13 Jul 2009 |
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Since the end of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, a new awareness appears to be in the air, with Nigerian football fans finally acknowledging that there is a lot wrong with our Super Eagles. After watching the flair and flamboyance of the teams we hope to face in South Africa next year compared with the pedestrian way we play, it has become clear that something drastic needs to be done.
It has not been lost on anybody that our main problem lies in midfield, where our Super Eagles simply lack any creativity. After having watched the dazzling brilliance with which the likes of Kaka and Robinho delivered the Confederations Cup for Brazil and the way in which Mohammed Aboutreika and Mohammed Shawky marshalled the Pharaoh’s midfield, it is clear to even the blind that we have chronic problems. True to style, a panic has begun with all sorts of suggestions being made with everyone from amateur coaches to former players coming up with all sorts of suggestions. As will always be the case when this happens, some are sensible suggestions, some are hair-brained ideas and some of the talk simply needs to be confined to the lunatic asylum. One suggestion that attracted my attention out of the plethora of ideas being bandied about was the one put forward by former Eagles winger Adokie Amesiemeka. Known as Chief Justice during his playing days, Adokie was one of Nigeria’s genuine world class players, who in today’s game would be up there with the Okochas and the Kanus. To top up his footballing brilliance, our Chief Justice also happens to have a law degree, which has ensured that he has remained a celebrity even at the end of his playing days. It was as such no surprise that his comments about bringing Austin Okocha back to man our midfield for the remaining World Cup qualification matches became immediate front page news. Once Chief Justice made the comments, they were picked up by other informed commentators including former Nigerian Football Association chairman, Ibrahim Galadima, former Super Eagles head coach Austin Eguavoen and a host of others. Some are for JJ’s return and others are against it. No one, however, has so far provided the necessary depth to the debate that it requires. Simplifying the argument, our problem at the moment is that we lack a playmaker. From the mid 1990s until a few years ago, we had two of Africa’s best playmakers in Wilson Oruma and Austin Okocha. Unfortunately for Nigeria, they came along at the same time and as such grew old at the same time. With both of them now way beyond playing football at the highest level, we have a huge vacuum to fill. I am yet to know of a team that ever won anything without a creative playmaker in its midfield, so if we have any serious ambitions regarding 2010, this matter has to be given top priority. All those clamouring for the return of Okocha and Oruma are simply trying to defy the laws of nature. In your mid to late 30s you simply cannot operate as a playmaker in the modern game. The physical demands of the task are way beyond what your body can offer. What we need to do is get over this nostalgia of the past and look for a young playmaker who can marshal our midfield next year. At the moment, we have Uche Kalu of Almeira, who although a good player, has been found wanting in our last two competitive games against Kenya and Tunisia. We need back-up at the very least. What head coach Amodu Shaibu should be doing now is spending 90 per cent of his time looking at the young prospects who can take over this role. He should eat, sleep, think, dream, walk and sing playmakers. We have a long list to choose from including Lukman Haruna of Monaco in France; Rabiu Ibrahim of Sporting Lisbon in Portugal; Nduka Ozokwo of Nice in France; Rafael Ademola of the Westor Academy; Solomon Owello of IK Start in Norway; Efosa Eguakun of El-Masry in Egypt and Chris Obodo of Udinese in Italy. Add Uche Kalu to the mix and we have eight playmakers. Amodu has to go through this list and pick the best two or three for the September game against Tunisia. It is clear that creativity is our problem and the coach has resolve the matter. Anything short of this is dereliction of duty. Unfortunately for football fans, this is a very nostalgic game, so there is always the temptation to hark back to the past. It is as a result of this that people are currently going on about Okocha and Oruma without even giving a thought to the fact that some of the youngsters coming through might even be better. From what I saw of the way Yemi Tella used Rabiu, Ademola and Haruna, this trio have the talent to attain the dizzy heights Okocha, Zidane, Rivaldo, Kaka, Robinho, Veron, Riquelme, Totti, etc reached. Having confidence in your young players is one of the hallmarks of a good manager, so introducing these youngsters into the team should be a yardstick by which we judge Amodu. In 1993, Clemence Westerhoff defied the whole world by dropping the old guard or so-called “experienced” players and bringing in the likes of Okocha, Oliseh, Amokachi and Ammunike. We all saw what he achieved by using these much more talented youngsters in place of ageing names. It is up to our coaching crew to decide if they are interested in winning silverware or not. Winning will entail taking bold and brave decisions, dropping big name players and looking for team chemistry rather than picking who are simply the best 11 players. From what we saw in Maputo and Tunis, Amodu went for what he regarded as the best 11 players, blind to any consideration about how they would jell together as a team. Starting the game in Maputo with only two men in midfield and playing away to Tunisia without a natural targetman who can hold the ball up were just plain daft. We have had so many of such gaffes lately that it is no longer amusing. If we are really interested in competing for the World Cup rather than just participating in it, we have to understand the dynamics of how a team works. If we do not unearth a natural playmaker before the September game against Tunisia in Abuja, we have no right to complain if we do not get the result we want. With the Nigerian Football Federation planning a friendly in August, Amodu has a perfect opportunity to try out these players and pick the best man for the job against Tunisia. Who ends up wearing that number 10 shirt will be key to Nigeria’s footballing fortunes over the next 12 months.
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