There is often a mistaken tendency to lump all African footballers in the same bracket, each with the same ‘bag of tricks’ but lacking tactical discipline and therefore needing to be coached on the ways of modern football.
As with most generalizations, this is far from the truth.
The North African game is uniquely different from sub-Saharan African football, especially the West/Central African blend, which in turn is different from the Eastern/Southern African blend. Due to proximity to Europe, North African football often mirrors more closely the developments in European football, with greater emphasis on structure and team dynamics.
On the contrary, West/Central African football is based primarily on speed, power and athleticism, with increasingly high dose of technical skills.
Perhaps few countries in sub-Saharan Africa embody this unique combination of physique and technical skills as Nigeria.
As is the case in most developing countries, the education of the Nigerian footballer begins from the streets rather than the structured framework of an academy. In those ‘tough’, ‘mean’ streets of Ajegunle, Mushin, Mapo, Diobu, Aba or Nike, he must learn quickly to look after himself, relying mostly on his instincts, his spontaneity. Football for him is the ultimate expression of self.
This in turn leads to challenges in the development of the team game, and the often elusive search for balance between spontaneity, structure and tactical discipline, a factor responsible for many a failure of the European manager in Africa.
The development of modern team football in Africa is thus often a search for balance, a middle ground between a ‘reductionist’ European approach and the vibrancy of the African footballer.
This balance was perhaps best exemplified at the World Cup in 1994, when a properly organized Nigerian team produced an explosive combination of speed, technique and cosmic energy levels to come within minutes of beating Italy and a pathway to the world cup finals.
The most revolutionary change in the game today has been the advancements in fitness levels and its impact on the roles of players and their movements. It is my considered opinion that this puts the African footballer at an important position to excel in the modern game. But translating individual achievements to the group remains the big challenge.
It is against this background that I have started this blog to explore the perspectives of Nigerian football and the African game.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts and learning in the process.
