KESHI'S TACTICS INSPIRED ITALY!!!!!!!!

[Enyi]

It has been all over the news since we played Spain so it didn't start today.

The question we've been asking is not the tactics he used offensively, but defensively. Steven Wonder saw what we did offensively, but what happened to our defense? What happened when they got to final third. We lost the game by 3-0. However, I gave Keshi the benefit of the doubt because his players might have made booboo of the tactics that was planned, defensively. Nobody is asking for Keshi to resign but he has to improve.

we played spain with our 3rd 11
we lost our main defensder after 8min
they're the world and euro champs for goodness sake.
give credit where due. just because we didn't have the horses doesn't mean the plan didnt work.

Okay the plan worked and we only lost by 3-0. I guess without the plan we may have lost by 7-0 since the horses weren't around? You didn't see what they did to us defensively? So what if they were Euro and World champs? Did cameroon give a damn against Argentina? Did Senegal give a damn against France?

The truth of the matter is that we looked good in the possession stats against Spain, but we did nothing special against them. Mexico almost defeated them in Azteca and it took a dying minute goal for Spain to equalize. U.S.A. defeated Spain like a bad habit using a different tactic. Complaining that we didn't have this or that is an excuse for you guys. Next time Keshi must coach according to his team's strength. If you saw what we did in the CONFED CUP and didn't think Keshi should tactically improve, then I'm sorry we are in deep doodoo.

i think that u think that the coach kicks the ball with the players........ THIS IS NOT PLAYSTATION FIFA13 or whatever

i dont particularly like keshi but do give credit where it is due.

99.9% of CE members before the game had 1 plan....pack a double-decker bus period.

and if we did that we would still lose due to our defensive novice and if we made it to penalty, we would still lose as our forward line cant score to save a life........

so talking of using ur strengths .........thats exactly what he did, outplay them in midfield, Mikel, Ogude were immense in the 1st 45mins.

i dont count the 2nd goal onwards cos if we scored from our numerous chances (NO the coach does not score goals), it would ave been a different kettle of fish.

[pajimoh]

It has been all over the news since we played Spain so it didn't start today.

The question we've been asking is not the tactics he used offensively, but defensively. Steven Wonder saw what we did offensively, but what happened to our defense? What happened when they got to final third. We lost the game by 3-0. However, I gave Keshi the benefit of the doubt because his players might have made booboo of the tactics that was planned, defensively. Nobody is asking for Keshi to resign but he has to improve.

we played spain with our 3rd 11
we lost our main defensder after 8min
they're the world and euro champs for goodness sake.
give credit where due. just because we didn't have the horses doesn't mean the plan didnt work.

Okay the plan worked and we only lost by 3-0. I guess without the plan we may have lost by 7-0 since the horses weren't around? You didn't see what they did to us defensively? So what if they were Euro and World champs? Did cameroon give a damn against Argentina? Did Senegal give a damn against France?

The truth of the matter is that we looked good in the possession stats against Spain, but we did nothing special against them. Mexico almost defeated them in Azteca and it took a dying minute goal for Spain to equalize. U.S.A. defeated Spain like a bad habit using a different tactic. Complaining that we didn't have this or that is an excuse for you guys. Next time Keshi must coach according to his team's strength. If you saw what we did in the CONFED CUP and didn't think Keshi should tactically improve, then I'm sorry we are in deep doodoo.

i think that u think that the coach kicks the ball with the players........ THIS IS NOT PLAYSTATION FIFA13 or whatever

i dont particularly like keshi but do give credit where it is due.

99.9% of CE members before the game had 1 plan....pack a double-decker bus period.

and if we did that we would still lose due to our defensive novice and if we made it to penalty, we would still lose as our forward line cant score to save a life........

so talking of using ur strengths .........thats exactly what he did, outplay them in midfield, Mikel, Ogude were immense in the 1st 45mins.

i dont count the 2nd goal onwards cos if we scored from our numerous chances (NO the coach does not score goals), it would ave been a different kettle of fish.

Some never see the good in the rain that falls - All they know is they were soaked

[globalinksnn]

where is the reference (source) of this {Italian coach said he was impressed by keshi's tactics v spain, so much so that he's copying it right now as I type.Guess what... its working for italy too. Kudos to big boss.}

[hestonap]

I find it very amusing when some people think they know more than someone who has played and coached the game for over 30 odd years.

Keshi started playing for National team level in his late teens; had an illustrious career as a player; captained a European side long before it was fashionable for Africans.
Coached 3 national teams including qualifying a minnow for the WC and winning the biggest prize in African football with a bunch of 'renegades' and 'unknowns'

Somehow some think they know better than him.

It's like telling a surgeon who has been at the business for over 30-years how to do his job. It smacks of ignorance to put it mildly or arrogance to put it more appropriately.

We are all entitled to our opinions; but can we stop confusing such with facts.

[Coach]

@Enyi, parking the bus doesn't have to equate to flattening the tyres and turning off the engine. That bus can still move. What is parking the bus? Getting men behind the ball? Italy, more often than not, left Gilardino up on his own and have two banks behind the ball, one with four players, the other with five. They did this for the majority of the game. Is this not parking the bus? Does the fact that they then broke forward quickly on recovering possession mean that their strategy cannot be considered such? Is the whole purpose of counter-attack, not to invite pressure onto yourself, a pressure which can be coped with due to having men behind the ball. When possession is gained, these same men rush forward at speed to exploit any defensive vulnerabilities. Is parking the bus not, at times, part one of a two part strategy?

Could Nigeria have played like Italy did? Not suggesting we follow in any footsteps, just asking, could we employ a strategy of getting men behind the ball and counterattacking?

[Goldleaf]

The best way to beat Spain is from the midfield that is what Prandelli learnt from Keshi. The high press disrupts the passing machine from setting up. The midfield serves as two purposes. One is to defend and congest the midfield without the ball and the other is to attack with speed. Bayern basically played a version of the 4-4-2 with far tighter spaces than the Super Eagles. But where they differed is that the LB and RB pushed up to close off spaces out wide. They were supported in the middle third by attackers who turned into defenders without the ball.

Chief,

You know your football unlike many on CE who quickly switch discourse to discrediting Keshi. Uruguay chose to defend Spain at the edge of their box which was why they were passed to death. We rather squeezed them pressing them in the middle. We then went better by keeping possession which is something we do very well. Our faults were missing all our chances and our defenders losing concentration to gift them their goals. Italy replicated us by pressing Spain in the middle, keeping possession but they were similarly wasteful in front of goal. Felipe Scolari has all that he needs to possibly beat Spain on Sunday. But of course, football is not mathematics. As for those whose thinking is limited to results, it will be better for them to stay away from technical footie threads or improve on their FIQ!

[Coach]

@JMO, what was Bayern's version of the 4-4-2?...One would argue that, although Robben and Ribery were too deep to be considered part of the three behind in a 4-2-3-1, they were in advance of the deeper lying Martinez and Bastian. Mueller was ahead of both sets. One would go as far as saying this was more 4-4-1-1 than 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, differing from the latter both in terms of personnel used for certain roles and movement in-play. Interesting to see it suggested as a 4-4-2, which is often considered dead in today's times. Perhaps because of this belief, our eyes are biased before seeing and thus cant see it? Without wanting to derail the thread, a quick breakdown if you could. Also, you've suggested a 4-4-2 for Nigeria in a previous thread, why? Do you not fear the loss of the midfield (3 vs 2) by such a system?

[Coach]

@Goldleaf, agreed Italy pressed, Nigeria did before them, Chile before we and so on and so on. Do you think Italy's formation helped them to influence the game more?

[cchinukw]

On CE some people just like the sound of their own voice even if there is no point to prove.

Nothing will satisfy some people until coach Keshi disgraces them and actually leads Nigeria to win the WC next year.

To them I say keep yarning dust. Igbo man get one prayer - O Lord keep my enemies that they may see my success.

[Bigpokey24]

yea just like the clueless Mary poppins above your post, bobo is all over the place

On CE some people just like the sound of their own voice even if there is no point to prove.

Nothing will satisfy some people until coach Keshi disgraces them and actually leads Nigeria to win the WC next year.

To them I say keep yarning dust. Igbo man get one prayer - O Lord keep my enemies that they may see my success.

[Goldleaf]

@Goldleaf, agreed Italy pressed, Nigeria did before them, Chile before we and so on and so on. Do you think Italy's formation helped them to influence the game more?

Coachito,

Answer to your question is yes. In fact, Italy's strategy yesterday was another variant of how to play Spain. Jose Mourinho believes the way to play Barcelona is to ensure you have a Ronaldo on the right and a Di Maria on the left and when they come, you dispossess them and hit your flanks. Italy played 3-6-1 with Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini as CBs and they had Gilardino as the lone striker. As soon as Spain hits the italian half, the italians squeeze up comfortable in the knowledge that Spain cannot hit anyone behind their back 4. As soon as they take possession, they hit Maggio on the right wing behind Alba causing the spanish to retreat. They also hit Giancherini on the left behind Arbeloa and they even hit long balls for Gilardino and because the spanish midfielders are lazy (players like Iniesta, Xavi don't like running back), Italy created so many serious chances but unfortunately failed to take them all. I suspect if they had super Mario Balotelli yesterday, that match was there for winning. That match should have sent Balotelli's stock soaring in Italy today.

One can only pray that our match against Spain at the Confed was a precursor to us meeting them again next year. Hopefully, then we will have Emenike etc to take our chances and beat them up.

[Fendy]

.... and Keshi concedd 3 goals even with his ispiring tactics. Lol

Dude, that Nigerian team lacked anything near tactics. they were just eleven men thrown on the field to prevent spain from scoring by all means.

[Coach]

@Goldleaf, have you taken a bow yet?

@Cchinukw, one doubts any here are trading any more than opinions, none desire Keshi to crash and burn. This is our country, diaspora or not, we are, in part, if one must add that, all Nigerians. If Keshi had managed to win the Confederations Cup, who wouldn't have danced? His Nations Cup victory brought joy and jubilation to 160 million, anybody feeling otherwise must ask themselves why? If man cannot take pride in his people's triumph, he has failed, if he does not weep in their defeat, he has failed. Nothing would've pleased this d#$% drool more than a Nigerian triumph over Spain and victory in the final. What many consider anti-patriotism in the so-called anti-Keshists, may actually be so strong a want for Nigeria to succeed that it boils over into criticism and scorn. Does VE want Nigeria to fail, deep down? Does Tx want Keshi's face to be rubbed in the dirt? Does one want Nigeria to trail the Europeans as if to suggest the latter were any more equipped to achieve prestige and honour? No. F*ck them!

Ideas are traded here, opinions shared, no more no less, anyone wanting Nigeria to fail has a crisis of identity, the type that holds down a race and distorts its reality. A full strength Nigeria, a tactically astute Nigeria, a Nigeria united, determined, willing to fight for the full twelve rounds, is the Nigeria of one's dreams, that Nigeria could win the World Cup. Hopefully this Confederations Cup will not conclude with our only learning point being a claim to an inspired Italian display. Why Italian? Why not our own for the full ninety. Keshi is close, the defeat was heavy, the mistakes plentiful, but even if it were only to flash in the frying pan before jumping into the fire, those 45 minutes had us all believing, screaming shoot at John Obi, shouting nooooooooo, as Musa curled wide and cursing as Ideye and Gambo fluffed their lines. Keshi is close, the hope is he is allowed to get there and opens his eyes wide enough to see the road that leads the way.

[kolinzo]

It has been all over the news since we played Spain so it didn't start today.

The question we've been asking is not the tactics he used offensively, but defensively. Steven Wonder saw what we did offensively, but what happened to our defense? What happened when they got to final third. We lost the game by 3-0. However, I gave Keshi the benefit of the doubt because his players might have made booboo of the tactics that was planned, defensively. Nobody is asking for Keshi to resign but he has to improve.

we played spain with our 3rd 11
we lost our main defensder after 8min
they're the world and euro champs for goodness sake.
give credit where due. just because we didn't have the horses doesn't mean the plan didnt work.

Okay the plan worked and we only lost by 3-0. I guess without the plan we may have lost by 7-0 since the horses weren't around? You didn't see what they did to us defensively? So what if they were Euro and World champs? Did cameroon give a damn against Argentina? Did Senegal give a damn against France?

The truth of the matter is that we looked good in the possession stats against Spain, but we did nothing special against them. Mexico almost defeated them in Azteca and it took a dying minute goal for Spain to equalize. U.S.A. defeated Spain like a bad habit using a different tactic. Complaining that we didn't have this or that is an excuse for you guys. Next time Keshi must coach according to his team's strength. If you saw what we did in the CONFED CUP and didn't think Keshi should tactically improve, then I'm sorry we are in deep doodoo.

i think that u think that the coach kicks the ball with the players........ THIS IS NOT PLAYSTATION FIFA13 or whatever

i dont particularly like keshi but do give credit where it is due.

99.9% of CE members before the game had 1 plan....pack a double-decker bus period.

and if we did that we would still lose due to our defensive novice and if we made it to penalty, we would still lose as our forward line cant score to save a life........

so talking of using ur strengths .........thats exactly what he did, outplay them in midfield, Mikel, Ogude were immense in the 1st 45mins.

i dont count the 2nd goal onwards cos if we scored from our numerous chances (NO the coach does not score goals), it would ave been a different kettle of fish.

Some never see the good in the rain that falls - All they know is they were soaked

Very well then. Once you are soaked you'd know to carry your umbrella next time, or build a tent. That's actually the good part of the rain.

[okuns]

@Goldleaf, have you taken a bow yet?

@Cchinukw, one doubts any here are trading any more than opinions, none desire Keshi to crash and burn. This is our country, diaspora or not, we are, in part, if one must add that, all Nigerians. If Keshi had managed to win the Confederations Cup, who wouldn't have danced? His Nations Cup victory brought joy and jubilation to 160 million, anybody feeling otherwise must ask themselves why? If man cannot take pride in his people's triumph, he has failed, if he does not weep in their defeat, he has failed. Nothing would've pleased this d#$% drool more than a Nigerian triumph over Spain and victory in the final. What many consider anti-patriotism in the so-called anti-Keshists, may actually be so strong a want for Nigeria to succeed that it boils over into criticism and scorn. Does VE want Nigeria to fail, deep down? Does Tx want Keshi's face to be rubbed in the dirt? Does one want Nigeria to trail the Europeans as if to suggest the latter were any more equipped to achieve prestige and honour? No. F*ck them!

Ideas are traded here, opinions shared, no more no less, anyone wanting Nigeria to fail has a crisis of identity, the type that holds down a race and distorts its reality. A full strength Nigeria, a tactically astute Nigeria, a Nigeria united, determined, willing to fight for the full twelve rounds, is the Nigeria of one's dreams, that Nigeria could win the World Cup. Hopefully this Confederations Cup will not conclude with our only learning point being a claim to an inspired Italian display. Why Italian? Why not our own for the full ninety. Keshi is close, the defeat was heavy, the mistakes plentiful, but even if it were only to flash in the frying pan before jumping into the fire, those 45 minutes had us all believing, screaming shoot at John Obi, shouting nooooooooo, as Musa curled wide and cursing as Ideye and Gambo fluffed their lines. Keshi is close, the hope is he is allowed to get there and opens his eyes wide enough to see the road that leads the way.

Very well said...

[zee]

I find it very amusing when some people think they know more than someone who has played and coached the game for over 30 odd years.

Keshi started playing for National team level in his late teens; had an illustrious career as a player; captained a European side long before it was fashionable for Africans.
Coached 3 national teams including qualifying a minnow for the WC and winning the biggest prize in African football with a bunch of 'renegades' and 'unknowns'

Somehow some think they know better than him.

It's like telling a surgeon who has been at the business for over 30-years how to do his job. It smacks of ignorance to put it mildly or arrogance to put it more appropriately.

We are all entitled to our opinions; but can we stop confusing such with facts.

Kpom! Kpom!! and a 3rd Kpom!!!!!!

Your great post is ..........................



MIC approved

[wale1974]

.... and Keshi concedd 3 goals even with his ispiring tactics. Lol

Dude, that Nigerian team lacked anything near tactics. they were just eleven men thrown on the field to prevent spain from scoring by all means.

Then tell me how they got behind the Spanish back line
Like i said earlier bunch of great football pundits pointed out the fact that a weak naija team exposed the Spanish back line(just like Barca) blue print for teams like Brazil, Argentina and Germany to follow

[African Star]

I have said it before that Keshi had the right game plan but did not have the right tactics to ensure success of his game plan. There was no offensive/defensive balance, no tactical attacking patterns or predictive midfield play. I would venture to say Italy copied Keshi's game plan and was able to secure a draw with slower, inferior players.

[Guv007]

I have said it before that Keshi had the right game plan but did not have the right tactics to ensure success of his game plan. There was no offensive/defensive balance, no tactical attacking patterns or predictive midfield play. I would venture to say Italy copied Keshi's game plan and was able to secure a draw with slower, inferior players.

Let the players take some of the blame as well.

[Odas]

Italy picked up right where SE left off but shooting blanks like Ideye, Akpala and Gambo did.

Shame on all you anti-Keshi crew who criticized how Keshi's team performed at the Confed.

In Keshi, the Eagles are gradually becoming Super once more.

KPAM!!

[JMObi]

@JMO, what was Bayern's version of the 4-4-2?...One would argue that, although Robben and Ribery were too deep to be considered part of the three behind in a 4-2-3-1, they were in advance of the deeper lying Martinez and Bastian. Mueller was ahead of both sets. One would go as far as saying this was more 4-4-1-1 than 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, differing from the latter both in terms of personnel used for certain roles and movement in-play. Interesting to see it suggested as a 4-4-2, which is often considered dead in today's times. Perhaps because of this belief, our eyes are biased before seeing and thus cant see it? Without wanting to derail the thread, a quick breakdown if you could. Also, you've suggested a 4-4-2 for Nigeria in a previous thread, why? Do you not fear the loss of the midfield (3 vs 2) by such a system?

Coach, Keshi plays a 4-3-3 which is popular with the great attacking teams of the moment - i.e. Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, etc. 4-3-3 for a team with possession is basically putting anywhere between five to seven attacking players in your opponents half. But defensively, 4-3-3 is vulnerable to the counter (as Spain showed us). Bayern showed why the 4-4-2 is a far more balanced attacking formation although their version 4-2-3-1 is really a better variant of it. The idea is still to create two lines of defence and still offer the explosive attack of the 4-3-3 (through wing backs as well as wide strikers) when going forward without having the central midfield potentially overrun. Bayern played with two CMs, three strikers (Muller, Robben and Mandzovic/Gomez) and one attacking midfielder (Ribery). They were complemented by Lahm and Alaba who provided runs from the defence.

Now lets say Nigeria goes with a 4-2-3-1. This is how it would look like with the best personnel we have:

------------------------------- Enyeama -----------------------------------

---------- Efe ------- Omeruo --------- Oboabona ---- Echiejile ---------

------------------------- Onazi --------- Ogude -----------------------------

------ Moses -------------------- Mikel ------------------- Nsofor ----------

----------------------------------- Emenike ----------------------------------

Advantages:

- Great attacking power in last third
- Less susceptible to breaks down the middle
- Less pressure on CD

Disadvantages:

- Weakness to attacks on the flanks
- No 9 Striker (our main scorer) easy to shut down
- Playmaker easy to shut down

Conclusion:

- We dont have the manpower on the flanks or in the last third to score many goals.

Now 4-4-2

--------------------------------- Enyeama -----------------------------------

------- Efe ---------- Omeruo ----------- Oboabona ------- Echiejile ------

--------- Moses ---------- Onazi ---------- Mikel -------- Nsofor -----------

--------------------------- Ideye ---------- Emenike -------------------------

Advantages:

- Offers sufficient attacking thrust either from center or from the wings
- Less defensive exposure from flanks
- Less dependance on a playmaker
- Plays to our strengths in having two good box-strikers and good attacking midfield.

Disadvantages:

- Weakness to counter attacks from the central midfield (only one covering)
- Sustained pressure on the central midfield can lead to its collapse in long games.

To reduce the exposure of the central midfield I would take a version of the 4-4-2 (4-1-3-2) with one pure DM and it would look something like this:

------------------------------- Enyeama ---------------------------------------

-------- Efe -------------- Omeruo -------- Oboabona ------ Echiejile -------

------------------------------------- Onazi -------------------------------------

---------- Moses -------------------- Mikel ---------------- Nsofor ------------

---------------------------- Ideye -------------- Emenike ----------------------


The weakness of course is still preventing breaks from the middle but in having a deep lying defensive midfielder you would slow it down and teach one of the wing backs to push into the middle to reinforce the center while the attack is pushed wide to reduce scoring chances and create enough time for reinforcements (AM, wingers to arrive :


-------------------------------------- Goalie -----------------------------------


--------X----------- CD -------- ------ CD----------- LB ---------------------

----------------------------- RB ------------ DM ---------------- X------------

---------------------------- X -------- AM----------X--------------------------

Frankly why Nigeria was so successful in 1994 was because the 4-4-2 had great talents primarily in the front. We had two great strikers Amokachi and Yekini and two great wingers (Finidi and Amunike). It was why Westerhof chose to keep two incredibly good attacking midfielders (Siasia, Okocha) on the bench in preference for strong defensive CMs (Oliseh, Adepoju, Emenalo). They held the center and both made the simple passes to the strikers and to the wings.

Keshi has to do more in terms of training his team in the art of zonal defending and defensive adjustments to counter attacks in order to accomodate the huge talent that is John Mikel Obi. With Mikel Obi, Moses, Ideye, Emenike and others slotting in (Musa, Nsofor, Oduamadi) Nigeria has the weapons to shoot down the big teams if they can keep their defensive composure.

[Coach]

You've argued in favour of a 3-2 defensive shape, with a right-back moving to the base of midfield to offer more solidarity. Wouldn't a starting formation bearing such a shape be a better idea?

[JMObi]

If you mean 3-5-2, the last person that tried to play it was Amodu and given our style of play it was a failure. Yes you win games 1-0 with it and draw 0-0 but its a mainly a possession-oriented formation which is why people switched off football. Lets face it Nigeria likes to run with the ball. 4-4-2 allows that expressive type of football and by the way, some of the best teams that employed it was AC Milan under Arrigo Sacchi and lately Malaga under Pellegrini. Infact Pellegrini's side really shows what you can do if you have good creative players up top. I believe Nigeria would do well with a 4-4-2 rather than a 3-5-2 or even a 4-3-3.