Former Super Eagles player Mutiu Adepoju says the death of Ocean Boys player, Emmanuel Ogoli, who slumped during a match against Niger Tornadoes in Yenagoa and died on his way to the hospital, has added to the woes of Nigerian football “at a time when we are still fighting hard to revive the failing system.”
Adepoju, in an interview with SATURDAY PUNCH on Thursday, said even though similar incident could happen in Europe, there was the need to separate medical treatment for sportsmen from other normal form of treatment.
He says, “I am yet to get the details of what happened to Ogoli in Yenagoah so I do not know who to blame. But his death has shown us that we still have a lot of work to do before we can sell our league to the world. We have neglected some basic aspects necessary to be in place before forming a football club. We have also neglected some important steps we ought to have taken before starting a league season. It is sad that the boy died, but it’s a sacrifice that he made for our league to survive.
“Yes, we see ambulance at match venue in readiness for an emergency. But what type of medical facility do we have inside? Nobody knows. It takes us back to Ogoli’s death on his way to the hospital. Perhaps he could be alive today if we had the right facility meant for sportsmen.The treatment of sportsmen on the pitch is different from treatment given to people on hospital bed.
“There is a special training for medical doctors and personnel who specialise in treatment of sportsmen. Do we have them in all our clubsides? I played in Nigeria and Europe and I can point out the difference between the two sides. There have been cases when players also slumped and died in Europe, but we should not fold our hands and treat this as normal occurrence, it’s a very sad event.”
Adepoju says money plays a big role in the exodus of young Nigerian players abroad, but he blames lack of facilities in our stadiums for their departure.
“Everybody needs money to live a decent life, but that is not the only reason our players no longer play at home. If you have the opportunity to play in a competition in Europe, you will also want to play for their clubs.
“My major worry is that desperation to play abroad is taking our players to places that are not better than Nigeria. They soon return with tales of woes, desperate to play in the Nigerian league again,” Adepoju says.
While blaming Nigeria’s dependence on foreign players to form the national teams, Adepoju points out that players do not need to run abroad to fulfil the dreams of playing for Nigeria.
“The dream to play abroad is not the same dream to play for a national team. Nigeria has players in so many countries, but if you call them home and test their football knowledge in training, you will be amazed with the number of players that will not make the national team,” he says.
“Since I returned home, I have seen so many good players in the Nigerian League that can comfortably play in the national team. I am not saying that the national team should comprise of Nigerian League players alone, it is obvious that we have a few good players abroad who will make the team strong because they have played on the big stage like the Champions League and trained with modern football equipment.” Adepoju, who is a former Samson Siasia teammate in the Eagles, is confident that the job of coaching the Super Eagles will not be a difficult task for Siasia, praising him for visiting league venues as he begins the job of building a new Eagles team.
“I am impressed with the decision of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation to give Siasia the job. He knows the players because he was the coach of the Flying Eagles and U-23 team where he was a success.
“The major challenge he faces is identifying the home-based players that will fit into his plan. His programme is impressive and I wish him good luck on the job. I am sure he will help our football because he knows where to start from. I have seen him at match venues and I was happy to see him at Aba, where we played Enyimba last week Sunday.”
With the next World Cup four years away, there is a debate over who should be in the Super Eagles. Some have said that some of the players who played for Nigeria in the last World Cup in South Africa should not be called up by Siasia, with particular mention of Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who will be 32 by 2014; Nwankwo Kanu, who will be 38 by then and Joseph Yobo, who turns 34 by the time Brazil hosts the world in 2014. Adepoju says the players have the duty to show that they can still play prominent roles in the team.
“I don’t know what will happen between now and four years to come so I cannot rule out or confirm that a player will be in the team that will represent Nigeria in the next World Cup if we qualify. These players have not told us that they are retiring from international football. Some of them are still playing regular club football which is what a coach needs to consider a player for the national team. We need young players but football is a game where experience complements skill and strength of youthfulness.”
On Wednesday, the NFF technical committee recommended that former Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen should be made U-23 coach. Adepoju commends the decision, adding that it is victory for Nigerian coaches.
He says, “We are gradually reaching an age where our coaches are being recognised. Eguavoen is a coach that has worked with Nigerian clubs and I am sure that he knows the players also. The U-23 team is a preparatory ground for players that will play in the Eagles. He should focus on building players that will graduate to the Eagles in a short time.”
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