While other countries are celebrating Wednesday’s FIFA ruling which allows team to parade players below the age of 23 at the football event of the Beijing Olympic Games, Nigeriaís Dream Team IV officials are, however, not yet doing same following the inability of coach Samson Siasia to locate the where about of his dependable defender, Taye Taiwo.
Before yesterday’s ‘panic’ in the team’s Korean camp, the technical crew had always been able to get in touch with all the players playing their trade with clubs in Europe but lately, the coach, according to a top official of the team, has not been able to reach the FC Marseille defender.
Moments after the team secured a 4-1 win over FC Busan Wednesday and on learning of the FIFA ruling efforts were made to get in touch with the Super Eagles fullback to no avail.
Desperate officials then got in touch with the playerís wife and younger brother in Lagos in an effort to track him down. But the family also claimed not to have a clue on how to reach the Super Eagles defender. Flustered officials then left word with them for Taiwo to get in touch with them before they depart South Korea.
“The team will leave for Beijing with the other Team Nigeria athletes this weekend and after completing our accreditation we planned to leave almost immediately to Tianjin where we will take on Holland on the opening match. And the question which nobody here seems to have an answer to, is how will Taiwo locate us before the match? Are we not working towards another Jay Jay Okocha drama with Chukwu in London?
And if he arrives hours before the match does the coach have the moral right to still field him?” the worried official said on the telephone yesterday from Korea.