What? Hurdles for Hoddle! By Patrick Andrew

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Some people have a penchant for controversy especially when things aren’t done in consonance to their dictate. Perhaps, beyond this endemic love for irritant altercation, greed, disregard for others and gross want of let and let live dominate their psyche or how else can one explains the sudden campaign of calumny against a publicly applauded transparent process that produced the Super Eagles’ technical adviser.

True, the processes were unduly cumbersome and expensive. Besides, the simple process generated unwarranted tension just because those in charge wanted the public to know they were working. I hear N17 million was ploughed into the whole effort to hire a coach. 

Warts and all, the exercise was not in futility as were the cases in previous exercises where coaches hardly worth the title aside from being fair skin were purportedly interviewed, recruited and paid fabulous amount of money for doing nothing.

Not so this latter effort. At least we are living witnesses and were vicarious participant in the ordeal that midwifed Lars Lagerback. So, when some whose candidates failed to meet the yardstick set for the job, resorted to the usual “Nigerian factor” it beats one’s imagination.

Suffice to say that profile, knowledge of Nigerian players, plans, problems of the Super Eagles and solutions and the South Africa 2010 as a project were the hurdles set for the aspirants. Bruno Metsu – the first of the five coaches interviewed performed creditably well in all but had language barrier. He was allegedly the candidate of a member of the technical committee and a former club proprietor. With his performance, the 10-man resolved to end it there and appoint him especially following Ratomir Djukovic’s somewhat less impressive performance. 

But superior argument held swell and room was made for others to appear before the panel. Then came Glenn Hoddle who enjoyed the support of two members of the technical committee. He offered his best which though was rated below Bruno’s but had the advantage of language proficiency. Sven-Goran  Eriksson took his turn but again failed to match Hoddle and Bruno but scored a little better than Djukovic. 

By then, some in the panel were chafing because subsequent candidates after Bruno hardly demonstrated his knack for the job, vision and projection nor did they exude the confidence and poise the former Senegal coach exhibited.  Besides, Bruno’s record speaks volume far above his contemporaries for the job.

Then enter a two-page petition. It was circulated against Hoddle, who, they said was unduly favoured because the Presidential Task Force had interest in him. For this singular reason members of the panel were almost armtwisted to accept Hoddle until .... 

Lars Lagerback dazed them to realities. He came prepared with a projector. Displayed more than superficial understanding of Nigerian players, their technical and tactical naivety, showed a burning desire to nurture, redirect and reshape the Eagles. Why, he took them to memory lane where he pointed out clearly technical errors of the past including why it was easy for Sweden under his watch to defeat Nigeria.  Festus Onigbinde, a FIFA instructor who was on the bench when Lagerback whack the Eagles, nodded in relief and acknowledgment of a superior.   

The decision was unanimous. How then, did the issue of hurdle for Hoddles come about? Why then the rumour about under table dealings, which some say, have soiled the transparent processes which produced Lagerback? It must be the warp reasoning of advocates of illegal error.