Super Eagles legend Austin Jay Jay Okocha,
Thursday admonished Joseph Yobo not to mule retiring from the national
team in order to show his frustration with his continued exclusion by
the technical crew.
The Yobo saga has dominated the news columns since he fell out with coach, Stephen Keshi, though the latter has told the media that the Fenerbache defender remains the national captain.
But Okocha, who said the Yobo crisis has been blown out of proportion, advised the defender against quitting the national team as he would not have a second chance again if he makes such decision.
According to Okocha, the differences between the player and coach could have been best resolved behind the scene. " If he (Yobo) quits the scene, that would be the end of his international career as he will not have a second chance. I advise that no matter the problem, he should try and speak to the coaches and play for as long as he can. Even some of us still regret that we retired as at the time we did," Okocha said.
While the former Bolton Wanderers midfield pearl refused to question the decisions of Keshi on the saga, he asked the concerned parties to be diplomatic given that "at the end, the objective is to represent our country and give good results".
Yobo has been kept out of the Eagles line up by the pairing of Godfrey Oboaboana and Kenneth Omeruo which was forged at the last Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
He is Nigeria's most capped player of all time but he has not added to his 93 appearances since he got only three minutes as a substitute against Burkina Faso in Nations Cup final in Johannesburg
The Yobo saga has dominated the news columns since he fell out with coach, Stephen Keshi, though the latter has told the media that the Fenerbache defender remains the national captain.
But Okocha, who said the Yobo crisis has been blown out of proportion, advised the defender against quitting the national team as he would not have a second chance again if he makes such decision.
According to Okocha, the differences between the player and coach could have been best resolved behind the scene. " If he (Yobo) quits the scene, that would be the end of his international career as he will not have a second chance. I advise that no matter the problem, he should try and speak to the coaches and play for as long as he can. Even some of us still regret that we retired as at the time we did," Okocha said.
While the former Bolton Wanderers midfield pearl refused to question the decisions of Keshi on the saga, he asked the concerned parties to be diplomatic given that "at the end, the objective is to represent our country and give good results".
Yobo has been kept out of the Eagles line up by the pairing of Godfrey Oboaboana and Kenneth Omeruo which was forged at the last Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
He is Nigeria's most capped player of all time but he has not added to his 93 appearances since he got only three minutes as a substitute against Burkina Faso in Nations Cup final in Johannesburg
No comments:
Post a Comment