On Tuesday 6th of June on Sports Zone on Lagos Talks 91.3 (by the way, if you don't listen to sports zone on Lagos Talks 91.3 FM 8-9am Mondays to Fridays, then you are missing a whole lot), Segun Agbede and I sounded very confident about the Super Eagles beating South Africa on Saturday 10th of June in Uyo but Tunde Koiki and Charles Anazodo felt we were being over-confident so were trying to be cautios about the game.
Truth is, Segun and I weren't being over-confident, our confidence was hinged on the vibes coming out of the camp of the Super Eagles.
In January 2013, I wrote a piece titled, "This Eagles will Fly, how high, I don't know." This was just before the 2013 AFCON which Nigeria went on to win. I talked about traits I saw in the Eagles camp that made me feel good about the team and their chances at the AFCON.
Looking at this Super Eagles team under Gernot Rohr, I see a lot of those traits I saw back in 2013. A togetherness that was lost after winning the 2013 AFCON, the drive or hunger for success and plenty of discipline.
In 2013, by the time the Eagles were ready for the AFCON, one major attribute of that team was a togetherness that was hitherto unprecedented. The team then was made up of both experienced and young players, home and foreign based players but the handlers of the team were able to break all those barriers and make the team relate like one big, happy family with Stephen Keshi being looked upon as the father of the group. Fast forward to 2017, Gernot Rohr has been able to build a bond in a team made up of plenty youngsters who have never been in the national team, some of whom had never event thought of representing Nigeria while some hardly even know their ties to Nigeria other than their parents.
From all indication, the older players in the team like, Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa and Ogeyi Onazi have found a way to play the big brother role to players like Alex Iwobi, Henry Onyekuru, Kelechi Iheanacho and the other youngsters in the team while making players like John Ogu who aren't young but are relatively new to the super eagles feel like they belong there.
Another similarity between the two Super Eagles teams is the discipline that is so focal to their programs. Players report to camp when instructed to and while in camp players make sure they abide by camp rules and participate promptly in every camp activity.
These players want to succeed, they want to make a name for themselves on the international stage. Most of them are young and are hoping for big things in their career and doing well with the Super Eagle of Nigeria can serve as a stepping stones to bigger thing in their career so they are well motivated to succeed and you can easily hear this in their battle cry. THEY WANT TO WIN.
One tiny similarity between Keshi's AFCON 2013 Eagles and Gernot Rohr's Eagles is that seemingly unimportant feel good factor in and around the team. They are yet to loose a game under Gernot Rohr and that is a huge psychological boost. They go into games trusting their own abilities to do well no matter what.
So like I wrote in January 2013, I write again, THIS EAGLES WILL FLY, THIS TIME OVER THE BAFANA BAFANA OF SOUTH AFRICA
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