He is good joor....The Nigeria Football Federation should
focus on persuading Liverpool’s rising star Jordon Ibe to commit his
international future to Nigeria, says former Super Eagles midfielder Ene
Okon.
Senegal ’92 Africa Cup of Nations bronze
medallist Okon believes Ibe will bring out the best in the likes of
Mikel Obi and Emmanuel Emenike if the 19-year-old midfielder is
encouraged to switch his international allegiance and play for Nigeria.
He says the country cannot afford to lose any more talented players to
Europe after the likes of Bayern Munich defender David Alaba and
Schalke 04 midfielder Sidney Sam opted to represent Austria and Germany
respectively.
Ibe, who was born in London to Nigerian
parents, has represented England at Under 18 and Under 19 levels.
However, the teenager is still eligible to play for Nigeria at the
senior level.
Out-of-contract Eagles manager Stephen
Keshi said in 2013 Ibe was one of the players with Nigerian roots based
abroad whose performances he was monitoring with a view to persuading
them to play for their fathers’ country.
Ibe, who was recalled by Liverpool from a
loan spell at Championship club Derby County last month, seized his
chance to shine on the big stage – in his second Premier League start in
the Reds’ 3-2 defeat of Tottenham at Anfield on Tuesday.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and
captain Steven Gerrard hailed the player after the performance, tipping
him for success at the Premier League club.
“He’s a big talent, he’s got great
technical quality and it was a brilliant performance by him. He was
unfortunate not to have scored with his run and strike,” Talksport quoted Rodgers as saying during the week.
“He has wonderful temperament and
technique and is tactically very good for a kid coming into that system.
I am very pleased for him.”
Gerrard said, “(Ibe had) a sensational
performance and was unlucky not to get the winner. Credit to him, he’s
got a big future and he’s going to be a terrific player.”
Former BCC Lions star Okon, who echoed Rodgers and Gerrard’s sentiments, said the player should be invited by Nigeria.
“For the Super Eagles to become one of
the continent’s top performers, they must strive to win the 2017
Africa Cup of Nations,” the retired former Calabar Rovers player old our
correspondent on the telephone during the week.
“We need new players and I would suggest
we make attempts to convince players with Nigerian roots in Europe to
play for the Super Eagles.
“There are many good players with
Nigerian blood in Europe. Ibe is one of them. He’s playing for one of
the biggest clubs in the world.
“I think we should invite him to play for
Nigeria. We need a player of his calibre to bring out the best in
players such as Mikel Obi and Emmanuel Emenike.
“We have lost many good players to other countries and we can’t afford to lose Ibe to England.”
Okon, who lamented Nigeria’s failure to
qualify for Equatorial Guinea finals, said Nigeria have a lot to learn
from Ivory Coast, who won the tournament in Bata on Sunday.
He said, “Ivory Coast won the tournament
because they prepared very well for it. Their players took every match
seriously unlike our players.
“We took things for granted. The administrators were not serious about our preparation for the qualifiers.
“We would have won the trophy if we had
qualified for the tournament. We must learn from our mistakes. We must
plan for the 2017 edition. It will be shameful for us to miss out on a
place in the next tournament.”
Okon is backing his former Eagles’
teammate Keshi to remain as Nigeria coach, urging the NFF to renew the
ex-Togo manager’s contract.
“Keshi is not the problem of our football,” the ex-Julius Berger player said.
“Our problem is poor planning. We should address the problems of our football to reclaim our lost glory.
“We have good players across the country
but nobody is monitoring them. Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Guinea came to
the Africa Cup of Nations with young players, because they focus on the
performances of their players.”
He added, “I disagree with those saying our players are old, hence we failed to qualify for the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.
“Mikel, (Ogenyi) Onazi and Emenike still have age on their side. They are good players. We need younger players to help them.”
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