Kudos to Amodu

I suppose after six games played, six wins and one goal conceded, its time to doff my hat to Super Eagles coach Shaibu Amodu.

I’ll confess I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when the Federation named the former BCC coach to the top job five months ago, but it’s hard to fault Amodu’s short term achievements – at least as far as the results go.

Super Eagles fans certainly needed a lift after the disappointment of their team’s poorest Nations Cup showing in 26 years at Ghana 2008, and Amodu’s new team has delivered in fine fashion, setting up a smooth qualification for the 2nd round of the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

I know there have been mumblings about the team’s performances and I suppose the Eagles haven’t exactly been winning any style accolades. Take the Sierra Leone game in Freetown, where the Leone Stars hit the post twice, only for Joseph Yobo to pop up in the last minute with the goal that secured the three points. Yobo was again the hero in Malabo, scoring in the 5th minute to help the Eagles to another road win. Even the win, against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, was achieved against the run of play.

But a little perspective here: Remember that these were all away games – the Eagles were much more dominant at home - so it’s hardly surprising that the home teams dominated the play. After all, they would be better motivated to win in front of their home fans. Sure, Nigeria fans expect to dominate the likes of Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea, regardless of venue, but it would be unreasonable to expect them to simply roll over because the Eagles are in town. Besides, compare the Eagles run to that of other so-called giants: Ivory Coast did not win once on the road in three games against Mozambique, Botswana and Madagascar; Ghana lost twice, in Gabon and Libya; and Senegal finished behind Gambia and failed to progress.

Moreover, history tells us there are no easy games at this level. Just eight years ago, the Eagles almost crashed out of World Cup contention after Jo Bonfrere’s team lost crucial games in Sierra Leone and Liberia. And who can forget that Nigeria didn’t make it to Germany 2006 after losing to Angola in Luanda. So let’s not get cocky and take these commendable results for granted.

It’s understandable that Amodu’s team hasn’t exactly run seamlessly either. He inherited a disjointed, uncoordinated and demoralized lot from Berti Vogts to start with, and preparing a team for just a few days before matches is hardly enough time to build a solid team.

There’s definitely room improvement and we are unlikely to see this team at its very best until a major final comes around. At least then, Amodu and his crew will have a couple of weeks to whip his wards into shape and figure out his best team. Hopefully, they will have enough quality in the interim to earn a place at those finals.

Nevertheless, there have been some positives to draw from the last few months. I have certainly been impressed by Amodu’s willingness to blood some new faces, notably right back Yusuf Mohammed from local club Kano Pillars. Rather than fitting square pegs in round holes, as Vogts was wont to do with the likes of Ifeanyi Emeghara, Obinna Nwaneri and Onyekachi Apam, it’s refreshing to see a natural right back in that role.

Also refreshing as been the growing influence of the Uche brothers – Kalu and Ike – who have become key members of the team. Ike, from Spanish side Getafe, is the Eagles’ top scorer in the qualifiers and Kalu, from Almeria, has more than pulled his weight in midfield.

Amodu has also smartly started pulling from Samson Siasia’s brilliant Olympic silver medallists, a group that include some of the brightest young players Nigeria has produced in a decade. Midfield anchor Sani Kaita, so impressive in Beijing and now a starter at French side Monaco, featured in the last game against Sierra Leone, as did the ever impressive Victor Obinna, now with Italian champions Inter – for whom he scored a cracking goal at the weekend. Add the drive and skill of Chinedu Ogbuke, one of the leading lights of Bundesliga new boys, TSG Hoffenheim, and a substitute against Sierra Leone, and the pace and versatility of the experienced Osaze Odemwingie, and you have the cream of Siasia’s team.

Now, Amodu must figure out how to blend the “new” faces into a squad that already includes Nwankwo Kanu, Obafemi Martins, Aiyegbeni Yakubu, John Utaka, Victor Anichebe and Mikel Obi – all missing from the Sierra Leone game.

As at the Nations Cup in February, I still worry about midfield where there seems to be a dearth of creative sorts coming through, but if Amodu has the courage to make the tough decisions (i.e. drop some big names for the young) and get the mix right, the Super Eagles should be on their way to another World Cup finals come 2010.