Separating great from good

In the cauldron of the FIFA World Cup, the Great are separated from the Good. Seven high octane matches usually away from home under the gaze of the world press and fans reveal the depth in the qualities of the many very good footballers representing their countries. Later, in the tournament, the Great appear, rising above the rest with their performances.

For me, there is no tournament to rival the FIFA World Cup in terms of importance and prestige. It is the ultimate tournament. My earliest memory of the World Cup was the ’78 edition hosted in Argentina however it was the edition four years later in Spain that left a scar in my soul. I will come back to it in future blogs.

I am looking forward to the World Cup. I am looking forward to the Super Eagles arriving at the world stage again and the likes of Vincent Enyeama, Godfrey Oboabona, Emmanuel Emenike, Ogenyi Onazi and co showing off their considerable talents on a world stage.

In less than six weeks Nigeria will start her Brazil 2014 World Cup campaign against Iran but I have not in any way seen signs of seriousness that this will be the World Cup when Nigeria will aspire to make an impact. It has filled one with sadness at first this “our way” of doing things – which is actually NOT doing things.

No day seems to pass without one report or the other of some misunderstanding in the football house between the administrators and their head coach Stephen Keshi. What is most baffling is how adults cannot sit down around a table, see the bigger picture which is that Nigeria’s performance at the World Cup is at stake, and work things out. It cannot be that difficult I truly believe.

Nigeria’s last win at the world cup was when Victor Ikpeba scored the only goal in the victory over Bulgaria at France ’98. In that period, Ghana have won more games, and were a penalty kick – a Suarez handball – away from getting to the semi-finals. The point therefore is that we must not see this world cup as business as usual, Nigerians must not accept any shoddy preparations or excuses for them. We have come a long way from US ’94 but have not improved that performance 20 years on.

I was in South Africa during the AFCON that Nigeria so thrillingly won. I cannot begin to put down on paper the feelings I and the thousands of Nigerians at the stadium that evening had at the final whistle. Some cried with joy. During the tournament I had written on my twitter account that I would sacrifice the next 10 EPL titles for Man United just for Nigeria to win that tournament. For me it is only the Nigerian Super Eagles can I call my own. Same applies or should apply to every Nigerian.

Forget how the politicians have ruined the country. Or that there is a level of corruption that makes one despair at the future of generations unborn. For those days and hopefully weeks that the World Cup will be on just support the team. Those who believe in a higher God please call on Him in whatever faith you choose.

I am old enough to know that good performances of the Nigerian teams at international tournaments rub off nicely on the country. Even the politicians might start to behave better. Stranger things have been known to happen.

As the tournament gets closer I shall be writing more about the Super Eagles preparations and will also talk about their chances in Brazil. After the coach releases his list for the tournament we will discuss it here while I can confirm I shall be at the Craven Cottage in South-west London for the final friendly with Scotland before the 23 man list is named.

Follow me on twitter @CalvinEmeka