The Super Eagles’ 2-0 loss to Mali in an international friendly match on Tuesday is still drawing heated reactions from far and wide.
Adding his voice to the raging debate is former under-23 national team defender, Abiodun Obafemi, who is of a view that the Eagles need time to gel into a winning team.
Obafemi conceded that the verdict in recent has been that the Eagles’ coaches are still building the team, and then confessed that he also has to follow that same line of thought.
The soft-spoken star, who is now a coach with Smart FC of Lagos, made his opinion known after leading his side to a stunning 4-1 victory over Ikorodu City in this year’s edition of Jagaban Cup at Mobalaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.
He thanked his players for showing great quality as defending champions of the competition, noting that their recovery from a disappointing first match showed their ability to retain the title.
While using the quality of play in the ongoing competition at the former Onikan Stadium as a case study, Obafemi urged Nigrrian players to instil the right attitude at all levels of the game.
The former versatile star, who made top marks while playing in Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland, also charged Nigerian coaches to take the bull by the horn in turning things around.
Starting with his assessment of his club’s performance, Obafemi retorted: “I feel good. As the defending champions, we have to show the rest of the teams that we must be considered as contenders again.
“Our first game was not good, so we recycled for the next game, and we did better. We improved our intensity and changed the personnel on the pitch. We always try to present a picture of the general quality of Nigerian footballers.
“Honestly, the talents are there in Nigeria, but we all know that talent is not enough. Our players need to have the right attitude and approach at all times.
“Our coaches need to refresh as well. I’m not going to hold just the players responsible. We, the coaches, need to refresh ourselves as well.
“As for the Super Eagles, I think we should just have faith in Finidi. We are building, we will get there. I know we keep saying we are building, but that’s the truth.
“We have a new coach in charge, although he was an assistant under the last coach, and we have different sets of players coming in. This means we are experimenting. We just need time to get it right.”
