Category Archives: Success Pills
A Lesson to Be Learnt
Unlike most Arsenal fans, I was not agitated or angry over Robin Van Persie’s exit from the Emirates in the summer of 2012. What engaged my mind was the fact that a major rival had gained a supreme attacking firepower with Arsenal being the loser in the real sense of it. And tonight, with three goals in the match that clinched the 20th league title for the Red Devils, RVP justified the huge confidence Sir Alex Ferguson had in him to have parted with such a big transfer for a 30 year-old.
Looking at the second goal he scored from the long racking ball from Wayne Rooney, one couldn’t but marvel at the quality of the Dutch striker. He took the ball one-time with his famous left foot and it nestled in the top left corner. That second goal will surely count among the best goals of this season.
Seeing it Through
Our team made not only a few proud with the way they dealt with the challenge of the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the quarter finals of the current African Cup of Nations holding in South Africa. The Super Eagles not only played like a team but they took the battle to their more favoured opponents right from the blast of the whistle. They worked hard for themselves and for our Nation in achieving what many had termed ‘impossible’ task.
I saw a Super Eagles that was tenacious, determined, committed, confident and sometimes audacious against the Ivoirians. The way and manner they approached the match showed clearly that Stephen Keshi and his team had done their homework on the Elephants. It was glaring from the 10th minute of that match Nigeria was not going to sit back and wait for the Ivoirians to attack. Obviously, this approach surprised the star studded Cote d’Ivoire team and they never recovered to ‘walk over’ the Super Eagles as many had predicted.
Against the Odds!
I wrote in the past of football pundits and analysts who seemingly want to take over the role of Nostradamus by predicting matches. The truth of the matter is that it is impossible to predict football matches. Those who try to do it most often times than not get their noses bloodied.
The general consensus was that the Super Eagles would be beaten ‘thoroughly’ by the super stars of Cote d’Ivoire. If one had to believe all that was written and said in the past four days, it wouldn’t be out of sorts to concluded that Nigeria would be disgraced against the Ivoirians. It was as if football is no longer played on the pitch but on pundits and analysts tables.
Mission to Be Accomplished
The match against Zambia has come and gone. The debates surrounding the outcome would however continue for a while due to the controversial penalty awarded against Nigeria towards the end of the match. It should be repeated here that Nigeria had faced two poor referees in the matches played so far at the ACN.
One could only hope that the third and final group match against Ethiopia would reflect the best officiating available on the continent. In this regard, I must commend the NFF for formally complaining about the officiating in the match against Zambia. I expect more of this type of action in the future. There is no point in condoning glaring injustice or suffering in silence.
A Must Win
Watching the new Super Eagles assembled by Coach Stephen Keshi against the Stallions of Burkina Faso brought back the images of the glorious era of Clemence Westerhoff. Back in those days, the Super Eagles had what you would call ‘muscle men’ in the likes of Daniel ‘the Bull’ Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, Austin ‘Cerezo’ Eguavoen, Uche Okechukwu and of course, Mutiu Adepoju. These were guys that were as hard as they come.
These guys were physically imposing and not a few opponents ‘knew’ it after playing the Super Eagles. The only team tougher and more physically endowed than the Eagles during the mid nineties to the early millennium was the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun.
