By Oladunjoye Opeyemi
Former Super Eagles’ coach, Clemens Westerhof, has tipped current handler, Stephen Keshi, to give the team a success story at the World Cup this summer.
The Dutchman led Nigeria to her first ever World Cup 20 years ago, with Keshi as his skipper, in a team that won the Africa Cup of Nations and reached the second round at USA 1994.
“Nigeria can be among the last four in the World Cup and the time for this is now. I dream that this is Nigeria’s time and I want Keshi to make the team a family so that they can play for each other on and off the field, make discipline high so that nobody loses his head, make good preparation and select well. If it goes like this, Nigeria will be among the last four,” Westerhof said
“You have fantastic goalkeepers. And I tell you, Nigeria have many players in Europe. Not all of them are known to Nigerians but there are many good ones. Keshi can do better than I did. He should. And he can. Nigeria can be among the last four.
“You have many good players but they are silent. Ike Uche is good but he must be a team player. And the boy in Newcastle [Shola Ameobi] can be made strong and made to play behind the central attacker. [Emmanuel] Emenike is strong.
“You must have a strong left footer like [Emmanuel] Amunike or Friday Elaho. You can make the players very fit, very strong and Oyibo is in trouble, I tell you. Then you ensure there’s strong discipline. I dream every time about Nigeria.
“The time for Nigeria is now and I know that Keshi can do it.”
Nigeria has failed to make it beyond the second in all its appearances at the World Cup so far and did not even qualify from their groups in 2002 and 2010.
