- Super Eagles boss Eric Chelle has defended goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali amid criticism from Nigerians
- Nwabali has been under fire recently from the fans over his on-pitch antics, which have nearly cost the team
- In the recent matches against Lesotho and Benin, the antics shifted from opponents to his teammates
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has defended goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali amid criticism from Nigerians over his on-pitch antics in recent matches.
Nwabali became the Super Eagles’ first-choice goalkeeper at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and delivered brilliant performances to help Nigeria reach the final.
Source: Getty Images
However, his standards have fallen from what endeared him to Nigerians as the first reliable Super Eagles goalkeeper since Vincent Enyeama retired.
His antics on the pitch, which many have dubbed dark arts, including riling up opponents and wasting time, have infuriated the fans.
He has moved from getting in the face of opponents to getting in the face of his teammates, as he displayed during the wins over Lesotho and Benin.
Nwabali clashed with Calvin Bassey during halftime of the 4-0 win over Benin, and the two had to be separated by Victor Osimhen and captain William Troost-Ekong.
There have been calls for Chelle to drop the goalkeeper so he could sit up, but who would replace him? The other goalkeepers have proven unreliable when called upon.
His closest challenger, Maduka Okoye, recently returned from a two-month ban after he was indicted in a gambling scandal in Udine, as noted by Football Italia.
Eric Chelle defends Nwabali
Super Eagles coach Chelle has reacted to Nwabali’s recent antics, claiming that fans do not see what goes on behind the emotional reactions on the pitch.
“I prefer to talk about it now. This is the emotion. Everybody talks about emotions. The reality is that nobody knows what I am asking my player,” he told Segun Odegbami.
The manager added that he is pleased with the personality of his goalkeeper and he had one of such as teammate during his professional career.
Source: Getty Images
“Maybe I ask Nwabali to be strong. I don’t want a nice guy in my goal. I played with a goalkeeper whose name is Vedran Runje. He is a Serbian goalkeeper. The guy was so crazy on the pitch because he was so crazy, the defense we were crazy too,” he added
“I need to have a player with character. Maybe sometimes he needs to relax, the reality is Stanley gives everything for his team, teammates, and his country.”
Chell confirmed that despite the calls from Nigeria to drop Nwabali, the Chippa United goalkeeper will be in goal against Gabon next month.
He added that errors are part of the game and he would only encourage the former Nasarawa United goalkeeper to relax a bit with his emotions.
Nwabali reacts to criticism from Nigerians
Legit.ng previously reported that Stanley Nwabali reacted to criticism from Nigerians with an Instagram post after the 4-0 win over Benin.
The South Africa-based goalkeeper believes in his method and reiterated that he would keep fighting to get everything he wants in a Super Eagles shirt.
Source: Legit.ng
