Come to think of it, Ike Uche was last seen playing for the Super Eagles in the AFCON 2013, he has since missed a host of competitions like the Confederations Cup, Brazil 2014 FIFA world Cup, and now the qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations 2015 is passing him bye.
It could be recalled that Coach Stephen Keshi in an interview with Supersport, last year, published 13 November to be precise, mentioned that the player's attitude is quite wrong even if he feels he should be in the starting line up.
According to Keshi, ''I understand when a player is frustrated at not starting matches but it is not right for the player to sit on the bench and making remarks about how the coaching and tactics are not right''.
Without any bias or being myopic on the matter, the most recent of all coach-players I can recall is Ryan Giggs, who played and sat on the bench as a coach for Manchester at the same time during David Moyes' reign.
In fact, the job of a player is to follow the instruction dished out by the coach to prosecute a particular game. This doesn't imply that the player is a sheep who has no say or opinion which could be shared with the team, but that has to be in private with the coach.
Nigeria was at the FIFA Mundial in Brazil, despite parading the likes of Emmanuel Emenike, Shola Ameobi, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses and Uche Nwofor the team was only able to record a total of three (3) goals in four games. It was goalless against Iran, 1-0 Bosnia, lost 2-3 Argentina and fell 0-2 to France in the second round, the highest height the country has ever attained.
Back at home, fans complained bitterly, raising arguments that the presence of Ike Uche at that World Cup would have been felt due to his form at that time scoring 12 goals in the 2013/2014 season. This is not to say that the team would have done better or won the World Cup but the player would have been a very good addition going forward.
What exactly is wrong is wrong with Keshi you may ask? Nothing! But come to think of it, why does he want to embark on the road to Morocco without a prolific and business-like striker such as the player?
Recent reports concerning the two say that, the coach has put a call across to the Villareal of Spain Striker to have him in his squad, but the player is requesting an apology before he will return to the national team.
"He was supposed to be part of the team that is presently in camp but he said we must beg him first to play for Nigeria because he was left out of some competitions but I can’t beg anyone to play for Nigeria, impossible. That’s why he is not here,” said Keshi in a press release by Super Eagles media officer Ben Alaiya.
Reacting to the accusation, Uche refuted the claim on his Twitter account.
It is quite obvious that the coach and player relationship between these two has been dented as they have both been taking to the media to make accusations and counter-accusation which is just not the right way to go in resolving this matter.
With due respect to these two, they have not shown maturity at all. When it comes to representing the national team and being professional, they should know better, especially Stephen Keshi.
Come to think of it, What step has the Football federation taken to resolve the fallout between the coach and player? The answer is not far fetch, as it is believed that the federation is doing everything possible to extricate itself from making selection or deciding choice of players for the coach.
It is however clear that the federation can do little to influence Keshi to see that the matter is resolved. In fact, the federation is dealing with more important issues in-house with an imminent FIFA ban if they fail to put the Glasshouse in order.
On the part of the coach, failure is definitely not the plan as he has his own integrity to protect and above all the nation at heart, he would there prosecute a game or competition with his choice of player whom he feels are willing and ready to help execute his tactics.
On the part of the player, it is only understandable that no one likes to play second fiddle, but the coach can also claim to have a plan for the player to come in as a substitute if he so please.
Above all, where is patriotism among these two adults who should have some respects for one another? It would be wise and honourable if they both iron out their differences and get the business going for the sake of Nigeria and it's esteemed football lovers.
The NFF
