When his name was first announced as that of the new manager of the Super Eagles, the national football team of Nigeria, I was one of the first persons to ask the question: Eric who? I wondered if ‘Eric Sekou Chelle’ was the name of a person, a place or a thing.
As extensive as the radar of my football experiences could scan, the only Eric that came to mind was Eric Cantona, the maverick football ‘general’ that once made Old Trafford his playground but whose legend as a player was, unfortunately, not extended to his managerial accomplishments.
So, like me, for most Nigerians Eric Chelle did not exist in the football planet. He came from the blue, an African born in Ivory Coast by a White French father and a Black Malian mother. He played limited domestic football in France and a handful of matches for the Malian national team.
Thereafter, he turned to coaching and his greatest ‘achievement’ was managing the Malian national team to the semi-finals of the last African Cup of Nations slightly over a year ago in Ivory Coast! Those credentials did not match the expectations of Nigerians. So, there was shock and apprehension with his appointment.
But then, no one can discountenance the total unpredictability in the greatest and most beautiful game in the world, the place of uncommon and unscripted plots, and condemn Eric Chelle without examining the motivation of those that engaged him to start with.
The Technical Committee as well as the Executive Committee of Nigerian football must have seen and must know what the rest of us did not see or know. Otherwise they would not have had the courage or audacity to appoint an unknown coach following the generally poor results and performances of the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the past 10 years under 4 different coaches (mostly foreign).
Personally, I had to dig deep to find an acceptable justification – the documented story of Clemens Westerhof, the Dutch gaffer. He came in with lightweight credentials only to become the transformer of the Nigerian Eagles from ‘Green’ to ‘Super’, a move that took the national team to the apex of African football and near the apex of the world in 5 years.
Under Westerhof, Nigeria won AFCON, qualified for the World Cup for the first time, and ended the year, 1994, as the fourth ranked team in the world.
Is the NFF following the model of Clemens Westerhof and taking a gamble with an unknown African coach?
Some three months since the announcement, shockwaves have become gentle ripples. Nigerians have settled to ‘siddon and look’, waiting to witness the drama that will unfold in a ‘miracle’ that is needed to take Nigeria away from the precipice of failure where it perches presently to the coastline of success.
So, Eric Chelle is to be seen as either the product of a decision of ‘madness’ or of ‘genius’! The next few weeks will tell.
I also went into that state of mind – to wait and watch how Eric would unfold – before passing any comment. No matter how difficult the task may be, Nigerians will demand that the Super Eagles be one of the national teams at the epochal World Cup of 2026 to be hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada.
There is no alternative than to defy and beat the odds and get the Super Eagles there. Although his work is cut out for him, the obligation of every Nigerian is to support the man that will steer their ship to its destination.
So, I was not going to comment or criticize whatever Eric does. I have only been observing!
He has been in the country for about three weeks. It is reported that he has chosen to live and spend more of his time in Nigeria. Good. He has been going to watch matches of the domestic national leagues since his arrival. Good.
In his first two weeks, he invited 7 players from the domestic league to join his assembly of Super Eagles. Good. He is already setting a different module, ticking the boxes of expectations and doing things a little differently.
Of course, that makes sense. Unless he does things differently he would likely achieve the same old and failed results.
Then, last week, I went to Abuja on a private visit to meet with some friends, including Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs. I had known Wale as a great fan of sports and of the ‘Gunners’, but I totally underestimated the depth of his involvement with Nigerian football until we met and talked a bit more.
The man is an encyclopedia. He reminds me of my friend, the aficionado, Godwin Dudu-Orumen, in that context. His support is huge but silent.
He threw me a bombshell – I am invited to a private dinner with a small, select group of stakeholders in Nigerian football in honour of Eric Sekou Chelle.
I went from shock to surprise to suspense. Journalistic instincts took over, and with assurances that his expectations are just for me to meet, greet, observe and share in close conversations with Eric Chelle, I graciously accepted to be at the event.
That’s how at 8:00pm last Wednesday night, I was sitting close Eric Chelle at dinner with the National Sports Commission bosses, the Nigeria Football Federation Secretary-General, a few other stakeholders and other friends of Nigerian football.
It was a good evening of socialization and unguarded conversation. I sat and tried to pry, probe, and get into Eric’s head to know what must be going on there as he embarks on managing a team as big and as complex as the Super Eagles.
It turned out to be a revealing and interesting evening. The event ran smoothly and well. Eric must have been bewildered by the ‘content’ of the evening, the open hospitality, the kind words of support, the high expectations still, the honest questions that needed honest answers, and the general air of goodwill that enveloped the gathering.
The man, even with his accented and faltering English, won everyone over with his humility and sincerity, his clear vision for the Super Eagles, his full appreciation of the difficulties and challenges that lie ahead, the realistic expectations of the Nigerian people that he must deliver, his determination to do so and never to fail, his motivation for taking the job under very difficult conditions, his football philosophy, his deep knowledge and love for Nigerian football, his understanding of African football and how working with Mali has broadened that knowledge and adequately prepared him for this present job.
He told us that he is in Nigeria to win, and nothing more; that that would be his focus and he would not be distracted. He listed a few other things that would get the Eagles on winning ways again.
I had asked him before the dinner what he would do differently from those that came before him and failed to deliver.
His answer surprised and excited me.
He has been gathering information on all great players of Nigerian-descent abroad and keeping their data. He passes those born abroad and those that were bred in Nigeria through different prisms for his analysis. He has spent endless hours watching each one of the players at least 5 times in different matches to know them well. He is almost ready now.
He would use the natural strength of Nigerian players to form his style of play – pressing hard when they lose the ball, spreading out and playing with confidence, strength and speed when they are in possession. Getting to opposing goals in the shortest possible time and with the fewest number of passes.
These are copies from Father Tiko and Clemens Westerhof’s books of football. He reminded me of how Nigerian football was played when at its best, quick forwards, quick counters using strength and speed down the flanks.
As he went on and on, he was making sense and raising confidence. He seems to know clearly what he wants to do.
Finally, it was clear he was not in Nigeria for the money that he would make. He wants to create history for the country and for himself.
It was at the end of the dinner as we were leaving that I got the shocking information (not from him) that since his engagement three months ago, he had not been paid a dime yet!
Needless to comment on that now. It would only distract us from the assignment just ahead.
As I am writing this, a list of invitees to the ‘new’ Super Eagles under Eric Chelle has just been released – 39 players comprising a sprinkling of a few new names and plenty of the same old stock of players, including Ahmed Musa whose re-entry into the national team may be an indication that to expect a clear departure from the past may be a mirage.
Nigerians want their Eagles at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, so, we must all support Eric and pray for him to succeed.
Who knows, Eric Chelle, may be lucky and would do what Napoleon Bonaparte could not do at the battle of Waterloo!
By Segun Odegbami is former Super Eagles captain and NFF Executive Committee Member
