DEAR STEPHEN KESHI!!! PART 3

The Prodigal Son - Osaze Odemwingie

*Sigh* - That was the feeling after the Super Eagles ended the 16 years win-less run at the World Cup. The solitary strike by Osaze Odemwingie earned Nigeria that massive victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the jinx was broken.

The street of Lagos was calm and all the vendor spots were oozing with confidence. Once again, the Big Boss gave Nigerians a performance to smile and proud about. So, let’s get to the talking points of the match:

Dear Keshi, Decision Making is one of the greatest gifts of a good leader and dropping the golden boy - Victor Moses and Ramon Azeez was a huge decision. Poor performance and attitude cost Victor Moses a place against Bosnia and it was obvious to the blind that the youngster, Ramon Azeez was overwhelmed by the big stage against Iran. Dropping the two players that featured in the first game was a courage that is immeasurable. Keshi showed once again that he’s a man-manager.

The Golden Boy - Victor Moses.

Dear Keshi, when Godfrey Oboabona was stretched off against Iran and it was revealed that he will miss the Bosnia game – Nigerians knew Captain Joseph Yobo will be the obvious inclusion and we had our reservations. BUT on Saturday, I must confess that Joseph Yobo proved all the critics wrong with one of his best performance in the Super Eagles’ shirt. Yobo showed leadership, solid composure and quick decision making to guide the ever improving and faultless Kenneth Omeruo. The TRUST in Yobo paid off.

Dear Keshi, another notable performer in the team against Bosnia was Juwon Oshaniwa. He was labelled as a ghost by some faction of Nigerians and media when he made the final List. With this kind of massive and improved performances displayed by him, maybe we now have a strong deputy for Elderson Echiejile. Just maybe?

The Leader - Joseph Yobo

Dear Keshi, before the match – The pace of the game was a concern (thinking how we are going to set out). But here comes another big decision by Big Boss, deploying a winger (Micheal Babatunde) in the hole behind Emmanuel Emenike. (Though, part of the media still believes that Keshi is tactically rigid). And talking about Micheal Babatunde performance on the night (despite the fact that he played in a strange role)  – his commitment, handwork, determination and zeal to play was above average. He got a rank of 6.5 from me.

Finally, I believe the mix of Ahmed Musa (the pacey winger), Peter Odemwingie (dynamic playmaker) and Emmanuel Emenike (the hulk of the team) are healthy in the attacking positions of the Super Eagles and the golden boy – Victor Moses has to fight for his place in the team for the first time.

With Four points, Nigeria is as good as through to the second round if only Iran fails to beat Bosnia.

Nigeria is now the architect of their own destiny. WE ARE SUPER EAGLES!!!

Feel free to comment and tackle me on twitter - @PoojaBlog