Players of fantastic qualities were brought into the nation’s consciousness while some of the established ones fell out favour with the Big Boss.
Here are the top 10 Super Eagles players that fell out of favour with the coaching genius Stephen Keshi:
1. Ikechukwu Uche – Before the arrival of Keshi, Uche has been a darling to the fans of Nigeria footballs in terms of his goal scoring abilities and he converted chances in style.
With Uche in the starting XI, one can be assured that shivers will run through the spine of opponents because of the way he takes on defenders.
However having scoring many goals in the qualifiers one of Uches’ weaknesses is not performing well at tournaments and this was quickly spotted by the Big Boss
The former Villarreal man failed to live up to expectations as he only made four appearances in AFCON 2013, two of each was as a substitute recording no goal .
The duo of Brown Ideye and Emmanuel Emenike stole the show in the attack that became menacing through out Nations Cup which made Uche fall from the pecking order.
2. Obafemi Martins – Keshi was never afraid of getting sacked by his employers because the risk of not inviting Martins to the squad was like going to war with guns that has no bullet in it.
After much pressure from the footballing house Martins was only invited once to play in a friendly against Venezuela in Houston, Texas where Super Eagles won by 2-1 with goals from Nosa Igiebor and Brown Ideye.
It was from that point Keshi decided he has proven his critics wrong since the former Seattle Sounders striker did not score a goal in that friendly.
3. Joseph Yobo – Many believed that the Ex-Super Eagles Captain had got to his prime and Keshi being a former central defender knew he needed replacements at the back line.
Playing the former Sunshine Stars defender, Godfrey Oboabona and U-20 recruit, Kenneth Omeruo was a big gamble adopted by the Ex-Super Eagles but it paid off eventually which made Nigeria Champions of Africa.
Yobo came on as a substitute in the thine minutes of almost every game and even though he lifted the trophy, it will go down as a disappointing tournament for the once highly-rated Everton man.
4. Osaze Odenwingie – The fair-skinned player became the toast of the national team whenever there was an assignment but his attitude could not complement what has earned him plaudits from fans and the press.
The no-nonsense Keshi did not want to take chances with Russian-born Nigerian as he neglected the Ex-West Bromwich Albion’s top scorer at that time. The door was finally opened to him after the AFCON win and was virtually the best Nigerian player at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
5. Danny Shittu – Ever since making his international debut for Nigeria in 2002, Shittu has been a regular in the central defence under the foreign expertise employed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Keshi authoratively declared that the bulky defender had no place in his team as he was over-weight and that has been the predicament of the Millwall defender who has played 32 matches for the Super Eagles.
6. Taiye Taiwo – Taiwo was a player whose end came prematurely in the national team because his form dwindled even when he made a big summer move to AC Milan, he failed to flourish.
Many felt the national team will be used to revive the left-full-back’s career but the pacy Elderson Echiejile was a formidable replacement for the former Marsielle defender
On the other hand, it can be recalled that Taiwo openly criticized Keshi when the Super Eagles were not doing well saying that the country needs a better coach than the Big Boss.
7. Yakubu Aiyegbeni – Like Obafemi Martins, Aiyegbeni was out of context as far as the Big Boss was concerned and there was a never an admiration for the ‘Yak’.
There was urgent need for a dependable number 9, so the outgoing Martins and Aiyegbeni made way for Emmanuel Emenike as the arrow-head of the Super Eagles.
8. Kalu Uche – The Uche brothers have had their fair-share in the national team as they have featured for Nigeria under many coaches in the past and after the 2010 World Cup, not much has been heard of the former Enyimba midfielder.
Kalu Uche did not get an invite because he did not play first team football in an elite league in Europe and that was the criteria given by coach Stephen Keshi when he assumed position as coach of the Super Eagles.
9. John Ogu – This player was one of the discoveries by the late Stephen Keshi and one would be surprised that the promising attacking midfielder will be snubbed after earning 12 caps under his belt.
Ogu claimed he lost his starting place in his Portuguese clubside, Academica while playing for the Super Eagles and he also said that he had a fall-out with his coach when he honoured an invitation by Keshi.
10. Sunday Mba – The man whose goals gave Nigeria victory over the Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire in the semi-finals and a memorable 1-0 win against Burkina Faso in the final to lift the trophy is no where to found in the green and white colours.
The former Warri Wolves midfielder enjoyed playing time both with the home-based Eagles and the Super Eagles mainstream team. It was reported that after making a dream move to Bastia in the French league, the 28-year-old had a row with the Big Boss and things did not remain the same again.
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