Top 5 Nigerian Midfielders

1. Following Nigeria's second round exit at the world cup to France, and particularly the performance of the team following the injury to key midfield player, Ogenyi Onazi, and his replacement by Reuben Gabriel, the question of which players constitute the best Nigerian midfielders available has remained.

So who are Nigeria's top five midfielders?

2. In order to answer the question, a little background on the criteria for determining the players on the list is pertinent.

By midfielders, we refer to the category of central midfielders, which would include, defensive, attacking or holding midfielders.

The selection is based on the time frame of performance in the last season, as well as the games of the new season.

3. The first criteria adopted is the level of the league in which the player is based. This is weighed slightly against number of games played as starter or sub, as well as the relative strength/ranking of the club within the league. Accordingly, a player at Chelsea or Liverpool is ranked high, based on the profile of the clubs, but weighted against the position of the player as a starter or sub.

4. The second criteria is number of years in the team as a starter. This would include the profile of the player on-field with respect to established role in the team's game/tactical plan, as well as any leadership roles within the club, for instance as captain.

5. The third criteria is based on technical quality of the player, including dynamism in play, contribution to the attack and defence as determined by goals, assists, work rate (distances covered), tackles won, etc.

6. The fourth criteria is based on prospects of the player, with the focus on balancing between short and long term value to the Super Eagles.

7. Based on the above, Nigeria's best midfielders within this time frame are as follows:

- John Mikel Obi (Chelsea)
- Eddy Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio)
- Izunna Uzochukwu (FC Midtjylland)
- Raheem Lawal (Eskisehirspor)
- Chuks Aneke (S.V. Zulte Waregem)

8. John Mikel Obi by his standards had an average world cup in Brazil, although it can be argued that in some respects, his game at the world cup suffered from some structural imbalance in the Nigerian midfield. At Chelsea, his role diminished progressively over the time frame under consideration. However he plays at a higher level than any other Nigerian midfielder.

9. Ogenyi Onazi has continued to grow at Lazio and established himself as a young player to watch with his strong performance at the world cup, leading to rumors of a transfer, and eventually to a contract extension. He has firmly established himself as a mainstay of the Nigerian midfield.

10. Izunna Uzochukwu has steadily established himself since 2009, as a top controlling midfielder in FC Midtjylland and the Danish  league. He brings a combative presence and technique to the anchor role in central midfield, able to break up as well as build up play, either in the team's favored 4-3-3 or as part of a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1. He started the season as captain of his club.

11. Raheem Lawal comes into the list from an unheralded Turkish Superliga club, Eskisehirspor, where he plays as a dominant influence in the teams game. An industrious box-to-box midfielder, his main strengths lie in his effectiveness in the pressing game and ability to break forward in open play, at pace. However, his game sometimes suffers from excessive verticality, which constrains the ability of his team to control games. But it is the power and drive he brings to central midfield that earns him a spot in this list.

12. Chuks Aneke is a product of the Arsenal school, and is the beneficiary of a well rounded curriculum. After over 80 games and 24 goals in the rough and tumble of the English League One while on loan at Crewe, he moved on a free transfer to Zulte Waregem, where he has made a barnstorming start to establishing his career. Playing from an attacking midfield position, he has been especially impressive in the Europa League qualifiers, with a goal and an assist. He represents very good prospects for Nigeria in both the short, and especially the long term.

13. On a general note, it is of course necessary to point out that the list and the criteria on which it is based is by no means exhaustive. Neither does it, or should it necessarily reflect either way on the decisions of national team selectors, who are guided by additional considerations, not normally reflected in the criteria adopted in an project of this nature.

14. Based on the criteria, a number of players were dropped for various reasons. Notable among them is Ramon Azeez, who has been slowly establishing himself in his first season in the Spanish La Liga with Almeria. In my opinion, even while recognizing his improving performance, his game and role is largely unformed, which appeared to reflect in his performances with the Super Eagles. He should be one to watch in the new season.

15. Two other players were considered- Nosa Igiebor and Fegor Ogude. While the former suffered an injury ravaged season and relegation at Betis, the latter has struggled to re-establish his form following a long term injury.

16. We will revisit the list over the half way point of the new season. In the interim, we will be paying some attention to several young midfielders including, Kelechi Iheanacho and Anderson Esiti.

What do you think? Your comments are of course welcome...

Victor Moses: 10 Things...

1. Last night against Greece, Moses at times looked unplayable! I exaggerate a little...But certainly Nigeria looked at its most dangerous when he had the ball. He looked a far cry from the tentative player at Liverpool...


2. He looked unplayable, until you look at the hard numbers: crosses delivered, chances created, passes completed, shots on goal, shots off target, turnovers, etc as compared to number of touches on the ball.


3. His major approach was to run at the defence in open play and unbalance it with the dribble at pace. Nothing wrong with running at a defence...Barcelona are at their most potent when Messi is running at a defence in open play....


4. However, Messi's runs are not ahead of the team, but rather a subset of the team game. His team play and the movement of players around him is designed to create the space that he subsequently attacks. Even more important, it is discriminant in the choice of where to initiate the run and when.


5. In the case of Moses, his dribble runs are non-discriminant. He is running from deep in the Nigerian half, from midfield and from high up the pitch.


6. He first creates space with the dribble and then brings the rest of the team into play, when he chooses.


7. Now, Moses is a talented player with good technique. At the World Cup he will succeed with his dribbles. But the non-discriminant nature of it means he will also be a turnover magnet and WILL be targeted.


8. Ultimately, it will come down to a risk-reward thing.


9. The Nigerian game; at the heart of the Nigerian football culture is its spontaneity. I understand that. The structured European style team game will constrain a Nigerian team as we saw sadly with Berti Vogts.


10. But spontaneity can be enhanced by a solid structure, not diminished. The devil as always, is in the balance....

Emenike- A Note of Caution...

Emmanuel Emenike's importance to Nigeria under Stephen Keshi is crystal clear. His pace, power, ability to hold up play with back to goal, or attack diagonally from wide, make him near indispensable in Keshi's attacking scheme.

At the World Cup, his pace and power will be crucial when Nigeria sets up on the counterattack, especially against Bosnia and Argentina.

However, a close analysis of his career so far shows some worrying issues that could impact his ability to perform at the highest level in Brazil in June.

Having followed his career in Europe, starting from his stint at the Turkish side, Karabukspor, a consistent string of muscle and ligament injuries appear to have increasingly affected his explosiveness, making him more reliant on power than pace and technique.

A UEFA study of injury incidence and injury patterns in professional football
classifies a severe injury as one that sidelines a player for more than 28 days. Emenike has had three severe injuries in the last four seasons, all of a muscular nature.

In the just concluded season, he starred in 28 league games (5 as subs), scoring 12 goals, with nine assists to emerge Turkish league champions with Fenerbahce.

This has been his best season since helping Karabukspor to the Turkish Super Liga in 2009/10,

Between the 2010/11 season and the current, he has suffered four serious muscular injuries, including an arthroscopic surgery and a hamstring tear early this year.

It is critical that Nigerian handlers be fully informed of his medical history and to accordingly design a fitness regime that is target specific to the player.

In the Best Interest of the African Child?

This week, FIFA imposed a one year ban on Barcelona FC for contravening its rules on the transfer of players under 18 years. Specifically, the club was found to be in breach of Article 19 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.

The ban centers around ten players under 18 years who were recruited by the club to its famed La Masia academy between 2009 and 2013. Among these are three players with African parentage, one Nigerian, Bobby Adekanye, and two Cameroonians, Patrice Sousia and Andrei Onana.

In taking this decision, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sought to underline the seriousness with which it takes the protection of minors in football. The Committee stated that the "protection of minors is one of the key principles included in the agreement concluded between FIFA, UEFA and the European Commission in 2001". The Disciplinary Committee acknowledged that "young football players are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a foreign country without the proper controls".

Accordingly, the Committee emphasized that the protection of minors in the context of international transfers is an important social and legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in football. The Committee agreed that while international transfers might, in specific cases, be favorable to a young player’s sporting career, they are nonetheless very likely to be contrary to the best interests of the player as a minor. Thus, the committee concluded that “the interest in protecting the appropriate and healthy development of a minor as a whole must prevail over purely sporting interests.” Link

In writing this, my interest is not Barcelona, although it is a club I admire. My interest is, the best interest of the African child, the thousands of talented African kids with the ambition to be the next JJ Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, George Weah, Samuel Eto'o or Didier Drogba.

It is instructive that the principles that motivated this Regulation, emerged from an agreement between FIFA, UEFA and the European Commission in 2001. I am left wondering, where was the African representation? In what ways did these principles recognize the specific circumstance of the African child footballer? Or does it assume the interest and the circumstance to be the same, and thus to know and act in his best interest?

While Article 19 of the Regulation expressly forbids the international transfer of players under 18 years, it creates three exceptions, one which directly impacts the African player and  states as follows:

a) 'The player’s parents move to the country in which the new club is located for reasons not linked to football'.

I would imagine that the primary intent of this provision is to help provide a stable home environment to enable these young players navigate the transition to a new life and a new culture. Why is it then necessary that the relocation of the parents be for 'reasons not linked to football'? In what specific way does the fact of the parents moving for non-footballing reasons, as opposed to reasons linked to football, help in "protecting the appropriate and healthy development of a minor"?

Commenting on this provision, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger  suggested that the rules may need to be changed, "because there is more competition now to get the young players, and you will always be in a debate as to why did the parents move? There is more money in the game, so the parents will be tempted to give their young boys a chance to have a great career" (Link).

In my opinion, the provision for relocation of parents for reasons not linked to football, imposes an extra burden on the transfer of African young players  and thus constrains their chance to develop a successful career, without any corresponding additional benefits to the child.

It lacks understanding of the enormity of the challenge an African parent would face in adjusting to a new environment, culture, language and weather, in relocating with the child, who in any case, is often better equipped to handle such transitions. I am an African in the diaspora, and I live this reality everyday!

It appears presumptuous and arrogant and puts FIFA in the unlikely position where it assumes to know better than Bukola Mosunmola and Ademola Adekanye, what is in the best interest of  their son Bobby Adekanye.

More importantly, it is ineffective because it doesn't address the two major mechanisms through which African minors are exploited in the transfer market, fraudulent agency representation and slave contracts, both of which continue, irrespective of the age of the player!

With specific reference to Barcelona, it is  rather ironic that a law that is designed to prevent the exploitation of minors, is punishing a team, whose facilities and conditions of work, as well as the management of young players is probably of the highest standard in the world.

It has been argued that this will force U-17 players to stay at home and play locally until they are 18. But this does not address the primary economic factors behind the desire of young, talented African footballers to move to Europe. Besides, many of the clubs interested in U-17 African players would simply conclude agreements with them and wait for a year, as may already be the case with some of Nigeria's championship winning players.

Like FIFA, I too believe that protecting the appropriate and healthy development of a minor as a whole must prevail over purely sporting interests. However the mechanisms for achieving this laudable goal does not often lend itself to simplistic, one-size fits all approaches.

The case of ex-Liverpool youth player, Victor Palsson readily comes to mind, and how the relocation of his family rather than be a source of comfort, became the source of instability that eventually cost him, what was projected to be a career in the first team (Link). 

What is required here is a regulation that sets high minimum standards for the international transfer of minors, retains the important provisions on education, but is flexible enough to allow each club and the concerned parents to mutually arrive at the best arrangement that protects the interest of the child

Dancing with the Eagles, Partying with Messi...

The buzz in Nigerian football at the moment is about the list. The list of invitees to the preliminary world cup squad by Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi.

The buzz is especially about Osaze Odenwigie; about Ikechukwu Uche; about Joseph Yobo, etc.

What the buzz is sadly not about is football. Yes, football!

Before you say it, the composition of the Super Eagles world cup squad is important. But it is not everything. A coach, every coach, has a right to his choice of players. But the fan, the football fan has a right to his opinion- good, bad, smart, stupid; whatever.....

But the role of the football pundit is different. While it must recognize popular sentiment, it should also recognize the need to inform, to generate intelligent discourse.

Sadly its getting harder and harder to separate the average 'Surulere-end fan' from the pundits, including the much revered Segun Odegbanmi, who much as he tried, could not succumb from the urge to talk about team list and invitations.

Every coach, has a right to his choice of players. He then lives or dies with his choices! So I'm not interested in the team list, who is invited, or who is left out. Rather I'm interested in what Stephen Keshi does with the players he chooses.

The Nigerian renaissance under Keshi was never based on superior tactical acumen. Indeed, for the purists out there, the Nigerian team sometimes appears on the verge of anarchy, with little consistency in team shape, movements and decision making. But as we found out, painfully, with Berti Vogts, the Nigerian team does not function well in a regime of tactical rigidity.

The Nigerian success under Keshi, especially at the Africa Nations cup, is based predominantly on man management, on motivation and team spirit. For instance, Stephen Keshi's ability to pull Mikel Obi from his eternal comfort zone of the 3-yard square pass, and 'big-man football', is nothing short of masterful!

It is against this specific background that all the clamor, agitation and campaign around who is in or out is a direct assault on team unity.

Those who generate this pressure, whether intended or otherwise, are dancing with the Eagles, but partying with Lionel Messi!

There are some considerable tactical issues that face the Nigerian team, a few months to the world cup. I say lets focus on these....

Re: Ramon Azeez

Ramon Azeez's invitation to the Super Eagles international friendly against Mexico in Atlanta caps a remarkable run from youth football and the lower division of Spanish football to establishing himself as a starter for Almeria in La Liga.

2. Having watched him first in Almeria B, to his inclusion in the match day squad of the senior team, his tentative performance had me convinced that he needed at the very least a full season in Europe to establish his identity as a footballer.

3. But not anymore! Watching him at the Nou Camp last night, I had a change of mind!

4. While part of a losing effort, what stood out for me was not the regular match day players statistics on pass completion rate, key passes made, number of assists, tackles won, etc.

5. In a match at the Nou Camp involving Almeria against Barcelona, such statistics are largely secondary in assessing the visiting team. Context is everything...

6. Almeria began by matching Barcelona's 4-3-3, but with the flexibility to switch to a 4-4-1-1 or 5-3-1-1 in the non-possession phase, with Azeez taking up a defensive role on the inside right channel to stop Neymar's diagonal runs.

7. The deep role also allowed him to room to occasionally break forward, centrally for the most part and on one occasion wide on Barcelona's right side.

8. The key metric for me in assessing him last night was his body language and overall composure. Last night, instead of the tentative, slightly awkward player I've seen for most of the season, he looked like a player convinced that he belonged in his surroundings.

9. Tactically his positioning was very good, and only once was he caught out, lunging in on Neymar to earn a deserved booking. In the second half, he moved more centrally within Almeria's defensive shape, as they sought to contain wave after wave of Barcelona attacks.

10. He would later depart on 79mins as Almeria gambled on more offense with Liverpool's Suso, and were duly punished...

11. If Azeez can bring this confidence to Nigeria's friendly with Mexico, I suspect he would be the third (or fourth) central midfielder behind Mikel and Onazi.

Re: Michael Olaitan

Michael Olaitan has sure come a long way from his days playing in front of a capacity crowd of 5,000 at Veria FC, to leading the lines for Olympiakos Piraeus in a round of sixteen game against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League.

2. As expected, this was always going to be tough match for him. Even in front of a vociferous home crowd, Olympiakos was never going to risk pushing runners alongside or beyond him to execute the pass and move that is his strength.

3. Secondly, without Javier Saviola, Dominguez, the Argentine midfielder, was being used as part of a high pressing game, with primary focus on disrupting United in the second stage of build up and making it difficult for its midfielders to turn.

4. This is in contrast for instance to the game against Anderlecht, where he and Saviola played interchangeably, taking turns to drop into the attacking midfield role, behind the top striker in a 4-2-3-1.

5. In assessing Olaitan, it is important to understand that first this is a versatile player, with experience in central midfield, wide midfield, central attacking midfield and striker.

6. In the striking position at Olympiakos, Olaitan is not your backs-to-goal striker. Indeed he tends to go down too easily. However, his technical skills allow him to retain some control, but not in a manner to be decisive.

7. His greatest contribution is in the positions he takes to receive the ball, his movement to create space for the arriving players and his vision and understanding of passing lanes.

8. Accordingly, and for Nigeria, it would be a mistake to see or assess him in terms of the top striker position.

9. In any case, Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi favors the physical striker, with pace and power, a profile that suits Emmanuel Emenike quite well.

10. In my considered opinion, Michael Olaitan offers a skills set, technique, vision, work rate, defensive acumen and versatility to bring added value to the Super Eagles in the central attacking midfield role, that would allow Nigeria execute a 4-2-3-1.