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00:00 I'm not hanging.
00:01 Are you really?
00:03 I'm doing live video.
00:05 Yes.
00:08 I've seen it.
00:10 Okay.
00:11 Yeah, I've seen it.
00:13 You can't stance.
00:16 [Music]
00:35 It's been over a year that Lucifer Zero got appointed by the NFX.
00:42 It was exactly May 15th of 2022.
00:45 That they decided to appoint him as head coach of the Super Heroes.
00:49 And it's fair to say, in fact I'm only being fair if I say, that we do not have an identity.
00:55 We do not know what Perseus wants to do with the squad, with the team at his disposal.
01:01 And that was quite evident in the game against Lesotho.
01:03 And, well, we have to prepare a game now that's coming up against Zimbabwe as well on Sunday.
01:09 And yes, I have previewed for that game.
01:12 My name is Ayomini Shultzbo and this is the Love Mech on Guardian TV.
01:16 [Music]
01:24 And what's more to say, honestly, I just think from where I start in that intro.
01:33 For real, it does look like Perseus Zero for all that it is worth, does not know what he wants to do with that team.
01:40 It's definitely been lacking tactical identity and that is quite obvious.
01:45 If you cannot beat a Saudi Arabia, you cannot beat a Lesotho convincingly.
01:49 In your own part, Lesotho went ahead.
01:52 Lesotho went ahead before any...
01:58 They went ahead before the Super Heroes, because they didn't come...
02:01 [Inaudible]
02:07 And in the second half, it's...
02:10 [Inaudible]
02:12 And many people blame Francis Ouzoasdeh, Skip Gautam.
02:16 It's the hero of social media. Of course, that's what he's right to do, as it were, with most people.
02:21 But how does Oluwaseyemilu Gwadjai look at himself and just think he's done the right thing,
02:28 trying to cover his goalkeeper and trying to keep the ball out of the back of the net?
02:31 I know it's not his primary responsibility, but as it were,
02:36 he should be helping the goalkeeper more than he did there.
02:38 And he didn't. Well, there are bigger problems in every department of the pitch, if you want to say.
02:44 Fine, I knew Wilfred Ndidi not being a part of that team yesterday was going to be a problem.
02:51 But I did not foretell that it would be a problem as big as it was.
02:56 It's a high score.
02:58 And I saw it is when the team cannot even coordinate from the back, cannot make proper decisions
03:06 in the way they distribute the ball, in the way they link up.
03:09 You begin to wonder what they are doing in training.
03:12 I don't know what he wants to do.
03:14 And also, his selection is questionable. Talking about Ousepe Seru.
03:18 Because you have two strikers in the box and you're starting Jamilu Collins,
03:22 who I think shouldn't have started yesterday.
03:24 Because Bruno Ngemachi has been a standout player every game he's played for the Super Eagles.
03:31 That's without question.
03:33 He's always going to bump forward and backward on that left wing, up and down.
03:38 And he's going to try and create.
03:40 You have Awuoni, you have Victor Boniface, two informer strikers across Europe this season in your front line.
03:47 And nobody was putting in crosses for them.
03:50 It took these players trying to drop into the midfield to try and create something for each other.
03:54 I do not think that is ideal.
03:56 I think that Jamilu Collins starting was a no-no.
03:59 Ademar Lukman also.
04:01 I don't know why Ousepe Seru keeps picking these players when they are not proving themselves at club level.
04:11 We spoke in the last episode about Francis Uzua and Manuka Okoye not proving themselves.
04:17 And now the same goes for Ademar Lukman.
04:21 Since January, his form has faded.
04:24 Why are we using him?
04:26 What's the reason? What's the logic?
04:28 What's the reasoning behind starting Ademar Lukman?
04:32 Because he's not the sort of player that would create for the strikers effectively, sustainably.
04:37 I do not think he is.
04:39 I felt Moses Simon should have started that game against Lesotho.
04:42 It was our best creative option.
04:44 And when he came off the bench, it proved it.
04:46 It didn't take too long before we got that first goal once Moses Simon was on the pitch.
04:51 Really, it's without question that I do not know, and I'm sure millions of Nigerians do not know,
04:58 what Ousepe Seru wants to do with that squad.
05:01 Do you want to play off from the back?
05:02 Do you want to bomb forward and attack?
05:04 What do you want to do with the squad?
05:06 What do you want to do with the team?
05:08 Because these players, maybe not all of them are world-beaters,
05:14 but you want to argue against Lesotho, against Saudi Arabia,
05:18 except it's Soutome and Presipe, who are, by the way, one of the worst teams to ever play against,
05:24 and no disrespect to them, it's just what it is.
05:27 I do not understand why you struggle against Lesotho, against the Mozambique, against Saudi Arabia.
05:36 These are teams you should be getting past.
05:39 Ideally, no disrespect to these teams, based on the quality of paper, you should be struggling,
05:45 and especially when you consider that it's a home game in Uyghur.
05:49 The players certainly cannot complain about the pitch this time.
05:52 They definitely cannot complain about the pitch.
05:55 The pitch, the grass was lost green, and it was a good pitch to play on, by the way.
06:01 But anyways, let's move away from that.
06:03 You can see it's quite obvious that there's something wrong.
06:07 It's a coaching problem.
06:09 I do feel that Jose Pissarro should leave that job.
06:13 I think he should be sacked.
06:14 But I do not think it's the right time.
06:16 We're just two months, or even under two months, before the start of the African Cup of Nations in January,
06:22 and it's not the right time, because who comes in and does the job in his absence?
06:26 That's the question that NFF definitely have to answer for all of their woes so far.
06:32 But then let's move away from that.
06:33 We have to also talk about a big problem from that game yesterday,
06:36 and it was the fact that the team, inasmuch as these players are good on paper,
06:41 they lacked what I think is quality.
06:44 They lacked leadership.
06:45 I mean, you want to take me back to the days when we had--maybe we've not had world beaters, so to speak,
06:51 but we had quite a few.
06:52 And in defense, in the goalkeeping department, we used to have this in Yamaba.
06:57 What do we have now?
06:58 We have the Francis Roel, we have Emaduka Okoye.
07:01 There are a lot of talents in mind, but Jose Pissarro is not going to sack them or trial them,
07:06 and I think it's time to just move on.
07:08 Maybe Uzor will be our starting goalkeeper.
07:10 I don't think we have a lot of choices right now, because it's not time.
07:13 You can't say against Lesotho we couldn't even get a win.
07:15 It's not time to test many goalkeepers.
07:18 That chance sets in a long time ago.
07:20 And in defense, we used to have Josef Yobo, but look at who we have.
07:25 We have Semih Adjaye, we have Calvin Bassi.
07:28 Question marks around them.
07:30 I do not think these players have the leadership qualities, or the quality, rather.
07:35 In fact, the footballing quality, they have not proven it.
07:38 They have a lot to prove.
07:39 We have not seen what they can do.
07:42 Because even in midfield, that's where our biggest problems are, in my opinion, apart from the goalkeeping department.
07:49 For real, we used to have John McElhobie, but now Francis Oyeka, Alex Iwobi, makeshift options,
07:57 no real expertise when it comes to being a central midfielder.
08:02 Because those players, as far as I'm concerned, for Iwobi, is more useful up front, closer to the attackers.
08:10 Not getting close, sitting in front of the defense like he did yesterday against Lesotho.
08:16 I do not think that is what he does best.
08:18 You see, we can also talk about the attack.
08:22 The absence of Victor or Semih was quite obvious.
08:25 But, hey, cut Victor Boniface, and you can cut the attack from slack.
08:32 Because, for real, not much was created for them.
08:35 It was difficult to get the ball to them in any case yesterday.
08:39 So, I'm not going to talk so much about the attack, because I do not think that's where our problems are.
08:44 That's quite obvious to everybody.
08:46 But the question is, we used to have quality in the Super Eagles.
08:52 We used to have leadership.
08:55 And what do I mean by leadership?
08:56 When a push comes to shove, you expect that players on the pitch understand the jersey,
09:05 the country they are representing, and put in some passion and try and take the game by the scruff of their neck.
09:10 But we didn't see that yesterday.
09:11 We didn't see players trying to take the initiative.
09:14 And that was quite obvious.
09:16 We're talking about the African Cup of Nations in a couple of months' time.
09:19 This is the World Cup qualifiers.
09:22 These players should be fired up, because they didn't make the World Cup in the last time that they had the chance.
09:28 They missed the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
09:30 What more should be a motivation for these players to put in a shift?
09:34 I don't understand.
09:36 I would not understand what they need to do.
09:38 I don't know what they get to tell themselves.
09:40 For all the balls that this team gets on social media, I do not think they are giving as much effort.
09:46 I do not think they are giving as much passion into playing for the Super Eagles.
09:50 And that's quite obvious.
09:52 Against Lesotho, by the way.
09:53 It's Lesotho.
09:54 It's Lesotho.
09:55 Well...
09:56 [laughs]
09:58 Anyways, we have to focus on the next game.
10:01 It's against Zimbabwe on Sunday, about 2pm West African time, here in Nigeria.
10:08 The game is not going to be played in Nigeria, by the way.
10:10 And it's also not going to be played on Zimbabwean soil.
10:12 But anyways, we've played that Zimbabwean team in history five times.
10:17 It's four wins and a draw.
10:19 We're beating against them.
10:20 But we have to stop talking about these permutations when it comes to head-to-head,
10:24 where you cannot even win games.
10:26 One-off games.
10:27 Because, for real, this is a World Cup qualifiers.
10:30 You need to win games that you can.
10:32 There are tougher tests lying ahead.
10:34 For instance, when you have to travel to play South Africa, when you're going to play Benin Republic.
10:39 Because these are, you know, rivalries, so to speak.
10:43 They are rivalries and they'll be difficult.
10:45 There's that added spice, even motivation for the opposition.
10:49 That's going to be a tougher game.
10:50 If you cannot win games against Lesotho, Zimbabwe, how do you want to qualify for the World Cup?
10:57 These are question marks.
10:58 Too many question marks around the Super Eagles, by the way, if you ask me.
11:02 I was not too confident.
11:04 I had a hunch that we're going to have these sort of discussions in this episode, while doing the last one.
11:10 I did say here to our guests, last time around,
11:13 and, well, I don't like to say this, to be honest.
11:17 I don't take any joy in saying it, but I was probably right.
11:20 I was probably right.
11:21 You cannot defeat Lesotho.
11:23 You cannot defeat Zimbabwe.
11:26 These are teams that I feel, no disrespect to the opposition, is a stroll in the park.
11:34 And you cannot get the better of these teams.
11:36 Well, they have it all to do against Zimbabwe.
11:38 Zimbabwe, by the way, they drew against Rwanda.
11:41 It was nil-nil.
11:42 Also, maybe you want to say, well, we still have an equal chance.
11:47 Maybe we can still get something out of that group.
11:50 Of course, it's still early days.
11:51 There are still a lot of games to go up until 2025 for these qualifiers.
11:56 But you have to win games like this.
11:59 You have to.
12:00 You cannot compromise winning games like this one.
12:05 I wonder what is the long term of Jose Pesero after this African Cup of Nations, impending African Cup of Nations.
12:14 Because he's always said that the goal is to win the African Cup of Nations.
12:18 I do not feel this team, on the strength and evidence of what we have seen so far and what we still continue to see,
12:25 I do not think that we're going to win the African Cup of Nations.
12:29 It's not a joke.
12:30 I do not think that this team has the tactical nose, the capability, the quality, the leadership.
12:37 All of these things we are talking about are wrapped up into one.
12:39 I do not think the Super Eagles have what it takes to win that tournament as well.
12:45 And you begin to wonder what is the future for Jose Pesero.
12:48 What's the future for the senior national team?
12:51 Are we not going to make another World Cup?
12:54 These are questions that need answers.
12:56 And I hope that somebody from the Nigerian Football Federation is watching,
13:00 because Nigerian fans, over 200 million of them, want to see this team succeed.
13:05 We want to see this team go as far as possible.
13:08 I do not understand how these decisions are made, how we arrived at Jose Pesero,
13:13 how he took a pay cut to remain on the job just a couple of months ago,
13:18 how in fact the NFF had to do a public poll to decide whether or not to keep him there.
13:24 These are fair to say, and I'm just being fair, laughable.
13:30 They are laughable.
13:31 And we have to be doing better, better, much better than this.
13:35 Predictions for this game, I do not particularly know how to predict this game.
13:40 But just like the guest Adeoluwa said in the last episode, I'm going to say again,
13:45 I do feel it's another game we'll concede.
13:47 I'm not confident of our goalkeeping department at all.
13:51 Perhaps they can shake things up.
13:54 Perhaps the coach can get his selection much better in the next game.
13:58 Perhaps [inaudible] and Victor Boniface will get more service in the next game.
14:05 Perhaps a miracle will happen, because we're getting to that level where we might require a miracle
14:12 against Zimbabwe, against Lesotho.
14:15 Lesotho, by the way, I checked the FIFA rankings, they are 153rd on that ranking.
14:23 It's quite funny.
14:24 If a team like Nigeria, a powerhouse in African football, quote/unquote,
14:29 cannot get the better of Lesotho right on their own patch,
14:33 shake it off, take it away from the Nigerian context of it, and just look at it that way.
14:40 A team in the top 15 in the world cannot get the better of a team ranked 133 overall in their own patch.
14:48 That is woeful.
14:50 And Osepe Sero has to do better.
14:53 I'm not confident, but, hey, it goes without saying, the team has to do better.
14:57 The team has to apply a lot more passion.
15:00 They have to apply a lot more of their effort, their energy.
15:04 Put in a shift.
15:05 Please, the Nigerians want something to smile.
15:09 And you have to give it to them.
15:10 You owe it to them.
15:12 And I do hope that we get a better game on Sunday against Zimbabwe.
15:17 I hope we get a win.
15:18 It's quite important for the qualifiers.
15:20 Anyway, thank you very much for watching our latest episode right here on the North America.
15:26 And, of course, I wish the Super Eagles well.
15:28 That goes without saying.
15:30 But you can join our community here by hitting the subscribe button.
15:34 And also you can as well follow our latest content, getting all of them as they drop when you tap the notification bells.
15:43 And many thanks for watching up until this point.
15:46 Many thanks for always following our content right here on Guardian Nigeria.
15:50 Many thanks for following the nutmeg here on Guardian Nigeria.
15:54 And, well, we'll see you in the next episode.
15:57 For now, it is goodbye and God bless.
16:00 [MUSIC]