The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George says the players who he handed in the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic were largely not at their best for both games, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Finidi”s reign as the substantive coach of the Nigerian team ended after two games, which was the 1-1 draw against South Africa and the 1-2 defeat to Benin Republic both in the world cup qualifiers, which saw the team dropped to 5th in their group.
It led to the exit of the coach who is now at the helm at Nigeria Professional Football League side Rivers United. Three months on from the defeat the Nigerian team blew away the same opponent 3-0 in Uyo on Saturday.
Reacting to the performance of the team which is now under caretaker coach Austine Eguavoen, Finidi explained that the present coach is fortunate to have the players at this stage of the season unlike when he was in charge, when they were already through with the season and came for the games from their various holiday spot.
“I wished they had played that way when I was the coach that didn’t happen and that of yesterday from the result I think they must have performed so well. I am a Nigerian and I wish the team all the best but my focal point is not the Super Eagles for now”, Finidi said in a radio interview monitored by our editorial team.
“ I am happy that they won the game if they had put up same performance I think we won have defeated Benin Republic a month ago or two months ago. But it’s understandable because I took the team when they were on holiday.
“Some of the players came from vacation for that South Africa and Benin Republic game. You play football with fitness and it’s quite unfortunate that I met those players when they were already in vacation and you could see from those two games the fitness level was low compared to the match they played yesterday, where most of the players they had three, four games in the season. So they came very fresh and they could give their all.
He went further to lament that despite knowing his that they will require time to hit full fitness some of the players still didn’t resume early enough for the coaches to improve their level before the game, leaving him with little or nothing to do about their physical condition ahead of the game.
“ Of course when players come to camp two days before the game against South Africa that was when some players arrived from Dubai and other places. You cannot play on that high level when you are coming from vacation. It’s quite strange but that was the situation.
“Any coach that would have been in that situation would have had same because that was why I talked about indiscipline. You saw the Euros where players finished the league and they went into camp. In our own situation players travel first , had two, three weeks vacation. Even if you are training it’s not going to be the same because you are eating, you are drinking and from Dubai and other places like Spain you people travel to Nigeria and even late.
“ They didn’t come when they were supposed to come. They even came late , three days to the game , so there is nothing I could do. We saw that in the match against South Africa and the Benin Republic match. So without fitness you cannot play no matter how good you are.
He rounded up by saying if the game against Benin that led to his sack was played during the season, the result would have definitely been better and he would have probably still be in charge of the team.
“ It’s quite unfortunate that we had to play that game when the league has ended and most players didn’t show up when they were supposed to show up. You can’t eat your cake and have it so that was the result we had. This time around I think the players are fit enough so definitely we are going to beat Benin Republic at any given time if the players are fit.
“We have better quality players than Benin Republic. If it didn’t happen then there was a reason for it. For me it’s very clear now that the players were not fit enough and there was nothing I could do because if you come to camp, two, three days before a World Cup Qualifier there is nothing a coach can do physically.
“You just manage them and do your tactics and see how far they can go in the game, but if you are not fit you cannot play on that high intensity and the result showed. I think going forward the team is going to improve because the season is on.
“If they have to play games during the season, they are definitely going to do well and win games. It’s quite unfortunate but that’s the reality of my time in the Super Eagles. Quite unfortunate that I didn’t take the players during the season we would have had different results and maybe I would have still be there”.
