By Tony Ubani
While Nigeria and Zimbabwe engaged themselves in a World Cup qualifying game Tuesday in Uyo, a more tensed and emotional match went on simultaneously in Holland between former Super Eagles coach, Clemens Westerhof and his wife, Lilian.
Westerhof’s wife is a Zimbabwean and obviously supported her country while Westerhof who took the Super Eagles to their first World Cup in USA in 1994 rooted for Nigeria.
Before the game, Westerhof boasted to the wife that the Eagles would peck the Warriors because he reckoned they had better players and better FIFA ranking.
Alas! The Dutchman was disappointed and angry that the Super Eagles could not beat them as they settled for a 1-1 draw. After coaching in Nigeria, Westerhof coached Zimbabwe. He also married their daughter. Ordinarily, he was to be neutral in a game where two countries he coached were playing. No. He rooted for Nigeria having said that he was a ”Dutchgerian”.
With the draw, the Super Eagles have played themselves into a tight corner as South Africa’s Bafana Bafana have romped to 13 points in Group C gapping Nigeria with six points.
