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.




 

Of Keshi, Assistants, NFF, Equity and Clean Hands...

On the surface of it, you would be perfectly justified in wondering why in the world a football association is engaged in a serial debate with its national team coach about appointment of his assistants.

But this is the Nigeria Football Federation we are talking about and this is a world cup year!

Hear ex-international Mobi Oparaku from an old interview:

"It was crazy. But one thing people may not know about the World Cup is that it is full of cash for the team; there's so much money available to everyone that features. The World Cup is the peak of events where you can make most money while in the national team. The coaches and the administrators know this so they bring in players that they know they can make money from" (Link).

 

The pressures around the Nigerian national team coaching position is no different from that in the average national team; a little more than some; a little less than others...

 

But what is especially different and constant is the spate of rumors and innuendoes- fair and unfair, around the position; especially when the coach is a Nigerian national, like current coach Stephen Keshi.

 

After his triumph at the last Africa Nations cup, the man was rewarded by the federation with the sack of his assistant Sylvanus Okpalla and video analyst Andyson Ogugua! Why would a federation be concerned with the backroom staff of its coach?

 

Now the federation, through its technical committee is pressuring the coach to accept new assistants, rather simply recall the fired staff!

 

Without much ado, and as little fanfare as possible, the Nigeria Football Federation should recall the fired assistants and stop the practice of creating a permanent air of dysfunction and uncertainty around its tournament teams!

 

But let there be no misunderstanding! Keshi here, is not entirely blameless.

 

First of all, Sylvanus Okpala, Andyson Ogugua, and Valere Hoaundinou are Stephen Keshi's staff. He should never have allowed a situation where they were contracted directly by the federation. He Keshi should have structured his contract in a manner to embody the costs of his backroom staff, whom he should then have hired, independent of the federation. It is his failure to do this that has presented an opportunity for a less than professional federation to repeatedly undermine him.

 

But there is more. Nigerian born Super Eagles coaches must learn that the only true buffer against a meddling federation is the insistence and maintenance of professional standards. Be it in the invitation of players; in relationships to players; in relationships to player agents. Failing to do this, they will be devoured by the very same tiger they pulled by the tail!

 

He who comes into equity must come with clean hands.

In spite of the denials by the NFF Director of Technical Department, Emmanuel Ikpeme  the issue remains. And we can tell why! Here is Mobi Oparaku again:

"At the World Cup level, everyone is interested in what he can get. In Nigeria, World Cup is about the money".....