Rebuilding The Falcons Team

FALCONS of Nigeria, Africa’s sole representative in the ongoing Beijing Olympic Games, crashed out of the football event of the tournament last week, coming home without a point to show for their three outings.

THE Nigerians showed promised and vast improvement in this 19th edition of the tournament, but conceded ridiculous defeats in matches they dominated. They however remain the best in Africa where they have won the tickets to represent the continent in the last three games.

EVEN during the time of Sam Okpodu as the national coach, the girls failed to live up to expectation as they conceded scandalous defeats in the hands of other nations who see the Falocons as no threat. It was not so this year, Falcons, under coach Jossy Lad, for the first time played with understanding but lacked good finishers upfront. And coach Jossy lad himself lacks proper understanding of match reading to introduce players who could deliver the goods when they mattered most. Now, the party is over and the girls are back home to the drawing board (if any) to seek fresh mandate to other international contests.

HOWEVER, The NIGERIAN OBSERVER believes that the Falcons can go places if coaches appointed to teach the girls the rudiments of the game are left to do their jobs the best way they know it. There had been reported cases where players were imposed on the coaches. Players who do not know what to do in the front of a yawning net were sponsored into the team by some sports egg-heads. Woe betides that coach who refuses orders from above. These were part of Jossy Lad’s problems in Beijing.

THE male team led by Samson Siasia has succeeded so far because there wasn’t too much intervention in the qualifying series. This will certainly play itself out in the second phase where Nigeria’s football ruling body would want to have a say in team selection. In the past, Samson Siasia bluffed such moves. Nobody is sure what happens this time around. The fact remains that coach Samson Siasia will not just sit there and watch people alter his winning squad.

FOR Falcons, the end has surely come for coach Jossy Lad. Having failed severally, he should step down for others to try their luck. Therefore, whoever is coming after Jossy Lad should be prepared to get rid of those sacred cow footballers planted by the FA in the present squad.

A situation whereby a footballer cannot place a ball behind a sprawling keeper for a goal, cannot be said to be healthy for Nigeria. Jossy Lad should be called to explain why his strikers to the Beijing games looked as if they were bereft of ideas.

HE should tell Nigerians why his strikers preferred to shoot over the bar even after a goalkeeper had been displaced from her post.

IT is not only in football that Nigeria performed abysmally. In boxing, some of our representatives were simple manhandled by opponents from Ghana and Costa Rica. They became punching bags for better prepared opponents. Some were even taken from the ring to the hospital. One boxer is said to be heading for an operation if he must continue with his boxing career.

THE summary of these is that we were not prepared for the games. Like the Super Falcons who needed international exposure which they never got, Nigerian boxers needed both equipment and financial motivation. The government denied them both. That was why the boxers were treated like apprentices in the ring. Next time, they should train well before sticking out their necks to die for their country.

NIGERIA’S sports administrators should learn to encourage our sportsmen\woman. This is the only way we can get the services of budding stars who are still rookies in sports villages
The time to act is now.

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