Top former Nigeria international stars have disagreed over the bronze medal finish of the Super Eagles at the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations which took place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles, after recording five straight wins, lost 4-2 on penalties to Morocco and eventually defeated Egypt also 4-2 via penalties to settle for the bronze medal.
Former Arsenal star and football legend, Nwankwo Kanu, showered praises on the team and called on Nigerians to appreciate the efforts of the lads foe emerging 3rd out of the 24 countries that took part in the continental tournament.
Kanu said: “We got the Third Place win and the boys are worthy of the praise. If you look at the team and the level of the play you can see that it’s a strong team. As a Nigerian I’m happy they keep improving so that’s the most important thing.”
For Oliseh, the reverse is the case, he said: “Before the AFCON final, a video went viral of the Super Eagles celebrating widely for winning third place against Egypt. In the media space where I sat, I watched as other African countries mocked us. There was a time when the Super Eagles shed tears for second place because anything but the trophy was a failure.
“Celebrating third place is a culture of mediocrity and you must remember the decline of our dominance started when we started being content with this. If we want to be African best again, the wild celebrations for anything less than gold must be stopped.”
Udeze in another reaction countered the position of Oliseh, saying that it would have been horrible not to win anything in a tournament the Nigerian team displayed good football.
“It would have been bad to finish with nothing because many strong teams like Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire went home with nothing. That is why we should be happy and appreciate the Super Eagles. Egypt wanted the Third Place and lost to Nigeria, so we should value what we have.
“Again, the Eagles did not go to AFCON with the target of winning bronze, they played for gold but it just ended that way and that’s football for you,” Udeze stressed.
