Nigeria, Confederations Cup and the Super Eagles

The Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 begins from June 13-30, with Nigeria set to test its mettle against South American champions Uruguay, world and European champions Spain and the part timers of Tahiti. Unfortunately, key players such as Emenike and Moses are unavailable through injury.

 

Since the surprise triumph at the Africa Nations Cup, the team has grown in confidence, but the football has not always kept pace with its status as continental champions.

 

Post AFCON, six new players have joined the project: midfielders John Ogu and Emeka Eze, and forwards, Joseph Akpala, Michael Babatunde, Mohammed Gambo and Anthony Ujah; while Odumadi returns after injuries had earlier delayed his debut in the team.

 

National teams typically grow from enhanced team spirit arising from playing together, and Keshi has been especially proficient in developing this.

 

Beyond this, national teams especially grow from competition arising from the infusion of new talents who introduce new skills sets that enable the team grow and expand the dimensions of its game. For instance, the introduction of Sunny Oliseh to Clemence Westerhof's team in 1993, enabled Nigeria to expand the scope of its game and the quality of its tactical organization, beyond what Emeka Ezeugo before then offered.

 

Unfortunately this has not been the case with Keshi's team, although results have remained positive, but with the performance level never advancing beyond the Nation's cup standard, which in itself was average, as has been the last two or three tournaments.

 

While John Ogu looks an interesting addition, with the skills set to enable the team slow down the game when necessary and exert greater control in central midfield, the same can hardly be said of the players from the Nigerian league, in which Keshi's strategy is heavily invested.

 

There is a sense that Nigeria's national team handlers have not always kept pace with the development of its players in national team invitations. Too often emerging young players are made to go through the youth teams, even when their standards belong to the full international game or in some cases overlooked altogether.

 

It is ironic that Anthony Ujah whom I had discussed here a few years ago is only now making his national team debut, incidentally at a time he is working to rediscover his game!

 

In the just concluded European season, there was no better Nigerian forward than Imoh Ezekiel, whose pace, variety of movement and the vision to find space in the penalty area is beyond that of any current Nigerian forward. Yet he does not begin to get in the conversation, even where there is space for a Joseph Akpala, who like Ujah is seeking to rediscover his game after years of stasis.

 

In some cases, certain players who at first appeared to have been prematurely capped, have now been dropped at a time they have started to make significant progress in their careers . I speak here of Raheem Lawal whom I had earlier criticized here. His performances for Mersin İdmanyurdu in the Turkish Liga, along with the wide midfielder Nduka Ozokwo is a clear indicator of the talent which attracted the national team handlers in the first instance.

 

While Keshi's use of homebased players is truly commendable and should bring attention to the domestic game, the returns from this approach, relative to the scale of the project, has been at best paltry, with only Oboabona and Mba making any impact.

 

While his heroics at AFCON, the verticality of his game, speed and ability to get in the penalty area suggest that a talented player resides in him, Sunday Mba's overall game remains limited, as increasingly is his contribution to the team. Hopefully the enhanced exposure should enable him take his game to Europe.

 

The invitation of Gambo Mohammed may be commendable and should enhance his career development prospects, it is hard to see how this advances the national team at this time, given the level he plays at, and the opportunity foregone in not inviting an Ezekiel Imoh...

 

While I am a believer in second chances, it is hard to see the basis for the persistence in the lateral defenders, Solomon Kwambe and Francis Benjamin after repeated poor performances, especially given the opportunity foregone in not inviting a Daniel Adejo (Reggiana) or Leon Balogun (Dusseldorf).

 

What this evidences is a lack of consistency and clarity in strategy. The result is that the team is not developing viable and competitive options and the team's bench lacks players whose quality can enable the coach change a game when necessary.

 

On the technical side, the tactical formulation that led to success at AFCON has had its weaknesses exposed severally, first by a mediocre Kenyan team, and recently Mexico...

 

The lack of organization in the non-possession phase of the game was brutally and repeatedly exposed by Mexico until had a player sent off. Again and again, the lack of cover for the defence in wide areas was palpable, as is Oboabona's lack of positional awareness.

 

In midfield, the team's dependence on Mikel Obi is self evident, as is the over dependence on the raking long balls behind the opposing defence. Yet the adjustments in terms of tactics and the development of new options appears not to be keeping pace.

 

It is in this context that the Confederations cup should be a good barometer for measuring the standard of the team and the rebuilding project.  In the absence of any embarrassing result, this should be the primary value of this tournament and the metrics for assessing performance.

 

 

Squad:

Goalkeepers: 23-Chigozie Agbim (Enugu Rangers), 16-Austin Ejide (Hapoel Beer Sheva), 1-Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

Defenders: 5-Efe Ambrose (Celtic), 21-Francis Benjamin (Heartland FC), 3-Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga), 6-Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), 12-Solomon Kwambe, 2-Godfrey Oboabona (both Sunshine Stars), 22-Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag)

Midfielders: 18-Emeka Eze (Enugu Rangers), 10-John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), 13-Fegor Ogude (Valerenga), 4-John Ogu (Academica Coimbra), 17-Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), 19-Sunday Mba (Enugu Rangers)

Forwards: 9-Joseph Akpala (Werder Bremen), 15-Michael Babatunde (FC Kryvbas), 11-Muhammad Gambo (Kano Pillars), 8-Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kiev), 7-Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), 20-Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese), 14-Anthony Ujah (FC Cologne)

Thoughts on the Nigeria-Mexico Match...

The Nigeria Mexico game unfolded in four phases:

 

In the first phase of the game, Nigeria was at sea and Mexico passed the ball around the Super Eagles and working the ball and players between the lines with fluidity and increasing ease, creating more chances than I've seen them do in the entirety of 2013.

 

In the second phase of the game, with Mexico down to 10-men Nigeria dominated and were very good in maximizing the numerical advantage, mostly by keeping the game wide and stretched, and pushing Ambrose high, with the long diagonal ball repeatedly finding him in acres of space.

 

This continued in the third phase of the game, which was the first part of the 2nd half. But Mexico even in this phase continued to find the occasional gaps in Nigeria's midfield and defence.

 

In the fourth phase, Mexico reshaped, playing more of a 3-4-2, with and dominated as Nigeria increasingly tired, with players cramping...

 

The real concern for me from this game is the weakness of the Nigerian organization. The ease with which Mexico played through the Super Eagles in the 1st phase should be a matter for concern by the teams handlers..

 

Personnel wise, no real surprises...John Ogu in his first start showed good signs but as I've often stated he is slow and was often susceptible to high pressing by Mexico in the first phase of the game.

 

On the whole, I'm not sure if the idea behind the friendly was wise and well thought out, given the long distance the team had to travel and are due to travel even more in the next four weeks. Perhaps from a commercial perspective it was worth it, but from a football angle, I am doubtful...

Re: National Technical Director

I found it interesting that Shaibu Amodu's first pronouncement as national technical director (NTD) was to speak about the Super Eagles.

The comments on their own are of little value with respect to this piece. But it bears serious significance to my long held fears about a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of the NTD and its strategic importance to the reactivation of the Nigerian domestic game.

The job of the NTD is to develop and implement programs to enhance the domestic game, not to run around the national team and make excuses, however valid, for the national team coach...

Successive Nigerian coaches, from James Peters to Kashimawo Laloko and Adegboyega Onigbinde, have repeatedly used this position, not to advance the Nigerian game but to pursue the lure that is the national team. Indeed, the controversies surrounding the Super Eagles at the AFCON in Mali in 2000, were in part the result of Onigbinde's involvement with the team rather than his actual job!

The NTD job is in reality a very demanding and very important job and not every coach is equipped to do this. All of the people who have held this job in the past have been unable to resist the lure of the SE, sadly including Onigbinde who is probably the most informed of the lot about this role...as well as Laloko who should really know better. And sadly, it appears Amodu is about to join this crowd...

For the avoidance of doubt, the key issues for the NTD to focus on are legion and some of them are as follows:

- How to reactivate football clubs as the primary institutional structure for football in Nigeria;
- Reactivation of the NPL
- Youth football, including the role of and regulation of the nascent academies
- Development of coaches, club managers and referees; training and continuing professional development
- policies/regulations on infrastructures, especially playing pitches.

This is the one position that a case could've been made for an exprienced expartriate like a Gerard Houllier or Pep Segura to help elevate the position and bring serious attention and resources to it..

I hope I'm wrong but I doubt Amodu can do it...

What is worse is perhaps the decision to place the NTD in a supervisory position over the Super Eagles coach. I am yet to see any similar situation in world football where a senior national team coach is directly subject to supervision on technical matters, in the same manner as youth team coaches. It is in effect a decision that depends on the benevolence and discipline of Amodu to find the balance between supervision and interference.

Let there be no misunderstanding, the Super Eagles is the apex of the national game. It stands to reason therefore that the key technical and systemic issues that affect the team lie at the grassfoots of the game.

That is where Amodu's work lies

Re: Anthony Ujah

Anthony Ujah's invitation to the national team by coach Stephen Keshi, perhaps marks the turning point in a young career that seemed destined for the very top in the summer of 2011.

At the end of his stay in the modest Norwegian Tippeligaen club, Lillestrøm, it appeared at times Ujah could do no wrong in front of goal! In some sense this was to lead to unrealistic expectations and comparisons to the departing Andre Schurrle, in his new club FSV Mainz 05, and undue pressure on a player who had just over one season in European football.

His misadventure at Mainz and the lack of support from the manager, Thomas Tuschel was to erode much of the confidence of the player and the loan move to FC Koln has been a career saver.

Today, the player has rediscovered some of the form that earned him near cult status at Lillestrom, but not nearly enough. At the end of his stay in Norway, he had increasingly improved his overall game outside the penalty area, dropping into midfield as well as in recieving and holding up play with back to goal, or in playing over the shoulder of the last defender, as well as in his lateral movement.

At Koln however, he has had to somewhat adapt his game, especially with the limitations of the team's midfield, and is today more a vertical striker, whose tremendous vertical leap makes him a constant threat at the end of a deep cross. The result is that his overall game is yet to hit the heights it did at the end of his stay at Lillestrom. His best games, in terms of overall contribution to offense this season, has often come when Adil Chihi has been in the Koln lineup....

I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect he is not quite ready for the Super Eagles, and would need the active support of the national team handlers to incrementally wean him into the team and put him in the best position to enhance his abilities.

For starters, the Super Eagles handlers would need to be more creative in the design of the attacking game to avoid some of the constraints Obafemi Martins had in the match against Kenya. In this regard, the delivery from midfield should look to more balls to his feet, in space, which would ultimately enhance the unpredictability and effectiveness of the long balls when he plays at the shoulder of the last defender.

Overall, this is a player whose game is based on movement, but yet retains considerable aerial threat in the penalty area with his vertical leap. On the defensive side, he is very good at high pressing...

Technically, he has a better rounded skills set, as a mobile striker, than Ideye Brown or Emenike and would most probably work better with Brown than the latter. Out wide, his best starting position would be on the left, which enables him run diagonally to arrive in the penalty area on his stronger right foot. His close control and ability in tight spaces is however not as good as Brown or Emenike.

A fluid, high tempo attacking game, involving movement with ball in space and constant switching amongst the attacking trio would most suit his talents.

Re: Godfrey Oboabona

Nigerian central defender Godfrey Oboabona is probably the poster boy for Stephen Keshi's homebased approach for rebuilding the Super Eagles.

There is little doubt that his rise has been meteoric. And for a player who has had no more than two years of football at any decent level, his performance has been commendable.

What is more, he brings considerable pace to the position, an asset that is hard to overlook in a central defender.

At the same time though, his game relies almost entirely on his athleticism to compensate for his sometimes woeful positioning and reading of the game. In my opinion, this portends considerable danger to the Super Eagles.

In addition to the above, his passing from the back and ability to play out of defence is less than average, as is his hit-and-hope long balls from defence. Against Zambia, his attempt to play out of the back gifted the Zambians a counterattacking opportunity which luckily was not converted.

Luckily, at the Nations Cup, the primary demands of his game from the opponent was largely physical, and he and the excellent Omeruo dealt with these as required. Yet there were repeated instances where his poor reading of the game and positioning would expose the team, but the familiar lack of quality in attack at the Nations cup often meant that these went unpunished.

The recent match against Kenya illustrates this vividly:

As Nigeria chased the game in the second half, Kenya would initiate what was probably the best chance of the second half, and its best, and perhaps only successful counterattacking move.

Kabuli picks up the ball from his own half.

Nigerian right back Kwambe approaches him as he crosses into the Nigerian half. Note the beginnings of Oliech's diagonal run, with Omeruo shadowing him. Note Oboabona's position behind the two..

As Oliech peels wide to receive the ball, Kabouli continues his run. Note again Oboabona's position.

Oliech plays him through with a reverse pass, behind Omeruo whose momentum means he has no chance to cut out the pass, with Kwambe's snail paced reaction, leaving him absolutely for dead!

Kabouli is through on goal....

 

He has a 1v1 with Enyeama and the nearest Nigerian is Omeruo, who ended up covering both Oliech and Kabouli!

There are similar examples from AFCON, including the final match...

The point here is not to question Oboabona's impressive achievements within a very short period, but to draw attention to the need for continued development of the player, at least until one of his proposed moves to Europe comes to fruition.

It is also made to draw attention to the need for enhanced competition for places in the team, especially with Apam beginning to show signs of full recovery.

Kenya Issues Nigeria an Early Warning Signal

Watching several games in the latest round of African World Cup Qualifiers (AWCQ) reinforces my views on the poor state of the African game. An urgent situation which if not seriously addressed, could see the continent perform even worse than it did in South Africa...

While it was good to see Cameroon return to winning ways, the dysfunction in the team remains and makes this a powder keg situation which needs to be addressed once and for all...

There are two ways of looking at Nigeria's 1-1 draw with Kenya:

One way is to see it simply as a 'bad day at the office'; a blip; a minor setback which could've been avoided with a little luck in front of goal...This assumes that Nigeria created numerous chances, a position that is not supported by any evidence, except the 'Ernest Okonkwo metric' for determinig what constitutes a chance!

The other way is to recognize this as:

(a) an early warning signal of the reality that as African champions, many a continental opponent will set up to play us as the Kenyans did, by primarily seating deep in massed numbers and attacking on the counter; and

(b) that our system of play which is largely based on the  mid to long diagonal ball from midfield, and the ability of our wide players to dominate in 1v1 situations, will struggle against an opponent seating deep in numbers.

Contrary to what many might think, I do not think Nigeria played any better or badly than it did in many of the games from the quarter finals on at AFCON, notwithstanding the poor games by Martins and Mba. Indeed in the general scheme of things, the result is a mere blip, as Nigeria will qualify from the group. My concern is with the performance..

The problem is that unlike in the games against CIV and others, Kenya was not leaving too many gaps behind; there was no Tamboura left isolated at left back to be turned inside out by Moses and the excellent Wynama was screening play superbly in front of his central defenders.

The reality is that the delivery from midfield needed to be different. First because Martins, rather than the burly Emenike was the fulcrum of the attack, and his hold up play with back to goal is different, and typically involves receipt of the ball in space in midfield to first drag out the centerbacks, then attack the space vacated behind at pace with the combination pass.

First the delivery to him was often the long ball in a crowded penalty area, which exposed his physical limitations, as compared to Emenike.

Secondly, even when he dropped into midfield, the corresponding movement around him was lacking, as was the passing and the speed of release of the ball. The situation was made worse by the movement of Ideye and Moses, who were often too isolated from Martins and not making the vertical runs into the box to attack the space he had created. This lack of verticality in movement was especially lacking from midfield. When Nigeria did attack with the combination play, the flow of the game tended to move to the right, where Martins typically runs towards his stronger left...

But let there be no misunderstanding; this is not by any means an attempt to excuse Martins from what was a poor performance. Ironically, he began brightly in terms of his movement, but appeared to give up too soon, when the play around him failed to develop.

The lesson of this game is that the Nigerian tactical formulation that led to the AFCON title in South Africa is simple to the point of being simplistic and needs rigorous reinforcement, especially in the light of the fact that as continental champions, many an African opponent will stress defence first in games against the Super Eagles.

The Nigerian bench needs to be especially commended for the character and mentality of the team, as evidenced in the manner in which they fought until the very end. What is more, the fact that two debutants, John Ogu and Nnamdi Odumadi integrated almost seamlessly into the setup, speaks volumes of the team spirit.

However, the coaching crew failed to make adjustments in the system of play, which left the team repeatedly lobbing aerial bombs at a packed Kenyan defence, and failing to translate dominant possession into any cutting edge in the last third. Even the opportunity to press high at the Kenyan defence when it foolishly tried to play the ball out of defence with no real outlets, was largely spurned in the first half...

While Martins' performance is the obvious focus of attention, equally disappointing was the lack of leadership by Mikel Obi, especially given his experience and profile in the game.

Related to this is a point I made here a few years back (Link). I am convinced that the team will be better for it, not just now but in the long run.

John Ogu and Nnamdi Odumadi made brief but impactful debuts, especially the latter who got the goal. John Ogu could be an interesting option for the team, giving it balance in central midfield to the left of Mikel, especially given the continued absence of Joel Obi. My concern for him though is with his pace...

The decision to invite both players reflects a very positive move by Keshi in continued development of the team. It is my hope that he and his crew continue in this regard, especially with options in defence like Leon Balogun at Dusseldorf, and the oft mentioned Sidney Sam...

How Nigeria Beat Ivory Coast...

I've been struggling for time and very nearly missed the game. In fact posting from Pepboys after a breakdown on the road...Car shop screwed me up first, then gave me a dud replacement vehicle which then broke down on the road with my black butt freezing on the roadside..

 

Quickly, the key issue  in my humble opinion is what seems like the eventual recognition by the coaching crew of the qualities of the players they have, and not the ones they wish they had, especially in midfield.

 

Rather than struggle to use a playmaker, they seem to have finally recognized that what we have are vertical central midfielders, with Mikel as anchor, who has no need wandering upfield when he can influence attckin play from deep.

 

The second point is the expanded role of Emenike especially and Moses, which has rendered Musa surplus. The positions taken by Emenike in the game was brilliant. By taking up attacking positions in right central midfield, as well as out wide, it enabled the team vary its passes from midfield and defence. But in some ways this was constrained, or rather could have been even better if the team had a genuine right back with the pace to stretch play and attack the space created by Emenike's movement.

 

With three central midfielders, the Nigerian team essentially played a trivote, with a base 4-3-3 formation that would transit to a 4-3-2-1.

 

For the first time in the tournament, Moses really showed his true qualities, which is not your traditional winger, but a central winger, beginning from wide, but attacking the inside of the fullbacks, as well as drifting to the center to play from behind the lone striker.

 

Brown Ideye worked hard as the lone striker but can do better, especially in his lateral movement. I think that Moses especially needs to play more to Ideye's strengths and the team as a whole can use his qualities in running from the blindside of the central defenders.

 

This was easily the first complete performance of the Super Eagles under Stephen Keshi. For me, the best testimony from the game was that no one player stood out- the entire team did!

 

Once again, Omeruo proved his consistency, and has increasingly become vocal. But I do worry for Oboabona and the tendency of Echiejile to lose focus and stray out of position.

 

Against Mali, I look forward to the return of Ogude as part of the trivote...

 

Now my misery is dissapearing fast....