THE face-off between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Super Eagles’ Coach, Stephen Keshi, could be reignited when the African Nations Cup winning coach meets with his employers this weekend.
The NFF allegedly hold Keshi responsible for mishandling the bonus issue when it came up shortly before the team left for the Brazil 2013 Confederations Cup. They also accuse the ‘Big Boss’ of taking mediocre players to the Brazil 2013 Confederations Cup, and have decided to vet the sort of players invited to the team henceforth.
According to MTNFootball.com, an NFF official disclosed that the federation “will meet with Keshi immediately the Eagles resume camping in Abuja. We are not happy at the manner the coach allowed his players to create a national disgrace for this country, he is fully aware of the situation on ground and he should have made his players understand.”
The NFF have continuously blamed Keshi for the show of shame in Namibia when Eagles threatened to boycott the Confederations Cup owing to the bonus row.
The Super Eagles will reassemble in Abuja Sunday ahead of a date next week with Cote d’Ivoire in a Championship of African Nations (CHAN) qualifier in Kaduna.
NFF President, Aminu Maigari, recently said that Keshi would no longer be solely responsible for selecting the squad following the Confederations Cup debacle.
Maigari queried Keshi’s selection for the Confederations Cup in Brazil, which Nigeria exited at the group stage, and said he is dissatisfied with the current set-up.
“The Confederations Cup is a big tournament and that’s why the other teams brought their best players,” Maigari told Supersport’s Soccer Africa show.
“Spain brought their best players, but we did not. Why would you bring a local player to play Spain at such a big stage?
“This is unacceptable. We have experienced players that were not selected and this is where we have to step in.
‘The coach doesn’t have the sole responsibility on squad selection. We all have to contribute. This team belongs to 165 million people.
“Selections should affect all these people so we cannot continue to let this happen because we need to compete well with others.”
However, Keshi is said to be ready to defend his right to pick his players.
“I understand Nigerians are emotive and sentimental sometimes, but all the players that went to Brazil deserved to be there,” Keshi told BBC Sport.
“I’m the coach and I can honestly listen to constructive ideas on how we can improve as a team.
“But no-one has come to tell me who to pick and not to select. If the team fails the coach is responsible. As the coach, it’s my decision and responsibility. For now, the local players have earned the rights to be in the team.”
courtesy: Nigerian Guardian
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