Review: 2015 through the Lens of Football

The year comes to an end in few hours, and for many there have been different chapters to an eventful year, but in football circles, there were moments of Houdini, others of exult as well as despair. They were near misses, and copious moments that left fans drooling for the beauty and ecstasy football can bring to the sub conscious. To cap up the year Away Fans takes a look at how the year panned out from the lens of football.

* Nigeria

The year started with the realisation that the Super Eagles will not be at the Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, a tournament that passed on successfully after Morocco pulled out of hosting it due to the Ebola epidemic that ravaged Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

But in spite of the Super Eagles failure to qualify, Stephen Keshi still managed to hold on to his job, even if initially he was on a last chance saloon. Eventually, the Amaju Pinnick led Football House gave him a two year contract. But it was one he barely saw out. After the 2-0 win over Chad at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna in a 2017 Afcon qualifier in March, the NFF dismissed Keshi just less than two months into his new contract after facts emerged that he applied for the Ivorian coaching job despite being in the books of the NFF. The football house saw it as a lack of commitment and he was shown the door.

Sunday Oliseh came into the saddle with mixed results. His baptism of fire in Dar's Salaam where he played Lukman Haruna after his years in the wilderness against Tanzania, before realising after 30 minutes that the 2007 Golden Eaglet captain was a shadow of the player he once was. That the Super Eagles escaped with a goalless draw hold much to the display of Carl Ikeme who made his debut between the sticks.

Subsequent goalless draw with Swaziland in a World Cup qualifier spiced up with wins over the same opponent and wins in friendly matches over Cameroon (3-0) and Niger (2-0) and defeat to Congo DRC (2-0) was the highlight of the Super Eagles on the field. However, the retirement of Vincent Enyeama after 102 caps and Emmanuel Emenike was also a key highlight.

They ended the year in 65th position in the FIFA rankings.

Other significant moments included the Golden Eaglet retaining the World Cup in Chile, and the U23 team winning the African Championships to qualify for the Rio Olympics. The Flying Eagles had their wings clipped in New Zealand as the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Isaac Success could not replicate their form at that level.

On the club scene, Enyimba FC of Aba clinched their 7th league title under Kadiri Ikhana, while Akwa United won its first ever trophy with the Federation Cup.

However, Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins all failed to make the groups stages of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively.

 * European Leagues

English Premier League

The year started with Chelsea and Manchester City tied on the same points and goal differential. But that was the closest both teams got to each other for the 2014/2015 season as the West London outfit rode to their fourth Premier League title with three games to spare. It was Jose Mourinho's third league title with Chelsea. And his team also won the League Cup in February. Arsenal ended that season with their second consecutive FA Cup after a 4-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley in May.

The gunners became the most successful side in English FA Cup history with their 12th triumph.

However, the second part of 2015 has seen mixed fortunes for both clubs.

First Petr Cech joined Arsenal for £10 million after eleven successful seasons with Chelsea. The Czech international helped Arsenal to a 1-0 win in the Community Shield in August. And that defeat set the tune for a disappointing first half of the 2015/2016 season for Chelsea. Jose Mourinho's side lost nine Premier League matches from their first 16 matches.

The last straw was the defeat to Leicester City. After which he was sacked. It was a strange year for Chelsea. With players such as Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Branisav Ivanovic, Oscar and others suddenly turn to chumps after being champions few months earlier.

Guus Hiddink came into the frame. But the league champions remain close to the relegation zone than the top four.

The surprise package of the year has been Leicester City. Bottom of the table last Christmas, they were top of the table on Christmas day 2015. Despite playing Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City in December, they remain joined top going into the New Year.

It has been a topsy-turvy first half of the season in the English Premier League. With no team so far laying claim to a consistent title push. However, Arsenal ends the year on top on goal difference.

La Liga

It was the MSN show in Spain. With Messi, Suarez and Neymar shooting Barcelona to five trophies in the 2015 calendar year. The Catalans won their second treble in six years after a 3-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final in Berlin in June. Luis Enrique's side ended 2015 top of La Liga, and they won the World Club title for a record third time in December.

Real Madrid started 2015 at the top of La Liga, but defeat to Valencia in their first league match in January derailed their momentum and they failed to win a major trophy. The trigger happy Florentino Perez fired Carlo Ancelotti, just a year after he won the la decimal, despite the Italian's huge support amongst fans and players. His replacement, Rafael Benitez has not been a popular choice with the Madrid faithful, with the Spaniard repeatedly booed by the fans.

* Bundesliga

The major highlight in Germany was Pep Guardolia announcing in December that he would be leaving Bavaria when his contract expires. He will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti .The Catalan has built Bayern Munich into a possession juggernaut in the German league. Their dominance have seen the team record back-to-back bundesliga titles, and a third could be on the way.

Wolfsburg did win the German Cup in May, their first ever triumph, and the Volkswagen outfit had the best player in the bundesliga last season in Kevin De Bruyne. Who joined Manchester City last summer.

However, consecutive disappointments in the semi finals of the Champions League against Spanish giants Real Madrid (5-0) on aggregate and Barcelona (5-3) on aggregate have been a stain in Pep's books. It remains to be seen whether he can go one better in his last season in Bavaria. And yet again they sit top of the league as winter champion’s seven points ahead of closest rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Seria A

The Old Lady Juventus won their fourth straight league title without breaking much sweat. Despite the departure of Antonio Conte, they went one better by winning the domestic double in Italy with inspiring performances from Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal. They could have won an historic treble, but for Lionel Messi's inspired Barcelona. Massimilliano Allegri had a wonderful first season as manager at the Juventus Stadium.

Although they started the 2015/2016 season slowly following the departures of Vidal, Tevez and Pirlo, but as new signings have settled in, they have shot up the table, with just three points from the top.

Champions League

Barcelona won their fourth title in nine years and their fifth in total after a 3-1 win over Juventus in Berlin in the 2014/2015 season.

The return of Manchester United to the Champions League this season after a year's absence was well received. But this was short lived after a disappointing group stage campaign where they lost 3-2 in match day six to Wolfsburg to crash out. They will now play in the Europa League.

Arsenal however showed an unlikely escape when they overcame Olympiacos 3-0 in Athens to qualify for the last 16 after being bottom of the group after four matches.

Real Madrid's 8-0 victory over Malmo equaled the biggest score line in the group stages.

 * FIFA

The year 2015 will not be complete in football terms without referring to what transpired in the world football governing body. The revelations of corrupt practices, and the subsequent arrest and detention of FIFA Executives in their hotel in Zurich during the FIFA congress in June was something nobody envisaged.

The United States Justice department and FBI took the lead in these revelations that led to these arrests, and since then FIFA's Ethics Committee have banned Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for seven years from football. The first quarter of the coming year will see a new FIFA president elected.

Its being a great year in footballing terms, as the saying goes, more and better of the same in the coming year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Nomadic Stadium Movement makes for inconsistent Eagles

Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna ( Photo:panoramio.com)

There are many factors that have affected Nigerian football in respect of how the national team has fared in recent times. While the obvious maladministration has been talked about more times than many can remember as well as the inconsistency in player selections. No doubt the quality on offer in terms of the players available to the national team selectors leaves much to be desired. little wonder Sunday Oliseh has struggled in his bizarre experiments in the three competitive matches he has superintended over as the team's coach.

However there has been a particular side that few have dwelled on as to why the country's national team has remained like a wave of the sea that goes up and down.

This issue lies in the way the venue of matches is chosen. The lack of a particular venue that is known to all has made for some measure of inconsistent displays by the Super Eagles. What is prevalent now is that there have been different stadia that Nigeria have had to play on, which most times denies the players the familiarity they would have enjoyed in playing in just one stadium that would serve as really a 'home stadium' for the players.

During the great years of Clement Westerhof as coach of the Super Eagles, virtually all the competitive matches during his five year stint at the helm were played at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. The country's qualification for it first World Cup in the USA was built on a solid home performance in Lagos when consecutive 4-1 victories over Algeria and Ivory Coast went a long way in qualifying Nigeria for that tournament. The spectators in Lagos had a way of driving a team home to victory.

The same was replicated for much of the qualifiers for France 98 as Philippe Troussie successfully guided Nigeria to qualification while matches remained in Lagos.

The qualifiers for the Olympics in 1996 were also played in Lagos. The 0-0 draw and 3-2 victories over Kenya and Egypt came at the National Stadium.

The last time the Super Eagles enjoyed a sustained run in front of Lagos fans was during the 2000 African Cup of Nations when they played all their matches there, but lost the finals to Cameroon under the guidance of Bonfere Jo.

After the inconsistent start to qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup following losses to Sierra Leone in Freetown, Shiabu Amodu came into the saddle, but of more significance, the country's last round of matches were played at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt, thereby setting a trend of moving matches out of Nigeria's traditional home of Lagos. The Super Eagles recorded victories over Ghana, Liberia and Sudan to qualify, and Port Harcourt served as a change of tonic for the team.

The construction of the Abuja National Stadium for the All Africa Games in 2003 led to the National Stadium, Lagos to be abandoned, and it inevitably fell into disrepair. The National Stadium in Abuja has never really attracted a full house because of it location, which is very far from the suburbs where football fans live.

The advantage of the newly built Abuja National Stadium was that the Super Eagles and other teams had the chance of playing on a good pitch.

It was now the new home of the Super Eagles. It qualified for the 2008 Cup of Nations from there. But the heartache of losing out on qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany remains notable. Ironically, the key match in Nigeria's group was played at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano. A decision that ultimately backfired, with the team drawing 1-1 against Angola. It was the match that cost Nigeria that ticket.

And such irrational decision of changing venues has in itself cost Nigeria on several occasions. There was the usual hue and cry after that result, with many lamenting the decision to play that match in Kano instead of Abuja.

The qualification for the Cup of Nations and World Cup in 2010 was secured playing in Abuja. It was now the home of the team, but it seldom attracted a full house in the 60,000 capacity National Stadium.

Following Samson Siasia's failure to qualify Nigeria for the Cup of Nations in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea in 2012 after a nervy 2-2 draw with Guinea at the Abuja National Stadium, the unwritten rule to start moving matches across the country became enshrined in the way the football house takes decisions. As it seems a bad result was always a recipe to seek another venue.

One thing the Super Eagles never lacked while playing in Abuja was the complement of playing on a good pitch.

The UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar subsequently became Nigeria's new home. And like the National Stadium in Lagos, it became something akin to a home for the Eagles. It qualified for the Cup of Nations in 2013 playing all its matches there, and also the 2014 World Cup qualifiers were all played there too.

It seems the certainty that matches would be played in Calabar aided the consistent performance of the Super Eagles as they went unbeaten while their stint lasted in Calabar. However, that all changed after the 3-2 loss to Congo Brazzaville. Since that loss in September 2014, Nigeria has not played any match in Calabar.

Strangely the remaining home matches were played in different venues with contrasting results. The match against Sudan which ended in a 3-1 victory was played in Abuja marking a return to the Stadium. But the key match against South Africa where victory was needed was played in Uyo at the Akwa Ibom Stadium. The team never felt at home in a 2-2 draw against Bafana Bafana a year ago. I doubt if any National team has played three homes matches at different venues for a qualifying campaign of the Cup of Nations.

In March, 2015 Stephen Keshi's last match as Super Eagles coach was played against Chad at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, in what was largely a bumpy pitch. Since then another venue has been used for Super Eagles matches which was the World Cup qualifiers against Swaziland played at the Adoke Amesiemeka Stadium in Port Harcourt in November.

The lack of a particular stadium where the Super Eagles can actually call home as resulted in several inconsistent home performances and this trend might not change.

However, when the situation in Nigeria is compared to what obtains in other African countries, there is clearly a pattern that is different. As most of the power houses of African football restrict their matches to a particular stadium, and where there is a shift in venue it never more than one city. The Black Stars of Ghana alternate between the Accra Sport Stadium, Accra or the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi. The Elephants of Ivory Coast are at home at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. Tunisia plays their matches at the Stade 7 November, Rades, Zambia’s matches now takes place at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. Cameroun’s Indomitable Lions ply their trade at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé or the State de la Reunification in Douala, while the Desert Foxes of Algeria have settled for the Mustapha Tchaker in Bilda, which has served them well in their recent resurgence in the African football scene.

While the venue of matches is determined most times in Nigeria by financial consideration, it will serve Nigeria football well if the football house would stick to prosecuting matches involving the National team in a particular venue so that the players and coaching staff can enjoy the benefit of truly playing in a home stadium.