Nigerian Football
Super Eagles’ most successful coach, Westerhof set to open up on his Nigeria adventure 35 years after contract signing
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, ALMERE, NETHERLANDS
This Thursday 15 August holds great significance in Nigeria’s football history. It is on this day 35 years ago that Dutchman, Clemens Westerhof signed a contract to handle the Nigerian lead football product, Super Eagles.
He took the team from just being a medium football power in the continent, he made it the fifth ranked in FIFA ranking as at the time he parted ways with Nigeria.
Thirty years and a month since he left in July 1994, no other coach has been able to take Nigeria to that enviable height.
He was an apostle of grooming home-based player into stardom. There are many of such. From Daniel Amokachi of Ranchers Bees to Finidi George of Calabar Rovers and Uche Okechukwu of Flash Flamingos and Iwuanyanwu Nationale, the list is unending. He assisted in establishing the Kwara Football Academy.
From the domestic scene, most of the players found themselves getting lucrative offers abroad where they flourished and added values to the Super Eagles qualifying for the World Cup for the first time ever, becoming the first Anglophone African team at the World Cup and the first African team to get to the next round as debutants at the World Cup.
Super Eagles under Westerhof also won their first title outside the home shores when they clinched the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994.
Building a national team with home-grown talents is a task all the successors to Westerhof have failed to do as they depend mainly on sourcing players abroad while neglecting the development of the game in the country.
He took largely home based players to the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations and still played the final match, losing 1-0 to Algeria.
In doing so, he worked on the psychology of a team that had an initial set back of 5-1 defeat in their opening match.
In Westerhof’s 21squad were 18 players from the Nigerian domestic league.
The trio playing abroad were: Rashidi Yekini (Africa Sports, Cote d’Ivoire), Andrew Uwe (K.S.V. Roeselare, Belgium) and Friday Elahor (Brøndby IF, Denmark).
The preponderance of home-based players was precipitated by refusal of the top foreign players to come to camp.
No other Super Eagles’ coach had taken such risk. Until Sunday 15 August 2021, Westerhof was the coach with the longest single or combined tenure with the Nigerian national team.
It took 32 years since he left in 1994 for his record of longevity to be broken by Gernot Rohr. Westerhof spent 1,787 days on the saddle before he walked away on 6 July 1994.
He was therefore Nigeria’s coach for four years, 10 months and 22 days.
Now 82 years old and spending a quiet time in Arnhem, a city situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border, Westerhof has consented to speak with Sports Village Square on his adventure in Nigeria and thereafter. Stay tuned.
Remo Stars on Saturday made it two straight wins in the Nigeria Premier League after labouring to a 1-0 defeat of Sunshine Stars of Akure to follow-up their last weekend 2-0 away win over Abia Warriors.
On Saturday, under eight minutes they shot ahead through Shuaibu Ibrahim. That was where the story ended as Sunshine Stars came up strongly and almost stalemated scores.
The win, though narrow, is enough to temporarily take Remo Stars to the top of the log after two games.
They are followed by Rivers United who beat Heartland 3-1. It is the second consecutive 3-1 loss that Heartland are getting in the two-week old season.
The situation could change on Sunday when other matches are played.
On the card are: Akwa United hosting Abia Warriors while Kano Pillars will be away to Bayelsa United.
Katsina United host Bendel Insurance and Niger Tornadoes will be home to Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars will host Plateau United.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA, who was in Arnhem, Netherlands.
Former Nigeria manager, Clemens Westerhof has recommended one of his former players, Samson Siasia as the substantial coach for the Super Eagles.
Siasia was one of his players of the famed golden generation of the Super Eagles.
“I called him last month to greet him for his birthday and also to celebrate with him for the end of his five-year ban”, Westerhof told Sports Village Square at his house in Arnhem in the Netherlands.
According to him, Siasia is just like Keshi and that he has the capacity to turn the Super Eagles around for the better. Westerhof, the author of the famed ‘Golden Generation’ of the Super Eagles made his suggestion shortly after Germany’s Bruce Labbadia turned down the Nigerian job offer.
Westerhof remarked that he was surprised about the choice of Labbadia in the first instance and that the now Mali coach, Tom Saintfiet who is his friend could have been a better choice.
Saintfiet, a Belgian, was speculated among the coaches initially short-listed for the Super Eagles’ job. But Westerhof, before the naming of Austin Eguavoen, another member of his famous 1994 squad, strongly back Siasia for the job.
He remarked that he was in touch with the former striker as well as Austin Okocha whom he met with in London recently.
To Westerhof, Siasia has the same quality like Stephen Keshi to handle the Super Eagles. “He has done it before and I think he can still do it.”
The balls hit the nets 17 times this Sunday as the Nigeria Premier League Season 2024/25 burst into life this Sunday.
The first of the goals was from Plateau United’s Olawale Doyeni who converted a 24th minute penalty kick against Katsina United in an eventual 1-0 home win.
Another star-man of the the day is Enyimba’s Clinton Jephta who has become the season’s first hat-trickster. His three goals in the 65th , 70th and 73rd minutes sank heartland 3-1 in their home match.
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