NIGERIA V BENIN MATCH ANALYSIS (YOUR OPINION PLS!)
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NIGERIA V BENIN MATCH ANALYSIS (YOUR OPINION PLS!)
Never thought I would do this, but I just got back from watching the Nigeria v Benin match .. wanted to post my thoughts (while they're still fresh in my head) on the performance of the Eagles in this game and the other two matches in the group stages.
THE GAME
The eagles played well, TOTALLY dominating the match for 80 minutes. I say 80 minutes, because for the last 10 minutes the Eagles were asleep. They stopped thinking and playing and started day dreaming, thats how Benin nicked their only goal of the entire tournament. I don't want to sound harsh, because the reality is that it was very easy to get lulled into a state of stupor. The Beninoise just camped out in their half and had like four shots on goal the whole time. After they scored two goals and were seemingly cruising to a win, you can see why the eagles took their feet off the gas. I was nodding off at the end too.
That being said, I reiterate the eagles played well
PROBLEMS
The Eagles cannot finish. Simple and short.
We had almost 12 - 20 chances and the ones we put away were the most elaborate, less obvious chances. Kanu and Agahowa missed a crapload of chances. Okocha (who played excellently) had two miskicks that I think would have been goals had he hit them exactly how he wanted. George Abbey missed what would have been a fantastic header of a goal had he hit it, doing all the hard work by reacting faster than anyone on the pitch and totally screwing up the actual header. At times it was almost painful to watch.
ALL IN ALL
This team is still jelling. Okocha has not taken center stage, because it seems he is doing the work of two men in the Eagles Engine room. Seyi Olofinjana is supposed to be the 2nd man in the middle (correct me if I'm wrong) but he is largely absent there. Occasionally, he will make these brilliant runs from nowhere but he always manages to screw up the pass that would ice the whole thing. Okocha has been playing really deep to make up for this problem in the last three games, getting few chances to push up and help out our offence.
Oliseh is being very sorely missed here. I honestly cannot say that I have seen anyone that could even begin to fill the DM position satisfactorily. If West were here I would have suggested Yobo or Abbey, but he is not.
THE PLAYERS
King Kanu
His finishing was disgusting. Talking as a former forward on the University of Texas club team. He held on to the ball just that split second longer than he should have ... all the time. His hesitation to shoot is even more irritating, in that his ball control and passing is quite simply, sublime. He is second only to Okocha in that respect. I think we need to play Kanu as playmaker/forward, to the side and forward of Okocha (hope you can visualize it).
Seyi (The Ghost) Olofinjana
See above. Absentee player in the middle. Has these Utakalike moments where he will take on and beat 2 or 3 opposing players but then play the pass wide of the intended player or straight to an opposing player. Apart from that, I have seen nothing interesting from him
Utaka
I am excited about this guy! He displays a willingness to take on players that borders on arrongance sometimes. The wonderful thing is this... he doesn't dribble on the spot or fake out players. He makes these scintillating runs from a standing start that just leave a trail of players in his wake, and he always tries the shot or the cutback. He is fast, he is big and he is strong and I think he should continue to ply the wings for Nigeria. There is a part of the game, where he beats 3 men like I have explained and takes this ground shot (exactly like Osaze's against South Africa) The shot has "lower 90" written all over it except the Beninoise keeper gets his fingers on it and j..u...uu..st turns the ball around the pole. Getting better and better ... may be our ace against Cameroon.
Agawonder
Let me begin by saying that Julius is one of the more complete strikers I have seen in Nigerian colors in a long long time. He does not hesitate to shoot, He is usually on target and he is *&@ing fast!!! In one part of the benin game, there is this loose ball trundling along to the left side of the benin box. Julius and a Beninoise player start the run for the ball with Julius a full 5 yards behind his man (the sprint is like 15 or 20 yards) and Julius ... just ... eats up the yards on this guy ... getting to the ball first. Again I'm geeking out over this because I used to play forward and I know that the qualities I have described in him are rare. My only complaint about him is that he is sometimes unwilling to take players on if he is not directly in front of the goal, but he more than makes up for that by being able to turn provider when the need arises, today the Eagles rejected all his balls today. Most importantly Julius doesn't play like the man hungry for victory that he was just a short 2 or 4 years ago. I think a goal would go a long way to spark into overdrive in this tournament.
ChiefDrMrPrinceSir JAYJAY Okocha
Sometimes it amazes me that people can open their mouths and yan nonsense about this guy. Okocha's game is majestic and beautiful, its like watching a textbook or something. If you opened a dictionary and looked for the word playmaker, there would be a picture of Okocha, grinning, with a caption below it that reads "So good they named him twice". Everything he does is amazing. He will kick the ball ... and you'll be like "What is this fool doing?" and the ball will quite literally land on the boots of some player that you didn't even know was there. His dribbling is understated now, to the point that its a treat to see him do 3 dragbacks on the same man and fake him out everytime. If someone could lock down the DM position and have his back going forward, I would say lights out for everybody else in the tournament right now. Please let this Okocha bashing end tonight!!!!!!!
I don't want to make this a 6 page treatise so I will briefly touch on some more players, if you want more i will be more than willing to respond to your comments
Osaze (the baby faced Assasin)
Didn't do too well today. Got in the mindset that players who achieve fame too quickly are apt too. He burst on the field today, trying to do exactly what he did in South Africa, as a result he looked a shadow of himself, made rudimentary mistakes. If he relaxes and just takes it easy he could really become something
Yobo and Okoronkwo
Solid today as in most games. Yobo displays a worrying lack of concentration sometimes. Was to blame for Benin's goal. He stood there waiting for the ball to arrive, and the Beninoise player just nicked in, stuck his leg out and around Yobo and touched it into the net. Might be exposed against Etoo or Mboma
Abbey (Yellow fever)
I love this guy, looks good defending or going forward. Will become a mainstay in the Eagles after this tournament
Udeze
Anonymous
Ikedia (the bullet)
Contrary to expectations Ikedia impressed me. He is like Utaka, only that he is more elusive because he is smaller. He has problems delivering that final sweet ball into the box though
Garba lawal
Good Solid performance
Enyeama
I don't think this guy should be in the post. He has excellent stopping abilities but it ends there. He cannot hold onto the ball to save his life, during the game he spilled a routine and direct shot that would have been disastrous had the Beninoise put more than one man near our box 18. He flaps at corners and just does not inspire my confidence. I think he might become a liability against bigger and better teams
And with that, I am done. I rushed through the last part of this because I don't want to bore you. Honestly I don't think Nigeria will beat Cameroon, but I will keep on hoping that they do because my blood is green. This is definitely a team of the future, with Oruma, Obodo, Aiyegbeni and Agali in our team, and CCC at the helm for another 2 years (like they let Westerhof do) we will definitely sweep to a 2006 victory at this same competition. Let me know your thoughts please
PS: I am now offically an Okocha groupie .... and I don't care what anybody thinks.
IK
"fara bale, fara bale, gba si gbo!"
THE GAME
The eagles played well, TOTALLY dominating the match for 80 minutes. I say 80 minutes, because for the last 10 minutes the Eagles were asleep. They stopped thinking and playing and started day dreaming, thats how Benin nicked their only goal of the entire tournament. I don't want to sound harsh, because the reality is that it was very easy to get lulled into a state of stupor. The Beninoise just camped out in their half and had like four shots on goal the whole time. After they scored two goals and were seemingly cruising to a win, you can see why the eagles took their feet off the gas. I was nodding off at the end too.
That being said, I reiterate the eagles played well
PROBLEMS
The Eagles cannot finish. Simple and short.
We had almost 12 - 20 chances and the ones we put away were the most elaborate, less obvious chances. Kanu and Agahowa missed a crapload of chances. Okocha (who played excellently) had two miskicks that I think would have been goals had he hit them exactly how he wanted. George Abbey missed what would have been a fantastic header of a goal had he hit it, doing all the hard work by reacting faster than anyone on the pitch and totally screwing up the actual header. At times it was almost painful to watch.
ALL IN ALL
This team is still jelling. Okocha has not taken center stage, because it seems he is doing the work of two men in the Eagles Engine room. Seyi Olofinjana is supposed to be the 2nd man in the middle (correct me if I'm wrong) but he is largely absent there. Occasionally, he will make these brilliant runs from nowhere but he always manages to screw up the pass that would ice the whole thing. Okocha has been playing really deep to make up for this problem in the last three games, getting few chances to push up and help out our offence.
Oliseh is being very sorely missed here. I honestly cannot say that I have seen anyone that could even begin to fill the DM position satisfactorily. If West were here I would have suggested Yobo or Abbey, but he is not.
THE PLAYERS
King Kanu
His finishing was disgusting. Talking as a former forward on the University of Texas club team. He held on to the ball just that split second longer than he should have ... all the time. His hesitation to shoot is even more irritating, in that his ball control and passing is quite simply, sublime. He is second only to Okocha in that respect. I think we need to play Kanu as playmaker/forward, to the side and forward of Okocha (hope you can visualize it).
Seyi (The Ghost) Olofinjana
See above. Absentee player in the middle. Has these Utakalike moments where he will take on and beat 2 or 3 opposing players but then play the pass wide of the intended player or straight to an opposing player. Apart from that, I have seen nothing interesting from him
Utaka
I am excited about this guy! He displays a willingness to take on players that borders on arrongance sometimes. The wonderful thing is this... he doesn't dribble on the spot or fake out players. He makes these scintillating runs from a standing start that just leave a trail of players in his wake, and he always tries the shot or the cutback. He is fast, he is big and he is strong and I think he should continue to ply the wings for Nigeria. There is a part of the game, where he beats 3 men like I have explained and takes this ground shot (exactly like Osaze's against South Africa) The shot has "lower 90" written all over it except the Beninoise keeper gets his fingers on it and j..u...uu..st turns the ball around the pole. Getting better and better ... may be our ace against Cameroon.
Agawonder
Let me begin by saying that Julius is one of the more complete strikers I have seen in Nigerian colors in a long long time. He does not hesitate to shoot, He is usually on target and he is *&@ing fast!!! In one part of the benin game, there is this loose ball trundling along to the left side of the benin box. Julius and a Beninoise player start the run for the ball with Julius a full 5 yards behind his man (the sprint is like 15 or 20 yards) and Julius ... just ... eats up the yards on this guy ... getting to the ball first. Again I'm geeking out over this because I used to play forward and I know that the qualities I have described in him are rare. My only complaint about him is that he is sometimes unwilling to take players on if he is not directly in front of the goal, but he more than makes up for that by being able to turn provider when the need arises, today the Eagles rejected all his balls today. Most importantly Julius doesn't play like the man hungry for victory that he was just a short 2 or 4 years ago. I think a goal would go a long way to spark into overdrive in this tournament.
ChiefDrMrPrinceSir JAYJAY Okocha
Sometimes it amazes me that people can open their mouths and yan nonsense about this guy. Okocha's game is majestic and beautiful, its like watching a textbook or something. If you opened a dictionary and looked for the word playmaker, there would be a picture of Okocha, grinning, with a caption below it that reads "So good they named him twice". Everything he does is amazing. He will kick the ball ... and you'll be like "What is this fool doing?" and the ball will quite literally land on the boots of some player that you didn't even know was there. His dribbling is understated now, to the point that its a treat to see him do 3 dragbacks on the same man and fake him out everytime. If someone could lock down the DM position and have his back going forward, I would say lights out for everybody else in the tournament right now. Please let this Okocha bashing end tonight!!!!!!!
I don't want to make this a 6 page treatise so I will briefly touch on some more players, if you want more i will be more than willing to respond to your comments
Osaze (the baby faced Assasin)
Didn't do too well today. Got in the mindset that players who achieve fame too quickly are apt too. He burst on the field today, trying to do exactly what he did in South Africa, as a result he looked a shadow of himself, made rudimentary mistakes. If he relaxes and just takes it easy he could really become something
Yobo and Okoronkwo
Solid today as in most games. Yobo displays a worrying lack of concentration sometimes. Was to blame for Benin's goal. He stood there waiting for the ball to arrive, and the Beninoise player just nicked in, stuck his leg out and around Yobo and touched it into the net. Might be exposed against Etoo or Mboma
Abbey (Yellow fever)
I love this guy, looks good defending or going forward. Will become a mainstay in the Eagles after this tournament
Udeze
Anonymous
Ikedia (the bullet)
Contrary to expectations Ikedia impressed me. He is like Utaka, only that he is more elusive because he is smaller. He has problems delivering that final sweet ball into the box though
Garba lawal
Good Solid performance
Enyeama
I don't think this guy should be in the post. He has excellent stopping abilities but it ends there. He cannot hold onto the ball to save his life, during the game he spilled a routine and direct shot that would have been disastrous had the Beninoise put more than one man near our box 18. He flaps at corners and just does not inspire my confidence. I think he might become a liability against bigger and better teams
And with that, I am done. I rushed through the last part of this because I don't want to bore you. Honestly I don't think Nigeria will beat Cameroon, but I will keep on hoping that they do because my blood is green. This is definitely a team of the future, with Oruma, Obodo, Aiyegbeni and Agali in our team, and CCC at the helm for another 2 years (like they let Westerhof do) we will definitely sweep to a 2006 victory at this same competition. Let me know your thoughts please
PS: I am now offically an Okocha groupie .... and I don't care what anybody thinks.
IK
"fara bale, fara bale, gba si gbo!"
Last edited by ikeo on Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gotti
Just a nickname I made up for him, it was either that or "fine boy"
Fine boy sounded gay (no insult intended to anyone who might be homosexual) so I went with Yellow fever ... reminicent of what we used to call the traffic cops with orange shirts in Lagos.
Abbey is like a traffic policman ... one way traffic to the throw in line
Thanks for reading
IK
"I bleed Green"
Fine boy sounded gay (no insult intended to anyone who might be homosexual) so I went with Yellow fever ... reminicent of what we used to call the traffic cops with orange shirts in Lagos.
Abbey is like a traffic policman ... one way traffic to the throw in line
Thanks for reading
IK
"I bleed Green"
Just after one game Seyi is suddenly a bad player?ikeo wrote:I really didn't get to take a good look at Ekwueme. From memory I think he had a proficient performance though. Seyi just makes really bad mistakes in midfield sometimes. He is lucky he has such a strong supporting cast to cover up his screw ups
IK
"I bleed green"
I have seen Seyi play more than seven times for the SE and he was very good. The benin game was just an exception. This same Ekwueme hadly won any tackle in the South africa match as a DM.
If there were no God, I would not be alive.
And if God is not good, I would have been dead.
And if God is not good, I would have been dead.
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green4life
- Eaglet
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- Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2003 4:49 pm
Seyi had an off day, perhaps underestimating the Benin guys... Seyi is better than Ekwueme at DM... heck, i'll even take lawal over Ekwueme at DM... Cameroon no be the kind country to use untested players against. My boy Udeze had an off day, perhaps trying to knock off the rust from siting on the bench for 2 games or perhaps just didn't have the hunger to rumble with the naija players masquerading as Benin folks... Enyeama was ok... he made a good save on the free kick when the score was still 1-0.... All in all it was a tough game cause the benin guys camped in their 18 all day until late (I suspect Cameroon will play a similar style on sunday) and there was little room to maneuver... The key in those kind of games is to score early and force the opposition to chase you... this game was different cause i had the feeling that Benin was playing to avoid an embarassing scoreline and not to win.
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Robbynice
I did not see the game but I am of the believe that Ekwueme didn't play. I stand corrected though.ikeo wrote:I really didn't get to take a good look at Ekwueme. From memory I think he had a proficient performance though. Seyi just makes really bad mistakes in midfield sometimes. He is lucky he has such a strong supporting cast to cover up his screw ups
IK
"I bleed green"
You are correct. Ikedia, Osaze and Ekong came on as subs..
Robbynice wrote:I did not see the game but I am of the believe that Ekwueme didn't play. I stand corrected though.ikeo wrote:I really didn't get to take a good look at Ekwueme. From memory I think he had a proficient performance though. Seyi just makes really bad mistakes in midfield sometimes. He is lucky he has such a strong supporting cast to cover up his screw ups
IK
"I bleed green"
Unconvinced about Seyi
Yes Robbynice, Ekwueme did not play against Benin. I was simply commenting on Ekwueme's performance in the SA game. In response to TalkIT and green4life, I am of the belief that he played a similar role against Morocco and probably against South African and I was as unimpressed then as I am now. Seyi does not stand out and is largely invisible in the middle. If I'm wrong then please make your argument against what I have written in the analysis and here. I want to hear your point of view.
IK
IK
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Staff Sgt Cota VI
- Egg
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- Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2003 11:30 pm
Well said
ChiefDrMrPrinceSir JAYJAY Okocha
Sometimes it amazes me that people can open their mouths and yan nonsense about this guy. Okocha's game is majestic and beautiful, its like watching a textbook or something. If you opened a dictionary and looked for the word playmaker, there would be a picture of Okocha, grinning, with a caption below it that reads "So good they named him twice". Everything he does is amazing. He will kick the ball ... and you'll be like "What is this fool doing?" and the ball will quite literally land on the boots of some player that you didn't even know was there. His dribbling is understated now, to the point that its a treat to see him do 3 dragbacks on the same man and fake him out everytime. If someone could lock down the DM position and have his back going forward, I would say lights out for everybody else in the tournament right now. Please let this Okocha bashing end tonight!!!!!!!
Even the shriners cannot come up with a much better description of Oga. But e bi like sey today na you first day of seeing the LTB (Last True Baller) play.
Sometimes it amazes me that people can open their mouths and yan nonsense about this guy. Okocha's game is majestic and beautiful, its like watching a textbook or something. If you opened a dictionary and looked for the word playmaker, there would be a picture of Okocha, grinning, with a caption below it that reads "So good they named him twice". Everything he does is amazing. He will kick the ball ... and you'll be like "What is this fool doing?" and the ball will quite literally land on the boots of some player that you didn't even know was there. His dribbling is understated now, to the point that its a treat to see him do 3 dragbacks on the same man and fake him out everytime. If someone could lock down the DM position and have his back going forward, I would say lights out for everybody else in the tournament right now. Please let this Okocha bashing end tonight!!!!!!!
Even the shriners cannot come up with a much better description of Oga. But e bi like sey today na you first day of seeing the LTB (Last True Baller) play.
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pastorhotr99
- Egg
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I guess I watched a totally different match then .........
I guess I watched a totally different match then or the days fasting as a pastor hadn’t taken its toll on my vision and sense of reason. . The SE version I watched yesterday put up a belaboured performance and just didn’t seem physically agile enough. That aside tactical discipline was lacking. Besides when last did we see the SE booting balls away from the defence and generally holding unto the ball for so long-the quick inter-change of passes was missing from everyone. And Benin used that quick inter-change to split our defence a couple of times.
Haven’t had time to watch the RSA match yet-I have borrowed it though. But definitely this is the poorest Nigerian team I’ve seen for years.
I severely critiqued Baba Oni” for taking a bunch of inexperience d players to the major dance- WC –but in retrospect, his team played much better-although I cant forgive them for destroying Amoduous team- I will call a spade a spade. This SE team is very poor- I though this was the age of pressing football?
Everyone once is blaming Julius-hell yeah, he’s having a nightmarish tournament, but the team also is organized to play to its own or Julius’s strength.
As per Seyi being a ghost-yes you are correct. He even disappeared from his team mats and himself during the game. He obviously will get better. But with a really coach in-charge, he’ll become a natural reserve to Obodo in the national selection till he gains experience. Makes me want to scoff at those who label “every” Nigerian player “world class” without knowing what that stands for
...circa 1999...
Haven’t had time to watch the RSA match yet-I have borrowed it though. But definitely this is the poorest Nigerian team I’ve seen for years.
I severely critiqued Baba Oni” for taking a bunch of inexperience d players to the major dance- WC –but in retrospect, his team played much better-although I cant forgive them for destroying Amoduous team- I will call a spade a spade. This SE team is very poor- I though this was the age of pressing football?
Everyone once is blaming Julius-hell yeah, he’s having a nightmarish tournament, but the team also is organized to play to its own or Julius’s strength.
As per Seyi being a ghost-yes you are correct. He even disappeared from his team mats and himself during the game. He obviously will get better. But with a really coach in-charge, he’ll become a natural reserve to Obodo in the national selection till he gains experience. Makes me want to scoff at those who label “every” Nigerian player “world class” without knowing what that stands for
...circa 1999...
You are right tactical discipline is lacking, I believe this team was better than Oni's team though. Its the kind of team that I see becoming really really good if they stick together for a year or two.
I don't think we'll beat Cameroon
Go here to watch the SouthAfrica v Nigeria match
http://www.sportsafrica.tv/media.asp
Your brother
IK
I don't think we'll beat Cameroon
Go here to watch the SouthAfrica v Nigeria match
http://www.sportsafrica.tv/media.asp
Your brother
IK