Eagles load too much for Keshi

Felix Owolabi insists Nigeria were capable of reaching the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup if coach Stephen Keshi had the right administrative and technical support in Brazil.

The Super Eagles, who failed to progress beyond the group stages at the Korea/Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010 World Cups, exited the Brazil 2014 finals   in the round of 16 following their 2-0 defeat by former world champions France, but Nigeria ’80 Africa Cup of Nations winner Owolabi maintains the African champions deserved to reach the last four.

He laid the blame for the country’s early ouster from the World Cup at the doorsteps of the Nigeria Football Federation, saying the body was found wanting.

“Keshi would have performed better if he had the support of the NFF,” the versatile former Shooting Stars winger told our correspondent on the telephone during the week.

“But the load was too much for him. He had problems with the NFF over his salary and the selection of players for the tournament.

“There was the appearance fees issue. It’s sad the issue was not resolved before the team travelled to Brazil.

“I’m sure it was not easy for Keshi to manage the situation. It’s a shame our players still complain about bonus or appearance fees.

“I remember that (Dutchman) Clemens Westerhof had to beg his players to play a particular match because they were not given their allowances.

“It’s a shame nothing has changed since Westerhof left (after guiding Nigeria to a second round exit at the USA ’94 World Cup).It’s a curse!

“The greatest problem of our football is a lack of good structures. This is why we have dishonest people in charge.

“There’s nothing much a coach can do if his players are not paid their entitlements. I think there was a lot of distractions in our team even before the World Cup.

“Keshi didn’t have the right atmosphere to work. The appearance fees issue was a big problem for him.

“What’s going on in our football raises a lot of concern. I’m worried. Unless we have good structures and honest persons in charge, our football will remain where it is.

“If we have good structures, no player will complain about bonus or someone going to court to remove the NFF.”

The retired player, popularly called Owoblow, insists Keshi lacked tactical support in Brazil, saying Germany won the tournament because they had “over 100 technical officials at various venues”.

“I wasn’t surprised they (Germany) won the World Cup. The coach (Joachim Low) had people who monitored other teams. They studied their tactics and submitted their reports to the coach,” the Ghana ’78 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallist said.

“In our case, we only had Keshi and his assistants. They deserve commendation for the performance of our team in the tournament.

“How many doctors did we take to Brazil? We needed a Study Group made up of 10-15 persons with proven track records, and at least 10 physiotherapists to make a major impact but we didn’t prepare properly for the tournament.

“Instead, the NFF took persons who know nothing about the game to Brazil.”