Local Coach Advocacy- Like Forrest Gump!
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:16 pm
...stupid is as stupid does!!!
The issue is not whether one likes local coaches or foreign coaches. That is just plain stupid!
There is no such thing as "local coaches" or "foreign coaches". Any more than they are not all black, or all white...
There are just individual coaches, and they are ALL different.
So every coach stands on their own individual merit, or lack thereof.
Kennedy Boboye is different from Finidi as they are both different from Jose Peseiro who is in turn different from Gernot Rohr.
So don't tell me that Nigeria must hire a "local coach" or a "foreign coach" for the SE. That is stupid as stupid does!!
Tell me who, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, tell me why.
What qualities does a George Finidi have that both differentiates and places him above George Ogunmodode or Pedro Goncalves and vice versa.
What is his footballing philosophy?
How does he model his game?
How does he define space, expand it or constrain it?
Every coach stands on their own individual merit, or lack thereof.
The chief advocates of LCs like Odegbanmi often speak about it thus:
Whenever you hear someone speak like this about coaching, he is quietly telling you that he is ignorant about football.
Yes football is not rocket science, but neither is football, stupid as stupid does!!!
It requires creative intelligence. An understanding of "the science of football", and the tactical analysis on which it functions, which is about the organization of men in space and time.
Back in the day when I followed Leventis United, Nigerian coaches would sneer at such discussions as "book football". A few things have changed since Clemens Westerhof described Nigerian coaches as lacking in tactical details...as exemplified by listening to the ignorant Segun Odegbanmi!
Yes, Nigerians excel in multiple disciplines in the world. Their work in those disciplines speak for them.
Where is the work of a Nigerian coach today that speaks for them?
There is no hiding place in football. If you are excelling in the game, football will find you!!!
But if you are as stupid as stupid gets, it does not matter whether you are Nigerian or German or Brazilian, football will never elevate you, unless equally stupid people do so!!
Today there are a new category of young coaches blazing new trails in the game. Roberto De Zerbi, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Diniz, Ruben Amorin, Thiago Motta.
Where is such a coach in Nigeria?
More than two decades ago, I asked this same question in a publication in The Guardian. I noted that a Nigerian born coach with experience in European football and an understanding of the global game was best suited to lead the SE.
But then I asked- Where is such a coach in Nigeria?
Without a professionally functioning league and without a professionally run club, where is the platform for such coaches to emerge and horn their skills?
The doctors have medical schools.
The engineers have engineering schools.
Where is the "functional laboratory" for coaches to emerge in Nigeria?.
Or is it just a matter of "casting and binding" and they will magically emerge?
Stupid is as stupid does. And stupid is:
- Ohenhen
- Bell
- Odegbanmi
The issue is not whether one likes local coaches or foreign coaches. That is just plain stupid!
There is no such thing as "local coaches" or "foreign coaches". Any more than they are not all black, or all white...
There are just individual coaches, and they are ALL different.
So every coach stands on their own individual merit, or lack thereof.
Kennedy Boboye is different from Finidi as they are both different from Jose Peseiro who is in turn different from Gernot Rohr.
So don't tell me that Nigeria must hire a "local coach" or a "foreign coach" for the SE. That is stupid as stupid does!!
Tell me who, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, tell me why.
What qualities does a George Finidi have that both differentiates and places him above George Ogunmodode or Pedro Goncalves and vice versa.
What is his footballing philosophy?
How does he model his game?
How does he define space, expand it or constrain it?
Every coach stands on their own individual merit, or lack thereof.
The chief advocates of LCs like Odegbanmi often speak about it thus:
“All around us, we hear about some Nigerians who are excelling in all fields of endeavours and they are leaving the country to go and help other countries.
“Football is not a rocket science, but a simple game. We have lots of Nigerians who have all the qualifications to take us to any level.
“For me, I won’t suffer from colonial mentality again and enough of foreign coaches.
Whenever you hear someone speak like this about coaching, he is quietly telling you that he is ignorant about football.
Yes football is not rocket science, but neither is football, stupid as stupid does!!!
It requires creative intelligence. An understanding of "the science of football", and the tactical analysis on which it functions, which is about the organization of men in space and time.
Back in the day when I followed Leventis United, Nigerian coaches would sneer at such discussions as "book football". A few things have changed since Clemens Westerhof described Nigerian coaches as lacking in tactical details...as exemplified by listening to the ignorant Segun Odegbanmi!
Yes, Nigerians excel in multiple disciplines in the world. Their work in those disciplines speak for them.
Where is the work of a Nigerian coach today that speaks for them?
There is no hiding place in football. If you are excelling in the game, football will find you!!!
But if you are as stupid as stupid gets, it does not matter whether you are Nigerian or German or Brazilian, football will never elevate you, unless equally stupid people do so!!
Today there are a new category of young coaches blazing new trails in the game. Roberto De Zerbi, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Diniz, Ruben Amorin, Thiago Motta.
Where is such a coach in Nigeria?
More than two decades ago, I asked this same question in a publication in The Guardian. I noted that a Nigerian born coach with experience in European football and an understanding of the global game was best suited to lead the SE.
But then I asked- Where is such a coach in Nigeria?
Without a professionally functioning league and without a professionally run club, where is the platform for such coaches to emerge and horn their skills?
The doctors have medical schools.
The engineers have engineering schools.
Where is the "functional laboratory" for coaches to emerge in Nigeria?.
Or is it just a matter of "casting and binding" and they will magically emerge?
Stupid is as stupid does. And stupid is:
- Ohenhen
- Bell
- Odegbanmi