Bonfrere Charges Siasia Over Eagles

Coach of Nigeria’s gold winning Dream Team at Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, Johannes Bonfrere has charged coach of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia, to always pick committed players and the best legs to prosecute his matches.

The Dutch coach spoke on Saturday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, venue of the testimonial match held for former Eagles’ skipper Nwankwo Kanu, who formally retired from international football last weekend.

Bonfere said Nigeria is blessed with talented players all over the world, but he regretted that some of them are not showing enough commitment to national duty.

Bonfrere noted that Nigeria has what it takes to rule the world in football if the nation could do the right thing. The Dutch however cautioned that players’ attitude on and off the field should also guide Siasia in his selection of players for matches. He wants Siasia to invite players to the national team based on their commitment to the team’s progress.

“One of the criteria for a formidable team is the ability of the players to be patriotic, because without that they would not play and get good results,” Bonfrere said.

On Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2012 Nations Cup, he said the Eagles can still qualify if they win the last two matches of the qualifying series convincingly.

In his words: “Nigeria can still qualify for the Nations Cup, but they must beat Madagascar away and whip Guinea in Abuja.”

—Adebobola Alawode