By Tolu Atobatele
Football stirs the imaginations and brings controversy sometimes.
It unites and divides people through their opinions and ideas while it remain the world’s best means of communication.
In football, we have seen great and talented players grace the game of football and mesmerize the world with artistic football displays, score a whole lot of goals, some were match-winners and to some extent strike fears into the spine of their opponents at the mention of their names but quit the scene when the ovation was at its loudest.
At every mammoth gathering, the discussion has been the returning of erstwhile Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo back to the team to help navigate through the hurdle posed by Liberia and Cape Verde in matchday 5 and 6 of the FIFA 2022 world cup qualifiers holding next month.
Is bringing back Ighalo what the team needed right now. Even, his possible return to the team does not guarantee an easy passage to the playoff.
The glut of strikers in the team has not fared badly given the non-existence of creativity in the team midfield which is been regarded as the soul and heart of a team yet the coach has continued to ignore the area and refused to search for a playmaker to fill the void.
Meanwhile, one might conclude that the Super Eagles under Rohr has become nothing but ordinary. The team play without focus and direction while it is difficult for every avid soccer fan to point out the team pattern of play.
Ighalo have played his part well and served his fatherland meritoriously and should be allowed to enjoy his retirement while focus and concentration should be on how to effectively bring the team midfield to life because if it functions well the striker’s workload reduces.
However, taking a step forward and twenty steps backwards will do no good than damage to the team and the question that may probably be on the lips of football fans is; what team is the coach building by bringing back an already retired player.
This writer hopes and beliefs that Ighalo will not be the scapegoat if eventually the unexpected happens because it’ll be better for a village drummer to know when and not to beat the drum.
Sport Angle Int'l- SAI SPORTS 