For What It’s Worth…

Greetings everyone.
Come Friday, 6th December, our very own Super Eagles will know what nations they will come up against in Brazil next summer. I am more excited about this World Cup than any other in recent memory, and if I’m honest, a lot of that anticipation is down to the fact that Coach Stephen Keshi has kept me interested enough in his project that I want to see how it goes.
This World Cup will hold special significance for Keshi. In 2005, he guided the Hawks of Togo to qualification for the World Cup for the first time in their history, but was very unfortunately cast aside in the buildup to the actual tournament. This perceived injustice has been a monkey on Keshi’s back ever since, evidenced by his outburst against Malawi’s Tom Saintfiet during Nigeria’s qualifying campaign. Redemption has been 8 years in coming, but come it has. For those readers who are into the law of karma, his replacement for Togo was German Otto Pfister; he would go on to lose all 3 group games tamely. Togo has never again come close to such dizzying heights (Nollywood ending, if ever I saw one.)
A big thank you to everyone who has given support to this young blog, posted comments and made this worth writing. I am humbled, and I’ve been privileged to meet some truly interesting people through this medium.
Well, this post should have been up yesterday, but it took a lot of willpower to write it. In the light of recent events, I had to convince myself it was still relevant. My previous blog post was on the possible integration of U-17 World Cup Golden Boot winner Kelechi Iheanacho into the senior National team setup for the World Cup in Brazil. This follow-up post was supposed to be on the tactical possibilities of having him in there, but in the light of Keshi’s latest comments effectively ruling out the possibility (and with good reason); I was tempted to shelve it.
However, as it will touch on other areas of the team, I have decided to go ahead with it. Hopefully it can be insightful still.
First things first: what system is best for the Super Eagles? The past few years have seen the rise of the 4–2–3–1, and it has a lot of benefits, doubtless. Would it be a good fit? The band of 3 behind the lone striker is usually comprised of two wide players and a central attacking midfielder who plays close to the striker. This CAM is the prime creative presence of the team and should have the ability to play in tight spaces, as he is positioned high up; drift to the flanks to create overloads with the wingers, and vary his position intelligently; and thread through balls between and behind the opposition defence for the striker to attack.
Theoretically, the back four picks itself, as does the duo of Ogenyi Onazi and John Obi Mikel in front of the defence. Who then to play behind the striker?
At the Cup of Nations earlier this year, Sunday Mba connected the midfield to the attack with success, but really his skill set of aggressive, fearless running and dribbling is not given to such a role. He would have less space to work in, and dropping too deep would make the team broken and easier to close down. His passing and decision making are also not in agreement with the role. Another shout I’ve gotten from my interactions is for Betis’ Nosa Igiebor. Watching him, it is hard to tell what he really excels at. He’s energetic and reasonably quick, but he seems a more natural fit deeper in midfield. He does not have the vision for the role, I don’t think.
Going by the attributes listed above, it’s easily gleaned that your CAM is likely your most intelligent player. A further argument is to simply shift Mikel further forward. Doing this would not only fail to solve one problem, it would create another. Mikel Obi, perhaps due to his footballing education at Chelsea, has adapted his game subtly, becoming a calm, metronomic passer. Excellent at ball retention, he does not however bring the incision and movement required to play so far forward.
So, what do you do when life throws you lemons? Why, you make lemonade! What do you do when life gives you a glut of central midfielders? Play a 4–3–3, of course.

With a format like this, Mikel would sit central, control our tempo and recycle possession. Alongside in midfield would be two energetic ball winners who are to augment the pressing from the front. They are also to protect Mikel in possession and get him time on the ball. One spot goes to Ogenyi Onazi, who is undroppable. So who gets the other?

Lukman Haruna would be my pick.
He has the tools. He’s athletic, can carry the ball, can tackle and strikes the ball excellently from distance. Up until this point, he has been largely ignored by Coach Keshi, but I am of the opinion that now is the time to re-integrate him into the National team setup. Regardless of personality flaws, I’d rather have a fighter in a crunch situation, and Lukman Haruna certainly knows how to exert himself.
Very importantly, a midfield in this format and with this personnel will have an element of fluidity and rotation, which would grant Mikel greatly freedom than if he were part of a double-pivot. Mikel would really be able to influence the game; Onazi would be the terrier, hassling and tackling; and Lukman would carry the ball forward and connect with the front men.

So that’s it as far as the midfield is concerned. The next blog post will focus on the attack and how to achieve balance going forward.
Phew! This is my longest post yet. Congratulations if you’ve gotten here with me without falling asleep. Please engage me through comments and feel free to point out any mistakes and/or omissions. Thanks for reading!