Olufemi Atoyebi examines the rise of new Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi, Samson Siasias successorIn a bid not to create a vacuum in the Super Eagles, Nigeria Football Federation has acted by naming Stephen Keshi as a replacement for Samson Siasia, who was sacked on October 28, 2011.The sacking came as a response to many Nigerians who were furious that for the first time in 25 years, Nigeria did not qualify for the Africa Nations Cup.Keshi is no stranger to the national team. Apart from being a former captain of the team, his appointment is a timely choice in many ways.Keshi won the Nations Cup with the Super Eagles in 1994 and marked his tenure as captain with another landmark success by leading the team to its first ever World Cup appearance under coach Clemens Westerhorf.He has always been around the Nigerian teams, he was the assistant coach of the Eagles in 2002; when Shaibu Amodu was the coach. He worked with the Olympic team in 2004 the highpoint of the coach is his success with Togo.He signed a contract with the West African nation in 2004 and against all odds, he qualified the team for the 2006 World Cup. But soon after qualifying, he was sent out controversially, with German coach Otto Pfister replacing him.But Togo did badly in the World Cup and in 2007, Keshi was recalled by Togo. The stay was short-lived as Mali appointed him in 2008. He failed to take Mali to the World Cup in South Africa and in the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola, Mali failed to reach the second round. The drew 4-4 with the hosts, lost 1-0 to Algeria in the second match and beat Malawi 3-1 in the final group match. The failure marked the end of Keshis stay in Mali as he resigned his position immediately.He returned to Togo for the third time in March in an interim capacity. He applied for the Super Eagles job alongside Siasia in 2010 but came second to his former teammate in the Eagles.Meanwhile, former Leventis United and Super Falcons coach Jossy Lad, who had several encounters with the coach said Keshis strength lies in his charisma.He said, I have known Keshi since his days at the defunct New Nigeria Bank. He was a leader with vision. I remember him as a young strong defender at the time who gave Leventis United real fight. When his team was not getting the goal, he moved forward to score with header or thunderous shot.It was no surprise that he went on to captain Nigeria and succeed as a professional player in Europe. His experience as a former player and now a successful coach with Togo will help Nigeria a lot. He played under many Nigerian coaches at the peak of the national team and he was always a regular player, said Jossy Lad.The former Shooting Stars board chairman added that as a respected coach in Africa, Keshi will have the grip needed to maintain calmness in a team.Players look at many things before settling down to work with a coach. When I was the coach of Leventis, my players were aware that I had passed through the stage they were under me, so when I asked them to do something they knew it was possible. I once told them during a half time talk that we could still win the match even though we were trailing by three goals. I gave them an instance when I was playing. They went back and won 4-3.Keshi will be able to make reference to situation like this because he had played the game and coached at the top level. What was missing under Siasia will be present in Keshi era if the NFF give him the support he needs, said Jossy Lad.The former coach however called on the new coach to respect the players and listen to their views.The players are on the pitch and they feel the pains. Autocratic system will not work in a team. The coach is like a father to the players so I implore Keshi to do everything possible to win the players to his side. Players can wreck a good coach and help a poor coach get results. Friday Ekpo played with Keshi in the 80s and in his opinion, the new coach should build a solid team with home-based players.He said, That is the backbone of the team. When Nigeria was great, players from the league were the backbone. The foreign-based players had no permanent position.But we made a big mistake by giving every position in the national team to foreign-based players, whose attitude ruined what we built over the years. Every Nigerian must be given the chance to represent his country but only the good ones can wear the jersey.Ekpo said Keshi must visit league venues regularly and identify players who are good enough to play in the national team.They are here with us but we shot them out because they play in Nigeria, said Ekpo.
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