Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi has urged his players to show patriotism while featuring for the country.
Keshi said it was unconventional for
coaches to inform players before they are dropped from the national team
and that a call to serve the country was a rare privilege that should
be embraced.
The Big Boss said: “It is only in
Nigeria that you hear a player complaining that he was not informed
before he was dropped from the national team.
“Many of us played for the national teams, nobody gives you an excuse why you are not being called.
“I was the captain of the Super Eagles
in 1991 when we played Burkina Faso in Lagos. I came all the way from
Belgium only to be told by our coach that my name was not among those
invited.
“I had no option than to stay away from
the team. When you decide to call a player, it is only out of respect.
It is not that you are obliged to do that”.
The former New Nigeria Bank of Benin
captain advised players to show more commitment to national duties,
instead of holding the nation to ransom at the slightest chance.
SportingLife recalls that Nigerians
condemned the refusal of the Super Eagles to proceed to Brazil for the
Confederations Cup over match bonus differences, after their World Cup
qualifier against Namibia.
It took the intervention of President
Goodluck Jonathan before the players decided agreed to board a plane to
Brazil, where they lost two matches against Uruguay and Spain, after
beating a less-fancied Tahiti.
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