I had the opportunity to catch Nigeria’s friendly against Switzerland last Tuesday – my first viewing of the Super Eagles under Berti Vogts – so I figure it’s as good a time as any to put down my thoughts on the team, or at least that game, and begin looking ahead to the Nations Cup Finals.
Taiye Taiwo settled the match with a typical thunderous strike from 20 yards, yet neither side could have drawn any kind of conclusions from a largely sluggish affair on a chilly night in Zurich.
For one thing, neither side was at full strength. The Swiss – no superpowers but good enough to reach the World Cup 2nd round last year – were without many of their better known stars: Phillipe Senderos, Alexander Frei, Patrick Muller and Marco Streller.
The Eagles were hardly at full strength either. It’s hard to determine what Berti Vogts considers his first choice eleven – assuming he has his mind made up – but one can safely assume that a Nigerian line-up without captain Nwankwo Kanu, vice-captain Joseph Yobo, midfield marvel Mikel Obi and top striker Obafemi Martins, is not exactly full strength. And I haven’t even mentioned John Utaka, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Vincent Enyeama and Chidi Odiah – players I would consider possible starters.
Even so, Eagles’ supporters – ever expecting the world – would have been looking for a convincing win, or at the least, a performance better than the reportedly shoddy show against Australia four days earlier (I didn’t see that game).
The Eagles lined up in what, nominally, looked like a 4-3-3 formation:
Ejide – Emeghara, Shittu, Nwaneri, Taiwo – Okonkwo, Ayila, Etuhu – Odemwingie, Makinwa, Uche.
Yet, as the game progressed, they seemed to morph into a 4-4-2/4-3-1-2 hybrid, with Odemwingie – captain on the day – attacking from deep, at times in the midfield role usually filled by the now retired JayJay Okocha, at other times filling the hole-behind-the strikers a la Nwankwo Kanu.
Not that this was a bad performance against admittedly sub-par opponents. The Eagles certainly had their moments. They started the stronger of the two sides – dominating the first 20 minutes without really troubling the Swiss goal. Etuhu had a long range effort tipped round the post and Odemwingie, looking pretty sharp, saw his dipping free kick parried for a corner kick.
Then they lost their way a little in the latter part of the first half, conceding possession far too easily and creating little in attack. The Swiss had the better chances early in the second half but Ejide saved from Yakin and Djourou, and Okonkwo cleared another effort off the line.
The Eagles settled after that though, and were clearly the better side for the last 30 minutes. Uche came very close with a lob after Makinwa’s flicked header, but it took the introduction of Obinna to give the Eagles the breakthrough. His first touch was the lobbed pass from which Odemwingie set up Taiwo for the winner, and that was that.
Mission accomplished, but….the Eagles’ performance left me wondering if Vogts’ masterplan could deliver the kind of results Nigeria fans will be hankering for come January. Or maybe the right question is if he can pick the right players to make his tactics work. Yes, I know the personnel will probably be vastly different by the time the Nations Cup kick off, but still…
Here are my concerns:
The three man midfield did a fine job of shielding Shittu and Nwaneri in defence, but it also left the team severely lacking in invention and width. The one midfielder who could play wide was Odemwingie, and though he played centrally, his free role enabled him to carve out a few crosses. One would expect that the narrow midfield would open up the flanks for the full backs to attack, but it wasn’t until the second half that Emeghara and even the usually adventurous Taiwo managed to venture forward with any purpose. In addition, while the Eagles deprived the Swiss room to play in the middle of the park, they hampered their own ability to move the ball as well – too many bodies in a confined space. It was often confusing to figure out which of Ayila and Etuhu was anchoring the midfield.
Without wide players, and with the full backs seating back, it was left to the strikers to create width by chasing passes into the corners. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – provided you have midfielders arriving in the box to finish off the crosses. Too often, Uche’s crosses were aimed for his strike partner, Makinwa, isolated in a box full of Swiss defenders. Other than that, the Eagles just tried to bully their way down the middle or lumped long balls forward for Makinwa and Uche to battle for.
For a team playing three men in midfield, ball possession is particularly important. For one thing, if the opposing team plays 4 in midfield you don’t want the 3 midfielders chasing after them all day. That’ll be a recipe for failure. In addition, they need to dictate possession in order to give the full backs ample time to get forward down the flanks and keep the pressure on the opposing team. The best 4-3-3 teams are masters at keeping the ball – watch Barcelona or Mourinho’s Chelsea. The Eagles midfield certainly didn’t keep the ball well against Switzerland, easily coughing up possession time and again. Vogts has already confessed that his midfield needs more work – or new personnel. He can certainly do better than what was on show here.
Tactics – or their execution – apart, let’s talk about the players.
GK. Austin Ejide – Messed up a decent enough performance with one dropped corner kick. Otherwise, he proved a competent shot stopper and read the game well, coming off his line to stop a goal attempt in the first half.
RB. Ifeanyi Emeghara - defended very well; quick and smart, but did little on the attacking end – understandable for a converted centre-back. But will need to attack more if he wants the job.
LB Taiye Taiwo - decent performance, impressively highlighted with a stunning goal. His positioning has improved over the past couple of seasons, and I liked his passes down the left flank, but – in the absence of wide midfielders - he needs to get forward more.
CB Obinna Nwaneri – Defended well, but careless in possession. Over-complicated simple passes and gave the ball away far too easily.
CB Danny Shittu - Sound positioning– I was impressed with the way he cut off the angles – but a little subtlety and guile, and better ball distribution, would help his game no end.
MF Dickson Etuhu – Played with energy and aggression, breaking up many Swiss attacks with his ceaseless running. A bit too clumsy for my liking though, giving away needless fouls, and I wasn’t crazy about his distribution either.
MF Yusuf Ayila – Struggled to impose himself on this game. Strong defensively and showed good distribution early on but disappeared in the midfield crowd as the game wore on.
MF Onyekachi Okonkwo – Was anonymous for most of the first half. I expected more creativity from him but he never really got going.
F Osaze Odemwingie – The pick of the lot. Was excellent in roving role behind the strikers, and his great first touch and close control prompted the best attacking moves.
F Ayo Makinwa –.Showed little aggression, had no idea in one-on-one situations and was simply too predictable. Had his moments but missed a couple of free headers, gave up possession too easily.
F Ikechukwu Uche - Direct, aggressive and eager to take on defenders, but often tried to do too much, and faded as the game wore on.
F Victor Obinna – Full of purpose, fight and invention in his 20 minutes on the pitch. Replaced Uche and set up the only goal with an impressive run and excellent pass after just one minute on the pitch.
F Manasseh Ishiaku – Didn’t really get into the game after replacing Makinwa in the 67th minute.
F Seyi Olofinjana – Came on for Ayila in a like-for-like substitution. Strong defensively, and used the ball well.
FB Rabiu Afolabi – Replaced an injured Taiwo late on. Wasn’t on long enough to make an impression.
In all, of the 15 players on show, only 4 convinced me they could fight for a starting place in a full strength Super Eagles – Shittu, Taiwo, Odemwingie and Obinna.
What would be really useful now would be a chance to see Vogts’ first choice team in action. As to what that team will look like, your guess is as good as mine and chances are we won’t know until the Eagles reach Ghana in January. But I’ll definitely be sharing my thoughts about Berti Vogts and the Eagles’ Nations Cup squad in the weeks ahead.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
England Loving Africans
I did mention my intention to dive into African Nations Cup talk in my last post and something that really struck me as I started getting into that mode was the sheer number of African players playing in the English Premiership.
Sure, it’s no big deal these days to find three or four Africans featured in any Premiership game, but those of you who, like yours truly, have followed the English game for more than 20 years must just marvel at how common place the African player has become in England’s top division.
Actually, forget about African players, black players were still a novelty in England back in the late 70’s. You could count the number of black players in the top flight on the fingers of one hand back in the day. Heck, I can even name them – Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson, Viv Anderson, Howard Gayle, Chris Houghton, Garth Brooks, Justin Fashanu…Okay, maybe a little more than five, but you get the picture.
Of course, these were the days when some yahoos subscribed to the insulting notion that “black players are lazy”. I can only imagine what they must have thought about African players. I can still recall watching the Tottenham Hotspurs of the day – circa. 1984 – and swelling with pride at the sight of John Chiedozie flying down the right wing, the first Nigerian player to make a mark in England, and the one black African face on display in the entire top division.
Ah, the good old days. Seems like a lifetime ago now, with Africans performing creditably week in and week out in the rough and tumble of the Premiership. Consider this: Of the 20 clubs in the Premiership this season, only one – champions Manchester United – have no African players on their books. Contrast that to 1979, when Justin Fashanu and Bruce Grobelaar were the only Africans in the top division - one, born and bred in England, the other, a white goalkeeper from Zimbabwe.
Indeed, some clubs today are so chockfull of African internationals, I wonder how they’ll cope when the Nations Cup Finals kick off in January. Take Portsmouth, with no less than six Africans - Kanu, Utaka, Muntari, Diop, Benjani, and Lauren. Newcastle have five – Martins, Abdou Faye, Beye, Babayaro and Geremi – while Everton have four – Pienaar, Yobo, Anichebe and Yakubu. Arsenal have only three Africans – Eboue. Toure and Adebayor – but a closer look at their other players betrays a strong African influence. Diaby, Diarra, Song, Traore and Sagna may all be French nationals, but – like Vieira before them - we all know where they “really” come from.
Chelsea were concerned enough to declare they wouldn’t be signing any African players this season. Of course, they already have fair number among their ranks. Essien, Mikel, Drogba and Kalou are all likely to be missing during the Nations Cup.
So why the sudden love for the African player? Well, the obvious answer would be that England as suddenly woken up to the wealth of talent that Africa has to offer. The performance of the first African faces in the Premiership certainly did a lot to recommend more of the same: the free-scoring Anthony Yeboah at Leeds in the mid-90s, South Africa’s impressive Lucas Radebe, also at Leeds in the late 90s and Kanu’s spectacular arrival at Arsenal in 1999.
Sure, there’s no doubting the skill level of the African player, but that’s only half the story. Let’s face it, South American countries Brazil and Argentina have a larger reputation for producing and exporting skilled players – check Italy and Spain – yet there are only a handful of them in the Premiership. Javier Mascherano (Liverpool) and Carlos Tevez (Man U) are the two Argentines of note in the Prem, while Brazil is represented by Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Fabio Aurelio, Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) and Anderson (Man U). That’s it. By contrast, Real Madrid have four Argentines and three Brazilians while Barcelona have three Brazilians and two Argentines.
So, the other half to this allure for African players is surely economics. African players will cost you less than their South American counterparts – or even young Englishmen. Take Portsmouth’s purchase of John Utaka from French club Rennes. The Super Eagles striker – who played at the 2002 World Cup and the last two Nations Cup Finals, as well as impressing in four seasons in France – cost Pompey 7 million pounds. No small change, but Arsenal paid 5 million pounds for untried teenager Theo Walcott in 2006 and England fringe player Daren Bent joined Tottenham for 16.5 million pounds after just one season in the top flight. Trust me, English or South American player with Utaka’s pedigree would have cost at least twice as much. It’s an even better deal when players are shipped in straight from Africa, as Kolo Toure was when he arrived at Arsenal in 2001.
The increasing hue and cry for limits on foreign players in European leagues may yet stem this increasing African exodus to the Premiership although the likes of Arsene Wenger will be in vehement opposition. For now, English clubs can continue to get a bigger bang for their buck from African players and African fans have an even bigger reason to follow the Premiership. A win-win situation, don’t you think?
Sure, it’s no big deal these days to find three or four Africans featured in any Premiership game, but those of you who, like yours truly, have followed the English game for more than 20 years must just marvel at how common place the African player has become in England’s top division.
Actually, forget about African players, black players were still a novelty in England back in the late 70’s. You could count the number of black players in the top flight on the fingers of one hand back in the day. Heck, I can even name them – Laurie Cunningham, Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson, Viv Anderson, Howard Gayle, Chris Houghton, Garth Brooks, Justin Fashanu…Okay, maybe a little more than five, but you get the picture.
Of course, these were the days when some yahoos subscribed to the insulting notion that “black players are lazy”. I can only imagine what they must have thought about African players. I can still recall watching the Tottenham Hotspurs of the day – circa. 1984 – and swelling with pride at the sight of John Chiedozie flying down the right wing, the first Nigerian player to make a mark in England, and the one black African face on display in the entire top division.
Ah, the good old days. Seems like a lifetime ago now, with Africans performing creditably week in and week out in the rough and tumble of the Premiership. Consider this: Of the 20 clubs in the Premiership this season, only one – champions Manchester United – have no African players on their books. Contrast that to 1979, when Justin Fashanu and Bruce Grobelaar were the only Africans in the top division - one, born and bred in England, the other, a white goalkeeper from Zimbabwe.
Indeed, some clubs today are so chockfull of African internationals, I wonder how they’ll cope when the Nations Cup Finals kick off in January. Take Portsmouth, with no less than six Africans - Kanu, Utaka, Muntari, Diop, Benjani, and Lauren. Newcastle have five – Martins, Abdou Faye, Beye, Babayaro and Geremi – while Everton have four – Pienaar, Yobo, Anichebe and Yakubu. Arsenal have only three Africans – Eboue. Toure and Adebayor – but a closer look at their other players betrays a strong African influence. Diaby, Diarra, Song, Traore and Sagna may all be French nationals, but – like Vieira before them - we all know where they “really” come from.
Chelsea were concerned enough to declare they wouldn’t be signing any African players this season. Of course, they already have fair number among their ranks. Essien, Mikel, Drogba and Kalou are all likely to be missing during the Nations Cup.
So why the sudden love for the African player? Well, the obvious answer would be that England as suddenly woken up to the wealth of talent that Africa has to offer. The performance of the first African faces in the Premiership certainly did a lot to recommend more of the same: the free-scoring Anthony Yeboah at Leeds in the mid-90s, South Africa’s impressive Lucas Radebe, also at Leeds in the late 90s and Kanu’s spectacular arrival at Arsenal in 1999.
Sure, there’s no doubting the skill level of the African player, but that’s only half the story. Let’s face it, South American countries Brazil and Argentina have a larger reputation for producing and exporting skilled players – check Italy and Spain – yet there are only a handful of them in the Premiership. Javier Mascherano (Liverpool) and Carlos Tevez (Man U) are the two Argentines of note in the Prem, while Brazil is represented by Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Fabio Aurelio, Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) and Anderson (Man U). That’s it. By contrast, Real Madrid have four Argentines and three Brazilians while Barcelona have three Brazilians and two Argentines.
So, the other half to this allure for African players is surely economics. African players will cost you less than their South American counterparts – or even young Englishmen. Take Portsmouth’s purchase of John Utaka from French club Rennes. The Super Eagles striker – who played at the 2002 World Cup and the last two Nations Cup Finals, as well as impressing in four seasons in France – cost Pompey 7 million pounds. No small change, but Arsenal paid 5 million pounds for untried teenager Theo Walcott in 2006 and England fringe player Daren Bent joined Tottenham for 16.5 million pounds after just one season in the top flight. Trust me, English or South American player with Utaka’s pedigree would have cost at least twice as much. It’s an even better deal when players are shipped in straight from Africa, as Kolo Toure was when he arrived at Arsenal in 2001.
The increasing hue and cry for limits on foreign players in European leagues may yet stem this increasing African exodus to the Premiership although the likes of Arsene Wenger will be in vehement opposition. For now, English clubs can continue to get a bigger bang for their buck from African players and African fans have an even bigger reason to follow the Premiership. A win-win situation, don’t you think?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Liverpool & Rafa: Keep it Simple
Ah, the joy of procrastination. I’ve been planning to tear into Liverpool’s season of diminishing returns for sometime now, and just as I get started the Reds go and put a whipping on Besiktas in the Champions League. Eight unreplied goals at Anfield mean I have to tone down on the vitriol I was about to hurl at my favorite club and especially manager Rafa Benitez. Eight goals mean that maybe Liverpool still has something in the tank for the rest of this season. Eight goals mean, perhaps, all is not lost yet and maybe, just maybe, this could be the confidence boost needed to re-ignite a season that had started with so much hope and optimism.
Okay, bear with me. I know it’s just one game and I know that Besiktas aren’t exactly in the top echelon of European soccer. But this is my MY TEAM in question here so if I get a little emotional and start clutching at straws I trust you’ll understand. Besides, no one mentioned Slavia Prague’s place in European soccer hierarchy when drooling about Arsenal’s 7-0 thrashing of the Czech’s 2 weeks ago. So there.
Truth is Liverpool’s form in the last four weeks as been simply frustrating, no less.
I couldn’t believe the poor fare they offered in the 2-1 loss at Besiktas two weeks ago. They certainly didn’t look anything like title contenders on that kind of form. The last-gasp win at Everton was wonderful, but again, the team hardly performed until Everton were reduced to 10 men in the second half. They played decently enough against Arsenal at Anfield, but couldn’t seal the deal, missing a great opportunity to close the gap on the Gunners. Then came the Blackburn game last weekend. With Arsenal and Man U having shared the spoils earlier in the day, here was another opportunity to get back in the mix with a road win. Okay, Blackburn on current form was never going to be easy. But Liverpool had the chances to win this one – once they got down to attacking in the second half – and, despite Blackburn hitting the woodwork twice, this can only be seen as another two lost points.
So what’s gone wrong with Liverpool after such an exciting start? They certainly looked the part in the thrilling 1-1 draw with Chelsea in week 2, and I was quite impressed with the 4-0 pounding of Toulouse in the Champions League Qualifiers, especially since this was achieved with almost a second-choice line-up. It’s always easy to blame Rafa and his constant tinkering – and, frankly, I wondered what he was smoking when he left Torres on the bench against Portsmouth and Birmingham, at a time when the Spaniard was in great form - and I do think that's part of the problem, especially with many new faces - Torres, Babel, Voronin, Benayoun - just getting adjusted to the team.
For me though, there are two key issues. One is the constantly changing tactics – 4-4-2 today, 4-2-3-1 the next – and the second is the never-ending search for Steve Gerrard’s best position.
Yes, it’s alright to amend your tactics to suit the opponents, but when you combine that with the kind of wholesale changes in personnel that Rafa so loves, then what you get are the kind of disorganized, off color performances that we have seen much too often this season. Now, that is not to say that Rafa's approach cannot work over the course of the season. But by the time the results start coming, it's more than likely that the championship would be well out of reach.
As for Gerrard, Rafa needs to trust the surrounding cast he has expensively assembled and just keep things simple. Gerrard is most comfortable and effective playing in the centre of midfield and that’s where he should play. Not in some advanced second striker position – as he did against Blackburn – or out on the flank. There's this sense in certain games that the team needs two defensive midfielders to accomodate Gerrard's contribution on the attacking end. On the contrary, this takes away from the team. For one thing, it's harder for Gerrard with his back to goal - he is certainly more dangerous driving through from midfield. And for another, the team misses his midfield passing and organization. Alonso, when he is in form can organize as well, but Sissoko's passing is far below par.
This was the beauty of Tuesday’s thrashing of Besiktas: Gerrard in the middle with the excellent Javier Mascherano – probably the best defensive midfielder in the game –in a straightforward 4-4-2, Benayoun and Riise raiding down the flanks, and Voronin - who was involved in 4 of the goals - buzzing around Crouch in attack. Liverpool fans will be looking for more of the same as the season progresses.
The African Nations Cup are coming up in January, and after some harassment from close quarters – they know themselves – I will be delving into the African scene over the next few weeks. The Nations Cup groupings sure look interesting and I’ll offer my humble opinion on the way I think things will go. I’ll also vent at will about my favourite team, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, and the stewardship of Mr. Berti Vogts. So, if you love the African game, keep an eye out – but if Liverpool run up another cricket score ………….
Okay, bear with me. I know it’s just one game and I know that Besiktas aren’t exactly in the top echelon of European soccer. But this is my MY TEAM in question here so if I get a little emotional and start clutching at straws I trust you’ll understand. Besides, no one mentioned Slavia Prague’s place in European soccer hierarchy when drooling about Arsenal’s 7-0 thrashing of the Czech’s 2 weeks ago. So there.
Truth is Liverpool’s form in the last four weeks as been simply frustrating, no less.
I couldn’t believe the poor fare they offered in the 2-1 loss at Besiktas two weeks ago. They certainly didn’t look anything like title contenders on that kind of form. The last-gasp win at Everton was wonderful, but again, the team hardly performed until Everton were reduced to 10 men in the second half. They played decently enough against Arsenal at Anfield, but couldn’t seal the deal, missing a great opportunity to close the gap on the Gunners. Then came the Blackburn game last weekend. With Arsenal and Man U having shared the spoils earlier in the day, here was another opportunity to get back in the mix with a road win. Okay, Blackburn on current form was never going to be easy. But Liverpool had the chances to win this one – once they got down to attacking in the second half – and, despite Blackburn hitting the woodwork twice, this can only be seen as another two lost points.
So what’s gone wrong with Liverpool after such an exciting start? They certainly looked the part in the thrilling 1-1 draw with Chelsea in week 2, and I was quite impressed with the 4-0 pounding of Toulouse in the Champions League Qualifiers, especially since this was achieved with almost a second-choice line-up. It’s always easy to blame Rafa and his constant tinkering – and, frankly, I wondered what he was smoking when he left Torres on the bench against Portsmouth and Birmingham, at a time when the Spaniard was in great form - and I do think that's part of the problem, especially with many new faces - Torres, Babel, Voronin, Benayoun - just getting adjusted to the team.
For me though, there are two key issues. One is the constantly changing tactics – 4-4-2 today, 4-2-3-1 the next – and the second is the never-ending search for Steve Gerrard’s best position.
Yes, it’s alright to amend your tactics to suit the opponents, but when you combine that with the kind of wholesale changes in personnel that Rafa so loves, then what you get are the kind of disorganized, off color performances that we have seen much too often this season. Now, that is not to say that Rafa's approach cannot work over the course of the season. But by the time the results start coming, it's more than likely that the championship would be well out of reach.
As for Gerrard, Rafa needs to trust the surrounding cast he has expensively assembled and just keep things simple. Gerrard is most comfortable and effective playing in the centre of midfield and that’s where he should play. Not in some advanced second striker position – as he did against Blackburn – or out on the flank. There's this sense in certain games that the team needs two defensive midfielders to accomodate Gerrard's contribution on the attacking end. On the contrary, this takes away from the team. For one thing, it's harder for Gerrard with his back to goal - he is certainly more dangerous driving through from midfield. And for another, the team misses his midfield passing and organization. Alonso, when he is in form can organize as well, but Sissoko's passing is far below par.
This was the beauty of Tuesday’s thrashing of Besiktas: Gerrard in the middle with the excellent Javier Mascherano – probably the best defensive midfielder in the game –in a straightforward 4-4-2, Benayoun and Riise raiding down the flanks, and Voronin - who was involved in 4 of the goals - buzzing around Crouch in attack. Liverpool fans will be looking for more of the same as the season progresses.
The African Nations Cup are coming up in January, and after some harassment from close quarters – they know themselves – I will be delving into the African scene over the next few weeks. The Nations Cup groupings sure look interesting and I’ll offer my humble opinion on the way I think things will go. I’ll also vent at will about my favourite team, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, and the stewardship of Mr. Berti Vogts. So, if you love the African game, keep an eye out – but if Liverpool run up another cricket score ………….
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