By Akin Bolarinwa
Senegal aren’t just serious, they’ve fixed up their football and it’s working for them.
I’m sure we can all see from the dividends, Senegalese national teams won the AFCON, then CHAN, Beach football and recently the U20 and they are undisputed African champions.
All their coaches were based on merits and not what ours have always been depending on; experience. Right from their grassroot football and we can all see that they’ve fixed up their system with people who want to work, not people who love bribes more than their job.
Senegalese football age grade progress is evident as well and not depending on international stars alone in their senior team, sports has gone beyond that and progress cannot depend on that alone because countries are complaining that their players are not used to playing alongside each other, it therefore affects them during tournaments.
We know there aren’t many games to play for them to play alongside each other that much but here in Nigeria we solely look at international born players and How do we progress from there?
Senegal have consciously progressed players from Grassroot level and their players are always determined to wear the national jersey, when some of ours have to struggle to be called to play.
Nigeria is blessed with talents but has the poor managers at the helm of affairs.
This our U-20 boys may not be at their best, technically and otherwise but we know what happened, the usual politicking and bad day in office.
We know those boys played individual football all through the tournament and let’s forget that they won third place, they were very wasteful in front of goal, no team coercion, and didn’t seem to know how to progress inside the opponent’s final third.
I can’t even see a shape nor a pattern of play but I know people will say something different, but Nigeria has for long been ok with minimal impact, they’ll say but we won something, what is something for God’s sake??
We’re too comfortable with little and yet we Want to be Giant and winner, these days we are focused on Participating instead of competing.
When was the last time we progressed our U-17 players to U-20, then U-23?? Is there anything like Progress? FIFA is eyeing a yearly tournament, it will just be a continued elongated process to waste time.
Seeing how our football is dwindling, including the female senior national team, I pity so much low-mentality that has engulfed our minds.
Even right here many display that same nature, evidence that if given the opportunity, it will be business as usual.
We’re losing it yet many have refused to see it but the difference will always be clear.
