Mikel Obi,  Eagles captain: agonises over the future

By Ed Dove

As Egypt know only too well, and as Nigeria are finding out in an agonising manner, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

There is, it seems, no downfall too spectacular for continental kings.

The Super Eagles are facing up to the stark reality of missing a second consecutive Cup of Nations following Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat in Alexandria. In light of Egypt’s last-minute 1-1 draw in Kaduna on Friday, and Chad’s withdrawal from Afcon qualifying, the Super Eagles will definitely not be present in Gabon for the continental showpiece in January 2017.

Nigeria’s early elimination is stunning, particularly considering that the only other nations who have already been dumped out of the competition are Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Kenya. It’s not the kind of company the Super Eagles typically find themselves in, and a world away from where the fans believe they belong.

Nigeria’s early elimination is stunning, particularly considering that the only other nations who have already been dumped out of the competition are Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique and Kenya. It’s not the kind of company the Super Eagles typically find themselves in, and a world away from where the fans believe they belong.

Beyond their wealth of resources, their grand history (even if it isn’t half as impressive as it ought to be), and the strengths of the domestic league, this is a side that contains several fine Premier League players, a handful of stars who are regular Champions League combatants, others who feature in some of the major leagues in the world game, and, in John Obi Mikel, one of only 10 active African players to have won Europe’s elite club competition (and much more besides).

Super Eagles: astonishing decline

Beyond this, it was only three and a half years ago that they stood at the pinnacle of the continental game, when they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in Johannesburg to win their third Afcon title.

Their decline is astonishing.

One by one, the stars of that magnificent triumph lost their lustre, a resolute defensive display at the 2014 World Cup failed to mask the fact that the side was lacking offensively, and Stephen Keshi ultimately left the post of head coach after a dragged-out ‘will he, won’t he’ saga that set the national team back years and undermined the team’s hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Cup of Nations to defend their continental crown.

Keshi’s replacement Sunday Oliseh—they called him the African Guardiola—promised so much, but ultimately fell on his sword after he failed to even begin to deal with the pressure that came with managing one of the continent’s behemoths, having swapped the sanctuary of the television studio for the tribulations of the touch-line.

He exited after a remarkable Twitter rant aimed at the ‘insanity’ that surrounded him, and Samson Siasia—who had previously failed to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2012 tournament—stepped into the breach.

While Siasia knows what Oliseh didn’t—that modest stillness and humility maketh the man—his attacking, somewhat naive, approach, and a lack of time to work with the players, meant that his was always going to be an uphill struggle.

Poor Alex Iwobi, who confirmed his international future with Nigeria, despite reported overtures from England, whom he represented at youth level, must not have realised what he’d got himself into.

Of the 2013 Cup of Nations squad that was praised for its verve, its youthful promise, and its potential to dominate the African game for years to come, only five started the match against Egypt in Alexandria.

A nation is left bewildered at how the promise of 2013’s continental conquers—supplemented with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Odion Ighalo and Iwobi—has been squandered in a miserable cycle of under achievement and squabble.

Nigeria’s decline is astonishing, but it is not unprecedented.

Egypt’s Mohammed Shawki (L) comforts goalkeeper Essam al-Hadary (R) after losing the 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off football match against Algeria in Khartoum on November 18, 2009. AFP Photo

Indeed, while the Super Eagles are slipping into the nadir of their hopelessness, there are green shoots for Egypt, who could write the manual on what it means for a continental king to tumble from their throne.

The cycles of these two African heavyweights have rarely overlapped in recent decades; Egypt failed to reach the last four of an Afcon during the mid-90s, as Nigeria’s golden generation broke new ground for the African game.

In the middle of the last decade, as the Pharaohs won an unprecedented three titles in a row, the Super Eagles had grown accustomed to falling in the semi-finals of the tournament, losing at this stage on four occasions between 2002 and 2010.

When Nigeria won their title in 2013, Egypt, who had been continental champions only three years previously, were sitting out their second consecutive competition, as their own golden generation declined and as the ravages of the Arab Spring undermined the nation’s erstwhile sporting prowess.

Victory in Alexandria has put the Pharaohs on the brink of a spot in Gabon, and a return to the continental high table for the first time since 2010.

Nigeria, meanwhile, will not be able to make a comeback until 2019 at the earliest—a full six years since they won the title. Mikel will be 32 by then.

Egypt know only too well the ignominy of being African heavyweights without an invitation to the continental high table.

*This article was originally published in www.goal.com: