CONTINUES…

was good for me to see different styles of football.

The World Cup will be played in Qatar in 2022 and many are complaining about the conditions. Should we be concerned?

Well, it does get hot in summer, there is no doubt about it. It’s really a torture for players, to put it that way. The opinion is that the World Cup should be played in winter, which is December, because in summer it will be unbearable not only for the players, but for the fans as well.

What do you make of Sunday Oliseh’s appointment as Nigeria’s national team coach, and what do you think of his selections?

I fully support his appointment because I’ve known Sunday for a very long time. He is a character and has that strong personality of someone who can stamp his authority and move the team forward. But change always takes time and I hope the NFF will give him enough time to establish the team he wants. His team is good, but I don’t think it will be fair for us to start comparing them with the teams we had in 1994, 1996 and 1998 yet. It took a while for Clemens Westerhof to build that team, and Sunday should be afforded that too.

What was significant about the teams you just mentioned?

It was the hunger and friendships – we were like brothers, and at the same time all ambitious. We wanted to be the best, and knew we could be amongst the best. Not only as the team, but as individuals – we were competing against ourselves and that brought out the best in us. Do you sometimes look back and think, ‘That team deserved

more …’

I do reflect on that … in 1994 we had a good chance of progressing in the World Cup [Nigeria led Italy 1-0 in the second round, conceding a goal in the 88th minute which sent the game to extra-time, where they lost]. In 1998, we lost 4-1 to Denmark. But sometimes experience plays a big role in what you can achieve, and our lack of experience affected us because we didn’t realise how good we were. Maybe we were a bit naïve and happy to just t take part. We were just happy y to qualify for the next round.d. We were not ambitious enough, gh, to be brutally honest. Once we made it to the knockout kout stages, it was like ike we had fulfilleded our targets.ts. And that cost us the e opportunity rtunity to go far. Looking ng at African an national teams, s, we haven’tn’t really made progress since those days. Senegal and Ghana reached the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2010 and that’s it ... I think it’s a problem of being inconsistent. African sides don’t build on the foundations laid by teams before them. We get easily satisfied and it’s about time we start believing in ourselves so we can achieve greater things.

Could that also be the reason we don’t have many great players in Europe like before?

Yes, I think so; it’s also about players being competit competitive and ambitious. We wan wanted to be in the best te teams and play against the best teams. The driv drive was there, but no now it’s all about m money instead o of love for the game. That i is what is affe affecting us. Peo People see foot football now as a way of eradica eradicating poverty or a w way to get rich. Back then then, some of us never even kn knew that you could earn a l living from football. We we were just playing because of pa passion.

Who is your current fav favourite African player?

Yaya Toure, because he has been the most consistent. Talking of Yaya, he has won the African Footballer of the Year four times, while you are regarded as the best player to have never won it ... At some point I thought I did enough to win, and I came close a couple of times. I do regret never winning it because I was ambitious and gave everything to be the best. I’ve won the BBC African Footballer of the Year twice, and realise it wasn’t meant to be to win the CAF award.

When you look back, do you think you reached the levels you aimed for when you started playing professional football?

Yes, because I can’t forget where I started from and the opportunities that I had. I made the most out of it, because people I grew up with had the same opportunities never made it like me. I should be happy and grateful, and honestly speaking I had a great career.