Amodu’s Bombshell

“I will not deceive myself about my job as Eagles coach,” Amodu began in a public session with journalists. His startling revelation on Star F.M.’s Megasports this morning, was nothing but depressing. “I don’t even have a team that Nigeria can call a national team for now. I don’t have the first 11 that we can call up for any tough match, that is how bad it is for the current Eagles,” he disclosed.

There are so many things wrong with this ridiculously self-serving statement that I hardly know where to start. Let’s try the fact that upon resuming head coach duties, Amodu kept on the same players that the outgoing Berti Vogts had. By so doing, he indicated his belief that the problems the team was having was due to coaching, not playing ability.

The question now is ‘what has changed?’ He has the same crop of players that he did when he was accepting praise for the last round of qualifiers. Why is he responsible when the team does well but hindered by his players when they do not perform?

If we overlook that first point, there is still the fact that Amodu has been head coach for about a year. What changes has he made to the team in that time, in finding new players to cover the deficiencies of the older ones? This is the same man with the insanely myopic vision of not only using Europe-based players, but also only working with the faces he knows.

How about utility and timing? One gets the sense that this statement comes from a man who knows that his date with the guillotine approaches but tries to forestall it anyhow. Talk about a massive lowering of expectations: the #2 ranked team on the continent does not have enough good players to make the World Cup. Adding salt to the wound, Amodu continues that the disappointing performance against the Black Mambas was commendable. Commendable. Amodu thinks he’s hedging his bets. If the Eagles lose, he’ll just remind people that he’s been saying this for a while, and they should have seen it coming. If they win, he’ll want to claim some sort of coaching super-power.

This brings us to most important point in what it reveals about coach Amodu’s personality. The man is clinically narcissistic. A universal attribute of narcissists is that they do not believe that whatever problems or set-backs they have are their fault. It’s always someone or something out there that is causing their failure. Hence the coach blames his players. Lest we forget, it is the poor workman that blames his tools.

This outburst of Amodu’s is undermining and self-defeating (for the team) in a number of ways. He has abdicated an important duty of the coach, which is to protect his players and ensure their loyalty. Which of the players now would try to play their best for a coach who thinks they’re incompetent? Let us also remember that this is the same man who when outcry is directed at him, calls for patience and understanding but does not show the same to the players in his care. Perhaps Amodu needs to relearn what being a coach entails. A coach’s fundamental job is to inspire his team to win in any situation and be responsible for the team. Right now, Amodu does not understand either facet, and it shows.

I have not been one of those calling for Amodu’s ouster because I believe that changing coaches in the middle of a qualifying series would be debilitating for the team. However, Amodu’s words really make it seem as though he does not want the job anymore. In fact, the cynic in me is wondering if he’s doing this on purpose with the knowledge that he’ll be thrown out for that statement. But the solution is much simpler than that. If he does not desire World Cup glory, he should step off and let someone else on. Because for the player, for the coach, and for the nation, desire is the fuel that powers the engine of our World Cup dreams.