I Had To Be Humble For Keshi - Osaze
Category: Sports News
Peter Osaze Odemwingie has said
it was up to coach Stephen Keshi to include him in his World Cup plan
after he claimed to have made up with the coach.
The
pair fell out after Odemwingie was omitted from the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations squad and took to Twitter to vent his frustration.
“I have
been speaking with the coach, it’s the only right thing to do. “I had
to be humble and make a step forward towards my senior colleagues,”
added the 32-year-old.
Odemwingie was upset to be overlooked for
the tournament in South Africa and at the time he claimed he was dropped
because he often speaks his mind. He also accused Keshi of
disrespecting him because he the coach did not inform him personally of
the decision.
Keshi responded by saying “it was nothing personal “
and 16 months on Odemwingie appears to have come
to terms with what happened.
to terms with what happened.
“You can’t continue to stay in that angry state of mind.
Staying in that state, it’s not the right thing to do. It’s never
helpful for anyone,” Odemwingie said. “It was very disappointing at the
time, it was hard to accept it.
I had a strong feeling that it was
Nigeria’s time to win it. I was as frustrated as any other player.”
Odemwingie was proved right in his instinct that Nigeria’s time had come
again – they won the trophy for a third time – and he still sounds
regretful when he reflects on the past.
“I thought we could win
it; Cameroon and Egypt were not there, Ghana were struggling and a few
players were missing so I felt it was our chance. But I didn’t make the
squad,” he said.
“And it would have been the tournament that I
would have got scored goals than before, because I had moved to the
Premier League and improved as a player – especially in front of goal.”
Despite his sense that he missed out on a golden opportunity, Odemwingie
now seems ready to let the bad feelings go and he is generous in his
praise of the players who took Nigeria to the title.
“I’m very
happy that we won it in the end because many names that had not been in
the frame for the squad for the past 10 years were there and they helped
the team lift the trophy,” he said. Odemwingie last played for Nigeria
in February 2012 – a goalless draw with Rwanda in a Nations Cup
qualifier He also feels it went some way to making up for, what he
feels, had been an underachieving generation.
“When we talk about
the generation that just passed, we wish we won more for Nigeria. We won
silver at the 2008 Olympics, it’s good but it’s not gold. We won three
bronze medals in the Nations Cup, which was still good but the
frustrations were there,” he said.
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