Olawale Ajimotokan
20 November 2008
Lagos — Former Super Eagles international Etim Esin last night played down Nigeria's 1- 0 loss to Colombia in Cali on Wednesday by pleading that the outcome of the friendly match not be used as basis to judge the technical depth of the team. The defeat of the poorly prepared Nigerian side in the hands of the Los Cafeteros who scored a late goal through River Plate's Falcao Garcia was the Eagles first loss in eight matches under the stewardship of Shaibu Amodu.
It also provoked rash suggestions from observers who reckoned that the unbeaten display in the previous round of the World Cup qualification was possible because the team was only playing against weak teams.
While conceding that Colombia was the better team on the basis of the result, Etim who represented Nigeria at Chile 87, however, declared that the battle of Cali was a friendly and not a competitive match and should not be the yard stick to mirror the strength of the team.
"For me the result is not really what is important. Instead the priority should be about the players and some specific positions that the coaches are trying to look at. It is a process of building the team which will eventually afford Amodu the opportunity to know the weak positions that should be fixed" Etim said.
Similarly the former Lierse of Belgium midfielder who is now a TV football pundit also hammered home the hard truth that the Eagles is finding it difficult to replace its former playmaker Austin Jay Jay Okocha who quit the international stage in 2006 after performing at the top level for 13 years.
"Yes, the team is missing the phenomenal Okocha who is one of the game's best No 10 players. Okocha is a rare talent that you don't come across every time. If he is a Brazilian he would be regarded as the best player in the world". Etim said.
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