………. Says they cannot bite again
Former Super Eagles coach, Johannes-Franciscus “Jo” Bonfrére, popularly known as Bonfrere Jo has slammed the current Super Eagles saying the aura of invincibility that surrounds the team has vanished. He further said teams who once feared playing Eagles in the past relish playing against them now.
“I find it very sad that teams are not afraid to play Nigeria again.” Those were the first words of former Super Eagles coach, Jo Bonfere, when he met with supersport.com briefly at the departure lounge at the Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
“I don’t buy that story that there are not enough talented players for the current coach to work with. The job of a national team coach is to harness the talents at his disposal and make them cohesive and functional to win matches,” the Atlanta Olympic gold-winning coach continued.
His love for Nigerian football is so clear even though he had many bad stories of his time there. “Jim (Nwobodo) was incredibly difficult to work with because he did not understand what the job of the coach was and how modern sports administration was really about,” he says of the then sports minister.
“He was the only reason I left after the Olympics of 1996. I wanted to stay and work with the players because I had a good working relationship with them and some at the federation.”
He clearly never got along with Nwobodo. “In Atlanta, before the final with Argentina I had been owed two months salaries so I went to the minister and Sani Toro and told them if I don’t get my full salary I won’t be on the bench for the final.” You did not?! “Yes I did and I meant it. So the night before the match they paid me in full – cash. Too much happens behind the scenes in Nigerian football,” Bonfrere says smiling.
He clearly still keeps an eye out on Nigerian players in Europe. So I asked him if he travelled a lot to watch Nigerian players when he was in charge. “I spent a lot of my money going everywhere that Nigerian players played in Europe.
I had to watch them. It is absolutely vital that you watch them at their clubs. At the moment, there is a Nigerian striker at Cambuur (Bartholomew Ogbeche) and a young defender at SC Heerenveen (Kenneth Otigba) who I have noted and a few others,” he said. The sparkle in his eyes as he spoke about these players and his ideas was something.
Not stopping there, he left his best for the last “the biggest problem with Nigerian football at the moment is corruption at all levels of the national teams.
I know it happened before and is still happening now where players or their agents pay to get into the team.” Excuse me? “Listen,” he says looking me in the eyes squarely. “I am the only man to have coached Nigeria who never sold or be involved in the sale of one player!” Ok…? “Yes, a lot of the coaches are involved in it even to this present time. I used to give money to some players who said they were going on trials instead.”
“Yes but maybe with a younger local or foreign assistant who shares the same vision of attacking football so we can get the continent at least, back to being afraid of playing against the Super Eagles again.
It will be recalled that Bonfrére led Nigeria national football team to the 1996 Summer Olympics gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia. He also led Nigeria to the 2000 African Cup of Nations co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana. Bonfrére led the Nigerian team to the finals, where they lost to Cameroon by penalties.