As reactions continue trailing the Super Eagles’ conquest of Ghana and Jamaica en route to winning the 2025 Unity Cup in London, a former member of the Nigerian squad, Garba Chindo Lawal is giving plaudits to the coach, Eric Sekou Chelle, Sports247 reports.
While some critics and analysts insist the Eagles were lacklustre and blunt in both matches at Brentford’s GTech Community Stadium, Lawal opined that the most important thing is that they eventually won the trophy at stake.
The left-footed former battling midfielder, who made top marks while playing for Roda JC Kerkrade of Netherlands at the height of his illustrious career, pointed out that Chelle showed a progressive focus by inviting home-based players alongside some untested ones from overseas clubs.
Lawal, who scored in Nigeria’s historic 3-2 victory over Spain at the 1998 World Cup in France, further noted that Chelle was able to blend new players with older ones, hence his verdict that the Franco-Malian tactician deserves a pass mark.
The former midfield enforcer, who was also part of Nigeria’s under-23 squad that won the Olympic Games’ football gold at Atlanta ’96, added that Chelle needs to be praised because his hastily assembled squad eventually won the cup by defeating Jamaica via penalties on Saturday.
Lawal argued further, “It’s a friendly competition, and that’s why he called up a lot of new players for him to see.
He also invited some experienced ones like (Wilfred) Ndidi and Semi (Ajayi). (Ahmed) Musa also came in and (Samuel) Chukwueze too. I believe it’s good to mix both foreign and home-based players together like this … since it’s a friendly game.”
Lawal concluded by reflecting on lessons learnt from the four-nation invitational competition, even as he took a look into the future and reasoned that Chelle has already embarked on a journey towards rebuilding the Eagles into a formidable squad, which would be good for Nigeria’s image and glory.
“He really wants to build a strong team, which is good for him and good for Nigeria too. We won the competition and that’s the most important thing.
“With the way we struggled in the second half against Ghana, we learnt that resilience is very important for players. It also means we have to be very careful for the next game and play with caution. But, at least we won. That’s the most important thing,” Lawal reiterated
