9 February 2002
Nigerian fans demand team overhaul.
Nigerian fans, upset after their team were eliminated from the African Nations Cup in a 2-1 semifinal defeat to Senegal, demanded an overhaul of the national team yesterday.
Fans called for players in the side to be replaced by dedicated campaigners after Nigeria were knocked out in dramatic fashion on Thursday in a stormy match, which included three sendings off.
"The team should be overhauled. We should inject players who are looking for glory and not players who are looking for money like the big boys we now have," said an angry caller on a state radio phone-in programme who gave his name as Richard.
"The Super Eagles were prepared to lose the match even before it started."
The star-studded Nigerian side refused to train on Tuesday, two days before the clash against Senegal, because of disputes over money, local newspapers said.
The Nigerians, one of the power houses in African soccer featuring many foreign based players like Arsenal's Nwankwu Kanu, were expected to easily defeat Senegal. (ACONS)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2002 The East African Standard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
