John Mikel Obi has backed Stephen Keshi to take the Super
Eagles to greater heights as Nigeria look towards qualification for the 2014
World Cup in Brazil Keshi has endured vehement criticisms from the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) and even former colleagues including Sunday Oliseh,
following the country’s performance at the FIFA Confederations Cup last month
in Brazil.
The Eagles were eliminated in the group stage of the
competition after defeats to South American, Uruaguay, and world champions,
Spain, followed their opening game victory over tournament minnows Tahiti.
Keshi’s critics insisted his approach of encouraging the
involvement of more domestic league players was not the right direction for the
team. Yet Mikel has thrown his weight behind the Eagles coach as the man to
lead the national team to future.
The Chelsea midfielder has blossomed as the most
influential player in Keshi’s new Eagles, playing a remarkable role in their
African Cup of Nations conquest in South Africa as well as attracting huge
plaudits for his performance in Brazil.
Nigeria ranked 5th, their best in the world football
ranking in April,1994 after winning the AFCON in Tunisia and Mikel, in the just
published August edition of Chelsea Magazine, believes Keshi is the right man
to guide the Eagles back to top ratings in the game.
“Stephen took Nigeria to a trophy we’d been wanting for
such a long time. He’s another great man-manager and he made a great impact as
soon as he took the job.
“He played the game and knew how the system works back
home-the players and the FA-so he brought things together and made it work. For
him to come in and win the African Cup of Nations for the first time in a long
time shows what a great guy he is.
“I hope the future will be bright for Nigeria and he can
get us to where we should be in the world rankings.”
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