PTF, NFF distracted Eagles -Kpakor
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- Category: Sports
- Written by David Ngobua
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Although most Nigerian football fans have expressed total dissatisfaction with the performance of the Super Eagles technical crew and the players at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola with majority calling for the sack of the coaches, former international Moses Kpakor feels differently as he said the blame for the team’s elimination from the competition should be laid at the door steps of the Presidential Task Force and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, leadership.
Speaking to Trustsports yesterday, the former Super Eagles star said the coaches and players of the national team were exposed to unnecessary distraction in form of talks about hiring a foreign coach and total overhauling of the playing staff even as the team was making progress in the championship.
He explained that what the PTF and members of the NFF did was completely unprofessional and should be condemned in all ramifications.
Kpakor noted that even if the team was not playing well, it was progressing in the championship and so all the talks about hiring a foreign coach and asking most of the players to give way for fresh legs shouldn’t have arisen.
“I blame the PTF and NFF for what happened to the team’s ambition. The players and their coaches were exposed to serious distraction. There was no need to make so much noise about sacking the coaches and the players while the team was making progress. I look at that as unprofessional behavior that ultimately distracted the team.
“I am not saying those who are talking about hiring a foreign coach and getting fresh legs to compete for Nigeria are totally wrong but I have a problem with the timing. It was wrongly timed and I feel so disappointed that those who committed such blunder are people who pride themselves as football technocrats.
“Imagine in the middle of a tournament you are busy negotiating with foreign coaches. Why won’t that act of sabotage distract the players and their coaches? He asked
Kpakor maintained that when the President set up the presidential task force on Eagles, he saw it as a good omen but knew even then that it would be misapplied in the end.
“For me, the PTF that was set up by Mr. President was a good omen but I knew that it would end up as a bullet to shoot down the Eagles. If we look at the lingering crises between the committee and the NFF, you will agree with me that the committee is indeed a dangerous bullet.
“These people claim to have the interest of the nation at heart but their actions have proved to be counter-productive. We may blame the players and the coaches for failing to live up to expectations but the PTF and NFF also played negative roles”.
Kpakor also said the Eagles lost to the Black Stars of Ghana but that is not to say they did not play well as he insisted that their defeat was a combination of ill-luck and unnecessary distractions that the team faced in the hands of PTF and the NFF.
“Eagles played better than the Black Stars but they were not lucky as the strikers failed to convert some of the chances that came their way. Had it been they scored the goals, Eagles wouldn’t have lost the match”.
Kpakor therefore called on Nigerians not to over react to Eagles elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations but appreciate the players’ efforts and try to proffer solutions to some of the problems which combined to shoot down the team.
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PTF, NFF distracted Eagles -Kpakor
Category: Sports Written by David Ngobua Hits: 610
Although most Nigerian football fans have expressed total dissatisfaction with the performance of the Super Eagles technical crew and the players at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola with majority calling for the sack of the coaches, former international Moses Kpakor feels differently as he said the blame for the team’s elimination from the competition should be laid at the door steps of the Presidential Task Force and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, leadership.
Speaking to Trustsports yesterday, the former Super Eagles star said the coaches and players of the national team were exposed to unnecessary distraction in form of talks about hiring a foreign coach and total overhauling of the playing staff even as the team was making progress in the championship.
He explained that what the PTF and members of the NFF did was completely unprofessional and should be condemned in all ramifications.
Kpakor noted that even if the team was not playing well, it was progressing in the championship and so all the talks about hiring a foreign coach and asking most of the players to give way for fresh legs shouldn’t have arisen.
“I blame the PTF and NFF for what happened to the team’s ambition. The players and their coaches were exposed to serious distraction. There was no need to make so much noise about sacking the coaches and the players while the team was making progress. I look at that as unprofessional behavior that ultimately distracted the team.
“I am not saying those who are talking about hiring a foreign coach and getting fresh legs to compete for Nigeria are totally wrong but I have a problem with the timing. It was wrongly timed and I feel so disappointed that those who committed such blunder are people who pride themselves as football technocrats.
“Imagine in the middle of a tournament you are busy negotiating with foreign coaches. Why won’t that act of sabotage distract the players and their coaches? He asked
Kpakor maintained that when the President set up the presidential task force on Eagles, he saw it as a good omen but knew even then that it would be misapplied in the end.
“For me, the PTF that was set up by Mr. President was a good omen but I knew that it would end up as a bullet to shoot down the Eagles. If we look at the lingering crises between the committee and the NFF, you will agree with me that the committee is indeed a dangerous bullet.
“These people claim to have the interest of the nation at heart but their actions have proved to be counter-productive. We may blame the players and the coaches for failing to live up to expectations but the PTF and NFF also played negative roles”.
Kpakor also said the Eagles lost to the Black Stars of Ghana but that is not to say they did not play well as he insisted that their defeat was a combination of ill-luck and unnecessary distractions that the team faced in the hands of PTF and the NFF.
“Eagles played better than the Black Stars but they were not lucky as the strikers failed to convert some of the chances that came their way. Had it been they scored the goals, Eagles wouldn’t have lost the match”.
Kpakor therefore called on Nigerians not to over react to Eagles elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations but appreciate the players’ efforts and try to proffer solutions to some of the problems which combined to shoot down the team.