Everywhere the eyes were drawn at Rashid Stadium on Tuesday night, contrast could be found.
From the moment the two teams alighted their respective buses to the moment they climbed back aboard at the end of an engrossing semi-final, it was clear the squads of Nigeria and Sweden were coming from, at the risk of sounding facetious, very different places.
Sweden’s young players disembarked from their team coach in the manner one would expect any modern-day professional football team: branded rucksacks, eyes either straight ahead, ears encircled by Beats by Dre headphones to ensure their personal sanctum of equanimity was not breached. They were quintessentially professional.
The Nigerian players in contrast carried mass-produced adidas washbags, sacks filled with footballs, large water coolers and any other paraphernalia the team might require over the course of the next few hours. No earphones and no evident egos. Very appealingly amateurish.
Such dissimilarity is no surprise. While Sweden’s GDP per capita is, at almost $42,000, the 26th-highest in the world, Nigeria is ranked 180th with an average income of just $2,800 per annum. Such statistics help explain why while Sweden has more immigrants than almost any other country in the world, while Nigerian communities can be found everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires.
What the African nation lack in liquid wealth, however, they make up for in rich history when it comes to the Under 17 World Cup. No country has performed as well as the Nigerians at this level. Winners in 1985, 1993 and 2007, last night’s 3-0 victory means the Golden Eaglets have now also reached the final in 1987, 2001, 2009 and 2013.
Sweden could not have arrived with less tradition at U-17 level. Making their competitive debut in the UAE, the Scandinavians proved the surprise package even in a tournament when so many of the players are unknowns. Roland Larsson, the Swede’s forthright coach, said that he would have been laughed at had he predicted before the tournament his side would reach the semi-finals.
Yet they did. And did not look out of place.
Nigeria’s athletic and aggressive style produced a goal after 21 minutes and reduced Sweden to counter-attacks. Yet Larsson’s side held their own in midfield for the majority of the match before two late goals in the space of 60 seconds ended any lingering hope of grabbing an equaliser and pushing the game to penalties.
If the rich quality on the pitch was well-matched, the rich quality in the stands could not have been more juxtaposed. The official attendance was given as 8,800, yet Nigeria’s ever-loyal, trumpet-tooting, flag-waving, anthem-singing supporters had turned out in full force and created a din worthy of twice that figure.
Sweden’s support, meanwhile, was limited to a few blondes, a few flags and a certain Swedish footballer who plies his trade in the Arabian Gulf League.
Christian Wilhelmsson, the Baniyas winger whose career has taken him around Europe and to the LA Galaxy, arrived midway through the match in a gaudy two-tone Rolls Royce. The family of the 2006 World Cup representative were close behind in a blacked-out SUV.
Success for the Swedish U17 squad is no longer possible, yet Wilhelmsson’s kind of success – the tangible, incontestable wealth – is a legitimate target. It is believed two Swedish players have already signed contracts in recent weeks with major European clubs, while Isak Ssewankambo, their ball-winning midfielder, is already on the books at Chelsea.
His teammate at the Stamford Bridge side is Habib Makanjuola, age 14.
He is Nigerian and was on the bench last night at Rashid Stadium, underscoring as much as the game itself that, while the contrast between the countries is stark, the difference in talent between the players is not.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
