Aiyenugba: Don't Blame Me For Eagles' Woes

Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, Dele Aiyenugba, has told Nigerians not to single him out for blame after the Eagles failed to make the Africa Cup of Nations billed for Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The star-studded Nigerian team failed to beat Guinea in a crucial match in which they needed an outright victory to guarantee their qualification for the Nations Cup.

Soccer-loving Nigerians were of the opinion that Aiyenugba was not at his best in the match and should be held responsible. But the goalkeeper told Brila FM that the whole Super Eagles as a team should be blamed for the calamity that befell the national team.

According to him, football is a team and collective game, adding that he put up his best as a goalkeeper, but conceded the two goals in the match due to lack of concentration by the team.

“Nigerians should not apportion the blame to me alone. I think the blame should be shared by every player in the team because a player does not make a team in football. I always put in my best whenever I’m given the chance to play,” he said.

He, however, tendered his apology on behalf of the team for making the nation’s football followers experience such a trauma after the match against Syli Nationale of Guinea, which eventually denied Nigeria the opportunity to feature in next year’s Nations Cup.

“I want to express an apology on behalf of the team to Nigerians for the team’s failure to pick the Nation’s Cup ticket right here in Abuja. We are very sorry,” said Aiyenugba, who plies his trade with Bnei Yehuda of Israel

Meanwhile, former Nigerian international, Jonathan Akpoborie believes that even if the best coach in the world is hired to handle the Eagles, he will still fail. According to Akpoborie, who spent most of his playing career in Germany, the problem of the Eagles goes beyond the coach. He said the players are not good while the standard of the local league, which is the bedrock where players are called up for national duties, is poor.

He noted that it will be very hard for a good coach to succeed with players drawn from a low quality league like Nigeria’s.

—Taiwo Adelu & Olusegun Abidoye