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Blown opportunities Nigeria, Africa let chances slip away
Posted: Tuesday February 15, 2000 08:57 AM
Nigeria once again showed why it's the Goliath of African football. It's bigger, stronger and better than everybody else, but it invariably falls victim to the Davids of this world, teams which put as much of an emphasis on discipline and organization as they do on skill. It happened again in the African Nations Cup final on Sunday, when the Super Eagles were beaten by Cameroon on penalties. The score was close, but Nigeria was thoroughly outplayed. Never mind the fact that Victor Ikpeba's penalty clearly crossed the line after smacking the underside of the crossbar -- though neither the referee, Morocco's Mourad Daami, nor his linesman seemed to notice. It is botched refereeing such as this that calls into question the integrity of the game and gives rise to riots. Indeed, given the crowd unrest which blighted Nigeria's quarterfinal win over Senegal, Daami can thank his lucky stars that the stadium scoreboard didn't show a slow-motion replay of the penalty. If it had, it's difficult to see how he could have gotten out of Lagos in one piece. Still, Nigeria can't hide behind a missed call to justify its poor performance against Cameroon. True, it fought back valiantly after going 2-0 down to goals from Samuel Eto'o and Patrick Mboma. Jay Jay Okocha's blistering Exocet missile of an equalizer was as awesome as it was dramatic, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Cameroon did hit the woodwork twice. And Nigeria's Sunday Oliseh probably deserved a red card for punching out Geremi (more fine refereeing from Mr. Daami). Pierre Lechantre's team, while probably inferior to Nigeria in terms of skill, outplayed the Super Eagles in most areas. The Indomitable Lions' backline, supremely marshaled by Rigobert Song (a guy who may soon join the likes of Jaap Stam, Lilian Thuram and Alessandro Nesta among the world's elite defenders) shackled Nwankwo Kanu and 18-year-old boy wonder Julius Aghahowa. In midfield, Geremi and Marc-Vivien Foe battled Oliseh and Okocha to a standstill, while up front Patrick Mboma tormented Taribo West for much of the afternoon. It's a shame to see a team as talented as Nigeria once again underachieve, just as it did at USA '94, when it squandered a late lead and a man advantage against Italy, and at France '98, when it imploded against Denmark in the second round. But it's a greater shame that crowd trouble and off-field problems will probably cost Africa its chance to host the World Cup in 2006. The Nigerian team bus was surrounded by an angry mob after the team's first round draw with the Congo. And the pitch was invaded by Nigerian fans after the Super Eagles took a 2-1 lead over Senegal in the quarterfinals. Throw in the fact that the Ivory Coast squad was locked up for two days on an army base by military strongman General Robert Guei after its disappointing showing and it doesn't paint a pretty picture for Africa. In fact, these events simply reinforce the West's worst stereotypes: that Africa is unruly, unpredictable, unsafe and unfit to host soccer's showcase event. Walter Gagg, FIFA's technical director, said as much when he declared: "This cannot work in favor of the image of the whole of African football, in this tournament or tournaments in the future." Indeed, it's a polite way of saying: "You guys screwed up and you may well be punished for it." You can be sure that South Africa is fuming right now. Already busy trying to convince FIFA delegates that they won't be carjacked and raped each time they step out of their five-star hotels in Johannesburg, the last thing they needed was bad publicity at the African Nations Cup. All this is music to the ears of England and Germany, which are both bidding for the 2006 World Cup. The English press in particular has bent over backwards, depicting South Africa as a kind of AIDS-ridden war zone. Compounding the problem is the fact that Africa currently has two countries in the running: Morocco and South Africa. While the Rainbow Nation may be the sentimental favorite, Morocco might actually have had a better shot at getting the World Cup, if the continent had rallied around it. Morocco's crime rate is low, the infrastructure is adequate and its soccer tradition is as good as anybody's in Africa. It's also an Arab country, which is significant, since FIFA could, in one move, reward both the Arab world and Africa. More importantly, it's right on the Mediterranean, which means it is easily accessible, unlike South Africa which, unless you happen to Namibian or Zimbabwean, is pretty much far away from everything. Morocco's proximity to Europe would have ensured lots of fans day-tripping cheaply and easily across the Mediterranean from Italy, France, Germany, etc. This means more wealthy fans in the stands and happier sponsors (don't think for a minute that this isn't one of FIFA's main concerns). Instead, there is a real danger that Morocco and South Africa will split the African vote. This will only favor England and Germany. Just like Nigeria in the African Nations' Cup, it seems that African football has wasted another great opportunity.
Extra TimeGlasgow Celtic finally fired manager John Barnes last week after a shocking Scottish Cup defeat against lowly Inverness Caledonian Thistle. If anything, this should serve as further evidence that you can't take a former star player (even an intelligent one like Barnes) with zero managing experience and simply hand him a top soccer team. Barnes was way out of his league at Celtic Park and only got the job thanks to his old buddy, Kenny Dalglish (Celtic's general manager). Now it's Dalglish who is on the hot seat. He has taken over as interim boss and needs to find a viable long-term replacement. On the one hand, it shouldn't be too difficult: Celtic draws close to 60,000 fans every week, it has tradition and worldwide name recognition and plenty of money in the bank. On the other hand, it's turning into a perennial loser and it's a cinch that this season (for the 11th time in the past 12 years) the Scottish title will go to crosstown rival Glasgow Rangers.Things are as uncertain as ever in Serie A. Just as it seemed like it would be a two-way dogfight between Lazio and Juventus, here comes AC Milan, looming in the rear-view mirror, with Roma and Parma still in with a shot. It promises to be one of the tightest finishes in recent memory. Don't bet against Milan, whose strike force of Oliver Bierhoff and Andriy Shevchenko is playing some of the best soccer in Europe right now. London-based Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com. To submit questions or comments to Gabriele Marcotti, click here.
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