Current Super Eagles Players More Talented Than AFCON 2013 Winning Squad —Ideye

Former Nigeria international Brown Ideye has said the current Super Eagles players are more talented that the squad that won the 2013 AFCON.

Ideye was a member of the Eagles squad that were crowned African champions in South Africa under the late Stephen Keshi.

The team had stars like John Obi Mikel, Emmanuel Emenike, Vincent Enyeama, Ahmed Musa, Ikechukwu Uche, Joseph Yobo, Elderson Echiejile, Efe Ambrose and Sunday Mba.

Despite the top stars that clinched Nigeria’s third AFCON title, Ideye believes the current squad has more talent.

He, however, said what the current players lack is heart, which the 2013 squad had.

“Yes. This current team has more talented players on paper than our team in 2013 but, do not have the heart we had,” Ideye told SportsBoom in an exclusive interview.

“If you check our lineup back then, from the goalkeeper to Emenike, apart from Victor Moses, Mikel Obi, both at Chelsea and Vincent Enyeama at Lille, there were no well-known stars in the side playing consistently for their clubs back then.

“Even some were club less or playing in the Nigerian Topflight. Onazi was in Lazio but, wasn’t a starter. Unlike what they have now, you have Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Victor
Osimhen, for Napoli, Iwobi, Bassey (Fulham), Ajayi, Ola Aina, even Zaidu Sanusi (Porto) apart from the goalkeeper, almost all the players are all in the elite league, with most in the EPL.

“The team was totally different from this team.”

Ideye highlighted the importance of team bonding and discipline, which was a key element of late Keshi’s reign as the coach of the Eagles.

“We supported one another; we left whatever dispute we had on the field there and moved on off it after the game,” he said.

Also Read: 2025 AFCONQ: 6 Key Moves Eguavoen Must Make For Eagles’ Win Vs Benin

“We talked to one another, go to each other’s rooms, we encouraged ourselves and never criticized ourselves. Discipline in camp was paramount as everyone tried to stay in line.

“If he said bedtime was 8 pm and there was to be no noise afterwards, that was how it was going to be. For me, I feel the discipline in the team gave us the trophy.”

Ideye said it doesn’t matter which club you are playing for, when it comes to his team selections. it’s either the player is willing to give a 100 percent or the player is out of the team.

“Ike Uche started coming in from the bench because the gaffer wasn’t getting what he wanted from him in training.

“He wasn’t happy about it, but the late Keshi won’t have it, despite he was playing in Villarreal then.

“For the ‘Big Boss’, it wasn’t about the club side where you are from; it’s about what you are willing to give when he puts you in the team. He always had a one-on-one chat with us before call ups, requesting for a 100% commitment if we were coming around.

“With the clause, if you can’t do the job, there are two or three people out there that can do it.”

Despite being a key member of the team, Ideye was one of the surprised names Keshi dropped from his 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.

Asked whether he was angry for being left out, the former West Brom and Olympiacos striker said: “Whether I’m angry or not, it was Stephen Keshi that took me to the Nations Cup. If he didn’t take me to the World Cup, he also had to drop
some people for me to attend the AFCON.

On whether his teammates should have spoken up for him after being dropped: “They couldn’t have done anything. No matter what they said to the boss at that time, no matter how they tried to get to the root of the matter, no one even had the ‘balls’ to go to the coach to tell him; you have to
do this. He has his mind and makes decisions based on that.”

“I was not upset about what he did. I wasn’t upset about the players, that they did not go out to fight for me and everything. It’s over, I just moved on.”

Meanwhile, the Eagles are in danger of missing out on qualifying for another FIFA World Cup following their poor campaign in the qualifiers for the 2026 edition billed for USA, Mexico and Canada.

After four matches, the Eagles are yet to secure a win, drawing three and losing one and are fifth in a group that has South Africa, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

The team would hope to do better in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers as they will take on Benin Republic on matchday 1 in Uyo on Saturday, September 7 before facing Rwanda on Tuesday, September 10.