SAmsom Siasia sacked

Samson SIASIA sacked...

much foot-dragging, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF yesterday dispensed with the services of Super Eagles Chief Coach, Samson Siasia despite his plea for more time to put together a ‘strong’ team for the future.

However, contrary to speculations that the football house was set to announce former captain of the Eagles, Stephen Keshi as Siasia’s replacement, it was gathered that it ordered its technical committee to sit next week and decide who should take over albeit on a temporary basis.

The Executive Committee which met yesterday only rubber-stamped the recommendation of its Technical Committee headed by Barrister Chris Green which hurriedly met to decide Siasia’s fate after he failed to fulfill part of his contract which was to qualify the Eagles for the 2012 Africa Nations Cup scheduled for Equatorial Guinea/Gabon next January.


Siasia after the match in Abuja
The Aminu Maigari-led NFF has been under tremendous pressure, even though he (Maigari) denied such, to sack the Bayelsa-born gaffer as Nigerians were divided on the issue, with many saying that some other coaches who even qualified for the Nations Cup and got to the semi final were given the boot.

One such Nigerian, himself a former coach of Nigeria’s U-17 team and Super Falcons, Godwin Izilein, queried the call for Siasia’s pardon when he couldn’t meet his own side of the contract terms.

“Why are people calling for Siasia to be given a second chance. There is a precedence, coaches before him were fired even when they qualified the team for the Nations Cup and got to the semi final. Is Siasia a special Nigerian, why should his case be different. My concern is that there is a contract and it should be followed to the letter,” he argued.

Siasia, who was a popular choice of Nigerian fans after Swede handler, Lars Lagerback couldn’t lead the Eagles beyond the first round at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, spent only 11 months at the helm and fell out of favour after his wards were held to a 2-2 draw by Syli National of Guinea, a result that knocked Nigeria out of the Nations Cup, the first time in 26 years.