Why I Dropped Uche From Qualifiers – Keshi
— Oct 9, 2014 | 6 Comments
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has
revealed that he was forced to drop Ike Uche from last month’s AFCON
qualifiers because of the attitude of the Villarreal striker.
He said at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday that Uche was originally on his list of call-ups for matches against Congo and South Africa but was later forced to drop him after the player questioned why he would need a visa to South Africa.
Before the game against Congo, I did the list. Ike Uche’s name was on the list. He didn’t even know about it. Uche called me like four days later, and we spoke like brothers and that was it,” revealed Keshi. “The next time my secretary Dayo Enebi called the players asking them if they had South African visa. He called Uche and asked him and Uche said ‘why are you asking me, what do you need that for?’ “Uche said he needs somebody to talk to him about something, they said he was a bad kid, he did something wrong if not….. I said take his name out. “I am not going to beg Uche and I will not ask (assistant coach) Daniel (Amokachi) to beg Uche for what? We all played for this country for 20-something years. Nobody begged us to play we were begging to play. “Why is it only Ike Uche? Obafemi Martins is also there, he is not saying anything.”
The controversy stirred by the non-inclusion of Uche appears to have got to Keshi, who was warned he should not be asked on this subject again. “So, why do you guys (reporters) want to tear this team apart? Please let it be the end today. Don’t ask me about Uche. Please nobody should ask me about Uche again,” said a very furious Keshi. “This is the last time I will speak about Ike Uche. And I do not want anybody to ask me about Ike Uche again.”
He said at a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday that Uche was originally on his list of call-ups for matches against Congo and South Africa but was later forced to drop him after the player questioned why he would need a visa to South Africa.
Before the game against Congo, I did the list. Ike Uche’s name was on the list. He didn’t even know about it. Uche called me like four days later, and we spoke like brothers and that was it,” revealed Keshi. “The next time my secretary Dayo Enebi called the players asking them if they had South African visa. He called Uche and asked him and Uche said ‘why are you asking me, what do you need that for?’ “Uche said he needs somebody to talk to him about something, they said he was a bad kid, he did something wrong if not….. I said take his name out. “I am not going to beg Uche and I will not ask (assistant coach) Daniel (Amokachi) to beg Uche for what? We all played for this country for 20-something years. Nobody begged us to play we were begging to play. “Why is it only Ike Uche? Obafemi Martins is also there, he is not saying anything.”
The controversy stirred by the non-inclusion of Uche appears to have got to Keshi, who was warned he should not be asked on this subject again. “So, why do you guys (reporters) want to tear this team apart? Please let it be the end today. Don’t ask me about Uche. Please nobody should ask me about Uche again,” said a very furious Keshi. “This is the last time I will speak about Ike Uche. And I do not want anybody to ask me about Ike Uche again.”
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