Nigeria’s Super Eagles battled the defending champions, Zambia, at the AFCON in that dejavu all-white kits on the 25th January at the Mbombela stadium. They will also play Ethiopia in the last group in the same outfit.

I recall, as soon as I entered the hall where I watched the game and noticed we were in all white, I said in reflex reaction, “this match will end in a draw”. I got bad mouths. As soon as the match ended, some asked me why I did the prediction that came to pass.

The Super Eagles have lost two Nations Cup finals to Cameroon while sporting all-white strips, in 1988 and 2000.

The 2000 final loss is or should still be fresh to Nigerians. Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha-inspired the Super Eagles to fight back from two goals down to draw level in front of their home fans in Lagos and so drag the championship game into a penalty shootout. When Victor Ikpeba’s penalty struck off the bar and the ball projected downwards, which in a ball game and refereeing, it is a trite rule that it is a goal.

Even though television replays later showed that the ball fully crossed the goal line. The referee ruled it as not a goal and Cameroon smuggled the trophy away to Yaounde! Nigerians grieved sorely. That was another match our national teams have won white jersey and can’t pull a win!

Cadet World Cups: Recall the defeat of the Flying Eagles in the hands of France at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Colombia? In Saudi Arabia in 1989, despite the “Damaan miracle” (God bless Ernest Okonkwo in his grave), we played up to the final. We were in white. We lost the game.

We also got to the final in 2005 and we did not go ahead to win the cup. We played in white.

I recall as a reporter in National SportsLink, some senior colleagues when I first wrote a full page analysis of the matches we have lost in white jersey told me at the National Stadium, Surulere: “What rubbish. What utter rubbish”. Paul Bassey, Adegboyega Okegbenro, Muyiwa Daniel and a host of others towed that line.

Exception to the white jersey?: Just trying to cross check my facts again. I stumbled on a statistic log on my system, where in the column I tagged “Jersey” that Coach Yemi Tella actually won the World U-17 trophy with a white jersey!

I recall an old interview I had with Chief Adegboye Onigbinde on this issue. This is what the old teacher of Mount Carmel school in Ilorin said, “in all my life time, I have never seen jerseys playing football. Whenever we have a problem we quickly look for an excuse. It is a bad workman that quarrels with his tools.”

20th jinx of the white jersey?: By my count, Nigeria’s national teams (since I started journalism in 1985 which my records can carry through) will wear the jinxed white shirt against Ethiopia in the AFCON in South Africa.

By the results of the white jersey, we have recorded 19 losses (the 19th against Zambia on the 25th January, 2013). Can we get a second victory against the jinx in the Ethiopia match in three days’ time or record the 20th match loss jinx in white jersey?

Hold your peace. Its just three days away from here.



Written by gongadmin on January 26, 2013