He was part of the Nigerian squad that made Africa proud at the USA ‘94 World Cup, after clinching a continental title earlier that year.

The 42-year-old, who now shares his time between coaching and running his football institute - SiaOne Soccer Academy - based in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, takes a look at the fitness of African teams before South Africa 2010.

AfricaNews: You have tasted both sides of the soccer career, as a player and coach, which did you enjoy more?

Samson Siasia: Both give beautiful experiences, but I feel more relaxed and less feverish being a player. You’d be there listening to your coach and doing your best to play your role in the team. If anything goes wrong you aren’t the only one to handle it, it’s for the whole team. But as a coach, the whole pressure is on you. You hardly catch sleep, because the blames will fall on you if the team fails, whether you caused it or not.

AfricaNews: South Africa 2010 is three months away; how do you rate African representatives?

Samson Siasia: I don’t think African teams are set if we’re to judge by the last African Nations Cup. African representatives for the World Cup are in ugly posture. Teams like Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria and Nigeria did not display encouraging performances. Their back lines were so porous, making them to concede too many goals. You don’t do that at a World Cup. Only Ghana seem to be dependable.

AfricaNews: As a coach, what do you think African teams lack at this stage and what should be done before the kick off of South Africa 2010?

Samson Siasia: Look, football takes place in the midfield. That’s where the game is cooked. That’s where the forwards feed from. That’s where the defence relies on to do its work. African teams need to work on their midfield. Be capable of holding and circulating the ball there and then creating a number of goal-scoring chances for the strikers. If you can observe very well, you’ll see that African teams concentrate too much on the attack, except for Egypt. The attack can’t be efficient without a dense midfield.

AfricaNews: Are you sure an African team would make it far?

Samson Siasia: I am afraid, but you’ve got to get the job done so long as you’re there as a qualified team. Besides game work, Africa teams need more aggression. They should be mentally strong, believe in themselves and go out there regarding themselves equal to every other team coming to South Africa 2010.

AfricaNews: Ivory Coast is one of the most potentially solid teams in Africa, but they keep flopping in major tournaments, what are they suffering from and how do we cure that before the World Cup?

Samson Siasia: Ivory Coast were supposed to be the best team in Africa at the moment, considering the bunch of awesome talents they carry, but they keep flopping in major tournaments, it’s painful. I think Ivory Coast’s problem is lack concentration, weak defence, slacking midfield and I suspect ego problems among the players. Such problems should be kept at home and not to be brought along to the pitch.

AfricaNews: Can you coach Ivory Coast?

Samson Siasia: Why not? But the problem is that African Football Federations are slaves to White coaches.

AfricaNews: Do you think hosting the World Cup in South Africa will favour African teams?

Samson Siasia: I don’t think so. The crowd won’t play for you, don’t count on them. See, Africa has some of the worst and unfaithful supporters in the world. When their team starts loosing they lose courage or start supporting the adversary team.

AfricaNews: Can you place the African representatives (teams) in order of strength and chances at the World Cup?

Samson Siasia: It’s hard to say at this point, but I think Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Algeria and South Africa will not be a bad chart.

AfricaNews: Can you predict the teams that will get to the quarter finals?

Samson Siasia: No! No sane coach will tell you a thing.

AfricaNews: Can you predict the finalists and eventually the winner?

Samson Siasia: Never, those who did in the past failed.