Amodu Explains Choice Of Players To Face Tunisia

Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu has taken the unusual step of explaining the reasoning behind his omission of certain players for next month’s 2010 World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Abuja.

Although reaction to his current squad has been less vitriolic than the past, Amodu has seen his non-selection of Obafemi Martins criticised, as well as his inclusion of John Utaka and Obinna Nwaneri.

“No national team list can be comprehensively correct. We expect criticism whenever we release a team list. We listen to that criticism and take it into consideration when we draw up the next list. In this case, I will say that overall the reaction has been good.”

The exclusion of Martins has raised the most eyebrows, but Amodu explains: “In drawing up this list, Martins was in my head throughout. But I also considered that he had just joined a new club and would need time, not only to settle down, but also to change his orientation from the English style to the German style.

“I tried to call him, but his phone was turned off. I then sent someone to Germany to see him and Ogbuke with instructions to call me up on the phone so I could speak to them. I spoke with Ogbuke, but the day the person was to go to Martins’ club, he said he was travelling to Italy to see his doctor. What that told me was that he was either not ready psychologically to be part of this team, or he was not fully fit and needed time to recover before joining us.

“After we came out with the list, he called me and said he wanted to play. I asked him if he was fit, and if I called him up between then and Monday, if he would come. He said he was ready to get on a flight and join up as soon as he is called.

“I considered including him, but at the same time I recalled that we had written to his club when he joined them, congratulating them on signing him and informing them that he was one of our key players.

“We also told them that we would like to give him some time to settle in before we called him up. So I decided that it was better to let him stay, and then call him for the next one, when he would be raring to go.”

Amodu also explained the thinking behind the selection of Nwaneri and Utaka, saying: “We tried to strike a balance, to pick two players for each position. After the initial plotting, we saw we had two deficiencies, one in attack and one in central defence.

“Our options in central defence were Sodje, Shittu and Nwaneri. At the moment, Sodje is still trying to sort his club position out and we need him to focus on that. Shittu is almost in the same position, but we tried to reach him to ascertain if he was in the right frame of mind to play. We could not reach him on the phone, and he did not respond to emails. Nwaneri, on the other hand, was in contact with us throughout, and we decided to pick him.

“In attack, it was between Utaka and Akpala. Akpala’s commitment cannot be faulted. In fact, I can guarantee it. But we also needed someone who was versatile and experienced for such a crucial match. Utaka can play on the right, in the centre and in the midfield, so we decided to go with him.”

Amodu added that he was confident he had the players to claim all three points on the day, suggesting that he did not expect to leave the stadium with a job if he failed to win

“We are focused on winning that match. If we don’t win, I may be sacked on that day. So it is important for me to take the decisions that will see us qualify for the World Cup.”