Football in Nigeria in the 1970s and early 1980s revolved mainly around two teams: Rangers International of Enugu and IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan. Whenever these two teams met, either at the Challenge Cup or league level, the rivalry it evinced brought out the best in the countrys football.Other clubs like Bendel Insurance of Benin, Raccah Rovers of Kano, Might Jets of Jos, Stationery Stores of Lagos, Vasco Da Gama of Enugu, Sharks of Port Harcourt, also joined in the healthy competition, which produced legends such as Christian Chukwu, Emmanuel Okala, Segun Odegbami, the late Muda Lawal, Baba Otu Mohammed among others.But the story is different today, a situation that has made an average Nigerian soccer fan to switch loyalty or interest to the Premiership, Spanish and Italian leagues.Currently, as low as 3,000 fans watch some league games, an indication that the flames of the past have become candles in the wind.Two football greats in Nigeria, Chukwu and Odegbami, agree that the stands are empty because the country no longer produces great players. Chukwu was a dynamo in Rangers midfield in the 1970s and 1980s, the same time Odegbami was right-wing wizard for IICC Shooting Stars.Chukwu opens upChukwu said although the strong teams were still existing, fans now placed little value on them.The rivalry is still there because the clubs still exist by name, but they no longer attract the tension and emotion that went with every big match in our time, he said.At the time, fans came to the stadium to see what an individual player would do on the pitch. They wanted to see how Chukwu would respond to Odegbamis dribbling skills. But now, all we have are the names of the clubs, there are no star players that will bring the fans to the stadium.The former Super Eagles coach, who also coached Rangers in the 2008/2009 season, expressed sadness at the turn of events in Nigeria, reminiscing, however, about his playing days.Chukwu Rhapsodizes: I remember very well that while we were preparing to come to the stadium, fans were already there. By 2 pm, the stands were full even though the match would start by 4 pm. Tickets were bought early in the morning, not when the match was starting as we have today.Apart from protecting the tradition of the clubs, there was rivalry among the players. They had things against each other and the pitch provided an avenue to settle it.Then we had powerful club chairmen and owners. Jim Nwobodo was Rangers chairman and Lekan Salami was Shooting Stars chairman. They loved the club and were part of the history. Their presence, passion and what they said about the opponents hyped the matches and players would want to do everything to win. We had permanent club colours so you could easily recognise which team was playing.Continuing, Chairman Chukwu, as Ernest Okonkwo nick-named him, said part of the reasons why football went down in Nigeria was that players change clubs often; something he said was strange in those days.We didnt jump from one club to the other at that time. Before joining a club, you must have deep passion for that club. You cannot love two clubs in the same way, so players joined the clubs they loved most, he said.You would see Odegbami playing for Shooting Stars all his life just like I played for Rangers. It helped create rich history for the clubs because players saw the clubs as part of their life and fans were always sure of seeing great football.The former field marshal detests the attitude of supporters of clubs today, saying they feed on the clubs instead of enriching them.He explains: Real supporters help the clubs finance and do everything to make sure the clubs remain strong. But what we have now are supporters who rely on the club for support. We had supporters who travelled with us in those days, spending their own money. There was security in the stadium and fans behaved themselves. They did not express their passion for clubs through acts of hooliganism. There was tension on match days between rival supporters but they would not fight themselves or provoke anger.The first Green Eagles captain to lift the Africa Nations Cup noted that one of the major factors that contributed to the fall of the Nigerian league was poor officiating. He said fans would naturally stay away from match venues if they know that they were going to watch a match whose result would be determined by corrupt match officials.We enjoyed good officiating during our time. Matches were not rigged and referees are respected. We won fairly and lost fairly all the time. Referees of those days had other jobs. They were doctors, lawyers, army officers, bankers and so on. So they had names to protect. If a referee was appointed to be at the centre in a match involving Shooting Stars of Ibadan, you could be sure that he would not take sides.RangersIICC classicAfter winning the African Winners Cup in 1976, Shooting Stars were prevented by Rangers from retaining the trophy the following year in the semifinals. Chukwu played in that match he now refers to as the greatest of the classics between the two teams.In 1977, we beat Winners Cup defending champions IICC Shooting Stars in the semifinals. We played the first leg in Lagos and drew but when the second leg was to be played in Enugu, there was so much tension among the fans and the late Gen. Sheu YarAdua, who was the second in command to the then head of state, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, directed that the match be played in Kaduna and we won through penalties. It was great dethroning our rivals because we went on to win the cup. It was a match I would continue to remember.Rangers killer squadChukwu played in a star-studded team for over a decade but he said if he had to choose his all-time Rangers best team, he might be missing names.I won many cups with Rangers and lifted the Nations Cup; but I may not be in the first team if I have to choose a team from the past. There were so many good players then and to be included in a team means that you were good. I wont be able to name a team now because there were so many good players.But another former Eagles player, who is now the teams assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala, said Chukwu would always be in Rangers all time best 11. As a young player Okpala played alongside Chukwu and he was in the 1980 Eagles team that won the Nations Cup.He said, Goalkeeper Emmanuel Okala was a great keeper and deserves the honour of being in the team. His brother took over from him when he retired in 1980 and Christian Chukwu was a very good defender.Christian Ogbodo, Oke Isima, Aloysius Atuegbu, Adokiye Amiesimaka, Patrick Ekeji, Ifeanyi Onyedika and Emma Osigwe were other players Okpala mentioned in the list, which included himself also.Chukwus main rival in Shooting Stars, Odegbami, echoed the former defenders fear for the future of football in Nigeria, saying young players wrecked their future by rushing out to play in Europe.He said, The fans no longer see anything good in the clubs. The quality has dropped significantly because there is endless migration of young players abroad. There are no super stars again and that was what fans came to see in our time.We should also consider the effect of the English Premier League on the local league. The matches are played at the same time and people prefer to watch a well-organised league. The package of EPL is so good that it has affected other leagues and not only in Nigeria.Odegbami speaksOdegbami said the impact of having home-based players in the national team was huge in sustaining the importance of the league.He said, We played for local leagues when we represented Nigeria. Fans were happy to watch the Green Eagles stars when they returned to play for clubs like Rangers, IICC, Bendel Insurance and Sharks. It helped raise the rivalry among the clubs because the players would want to show how good they were. We are missing that now.Our football is missing so many things because there is no player to watch out for. We dont have the exceptional players in the league again.The former winger, who played his entire football career in IICC Shooting Stars, said matches between his club and Rangers were always difficult.I may not be able to pick a particular game because all the matches were like going to war. We knew what it meant to play each other so we always looked forward to the fixture.While Chukwu refused to pick a Rangers best 11 of his time, Odegbami, however, was forthcoming.The celebrated Green Eagles winger who captained both club and country picked Best Ogedegbe as the best goalkeeper for IICC.IICC best 11Odegbami, nick-named Mathematical by the ace football commentator, Ernest Okonkwo, said, He was so good in goal. Apart from him, I will pick the late Muda Lawal as the best midfielder of the time. Kafaru Alabi (late), Kunle Awesu, Samuel Ojebode, Idowu Otubusin, Nathaniel Adewole, and Sam Ashanti are names I can remember quickly, he said, agreeing that he also merited a place in the all-time IICC killer squad stars team.
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