Former Eagles want preparations to start in earnest

Former Super stars have called on the National Sports Commission and the Nigeria Football Federation to start preparation for the South Africa 2010 World Cup immediately.

Speaking, Emmanuel Amunike, former Super Eagles winger, said Shuaibu Amodu should focus on preparing for the African Cup of Nations in Angola, which is barely two months away.

"Though we have to enjoy the moment, we have the Nations Cup in January. It is a big avenue to prepare for the bigger event which is the World Cup," said Amunike, a member of the Super Eagles that won the 1994 Nations Cup before going on to make an impressive World Cup debut appearance in the United States.

"Football is a continuous process so we can't just sit down and fold our hands now that we have qualified. We have to be realistic; we saw how we just managed to qualify so a lot of work needs to be done, and that includes injecting fresh legs into the team," added the 1994 African Player of the Year, who feels the introduction of new players into the side will create healthy competition among the players.

Living in illusion

Amunike, the 1994 Africa Footballer of the year and member of the gold medal winning team to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, noted that Eagles still thrive on the illusion that they are invincible.

While stressing that our failure to understand that other countries have developed in football, and are no longer the underdogs they once were, nearly ruined the Eagles chances of playing among the world best after its absence last year, Amunike advocated that the Nations' Cup in Angola be used to make the Eagles formidable.

"The players should enjoy the moment, they deserve it but they shouldn't forget that football is about continuity; gone are the days when you can say boldly Nigeria will beat a team in its country. The Nations Cup is early next year, it present an opportunity for the coaching crew to develop a formidable team."

Now or never

Amunike's former Super Eagles colleague, Mutiu Adepoju, who has had the experience of going to three World Cups, also shares a similar view and insists there is no time like the present if the Super Eagles intend to go far in South Africa.

"We have to start preparing now, not in the next one month, because the earlier we start planning the better for us," said the former midfielder. "Playing in the Cup of Nations is a process that continues into the World Cup and that was exactly what happened to us in 1994. We used the Cup of Nations, which we won, to prepare for the World Cup and we could all see what the result was."

With ticket secured, the Super Eagles will, in addition to the Nations Cup, be expected to play series of friendly matches before the World Cup gets underway in June 2010. And Adepoju wants Amodu to maximise every opportunity that presents itself, for the good of the team.

"Though the team has not had much time to play together, I believe the coaches should be planning friendly matches. We have FIFA free days which should be utilised because there's room for a lot of improvement," he continued.

And with increasing calls for Amodu's replacement, Adepoju insists on a cautious approach to the issue.

"I think it will be up to the authorities to decide if they need to change coaches or not but I think we need to commend them for what they have achieved, considering all the pressure they've gone through."

Correct Eagles lapses

Speaking on the country's rough road to the world cup, Yisa Sofoluwe a former Abiola Babes left back, who also was in the Green Eagles (in the 1980s before they became known as the Super Eagles), noted that the Eagles would have won the nation the ticket after the first four matches.

Using the Kenyan match as a case study, he said: "We should play some friendly matches, not just any matches, but "A Level" matches. We also need to look at the whole team, get the correct combination in the attack, mid field and the defence. Against Kenya, our defence lapses nearly gave us in; we weren't marking tight, we were too open, gave a lot of space for our host to manoeuvre."

Let Amodu be on the coaching crew

Sofoluwe said Amodu and his assistants cannot be blamed for the tight rope the Eagles walked before qualifying, noting that the role of a senior team coach is to tell the boys technical approach to a match and the players to play.

He added, "When I was playing it is not everything the coach tells us that we do, there are times we play our game."