As expected Nigeria thumped Tahiti in its opening group game, but would go on to lose the next two matches to Uruguay and Spain, finishing third to confirm the expectations of bookmakers.
As stated previously, this was an important tournament for measuring the progress of the team under Keshi, especially since winning the AFCON title earlier in the year.
Expectedly following the confederations cup, the call has intensified for Keshi to extend a recall to several established internationals, notably Peter Odemnwigie, Taiye Taiwo, Obinna Nsofor, Victor Anichebe and Joseph Yobo.
As stated earlier, national teams grow through enhanced team spirit arising from playing together. In my opinion, Keshi's greatest contribution to the Super Eagles has been his ability to enhance team spirit within his squad, a factor that was recently visible in the fight back against Kenya in the world cup qualifiers.
Against this background, care should be taken in pressuring Keshi to expand the circle of his selection for fear of disrupting what appears to be a settled side. Yet the Super Eagles can only grow by expanding to include higher caliber players who are able to seriously challenge.
However, one thing is clear. Whatever new players are brought into the team will be coming to join a core group who are African champions! That is the reality that everyone must respect.
The major challenge that lies ahead for the Super Eagles following the Confederations cup are thus two fold:
1) how to expand the quality of talent available in the team without disrupting existing team spirit; and
2) how to drastically raise the level of tactical organization of the team.
Personnel Issues:
I will highlight some key personnel issues:
i) Central Midfield:
In the modern game, it is often said that a team is as good as its central midfield. In central midfield, five core players (Mikel, Mba, Onazi, Ogude, Nosa) have emerged from where Keshi has drawn his team (seven if we include the injured Reuben Gabriel and Ogu). Within this group, Mikel Obi stands head and shoulders above everybody. The gulf in quality between him and the rest is in itself evidence of a serious problem that deserves urgent attention.
The issue here is how to raise the quality of players available to the team.
There is little doubt that Ogenyi Onazi has come through at a rapid pace this past season. But weaknesses remain on the defensive side of his game and his temperament, as well his use of the ball. However his fast tracked pace of development can only bode well for the Eagles, should it continue into the new season at Lazio.
In the case of Ogude, the central issue has been his long term injury. The 2013/14 season will thus be crucial. He needs a new challenge beyond Valerenga...
With respect to Sunday Mba, the issue is a little more complicated. While he provided some very decisive moments at AFCON, his overall contribution was lacking in many areas, a fact made more obvious at the Confederations Cup. Mba must move to Europe to be able to raise his game and stay competitive in the team.
In the immediate period, we need to bring back Nosa Igiebor to the team as he continues his full return from an injury at Betis. While his performance at AFCON was woeful, his overall abilities mean he can challenge for a place in the team.
The return of Joel Obi to active football at Inter is welcome news. His return to the team is crucial, and should provide balance on the left of central midfield, as well as a platform for deployment of a left wing back.
The case of Sone Aluko is increasingly interesting. He has been on the fringes of the team before now, but at club level appears poised for a significant breakthrough at Hull City Tigers in the new season of the English Premiership.
I have in the past advocated for the invitation of Izunna Uzochukwu who has established himself at Midjtylland. His overall tactical awareness on the defensive side of the game, and his efficient use of the ball is evidence of a player with the ability to mount a serious challenge.
Consideration should also be given to both Lukman Haruna and Raheem Lawal. While I am well aware that these are not always easy players to work with, it's also true that we hire managers on the basis of their ability to work with players of various characters. These may in truth be headstrong players, but they also come with a winning mentality, and the ability to match this.
ii) Defence:
There are a lot of moving parts about the Nigerian defence. Elderson Echiejile may be moving to Turkey as has Taiye Taiwo already.
Kenneth Omeruo has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell at Ado Den Haag, but it is unclear whether he will go out on another loan spell, stay in the reserves or promoted to the first team.
Godfrey Oboabona's performance at the heart of the Nigerian defence is one of the few success stories from Keshi's use of domestic league players. But as is often the case with young defenders, his game is still inconsistent, with continuing weaknesses in reading of the game and opposition movement. But his growth path has been rapid. A lot of what happens in the future will depend on the decisions of his advisers on where he plies his trade next season, and how much playing time he gets.
The situation calls for the development of credible options who can challenge for starting positions at right back, center back and left back. So far none of the other domestic league players has shown themselves to be at the level that improves the team, and I see no sense in persisting with them. I think the time is ripe to look at other options, using the FIFA friendlies window. I refer to such players as Daniel Adejo at Reggina in Serie B, Gbenga Arokoyo at Mjallby and Leon Aderemi Balogun at Fortna Dusseldorf, or other players from the domestic game.
Tactical Organization:
The confederations cup proved to be a very useful tournament in exposing some of the strengths, weaknesses and future potentials of the team.
The first half performance against Spain exposed the potentials of this team when its athleticism is deployed in a high pressing game in midfield.
But it also exposed the poor detail orientation of the coaching crew in its tactical organization, with the team leaving gaps behind the line of pressure which enabled Spain repeatedly play around the Nigerian pressure and create several dangerous moments.
Opponents of Spain in the last few years have either stood off, packed their defensive area (a la 'park the bus') and looked to counter attack, or pressured high upfield or in central midfield to disrupt their passing game. Keshi opted for the latter.
The challenge in pressing Spain is typically three fold:
1) how to maintain defensive shape and avoid leaving gaps behind the line of pressure for through passes or the off-the-ball movements.
2) how to conserve energy and avoid tiring especially in the latter stages of the game, which in turn affects your ball possession.
3) how to maximize use of the ball within the limited time of possession that Spain allows the opponent.
In the first two categories, the Nigerian team fared woefully. In the third category, while it recovered the ball in very valuable zones in the first half, the lack of quality in the final third often let it down, especially in Ideye Brown, who was both physically and mentally at least one level off the pace of the game.
Especially lacking was a complete tactical awareness of the opponent, its ball circulation strategies, the areas of overflow and the movement patterns of its key players. The Nigerian team against Spain, played almost completely blind!
I beg to disagree! Here is the match analysis from zonalmarking.net:
"Nigeria suffered from problems in both directions – sometimes the defence weren’t high enough and left gaps between the lines for Fabregas and Iniesta, and sometimes they appeared too high, allowing Soldado and Fabregas space in behind. In reality, the problem wasn’t really with the back four, but started from the position of the midfield….. This, essentially, is why not many sides play this way against Spain.
Interestingly, Pedro helped exploit the space in both respects. He and Alba are crucial to Spain and Barcelona because of their width and directness, and it was interesting that as well as making runs in behind Elderson Echiejile, Pedro also darted inside between the lines, sensing space in behind Mikel and away from Fegor Ogudo".
"That rather summed up Nigeria’s problem – there was too much space both behind, and in front of, their back four".
The weakness of the set-up was exposed early and it would get worse as the lead up to the first goal revealed. While Jordi Alba did get a lucky bounce of the ball, focus on the sequence of play before the slide rule pass to him and how easy it is to pass around our pressing players and the huge gaps the pressing system is creating.
http://espnfc.com/video/espnfc/video/_/id/1483466?cc=5901
Lets take a small sample of how Italy and Nigeria addressed the attacking threat of Spain from its left back by comparing Italy's success in shutting down Jordi Alba to Nigeria's woeful attempt, which gifted the Spanish left back two goals.
Italy deployed the Lazio midfielder, Antonio Candreva to run at the deep diagonal balls played behind Alba, forcing him to spend the majority of the game defending and thus shutting him down as an attacking threat.
Nigeria kept its standard 4-3-3 formation and played Ideye Brown, a central striker as a wing forward on the right, a position he has intermittently held even with Moses available. He offered neither the pace to push back Alba or the defensive prowess to provide cover for Efe Ambrose at right back.
Zonalmarking.net describes both Alba and Brown's performance thus:
"Jordi Alba had plenty of space to charge into. He was a constant force on the flank, with Ideye Brown showing little interest in tracking his runs".
Yet for much of the game, Ahmed Musa, with twice the pace of Candreva remained on the left flank, only switching occasionally in the second half.
Positives:
Easily the main positive thing to come from Nigeria's participation at the Confederations cup has to be the emergence of Mikel Obi from the shadow of 'square-ball Wilkins' that is forever enshrined in Chelsea lore by Ray Wilkins, and in which his role was cast by Jose Mourinho and successive managers.
Year after year, and pyramids of 5-meter square passes later, many can be forgiven in thinking that an expansive Mikel is an apparition! Let there be no misunderstanding though; Mikel is a top player. But he is a top player in a limited role, and is perhaps the best example of how a manager can make or unmake a player. And a manager like Mourinho with a reductionist approach to the game can make an ant of an elephant!
A dominant Mikel, with the ability to control play further up-field, presents new tactical options for the coaching crew, beyond the increasingly predictable 4-3-3 approach.
Winning the Africa Nations cup was a major achievement for Nigeria and especially Stephen Keshi. He, singlehandedly has restored confidence and a winning mentality to the team. And he has done it his own way... But football never stands still. If anything, as champions, the challenges come faster and stiffer!
If Nigeria is to perform creditably at the World Cup on qualification, Stephen Keshi and his assistants must challenge themselves to do better.
With less than a year to Brazil 2014, the Nigerian team remains a work in progress. As the challenges become more difficult, existing problems will become magnified and new ones will emerge in bold relief.
But if there is any lesson from our experience in 2010, it is that this late in the process is not the time for speculation about the position of the coach, unless something catastrophic were to suddenly happen. Whatever problems emerge on the technical side are better addressed through the internal structures of the team.
Consider this an early warning....
