Eguavoen's Eagles: my thoughts.

[Hard Man]

I’ll go out on a limb now and declare that Austin Eguavoen has the makings of a great Nigeria coach. Eguavoen is set to match or better the accomplishments of Otto Gloria and Clemens Westerhof. He simply needs an enabling environment to actualize his potential.

2 years ago, I declared to all and sundry that Chukwu was not the man to lead the Eagles to the Promised Land. My contention was premised on Chukwu’s direct style of play. Eguavoen presents a wonderful departure from “route one”/long ball football with an attacking style which attempts to maximize each player’s ability within the framework of a team structure. This is the type of football adopted by coaches who are not merely attuned to modern methods, but also are imaginative and inventive enough to come up with strategies to make them work.

Thus far, I can say that the defense is 80% set. Our games against Tunisia, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire underlined some basic shortcomings, viz:

[1] Taiye Taiwo still needs seasoning;
[2] Joseph Enakarhire is probably not the ideal partner for Joseph Yobo;
[3] Our forwards need to do a better job of supporting the defense.

Illustrating my point:

[a] Taiwo’s positioning at the Tunisia free kick that resulted in the equalizer;
Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka);
[c] Enakarhire being beaten for pace by Ziad Jaziri on a routine move which merely required him to shepherd Jaziri to the byline and force the ball out of play; and again by Drogba for the Ivoriens’ –albeit offside—winner.

The midfield is taking shape. The left hand side still needs some fine-tuning, but in Obinna Nsofor, my guess is that we have the makings of someone who will be a very good player and perhaps banish the memory of the thus-far unreplaced Emmanuel Amunike, unless it is decided to partner him with Martins up front, which would be imitating the Brazil 1994 World Cup winning tandem of Romario and Bebeto. Almost any perm from the combo of Nsofor, Kanu, Mikel, Oruma, Obodo, Ayila and Osaze in midfield would devastate most teams. Kaita is another one who has the makings of a very good player, and is one for the future. He will give Ayila a run for his money in the holding role eventually.

While my impression is that the midfield is a work in progress, the side did enough to suggest that when this work is completed, no side in Africa will be able to live with them in that area.

Up front is where I will probably fault Eguavoen’s tactics. It is possible to make comparison between Eguavoen’s Eagles and the dynamite side created by Westerhof. Westerhof’s side relied on more than one occasion on the incisive through pass down the middle to Yekini thrusting through a suddenly-isolated back-line. We saw that in action in CAN ’94 and at USA ’94 (most famously when Maldini, beaten for pace, wrestled Yekini to the ground and only got away with a slap on the wrist). These tactics may have worked with Yekini, a rapier in the true sense of the word. The player closest to that style at the moment is Makinwa. But the compact Obafemi Martins --towards whom many of those forward thrusts were played-- is more a stiletto, a dirk, at his deadliest in the immediate confines of the penalty box –where, as he showed against Senegal when scoring 2 inside the 6-yard box—his opportunistic, poacher’s instincts are second to none. In that respect, he reminds me of the aforementioned Romario, and the Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Muller. “Der Bomber”, razor sharp in the penalty box, scored 68 goals in 62 internationals for the then West Germany. There are many parallels between Muller and Martins. Both are short. Both are stocky. Both are powerfully-built. Both are strikers. Both are at their deadliest inside the penalty box. Both have the speed of thought and action over small spaces to beat their man and make hay. But, both lack(ed) the true speed over distances to outstrip markers –the kind of speed Yekini had and Thierry Henry has—and undo defenses. So it was no surprise to see Martins' penalty box poacher’s finishes against Senegal.

Eguavoen needs to devise his attacking play to ensure that some appreciable percentage of these converge in the penalty area where Martins can do damage. This will be playing to Martins’ strengths. The upfield thrusts requiring long distance speed are more the longer-striding Makinwa’s forte than Martins’.

I do think, if the side continues to evolve tactically and Coach Eguavoen takes these small observations on board, the sky can be the limit.

I have a better feeling about Eguavoen’s Eagles than I ever did about Chukwu’s Eagles. Eguavoen can strike a blow for world class Nigerian expertise and shut up our colonial-mentality-animated FC proponents for a time.

[Kenovski]

Hardman, I am so glad someone with your history on this forum has come up to say this (despite the smoking monkey in ya avatar! )

Pls accept my resounding KPOM!!!

I have been watching the games over again thanks to my 30 bucks to Telesud and I agree with what you have posted.

[Catalyst]

Gbengus, nice to hear from you again.

E be like people wey dem dey call call Gbenga na smart people.

Anyway, I inclining towards the believe/understanding that coach Eguavoen has the makings of greatness written all over him. I believe he has the "it" to go far. But for now he has to stay blemish free in terms of bribery and favoritism which I believe from his track record he can accomplish. He will hopefully lead us to Ghana 2008 with better results as well as SA 2010.

If I get to an audience with him in the near future, I will also like to know the rationale behind not playing Makinwa and Osaze in their "best positions" (top 9).

[mastermind]

Gamblers no be coach O, the man wey dey chanGe players every game na good coach ? the man wey start 7 rookies against a strong CIV team ? A man that made a desparate substitution when we're a goal down and put in a players that wasn't fit and expect a miracle ? A coach that didn't know that some players are too tired to perform ? A coach that benched experienced players like Oruma and Obodo for tired Obi and Kaita ?

Egu is a trial and error coach, we need a foreign coach NOW !!

[naija4ever]

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka);
[.

This statement has negated all the points u made...even though most didnt make sense. If u were the coach u would take light weight Osaze for Utaka? U must be kidding am sure...Didnt Osaze play against CIV? Am sure if u were a real footy analyst u would agree with most that Utaka was missed in that match. If we must play from the wings alas 4-4-2, utaka is more valuable than Osaze by a zillion times, u need bulky players for that wing not someone that can be easily shoved aside. The best Osaze can do for us is as a support striker QED...cant even make him a lone striker cos C3 tried it at last ANC and he was just being pushed aside all the time

[naija4ever]

well we shall see

[chopeski]

Hard Man:

What a piece of genius analysis.

My instinct tells me f we give Egu et al the requisite time and space to develop, we will certainly do well going forwards.

Strange that your comparing Martins to Gerd Muller, because the Eurosport studio analyst a journalist from the Telegraph also made the same analogy. Yet, some folks here would make us believe Martins is not the answer.

I also feel the key to fully utilising Martins' pace and sharpness is Makinwa. I think he has the tools to lead the line but we need to be patient with him.

I just sense a lack of belief and confidence in his actions...

[baprophet]

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

[Flex Swift]

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

You want Babayaro back in eagles? have you followed Baba this season. Udeze plays centre half for his club and they are struggling Udeze is not the same Udeze injuries age have taken their toll .Try and stay current.

[Talk IT]

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

You want Babayaro back in eagles? have you followed Baba this season. Udeze plays centre half for his club and they are struggling Udeze is not the same Udeze injuries age have taken their toll .Try and stay current.

BP, stick to the rant and rave.
So you still want babayaro? Udeze is not a bad addition sha.

[baprophet]

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

You want Babayaro back in eagles? have you followed Baba this season. Udeze plays centre half for his club and they are struggling Udeze is not the same Udeze injuries age have taken their toll .Try and stay current.

Abeg no vex man get work and wife dey hug tv too much so man no fit current like all of una

Anyway point na say TT at left back is not it !

[so__so_scandalous]

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka);.

Watch the game again that goal conceded against Tunisia was completely Enakhire's fault . I dont see what Utaka could have done to stop it. The emboldened is one of the most scandalous statements I've seen in a while. Osaze's inclusion at Utakas expense in the semies was what led to the breakdown of the previously stout midfield. Utaka had been central to our excellent build up play in the run-up to the semies. Alongside Ayila and Yobo he's the most indispensible player in the SE right now.

[chopeski]

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

You want Babayaro back in eagles? have you followed Baba this season. Udeze plays centre half for his club and they are struggling Udeze is not the same Udeze injuries age have taken their toll .Try and stay current.

Abeg no vex man get work and wife dey hug tv too much so man no fit current like all of una

Anyway point na say TT at left back is not it !

BAP:

If you refuse to see TT's upsides, then the less said the better.

- TT is the only SE player included in Africa's all Eleven
- This boys plays at the highest level for Club
- The Italians who know a thing or two on defending are rumoured to be after his service.

TT is potentially the best LFB in the African continent and is only a matter of time before he takes the mantle of most dominant LFB from R. Carlos.

[baprophet]

BAP:

If you refuse to see TT's upsides, then the less said the better.

- TT is the only SE player included in Africa's all Eleven

Rest assured it wasnt because of his defending and I dont know whom voted for that best 11 .I definitely would have put Ordiah in before him as a defender.

- This boys plays at the highest level for Club

Fair enough, which is what makes me marvel at his inability to keep an eye on his man!

- The Italians who know a thing or two on defending are rumoured to be after his service.

They may be looking to groom him may be into a DM and the 4 million dollars being offered is nothing to write home about

TT is potentially the best LFB in the African continent and is only a matter of time before he takes the mantle of most dominant LFB from R. Carlos.

He is definitely comparable to R Carlos going forward but defensively he is an accident waiting to happen at leats he wa sin the eagles shirt

[so__so_scandalous]

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka);
[.

This statement has negated all the points u made...even though most didnt make sense. If u were the coach u would take light weight Osaze for Utaka? U must be kidding am sure...Didnt Osaze play against CIV? Am sure if u were a real footy analyst u would agree with most that Utaka was missed in that match. If we must play from the wings alas 4-4-2, utaka is more valuable than Osaze by a zillion times, u need bulky players for that wing not someone that can be easily shoved aside. The best Osaze can do for us is as a support striker QED...cant even make him a lone striker cos C3 tried it at last ANC and he was just being pushed aside all the time

Ha ha I spotted the same thing. Osaze is definitely a good player dont get me wrong but he is a consumer of good service and not a supplier of it. Utaka's ability to serve as an alternative to Obi and Kanu as an orchestrator of attacking forays gave Nigeria's attack multiple dimensions making us harder to cope with. The way he combined with Obi, Ayila and Odiah stringing together those lovvely consecutive passes & retaining possession for long spells had the effect of putting more pressure on the opposing defence and building the team's confidence and swagger. His work rate was excellent as well. Without him against CIV our only possible sources of ingenuity were Obi and Kanu making us much more predictable.

Enakhire has no businees playing for Nigeiria.

[goldfeet2]

Good analysis. However, Egu has to start evolving a steady st and 2nd teams now with the crop of players he's tried in the ANC. The coach has done well so far but need to start permanenting some positions with backups eg Ayila in DM was solely missed in the games he did not play and Keita was a very poor replacement (leaked so badly). So we need a cover for Ayila in that position.

The defence is forming up but the CD is still problamatic hence the CIV/Senegal goals when Yobo/Enak were asleep. We probably need a sweeper system in the mould of bobo Balde (Guinea/Celtic). He must be fast and able to cotrol the defenders in his front as the last line of defence. I suggest coach Egu sytart looking into that.

The MF is formed and need more practice with Ayila/Obifule/Keita/Olafinjana DM, Obi/JJ/??? CM; Kanu/Oruma/?? AM. Playing Utaka/Osaze as wings are not yeilding required results since the crosses for Oba are still missing badly. This is where we need players badly if Oba/makinnwa/Nsofor/Jag /Utaka/Osaze attack will start yeilding the desired results. I crave the coach to seek out players from local league to be groomed for the wings to make Oba potential show.We need the babangida/finidi/amunike kind of players. At the moment all are attacks are coming from the M/F - Obi/kanu/JJ and hence oponents can predict us and nutralise our attack. Few decent moves came from the wings - Oba's goals, Nsofor and utaka.
'Eguavoen needs to devise his attacking play to ensure that some appreciable percentage of these converge in the penalty area where Martins can do damage.' - this is true but we need proper wing players who can run the line. At the moment TT and Ordia are doing. The last two games shows that TT and Ordia had dif instructions and did not run the wings muchand hence our poor showing in the attack. Whither Egu?????

[Dodo]

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka)

Hard man, it was Joseph Enakkarhire who lost his man leading to the Tunisian goal. Torpedo was completely ball watching against Senegal though.

I would love to see Martins and Utaka partnered up front. i think it would be explosive

nice write up

[Hard Man]

Fegwu, the long and short of it is that if Eguavoen succumbs to the so-called "Nigerian factor", he is utimately on a hiding to nothing. I hope he can see beyond the immediacy of a few thousand $$ under the table to the acclaim (and consequent demand) naturally attaching to high achievement from selecting the best balance of players on their merits or, rather, using his best judgment without outside influence...

Gbengus, nice to hear from you again.

E be like people wey dem dey call call Gbenga na smart people.

Anyway, I inclining towards the believe/understanding that coach Eguavoen has the makings of greatness written all over him. I believe he has the "it" to go far. But for now he has to stay blemish free in terms of bribery and favoritism which I believe from his track record he can accomplish. He will hopefully lead us to Ghana 2008 with better results as well as SA 2010.

If I get to an audience with him in the near future, I will also like to know the rationale behind not playing Makinwa and Osaze in their "best positions" (top 9).

[Hard Man]

BA Prophet, I agree, we watched different ANC's ... our only area of agreement na the TT and Enakarhire assessments, although I probably don't think TT is as bad as all that. He just needs a little bit more seasoning and he can be the best in the world at his position. I actually think he is a better proposition at center-half than DM.

Westerhof football is still effective today. The perfect contemporary example being Arsenal.

Hard man . E be like say na another ANC you watch oh the stats dont bare you out.

Our best game was against Ghana and that was direct kick and follow end to end. Eguavoen tried to enforce Westerhof brand of posessional soccer thereafter and it didnt work for a number of reasons chiefly that defences today arent what they were 12 years ago. Especialy when any blind man could see that it was all about going thru Martins and Egu had no ideas otherwise! thats why we had posession in all our games but few chances at goal

In defence we simply dont have the personnel. Enakhiare is simply a disaster waiting to happen and one has to wonder if Taiwo can see at all, I mean that boy looked like a school yard player sometimes leaving players unmarked . I striongly motion that he be moved to the DM position in a 2 dm setup where we can leverage his size and his offensive capabilities. And we should beg Udeze and/or Babayaro to come back. defensively they are miles ahead of Taiwo. The fact that Egu dint push for Udeze alone is enough to confirm my suspicions that he is in over his head!

[Hard Man]

Yes, the theme remains that Utaka ball-watched against Senegal (and we were almost punished) while Enakarhire did the same against Tunisia (and we were punished).

The theme remains that defensively, both Utaka and Enakarhire are liabilities. And the theme remains the same, that defensively, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka. An effective forward who has the ability to defend effectively is a bonus to the side. This is Osaze, but not Utaka.

I am completely sold on Osaze's ability to read his opponent's intentions and dart forward to intercept their passes. He plays with intelligence and heart first, brawn second. My kind of player. Those who claim he is a lightweight need only see his robust elbow charge on Song (Song clattered yakata to the ground) during the infamous "golden bronze" CAN 2004 tournament. Anyone attributing our semi-final failure to Osaze's presence on the field is ismply uttering scandal for fun...

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka);.

Watch the game again that goal conceded against Tunisia was completely Enakhire's fault . I dont see what Utaka could have done to stop it. The emboldened is one of the most scandalous statements I've seen in a while. Osaze's inclusion at Utakas expense in the semies was what led to the breakdown of the previously stout midfield. Utaka had been central to our excellent build up play in the run-up to the semies. Alongside Ayila and Yobo he's the most indispensible player in the SE right now.

[Hard Man]

Thanks for the correction, Dodo .. and I like that picture of a goat being okadaed to its eventual destination. Our people are ingenuous. Imagine a whole family being okadaed while wearing their Sunday best, with baby strapped to madam's back for good measure ... aniwe, in the afterlife that goat can claim to have ridden with the best.

Utaka’s failure to properly shadow the defender who headed in at the far post (a similar failure against Senegal in the first round game resulted in a free/wasted header. In this respect, Osaze is more of an asset than Utaka)

Hard man, it was Joseph Enakkarhire who lost his man leading to the Tunisian goal. Torpedo was completely ball watching against Senegal though.

I would love to see Martins and Utaka partnered up front. i think it would be explosive

nice write up

[Naija fan]

Hardman, I agree with your declaration that Egu has the makings of a good Nigerian coach. However, I have a very serious problem with our lack of credible transition between the midfield and the offense. In all the games we played after the Ghana game, we pretty much held the ball between midfield and our defense. While we had majority of the ball possesion, it's what we were doing with the ball that I find annoying. Our boys were passing the ball backwards and sideways. On the few occasions when I thought they had the opportunity for a quick fast break, some defender or midfielder invariably passes the ball back to the defense. This was driving me absolutely nuts. One got the impression that we were clueless as to what to do with the ball in the opponents third of the field. Until and unless Egu figures a seamless transition between our midfield and offense, the potential greatness that awaits him will stay as just that - potential.

[aranka5]

Hardman,
You right on Osaze.