Nigeria: Super Eagles, Argentina Return Leg Friendly Mired in Controversy

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Pius Anakali

18 June 2011

That Nigeria defeated Argentina national team in friendly encounter in Abuja is no longer news. The issue now is whether Nigeria should honour a planned return leg. In this piece, Pius Anakali asks if the money on offer is more important than what we are as a nation.

Which comes first: national pride or money? These are some of the questions discerning Nigerians, especially those conscious of the nation’s image were asking when the news of Super Eagles and Argentina national team so-called second leg friendly match hit the media few days back.

To the Argentines, defeating them by whooping 4-goals to 1-goal is unheard of. No one, not even the Super Eagles players or even the visiting Argentines would have imagined that an African team or a country with a poorly organised and inefficient Football Association like ours will ever beat a two-times World Cup winner by such a margin.

Nobody ever believed that a country like Argentina will ever collapsed under the firing power of a hurriedly arranged team like the Super Eagles. But it happened and Nigerians are savouring the glory while Argentines are reeling in the pain of the after match.

It’s a friendly match, many are wont to argue, but it is as crucial as well. It is that importance that made world soccer body, FIFA, to even think that there must have been some match fixing in the encounter.

The Argentines must have thought that beating them, even if it’s far away from home, would have amounted to another wonders of the world.

With that in mind as the countdown to the Guinness Nigeria-sponsored competition gathers momentum, Argentina coach, Sergio Batista, scanned through its local league and fished out some players for the Guinness Cup dropping the likes of mesmerising Lionel Messi from the side.

While the Argentine coach was plotting his way through the encounter, our own Samson Siasia, was also hazarding a guess, tinkering with the idea of either fielding a second-rate team or the best legs for the match.

With Simon Kalika, the wizard around the Bayelsa gaffer, Siasia, unleashed the Obi brothers: Joel and Mikel, Ike Uche of Zaragoza of Spain, Fernabache defender, Joseph Yobo, Taiye Taiwo and others on the visitors. Not even the absence of enterprising striker, racy Osaze Odemwingie, could stop the Super Eagles resolve to rout and ‘mow down’ the visitors.

It was the sensational Uche who drew the first blood in the early minutes of the first half. With another in the second 45 minutes, Nigeria sealed a 4-1 victory over the visitors.

If the players were happy at the outcome, the coach, Siasia, was more elated.

In a chat with the media after the match, Siasia declared. “We are no longer Super Chickens, beating Argentina is no mean feat and I must congratulate the players for the achievement. The boys have done well even when we had little time to train. I was worried before the match because instead of concentrating we were busy arguing over the right tactics,” Siasia explained.

That was not the first time Nigeria has beaten Argentina in football match. At the Atlanta Olympic in 1996, the story was the same.

Shortly after that Olympic euphoria, something gave way and the Nigerian side waned, becoming prey to the South American country. The once intensely competitive Super Eagles were nicknamed Super ‘Chickens’ after series of defeat from countries that included Argentina at every opportunity.

In 2005, Nigeria’s U-20 lost to Argentina 1-2, the story was replicated at the Beijing Olympics when Nigeria lost to Argentina by 2-goals to 3-goals.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Nigeria was a mere participant losing its opening match to Argentina by a lone goal.

It was therefore no surprise that the Argentines believed that they could beat Nigeria any day and anywhere.

But the Abuja loss reverberated back home in Buenos Aires. The media was awash with the disgrace.

So, it is attempt to repair their already wounded image, the Argentines’ national pride, that necessitated the call for a rematch. The question therefore is: should Nigeria honour that encounter?

Well, on this, opinion differs. While some Nigerians should be allowed to savour the victory over the highly rated Argentines, others felt Nigeria should honour the match.

Those who believe Nigeria should toe a line of caution say our the country’s national image is much more than the dollars at stake in playing the match.

True, nations that play in the World Cup don’t do so because of the financial gain involved but the honour of being identified as a nation, its culture and its people. Why do governments all over the world have ambassador in other lands? It is to serve the interest of the people.

What will Nigeria gain if it wins the World Cup for instance? It is simply honour, not money. So honour among men, among nations defines us a people.

But then, who are we, really? Simply put, we are ‘black monkeys,’ who can do anything for a piece of banana. So the best way to catch us is to throw the banana at us.

Already the Aminu Maigari-led Nigeria Football Federation has signed the deal just because of the money involved. If you know what $2 million means to those people, then you will know why they signed the deal before even looking at the contract papers. That is the way we are, hungry people who can do anything for bucks.

Yes, $2million is a big deal, but is it bigger than our corporate image?

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