Former Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Akinwinmi Martins has come out with a startling verdict that no coach will be able to perform any magic with the current squad of the Nigerian national team, Sports247 reports.
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In what appears to be an agreement with recent views passed by football experts that the Super Eagles’ current problems go beyond coaching, the former Inter Milan of Italy, Rubin Kazan of Russia, Seattle Sounders of USA and Newcastle United of England hitman stressed that only better efforts from the players would see Nigeria qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup.
Also, in an apparent reference to the decision by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hire Franco-Malian tactician, Eric Gelle to revive the Eagles’ World Cup qualification fading hope, but critics are already calling for his sack after just two matches in charge,
Martins, who also played for Levante of Spain, Birmingham City of England, VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Shanghai Shenhua of China, stressed that changing coaches frequently is not a guarantee for good results.
The former fleet-footed attacker, who was fondly called ‘Obagol’ during his playing days, declared: “If you keep changing the coach all over again, that doesn’t mean the players will play better or that they will win a lot of matches. It’s just for the players to have a coach to guide them when they are on the field.
“Sometimes, the coach will say do this, but you do other things, and everything goes well. That means you are putting in extra work and adding your talent. However, we are not perfect in what we do.”
He then proffered a suggestion on the way forward for the Eagles, as they seek to overturn a six-point lead held by South Africa in their 2026 World Cup qualification group and avoid missing out on the second straight Mundial, which Oba admitted would wreck his desire of seeing the team dazzle on the global stage.
“They just need to work harder and, that way, I believe, they will still take us to the World Cup. I want to watch Nigeria play there. I’m a fan now. So, I really want them to qualify … but it’s not by mouth!” concluded the once deadly attacker, who was also nicknamed ‘The Weapon of Mass Destruction.’
