I can't say I was surprised about the criticism that has gone the way of Nigeria coach Shaibu Amodu since the Nations Cup kicked off in Angola two weeks ago. After all, such is the following and passion that football attracts in these days of universal coverage that every fan fashions himself smarter than the men who have actually made a vocation of what is but a pleasurable distraction for many. Now, some criticism is in order, and there's no denying that the Super Eagles have been far from the finished article we'd all love to see. But it must gall the coach no end to have every little decision he makes questioned. Why was Mikel substituted? Why is Yakubu starting? Why is Yusuf playing instead of Odiah? Why are we playing three defensive midfielders? Why doesn't the coach stand and yell instructions for 90 minutes? (By the way, the most active coach I ever saw was Camacho of Spain at France 98, waving frantically for 90 minutes like a "yellow fever" traffic warden, armpits soaked through with sweat. His team crashed out in the 1st round !)
We are all experts now, even though we haven't seen one Eagles training session, or ever attempted to coach even at the most basic level of the game. It sure looks easy on paper from the comfort of our couches.
Of course, none of these is new, and Amodu can take some comfort in that. Even in 1994, when Clemens Westerhof was leading our best ever team to Nations Cup glory in Tunisia, the Dutchman had his detractors and had to face similar questions. Why is Amuneke not starting? Why is Okocha being substituted? Why take off a striker for a midfielder?
Indeed there are those who still blame Westerhof for our 2nd round exit at the World Cup that year.
Makes one wonder: If the succesful Westerhof couldn't please this lot, what chance the very unpopular Amodu?
For that there can only be one answer: Amodu and his team must emulate Westerhof to win over a nation of doubters. If not by matching the class of 94's triumphant campaign, then at the very least by matching the bouncebackability that took the 1990 set all the way to the final after a wretched 5-1 loss to Algeria in their opening match.
That quest continues in Lubango tommorow when the Eagles take on Zambia in a quarter final match they'll be expected to win. As often happens in championships, Amodu seems to have stumbled open his best line up, especially with the vastly under-rated Sani Kaita taking a major role in midfield ahead of bigger names like Ayila and Olofinjana. When you consider that, in addition to Amodu's preference of Echiejile over Taiwo, and of Yusuf over Odiah, it's hard to believe that this team is picked on anything but merit - as defined by the coaching crew, who certainly know more about the current form, fitness, attitude and capabilities of players they see in training everyday than any of us. Like many, I would like to see more of Nsofor and Martins - their 10 minute cameo against Mozambique certainly promised plenty - and I would love to see the team attack with a bit more urgency, especially on transitions (like they did to great effect for the second goal against Mozambique). If the Eagles play like I know they are capable of - and I know many don't share my belief in this lot - we should be previewing our semi final opponents come Monday night.
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