4th September, 2013
The war of words between Super Eagles Chief Coach, Stephen Keshi and his Malawian counterpart, Tom Sainfiet would be settled on 7 September, when both coaches lead their wards out in a Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier billed for the U J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Cross River State, south Nigeria.
Both coaches have been exchanging banters in the buildup to the decider with Sainfiet reporting Keshi to FIFA but this feud would be settled on the field of play come Saturday.
The reigning African champions would need at least a draw against the Flames to qualify for the play off stage of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled for later this year, and both teams would want to play out their hearts.
On paper, the Eagles are expected to have an easy ride over the Malawians, but the fact still remains that there are no longer minnows in football and Saintfiet has vowed to upset Nigeria having being dumped when he was looking for the job of Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.
Saintfiet, a Belgian was on the verge of picking up the job but suddenly the NFF changed its decision to appoint the 40 years old soccer tactician.
If Keshi and his wards are expecting to quench the Flames come Saturday they would have to be at their best because Saintfiet would want to prove a point with his near inexperienced and determined side against the star-studded Nigerian side.
Calabar has been home to the Eagles as they are yet to taste defeat there, but survived a scare, during their tie against the Harambee Stars of Kenya. It took a dying minute intervention from Brescia of Italy forward, Nnamdi Oduamadi, who got a late equaliser to salvage a draw for the Eagles.
Nigeria are ranked 35th on the FIFA Ranking as against Malawi, who occupy the 118th position, but Saintfiet argued that the ranking would count for nothing when both teams tango.
It appears Saintfiet is poised to record an upset against the Eagles and this made him to drop his demand to be paid a $10,000 winning bonus.
According to him, “the $10,000 was not my main motivation to come to Malawi. I came to Malawi to win over Nigeria and to qualify Malawi for the World Cup”. He added: “After I noticed that a section of the media was attacking me and the federation about the $10,000. This was strange to me as you know that former coach earned $20,000 monthly salary. I thought that I should drop this demand and give the money to charity. Let me say that money is not the motivation, I came here as a volunteer. I want to bring Malawian football to the next level and try to qualify them for the World Cup. I think if we win the money must go to youth development.”
Meanwhile, ex-international Jonathan Akpoborie, has warned the Eagles against being complacent, saying “my simple advice to them is that they should not underrate the Flames of Malawi. It is true that we need to play out a draw, but we should approach the game with the mindset that we must win.
“We are far better than the Malawians. They cannot be compared to us. This should make us handle them very well and finish off the game before they know what is happening. Stephen Keshi has invited the best legs for this game and I know the players are confident of winning the match. But caution should be the word here.
“We have the advantage in the game. Malawi will not sit back to defend. They will attack and that will give us the opportunity to create chances and score goals. I believe we are going to win. But we must play well to win the match”.
—Adebobola Alawode