How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
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- Scipio Africanus
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How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
He also led us to the 2000 Nations Cup runners up. Nigeria and politics.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Denmark would’ve beaten us 5-3 instead of 4-1.
I don’t know what the obsession with playing beautiful football is about instead of playing to win.
When you look at the African teams that have performed well at the WC, getting past the 2nd rd, you’ll see that they were all very good defensive teams and decent attacking teams. They certainly were no tiki taka type teams. The great Cameroun teams of the 90s, Senegal 2000, Ghana 2010 and Morocco 2022 were all very good defensively. We used to fear the indomitable lions mostly because they were able to stop us. Not because their attack was so great.
Imho, you’re not going to beautify your way past the likes of France, Argentina, England, Croatia and other top teams. Been there done that! The game becomes a grind at the highest level, the team that makes the most defensive mistakes is guaranteed to lose. We have already shown we can score goals against any team in the world at the World Cup.
What we’re yet to show the world is if we can hold our defensive shape for 90 mins without falling asleep at the crucial moments. It will require a total commitment to team defense along with the attack. We started to see that with Pesseiro, unfortunately it’s no longer. Let’s hope the next coach can continue.
I don’t know what the obsession with playing beautiful football is about instead of playing to win.
When you look at the African teams that have performed well at the WC, getting past the 2nd rd, you’ll see that they were all very good defensive teams and decent attacking teams. They certainly were no tiki taka type teams. The great Cameroun teams of the 90s, Senegal 2000, Ghana 2010 and Morocco 2022 were all very good defensively. We used to fear the indomitable lions mostly because they were able to stop us. Not because their attack was so great.
Imho, you’re not going to beautify your way past the likes of France, Argentina, England, Croatia and other top teams. Been there done that! The game becomes a grind at the highest level, the team that makes the most defensive mistakes is guaranteed to lose. We have already shown we can score goals against any team in the world at the World Cup.
What we’re yet to show the world is if we can hold our defensive shape for 90 mins without falling asleep at the crucial moments. It will require a total commitment to team defense along with the attack. We started to see that with Pesseiro, unfortunately it’s no longer. Let’s hope the next coach can continue.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Look these WC defensive lapses. What do they all have in common?Failure to track runs and giving the opponent time and space.The 2024 team was much better at this but they eventually
Caved to CIV under tremendous pressure.
[media] [/media]
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Caved to CIV under tremendous pressure.
[media] [/media]
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[media] [/media]
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- Scipio Africanus
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Argentina won this last WC playing beautiful attacking football. African teams often fall short at the WC because they struggle to create and finish chances. You think we would have beaten Brazil and Argentina in Atlanta '96 with a dull defensive display? No. The only way to beat them was to attack them all game. By the way does Brazil 1 Germany 7 ring a bell?EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 8:00 pm Denmark would’ve beaten us 5-3 instead of 4-1.
I don’t know what the obsession with playing beautiful football is about instead of playing to win.
When you look at the African teams that have performed well at the WC, getting past the 2nd rd, you’ll see that they were all very good defensive teams and decent attacking teams. They certainly were no tiki taka type teams. The great Cameroun teams of the 90s, Senegal 2000, Ghana 2010 and Morocco 2022 were all very good defensively. We used to fear the indomitable lions mostly because they were able to stop us. Not because their attack was so great.
Imho, you’re not going to beautify your way past the likes of France, Argentina, England, Croatia and other top teams. Been there done that! The game becomes a grind at the highest level, the team that makes the most defensive mistakes is guaranteed to lose. We have already shown we can score goals against any team in the world at the World Cup.
What we’re yet to show the world is if we can hold our defensive shape for 90 mins without falling asleep at the crucial moments. It will require a total commitment to team defense along with the attack. We started to see that with Pesseiro, unfortunately it’s no longer. Let’s hope the next coach can continue.
All those African WC teams you mentioned were eventually found out because they struggled to score goals. You have got to be able to create and score quality chances to make it into the elite of world football.
Last edited by Scipio Africanus on Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
You are talking as if playing attacking football and defending well are mutually exclusive. They are not. You have to condition the players properly and make sure they understand their roles very well. This is how you stamp out "big-man" football.EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 8:23 pm Look these WC defensive lapses. What do they all have in common?Failure to track runs and giving the opponent time and space.The 2024 team was much better at this but they eventually
Caved to CIV under tremendous pressure.
Wha choo looking at?!
Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Probably group stage exit…Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Talent matters. Argentina has some of the best players and depth in every position, that’s the main reason they won. They have the players to execute the beautiful game and they got better as the tournament progressed.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:06 pmArgentina won this last WC playing beautiful attacking football. African teams often fall short at the WC because they struggle to create and finish chances. You think we would have beaten Brazil and Argentina in Atlanta '96 with a dull defensive display? No. The only way to beat them was to attack them all game. By the way does Brazil 1 Germany 7 ring a bell?EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 8:00 pm Denmark would’ve beaten us 5-3 instead of 4-1.
I don’t know what the obsession with playing beautiful football is about instead of playing to win.
When you look at the African teams that have performed well at the WC, getting past the 2nd rd, you’ll see that they were all very good defensive teams and decent attacking teams. They certainly were no tiki taka type teams. The great Cameroun teams of the 90s, Senegal 2000, Ghana 2010 and Morocco 2022 were all very good defensively. We used to fear the indomitable lions mostly because they were able to stop us. Not because their attack was so great.
Imho, you’re not going to beautify your way past the likes of France, Argentina, England, Croatia and other top teams. Been there done that! The game becomes a grind at the highest level, the team that makes the most defensive mistakes is guaranteed to lose. We have already shown we can score goals against any team in the world at the World Cup.
What we’re yet to show the world is if we can hold our defensive shape for 90 mins without falling asleep at the crucial moments. It will require a total commitment to team defense along with the attack. We started to see that with Pesseiro, unfortunately it’s no longer. Let’s hope the next coach can continue.
All those African WC teams you mentioned were eventually found out because they struggled to score goals. You have got to be able to create and score quality chances to make it into the elite of world football.
We don’t even have 1 single MF, DF or goalie that can be considered top 10 in his position in any of the top 5 leagues, maybe Bassey. Onyeka was our best MF at Afcon and Troost Ekong was our best defender. I’m not saying attacking football is bad, it’s just that we don’t have the talent to play that way against the best teams and not leak goals. The best teams have the best players in defense and attack. Historically, we haven’t been able to score enough goals at the WC to compensate for our defensive Lapses vs the better team. Argentina has been beating us at the WC for 28yrs. We ain’t going to beautify our way to victory with Onyeaka, Sanusi and Yusuf.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
We made the finals of two tournaments when he was coach. How do you come by your belief that we would have been bounced in the first round under him at WC '98?Gotti wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:18 pmProbably group stage exit…Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
"it is better to be excited now and disappointed later, than it is to be disappointed now and later." - Marcus Aurelius, 178AD
metalalloy wrote: Does the SE have Gray, Mahrez or Albrighton on our team or players of their caliber?
Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Troussier was fired before the friendlies but after qualifying us for the World Cup. We lost those friendly games under Bora Militinovic.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Did Argentina play beautiful attacking football or grind and wear teams down? Their midfield was packed full of workaholics who put in more of a shift than Orwell’s Boxer.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Both things can be true. Exactly the point I made to His Royal Highness. Their goals against Poland, Mexico, Netherlands, Croatia and France were works of art
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Thanks! I think that there was a great level of comfort under Bonfrere that allowed us to play great footballaruako1 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 7:30 amTroussier was fired before the friendlies but after qualifying us for the World Cup. We lost those friendly games under Bora Militinovic.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
Wha choo looking at?!
Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
Enough said. Winning the World Cup is no small feat. You must have depth in all areas of the pitch and a lucky draw.EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:36 pmTalent matters. Argentina has some of the best players and depth in every position, that’s the main reason they won. They have the players to execute the beautiful game and they got better as the tournament progressed.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 10:06 pmArgentina won this last WC playing beautiful attacking football. African teams often fall short at the WC because they struggle to create and finish chances. You think we would have beaten Brazil and Argentina in Atlanta '96 with a dull defensive display? No. The only way to beat them was to attack them all game. By the way does Brazil 1 Germany 7 ring a bell?EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 8:00 pm Denmark would’ve beaten us 5-3 instead of 4-1.
I don’t know what the obsession with playing beautiful football is about instead of playing to win.
When you look at the African teams that have performed well at the WC, getting past the 2nd rd, you’ll see that they were all very good defensive teams and decent attacking teams. They certainly were no tiki taka type teams. The great Cameroun teams of the 90s, Senegal 2000, Ghana 2010 and Morocco 2022 were all very good defensively. We used to fear the indomitable lions mostly because they were able to stop us. Not because their attack was so great.
Imho, you’re not going to beautify your way past the likes of France, Argentina, England, Croatia and other top teams. Been there done that! The game becomes a grind at the highest level, the team that makes the most defensive mistakes is guaranteed to lose. We have already shown we can score goals against any team in the world at the World Cup.
What we’re yet to show the world is if we can hold our defensive shape for 90 mins without falling asleep at the crucial moments. It will require a total commitment to team defense along with the attack. We started to see that with Pesseiro, unfortunately it’s no longer. Let’s hope the next coach can continue.
All those African WC teams you mentioned were eventually found out because they struggled to score goals. You have got to be able to create and score quality chances to make it into the elite of world football.
We don’t even have 1 single MF, DF or goalie that can be considered top 10 in his position in any of the top 5 leagues, maybe Bassey. Onyeka was our best MF at Afcon and Troost Ekong was our best defender. I’m not saying attacking football is bad, it’s just that we don’t have the talent to play that way against the best teams and not leak goals. The best teams have the best players in defense and attack. Historically, we haven’t been able to score enough goals at the WC to compensate for our defensive Lapses vs the better team. Argentina has been beating us at the WC for 28yrs. We ain’t going to beautify our way to victory with Onyeaka, Sanusi and Yusuf.
The only SE team that had the potential to win the world cup was our 1994 team. None of our opponents outplayed us including Italy that knocked us out.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
@Africanus, the “attacking football” label is casually thrown around, more often than not, as misnomer. Again, one would ask, “what constitutes attacking football? Is it the number of attackers in the starting lineup? The number of players committed to transitions and attack? The speed with which the ball is progressed from front to back? Is a team boasting 25 shots on goal at the end of a game more attacking than one who managed 7 against the same opposition?
Last edited by Coach on Thu Mar 07, 2024 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
What constitutes effective attacking football, you ask? Simple. Forwards and midfielders scoring goals on a regular basis.Coach wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2024 11:22 am @Africanus, the “attacking football” label is casually thrown around, more often than not, as misnomer. Again, one would ask, “what constitutes attacking football? Is it the number of attackers in the starting lineup? The number of players committed to transitions and attack? The speed with which the ball is progressed from front to back? Is a team boasting 25 shots on goal at the end of a game more attacking than one who mattered 7 against the same opposition?
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Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
No way were we getting out of that group if Bonfere was in place. As clueless as they come. Coaching U23 and coaching WC are completely different propositions.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
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MY NAME IS WAKA-MAN, and YES, I AM A CHELSEA FAN. Please don't hate me - I was fan when David Ellery dashed Cantona two penalties as Man U beat us 4-0 in the FA Cup final. So I've paid my dues.
MY NAME IS WAKA-MAN, and YES, I AM A CHELSEA FAN. Please don't hate me - I was fan when David Ellery dashed Cantona two penalties as Man U beat us 4-0 in the FA Cup final. So I've paid my dues.
Re: How far would we have gone at WC 1998 with Bonfrere?
In my view, Bonfrere must be one of the most overhyped managers anywhere.waka-man wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 11:00 amNo way were we getting out of that group if Bonfere was in place. As clueless as they come. Coaching U23 and coaching WC are completely different propositions.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:06 pm The man led us to football gold in Atlanta 96. Was it Troussier that was fired after a dismal run of friendly performances against Germany, Netherlands and Yugoslavia and let to the hiring of Bora Multivitamin?
I no remember anymore but we played beautiful attacking football under Bonfrere
At the Olympics, the team was already set before he entered the fray.
Many also forget that he was at the helm during the World Cup qualifiers when we lost to both Liberia and Sierra Leone. He was asked about revamping the ream by looking inwards at emerging talents. He claimed then, as many claim today that there were no local talents.
However after he was fired with Nigeria having little margin for errors in the World Cup qualifiers, Amodu was called in. Amodu brought in a few local boys and the team promptly took off and qualified on a tight late run.
We should not forget that.
Sure he was there when we finished second at home at the AFCON, but his career shows he was mostly average and one of those who likely benefits from hype rather than substance. Although, there are numerous such hyped managers in football. He isn't a magician by any means.
The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics