The Big Boss and The Big Cup

So many reactions have trailed Nigeria vs. Iran game. Many consider it to be tactical deficiency from the coach and lack of professional interpretation of technical understanding from the players. Okocha has blasted, Nigerians have commented and the coach has spoken.

Amidst the grammars, one name will very many times be mentioned and that is Stephen Keshi; The Big Boss.

Nigeria is in the World Cup a second time as Champions, the first time they did was back in 1994 and they did well.

Debutants at the USA 94 World Cup, Nigeria surpassed expectations to the disappointment of so many; then European powerhouse Bulgaria with the second most wanted and second best player in the World, Hristo Stoichkov could not swallow the bitter pill easily as they lost to the African Champions.

Nigeria was drawn in the same group as Argentina who were 1990 runners up and Greece.

Between that first time debuting in the World Cup and making the second round; a record which has never been broken, there was and still is one man, Stephen Keshi.

The current Nigerian coach was captain of the side that won the second Nations Cup title in Tunisia, and achieved the historic feat against Bulgaria 3- 0, and 2-0 against Greece, even though it was a glorious loss to Argentina.

The 'Big Boss' as he is fondly called is now at the forefront of a historic feat once again in Brazil.

Call it coincidence or predestination, Nigeria is appearing in the World Cup a second time as Champions; in the Americas, under the leadership of the same one man Stephen Keshi.

No doubt the influence of the 'Big Boss' is significant in the plays and commitment of the players.

A shooting incident caused an early retirement for the big boss, yet he has been in the spotlight; qualifying Togo to their first World Cup back in 2006, winning the third Nations Cup for Nigeria and leading the team to another World Cup as number one in Africa, against the Argentina they narrowly lost to but ended up topping the Group D of USA 94.

In The 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 'big boss' returns on his second World Cup spell with the Super Eagles, if all predictions are right and the analytical records are used as basis to determine results, Nigeria might as well go tops of this Group and maybe surpass the USA 94 record.

Whether or not the big boss will make history again is left to the outcome of the games in Group F.

The big boss is known for his disciplinary personality and no nonsense approach; he has laid off notable players based on what he termed as  'indiscipline.'

Just before the World Cup, Keshi sprung up a dismissive controversial talk over the 'mediocre coaches drafted in from abroad.' The Big boss was ousted by a foreign coach after he led Togo to Germany 2006, and that has him bittered against the imported a quaint phrase to describe the men of his profession who he believes are doing African soccer a disservice. They are a problem in Africa above all, as Keshi believes.

His statement above may be seen as Racist but Keshi insists “I am never against white coaches in Africa. I am happy to work with a quality, experienced white coach, who is better than me, so that I can learn from him.”

Keshi didn't own the name 'big boss'for nothing; Keshi is considered the first Nigerian player to play in Europe; Belgium to be precise where he played for Lokeren and Anderlecht before moving over to Strasbourg in France.

He is widely a successful coach, though with some failings along the way. He has set a record that no African team has reached; Qualifying Togo to the World Cup in 2006 and Nigeria in 2014. He is the second man after Egyptian Hassan Shehata to win the Nations Cup as a coach and player; Shehata has never been to the so the 52 year-old Keshi takes the record for the best successful manager in Africa.

Faced with injury in the 1994 World Cup, he played just one game and now he has a daunting task in the 2014 World Cup, Keshi can prove that the 2013 African Nations Cup win was not a fluke. A game he played in USA 94, he is guaranteed 3 games in Brazil, but will three be all he manages?