, up 6) and Estonia
(99th, up 5). In the top 100, Burkina Faso (48th, up 4) and Montenegro
(64th, up 1) are currently in their highest-ever position since the
ranking was introduced.

Of the top 20 teams, only Croatia, Russia and Egypt will be absent in South Africa.

Former Nigeria
international Nduka Ugbade feels all hope is not yet lost for the Super
Eagles regarding their chances of posting a good outing at the World
Cup, despite Tuesday night’s goal-less draw against Saudi Arabia.

The Super Eagles
were far from impressive against the Saudis in the encounter played in
the Austrian town of Wattens and did little to boost the confidence of
their teeming fans ahead of the World Cup.

In fact, the
general impression amongst Nigerians in the aftermath of Tuesday’s
friendly match is that the Super Eagles will struggle in South Africa
where they will be up against Argentina, Greece and South Korea, but
Ugbade, although not equally impressed with the performance of most of
the players that prosecuted the game against the Saudis, feels there
were a couple of positives from the encounter.

“As a Nigerian, I
wasn’t happy about the score line but I think it wasn’t all that bad,
as there were some good points as well. I’d say there’s still hope for
the team,” said Ugbade, a former Super Eagles defender.

“First of all, Lars
Lagerback finally got to play a match and got to assess the fitness
level of some of the players who didn’t get to play on a regular basis
for their clubs.”

Last chance to shine

Lagerback kept out
the likes of Taye Taiwo, Dickson Etuhu, Vincent Enyeama, Aiyegbeni
Yakubu and Osaze Odemwingie from the game against the Saudis but there
is a possibility they will all get to feature on Sunday against
Colombia in the team’s last friendly match before the Swede gets to
name his final 23-man squad for the World Cup.

Ugbade expects
Lagerback to present a much stronger line up for the game against the
Colombians but he wouldn’t mind taking another look at the likes of
Terna Suswan, Victor Anichebe and Haruna Lukman, who stood out against
the Saudis.

“The guy from Lobi
Stars (Suswan) impressed me, so also did Haruna Lukman and Anichebe,”
he said. “I don’t know if they have done enough to impress the coach
and I don’t know if they have been doing the same thing at their
training sessions but I think they did a good job.”

Looking ahead to
the Colombia tie, Ugbade expects a more aggressive, albeit not so
cohesive, display from the Super Eagles even though he is quick to
admit that it is still too early for the team to start playing the way
Lagerback would prefer them to.

“I think they will
be more aggressive against Colombia, as it will be the last chance for
some of the players to make it into the World Cup team but I don’t
think we should expect to see a great deal of cohesion, as it is still
a bit too early for that,” added Ugbade.

The Super Eagles
technical crew led by Lars Lagerback look set to lay greater emphasis
on the team’s attack as they continue their preparations for the World
Cup taking place in South Africa.

Roland Andersson,
an assistant to Lagerback, disclosed this to Swedish newspaper, Dagens
Nyheter. He noted that during the initial training sessions, the squad
worked on the defence and, following the prosecution of last Tuesday’s
international friendly against Saudi Arabia, will now focus more on
attack.

Concerning Tuesday
night’s game against the Saudis, Andersson said the tune-up game was
“important” since it offered the technical crew a chance “to see the
players in action, and what they can do individually.”

Lagerback opted to
play a 4-4-2 system featuring the likes of Danny Shittu, Elderson
Echiejile, Victor Anichebe, Nwankwo Kanu, Joseph Yobo and Austin Ejide
amongst other players in the starting line-up and ended up making six
substitutions before the end of the goalless encounter.

Andersson confirmed
that they decided on starting players who had not played a lot recently
in order “to get them going.” On Sunday, some of them will get to
feature in the international friendly against Colombia. The decision to
improve the team’s attack, according to Lagerback, is to strenghten the
team for the games against Argentina, Greece, and South Korea in the
first round of the World Cup.

Lagerback who said
he was “satisfied” that the Super Eagles did not concede a goal in the
friendly in Wattens, Austria, in a generally lacklustre performance,
said: “This is just a build-up phase, we have only had four training
sessions,” adding that the Super Eagles “still needed a few aces.”

The squad has had some injuries including Chelsea midfielder John
Obi Mikel, and defender Onyekachi of Nice who were both missing from
the tie against the Saudis; but Lagerback, the erstwhile handler of the
Swedish national team, said he was hopeful the two would be fit to play
in the friendly on Sunday against Colombia.

The twelve teams
which include four qualifiers from Lagos namely: 401 Planners FC of
Ajegunle, Talent Builders of Island, Ikeja All Stars of Ipaja and Kush
FC of Mainland are set to hit Lagos to compete for honours at the
maiden Gulder Ultimate Five-A-Side soccer tournament which hits the
home stretch this weekend.

After the rigours
of qualification from city to the regional and classification round of
matches concluded last weekend, matches will resume again on Monday
with the opening match between FUTA FC of Akure against high riding 401
Planners of Ajegunle.

The teams will do
battle at the first ever competitive Indoor mobile turf which has been
laid at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium in Lagos.

The overall winner
of the competition will go home with N5 million while the first runner
up will receive N2 million for the effort and the third place team will
collect N1 million.

The registration and participation for the competition which began
in March was open to all who can access the 24 cities that have the
distinct privilege of hosting the games which was played in enclosed
venues with Astro turf endorsed by FIFA.

After a long wait
for Michael Essien, the Ghana Football Authority (GFA) stated on
Wednesday that the Ghanaian captain will not be fit in time for the
World Cup which starts in a fortnight.

The statement on
the GFA site read in part: “An evaluation by a combined team of medical
experts from the Ghana Football Association and Chelsea Football Club
revealed that Essien will not make full recovery until the end of July.
The Ghana Football Association wishes him full recovery and a quick
return to football action.”

Unending rehabilitation

The 27-year-old
Chelsea midfielder has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury
during the African Cup of Nations in January.

It had been thought
that Essien would return before the end of the season alongside Ashley
Cole for Chelsea. Cole fractured his left ankle on February 10 2010
against Everton. The 28-year-old England international though returned
in time to help the Blues grab the double, scoring the last goal in the
8-0 rout of Wigan on the last day.

What next for the Black Stars

This will further
heap a lot of pressure on recuperating Stephen Appiah, who has not
played club football for a year and Sulley Muntari, as both are not as
dynamic as Essien.

Essien played in 10
of Ghana’s 11 qualification matches, clocking more than 800 minutes of
game time, as Ghana finished at the top of their group, and
automatically sealed a spot at the World Cup. The Ghana coach had said
last week that Essien’s presence was invaluable to the Black Stars.

“Essien is an
important player, not only for Ghana but for the World Cup. He is one
of the best players in the world and the World Cup is an assembly of
the best,” said Coach Milovan Rajevac.

The coach must now tinker with the favoured 4-4-2 formation to
accommodate Udinese’s Kwadwo Asamoah alongside Sulley Muntari and
Appiah. Although Ghana won’t lack for presence in the centre of the
park, there will be something missing; and that will be Michael Essien,
who would make the line-up for any of the nations at the 2010 World Cup
a better team.

While
using the match played against Saudi Arabia as yard stick for pruning
the team down to 23 players may not be realistic, given the
circumstances we have found ourselves in, we will attempt a projection
of which players Lagerback is likely to drop from the 30 players
currently in camp.

Out of the starting line-up against Saudi Arabia
on Tuesday, only Lukman Haruna, Terna Suswan, and Victor Anichebe
impressed sufficiently to be able to hope of places in the final 23.
The goal keeper, Austin Ejide had a commendable 90 minute performance;
and may have proven that he is fit for South Africa.

The keeper that will be dropped will be decided
today if Bassey Akpan keeps the goal against Colombia, if not the
Bayelsa United keeper will be dropped.

Defenders for the chop

Lagerback showed against Saudi Arabia that he was
looking for a back-up right back when he deployed Sani Kaita in that
position in the second half. While Chidi Odiah will be the automatic
choice for the Eagles in South Africa if he stays fit, Suswan showed he
is one for the future. Rennes defender, Elderson Echiejile did not
impress with his showing against the Saudis, and Lagerback may be
having doubts about taking him to the World Cup.

Joseph Yobo is not looking comfortable, and as the
most experienced player in that defence, you will expect him to make
it. Danny Shittu has been commended severally for his enthusiasm, and
may just make it to help the dressing room. So from the nine defenders
in camp right now, it is likely that two of Terna Suswan, Elderson
Echiejile or Onyekachi Apam (because of his injury) will be dropped.

Midfielders that have lost the plot

If Mikel Obi is fully recovered, then the Chelsea
man and Fulham’s Dickson Etuhu will be the automatic choice for the two
defensive positions in midfield. But who will be the back-up? Sani
Kaita will get the nod here because of his versatility. Yussuf Ayila
then finds himself in a position of vying with Haruna Lukman. Based on
their performances in the Tuesday match, Lukman may get the nod. There
are six berths in that midfield so one of them will be dropped and Kalu
Uche added to the list.

The ones to get the goals

Captain of the side, Nwankwo Kanu, will only make
this team on his legendary status and what he can bring to games late
on. Chinedu Obasi on the other hand has to prove the hype all over
again. There is no doubt he is a very talented player, but he needs to
prove it on the biggest stage, the World Cup.

Victor Anichebe showed in the game against the
Saudi Arabia team that he is on the plane to South Africa. His power,
pace and aggression will prove invaluable in South Africa. Brown Ideye,
John Utaka, who showed he is no more useful to the national side with a
shameful half hour action against the Saudis and his brother, will
likely have to wait for another opportunity to represent Nigeria. Most
probably, this will be the last that will be heard of the elder Utaka.

Last weekend,
disgruntled fans of Premier League club, Kano Pillars attacked players
and officials of Dolphins FC as well as the presiding referee and his
assistants following the conclusion of a league encounter decided at
the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.

While players and
officials from Dolphins were pelted with missiles on the pitch, the
centre referee Gabriel Adigwe and his assistants were attacked by the
displeased Kano Pillars fans right inside the tunnel as they headed for
the changing room.

The reason behind
the fans’ discontentment was down to their team’s inability to secure a
win over the visitors from Port Harcourt which would have extended
their lead on the league standings over closest rivals, Enyimba who
many are now tipping to end the season as league champions for a record
setting sixth time.

Kano revisited

“I think the fans
were mad that we weren’t able to win the match,” said a Kano Pillars
player who wishes to be anonymous because he was afraid of, as he put
it, being “victimized”.

“I think the referee did his best to be fair to both sides so I don’t think it was fair what happened to him,” he added.

The game itself
witnessed a lengthy stoppage induced by fans’ encroachment on the pitch
midway through the second half which led to referee Adigwe justifiably
extending the game well beyond the stipulated 90 minutes, and it wasn’t
until well into stoppage time before the home side finally cancelled
Dolphins one goal lead courtesy of a penalty kick conversion from the
league’s leading scorer, Ahmed Musa.

Whether the spot
kick awarded to Kano Pillars was justified or whether the referee took
that course of action in order to restore parity in what was obviously
a charged atmosphere is an entirely different issue as the game was not
broadcast live on television. Even at that, there have been claims from
Dolphins that their cameraman was assaulted and his camera destroyed by
the irate fans but there has been no independent confirmation of this.

Stiffer penalties needed

Nevertheless,
league organisers, the Nigeria Premier League, following the report
from the game’s Match Commissioner, swung into action by slamming a
fine of one million naira on Kano Pillars while also ordering them to
pay the sum of two hundred thousand naira each to referee Adigwe, his
two assistants and the match commissioner. In addition to that, the NPL
also ordered Kano Pillars to prosecute their remaining home games in
Calabar with a strict order to effect the payments on or before June 5,
as well as identifying the perpetrators of the ugly incident.

It’s a routine that
has been used on more than a handful of occasions by the NPL in a
season that has routinely been plagued by violence on the part of
football fans.

Clubs like Rangers,
Wikki Tourists and Niger Tornadoes have had to pay similar fines this
season while Ranchers Bees, in addition to the fines, also had five
players and officials receiving a year-long ban from football
activities.

But regardless of
the number of clubs that have been hit with sanctions, it appears clubs
are not doing enough to prevent acts of violence from being perpetrated
by fans at their matches, and if the situation doesn’t abate there’s
every reason to believe that we are yet to hear the last of such
incidents this season especially with the end of the campaign just a
few weeks away as clubs seek every avenue to secure the points needed
to either secure the title or stave off relegation.

One can only hope
that if another incident will occur before the end of the season, it
won’t involve referee Adigwe who was also at the centre back in March
when Niger Tornadoes were forced to a goalless draw in Minna by
visiting Bayelsa United.

“The fans said they
have to beat me up to teach me a lesson because I don’t help them in
their home games. They say that every time I come to their home games,
they always play a draw. I am seriously damaged psychologically and I
don’t know if I can do any match after this without the fear of being
beaten again,” said the Lagos based referee two months ago in an
interview with an online sports magazine.

Adigwe couldn’t be
reached for his own side of the story this time around but his boss at
the Lagos State Referees Council, Tade Azeez feels much more needs to
be done with regards to sanctions on defaulting clubs if the situation
is to be nipped in the bud.

Trouble spots

Azeez who noted
that both Kano and Minna have earned the unenviable reputation of been
“trouble spots for referees” said: “Even if they are told to pay five
million naira in fines it won’t serve as a deterrent for these clubs
because they are all sponsored by their respective state governments
and won’t have any problems paying such amount.”

Azeez also
advocated heavy points deduction for erring clubs as that in his
opinion will be a much stiffer punishment than outright banishment away
from their home stadium.

He added: “I think
deduction of points will work better because if these fans know that
their club will suffer as much as a nine-point deduction for their
actions, which may even lead to eventual relegation, they will learn to
behave.” Points deductions, in this case, a six points deduction, was
also suggested by China Acheru the long-serving media officer of
Dolphins who also advocated for erring clubs to play out not just a few
home games but the rest of the season away from home.

Regarding the fine
imposed by the NPL. Acheru wants a situation where clubs would be fined
a whooping 10 million naira with half of the sum going to the visiting
team while the other half is handed out to the assaulted match
officials.

More police

He also wants increased security at match venues.

“The fine has to
be much more than is obtainable at the moment while the rule stating
that clubs must provide 50 policemen at match venues should be scrapped
for a more realistic figure,” said Acheru in a telephone chat.

The idea of 50
policemen providing adequate security at match venues is incredulous
when compared to the average of 184 officers allocated by the police
for matches in England along with an average of 350 stewards provided
by the home side. For high priority matches, such as the Carling Cup
tie that took place this past season between West Ham and fierce rivals
Milwall, 700 officers and 410 stewards were on ground to provide
security.

“I think they
should be relegated or suffer points deductions but I’m not surprised
we still have acts of hooliganism back home because the security
presence at match venues is grossly inadequate,” said former Nigeria
international Chukwuma Akuneto, who is now a coach based in England.

“If 50 policemen
see about 500 hooligans charging onto the pitch to lay their hands on
say the referee I don’t think they will be able to stop them from
harming the referee. They will probably allow the hooligans to do
whatever they feel like to the referee and hope the referee doesn’t die
from the attack,” he added.

In addition to
having more officers at match venues, Akuneto also advised the league
to make it mandatory for clubs to install close circuit cameras at
match venues while also enlisting the services of safety officers who
will have the responsibility of recruiting stewards from within the
local population to control spectators during matches.

For its part, the
premier legal will be looking at ways to finally eliminate the ugly
trend from the Nigerian league by imposing stiffer sanctions ahead of
the next football season. Although an official of the league body who
spoke to NEXTSports on the condition of anonymity refused to disclose
exactly what these sanctions will be, he did reveal that erring clubs
stand the risk of suffering points deductions or even outright
relegation.

A
week in the scenic French Alps seems to have done wonders for France,
who now have a healthy Williams Gallas and a vastly improved mood in
the team.

France leave their
picturesque base on Tuesday with their 23-man squad for the June
11-July 11 finals in South Africa finalised and in a relaxed and
confident mood after a number of concerns were overcome.

Coach Raymond
Domenech, who has been under fire since his side’s Euro 2008 flop,
organised several strange group activities in search of harmony such as
a hike up a glacier, an introduction to biathlon and even a dune buggy
race.

The players loved
it, even Gallas, who survived a fright when his buggy rolled over, and
all the players said they could feel a genuine team spirit blooming.

The man France fans
love to hate, Domenech even cracked a few smiles and did not lose his
cool when midfielder Lassana Diarra was ruled out of the World Cup by
illness on Saturday.

The coach
eventually decided late on Monday that Diarra would not be replaced
after seeing defender Gallas, who had been doubtful because of a sore
left calf, train without any problems.

The coach, who had
brought 24 players to Tignes because of concerns about Gallas, found
himself with 23 after Diarra left and decided those would travel to
South Africa after Gallas was ruled fit to play.

Surprising mood “It’s complicated to take somebody out and we’ve had Lassana Diarra who’s had a real problem,” Domenech said.

“Then we found
ourselves with 23 players so we no longer needed to make a choice
because that group here keep showing us that we can trust them. Those
23 players will take us all the way.” Saying France, who needed an
infamous Thierry Henry handball to qualify through a playoff at the
expense of Ireland, will win the World Cup may seem a little premature.

The mood in the ski
village, surrounded by rugged snow-capped peaks and almost like a ghost
town in the spring, however, has surprised many observers.

All the France
players have been saying that they were having fun together and were
determined to soon prove their worth on the pitch.

Such statements
were hardly ever heard before Euro 2008, where a miserable atmosphere
and a rift between the younger players in the squad and the more
experienced ones marred a campaign that ended with a group-stage exit.

Domenech, who will
be replaced by Laurent Blanc after the World Cup, may feel he has no
pressure, with French fans and media generally feeling the team has no
chance to make an impact on the pitches of South Africa.

The coach even made
a bold move in the penultimate training session in Tignes, fielding a
4-3-3 formation instead of his preferred, more defensive 4-2-3-1 system.

The fans watching
the session applauded, hoping the cautious tactics that have frustrated
them for years might soon make way for a more exciting brand of
football.

France will play
Costa Rica on Wednesday in Lens in the first of three warm-up games for
the World Cup, where they will face hosts South Africa, Mexico and
Uruguay in Group A.

While
acknowledging that the friendly match against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
did not send one’s pulse racing, Lagerback can be excused the fact that
this was his first outing. But as the Eagles play Colombia at the
Milton Keynes Stadium in England today, the Swede must make sure that
whatever team he puts out does not cast depression on the majority of
their fans.

When Sweden
qualified for the 2002 World Cup under Lars Lagerback, they instituted
an inquiry and found that they had the least efficient squad in their
World Cup group containing favourites Argentina, England, and Nigeria,
in that order.

They therefore made
a plan – that to qualify for the second round, which was their main
objective – they would take points off Argentina and England, and had
to beat Nigeria to get a total of five points. At the end of the first
round, they achieved the aim, even coming first in the group, ahead of
England, while Argentina and Nigeria crashed out.

These same set of
conclusions must be drawn up, or made better, if Nigeria is to make it
out of Group D and get as far as possible with the present Eagles squad.

What result against Argentina?

As the opening
match, the importance of the result cannot be overestimated. It may
make or mar Nigeria’s participation in South Africa. The Eagles have to
make sure that they are not beaten; how they will achieve that result,
or make it better, is left to Lars Lagerback and his players.

One experiences a
solid fear that refuses to just go away at the thought of Nigeria’s
first match against Argentina, and the reason for the fear is none
other than the presence of the 2009 World Player of the Year, Lionel
Messi; with his compatriots – Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Sergio
Aguerro, and Gonzalo Higuain – who between them scored 118 goals in
their respective leagues. Nigerians will remember the new Madrid
recruit, Angel Di Maria, who scored the lone goal against Samson
Siasia’s team at the finals of the 2008 Olympics football final.

Lagerback, though,
is not fazed about meeting such a world class field. He told a Nigerian
sports daily, last weekend, in London:

“The first match of
a tournament can condition the rest. Argentina have fantastic
individuals, but I’m not fearful or intimidated by the thought of
facing Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Aguero and all the others.”

The reason for the
optimism may be based on the fact that in the over one hundred games
that Sweden played under him as coach, Lagerback recorded an impressive
75% unbeaten record. What this statistic tells us is that the Swede
knows how to set up his teams so that they won’t be beaten. He will not
have stage fright, having drawn with a star studded Argentine team in
2002. He continued:

“I think I know how
to stifle Argentina. Sweden did it at the 2002 World Cup. You couldn’t
say we had the better players, but we still drew 1-1 with them. Messi
is extraordinary, but Argentina are not Barcelona.”

If the Super Eagles
get anything from that opening match against the Messi-inspired team,
it will go a long way in lifting the spirits of Nigerians who will be
glued to their television sets.

Going for a win against Greece

On the Greek national team, Nigeria’s next opponents after Argentina, Lagerback noted:

“I have a lot of
respect for the work of Otto Rehhagel with Greece. They play tight, are
spirited, and are not in the habit of selling themselves short.”

There will gasps of
delight from fans as the Greek players knuckle down to get their
desired results, but you can be sure they will be very hard to break
down. After watching Greece draw 2-2 against North Korea on Tuesday,
the Eagles must make sure that there are no mistakes against this wily
team. They are a reactive team and always wait for the opponent to
‘beat’ itself. Yes, they will apply pressure from set plays from all
parts of the pitch, but they will not go out of their way to out-play
the opponent. This is one match that the Eagles must concentrate on,
and probably win. They have the better players and more importantly,
the faster players.

Avoiding defeat by South Korea

“South Korea’s strength is their energy and total commitment. You have to match them there,” Lagerback said in an interview.

South Korea have
shown in their eight World Cup tune-up matches to date, the most recent
being the 2-0 over fellow World Cup team, Japan, that they are a very
well organised and highly efficient side. They are very fit, and the
Eagles have to stand toe to toe with the Asian champions to get a
result. The worst result from this match should be a draw.

Lagerback believes in the qualities of the present Eagles team to get that desired result, and said in an interview:

“I see a team with
a great deal of physical presence and individual skill. I’d go as far
as to say that, man for man, Nigeria have more pure technical talent
than most. I don’t think we need to worry about a lack of flair and
match-winning ability.”

Growing pessimism

Many Nigerians will
like to believe the above statement, but performances by the team and
the lack of playing time for majority of the players is a continuous
cause for concern. But Lagerback is trying his entire psychological
prowess to lift the spirit of a dispirited nation.

“I wonder why
people are pessimistic when they hear talk of semi-final target. Every
country that goes to a major championship wants to do well, and I
believe Nigeria have the players to do well at this World Cup.

“Several people
have asked me whether a semi-final place is not a dream, but I tell
them that we can achieve it if we all work together: the players, the
coaches, the administrators, and the fans.”

The final squad list will be drawn today and the 23 warriors will be
known. We hope that they will do the country proud in South Africa and
the least we can ask of them is to be 100% committed to the cause, when
the World Cup starts for them on June 12 with their opening match
against Argentina.