A former Super Eagles player, Garba Lawal , has given his opinion on why the national team struggle in matches.
Super Eagles under the tutelage of Jose Peseiro, has struggled both in competitive and non-competitive matches. And also enduring their worst run in history; losing four straight games consecutively.
And the most recent poor outing coming up against, Guinea-Bissau in an AFCON qualifier fixture in Abuja. The Super Eagles lost 1-0 through a Mama lone goal right before the halftime break.
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However, the team struggled back to secure their first victory in 5 matches, away in Bissau two months ago. A penalty-kick by assistant Captain, Moses Simon was the only difference in the fixture.
Reacting to the recent form of the team, Lawal, is upbeat that the reason for poor outings is because the team currently lacks competition. And according to Lawal, their time had more serious players than what is obtainable at the moment. Because back then, players are many, vying for a spot in the national team. Hence, the players decision to make every opportunity count.
Lawal talks tough about players in the Super Eagles team
“That time, there was so much competition in every department, four, five players each. So, that is why when I see the way our national teams are playing now, for me, there is no competition at the moment,” Lawal said in interview with The PUNCH Nigeria.
“That is why you see us struggling. Because they know if they play badly today, they will retain their positions tomorrow. But in our time, when you fumbled, you won’t play the next game, you will beg to have another chance to come in.
“And the discipline also must go in line with the coaches’ methodology. That is why a lot of people complained then of how I always got into the national team. But it’s the coach’s philosophy, it’s not me.”
Lawal also spoke about how his commitment and versatility alway earn him a spot in the star-studded national team.
“People kept asking why every coach that came never placed me on the bench, and I told them to ask the coach, not me. When you have a player that can play in more than three positions as a coach, you have confidence in him. If you are versatile, the coach will call on you anytime there’s a problem and then you go in and change the game,” he continued.
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Lawal talks about his versatility in the national team
“I remember at the 1996 Olympics, I had never trained as a left-back. But in the group game against Brazil, which we lost 1-0, the coach told me to warm up. I asked him what position I was going to play and he said ‘left-back.’ I said, ‘No problem’ because I had no choice. I also remember that Sunday Oliseh got a red card in the game before that match. So, he was suspended against Brazil.
“He had already told me that in the next game I was going to play defensively and I said, ‘No problem’. He said just ‘try and play it, it is not your position’. That time, whether you said yes or no, you must play. So, I had no option. Sometimes, I played left-back, sometimes I played No.7 in attack, and sometimes I play as a holding midfielder, anywhere we had problems. So, there was no way I would have been dropped from the team, but people don’t understand that it is not me that will tell the coach I am versatile.”
“It is the coach that will decide, he knows better than the players, that is why he is there as the coach,” he concluded.
The Super Eagles will return to action against Sierra Leone in an AFCON qualifier match next month.
