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The Big Boss may have departed, but he can look back fondly upon his achievements with the Super Eagles. Amidst the records and the glory, what was his finest hour?
Following the team's struggles over the last few months, Stephen Keshi has departed as Nigeria manager. The Super Eagles may have declined, but few can deny the Big Boss the glorious Cup of Nations victory in early 2013. It was a triumph that reignited a nation's passion and earned the manager a spot in the pantheon of Nigerian greats.
Keshi himself may well point to the 2014 World Cup as another golden hour. The Super Eagles may have only won one game, but Keshi managed to carry the West Africans to the Last 16 for the first time since the 1998 World Cup. He also oversaw a first Nigerian victory over European opposition in 16 years.
In this feature, two of Goal Nigeria's finest debate whether the Cup of Nations triumph or the records broken in Brazil represent Keshi's finest achievement as Super Eagles boss.
| Nothing tops the Afcon victory |
An Africa Cup of Nations trophy in hand is worth more than 100 last-16 World Cup appearances.
The Super Eagles went to the World Cup as African champions, but never quite lived up to expectations.
With the level of preparations put in place, and the large pool of players available to Nigeria, Clemens Westerhof’s last-16 record, which was set two decades prior,should really have been surmounted.
The Dutchman’s name would still pop up now and again when Nigeria’s World Cup participation is mentioned because all that Stephen Keshi did (just like Bora Milutinovic), was equal the previous record, not surpass it.
Overtaking it would have represented a more substantial challenge to the Afcon triumph as Keshi’s greatest achievement with Nigeria.
Truthfully, it was more luck than workable strategy that aided Nigeria’s advancement from the group stages—just imagine if Keshi’s men were placed in Cameroon’s Group A with Brazil, Uruguay and Croatia, for example.
The entire mission could have gone south and we wouldn’t be talking about this now.
The World Cup is too big a party to pay too much respect to second-placed teams, or even third…not to talk of those who crashed out in the round of 16.
Surely, Keshi will be most remembered for his exploits within the African continent.
Landing Nigeria’s first continental trophy in almost two decades has to be his greatest achievement.
The difference between this (another of Westerhof’s long-standing records) and the meager exploits in Brazil is that Keshi eventually clinched the trophy, and there’s no other step higher than that. The aim of every competition, after all, is to reach the final and possibly win the trophy. This the Big Boss and his troops did.
On the other hand, Keshi not only landed the Afcon title in 2013 but also unearthed a national hero in the mould of Sunday Mba; a relative unknown who was sweating it out with Warri Wolves in the Nigerian league.
Can we confidently point to one player in the World Cup team who, like Mba, shot to the limelight with his immaculate displays and helped Nigeria’s cause? (Michael Babatunde? Please!)
That in itself takes more shine away from the World Cup tale, which, honestly, should not be told as it is depressing to the ear.
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| The World Cup truly is the Grandest Stage |
Winning the Afcon was a fantastic achievement, especially after waiting 19 years, and coming just a year after Nigeria had failed to even qualify for the previous edition.
However, a nation of Nigeria’s stature was always going to be in with a shout. The 2013 edition did not feature the two most successful African teams on the continental stage: Cameroon and Egypt, who have combined for 12 titles between them.
That took the shine off it somewhat. Nigeria only really had one big test: a quarter-final tie against an ageing Ivory Coast, wearied with unfulfilled promise and complacency.
Qualifying for the World Cup Round of 16 is arguably a bigger deal. Why? Well, let’s consider the specifics.
In 1994, Clemens Westerhof set the bar, with Stephen Keshi a prominent member of that team as captain. That generation is widely regarded as Nigeria’s foremost in terms of quality. They won six points out of a possible nine, finishing top of their group. The Class of ’94 was exploding with talent and ability, and, under Westerhof, played football with simplicity and creative licence.
Nigeria in 2014 | Glimpsing Greatness
Four years later, Bora Milutinovic equalled the record with a team that featured some players left over from Westerhof’s side. Where there was a need for replacements due to age, injury or loss of form, that team could call upon a core of players who had won gold at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
These two teams were among the finest ever produced by Nigeria, and this is no analysis after the fact. The current incarnation does not come close in any way in terms of raw quality. Ogenyi Onazi bustles and harries, but he does not touch the calm and crisp passing of Sunday Oliseh; Emmanuel Emenike top-scored at the Afcon, but Rashidi Yekini did so in two separate tournaments and was far superior.
Finidi George was vastly underrated in his intelligence and consistency, in stark contrast to Ahmed Musa who is explosive but volatile. We could go on and on; not to belabour the point, but there is quite a gulf in class.
Therefore, the fact that Keshi led them to achieve a landmark identical to that of more gifted predecessors speaks volumes of the tremendous work done by the Big Boss. By winning the Cup of Nations, Keshi simply righted a wrong: Nigeria’s gross underachievement on the African continent relative to talent is startling; but in getting to the Round of 16 in Brazil, he glimpsed greatness.
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