Brown Ideye: “Super Eagles' Current Squad Has Talent, But Lacks the Heart We Had in 2013”
In an exclusive interview, Brown Ideye reflects on his exclusion from the 2014 World Cup, praises Stephen Keshi's influence, and critiques the current Super Eagles squad for lacking the heart and unity that defined Nigeria's 2013 AFCON champions.
Image Credits: Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images
Nigeria ex-international and former Olympiacos striker Brown Ideye shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with Sports Boom on missing out on the 2014 World Cup despite his pivotal role in Nigeria's AFCON triumph just a year earlier.
The ex-international, who says he holds no grudges against the late Stephen Keshi for dropping him at the 2014 World Cup, has said the current squad of the Super Eagles are just a bunch of talented Super Stars with no heart.
He also touched on the influence the late Stephen Keshi (The Big Boss) had on the AFCON 2013 winning squad, and how it brought about a successful tournament for the country.
I Have Nothing Against Late Stephen Keshi
Brown Ideye, reflecting on his time with the Late Stephen Keshi and the aftermath of missing the 2014 World Cup, said he held no grudges against Stephen Keshi for not being called up to the World Cup after being influential in the Afcon title-winning side of 2013.
"Never," he said. Buttressing his points with never speaking about it because of the respect he has for him.
"Whether I'm angry or not, it was Stephen Keshi that took me to the Nations Cup. If he didn't take me to the World Cup, he also had to drop some people for me to attend the Afcon,” he told SportsBoom.com.
When asked if he felt his teammates should have spoken up or could have spoken up for him after being dropped, he was explicit with his response.
"They couldn't have done anything. No matter what they said to the boss at that time, no matter how they tried to get to the root of the matter, no one even had the 'balls' to go to the coach to tell him; you have to do this.”
"He has his mind and makes decisions based on that.”
"I was not upset about what he did. I wasn't upset about the players, that they did not go out to fight for me and everything."
It's over, I just moved on.
Brown Ideye
Current Super Eagles Have Talent, But Lack the Heart of 2013
Ideye compared the 2013 AFCON-winning squad with the current Super Eagles, noting that while today's team has more talent, they lack the heart and unity that defined his squad back then.
"Yes. This current team has more talented players on paper than our team in 2013 but, do not have the heart we had.”
He went further to give reasons why.
Image Credits: Aitor Alcalde Colomer/Getty Images
"If you check our lineup back then, from the goalkeeper to Emenike, apart from Victor Moses, Mikel Obi, both at Chelsea and Vincent Enyeama at Lille, there were no well-known stars in the side playing consistently for their clubs back then.
"Even some were clubless or playing in the Nigerian Topflight.
"Onazi was in Lazio but, wasn't a starter"
"Unlike what they have now, you have Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Victor Osimhen, for Napoli, Iwobi, Bassey (Fulham), Ajayi, Ola Aina, even Zaidu Sanusi (Porto) apart from the goalkeeper, almost all the players are all in the elite league, with most in the EPL.
The team was totally different from this team.
Brown Ideye
Team Bonding and Discipline: Key Differences Between Then and Now
Ideye highlighted the importance of team bonding and Discipline, which was a key element of the late Stephen Keshi's reign as the coach of the Super Eagles.
"We supported one another; we left whatever dispute we had on the field there and moved on off it after the game.”
"We talked to one another, go to each other’s rooms, we encouraged ourselves and never criticized ourselves."
Outlining the discipline enforced by the late coach as a key factor as well.
"Discipline in camp was paramount as everyone tried to stay in line.”
"If he said bedtime was 8 pm and there was to be no noise afterwards, that was how it was going to be."
For me, I feel the Discipline in the team gave us the trophy.
Brown Ideye
100% Commitment or You're Out!
For Ideye it was the fear factor that the late Stephen Keshi had amongst the players that brought the respect. Knowing fully well that, it doesn't matter where you are playing when it comes to his team selections. It's either the player is willing to give a 100% or the player is out of the team.
"Ike Uche started coming in from the bench because the gaffer wasn't getting what he wanted from him in training.”
"He wasn't happy about it, but the late Keshi won't have it, despite he was playing in Villarreal then.
"For the 'Big Boss', it wasn't about the club side where you are from; it's about what you are willing to give when he puts you in the team," he said.
He rounded off with the Coach's reminder of the availability of options in all roles as a stern warning before and even after being called up to the team.
"He always had a one-on-one chat with us before call ups, requesting for a 100% commitment if we were coming around.
"With the clause, if you can't do the job, there are 2 or 3 people out there that can do it."
Talent Alone Won't Bring Success
On his expectations from the current squad, he was on the fence.
"The talent is obvious for everyone to see, but the togetherness and the heart is what is missing.
"If they can get that sorted, then they'd achieve a lot. But it's the game of football, anything can happen,” he concluded.
Gbemidepo Popoola, is a freelance Sport Journalist with multiple years of experience in Writing, Reportage and Broadcasting. Gbemidepo's major concentration is telling the local Nigerian Sporting stories, in its own Unique way. This is because he believes, "no one, can tell our story better than ourselves".