Nigerians and the Winter Transfer Window
With the Winter transfer window approaching, it will be interesting which Nigerian players make upward transitions to new clubs. Nigerians have done well in the last few FIFA youth tournaments and the Olympic Football Tournament.
Also Nigerians have been doing well across Europe. An interesting factoid that I discovered was that every Nigerian that was signed to a Segunda (Spanish Second Division) club, led to that club being PROMOTED that year. A list of these player are:
Bartholomew Ogbeche - Valladolid
Abdul Razak Ekpoki - Gimnastic Tarragona
Ike Uche - Recreativo
Kalu Uche - Almeria
That said, it will be interesting to see which Nigerian players move to new clubs. I generally think that Nigerian players are very underrated. Something has tainted the perception of Nigerian players and all the good results in the recent FIFA tournaments has done little to raise the value of our players.
Without further adue here are the players I hope to make positive moves in the Winter break.
1. Osaze Odemwingie
Osaze Odemwingie is a well rounded player. His passes are good, he is healthy, he plays defensively (hard tackling and chasing), he shoots and most importantly he is experienced. To me, he is one of the most underrated players in professional football ... he is in my opinion an awesome player.
Despite this he has racked up medals and major wins throughout his career. Starting in Belgium where he won the FA Cup, to his recent Olympic silver medal.
In June of 2009, Nigeria played a friendly game against France. Osaze Odemwingie tormented the entire French team. When he was not running passes, he was giving out hard tackles and defending. He particularly gave Patrice Evra a torrid time. It got so bad that while the referee was not looking, Patrice Evra ran up to him and kicked him from behind (the ball was very far away on the other side of the field). He
Here is a video of this incredible player:
2. Rabiu Ibrahim
Rabiu has been anointed as the next Jay Jay Okocha. He is a bit smaller than Jay Jay Okocha, but he has a lot of skill and a lot of endurance. What is interesting are his no-look passes. I have not really seen a player do so many of these, but he has passes going all over the place.
He has been anxious to play for his club Sporting Lisbon, but his coach has confined him to the reserves. For the news reports I have read he is on an expiring youth contract (which expires this month). I think he will move!
3. Edward Ofere
To some people he is the next Nwankwo Kanu. He is more like an Emmanuel Adebayor. A tall striker, well spoken and very confident. He played in the Nigerian league with the likes of Nduka Ozokwo and Kelechi Osunwa (well known local champions), but now he plays for Malmo in Sweden. He is a unique player, tall, athletic, skillful and fast - there is some talk of a Newcastle move, but I think he could do better.
4. Michael Eneramo
A fast moving truck is the best way I could describe Eneramo. Michael Eneramo plays in Tunisia for Esperance. He has led the Tunisian league with double digit goal hauls for the past two seasons. It got to the point that Tunisia wanted to cap him. Fortunately Nigeria capped him and he scored an important goal in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
The word is that he is moving to Standard Liege. I think this a great move and if he does well, especially in the Europa or Champions League, he could move again!
5. Sam Sodje
Perhaps not a well known player. However one should watch his game against France in June. He is a hard playing, physical player, who should be playing in the EPL. Lower ranked EPL teams would do well to add a defensive player like Sodje who is not intimidated by supposedly bigger teams.
6. Patrick Ogunsoto
The Nigerian wild-man. This player has scored every type of goal imaginable. His goals are like a highlight reel. He was a top scorer in Greece, and then he moved to Belgium where he was the top scorer, he then moved back to Greece. The only thing I can say is watch his goals on youtube. If he were in La Liga (which suits his style) he would be a living nightmare for opposing defenses.
x
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The Way Forward - Part II
Shaibu Amodu and the Super Eagles
Shaibu Amodu is a well known coach in Nigeria, having coached the Super Eagles many times in the past. Currently his position as the coach of the Super Eagles is being threatened (AGAIN!) by numerous bodies, such as the pseudo-governmental Presidential Task Force, former players (Akpoborie and others), many Nigerian fans and some journalists ... What a tough life! It is tough to please people ...
For the record, I feel that he has earned his job and should be retained. I will state though the path to World Cup success is a rough road, and it would be prudent of him to HIRE his own advisers who will give him insight on his opponents. I will elaborate on this and I think that what I propose may be amenable to the many Nigerian football fans.
Amodu's history is well known, but for the record it shall be duplicated here:
In his last stint as Super Eagles Coach in 2002, Amodu was replaced by Festus Onigbinde after a 3rd placed finish at the African Nations Cup DESPITE having qualified Nigeria for the World Cup (sound familiar?). Nigeria subsequently failed at the World Cup, coming last in the group stages after Onigbinde fielded a wide array of questionable players, that can only be colloquially called jam-bodies. In hindsight it would have been better to leave him in place in 2002. Onigbinde did not really bring anything to the table.
A close look at his career (which is beyond the scope of this write-up) will show that he has had a very good coaching career with a lot of success. Despite this success, praise has been hard to come by. Much of his success has been at the club level, starting with the rampaging performances of BCC Lions of Gboko, a club from a small town in Nigeria, that completely dominated the Nigerian League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His subsequent club coaching roles in Nigeria and South Africa also showed similar successes.
Where Amodu has had some challenges is at the International Level. In tournaments such the African Nations Cup, the Gold Cup, the Confederations Cup and in International Friendlies. His record in these tournaments would be best termed as 'okay'. Despite this, his claim to success is that he has qualified Nigeria twice! Not a small feat. However it is his performances at the international level that have his detractors clamoring for a foreign technical adviser.
Africans view the Foreign Technical Advisers (read ... European Coach) as the solution. Typically a local coach will qualify a country to a major tournament and then be immediately sacked and replaced with a European Coach of questionable pedigree. Perhaps the most disgraceful case was when Otto Pfister replaced Stephen Keshi as the coach of Mali (see ) ...
As evidenced in the Keshi case, historically there have been many problems associated with foreign Technical Advisers ... basically (any coach that tries to reap where they did not sow):
* The Foreign Technical Advisor (henceforth abrieviated TA) is usually paid more than the local Coaches. So much more, that what the TA makes in a month is what the local coach (like Amodu) makes in a year! The carpet is rolled out, they are given a cash advance, a house, a car, a driver and all kinds of benefits and they are often allowed to live in their native country ... all rather pathetic if you ask me, but a great gift for the beneficiary!
* Foreign TAs have had a very poor record. From Carlos Alberto, This Libregts, Berti Vogts and the list goes on. One would have thought that Nigeria would have achieved MORE with all this investment ... but no. The exceptions were the achievements of Father Tiko, Manfred Höner (1988 ANC, but not the Seoul Olympics), Clemens Westerhoff, Jo Bonfrere and Bora Milutinovic. Their successes were due to REAL HARD WORK. They took the the time they had to familiarize themselves with local players, they were based in Nigeria and they had time to mold the team, also in the later years the exporting of several players to Belgium and Holland helped a lot. They worked hard at the grass roots.
The other group generally did not have much interest in LOCAL players and often preferred to fly in from Europe, they also had little tolerance for the common problems such as intermittent pay. Tiko, Höner, Westerhoff, Bonfrere and Bora understood Nigeria well, and knew they could proverbially raise a team from stones on the ground - and they did.
Can Shaibu Amodu Improve?
There is some merit in Shaibu Amodu exploring the weaknesses of his teams, since his qualifying run did not inspire much confidence.
It is well agreed that Amodu's teams tend to be very very conservative and they tend to score very late in the game. This has been a consistent pattern at the International level, exemplified most notably in the 2002 ANC where Julius Aghahowa scored some late goals and the 2010 WC qualification run which was a pain to sit through ...
Thus the way forward may be for Amodu to employ a different approach. I have a few ideas that I will elaborate on these in the coming weeks. But here are my ideas:
1. Hire a professional assistant
Many coaches hire a professional assistant with whom the work closely with. Samson Siasia has Simon Kallika (a Dutch Surinamese trainer), Juergen Klinsmann had Jogi Löw and Mexican-born American assistant coach Martin Vasquez, Sir Alex Ferguson had Mozambique-born assistant coach Carlos Quiroz (now coaching Portugal). As you can see, all of these coaches had very competent (and highly coveted) assistants.
This is perhaps one of the most critical areas where Amodu could set himself up for victory. Hiring an assistant could be helpful in bringing on the necessary experience needed when facing opponents. My suggestion would be for Amodu to bring on Samson Siasia and Hen Ten Cate. Siasia would be helpful in that he has met Lionel Messi twice and has not been able to defeat Argentina. He also has experience playing against Korean sides - In 2005 Nigeria LOST against the South Koreans at the 2005 World Youth Championship in Holland and in July of 2008 Siasia led the Nigerian Olympic squad on a two and half week training tour of South Korea. They played against two local sides, winning both matches before heading on to China.
Henk Ten Cate because he has coached at Chelsea and Barcelona and is very familiar with Nigerian players (Mikel Obi, Ike Uche) and is very familiar with Lionel Messi and European football. Some might argue that the NFF could just hire Ten Cate, however I disagree. Merit must be rewarded and it should be Amodu's role to hire his assistants. If I were Amodu - these would be the two I would try to bring on board. There would be challenges (namely cost), but if not Ten Cate, then perhaps another coach who is familiar with Nigerian players and the foreign opposition.
2. Bring on a talisman
One of Amodu's problems is that he has stuffed the midfield with a wall of defensive midfielders. This fits in with his conservative philosophy. These players are primarily ball winners and defenders whose role is to stop the oncoming attack.
These players are Mikel Obi, Dickson Etuhu, Ayila Yusuf, Sani Kaita, Seyi Olofinjana and Femi Ajilore. These players are all great in their role, but I dare say that they (with the exception of Mikel Obi) would struggle to unlock the Argentinian defense single handedly on June 12th. His conservative philosophy also makes him reluctant to try out new players, as seen in his comments about Dickson Etuhu (discussed further on ...)
A player in the role of a talisman aka a creative midfielder, would provide the necessary link for our strikers. The requirement here is NOT experience, it is simply pure inate skill. There are several players who could fit this role, namely Rabiu Ibrahim, Stephen Worgu and Obiora Nwankwo. Amodu simply needs ONE of these players.
3. Changing his conservative philosophy
In an interview with the Vanguard Newspaper in Nigeria, Amodu commented
However a few months later in June, Nigeria played France in France and Amodu was forced to play without a few key starters. In came Sam Sodje, Joseph Akpala, Michael Eneramo and Uwa Echiejile. Interestingly enough Nigeria won this game! I think this game was a huge confidence builder for Amodu, and perhaps a lesson that taking some risks does pay off. Some of the regular players are perhaps too predictable and tend to play 'safe' football.
In summary, I think Amodu MUST be retained, however in a 32 team World Cup, 31 teams lose. If he wants to have an edge over the other 32 teams, it would be prudent for Amodu to select his coaching team carefully ... perhaps by bringing on Siasia and Ten Cate who have experience with the opponents that Amodu will face.
x
Shaibu Amodu is a well known coach in Nigeria, having coached the Super Eagles many times in the past. Currently his position as the coach of the Super Eagles is being threatened (AGAIN!) by numerous bodies, such as the pseudo-governmental Presidential Task Force, former players (Akpoborie and others), many Nigerian fans and some journalists ... What a tough life! It is tough to please people ...
For the record, I feel that he has earned his job and should be retained. I will state though the path to World Cup success is a rough road, and it would be prudent of him to HIRE his own advisers who will give him insight on his opponents. I will elaborate on this and I think that what I propose may be amenable to the many Nigerian football fans.
Amodu's history is well known, but for the record it shall be duplicated here:
CAREER HISTORY
1982 -1985 Mighty Jets [Assistant] Nigeria div I
1986 - 1991 BCC Lions [Assistant] Nigeria div I
1992 El Kanemi Warriors Nigeria div I
1993 - 1994 BCC Lions Nigeria div I
1995 Shooting Stars Nigeria div I
1996 Super Eagles Nigeria
1997 BCC Lions Nigeria div I
1997-98 Orlando Pirates South Africa div I
1998- 1999 Super Eagles Nigeria [Assistant]
2001-2002 Super Eagles Nigeria
In his last stint as Super Eagles Coach in 2002, Amodu was replaced by Festus Onigbinde after a 3rd placed finish at the African Nations Cup DESPITE having qualified Nigeria for the World Cup (sound familiar?). Nigeria subsequently failed at the World Cup, coming last in the group stages after Onigbinde fielded a wide array of questionable players, that can only be colloquially called jam-bodies. In hindsight it would have been better to leave him in place in 2002. Onigbinde did not really bring anything to the table.
A close look at his career (which is beyond the scope of this write-up) will show that he has had a very good coaching career with a lot of success. Despite this success, praise has been hard to come by. Much of his success has been at the club level, starting with the rampaging performances of BCC Lions of Gboko, a club from a small town in Nigeria, that completely dominated the Nigerian League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His subsequent club coaching roles in Nigeria and South Africa also showed similar successes.
Where Amodu has had some challenges is at the International Level. In tournaments such the African Nations Cup, the Gold Cup, the Confederations Cup and in International Friendlies. His record in these tournaments would be best termed as 'okay'. Despite this, his claim to success is that he has qualified Nigeria twice! Not a small feat. However it is his performances at the international level that have his detractors clamoring for a foreign technical adviser.
Africans view the Foreign Technical Advisers (read ... European Coach) as the solution. Typically a local coach will qualify a country to a major tournament and then be immediately sacked and replaced with a European Coach of questionable pedigree. Perhaps the most disgraceful case was when Otto Pfister replaced Stephen Keshi as the coach of Mali (see ) ...
As evidenced in the Keshi case, historically there have been many problems associated with foreign Technical Advisers ... basically (any coach that tries to reap where they did not sow):
* The Foreign Technical Advisor (henceforth abrieviated TA) is usually paid more than the local Coaches. So much more, that what the TA makes in a month is what the local coach (like Amodu) makes in a year! The carpet is rolled out, they are given a cash advance, a house, a car, a driver and all kinds of benefits and they are often allowed to live in their native country ... all rather pathetic if you ask me, but a great gift for the beneficiary!
* Foreign TAs have had a very poor record. From Carlos Alberto, This Libregts, Berti Vogts and the list goes on. One would have thought that Nigeria would have achieved MORE with all this investment ... but no. The exceptions were the achievements of Father Tiko, Manfred Höner (1988 ANC, but not the Seoul Olympics), Clemens Westerhoff, Jo Bonfrere and Bora Milutinovic. Their successes were due to REAL HARD WORK. They took the the time they had to familiarize themselves with local players, they were based in Nigeria and they had time to mold the team, also in the later years the exporting of several players to Belgium and Holland helped a lot. They worked hard at the grass roots.
The other group generally did not have much interest in LOCAL players and often preferred to fly in from Europe, they also had little tolerance for the common problems such as intermittent pay. Tiko, Höner, Westerhoff, Bonfrere and Bora understood Nigeria well, and knew they could proverbially raise a team from stones on the ground - and they did.
Can Shaibu Amodu Improve?
There is some merit in Shaibu Amodu exploring the weaknesses of his teams, since his qualifying run did not inspire much confidence.
It is well agreed that Amodu's teams tend to be very very conservative and they tend to score very late in the game. This has been a consistent pattern at the International level, exemplified most notably in the 2002 ANC where Julius Aghahowa scored some late goals and the 2010 WC qualification run which was a pain to sit through ...
Thus the way forward may be for Amodu to employ a different approach. I have a few ideas that I will elaborate on these in the coming weeks. But here are my ideas:
1. Hire a professional assistant
Many coaches hire a professional assistant with whom the work closely with. Samson Siasia has Simon Kallika (a Dutch Surinamese trainer), Juergen Klinsmann had Jogi Löw and Mexican-born American assistant coach Martin Vasquez, Sir Alex Ferguson had Mozambique-born assistant coach Carlos Quiroz (now coaching Portugal). As you can see, all of these coaches had very competent (and highly coveted) assistants.
This is perhaps one of the most critical areas where Amodu could set himself up for victory. Hiring an assistant could be helpful in bringing on the necessary experience needed when facing opponents. My suggestion would be for Amodu to bring on Samson Siasia and Hen Ten Cate. Siasia would be helpful in that he has met Lionel Messi twice and has not been able to defeat Argentina. He also has experience playing against Korean sides - In 2005 Nigeria LOST against the South Koreans at the 2005 World Youth Championship in Holland and in July of 2008 Siasia led the Nigerian Olympic squad on a two and half week training tour of South Korea. They played against two local sides, winning both matches before heading on to China.
Henk Ten Cate because he has coached at Chelsea and Barcelona and is very familiar with Nigerian players (Mikel Obi, Ike Uche) and is very familiar with Lionel Messi and European football. Some might argue that the NFF could just hire Ten Cate, however I disagree. Merit must be rewarded and it should be Amodu's role to hire his assistants. If I were Amodu - these would be the two I would try to bring on board. There would be challenges (namely cost), but if not Ten Cate, then perhaps another coach who is familiar with Nigerian players and the foreign opposition.
2. Bring on a talisman
One of Amodu's problems is that he has stuffed the midfield with a wall of defensive midfielders. This fits in with his conservative philosophy. These players are primarily ball winners and defenders whose role is to stop the oncoming attack.
These players are Mikel Obi, Dickson Etuhu, Ayila Yusuf, Sani Kaita, Seyi Olofinjana and Femi Ajilore. These players are all great in their role, but I dare say that they (with the exception of Mikel Obi) would struggle to unlock the Argentinian defense single handedly on June 12th. His conservative philosophy also makes him reluctant to try out new players, as seen in his comments about Dickson Etuhu (discussed further on ...)
A player in the role of a talisman aka a creative midfielder, would provide the necessary link for our strikers. The requirement here is NOT experience, it is simply pure inate skill. There are several players who could fit this role, namely Rabiu Ibrahim, Stephen Worgu and Obiora Nwankwo. Amodu simply needs ONE of these players.
3. Changing his conservative philosophy
In an interview with the Vanguard Newspaper in Nigeria, Amodu commented
"Dickson Etuhu is not on my list because I don't know him and he has not featured in any of the matches I have co-ordinated since I came on board. The devil you know is quite better than the angel you don't know. For now I would make do with the players I'm familiar with".
However a few months later in June, Nigeria played France in France and Amodu was forced to play without a few key starters. In came Sam Sodje, Joseph Akpala, Michael Eneramo and Uwa Echiejile. Interestingly enough Nigeria won this game! I think this game was a huge confidence builder for Amodu, and perhaps a lesson that taking some risks does pay off. Some of the regular players are perhaps too predictable and tend to play 'safe' football.
In summary, I think Amodu MUST be retained, however in a 32 team World Cup, 31 teams lose. If he wants to have an edge over the other 32 teams, it would be prudent for Amodu to select his coaching team carefully ... perhaps by bringing on Siasia and Ten Cate who have experience with the opponents that Amodu will face.
x
The Way Forward - Part I
With the Nigeria Super Eagles Qualifying for the African Nations Cup and the World Cup, what is formula for success?
Nigerians have a habit of wildly celebrating while neglecting important priorities. For us as Nigerians, the World Cup must be viewed as a gift. We must own our current domestic challenges and create an environment so that 2010 can be a year of goodwill.
Nigeria has domestic challenges in the areas of education, healthcare, security, law and order, poor roads, and water and power challenges. Despite this Nigeria will still likely waste a lot of money on the World Cup in South Africa. It is this sense of misplaced priorities that is a concern. At a high level Nigeria should set goals for success at the most basic level and then work its way towards other matters and not the other way around.
Problems along the road.
However as it stands now, our soccer mad nation has already employed (surely these people are being paid) a Presidential Task Force, to ensure the success of Nigeria at the World Cup. I am puzzled as to what this so called task force can do. One of their high level goals is to hire a foreign technical advisor to REPLACE the qualifying coach Shaibu Amodu.
The Presidential Task Force has already been assembled and has its supporters fully engaged cheering its every pronouncement. This so called The Presidential Task Force should be roundly questioned by all honest Nigerians. What is the purpose of this organization, and how are important funds being allocated to this when there are pressing priorities in Nigeria?
The statements reported to be coming from this organization are concerning and more importantly against the rules (if true) of FIFA.
The problem with this organization is that it is actually a deeply intrusive Governmental arm, which contravenes FIFA rules. If allowed to exist, their actions could involve meddling in player selections, player substitutions, player bonuses and more troublesome activities. It would do more to hurt Nigeria than help.
The other problem is the Nigerian government has created a high profile task force for this, when they could have created a task force for any of the numerous domestic challenges in the areas of education, healthcare, security, law and order, poor roads, and water and power challenges.
Well the World Cup will always create a way to irrationally spend money ... I just hope someone does an accounting in August of 2010.
xxx
Nigerians have a habit of wildly celebrating while neglecting important priorities. For us as Nigerians, the World Cup must be viewed as a gift. We must own our current domestic challenges and create an environment so that 2010 can be a year of goodwill.
Nigeria has domestic challenges in the areas of education, healthcare, security, law and order, poor roads, and water and power challenges. Despite this Nigeria will still likely waste a lot of money on the World Cup in South Africa. It is this sense of misplaced priorities that is a concern. At a high level Nigeria should set goals for success at the most basic level and then work its way towards other matters and not the other way around.
Problems along the road.
However as it stands now, our soccer mad nation has already employed (surely these people are being paid) a Presidential Task Force, to ensure the success of Nigeria at the World Cup. I am puzzled as to what this so called task force can do. One of their high level goals is to hire a foreign technical advisor to REPLACE the qualifying coach Shaibu Amodu.
The Presidential Task Force has already been assembled and has its supporters fully engaged cheering its every pronouncement. This so called The Presidential Task Force should be roundly questioned by all honest Nigerians. What is the purpose of this organization, and how are important funds being allocated to this when there are pressing priorities in Nigeria?
The statements reported to be coming from this organization are concerning and more importantly against the rules (if true) of FIFA.
The problem with this organization is that it is actually a deeply intrusive Governmental arm, which contravenes FIFA rules. If allowed to exist, their actions could involve meddling in player selections, player substitutions, player bonuses and more troublesome activities. It would do more to hurt Nigeria than help.
The other problem is the Nigerian government has created a high profile task force for this, when they could have created a task force for any of the numerous domestic challenges in the areas of education, healthcare, security, law and order, poor roads, and water and power challenges.
Well the World Cup will always create a way to irrationally spend money ... I just hope someone does an accounting in August of 2010.
xxx
The so called Presidential Task Force (PTF)
The so called Presidential Task Force (PTF) tasked with helping Nigeria make it to South Africa should be roundly questioned by all honest Nigerians. I am suspicious of the purpose of this organization. It certainly is NOT a transparent organization. It seems to be an organization with a big check with self serving interests. What is the purpose of this organization, and how are important funds being allocated to this when there are pressing priorities in Nigeria?
The statements reported to be coming from this organization are concerning and more importantly against the rules (if true) of FIFA. These statements are:
1. The replacing of the current NFF Chariman Sani Lulu ( see link: ).
2. The selecting of a foreign coach (too many articles to count).
Article 2 of the FIFA Regulations state that:
It seems clear to me that this Presidential Task Force is trying to usurp the role of the Nigerian Football Federation - who is the organization that should select coaches and the like.
I think it is prudent for honest Nigerian to head-off this troublesome development. The NFF is NOT a Government ministry and should be free to carry on its business without the potentially parasitic activities of the PTF.
The PTF should not in any way shape or form duplicate the work of the Nigerian Football Federation.
xxx
The statements reported to be coming from this organization are concerning and more importantly against the rules (if true) of FIFA. These statements are:
1. The replacing of the current NFF Chariman Sani Lulu ( see link: ).
2. The selecting of a foreign coach (too many articles to count).
Article 2 of the FIFA Regulations state that:
Government interference of any kind in the electoral process or composition of the elective body (general assembly or congress) of the association is not permitted. Consequently, government rules on elections shall not apply to the elected internal bodies of the association and the electoral rules of the association shall not require the approval of any government body.
It seems clear to me that this Presidential Task Force is trying to usurp the role of the Nigerian Football Federation - who is the organization that should select coaches and the like.
I think it is prudent for honest Nigerian to head-off this troublesome development. The NFF is NOT a Government ministry and should be free to carry on its business without the potentially parasitic activities of the PTF.
The PTF should not in any way shape or form duplicate the work of the Nigerian Football Federation.
xxx
Nigeria is Grouped with Argentina, South Korea and Greece
Of these teams Argentina has been a perpetual nemesis. The rivalry was re-started in 2005 when Nigeria met Argentina in the finals of the U-20 FIFA World Youth Championship. Lionel Messi has generally had his way with Nigeria and the harassing defenders that Nigeria throws his way (2 penalty kicks so far and innumerable freekicks). Our record against Argentina has not been good in recent memory. To defeat Argentina, Nigeria will need Ike Uche, Obafemi Martins, Mikel Obi and Taye Taiwo on the field at the same time. God help us!
South Korea will be problematic for Nigeria. In 2005 Nigeria LOST against the South Koreans at the 2005 World Youth Championship in Holland. Chu Young Park proved to be troublemaker scoring in the 89th minute ... a late South Korean goal in extra time saw Nigeria losing this game. So what we can take from this game is that the South Koreans will fight until the final whistle is blown. With the pedestrian performances of the Super Eagles, this is not encouraging news!
We should also remember that in February 2007, South Korea defeated Greece 1-0 in an international friendly played in England. In this game Lee Chun-Soo scored the only goal, South Korea won!
Greece could be an enigma. Nigeria last played Greece in 1994. Greek soccer is very different since that time. Greece won the European Championship in 2004 and are known for highly defensive football. This is a game that Nigeria has to tackle head on ... it could be a roll of the dice.
xxx
South Korea will be problematic for Nigeria. In 2005 Nigeria LOST against the South Koreans at the 2005 World Youth Championship in Holland. Chu Young Park proved to be troublemaker scoring in the 89th minute ... a late South Korean goal in extra time saw Nigeria losing this game. So what we can take from this game is that the South Koreans will fight until the final whistle is blown. With the pedestrian performances of the Super Eagles, this is not encouraging news!
We should also remember that in February 2007, South Korea defeated Greece 1-0 in an international friendly played in England. In this game Lee Chun-Soo scored the only goal, South Korea won!
Greece could be an enigma. Nigeria last played Greece in 1994. Greek soccer is very different since that time. Greece won the European Championship in 2004 and are known for highly defensive football. This is a game that Nigeria has to tackle head on ... it could be a roll of the dice.
xxx
Friday, December 4, 2009
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