SAD BUT TRUE. THE WANING POWERHOUSES

Field Marshall Ogolo · Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:55 am

Cheii!

Recovery might take a while.

Shake-Up in African Football No Surprise to Dumitru

http://allafrica.com/stories/200510110110.html

Business Day (Johannesburg)

October 11, 2005
Posted to the web October 11, 2005

Mninawa Ntloko
Johannesburg

AFRICAN football was shaken to its very foundation this past weekend when a dramatic shift in the sport's balance of power saw four members of the old guard lose their once-dominant grip on the continent.

So-called minnows Angola, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana ensured that they would line up against the world's best during next year's Soccer World Cup finals in June, while waning powerhouses Bafana Bafana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Senegal will have to be content with watching the event on their television screens.

The achievements of the four upstarts cannot be emphasised enough -- they will be playing in the World Cup finals for the first time -- as, incredibly, they all failed to even qualify for last year's African Nations Cup finals that were held in Tunisia.

Togo finished runners-up to Kenya in the qualifiers of the 2004 Nations Cup while Bafana -- under coach Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba -- were too strong for Cote d'Ivoire, and the national team eventually cantered through the qualifying stages without losing a match.

Ghana finished bottom of their group while Angola were eventually subdued by Nigeria.

How times have changed as Tunisia were the only previous World Cup finalists to emerge from this past weekend's qualifiers with their dignity intact and having qualified for Germany.

While the rest of the world is still shocked that World Cup quarterfinalists Cameroon and Senegal, and regular finalists Nigeria and Bafana, will miss out next year, outspoken coach and researcher Ted Dumitru said yesterday he saw it coming.

"The fact is the big-name players of most of the continent's footballing nations are no longer interested in playing for their national teams," he said, adding another voice to the many that continue to question the commitment of some European-based players to their countries.

"Another thing, overseas-based African players are slowly trying to play too much like their European counterparts. While on the other hand, the smaller nations continue to retain their original skills and their identity."

The outspoken mentor said there was now evidence that the nations that had managed to resist the influence of Europe an football philosophy on the way they played the game "can keep the likes of Nigeria out of the World Cup".

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Dumitru said the recent developments were further proof that European coaches who did not recognise the strengths of African football when they were hired as national team bosses would never succeed.

Turning to SA, he said it was sad that a nation that had the best infrastructure and financial muscle on the continent could not even qualify for the World Cup.

Goalgetter · Post by **Goalgetter** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:11 am

It will be more than delusional to call a team(nation) that has the likes of Martins., Makinwa, Utaka, Obodo, Anyila, Taiwo, Obi Mikel, Yobo and the rest of them a waning powerhouse. I believe the world has yet to see the best of Nigeria.

Ayo Akinfe · Post by **Ayo Akinfe** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:06 am

Trust Ogolo to enjoy himself. Just remember that the likes of Holland, Spain, England, Germany, Argentina, Italy and France have missed World Cups before.

Only Brazil has been to every World Cup. I do not see any big do in Nigeria missing one World Cup. Meanwhile, I expect at least one big European casualty too.

The Eagle · Post by **The Eagle** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 2:48 pm

Na wa .... reading Ogolo is like watching a permanently naked man yabbing someone else's clothing.

As far as football goes, Kenya is as naked as a new born babe. Now granted, there is currently a rip in the side of Nigeria's flowing agbada, but small patch-patch will see us styling and profiling in a minute.

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:01 pm

Strictly Speaking

I would call this latest African WC phenomenon the overall progressive evolution of African football, especially for countries like Cameroon and Nigeria. Waning? Like somebody said, both these countries are increasing more and more players that ply their trade in the best leagues on the planet. Nothing but nothing represents footballing potential better than having excellent players in abundance.

Obviously, echoing what many of you here state, Nigeria and Cameroon must improve their football infrastructure to take it to the next level. Why? Because countries like Angola are indeed improving theirs, to the point where they will beat out unorganized talent on the basis of sheer determination and organization.

Case in point, I surveyed what Angola has been doing the past few years because of their qualification. When I saw pictures of their players, I was astonished to see even a white player. I read that they have been systematically searching and finding players with Angolan/Portuguese roots throughout the world. They systematically trained, played friendlies, and had a realistic view of what they could do, being honest about their strengths and weaknesses. They utilized their Brazilian and Portuguese connections to maximize their footballing potential. Consider the following interview:

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/040922/1/28v6.html

Question : But you must consider it a real possibility that Angola can qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals in 2006

Coach: Yes, it is possible but I must stress that our first objective is to finish in the top three in our group and qualify for the Nations Cup. Angola has come through a difficult time with our organisation, our structures and the conditions for football in our country. We just don’t have enough facilities for training and playing and this makes it difficult for us. But we are striving for better.

The above reveals that this is a most measured and realistic coach, filled with a determination to get the most out of his players. Evidently he knows what he is doing.

Question: Angola has traditionally recruited players of Angolan heritage playing in the Portuguese league -- do you worry about losing consistency when you introduce new players into the team?

Coach:We are not changing the side so much any more. We introduced new players this year in some of the preparatory matches we had before the World Cup qualifiers started.

This shows that they are looking for balance but not at the cost of stability. They will continue to look for players but go with what works.

You were the coach of the Angolan under-20 side at the FIFA World Youth Championship Argentina 2001. How much has that experience help you in your role now as national coach?

You must also remember that I have coached at all levels in the Angolan Football Federation from under-16, under-17, under-20 to under-23 before I became national coach. This current crimp of players has been with me since they were boys. Akwa [the Angola captain who plays in Qatar] has been with me since he was 15 and I first coached Mantorras [who plays for Benfica in Portugal] when he 12-years-old. These are my boys.

KPOM!!! Unbelievable. This is what I expect from Africa...an African coach leading an African team, playing their own brand of football, believing in themselves, adapting and adopting as necessary...relying on a progressive foundation of development. I swear I can almost hear Croatian coaches in this interview, as this is exactly how we developed our team over the past 15 years. We won a FIFA Youth WC under Yugoslavia in the late 80s, using those players to ultimately win 3rd place at the WC in 1998.

I am extremely intrigued by this Angolan team. I admire their sense of humility and work ethic. I saw a little of them some time ago when they played Portugal in a friendly. I don't think they will do badly at all in the WC.

Most of all, I think Nigeria will learn from a team like this to better use its considerable potential. Look, it took Brazil nearly 50 years of effort to become a real power. Consider this your 1950 WC loss and return with a vengeance. I know you can.

At any rate, African football simply is getting better and better. A WC victory in 2010 is a solid possibility.

Cheers, Mate

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:22 pm

One More Thing on the SE Failure

I stand by what I said earlier about who is to blame most for Nigeria's failure to qualify for WC 2006: the players, especially stars like JJ who simply didn't make the NT a priority.

Some of you make it a religion to bash CCC while hypocritically claiming that you want to see your own coaches improve. Look, I am not saying that CCC is the greatest football mind, but hell, he managed to put your team into a home game situation where beating Angola would have put you in pole position to qualify...instead of having to rely on other results. He guided the team to the point where the players could have stepped up in that one game and brought it all home.

If CCC had a major flaw, it was in his not instilling iron and ruthless discipline. Contrast the attitude of the SE players with that of their Angolan counterparts. Sorry, but this is an authority issue where the players deserve at least as much of the blame as CCC. They failed to rise to the occasion, playing well below potential.

All in all, CCC received valuable experience that can and should be an asset going forward. It would be a great tragedy to wholly sideline him. You have to reap his concrete experience and indeed all of the experience of past coaches and advisors who know Nigeria well.

I do know one thing: if CyberEagles reflects the mindset of the powers that be in the NFA, where vindictiveness and anger drive policy, then you will indeed make a waning Super-Eagles a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is your team and your country. Support them constructively and faithfully.

Trust me, you should hear how Croatians slam our team when they don't play to performance. But, dense as we can be at times, we know that excellence has to ultimately come from ourselves...collectively...and that there is a learning curve, one we paid a price for by not qualifying for Euro 2000. We didn't banish the coach and his staff. Sure, he was fired, but he provided continuing advice, as did a generation of players that was retired. The new staff brokered no indiscipline, not hesitating to ban players for minor breaches of conduct...consistently. Igor Biscan of Liverpool hasn't played for 3 years now nor will he because he left on the eve of a game because he wasn't listed as a starter.

You judge where a small country like Croatia has come over the years. Nigeria can at least match us...at least I sure am hungry for our teams to meet.

Cheers, Mate

Hard Man · Post by **Hard Man** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:27 pm

There was just too much room for complacency!

Hard Man · Post by **Hard Man** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:55 pm

mate wrote: One More Thing on the SE Failure

I stand by what I said earlier about who is to blame most for Nigeria's failure to qualify for WC 2006: the players, especially stars like JJ who simply didn't make the NT a priority.

That is one of several factors. My position is that a host of factors converged to produce this outcome: NFA's poor planning; CCC's comparatively laissez faire approach to discipline and his less-then-adequate know-how; and the players' own lack of the 3 D's: Discipline, Dedication and Determination. All these things were plain for the discerning eye to see.

Fortunately or unfortunately, as far as players are concerned, the coach sets the tone --he must succeed or fail irrespective of the failings of the authorities.

mate wrote:Some of you make it a religion to bash CCC while hypocritically claiming that you want to see your own coaches improve. Look, I am not saying that CCC is the greatest football mind, but hell, he managed to put your team into a home game situation where beating Angola would have put you in pole position to qualify...instead of having to rely on other results. He guided the team to the point where the players could have stepped up in that one game and brought it all home.

I don't think it is hypocrisy per se. It is merely constructive thinking. Most of the CCC critics will support a competent LC in a heartbeat. CCC was not that, he had nothing whatsoever to offer at that level. With everything that was at stake, his approach was laid-back. When the facts on the ground pointed to the developing of a dire situation, his responses failed to match those facts. We were throwing points away needlessly and he did not appear concerned about that. A similar scenario was played out during our CAN 2004 qualifiers when we barely made it, with our fate restingon the hands of some other team (like now). We were lucky then. Not this time. I'm sorry, but his attitude strikes me as absolutely lacking in both foresight and insight. Given that background, I do feel that the criticism of CCC was justified.

mate wrote:If CCC had a major flaw, it was in his not instilling iron and ruthless discipline. Contrast the attitude of the SE players with that of their Angolan counterparts. Sorry, but this is an authority issue where the players deserve at least as much of the blame as CCC. They failed to rise to the occasion, playing well below potential.

Not only did he fail to instil discipline, his team played the same prosaic game, match after match. here was no clear tactical definition from match to match, it was long ball, long ball, long ball. As captain of Nigeria between 1975-81, he was a center-half known more for blasting the ball upfield into some melee, rather than passing it constructively. This was the style he was indoctrinated into in his playing days with perennial champions, Enugu Rangers --who reached the Champions Cup final in 1975 and lost 0-1 on aggregate (at home) to Hafia Conakry of Guinea. One would have thought that, as a coach in the present day, he would have moved beyond this "route one" style to embrace the tactical methodologies of the modern game, including possession football .. no. His Eagles were a throwback. On the occasions when we managed to score, those were the result of constructive interchanges of passes, and that was something he ought to have seen and built on. If you play 2 strikers of average height and insist on defenders banging the ball upfield to them to contest in the air with tall defenders, you have serious problems.

mate wrote:All in all, CCC received valuable experience that can and should be an asset going forward. It would be a great tragedy to wholly sideline him. You have to reap his concrete experience and indeed all of the experience of past coaches and advisors who know Nigeria well.

CCC has been in the coaching business since 1983. He was par tof our U-17 championship team crew (1985, 87, 89) as well as being Chief Coach of the National Team, the Super Eagles, during a portion of Clemens Westerhof's tenure as Technical Adviser (1991-94), not including other experience in the Nigerian league with Rangers, in Lebanon, and as coach of Kenya's Harambee Stars. He has thus garnered oodles of experience over these past 22 years. Unfortunately the experience has not stood us in good stead. In light of this, it is logical to posit that insufficient talent lies behind this experience. We cannot actually benefit from it.

mate wrote:I do know one thing: if CyberEagles reflects the mindset of the powers that be in the NFA, where vindictiveness and anger drive policy, then you will indeed make a waning Super-Eagles a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is your team and your country. Support them constructively and faithfully.

Please spare some of us the generalization. There are many level-headed folks in the CE, and they're not necessarily the overly vocal ones.

mate wrote: Trust me, you should hear how Croatians slam our team when they don't play to performance. But, dense as we can be at times, we know that excellence has to ultimately come from ourselves...collectively...and that there is a learning curve, one we paid a price for by not qualifying for Euro 2000. We didn't banish the coach and his staff. Sure, he was fired, but he provided continuing advice, as did a generation of players that was retired. The new staff brokered no indiscipline, not hesitating to ban players for minor breaches of conduct...consistently. Igor Biscan of Liverpool hasn't played for 3 years now nor will he because he left on the eve of a game because he wasn't listed as a starter.

You judge where a small country like Croatia has come over the years. Nigeria can at least match us...at least I sure am hungry for our teams to meet.

Cheers, Mate

Sounds like you guys have it figured out .. of course I postulate that the validity of your scenario is predicated on the former coach having anything of value to share.

IMHO Amodu (and not CCC) would be a more effective consultant.

r9ronaldo · Post by **r9ronaldo** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:44 pm

It makes me sick when people talk of Africa's superpowers. Since when did Nigeria become Africa's super power. Nonsense.

mate · Post by **mate** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:44 pm

Hard Man

You make some very good points and definitely are more knowledgeable regarding the specifics of CCC and his qualifying campaign.

That is one of several factors. My position is that a host of factors converged to produce this outcome: NFA's poor planning; CCC's comparatively laissez faire approach to discipline and his less-then-adequate know-how; and the players' own lack of the 3 D's: Discipline, Dedication and Determination. All these things were plain for the discerning eye to see.

I absolutely agree. However, I think that the failure of the players was more significant than the failings of CCC. Not all great teams have great coaches. History has shown that on some teams a core of players...with maturity and strong leadership...compensate for the deficiencies of a coach. Like I said, the SEs had one game opportunity to defeat Angola at home. They didn't.

Fortunately or unfortunately, as far as players are concerned, the coach sets the tone --he must succeed or fail irrespective of the failings of the authorities.

I agree with this as well. Hence, I have no contention with the fact that CCC was dismissed. However, I don't want it to be lost that the players were equally to blame, that subsequent coaches have a real discipline and motivational problem on their hands. This is not going to be corrected by obtaining a coach who is only tactically more astute than CCC.

I don't think it is hypocrisy per se.

Sorry, my opinion is that this was hypocritical...especially in the context of people slamming and undermining CCC every step of the way, even when things were going well, at least in terms of the table. Again, CCC got you into a one off against Angola at home...this is exactly what happened when Croatia played Sweden. Had we lost that game, you better believe I would have held the players most accountable ( all things being equal ). I don't think CCC did anything so wrong as to have lost that win at home against Angola.

It is doubly hypocritical to now attack and assail CCC and anybody who supported him, as if any of you knew that failure was predetermined. Sure, he failed...but he is the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Unfortunately the experience has not stood us in good stead. In light of this, it is logical to posit that insufficient talent lies behind this experience. We cannot actually benefit from it.

Hmm, I heard similar things about Keshi. But, I'm not Nigerian and I defer to concensus on this issue. I can only speak from the experience of how my country has handled our past coaches and staff. I would be inclined to reap people's experience, but that's just me.

Sounds like you guys have it figured out .. of course I postulate that the validity of your scenario is predicated on the former coach having anything of value to share.

IMHO Amodu (and not CCC) would be a more effective consultant.

I certainly haven't figured out anything. Like I said, I'm merely a non-partisan observer who loves African football and is sharing my opinions, as deficient as they might be. But from my perspective, it sure looks like Nigeria suffers from a lack of organizational consistency, authority, and continuity. Cliched as it sounds, this is a shame given Nigeria's immense talent.

Also, I am no stranger to football passion. But I think a good number of you are way to hard on your coaches, moreso than in calling out players who deserve as much blame.

Anyways, I'm hoping for future Nigerian success.

Cheers, Mate

Hard Man · Post by **Hard Man** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:03 pm

Well played Mate.

Let's look at Brazil '70: constructed by Joao Saldanha (a journalist); but taken to Mexico by Mario Zagallo .. this side subdued Zagallo completely. Only in 1974, after 4 years in charge, was Zagallo able to impose his defensive stamp on the seleccao...

Let's look at Bafana Bafana, under their CAN2000 coach (name forgotten, changes too frequent) --it came to light that the man had no ideas whatsoever and the foreign pros were carrying the team. They reached the semi-final, losing to Nigeria ...

As both scenarios show, it is possible for players to discount their coach's input, or lack thereof, and carry the team along. In Brazil's case, Zagallo knew his onions, but swallowed his pride and let the players express themselves. In Bafana Bafana's case, coach didn't know any onions, but swallowed his pride, drew his salary, and let the players make the decisions.

The outcomes differ: Brazil carried home the trophy. Bafana2 came away empty-handed.

Not only do you consider whether the coach actually knows his job; you also need to look at the caliber of the players. In the case of Brazil, you could not have questioned their dedication and commitment. In the case of Nigeria, the clear indiscipline undermined whatever aspirations they may have nursed of carrying the team to Germany in spite of CCC's shortcomings.

As far back as our opening qualifier at home to Algeria (won 1-0 via a 89th minute Yobo header), I predicted that this side under CCC would not reach the WC finals. (see viewtopic.php?t=48017) I am rightly sad to have been proved right, but the signs were there ab initio and the sterile play was repeated game after game, underlining that we were not going anywhere.

I believe in Eguavoen we now have a coach who is not only tactically creative and astute (not "more", because the contrast is like night and day) but will not brook indiscipline. There is always a salutary effect when players see that a coach knows his onions and is a strong leader of men as well as having clear expectations and goals: respect follows, and with respect, comes adherence ot the coach's policies, i.e. discipline.

The people slamming CCC even when results were going well came from the viewpoint that results per se do not count -- performance is the other indice on which a coach's ability is judged. Based on performance, we were extremely lucky to be where we were on the qualifying table. In my book, this is not hypocritical, simply reflecting an expectation of a higher, qualitative standard consistent with the abilities of the available talent. The mediocre standards consistently demonstrated by CCC's selections would have seen us completely outplayed by well-drilled European and South American sides and summarily drummed out of the WC finals after just 2 games. I don't hold brief for anyone else ciritcizing CCC on any other ground. I do believe that if you had watched the Eagles in those qualifiers pre-Eguavoen, you would have shared the CCC bashers views.

mate wrote:Hard Man

You make some very good points and definitely are more knowledgeable regarding the specifics of CCC and his qualifying campaign.

That is one of several factors. My position is that a host of factors converged to produce this outcome: NFA's poor planning; CCC's comparatively laissez faire approach to discipline and his less-then-adequate know-how; and the players' own lack of the 3 D's: Discipline, Dedication and Determination. All these things were plain for the discerning eye to see.
I absolutely agree. However, I think that the failure of the players was more significant than the failings of CCC. Not all great teams have great coaches. History has shown that on some teams a core of players...with maturity and strong leadership...compensate for the deficiencies of a coach. Like I said, the SEs had one game opportunity to defeat Angola at home. They didn't.

Fortunately or unfortunately, as far as players are concerned, the coach sets the tone --he must succeed or fail irrespective of the failings of the authorities.
I agree with this as well. Hence, I have no contention with the fact that CCC was dismissed. However, I don't want it to be lost that the players were equally to blame, that subsequent coaches have a real discipline and motivational problem on their hands. This is not going to be corrected by obtaining a coach who is only tactically more astute than CCC.

I don't think it is hypocrisy per se.
Sorry, my opinion is that this was hypocritical...especially in the context of people slamming and undermining CCC every step of the way, even when things were going well, at least in terms of the table. Again, CCC got you into a one off against Angola at home...this is exactly what happened when Croatia played Sweden. Had we lost that game, you better believe I would have held the players most accountable ( all things being equal ). I don't think CCC did anything so wrong as to have lost that win at home against Angola.

It is doubly hypocritical to now attack and assail CCC and anybody who supported him, as if any of you knew that failure was predetermined. Sure, he failed...but he is the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Unfortunately the experience has not stood us in good stead. In light of this, it is logical to posit that insufficient talent lies behind this experience. We cannot actually benefit from it.
Hmm, I heard similar things about Keshi. But, I'm not Nigerian and I defer to concensus on this issue. I can only speak from the experience of how my country has handled our past coaches and staff. I would be inclined to reap people's experience, but that's just me.

Sounds like you guys have it figured out .. of course I postulate that the validity of your scenario is predicated on the former coach having anything of value to share.

IMHO Amodu (and not CCC) would be a more effective consultant.
I certainly haven't figured out anything. Like I said, I'm merely a non-partisan observer who loves African football and is sharing my opinions, as deficient as they might be. But from my perspective, it sure looks like Nigeria suffers from a lack of organizational consistency, authority, and continuity. Cliched as it sounds, this is a shame given Nigeria's immense talent.

Also, I am no stranger to football passion. But I think a good number of you are way to hard on your coaches, moreso than in calling out players who deserve as much blame.

Anyways, I'm hoping for future Nigerian success.

Cheers, Mate

omotori · Post by **omotori** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:08 am

mate wrote:All in all, CCC received valuable experience that can and should be an asset going forward. It would be a great tragedy to wholly sideline him. You have to reap his concrete experience and indeed all of the experience of past coaches and advisors who know Nigeria well.

mate, I am now finally convinced that you are not well.

it just shows how condescending & patronizing you are even in the face of the achievements of others like Siasia, Eguavon & Keshi. Left to you CCC would be eagus coach for the next 20 years.

I feel sorry for anaybody who listens to you.