Showing posts with label Stephen Keshi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Keshi. Show all posts
Stephen Keshi's Wife Laid To Rest(Photos)
NFF Condoles With Keshi Following The Death Of His Wife
“This is devastating. To lose a spouse is the equivalent of a tragedy. I pray that Almighty God will give you and the children the fortitude to bear this huge loss. Keshi is a Nigerian hero and we mourn deeply with him at this time. This has come like a big blow, but we pray that he receives divine strength to cope with the situation, and we also pray that the Almighty God will grant the departed eternal rest.” NFF chairman Amaju Pinnick said
Stphen Keshi's Wife Dies At 54
Nigerians should leave me alone-Stephen Keshi Cries
“Please, I want Nigerians to leave me alone and allow me spend time with my family. The only thing on my mind now is to be with my family and I don’t want to be bothered with any matter associated with the Super Eagles.
“‘I want people to understand that I do not have anything on the Super Eagles. The only thing I want to do is be with my loved ones. Direct all your questions to Yusuf or whoever is coaching the team”,
It has always been Keshi, Keshi, Keshi and now I think it’s time to rest and enjoy my peace. You people (NFF and others) should leave me alone now that am no longer the coach of the national team. “Focus should be on Salisu Yusuf and how he will be winning games for the team. People should leave Keshi alone. Enough is enough.”
Breaking News : NFF Sacks Stephen Keshi
The Nigerian Football Federation(NFF) has sacked Stephen Keshi as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The termination of his appointment is contained in a statement released by NFF Executive Committee today Saturday July 4th. The statement in part reads;
"Having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr. Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles’ Head Coach. Keshi was found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation’s objectives as set out in the Coach’s employment contract. To this end and pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment Contract between Mr. Stephen Keshi and the NFF (The Contract) and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr. Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect.”
The Super Eagles’ team will now be jointly managed by Assistant Coach, Salisu Yusuf and the Technical Directorate of the NFF headed by Coach Shuaibu Amodu, until a substantive head coach is named by the Federation.
Mikel Obi Has Been Snubbing My Calls -- Stephen Keshi
Keshi admits that he is not happy that Mikel has not been picking his calls and not responding to his messages inquiring about the Chelsea star’s health. But the coach insists that the midfielder is still an important member of the Super Eagles.
“When I heard that Mikel was injured, I tried several times to get across to him on the phone but, surprisingly, he did not respond,” Keshi told completesportsnigeria.com. “He also has not responded to messages I sent to him through text. This is very unlike him and I am still expecting him to call or answer my text.
“I will still call him since he is an important member of the team. It is my duty to know how my players are faring in their respective clubs. Anyway, I am still expecting him to call me since we have national business together.”
Keshi 'Moves On' From Talks To Return As Nigeria Coach, Says NFF Are Not Serious
Nations Cup winning coach, Stephen Keshi has appeared to rule himself out of a return as Nigeria coach after losing patience with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Keshi's contract expired on 30 June, shortly after he led Nigeria to the last 16 at the World Cup, and he had been negotiating a new deal.
He told BBC Sport: "Talks over a new contract shouldn't drag on. I can't wait any more - the NFF is not serious.
"I have moved on. I can only wish the country well for the future.I've had about seven countries approach me in the last two months but I kept them all away
Talks had been ongoing since July but a series of delays caused by problems within the federation, including the sacking and the Fifa-ordered reinstatement of the governing body's president Aminu Maigari.
"There's a game in two weeks [Nations Cup qualifier against Congo] but no-one is thinking about it and at the same time they expect you to win," Kehsi continued.
"I understand the ongoing crisis facing the federation but the national team should not suffer from such at this crucial stage.
"Sadly, I also think attention is focused more on the upcoming
NFF elections and the national team is simply not a priority."
The NFF officials are understood to have offered Keshi a new four-year deal and same $30,000-a-month salary he was paid in his first stint as manager, while the coach had asked for an increase.
Keshi says he has rejected offers from other African countries while the negotiations have been going on.
"I've had about seven countries approach me in the last two months but I kept them all away,I love my country and I am aware of the dream our fans had of me taking this team to the next level.While acknowledging the efforts of some people involved in the negotiation, I think others probably have other important things to do."
Nigeria have already named a 23-man squad for their upcoming qualifiers against Congo on 6 September and South Africa four days later.
The defending champions will also face Sudan in Group A with the top two advancing to January's finals in Morocco.
Why I resigned as Super Eagles coach – Stephen Keshi reveals
Despite the NFF coming out and saying they Keshi is still the head coach because he has not submitted an official resignation letter, the big boss as he is fondly called has laid the issue to rest after he made his decision public while speaking with journalists in Brasilia, Brazil.
Stephen Keshi reportedly made public his intention after the Super Eagles’ painful loss to France in the second round of the World Cup currently holding in Brazil.
In an exclusive interview with the CableNG, Keshi gave an insight into why he is leaving the team saying: “Yes. I have done my bit. I am tired of all the intrigues and backbiting and insinuations I get. The criticisms are nothing really because even siblings criticise each other.
“In this job sometimes it goes overboard and my family and those of my players get called names. I have had to tell the players many times to ignore those criticisms and just focus on the tasks at hand,” he said.
When asked if it was remotely possible that he stays considering the fact that he is still loved by many Nigerians, he expressed his doubts saying: “The same ones who were calling for my head after the Iran match? That “the World Cup is too big for Keshi”? I know there are many who truly support what we have been trying to do over these past months but I just cannot continue in this job anymore.
“To start with, my contract ended with the last match and the Federation never approached me for a renewal. What does that say? It says to me I’m not wanted. I am going to go and rest, spend some time with my family and then hopefully get another job where I am wanted.”
So there you have it; the big boss is gone… for good!
Keshi Is Still The Head Coach Of The Super Eagles- NFF confirms
How unfounded rumors spread!!!After yesterday’s loss to France, coupled with Enyeama and Yobo retirement, Rumours have been going around that the Big Boss had retired.
Even though Keshi said: “It’s time for me to go back to my family and face fresh challenges." An NFF spokesman has come out and said: “Coach Keshi has not submitted an official resignation letter. He was not employed in the mixed zone [after the France game] or on Facebook.”
It has also been ascertained that Keshi does not have a Twitter account and the alleged tweet where he says he is done is not from him.
Stephen Keshi Confirms His Exit As Super Eagles Coach, As Team Captain, Joseph Yobo, Announces Retirement
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has confirmed that he his leaving his post after the 2-0 defeat to France yesterday. He revealed this through his twitter account. Read his tweet below....
Meanwhile, team captain, Joseph Yobo yesterday evening announced his resignation as a player for the super eagles. Yobo after the defeat to France, told reporters that it was time for him to go face his family and club football.
"It was a bitter-sweet moment for me but I think it is time to focus on my family. It has been a long road. I never thought that I’d be here because I missed the last six games of the season through injury. They gave me an opportunity but it is unfortunate what happened. I gave my all,” he said.
The 33 year old defender said he would like to concentrate on club football now.
“Victory Against France Is Non-Negotiable” – Says Stephen Keshi
The Super Eagles have previously faced Les Bleus just once in the past a friendly match in 2009, that was decided by a Joseph Akpala goal.
However, the prize at stake when both teams file out at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha, is a place among the last eight of the tournament.
Keshi has called on his players to show mental strength and defeat the former World Cup winners.
He said:
“I said before the tournament that our mentality must be strong. Our approach to every match has always been the same: to win.Whether we are playing against Spain at the Fifa Confederations Cup or playing against Liberia in a friendly match, I always tell the boys that victory is non–negotiable.”For us, we will go into Monday’s match aiming to win. But as I also said before the competition, we take it one match at a time.We don’t even want to think of who might be lurking in the quarter finals if we win; we are not bothered. All we know is that we must win on Monday.”
Football is a game played by 11 players on the pitch so lets see how the Super Eagles will take the match. Todaysgist wish them success.
Stephen Keshi angry after fans insult him and his family
Super Eagles coach may have gotten his voice back after Nigeria's victory over Bosnia, now the coach is speaking his mind freely over fans reaction to the boring and goalless match Nigeria and Iran. According to a Vanguard reporter who spoke with Stephen Keshi in Brazil, the Super Eagles coach is angry at Nigerian fans for abusing him over the team's performance at the on-going World Cup in Brazil. Keshi said there was absolutely no justification for fans to insult him and his family.
"It’s a shame, just a shame that we keep doing the same thing and then they come back and they say they are sorry. Sorry for abusing my mum? Sorry for abusing my siblings? For what? That I am representing Nigeria?”
"I am disappointed, totally disappointed (by the personal attacks), but it’s their thing, no wahala (no problem).
Keshi also lambasted his fellow former football stars who have criticized his team and his tactics in Brazil, saying he had expected much better from them as they ought to know better about the game than the man on the street..
I hope Nigeria football fans get real and stop personal attacks on his family,come out straight and rebuke his tactics and selection choices not his family culled
I hope Nigeria football fans get real and stop personal attacks on his family,come out straight and rebuke his tactics and selection choices not his family culled
Stephen Keshi Blames Osaze For Failure In Game Against Iran
If Stephen Keshi really think Osazee played badly, i think the coach was watching another game because everyone, football experts and the commentator thought Osazee added extra pace and creativity to the game.The Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has explained why his team did not prevail over Iran in Nigeria’s first FIFA World Cup match held yesterday.
Speaking about the game which ended in a 0-0 draw despite high expectations placed on Nigeria, Keshi pointed out several factors that caused the failure, one of them was that Osaze Odemwingie did not follow the instructions, which resulted in the team’s setback.
Keshi, who waited until the 69th minute to let Stoke City striker play, said:
"The Osaze you are talking about didn’t do well. Osaze did not play to instructions and that affected the team."
Meanwhile the Eagles ex-captain Austin Okocha speaking with BBC had previously criticized his colleague’s approach in the game and said that Osaze (who actually made the only dangerous shot) showed more creativity than other players.
It would be recalled that Osaze was a 69th minute replacement for Ramon Azeez. However the coach, who led his team to 2013 AFCON victory, insisted that he was right about the main squad and the substitutions made.
On June 21 Nigeria is to meet Bosnia-Herzegovina’s team, which showed great game against the group strongest opponent Argentina but still lost with the score 2-1. culled
Why Nigeria Could Not Defeat Iran – Keshi Reveals
The Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi has revealed why the team, yesterday, June 17 ended up with a goalless draw with Iran in their first match at the on-going FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Stephen Keshi told FIFA.COM that he blamed their performance on lack of inspiration.
He said: “We played very well in the first half. The forwards were very active and they had a couple of chances to score, though we couldn’t put them away. We lost our shape in the second half,” he said. “I felt we could have won the game but we were lacking a bit of inspiration on the pitch.”
Keshi who is still hopeful that his team will perform better also said: “We saw what happened with Costa Rica and with Holland and Spain, so in football you can never tell. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t.
“Just because we didn’t win people think we played badly. I don’t think we played badly, it was just that we didn’t score the goals we needed.”
It was earlier reported that the Super Eagles captain, Austin Okocha blamed Stephen Keshi for the team’s failure to score during the match.
Keshi, apart from criticising his team’s second half performance, however, commended the Iranians saying: “All credit to Iran,”. “They stuck to their game plan and were able to put it into practice from start to finish.”
The Nigerian Super Eagles have now gone nine FIFA World Cup games without a single win, with their last victory coming in France 98.
Although some Nigerians have criticized the super eagles, losing hope in the team. Others, however, are optimistic they could perform better in their next match with Bosnia on Saturday in Group F before a final group game against one of the tournament favourites, Argentina.
Why Stephen Keshi Is Wrong For Nigeria In Brazil-Femi Aribisala
This World Cup is done and dusted as far as Nigeria is concerned. We would be extremely lucky to get past the first round. There is no doubt in my mind that, barring an act of God, Nigeria’s chances are next to nothing. The only team we have a chance against is Iran and, even there, we are more likely to draw than to win.
Therefore, I am not writing this for this World Cup. I am writing for the next one; because it takes four years to win the World Cup.Nigeria had a very good chance of winning this year’s World Cup. We have the players that can compete at the highest level. However, one major thing worked against us: we won the African Cup of Nations under the stewardship of Stephen Keshi.
Once we won the African Cup, Stephen Keshi became impregnable. He became a shoo-in to carry Nigeria to the World Cup. No doubts were tolerated; after all, Nigeria had not won the African Cup in 19 years! How then can any right-thinking person think of replacing our new-found champion after his famous achievement? However, the World Cup is not the African Cup. African football still remains relatively sub-standard vis-à-vis the football played in Europe and Latin America.
In any case, the players we have brought to this World Cup are a shadow of those who won the African Cup. Even though we defeated Cote d’Ivoire in the African semi-finals, we are no match for them today, as FIFA rankings testify. It does not help matters that, unlike the Ivorian players who proved their mettle by coming from behind to defeat Japan in their first match in this World Cup; our foreign-based players have mostly been bench-warmers in their respective clubs this past league season. This means many of them don’t have recent match-fitness.
In November 2013, I wrote an article in this column warning Nigerians that while Keshi was more than able to enthrone Nigeria as African champions; the hard truth is that he is not qualified to lead us to the World Cup. I was shouted down by a hosanna of Keshi’s new-found praise-singers. But people should know by now that abuse and invective never dissuade me from my opinion or from what I believe to be the truth.
The assumption that because Keshi managed the Super Eagles to World Cup qualification he is the right man to lead us to the World Cup itself is wrong. In 2006, Keshi led the Togolese team to World Cup qualification. However, realizing what Nigeria has failed to realise, they dropped him for the World Cup itself and chose a far more-experienced world-class coach, Otto Pfister of Germany, to replace him.
A lot of song and dance is made of extraordinary football players, but more than ever before, football at the highest level is a tactical game between the coaches. A good coach can ensure that you don’t see Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo throughout a match. He studies the opposing players and devises the tactics that best neutralize their strengths. He identifies their weaknesses and exploits them.
At the highest level of football, a good coach is the difference between victory and defeat. If you don’t believe me look at what happened to Manchester United in the EPL (English Premier League) after the departure of Alex Ferguson. With virtually the same players, United went from winning the English Premier League to becoming an average team in a matter of months. The answer was to quickly get rid of coach David Moyes and replace him with world-class Louis Van Gaal.
In this World Cup, Van Gaal’s Netherlands team has already made mincemeat of the current world champions by tactically exploiting Spain’s vulnerability to high balls played to the left shoulder of their central defender. Unless and until we are prepared to make these kinds of non-sentimental decisions in the choice of coaches, and are prepared to pay their high fees, we will not be able to benefit from Nigeria’s large number of world-class players.
With Keshi at the helm in this World Cup, the chances are slim that the Super Eagles will win any match in their group, not to talk of progressing beyond the group stage. Since winning the African Cup, the performance of Keshi’s Super Eagles against non-African opposition has been dismal. His fan club insists these matches are merely preparatory to the big event of the World Cup. However, these so-called preparations never ended. Keshi spent the whole time trying out players in order to choose a team. Up to the very last preparation match against the United States, he was still trying out different cocktails of players.
This means he has not had any real time to test his first eleven as a unit. As a result, Nigeria’s Super Eagles play today as individuals.
They have not been blended into a team. When Nigeria played against the United States in our last warm-up game, Stephen Keshi was no match for Jurgen Klinsmann. Unlike Keshi, Klinsmann is a World Cup veteran. He was part of the German team that won the World Cup in 1990, and he managed the German national team that came third in the World Cup in 2006. Klinsmann’s U.S. team easily exposed the underbelly of Keshi’s Super Eagles. They made us look like rank amateurs. Nigeria hardly held the ball for any length of time. We could not even string together decent passes.
The Americans realised that Nigeria’s strength was on the left flank and quickly shut us down there. Nevertheless, there was no change of tactics from Keshi as we spent the entire match trying to break through the left flank to no avail. It is this inability to read the game and change tactics accordingly that is a major handicap of Stephen Keshi. But that is precisely what makes the difference in football at this level.
Tactical dexterity
The strength of Jose Mourinho of Chelsea, the highest paid coach in the world, is in reading the game. This ensures that Mourinho’s second half is often a revelation to his first half. Arsenal will always have a problem playing against Chelsea in the EPL because Mourinho is a better reader of the game than Arsene Wenger. This league season, Liverpool was a better team than Chelsea. Nevertheless, Liverpool lost 2-0 to Chelsea because Mourinho outfoxed Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers.
You can also tell the dexterity of a coach by the substitutions he makes during a game. With the world-class coaches, their substitutions immediately change the game. None of these skills are evident in Stephen Keshi. His current team is inadequate even at the basic level. The Super Eagles are predictable. They lack speed, match-stamina, ball-possession, accurate passing and clinical finishing.
Keshi is a tactically deficient coach. A seasoned coach would have a field-day exploiting Nigeria’s tactical deficiencies. The ball is easily won from us and then we have a problem retrieving it. We have a problem penetrating our opponents’ defenses. We don’t seem to have strikers hungry for goals. Because our recovery from a failed attack is often slow, we are highly vulnerable to fast counter-attacks.
Nigeria’s players are not driven and motivated. We play as if nothing is at stake. Our defense is lethargic and flat-footed. Captain Joseph Yobo is way past his prime. Against the United States, American strikers easily danced around him. Jozy Altidore only managed to score one goal for Sunderland throughout the entirety of the last EPL season. But playing for the United States, he was too much for the Nigeria’s lackluster defenders. Jurgen Klinsmann discovered that there was a gaping hole in the left flank of the
Nigerian defense. As a result, journeyman Altidore became a local hero, scoring two dazzling goals against Nigeria.
If he could do this, I wonder what to expect from Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic of Bosnia Herzegovina. I shudder what Lionel Messi and Kun Aguero of Argentina would do to us. If not for the fact that Nigeria has in Vincent Enyeama, one of the best gold-keepers in the world; some of the matches we played recently would have ended up as goal fiestas against Nigeria.
Our mid-field lacks creativity. The players are experts in back-passing the ball. They run up and down with little inventiveness as to how to open up the opposition’s defense. Mikel runs like a spider with the ball with little intention to go forward. He is one midfield player who never scores goals. Even during set-pieces, he lacks ambition and will hardly approach the opposition’s eighteen.
Our attacking line-up lacks bite. The players seem bereft of innovative goal-scoring ideas. They are easily shut out of the game. Speed and dynamism are the hallmarks of today’s football. That indeed was the distinguishing feature of our World Cup winning Junior Eagles. We have already seen this in evidence in this World Cup, which has already become a goal-scoring extravaganza. However, the Super Eagles lack pace and speed. Their attacking system relies on a slow build-up, ensuring that the opposition easily decodes their intentions a mile off. Only Victor Moses seems inclined to carry attacks into the opposition’s penalty box.
2018 World Cup
What needs to be done? It is too late for this World Cup. But immediately thereafter, Nigeria needs to get a world-class football coach. There is no room for misguided nationalism here. Luiz Scolari is Brazilian; nevertheless, he coached the Portuguese national team. Fabio Capello is Italian; nevertheless he coached the British national team. It is not about being nationalistically pig-headed. It is about insisting only the best is good enough for Nigeria.
Coaches like Keshi may be good enough to get Nigeria to win the African Cup. But they are not good enough to take us to the World Cup. They don’t have what it takes to tactically outsmart maestros like Germany’s Joachim Low or Spain’s Vicente Del Bosque. That should remain the enduring lesson of this World Cup, after our cookies have crumbled. culled