Football: Nigeria's harmony a real bonus for Ikpeba

The African player of the year is confident the Olympic champions will soar. By Dominique Baldy

WHEN GLENN Hoddle complains about the obstacles that litter his path as England coach, he is probably thinking of the intense media scrutiny of his preparations, and the wrangling he has gone through with the likes of Alex Ferguson and Roy Evans to secure his players for friendly games.

But while clearly no picnic, the trials and tribulations that come with Hoddle's job pale into insignificance when compared with the employment terms of his Nigerian counterpart, Bora Milutinovic.

Denied top quality warm-up matches by sporting sanctions in force against the military regime and the country's suspension from the African Nations' Cup, it was not until 22 April that Milutinovic was finally able to get his key players together for a friendly, against Germany.

Although that resulted in an honourable 1-0 defeat, last week's 4-0 humbling at the hands of Grasshopper Zurich certainly increased the pressure on the experienced Serbian coach, that he is the fourth man to hold the job in the time of Hoddle's England tenure tells you all you need to know about the post's longer term prospects, and the politicking that is an inevitable part of the Nigerian football scene.

But despite these handicaps, and an on-going row between the players and the national federation over the non-payment of their agreed qualification bonuses, hopes remain high back home that the Super Eagles will swoop to the World Cup in France, and fulfil, at the last opportunity, Pele's oft-quoted prediction that an African nation would be world champions by the turn of the century.

To find the reasons for that optimism, you need to go back to Atlanta two years ago, when the bulk of the current squad won Olympic gold in spectacular fashion, including dramatic victories over Argentina and Brazil.

"Since Atlanta, a lot of Nigerians think we have already won the World Cup, especially considering that the team that won there forms the basis of our current side," acknowledges the striker Victor Ikpeba, a gold-medallist and current African footballer of the year. "The whole country is very excited and confident.

"In the States we beat Brazil, who had Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Bebeto and Juninho in their team, so you cannot blame the people for feeling that way, but the players are not getting carried away. But we believe that we can win, because we are a stronger now than we were in the last finals four years ago."

Then, Nigeria were eliminated in the second round by Italy after leading 1-0, and Ikpeba feels the lessons of that day have been fully absorbed. "We are mentally tougher now, and appreciate the need to keep going all the way through. In Atlanta, we were 3-1 down against Brazil in the semi- finals, with 15 minutes to play, trailed twice before winning. This tells you a lot about the spirit we now have in the team."

When you add to that newly acquired strength the talents of players such as the Internazionale striker Nwankwo Kanu, back in the squad after career threatening heart surgery, silky playmaker Austin Okocha and Ikpeba himself, it is clear that the optimism is not purely fanciful.

But if the pedigree of the bulk of the Nigerian squad is beyond question, it may be events off the field that will clip the Eagles' wings. The row over bonuses, for one, has hardly done much for dressing-room harmony.

"We didn't need that problem," says Ikpeba. "Money is not the reason we are going to France, but we were promised the bonuses for qualifying, which in any case are far smaller than those the European teams have received. It's just typical of Nigeria that the money hasn't been paid, and it would be a big help if it were resolved before the competition started."

And then there is the small matter of the regular changing of the man at the helm. The previous incumbent, Frenchman Philippe Troussier, was sacked after a row with the federation despite having led the Eagles through their qualifying group.

"It's a shame that the federation keeps changing the coach, but there is not a lot the players can do about it. At least Bora is well experienced and that makes him a good man to have on our side.''