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2 Former FIFA and CAF instructor, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, has emphasised the need for Nigeria to identify and develop another creative player like Austine ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha for the Super Eagles, Completesports.com reports.
Onigbinde, 86, spoke during an exclusive interview with Completesports.com following the Super Eagles’ 2-1 loss to Rwanda in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Monday.
Chief Adegboye Onigbinde
The Eagles have struggled to find a creative player in the mould of Okocha, who retired from international football in 2006.
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Okocha represented the Nigerian national team 73 times between 1993 and 2006, scoring 14 goals. He won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations title and the football gold medal at Atlanta 1996 Olympics.. Okocha who was a member of Nigeria’s 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup squads was renowned for his confidence, trickery, technique, creativity, flair, and close ball control. However, no current Super Eagles player has matched his unique qualities.
Onigbinde, a former Nigeria coach who led the Super Eagles to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan with Jay-Jay Okocha in his squad, insisted that Nigeria has many talented and technically gifted players who could fill the creative midfield role if properly identified and developed.
“I have always maintained that Nigeria’s major problem is not technical but administrative,” Onigbinde, an AFCON 1984 Silver Medal-winning Nigeria coach stated.
“As you know, we have technically gifted players, both male and female, but we are neither identifying nor developing them.
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“Regarding the lack of creativity in the Super Eagles, when you fail to identify a creative talent, how can you address the issue within the team?
“Jay Jay Okocha is a Nigerian who distinguished himself as one of the finest midfielders in the Super Eagles’ history. Many great players came before him. Are we now saying that God is angry with Nigeria and doesn’t want us to have such talent anymore?
“The truth is, there are thousands of potential Okochas out there who can solve the Super Eagles’ creative midfield problem if coaches expand their search. We can’t continue lamenting over this issue because we have not done enough to identify, develop, and expose these talents through competition for the world to see.”
By Augustine Akhilomen
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