AFCON 2013: NFF bought our return tickets before I’Coast clash – Brown Ideye
As underdogs, we went to the game against Ivory Coast defeated, says Brown Ideye.
The Super Eagles had rough starts to their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with draws from their first two group games against Burkina Faso and Zambia, before winning their last games against Ethiopia by 2-0.
The win against Ethiopia ensured Nigeria finished second from Group C – and a quarter-final clash with Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast, with Arsenals like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure in their armoury, was deemed favourite for the clash; however, goals from Emmanuel Emenike and Sunday Mba was enough for Nigeria to emerge 2-1 win over the 2012 AFCON finalist.
Nigeria would later went on to maul Mali 4-1 in the semi-final, before overcoming Burkina Faso in the final by a lone goal.
Ideye, who was on the scoresheet in the semi-final revealed that the football authorities had already booked return tickets for the players ahead of their quarter-final match.
According to the striker, the players went to the Ivory Coast clash defeated, but said at the same time, they felt relaxed because they’re the underdogs that had nothing to lose.
“We went to the Ivory Coast game defeated,” Ideye reminiscing the AFCON 2013 triumph in an Instagram live chat with football journalist Oma Akatugba. “The Federation booked our return tickets before the game.
“The win against Ivory Coast was the turning point and after the game, we said to ourselves, we’re winning this cup
Anyways, the treatment was poor and the reason might me maybe they {NFF} felt Stephen Keshi went to the tournament with the players they didn’t want and felt no need for helping the team.
After being one of the more critical members of that squad that helped Nigeria to win her third AFCON title, Ideye’s name, miraculously was omitted from the squad to the 2014 World Cup.
The then Super Eagles assistant coach in an interview with ESPN said he was left stunned by the decision and got into fights with some powers in the Nigerian football.
“Brown { Ideye }for me was one player that I regret that we did not take to the World Cup in 2014,” Amokachi in an exclusive interview with ESPN said.
“Hundred percent I didn’t know how he didn’t make that list,” he added. “I never saw it coming that he didn’t make the list till when the list came out and we found out.
“I think I probably had a lot of fights with some people that I shouldn’t have, but it happened because I saw no reason why such a player should be left out.
“We ended up going to the World Cup with players that even me I don’t even know.”
Ideye on his part still marvels about the omission – and while he said he had moved on, the former West Brom and Dynamo Kyiv striker maintained that he won’t stop asking questions.
“I can’t find a word to use for my omission from the 2014 World Cup squad. I felt not good enough but when you see players replacing you, you start asking how come?
“My club coach kept asking how come? But they all concluded that it’s Africa: I felt embarrassed.
“In the end, I felt Keshi not picking me for the World Cup helped me got my record sign-on fee move to West Brom.”
The 31-year-old striker, who wouldn’t want to go into details of what led to his omission in the live chat, but rather put that in a book, concluded: “We all know there’s corruption in our football, but there should be a limit.”
