Sports
Super Eagles Too Slow, Predictable
Chelsea FC chief scout, Michael Emenalo, has suggested that the Super Eagles lost to Egypt because they were too slow and predictable in their build-up.
Emenalo, whose job involves scouting opponents for the Chelsea coaching staff, watched the team he represented as a defender at the 1994 World Cup lose to Egypt and offered his thoughts to Tidesports source on the positives and negatives from the game.
“Tactically, I love the way they started,” the former Nigeria left back began. “They looked organised and good in midfield and they kept possession very well.
“I also liked the idea of Uche on the left side, but coming in to fortify the midfield and I liked the width in transition offered by Obasi.”
However, that is as good as it got, as Emenalo proceeded to pick out the holes that the Egyptians exploited in the latter stages of the half, and for the rest of the game.
“I didn’t like the way Uche didnt track back and didn’t support Yakubu. There was no width in transition like with Obasi.
“As a team, there were no clear ideas on transition. Everything looked pedestrian. The build-up from the back and from midfield looked slow, and the only real transition was Mikel switching Obasi to get in behind the defence.
“Our movement off the ball was not quick enough and it was predictable.
“Egypt moved the ball faster and always looked for the forward pass, with positive haste.”
If the midfield took knocks, Emenalo still had more to spare for the defence.
“I can’t question the tactics as I am not there and I don’t know what the coach’s instructions were. But there was a lack of defensive solidity.
“From a scouting point of view, the back four were constantly on a jagged edge all over the place and that allowed the opposition for through balls, especially through Taiwo.”
Overall, the verdict was damning.
“We didn’t have any kind of balance or organisation. One of the basics in football is that if you are attacking from one flank, you keep a balance centrally and on the opposite flank. They didn’t have that.
“We just lacked purpose with the use of the ball and the maturity. They were keeping possession, but did not seem to have a purpose for the possession.”
And Emenalo had one final, not so flattering thought for the Eagles.
“One other thing that has been our bane in Nigeria, and maybe most of Africa, is a lack of emotional commitment. Players have to understand what the game means. You can’t take your eyes off it.
“In those 90 minutes, you have to be fully concentrated on the game. The Egyptians understood that, but our players did not.
“There is an example of that when Enyeama had the ball and was looking to release it quickly. An Egyptian player ran in front of him to stop him from starting the counter attack until his team mates had regrouped. That shows that Egypt understood what was at stake.
“You don’t stand when the opposition is in possession. Egypt were constantly in motion.”
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor