SUPER EAGLES :THE NEED TO PUT OUR FAITH IN GOD

The 2010 world cup is here, every footballing loving nation is full of anticipation. The Super Eagles of Nigeria qualified for this tournament as we all know with the help of GOD. Since the qualification, a lot of water as gone under the bridge, the team now has a new coach in Mr Lagerback(formerly the coach of Sweden). On paper this looks like a marriage made in heaven, considering the quality of players Nigeria has and the technical expertise Mr Lagerback has . I have always had the believe that the GOD that qualified Nigeria for the world cup will not forsake us, however that is down to us. In other to be successful in this world cup, Nigeria needs to adopt the role of Israel in the bible. Every time the people of Israel called on GOD he answered, and Israel was able to conquer nations that were far better than them . The books of Numbers chapters 1-6 and Samuel chapters 14-17 are proves of GOD'S work in the lives of the Israelites. The marriage between Nigeria and Lagerback was destined to happen, it was not a coincidence that the same coach that lead the Swedish team to defeat us in the 2002 world cup is now in charge of our team. GOD wants the best for Nigeria, the moment he decided to help us to qualify, there was no going back, HE has given us one of the best tactician in the game , this is on top of the talented players HE has given us. (mind you there are countries that wished they have the type of players Nigeria has, countries like Sweden, Poland and even Germany are running short of talents). During this world cup it is the duty of every Nigerian to first thank GOD for what he has given us and depend on him to help to have a good outing in the tournament. I do not know how religious Mr Lagerback is, but every Nigerian should pray for him and his assistants to make the right selection of players that will be going to the tournament . Whatever happens GOD'S WILL will be done for Nigeria in this coming world cup. Whether that includes winning the tournament itself is down to us(i.e. our faith in HIM). For the bible says " we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us"(Philippians 4:13). Prayers can make a lot of things happen, so if you fancy Nigeria doing well in this world cup, you need to start praying right from today, GOD always listens to prayers, so let us be encouraged, GOD IS GOOD.

WHEN LIFE IS MORE THAN FOOTBALL

The recent incident involving the Togolese national football team in Cabinda, Angola is a shame for Africa. For the fact that the terrorists went as far as shooting and killing foreigners to prove their point shows that the Angola authorities really ought to take great care throughout the duration of the African cup of Nations. No one should blame Togo for deciding to travel by road to Angola, for Angola should have made sure the terrorists were kept at bay since Cabinda was chosen as one of the venues for the tournament. If the terrorists had not attack Togo close to the border, they could have done it at the stadium itself, for this was an attack that was planned long before the tournament was about to kick-off. The terrorists must have known the Togolese team were passing through before planning the attack. The Togolese contingent has made the right decision to go back home and bury their dead, for human life is far more important than football. However, I am disappointed with CAF(confederation of Africa football) as they should have at least given the Togolese the opportunity to mourn their dead. CAF should have postponed the tournament and give Togo the chance to be part of the tournament. This incident is a lesson for CAF and FIFA as deep consideration needs to be exercise when awarding tournaments to countries wishing to host them.

EAGLES OF HOPE: AMODU NEEDS TO SEEK GOD’S ADVICE IN CHOOSING THE FINAL 22 FOR THE NATION’S CUP.

Coach Amodu has chosen the provisional team, and it includes most of the players that played in the qualifiers. This is a wise move as continuity is best for the Super Eagles at this moment in time. But great caution needs to be taken in choosing the final 22 players that will carry out the assignment. I will advice Coach Amodu to seek God’s help in choosing these players, as it was God that brought us to the stage that we are right now, so neglecting God will not be a good idea. May I remind us that right from the first match we played in the qualifiers for both the Nation’s cup and the World cup, we have always been seeking God’s help; it is advisable to seek him in choosing the players for the coming tournament. God wants us to always ask for his advice and favour and he is always willing to help. If we look in the Word of God we will see that people were able to make a lot of progress only after they have prepared themselves through praying. The people of Israel learned to pray before going to any war, they sought for God’s directions and instructions, and every time they followed God’s advice, his favour was upon them. But the moment they choose to do things by themselves and ignored God’s advice they end up defected. Coach Amodu needs to learn from this and seek for divine intervention always. May I remind anyone that the very moment Coach Amodu invited God to help us in our matches he has chosen to put his trust in him, so God expects him to do that all the time in everything he does with the national team.

Luke 6:12 says that Jesus went on top of a mountain to pray to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Now if Jesus could seek God’s advise in choosing his apostles, who are we to think we can do things by ourselves?

Whilst it was good for Coach Amodu to be loyal to the players that qualified us, he needs to take a close look at some of the players that are coming out of injury. There are question marks on players like Obafemi Martins, Joseph Yobo and Danny Shittu are they going to be fit enough for the tournament? . I hope Coach Amodu will put the country first and choose players that are 100% fit and ready to fight for the nation.

HAND OF HENRY NOT OF GOD

This might be a belated comment I am making on this incident in the match between Ireland and, France but it still counts. My take on this is simple, people had no right labelling this the hand of God. There was nothing miraculous about what Thierry Henry did, infact I will call it cheating. Though Henry showed some compassion for the Irish players after the game, he should have hold a press conference and apologise for what he did, and that will have nail everything in the bud. As for the Irish, they need to stop crying over spilt milk and just move on. This incident should not damage the relations between the two countries, after all it is just a game. Fifa did the right thing not allowing a replay as that will lead more countries calling for the same thing. One thing Fifa can do is use Henry as an example by banning him from the first two game in the world cup. That will deter other players from doing the same.

EAGLES OF HOPE: GOD’S FAVOUR CONTINUES

ARGENTINA

NIGERIA

KOREA

GREECE

The recent world cup draw in south Africa has brought some joy and sadness to the countries involved, in the case of Nigeria’s group, I can not help but proclaim that God’s favour is written all over it. It is a known fact that when God starts something he goes on and finish it, I believe Nigeria is going through that process right now. Looking at the teams in our group, I am happy that we will be meeting Argentina and Greece again for these are teams that we have played against before. The South Koreas are a team we have never met at the senior level before, but for the fact that they qualified from their region they cannot be under rated. Our preparation for the world cup in South Africa in my view will determine how far we will go. I believe we have the players that can do us proud at the world stage. Now that we know who are opponents will be at the group stages, it will be advisable for the NFF to organise friendly matches with countries that are similar in style of play to the ones we will be playing against. For example in other to prepare for Argentina, friendly matches can be organised with all of the South America teams that also qualified for the world cup be it (Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and brazil). Countries similar in style of play with Greece include (Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia), whilst country similar to South Korea will be North Korea. All these matches must be played in Africa in other to acclimatise for the tournament in South Africa. Organising these matches should not be a problem considering the fact that these countries will be looking to play friendly matches and acclimatise at the same time for the world cup. I will recommend we play all of the countries mentioned starting from after the African nation’s cup (February). By playing all these matches about eight in number we stand a chance of gaining a better knowledge of our opponents and this we give the coaching crew the opportunity to have a close look at the players. I believe it is possible to organise a friendly at least once a month leading to the world cup. The PTF and the NFF must put all hands on deck to make sure we have a good preparation for the world cup. The NFF should approach corporate bodies in the country and get them involved in organising matches for the Eagles. I read in a Nigerian newspaper about a corporate body willing to organise friendly matches against Brazil and some other countries, if this is true, it is a good development.

Playing in the world cup is every footballer’s dream, so Nigerian should expect to see the very best of our boys. Nigerians should stop judging our boys on what they saw in the qualifiers. Preparing for every match in the qualifiers was not the best as far as Nigeria is concern but we were still able to qualify without losing a single match, and this cannot be attributed to the fact the we had an easy group, all the matches we played in the qualifiers were competitive. Starting from the African nation’s cup Amodu Shuaibu now has the chance to build his team. I believe he knows his team already so the only thing left will be to fill the weak areas.

Back up for Mr Amodu:

I read in a newspaper about the PTF and the NFF holding a meeting and concluding that coach Amodu will need some support for the world cup. This is a good development, and this support should not come from anyone other than Samson Siasia and Stephen Keshi. Hiring a foreign coach will only destabilize the work that was been done since the qualifiers. The coach will come with his own ideas only to quit or be sacked after the world cup, and we will end up turning to another home base coach to lead the team. Apart from this, it is very important to keep the people God has decided to work through in place. Nigeria cannot keep making the same mistake; it is time to put our trust in our own and pray for God’s continuous favour.

EAGLES OF HOPE: THE NEED FOR AMODU TO CONTINUE

Nigeria’s qualification for the 2010 world cup is still a mystery to many people including non- Nigerians. There was a conversation I heard between a Nigerian man and a Ghanaian a few days ago on Nigeria’s qualification. Looking at the man’s face I could see amazement written on it, the man could not believe how Nigeria could have been so fortunate. The man’s words were like this “so Nigeria actually qualified? Tunisia lost”. As I heard this statement and saw the surprise on the man’s face, I was thinking to myself if they only knew it was GOD that did it. We Nigerians should see ourselves privileged that GOD answered our call. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” . It was not just the prayers of the team that got them through; it was the prayers of millions of people that got us through. Since GOD as chosen to come to our aid, it is save to say that he will be with us in future battles. However, it is crucial that we get our house in order if we are to be the head and not the tail. We have to at least dress for battle and are ready to fight. GOD has to see our preparation towards wining the Africa nation’s cup in Angola and the world cup in South Africa. Wining these tournaments is not too big a dream if we know the GOD we serve and the players that he has given us. I believe the players that we have now are capable of doing us proud. There is no need for us to start looking for something that is not lost. The current eagles can achieve a lot if given the right preparation and are been guided by the right coach. This coach should not be any other person than Shauibu Amodu, the man who is the only indigenous coach to qualify the country for the world cup. Looking at our qualification record for next year’s world cup, I cannot help but praise GOD and congratulate coach Amodu for the wonderful achievement. Going through the qualifiers without a defeat is a first in Nigeria’s qualification history, and it was done by a coach that many Nigerians do not see as been technical astute. I think it is time Nigerians start to look at Amodu and his coaching crew with a close eye, if not, they might miss something very important. I have a strong believe that if Nigeria is to achieve anything meaningful in both the Africa nation’s cup and the world cup it is going to be through Amodu. You do not remove a man that GOD has decided to work through to get us to the promise land. The moment a foreign coach is brought in to take over from Amodu is going to be the moment the Super Eagles will be diverting from GOD’S will. The best thing to do now is just to leave things as they are and give the necessary support to the present coaching crew prepare well for both tournament and continue to seek God’s favour. I recommended the addition of Samson Siasia to the coaching crew; this I believe will help both Amodu and Siasia as they stand to gain from each other. Amodu can gain from Siasia’s technical and motivational skills whilst Siasia can gain from the Amodu’s experience with working with our top players. There is no way the combination of Amodu, Siasia, Amokachi, Amoo, and Agu can fail if given the right support.

Super eagles: What’s is in a name?

I read Mr Segun Odegbami’s your article recently about changing the name of the national team back to the GREEN EAGLES. While I do support your reasons that you gave, I personally will like us to keep the name SUPER EAGLES. It is believed in Christianity that saying good things to oneself will make it come to pass. GOD wants us to say good things to ourselves, so I see the name as a prophecy of what is to come. Every Nigerian will like the eagles to be super and win any tournament there is, I believe we are on our way to this stage. All we need to do is believe in GOD and ourselves, a lot can be achieved if we give ourselves a chance. We need to claim that name SUPER EAGLES and pray to GOD that it comes to pass.

SANNI EMMANUEL: FROM ALTER BOY TO WORLD DOMINATION

Nigeria's new sensation at the recently concluded Under 17 world cup in Nigeria turned out to be a boy that GOD has decided to guide to stardom . His name is Sani Emmanuel , a boy who is a member of Pastor T.B Joshua's synagogue church in Nigeria. Sani came from a very poor family in Nigeria, it is believed that the pastor of his church is taking responsibility for his family. Sani was discovered playing for My People Football club, a club set up by the pastor of his church to help your boys in the community. He was invited into the under 17 team and the rest is now history. His introduction into the world stage was a bit special coming from the substitute bench to score 5 goals in world class tournament to win the second highest scorer and the most outstanding player of the award. Sani Emmanuel will be a bit of fresh air for Nigerian football as he is bound to rule the world. Sani was humble throughout the tournament always showing his appreciation to GOD every time he scores a goal. Sani believes GOD gave him the talent that he has and everything he achieved in the tournament. For the bible says in Philippians 4:13"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I pray that GOD's favour continue to dwell in his life.