Nigerian moment of madness
Nigeria midfielder Sani Kaita eventually grasped the impact of his actions as he answered questions about the red card he was given during Thursday's match against Greece. It was a moment of insanity from the player that was witnessed by the whole world.
The match turned completely on his moment of madness after 33 minutes, with the Super Eagles 1-0 lead eventually becoming a bruising and costly 2-1 defeat. "I am sorry for the whole of Nigeria," said Kaita, who looked like he would be just about anywhere else rather than in front of the semi-circle of journalists attempting to establish with almost forensic detail his version of events. "It was not the right thing to do and I hope it will not happen again. I made a mistake. That is all." It seems he was quite embarrassed about what he did as he coved his face while he walked off the field.
Kaita had tangled with Vassilis Torosidis, who later scored the winning goal, as they competed for the ball close to the touchline. The Nigerian aimed a kick in the direction of his opponent's leg and Torosidis went down holding his face, in what was an unseemly if hardly surprising example of the win-at-all costs philosophy that besmirches the modern game. The whole incident was regrettable and ended with Kaita taking a long and slow march across the pitch to the dressing room.
Kaita watched on television as Greece's wily old coach Otto Rehhagel swiftly abandoned his ultra-defensive formation in favour of a rarely glimpsed attacking ambition that saw his team record their first victory at a World Cup. Nigeria veteran Kanu revealed that the red card had left the 24-year-old Kaita in tears. Kaita himself said that he had been surprised to be dismissed but team-mate Yakubu, who failed to convert an excellent second-half chance, felt that it was the right decision. "He was a little bit carried away but will learn from the mistake," said the Everton striker.
There can be no doubt that playing for Nigeria brings huge expectations from a fanatical and expectant public. "There are 150 million of them and all of them think they are a manager or a coach," added Yakubu. Shortly before the World Cup the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said: "I expect the Super Eagles to prepare well and win this trophy."
However, this Nigerian team were always unlikely to be able to match Jonathan's unrealistic ambition. This is Nigeria's fourth World Cup campaign but they only just scraped through qualification. Incidents like this one only tarnish Nigeria’s image even more.
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