KESHI'S SUPER EAGLES STAND ON THE THRESHOLD OF HISTORY

Nigeria go into their final against Burkina Faso as favorites following their famous win over Ivory Coast and comprehensive routing of Mali. Nigerian soccers fans have longed for the return of the golden era of 1993 to 2002 that lead to a 1994 nations cup title,1996 olympic title,world cup qualification in 1994,1998 and 2002. That was the era that produced the likes of Rashidi Yekini,Daniel Amokachie,Current coach Stephen Keshi,Jay-Jay Okocha,Nwankwo Kanu,Emmanuel Amuneke,George Finidi and Samson Siasia. The success of the players of this era has been the yard stick which subsequent under performing teams were held to. Now the current Super Eagles teams stand at the threshold of history as they aim to lift the Nations cup for the third time. Much of the current team success is attributed to the hunger of the players and the confidence of the coach who decided to give a bunch of local based players an opportunity to play for the national team. Keshi has moulded a team where team work is supreme,the sublime skill of John Obi Mikel is complimented by the tireless work rate of Sunday Mba and the dimunitive Ogenyi Onazi. In the current Super Eagles team,there is no room for just the possession of skill,its all about hard work. The midfield is mobile and they deployed this against the Ivorians such that before the star studded Ivorians could not find their feet. In the semi final game against Mali they Super Eagles employed this same speed,power and athleticism  to devastating effect that the Malians were simply blown away. The hard runs of Emmanuel Amenike who may emerge the highest goal scorer and MVP was just too much for the Malians to handle. Also the incisive runs by Victor Moses was simply breath taking while the cerebral passes of John Obi Mikel in the games was such a delight to behold. Keshi seems to have found a balance that is yielding results after being villified by the Nigerian media for shunning established stars like Obafemi Martins,Peter Odemwingie and John Utaka. The teams that Keshi has built fits his vision which all about team work and athletiscm. Keshi was a Nigerian legend as a player and he stands to enter the hallowed chamber where only winning coaches tread if his team can overcome the Burkinabes. The Nigerian opponents in the final have proved themselves to be a real threat. They offer a contrast style where they run endlessly at their opponents. Despite being a goal down to Ghana and with several questionable calls by the referee (Ghanian's twelfth player) they continued to throw a blietzkrieg against the Ghanians until they prevailed in the ensuing penalty kick. The Burkinabes are spoiling for a showdown to try and upset the Nigerians in the final. If they employ their pugilistic approach,they may aim to hack down the dynamism of the Nigerian team.