Nigeria vs Mexico

I tuned into Channel 52 ~ the local Telemundo and settled in to watch the game. Mexico started out aggressively but Nigeria also had a few early chances too.

My excited was based on my belief that the lineup looked like the most exciting lineup in many many years. That said after watching the game I have come to the following conclusions.

Firstly if we cannot hold on to a 2-0 lead then we are in BIG trouble. I have mixed feelings on Apam … some of you guys loved him, but he and Taiwo were racking fouls like air miles … anyway a few ramblings …

Mikel Obi ~ While a gifted player, his game today was rife with indiscipline and a growing spectre of nonchalance … Obi was slow, was dispossessed several times and made some bad passes. What was most glaring was his failed attempt to impose a pedestrian pace in the midfield … something that Carlos Valderama was a master of. The Mexicans swarmed him and he lost the ball on several occasions. On seeing this he should have run at them and changed his style. My solution to this is to have Obi work on his fitness … his running and his shooting …

Ishiaku Mannaseh ~ This is the guy I wanted to see. He really got no service today, and he had he had a badly taken shot in one instance … however his hustle and work rate opened space for Martins to operate … he tackled and won some balls. He will get another chance.

Ike Uche ~ This guy is pure wahala for any opposing team. He came on, won a penalty and then flubbed it. Very very uncharacteristic of him, my consolation is that God loves the Mexicans too, and he was not about to allow them to suffer an indignity at the hands of a Guatemalan ref on the eve of their game against Guatemala :D … that said a one legged woman should have been able to put that ball on target.

Olofinjana was ok especially in the first half, however Taiwo and Apam were racking up many fouls and Taiwo has somehow lost form … I no know wetin do am.

In light of this game I have a few ideas. I like some of Ayo’s ideas but I will deviate a bit. The solution to the midfield is to bring in Oludapo Olufemi and Uche Kalu. I will NOT shoo in Rabiu Ibrahim yet, because he may not be mature enough … I would NOT discard Mikel Obi, but I would certainly try out Olufemi AND Kalu Uche. These two would make a positive difference.

On Olofinjana, not many players can compete easily for his position. We have players like Moses Adams, Sunday Stephen, Sani Kieta and a few others … Moses Adams is an easy favorite, but is still very green. Sunday Stephen is good but I have to observe him more

Midweek Report

So far it has been a long week. I had a very good time meeting the coaches, and I actually ran into a flurry of NFA official including the Chairman, Vice Chairman, the Secretary General and many others.

The first game against Costa Rica was a real test. The match started off and both teams were very cagey … Nigeria was getting a feel for who their team chemistry as well as getting a feel of their first real opponents. The Nigerian team list was only finalized a few weeks prior on June 15^th and the team was slightly tweaked with the addition of a few new players like Akeem Agbetu and Bello Komformata. In essence this was their first real competition.

The Costa Rican trio of Rudy Dawson, Dave Myrie and Pablo Herrera proved to be a bit troublesome. Particularly the defender Rudy Dawson, whom I think will be a solid international player after this tournament. Nigeria had trouble getting past Dawson and Myrie proved to be a challenge as well. Pablo Herrera seemed tireless and seemed to have one trick after another.

Fortunately Nigeria was able to contain the Costa Rican attack and score off a set play, but it took well into the second half for this to occur.

Day 4 in Victoria BC

I should have been updating this blog throughout my trip here ... I have been trying to post news but I have been so on the go ... I will recap ...

Thursday ~ Drove up to San Jose ... all was good slept in.

Friday ~ Picked up the car, loaded up and made the drive to Port Angeles ... +15hrs to catch the Coho Ferry ...


Saturday ~ Arrived at Port Angeles and was completely wasted ... I drove 8+ hours ... my friend drove the rest ... wish I had taken some pictures here. I was able to catch up with Coach Ladan Bosso and James Peters.


Very cool guys ... Coach Bosso is the man on the right, James Peters is the man on the left ... Peters role is to watch the match and provide detailed advice and constructive criticism. For this role he uses metrics to detail strengths and weaknesses of the team in a formal report ... he showed me one ... it was quite cool.