glorious opportunity to win their last 2015 Africa Cup
of Nations qualifying game to claim their ticket to the
ongoing continental finals in Equatorial Guinea.
The Super Eagles had confounded pre-tournament
predictions by winning their third African title in
South Africa in 2013 and former Nigeria goalkeeper
Joseph Dosu, like many pundits, backed the Nigeria '80
and Tunisia '94 champions to qualify from the 2015
Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Group A, where they
were drawn alongside South Africa, Congo and Sudan.
Although Stephen Keshi's men came under intense
criticism after their 2-0 defeat by France in the Brazil
2014 World Cup round of 16, they were still
considered favourites to pick up one of the two
automatic qualification tickets to Equatorial Guinea
2015 from their group.
Nigeria needed just a victory over South Africa to seal
their place in the tournament and the Super Eagles
were tipped by many to overrun Bafana Bafana, who
arrived in Uyo on November 19, 2014 for the 2015
Africa Cup of Nations Group A last qualifier with
Equatorial Guinea 2015 qualification under their belt.
But the Eagles battled to a 2-2 against the 1996
champions to finish in the third position in the group
on eight points. South Africa and Congo grabbed the
two automatic qualification spots after amassing 12
and 10 points to place first and second in the
standings.
Like many fans of the national team, Dosu was
devastated by the draw against the South Africans and
voiced his disappointment at the Eagles not being able
to defend their title in Equatorial Guinea.
But the former Julius Berger custodian believes the
Eagles can take plenty of positives from their failure to
qualify for the Equatorial Guinea finals. He says it
could be a blessing in disguise for the players who
have been forced to watch their colleagues on
television strutting their stuff in the tiny West African
country.
Dosu said the blame for the country's inability to
defend their title in Equatorial Guinea should be laid
at the doorstep of everyone.
"We would have qualified for the tournament if we
had won our first qualifiers against Congo and South
Africa," the Atlanta '96 Olympic Games gold medallist
told our correspondent on the telephone.
"It's unfortunate that we allowed Congo to beat us 3-2
in Calabar in the first game of the qualifiers.
"The defeat affected the team, because it was never
expected. We would have regained confidence if we
had beaten South Africa at home in the second match.
But the game ended in a goalless draw, meaning they
(Eagles) were under pressure.
"We had the opportunity to make it (in the last
qualifier in Uyo) but the South Africans played as if
their lives depended on the game.
"They knew we could win the tournament, hence they
did everything to stop us from going to Equatorial
Guinea. We were lucky to come out of the game with a
2-2 draw. We left it too late, and we should work hard
to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations."
The former Italy-based keeper, who missed out on a
place in the 1998 World Cup in France due to a
career-ending injury, added, "I believe the team have
learned from their mistakes and I believe the players
will be more committed and determined to qualify for
the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and win it.
"I believe we can win it. We failed to qualify for the
2012 Africa Cup of Nations (in Gabon and Equatorial
Guinea) but we bounced back from the
disappointment to win the tournament a year later.
"Nobody gave the Eagles a chance of winning the
tournament in South Africa in 2013. But they proved
us wrong by winning the competition. I believe they
can do it again.
"We have the materials to do it. We only need to be
organised and take every tournament seriously.
"We wouldn't have found ourselves in a difficult
position in our group if we had prepared very well for
the qualifiers after the World Cup.
"I believe the team and the Nigeria Football Federation
have learned some lessons from the past. We should
move on."
Dosu expressed his frustration about the poor quality
of the domestic league and urged the Nigeria Football
Federation to save the competition.
The former Reggiana keeper says the NFF must act to
improve the players' standard by making the league
more competitive.
He maintains Nigerian players have not been attracting
interests from big European outfits in recent times due
to the poor management of the domestic league.
"Having Nigerian players in top European clubs
depends on how we run our league," Dosu said.
"Our league is poorly run and the good players are in a
hurry to move abroad. They jump at the slightest
opportunity to play professional football in Europe or
Asia because of the situation they have found
themselves.
"I keep reading in the newspapers that players are
being owed salaries and match bonus by their clubs.
"In fact, every club in the league is guilty of owing their
players. The players have to protest before they are
paid. This is not good enough.
"Again, the players are poorly paid. Some of the clubs
pay their players ridiculous salaries.
"You can't expect the players to be happy. Many of the
players are playing because they want to market
themselves.
"I get annoyed when people criticise our players for
playing professional football in countries such as
Sweden and Israel.
"Since the domestic league cannot help the players
develop to be able to attract big European clubs, they
should go to countries where they will be paid good
money – and take advantage of the facilities and
training in such clubs to improve themselves. If they
play well in the smaller clubs, the big clubs will be able
to monitor their performances and go for them.
"I'm not against any Nigerian player moving to Europe
or Asia to play professional football.
"The domestic league is poorly run and the players
should go places where they can make money to help
their families back home."
He added, "In our days, the domestic league was highly
competitive. We were paid good salaries and
allowances. At Julius Berger, our salaries were regular
and the management did everything to encourage us.
"We enjoyed playing away games because the club
took good care of us. League games drew big crowds
on match days and we enjoyed playing the game.
"The situation is different today. League games these
days are played in empty stadiums, because the
competition is not attractive.
"Something must be done about this. If we want to
have quality players in the national team, we must
develop the league. We must make the league
attractive again."
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