“It’s a sad thing” – Ex-Super Eagles forward opens up on 2004 AFCON incident

Former Super Eagles striker Victor Agali has opened up on the controversial incident that led to his expulsion from the 2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, Soccernet.ng reports.

Agali was sent home from the Super Eagles camp alongside Celestine Babayaro and Yakubu Aiyegbeni, during the tournament after they were accused of breaching disciplinary rules by the Nigerian Football Federation.

The trio had been named in the 23-man squad by then-head coach Christian Chukwu, but their tournament ended abruptly after just one match, despite the competition still ongoing.

Despite the absence of three of their key players for the remainder of the tournament, Nigeria later finished with a bronze medal, after they defeated Mali 2-1 in the third-place match, with captain Jay-Jay Okocha named the Player of the Tournament.

Victor Agali reveals real reason he left Super Eagles camp at AFCON 2004

Former Marseille and Nice forward Victor Agali made his Super Eagles debut in 2000 and was part of the squad for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where he scored three goals as Nigeria reached the quarter-finals.

He also featured at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations where Nigeria finished third, before stepping away from the national team for personal reasons.

However, he returned to the squad ahead of AFCON 2004, but his comeback ended prematurely, playing just 11 minutes before he was sent home from camp.

Reflecting on the incident, Agali explained the role played by former NFF president, the late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, in convincing him to return to the national team setup ahead of the tournament.

“The late Taiwo Ogunjobi approached me ahead of the 2004 African Cup of Nations and guaranteed me that everything will be fine and cool, which I agreed,” Agali said.

“So I came, took my time and I was on the bench for the first match and came on in the second half, but couldn’t do much and we lost that game. After the game, normally I’m a professional player, my coach at my club side don’t sit me down two or three days after the game to want to see what I’m doing. 

“As a professional player, you go home after a game and try to relax and forget about the game because it’s gone and then you look up to the next one. You can’t clear your head in the room, you’re not in prison.”

The former Schalke 04 striker then described the incident that led to his expulsion from the camp after Nigeria’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco in their first game of the tournament.

“I was just in the bar in the same hotel with my guys – Celestine Babayaro and Yakubu Aiyegbeni, sharing wine and we were just chilling and someone was checking the room and came to a conclusion that we went to a club and I said ‘what? Which club?”, Agali added.

“I was surprised when we were called to come to the coach’s room and he said we had to leave the camp. Then I said ‘no problem, I don’t have anything to prove to you guys’.

“Later I was called that I had been forgiven and should come back, but I told them ‘guys please, you’re mocking me. Forgive me for what? I already changed my ticket and can’t change it back’. So I left.

“It’s a sad thing and that shows the level of immaturity we have in the system. How can you win a major tournament when you have two of your key strikers kicked out alongside one of your best fullbacks? After then, we heard a lot of stories about what happened”, he concluded.

That incident ended Agali’s career with the Super Eagles, as he never played for the national team again and finished his international spell with just five goals.