Jay-Jay Okocha looked perplexed. Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama looked at each other, with a similar sort of bewilderment as well. What was going on? There was genuine confusion in the Super Eagles ranks, as well as in the crowd. It was February 11, 2004, and Nigeria were set to kick off their African Cup of Nations semi-final against tournament hosts Tunisia. But for the men in green, something was definitely not right, and it wasn’t the boos from a vociferous home crowd.
From a personal perspective, if there ever was a villain origin story – especially with regards to football – it would be here, and with this particular game. Nigeria had a shot at a second AFCON final in three tournaments, and a strong chance of what would have been a third continental title then. But those hopes were dashed at the Stade November 7 by the host nation, who themselves had their eyes on an elusive continental prize. For a young Super Eagles fan, who was coming into his first proper tournament experience, this left a taste as bitter as it is everlasting; one that comes fresh to mind as both teams meet up in the Last 16 of AFCON 2021, for the second tournament on the bounce.
The pre-tournament phase for Nigeria is never without its hiccups and controversies. Be it the managerial sacking beforehand – case in point, the current AFCON tournament in Cameroon – or dispute over finances. Be it the political upheaval, or even more political upheaval. In 2004, the main issue was that of player personnel. Okocha had developed into becoming one of the finest talents in football, as well as undoubtedly being Nigeria’s best player, and would be pivotal for them in this tournament. Except, the possibility of him not playing was strong.
Okocha was called up to join the squad in mid-December of 2003, for a four-week preparation period. But an enraged Sam Allardyce, manager of Jay-Jay’s Bolton at the time, had the temerity to ask his him to retire from international football and concentrate on Bolton Wanderer's Premier League campaign – the hand-wringing over AFCON in mid-season didn’t start today. ‘Him having to go off to the Africa Nations Cup does leave me bewildered’, said Big Sam. ‘The fact is, I can't have my skipper for one of the most crucial games in the history of this club... that for me shouldn't happen. It is an outrageous situation for us to be in’. To be fair to Allardyce, Bolton were in something of a relegation battle at the time. ‘It's a great shame for him and a great shame for us. We could pay a heavy price.’
But that issue hadn’t been resolved when another reared its head. It emerged that a Nigerian bank, with which Okocha held much of his money (speculation suggested as much as £4 million of Okocha's personal fortune was held there), had run into difficulties. Such were the concerns from the Nigerian captain that he hinted in an interview with a Nigerian newspaper that he would have to forgo the tournament to try and rescue his lost funds. ‘My mind is with Nigeria. I love the country, I'm captain of the team and I know my responsibilities but honestly, I am troubled’, he said.’ I have almost all my money in a bank, and now that bank has a problem and I'm in real trouble, in a real mess. I really don't know what to do.’
The resolution was for Okocha to delay his stay with Bolton, apparently earn money in England, and then join Christian Chukwu’s Super Eagles squad just two days before the tournament. If the pre-tournament phase for the Eagles was uncomfortable, the start of the competition in itself was rough. Nigeria’s first game was against Morocco, and in Monastir, a belter from Youssuf Hadji with 13 minutes left to play condemned the Eagles to a losing start. Nigeria were on the back foot already, and the upheaval wouldn’t stop there.
Before the second game, against South Africa, news came through that Yakubu, Victor Agali, and Celestine Babayaro had been sent home from the Eagles ranks, due to misconduct. ‘They did not respect the rules of the camps’, Taiwo Egunjobi, General Secretary of the Nigerian Football Association (now the Nigerian Football Federation) told L’Equipe. ‘They were supposed to be in quarters with the rest of the squad’.
But that setback didn’t put off the Eagles, who romped to a 4-0 win over South Africa in their second group game. A 2-1 win over Benin Republic in the third game followed, setting up a meeting with old foes Cameroon in the quarter-final. Cameroon were the holders, having won back-to-back tournaments, the first of which was in Nigeria’s own backyard in Lagos, in 2000.
And bells of dread looked to be ringing again when Samuel Eto’o gave Cameroon the lead three minutes before half-time in Monastir. But an inspired Okocha performance led the comeback for the Eagles, as first he equalised with a free-kick just before halftime, then played a key part in John Utaka’s winner with less than 20 minutes to play. Nigeria had seen off an old foe, and possibly the toughest challenge in their path to glory. The Super Eagles were ‘now clear favourites to take the trophy they last held aloft 10 years ago’, according to The Guardian’s James Copnall. And there was something poetic in the fact that we’d be facing Tunisia, the hosts, who also hosted the last AFCON which the Eagles won.
But poetry gave way to perplexment in Tunis, when they met; from Okocha to Yobo, to Enyeama, the looks said it all. The teams stood for the national teams, but the wrong anthem was blared out for the Super Eagles, much to the confusion of many, and the anger of the NFA after the game. Tunisia were hosts of the tournament, as part of their campaign to host the World Cup in 2010. But their aim to be flawless wasn’t quite going to plan, as that wasn’t the first incidence of a national anthem mismatch. It also happened to Zimbabwe, in their first group game against Egypt. But Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe’s Minister for Information, wasn’t having any of it, and didn’t see it as a mere error. ‘It was a cheap attempt to demoralise our boys’. He fumed afterwards. To the Nigeria-Tunisia game, only six minutes had passed when Okocha knew what he was in for, a shirt pull from Mehdi Nafti an indication of the tough time he’d have on the pitch.
Jose Mourinho doesn’t seem like the managerial cup of tea of many these days, and looks to be heading towards footballing obsolescence. But an analysis of the Portuguese back during his Inter days remains telling. Speaking to the Coaches Voice, Mourinho spoke of how – ahead of Inter’s Champions League semi-final first leg win against Barcelona in 2010 – his team designed a cage in which to keep Lionel Messi, restricting his influence on the game.
Okocha was pivotal in Nigeria’s run to the 2004 AFCON semis, so much that he was awarded the best player of the tournament. But he was in something of a cage in this Tunisia match, constantly marked, sometimes doubled up on. And it didn’t help that the mercurial midfielder dwelled too long on the ball. There’s been talk of how, for all his talent, Jay-Jay was never one for tactical awareness or discipline. That may be subject to debate, but it was telling in this game; opposition players were drawn to him, and if he gave passes earlier, just a split second quicker, and hung to the ball less, there was space to exploit. In such tight-margin situations, invention, if done wrong, can seem like unnecessary extravagance; and for much of the game, it felt like the latter with the skipper, a failed step-over inside the Tunisian box in extra-time summed up his game.
If Okocha was restrained in this game, though, Tunisia’s star man was just as landlocked. Francileudo Dos Santos started this tournament in a blaze, with three goals in Tunisia’s first two games, and was the go-to man upfront. But the Nigerian defence marshalled him brilliantly, preventing him from having time on the ball, avoiding being isolated against the front man, and shepherding him to wide areas.
But the efficiency Nigeria’s defensive play wasn’t reciprocated by their attacking game-plan. Chukwu started with Peter Odemwingie, and Utaka up front, and Kanu in behind them. If the plan was to get Kanu to draw the defenders, and make Utaka and Odemwingie stretch them, it worked. The problem was there was no one in the box to exploit those gaps. This was a game that was crying for either a midfielder to crash the penalty area, which none of Okocha, Garba Lawal, or Seyi Olofinjana would do, or a player in the box – except Agali and Yakubu were no longer available.
And when the opening goal came, midway through the second half, it wasn’t so much down to creating gaps to exploit, but rather taking advantage of a slip-up. Tunisia’s captain and defensive talisman Khaled Badra strode forward with the ball, but was caught in transition, and three passes later, Kanu would be fouled in the Tunisian box by Karim Haggui.
Okocha stepped up, and for a brief moment, it looked like Ali Boumnijel had denied him from 12 yards. For a split second, the Tunisian ball boys behind the goal jumped for joy. Except the crept in off the woodwork, and the strike wasn’t going to count anyway, as the referee ordered a retake. This time, Boumnijel went the wrong way, and all you needed was to hear how the quietness of the home crowd was matched by the noise of the small pocket of Nigerian supporters to know the outcome.
Nigeria were in the lead, but were never in charge of the game. If anything, there were arguably the side on the backfoot, even before taking that lead. The second half game-plan looked to be to send long balls towards a now isolated Odemwingie, who was consistently second-best in aerial duels. Perhaps Chukwu’s big error was bringing on Pius Ikedia – who was known for his pace and direct running – after Tunisia equalised, and not before. By the time Ikedia took Kanu’s place in the team, Ziad Jaziri had been fouled by Olofinjana in the Nigerian penalty area; Tunisia had their own penalty, and Badra would atone for his role in the Nigerian spot-kick by dispatching his.
There was a sense of what might have been in Nigeria’s response to being pegged back. The direct running became more frequent, from Utaka, Odemwingie, and Ikedia, unsettling the Tunisian defence. But you wondered what would have happened had that started when Tunisia were chasing the game, and under pressure, amidst an antsy home crowd. Until the 86th minute, when Utaka forced a save from Boumnijel, Nigeria’s only shot on target in the second half was Okocha’s penalty.
Boumnijel was the busier of the goalkeepers in extra-time, making a few crucial saves from Utaka, and Odemwingie, and helping out his defence in uncertain moments. But by then, it looked like the deed was done, and this game was only going one way. Whether by voluntary resignation or unwitting exhaustion, penalties became inevitable. It was the kind of semi-final which, if you watched now without the sense of jeopardy, very few moments live in the memory. The bright sparks were probably Karim Haggui’s enterprising forward play from full-back, Ifeanyi Udeze’s defensive solidity, and a lively introduction from young Tunisian substitute Selim Benachour.
But onto penalties we would go, and Badra picked up where he left off in normal time with the first kick, getting the same outcome with the same place. Only three of the penalties taken saw the goalkeeper go the right way. Unfortunately for Nigeria, one of those was Odemwingie’s, who was denied by Boumnijel, the only one that failed to find the net. Tunisia would convert all of theirs, Haggui with the final kick that sent the hosts to the final, and a date with Morocco, which resulted in their first and only AFCON title so far.
For Nigeria, it wasn’t just that the end of the title hopes – they were consigned to a second of three successive third-place playoffs, and a second in a row against Mali – it was also the beginning of the end of an era. Okocha’s influence would wane in the side – as well as his influence at club level – Garba Lawal and Kanu would become super-subs, while three of the Nigerian back four had played their last tournaments. It was very much into the ember periods of what was arguably Nigeria’s most talented array of players in this century, one that can be matched for quality by the current 2021/22 setup.
Nigeria and Tunisia have met a few times since – the Super Eagles beat the Carthage Eagles in the quarter-final of the following tournament (incidentally on penalties), while the men in green pipped the North Africans to a World Cup place in 2010 (not to mention meetings before 2004 - both teams met in the group stage in 2000). But those other games are probably a reminder of how revenge doesn’t exactly erase the angst of the original result, even if it does lessen it a bit. And both Eagles take flight against each other in 2022.
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