Eagles list: Osaze excited, Ideye devastated

The Super Eagles 30-man provisional list released by Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi on Tuesday has generated mixed feelings among the players. Those were on the brink of being cut are celebrating while those who had their hopes dashed are expectedly devastated.

Stoke City attacker Osaze Odemwingie who had been locked out since 2012 thanked Nigerian fans for their show of love through his Twitter handle. The clearly happy player wrote in Pidgin English.

He tweeted, “This is to thank all my naija fans for the support. Even b4 the recall I dey feel the love. That means more than the recall to me.”

Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche who was sensationally dropped despite massive public call for his recall has avoided making any comment. He ignored The PUNCH request to speak on the matter.

Brown Ideye and John Ogu expressed disappointment having been left out of the squad. Dynamo Kiev striker Ideye said that he was devastated.

 ”So disappointed, but life does not end here. Life goes on,” he tweeted.

 Another dropped player John Ogu told AfricanFootball.com that he had taken the decision to overlook him in good faith.

The Academica de Coimbra of Portugal midfielder said, “No hard feelings towards anybody for the omission. I leave all for God; he has reasons for everything that happens.”

 This season, Ogu has struggled for game time at his modest Portuguese club, which he said was because he insisted on going on international duty with Nigeria.

A former Eagles defender, Taribo West, described the provisional list as good but feels sorry for Ideye.

Taribo, a veteran of two World Cups (1998 and 2002) said, “It’s a good list, everybody wanted Osaze (Odemwingie) in the team and he was included. I only feel sorry for Ideye, who had struggled with the team but was dropped. He hasn’t really played for Nigeria the way Nigerians want him to. Maybe that’s why he was dropped.

“I think almost everybody in the team apart from Joel Obi and Osaze has worked for the team one way or the other and they deserve to be on the list.”

Taribo stated that the inclusion of Volyn midfielder Babatunde Michael was justified despite the exclusion of Dynamo Kiev’s Haruna Lukman, who had a fantastic season in the European topflight.

“Michael was in the 2013 Confederations Cup and he was also invited for the World Cup qualifiers. So, he has been in the team but Haruna hasn’t been with the team for a very long time now. The coach has played without him (Haruna) for over two years, so he knows why he dropped him. But I believe everything will work for good,” Taribo said.

On the return of team captain Joseph Yobo, he added, “The fight for Yobo’s return has been there for a very long time and it’s a consolation for him. It’s a major inclusion and I believe it will be an advantage for Nigeria when the die is cast.”