NIGERIA legend Taribo West has blamed hotel romps for the reason behind their 1998 World Cup defeat against Denmark.
The Super Eagles became one of the tournament’s fairytale stories in France after they upset the odds to top their group with six points ahead of Spain, Bulgaria and Paraguay.
Taribo West revealed Nigeria players snuck women into their camp before their defeat to Denmark at the 1998 World CupCredit: EPA
But the African nation surprisingly put in a lacklustre performance for their knock-out clash against Denmark as they bowed out as 4-1 losers.
Former Inter and AC Milan defender West revealed Nigeria’s confidence and popularity became a curse as his teammates became complacent.
The 46-year-old claimed players had made themselves fatigued by sleeping with fans the night before their Round of 16 tie.
He told Nigerian publication The Punch: “I read reports about Eagles visiting nightclubs and driving limousines during the World Cup in France, honestly I don’t know about that.
The women were Africans who came to watch the tournament and fell in love with our team. So, it was easy for these players to woo them to their rooms.
Former Nigeria defender Taribo West
“But what I know is that some players sneaked women into camp, I saw that.
“The women were Africans who came to watch the tournament and fell in love with our team, because of the way we played in the group stage.
“So, it was easy for these players to woo them to their rooms.
“That is why on match day, you could see a lot of the players didn’t have the strength to curtail the Danish players.
“They were tired after overworking themselves the night before with the women.
“I was yelling at them on the pitch, I was very angry with them. They did all these because they thought we were going to beat Denmark.”
Nigeria’s popular ’98 side included worldwide stars such as Bolton ace Jay Jay Okocha and former Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu.
Despite being overwhelming favourites against Denmark, the Super Eagles crashed out at the last-16 stage and have since never went further in subsequent World Cups.
Denmark meanwhile lost 3-2 to eventual finalists Brazil in the next round, before Zinedine Zidane starred in a 3-0 win for France in the final to help claim the trophy on home soil.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
