Nigerian football has been struggling for very many years and we seem to have lost it all at the national team level right now. With the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify fr next year's nations cup, it has dawned on all that the national team has to be restructured.
Clemens Westerhof was in-charge for about 5 years and did greatly as a coach.Westerhof is credited with turning Nigeria into a perennial powerhouse in African football and showing that they, and other African nations, can compete on the world stage. He is responsible for what could be described as a "golden" period in Nigerian football. Players such as Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh, Nwankwo Kanu, Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi and others, who all went on to successful careers with various high-profile European clubs, entered the world spotlight while playing under Westerhof. He structured and harmonized the 4-4-2 formation in Nigeria and most Nigerian players over te years, grew with this football orientation. The formation always had 4 defenders,, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers. Of the 4 midfielders,we have RMF,LMF,AM and DM.We were comfortable with this formation and had players who fitted into these positions appropriately. However,evolution in football has changed a lot of things.
Young players now have opportunity to watch different playing patterns on TV and are having a different orientation twards the game. The talents coming out of the country now do not fit into these positions occupied by the Okochas and Kanus. Instead,they flow with the modern football culture.Just like Westerhof had a master plan and harmonized the 4-4-2 formation to be our traditional formation,we need a new master plan to achieve long-term targets for football in Nigeria.
Overtime, we have made different appointments,none of which we were satisfied with.The last best man we had was Bonfrere Jo. We need a technical team be put in place.This team should comprise football experts who will have a task of designing a new football tradition for Nigeria and recommend a coach or coaches who should be appointed to build a formidable Super Eagles team, fit to compete with any team in the world.
Truth be told, our local coaches are not well-groomed for such a task and they cannot boast enough experience required to build such a team.I strongly suggest they be kept in the background and understudy the foreign expert in-charge while they also contribute to the technical inputs of the foreign coach.They should also act as advisors.Only minimal bias and maximun credibility should be considered in the appointment of a coach for the Super Eagles. The bul of our players are slow and today's football requires a lot of pace.
We have a choice to make,its either we map out a strategy for the long-term or we just patch up coaches for the short-term.Also,we need a coach who has a will to develop the game in Nigeria.
Above all,we need the football administrative body to be sanitized and best brains with good plans and focus be brought in.
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