‘Super Eagles At 70, Soaring On the Wings’ a book written by Kunle Solaja, a renowned author and sports journalist, captures your imagination in a special way.
The book which chronicles the Nigerian national football team from inception in 1949 till date is a staple every football lover in Nigeria should have in their library.
In acknowledging this masterclass of a book, Nigeria's Works and Housing Minister Raji Fashola remarked:
“I write with deep pleasure and gratitude to acknowledge the receipt of your delightful book … and to say that chronicling of 70 years of the growth and achievements of our dear country’s foremost soccer ambassadors, especially at this time, is both refreshing and morale-boosting.”
The uniqueness of the book, I must say, lies in its historic outlay with memorable photographs and nostalgia evoking texts on the foundation members of the team, who motivated by sheer patriotism and love for their country, played barefooted to bring honour and glory to our nation.
It also manifests in the exciting nuggets of information about historic moments in the evolution of the national team and even its uniforms which has over the last 70 years transmogrified from plain green and white to the variegated and designer varieties we have today. The were Herald by the continual rebranding from the Red Devils to Green Eagles and today known as Super Eagles."
Solaja captured the ever increasing effort to build a world class team, a Nigeria national team that can compete favorably at the world level and be highly regarded at the commity of footballing nations. The place of foreign coaches, from the first, John Finch to Father Tiko, Otto Gloria, Manfred Honer, Clemence Westerhof in the development of the game.
The dilemma of whether to use indigenous coaches instead, as a better way to build a national team that can win the World Cup some day as attempted by Stephen Keshi in 2014. And other ex-international coaches such as Samson Siasia, Sunday Oliseh or Emmanuel Amunike waiting by the wings.
In the letter personally signed by the sports-loving former governor, Fashola, a legal luminary congratulated Kunle Solaja for the “unique effort to document and put in very illuminating perspective our country’s worthy 70 years of soccer history.”
