SE will do well in Russia
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 8:52 am
Let us look at our history.
We have gotten to the last 16 on three occasions.
All these 3 occasions are related to stability in coaching staff and players.
With Westerhof in 1994, he had a couple of years to build a team.
In 1998 it was a different story with Troussier, Amodu, Bonfrere and Monday Sinclair taking charge before Milutinovic guided us to the last 16. One could argue that the team had enough quality to go further and would have performed well with any other coach even though Milutinovic was a world cup specialist.
In 2002, a hurriedly put together team floundered under Onigbinde and could not register a win let alone get out of the group stages.
In 2010, Lars Lagerback took the job at the last minute, put together a team that could not win a single game and was thrown out at the group stage.
In 2014, Keshi took the team that was crowned african champions to Brazil. Keshi had build a new team comprising of young and upcoming players and local based players. Despite some unexpected call ups, the team qualified for the round of 16 albeit with some luck. But they say luck come to those who are prepared.
In 2018 Gernot Rohr took over a team that had failed to qualify for the ANC two editions in a row and oversaw an efficient world cup qualifying campaign that saw the team lose just one competitive game. Rohr build his team around young players with a particular preference for European born players. Rohr also maintained the same set of players ensuring continuity.
In summary, I expect the stability in the SE to see them get through to the last 16 despite the fact that their group is a much tougher one than the one in 2014.
We have gotten to the last 16 on three occasions.
All these 3 occasions are related to stability in coaching staff and players.
With Westerhof in 1994, he had a couple of years to build a team.
In 1998 it was a different story with Troussier, Amodu, Bonfrere and Monday Sinclair taking charge before Milutinovic guided us to the last 16. One could argue that the team had enough quality to go further and would have performed well with any other coach even though Milutinovic was a world cup specialist.
In 2002, a hurriedly put together team floundered under Onigbinde and could not register a win let alone get out of the group stages.
In 2010, Lars Lagerback took the job at the last minute, put together a team that could not win a single game and was thrown out at the group stage.
In 2014, Keshi took the team that was crowned african champions to Brazil. Keshi had build a new team comprising of young and upcoming players and local based players. Despite some unexpected call ups, the team qualified for the round of 16 albeit with some luck. But they say luck come to those who are prepared.
In 2018 Gernot Rohr took over a team that had failed to qualify for the ANC two editions in a row and oversaw an efficient world cup qualifying campaign that saw the team lose just one competitive game. Rohr build his team around young players with a particular preference for European born players. Rohr also maintained the same set of players ensuring continuity.
In summary, I expect the stability in the SE to see them get through to the last 16 despite the fact that their group is a much tougher one than the one in 2014.