A lot has happened between when Keshi won the Nations Cup last year, and today- We have praised him, cursed him and watched him with doubt. None of these changes the fact that Keshi delivered to us what many foreign coaches couldn't over the years.
This piece isn't particularly about Keshi, but I will mention a few things about his position and performance.
I am a football follower who believes good football is a combination of many elements-discipline, team work, tactical as well as technical abilities. To assemble a great team, a coach needs to have a blend of these elements, and more. The poor outing of our super eagles in recent games has re-awakened the call for a foreign coach from some Nigerians who believe that our local coaches are not good enough to handle the national team and deliver at the highest level. We can't blame such people for not believing in indigenous coaches. We also cannot label them as being 'slaves' or 'westernized'. The truth of the matter is that our coaches have not shown enough to enable us believe in them. On the other hand, we still cannot blame the people who believe that indigenous coaches understand our players and football better, and are in the best position to build a strong team. It has always appeared as though the foreign coaches just come to rip us off.
I won't bother addressing the issue of corruption in Nigerian football as it isn't my focus. I would rather discuss strategic points which may help take our football to the next level.
I agree Keshi is a coach that instills discipline in his team, and can appear very firm and in control. He also gives opportunity to young, as well as home-based players. These are very important elements of a good coach. I must say however, that I do not agree with his tactical approach to games. I watch the eagles most times and cannot even understand the formation. They carry on with their games as though there was never a game plan. Poor passing, positioning and movement. The South Africans and Congolese recently exposed our lack of tactical soundness. A decent team should have good co-ordination:
- How to attack opponents- The number of players involved in basic attacks, the movement of each attacking player, attacking style, amongst others;
- Breaking opponents' attacks- The first marker of the ball when possession is lost, the position and movement of each player relative to that of his team mate(s) e.t.c;
- Ball play- Passing style, position swapping, creativity .e.t.c;
- Defending- Depth, marking pattern (Zonal/man), function/role of each defender .e.t.c
Personally, I do not think it is about having a foreign or indigenous coach. I feel we need to address every aspect of football development in Nigeria.
In the Part 2 of this article, I will highlight the aspects that require attention and strategic actions.
