Skip to main content

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
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COVID-19 - THE HARD TRUTHS FROM THESE TRYING TIMES

If someone were to tell me in December 2019 that there would be an occurrence in 2020 which would lead to a near collapse of the financial markets, nearly wipe out the global transportation and tourism industry, put almost all the nations of the world on self-imposed lockdown, I mean basically ground the entire world, I would have simply taken the person for a clown, and if they were to insist on keeping their position, I would have recommended a psychiatric evaluation. Such was the strength of my faith and belief in the social, mental, scientific, and technological evolution of humankind that I could not foresee all of us abandoning life as we know it and scampering for shelter far away from other humans as much as possible. Let us face it, the world will never be the same again, even after we have been able to arrest the Covid-19 pandemic, but then, why should it remain the same? The current situation has brought to the fore the indispensability of many of the issues essen...
3 comments
Read more

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA

Air travel is such a kaleidoscope of experiences, serving a flavourful dish with a potpourri of pyscho-social condiments - some spicily educative, some saltily annoying, and others so blandly humbling that it evokes nothing but acceptance. First, we all need to agree that air travel is one of the greatest proofs of the limitlessness of the human spirit. An airplane remains one of the inventions which pushed human advancement to the next frontier, cutting down travel time across the planet, leading to easier and better collaboration, and of course facilitating the growth of the global economy. Interestingly, the ease with which humans readily trust aircrafts to always take us home is a successful psycho-social experiment which should never be taken for granted. For context, we are expected to always look right, look left, and look right again before crossing a road, and for wider roads, we basically mount pedestrian bridges to help us cross, yet this requires less than a minute; but we ...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE PHYSICS OF PRESENCE, AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE LARGER-THAN-LIFE PHENOMENON

We have all felt it - that sudden, inexplicable shift in the atmospheric pressure of a room. A person walks in, and without saying a word, they seem to occupy more cubic centimeters of space than their physical frame should allow. We call them “larger than life.” But what does that actually mean? Unless we are discussing a literal giant or a particularly ambitious parade float, the phrase is a biological impossibility. Yet, we use it to describe the titans of industry, the icons of cinema, and that one uncle who tells stories with enough kinetic energy to power a small “Lagos Estate”. To understand the “larger than life” phenomenon, we have to stop looking at the person and start looking at the space they displace. It is not about size; it is about density, narrative, and the sheer audacity of being seen. In the world of physics, density is mass divided by volume. In the philosophy of persona, being larger than life is often a result of emotional density. Most people live within the...
14 comments
Read more