The Moment (London)
28 November 2011
SAMSON Siasia has lamented his short-lived career as head coach of Nigeria’s national soccer team, the Super Eagles.
The ex-international, who wormed his way into the hearts of millions of fans with his exploits as coach of the national Under-20 team and later the Under-23 squad, was in October 2011 relieved of his job as senior team handler, a little under a year on the job.
Siasia’s dismissal by the Nigeria Football Federation came as a result of his inability to help the Super Eagles qualify for next year’s African Cup of Nations.
By this development, the former Nantes of France forward lost a job that fetched him a princely N5 million a month and other perks of office like bonuses and allowances.
However, not a few persons would be surprised that losing the Super Eagles job is not Siasia’s biggest regret either as a player or a manager. Rather it was Nigeria’s loss to Italy in a second round match at the 1994 World Cup in Italy.
Siasia said: ‘I played football in Europe and America during my football career, and I would confess that the most painful aspect of it all was the 1994 World Cup in which we were eliminated in the second round by Italy.
‘We got to the World Cup fully prepared. Most of the players were dedicated and most of us were playing in Europe in big teams too. We prepared very well, we had a coach, Clemense Westerhof, who was very tough.
‘We worked very hard in Papendal, Holland, to ensure that we came out tops. It was a good game and we put up a good performance. I thank God for the opportunity.
‘At the USA World Cup, I met some of the players I used to play with at the club level in Europe and having to play against them was a great joy to me. It was a great privilege.
‘On that very first match against Greece in Boston, some of us were nervous but of course it is always the case with players in such high profile match. But we said to ourselves just go out there and do your best. And that was what we did. We prayed we had a good game.
‘The game was going as planned until the referee changed the course of things.
I think it was as a result of inexperience that we lost the second round match against
Italy.
‘During the free kick that culminated in their equaliser, we were not paying attention when the free kick was played due to inexperience. All the same we had a great game and since then successive national teams have not done what we did.
‘I am very proud to be among those players. But I still maintain that it is the most painful in my career. I did not play that game though, but it was painful,’ Siasia said.
Commenting on the allegation that he was one of the players regarded as a Mafia in the then Super Eagles, Siasia said he was a victim of injustice.
‘We rebelled, of course. If somebody was not doing his job or forgot to do his job at that particular time, it became a problem for someone else.
‘I felt certain things should be put right by the authorities and I was punished for it.
‘People kept asking the question why I did not play that game against Italy. Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amuneke got injured and I was still on the bench. It was the most painful game I have ever played in my life and football career.
‘We all like Keshi. We were a mafia that did not carry guns.
But we stood up for the truth. ‘If you have a player that is stubborn and he can play and make your day any time, what a coach needs do is to tell him look you can improve.
‘Because of that I was dropped at the 1998 World Cup and we fumbled,’ Siasia said.
AllAfrica – All the Time
See more here:
Nigeria: My Biggest Regret in Football, By Siasia