Written by .....
Tuesday, 17 July 2007

Respected sports publisher and analyst, Paul Bassey has taken a critical look at the 4-0 defeat suffered by the under-20 national team, Flying Eagles, against Chile, in the quarter-final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Montreal, Canada and declared that it was a big humiliation for Nigeria, despite initial signs of promise by the team.

The man fondly called Sports Bassey declared in a chat with brilafm.net that he saw a rag tag Nigerian squad, lacking a hatchet man who could make a world of difference for Coach Isah Ladan Bosso’s team in Sunday’s game.

"We were simply brought down to earth. It could have been a case of us trying to save some face, with an appreciable scoreline, but 4-0 is a total humiliation for us," he stated.

The FIFA and CAF media committee member also scored Coach Bosso and his technical crew low for their calls and substitutions during the encounter against Chile, with a view that the Niger State-born gaffer lacked required tact and discipline for the game.

"Bosso was unable to instill the right attitude and frame of mind in his players. He did not show what it takes to coach at youthful team at this level and the extra punch for victory was just not there. He fell short tactically and practically," Bassey adjudged.

He concluded by evaluating the level of Nigerian football, since the advent of Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi as chairman of the football association, and urged for prompt and decisive action to stem the recent downward tide that has hit the round leather game.

"There is an urgent need for surgical operations to save our football from going down into the abyss, and to save the game from complete collapse," Bassey rounded off.