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....

Nigeria, We have a Problem!

1. I have had a hard time reaching any conclusions about this Nigeria team at AFCON 2013, mostly because the South African organizers somehow conspired to place the team, along with current champions Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia on a pitch unfit for cattle grazing, much less football. But not anymore...
2. This is a poor, poor team. Now I recognize that these might be early days and teams do indeed grow with a tournament. What is more, the unpredictable nature of African football and the overall poor quality of the ANC is such that this team could exit the tournament at the group stage or be playing in the final rounds in a few weeks! After all a mediocre Ivorien team did become champions in 1992...
3. The Zambian approach to Nigeria was evident as early as the 4th minute, with Mayuka flashing a header wide from a gap between Onazi, in an unfamiliar right back position, and the right central defender, Omeruo.
4. They were going to challenge Nigeria for pace in defence, but appeared not to have foreseen the absence of Yobo, and the positional skills and pace of Omeruo, without doubt the best Nigerian defender on the field...
5. Based on a 4-4-2 formation, the Zambian midfielders in the non-possession phase would drop back to sit tight on the Nigerian midfield trio, while squeezing tight at the back.
6. Either from inability to hold the ball or lack of mobility in midfield, Nigeria would repeatedly play the long ball in search of Emenike especially, and the wide players Musa and Moses, rather than use the backline in the first phase of a possession game. It would take 18 minutes before the first decent through ball would get to Emenike, inevitably from Mikel...
7. On recovery of the hit-and-hope long balls Zambia would attack quickly, repeatedly dropping diagonal balls behind Echiejile and especially the clueless right back Onazi, to match the lateral movement of Mayuka and Katongo.
8. The speed of the transition game, often meant that the Nigerian wide players were not in position to offer adequate cover for the fullbacks, with Kalaba especially, finding space to repeatedly attack an exposed Onazi on multiple occasions.
9. Against the run of play, Nigeria would get a penalty, missed by Mikel on 19 minutes. Ten minutes later, the Nigerian coach would be sighted urging greater effort from his players...Three minutes later, a 2nd through ball would get to the anonymous Igiebor from Onazi to earn a corner kick...
10. Straight from the corner, Zambia counter. Echiejile is out of position,,,34mins, Oboabona attempts to pass from the back; straight to an opponent, he fouls; yellow card! From the ensuing freekick, Sunzu finds a gap between Onazi and Omeruo but heads wide...
11. 37mins: Katongo drops into midfield and drags Echiejile out of position, ball is played in gap to Chisamba who attempts to drive into the Nigerian box; blocked by the hardworking Ogude. 39mins: long ball by Mikel to Emenike; comes to nothing...41mins: Kalaba isolates Onazi; through ball to Mayuka blocked by Omeruo. 45mins: Kalaba, wide left, counters, with Onazi isolated; poor delivery...
12. As the game wears on, the Nigerian attack is sustained entirely by long balls and the muscular endeavours of Emmanuel Emenike. The two wide players, Musa and Moses, both hug the flanks, neither attempting to run diagonally at the Zambian defence or push up to attack any flick ons by Emenike. On 42mins, Moses would drift centrally to receive the ball, create space and deliver a through pass to Emenike. That would be his only meaningful contribution in the game..Musa would see more of the ball; his runs would promise a lot, but deliver little of consequence...
13. 48mins: long ball misjudged by Sunzu; Emenike muscles his way through to release Musa- poor cross/shot evades Emenike...49mins: Mikel runs at defence from central midfield to release Emenike; shot blocked by Sunzu...51mins: Onazi runs diagonally from right back to release Emenike; blocked by Sunzu..53mins: Kalaba evades isolated Onazi, ball is worked left to right and to Mayuka; shot is blocked by Echiejile to appeals for handball..
14. 56mins: Almost from nothing Nigeria score as Mikel catches Chisamba in possession to put Emenike through....It would appear briefly like the balance of the game would change...On 67mins, the three Nigerian central midfielders would exchange passes briefly in an advanced position. It would be the first sustained sequence of passing between them in the entire game!
15. But Zambia reshuffle to attack more centrally, introducing Mulenga, Mbesuma and Sakawuha. The formation is now a 4-3-3, with Sakawuha wide right, and Mayuka and Mbesuma taking turns to drift wide to the left or drop back from the penalty area, ensuring a greater penalty box presence...
16. A sweeping five player move in central midfield would release Kalaba, running unchallenged behind Onazi, but his shot is blocked by Enyeama. Kalaba would break free twice more in space behind Onazi, once finding Mbesuma in acres of space, only for the striker to shoot tamely. And when the goal came, it would inevitably be from the right side of the Nigerian defence...
17. Clearly a soft penalty decision, but it was nonetheless a foul by Onazi who appeared to be unaware where he was at the time. It was no more than Zambia deserved to be honest...
18. It would take 75mins for Nigeria to make the first change, with Nwankwo coming in for Igiebor. How the Betis man lasted that long is beyond me! At some point the Nigerian bench appeared unsure who to substitute! But the basic shape of the team would remain unchanged, and the long balls in search of Emenike's muscular expressions will continue...
19. When will this misery end....

Preview of Nigeria-Zambia: 4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1

1. The major focus of Nigeria following the opening match was the manner of concession of the Burkinabe equalizer with barely a minute left to play.

 

I think this is a mistake....

While it is true that greater professionalism in the final minute of the game could have won the match, there was a lot more wrong with the team than that.

 

2. My major concern as it builds up to the next match against Zambia is the structure of the team in midfield, while employing a 4-3-3 formation.

 

3. The major responsibility for winning back the ball in midfield was placed on Fengor Ogude, who missed most of the Norwegian season as a result of injury, and before this had not played a competitive game in months. His match fitness was always going to be an issue and it showed as he repeatedly struggled to come to terms with the pace of the game, leading to several late tackles.

 

4. Mikel Obi's role was clearly more expansive than his Chelsea role. In assuming a more creative role, his major arsenal was a variety of the targeted long balls to exploit the pace of Musa, Ideye and Emenike.

 

5. With such a passing range, I am unsure the wisdom and efficacy of such a general role that had him move around the field in several advanced positions, which often left several undefended zones behind the central midfield and put increased pressure on Ogude. Whats more it directly created gaps behind the central midfield that Pitroipa and Alain Traore repeatedly exploited and led to Ambrose and Echiejile being exposed..

 

6. In my opinion he could have accomplished the same goals, while retaining his typical position in the Chelsea midfield, and thus allow the team maintain its defensive integrity in the non-possession phase.

 

7. What is more, Fengor Ogude is more a box-to-box central midfielder than a defensive midfielder, and his greatest attributes neither lie in reading opposition movements and passing nor his tactical discipline.

 

8. Instead he is a vertical midfielder whose energy and hard grafting will get him up and down the field, as well as break into the box on a late run to score the odd goal.

 

9. Ditto for Emmanuel Onazi.

 

10. On the other hand, Nosa Igiebor is not your classic playmaking midfielder who can play between the lines and orchestrate attacking moves and create goal scoring opportunities. While his best position is northside of both Onazi and Ogude's, his greatest strength is in driving the ball at the opposition defence from open play in midfield.

 

11. Against this background, it would appear to me that Nigeria would be better served by a double pivot in midfield and the use of a 4-2-3-1 formation.

 

12. This would allow Mikel help the team keep its shape in the non-possession phase, while retaining his creative role, but from a deeper position. It would also provide a platform for either Ogude or Onazi to be more vertical and thus play to their real strengths.

 

13. In turn it would require the three players behind a lone striker to play more behind the ball. But more importantly, it would create a platform for Igiebor to take up positions in the zone a typical trequartista would operate in.

 

14. In the opening game, Zambia struggled to come to terms with an athletic Ethiopian team playing with massed ranks behind the ball. Against Nigeria, I suspect a return to roots of some sort, with greater emphasis on the counter, especially if Chisamba Lungu does not recover from his injury.

 

15. I expect greater use of Katongo in dropping into gaps behind the central midfield, as well as greater lateral movement from the strikers behind the fullbacks.

 

16. This would bring to an even greater relief, the need for attention to the details of Nigeria's tactical organization.