10 February 2002
Lagos — There were strong indications Friday in Bamako that Super Eagles chief coach, Amodu Shaibu has been replaced by Technical Director of NFA in a major reshufflement of the technical crew of the Super Eagles.The change of guard is a fall-out of the Super Eagles crash from the Nations Cup after they were kicked out by Senegal in the semi-final of the tournament.
But the change of guard, however, would not totally stop Shaibu from being a member of the technical crew since he has a running contract with the football house.
Authoritative sources said that the technical crew of the Eagles have shown that they were not matured to tinker the Eagles to their third World Cup appearance in Korea/Japan.
What was not clear Friday was the position for assistant coach, Stephen Keshi.
One source claimed that Keshi too was asked to step aside to allow for unhindered administration by Onigbinde while another said that the former Eagles captain may be asked to move to the lower cadre of the national team.
Coach Amodu Shaibu, however, was not bothered on the decision as his close friend said that he was ready for the worst."Amodu has done his best. He should not be blamed for the loss of the team. He won matches untill some government officials came to distract and sabotage his good work. He is not bothered. Nigerians know exactly what happened".
NFA chairman, Dominic Oneya was not in his Grand Hotel when we visited to confirm the story. The receptionist simply said that "Oneya is not in since your team lost".
At the time many Nigerians were still mourning the defeat of the Super Eagles, the players themselves were making merry in a night club in Bamako.
In a bizarre manner, the Super Eagles caused a stir in Big Bros Night Club where they popped champagne and danced till early morning. The Eagles were in great mood that our source said that they bought free drinks for their admirers. But not all the Malians savoured their free gifts.
Some were so shocked that they asked questions if these were not the same players who lost a crucial match.(ACONS)
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