EAGLES: SUPER! SUPERB!! SUPERIOR!!!

-

Writing about the AFCON 2013 after the Super Eagles triumph would seem such an easy task, but only for the hypocrites. To see people make a 360 degrees detour from calling them “Super Chickens” to “Super Eagles”, and to watch “the undisputed draw-masters” become “the true kings of Africa” in 7 days is an intrigue Kim Kardashian will dream of having on her Reality TV show. It was just as if the Eagles were waiting for the completion of the Knockout Stages to really display all the great qualities that sets them apart from other avians: vision, aggression, agility, decisiveness, and flair. The Eagles did not just win the the knockout stage matches by the scoreline, they equally won by the performance. They were truly deserving champions after dominating Zambia - the defending champions; Cote D’Ivoire – the pre-tournament clear favourites; Mali – a tournament favourite; and Burkina Faso – the conqueror of Ghana (a pre-tournament favourite). The vigour with which I criticized the Eagles when they looked like they have lost their wings is the same vigour with which I have to surpass now that they are soaring higher than our imagination.

Expectedly, just as I projected, the competition opened up in the last round of group stage matches and it never went back to sleep. Highlights of the tournament include debutantes Cape Verde bracing all the odds to make it to the knockout stage; defending champions Zambia crashing out in the first round; all the North African representatives crashing out in the first round; Cote D’Ivoire crashing out against Nigeria without a fight; Nigeria mauling Mali in the Semi Final; and Nigeria deservedly winning the competition having outplayed all their opponents and outscored all the other teams in the competition. It was extremely impressive and highly jingoistic to see Sunday Oliseh on DSTV wearing the garment of an analyst, a job he handled with the same dexterity with which he manned the midfield the last time the Super Eagles won the Trophy in Tunisia ’94.

Amid the euphoria, we must not lose sight of the shortcomings of AFCON 2013: the Mbombela stadium at Nelspruit should never have been part of the competition, not even as a training pitch; most of the Referees at the competition needs to be investigated for ties with betting syndicates because it seemed they were hell-bent on determining the winners and not adjudicating the contests; and lastly, information sharing should be handled more effectively to avoid accusations and insinuations that continues to negatively impact the integrity of CAF and the AFCON itself.


Two thumbs-up to Stephen “Big Boss” Keshi for once again achieving beyond all expectations. He has written his name into the history books of African football. After qualifying unknown Togo for the FIFA World Cup, and leading Togo and Mali to the Nations Cup albeit with less success, this competition provided an opportunity to redeem his image, but he did more than that, he actually cemented his status as a Coach to be reckoned with in Africa. He stood his ground, chose his team on merit and relevance rather than reputation, stuck to his ideals even when results were not forthcoming, tweaked his tactics when necessary while others were tweeting, motivated his lads, and the AFCON trophy is a testament to his ingenuity. The players really deserve kudos for playing their hearts out and immersing themselves into the tasks, this was the tournament where Mikel came of age for Nigeria, where Emenike, Mba, Omeruo, Oboabona, Onazi, Ogude and Ideye announced themselves to Nigerians, where Enyeama once again proved his importance to the Super Eagles; and where the Super Eagles reignited the passion and belief in Nigeria.




In the end, we have to give it to the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon, his timeless saying “all is well that ends well” also rings true here because Jacob Zuma is presently grinning from ear to ear as he got more than he wished for with African countries actually winning the top three prizes: Nigeria won the Gold, Burkina-Faso made do with the Silver, Mali grabbed the Bronze; and Ghana with all the aiding and abetting by Referees went back home with empty bottles of Alomo Bitters!!!
Thank You!
God Bless Us All!!
See You Next Time!!!

Twitter: @SirRash
Facebook: Rasheed SirRash Adewusi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

…OF VULNERABILITY AND THE ILLUSION OF ELEVATION

-
Image
Since the last time I wrote here, some things have changed… Not such big changes, but big enough to make me become more introspective and less happy. I mean Life is TOUGH, at least I can speak for here in Nigeria where I live. The first change is that I changed my job (Again???). Yeah, again. I finally left Telecommunications, I am now in Renewable Energy, Solar Energy to be precise, and while it is financially rewarding and interesting, it is also saddening because I get to come in contact with the real Vulnerables of the world, and that could be depressing, especially when you consider how minute your impact is compared to what they require to get uplifted out of their dire status. The second change is that I have gone on and become a more open person who now interacts more with strangers and virtual friends, and what I see every day is that basically, no one has it together. We are all just trying to be happy, because happiness is such a fleeting state that you will defi
Read more

THE TRAGEDY OF ILLUSORY REALITY

-
Image
Compliments of the Season from your favorite absconder from the creative duty of writing. I wrote on this blog just once last year, I actually managed to match my personal record of laziness set the previous year. This is not a record I am proud of, and this year, I have determined to pummel procrastination into submission and write as much as I can. So help me God. And for those of you who dropped some friends last year, I hope you have not started picking up some new ones already this year, just to come and disturb us at the end of the year with news that you will be dropping them again. With the usual apologies, resolutions, and subs out of the way, let me get to the reason why I am here very early this year (aside pummeling procrastination) – I think reality is being replaced with illusion, so I need to find out if I am the odd one out still living here while others have migrated to an alternate world where white is black, and red is green. The reality, where we take every
Read more

…OF A NIGERIAN YOUTH AND THE QUANDARY OF ETERNAL OPTIMISM

-
Image
This is the month of May, today is the 29 th , and the appropriate greeting as a Nigerian is “Happy Democracy Day”, but I guess saying “Happy New Year” is not out of place, since I was here last in the year 2016. Yes, I know, I have promised I will not disappear several times and I actually did disappear, but if you know me very well, you know I usually keep my promises, and it is because I try so hard to keep most of my promises that I have not been able to keep this one – you know, promises like never let the family lack, never let my day-job suffer, never let stress send me to the hospital, never pass up an opportunity to network in real life, etc. So, here I am again confused as to what to write about, not as much what to write about, but what to write about it – I want to write about the future of those of us Nigerians forty years and below-  should I join the others and continue to wail and rail against the our present sad situation, or should I, like an eternal optimist tha
Read more