Hanging on every word.
Hello guys! Me again.
Been a while, hasn’t it? Aside from a tighter schedule, the last year has not been a fun time to be a Super Eagles fan. When you go into a Nigeria game feeling noncommittal about the result, something is definitely wrong.
Well, it appears there is some light. There is a new sheriff in town, haven’t you heard?
We all remember Sunday Oliseh. Even if, as we are wont to do sometimes, we forget him, Andoni Zubizarreta wouldn’t dare.
The big debate is on whether or not he is qualified for the role. Here is what I think: he is definitely inexperienced and should not have gotten this job at this time. I have read his brief repeatedly, and there is nothing he has been tasked to do that someone else — I am referring to a foreign manager, in case you were wondering — with passion and commitment could not have done.
That said, I am genuinely excited to have him on board. If you are not, you certainly need to have your head examined.
On this blog, I get to be a fan. The fan in me is buzzing. Having gone through his responses at the unveiling, I think we have enough to speculate as to what Oliseh has in store for us in terms of playing style.
That was, after all, the real quibble with Stephen Keshi. He won, but there was no style. The problems surfaced when he stopped winning — there was nothing to point to as a surety, no promise of something brewing.
Let us run through some of Oliseh’s statements and decipher them, shall we?
“My style will depend on the kind of players at my disposal… the pattern we are going to play will be [a] passing game coupled with other tactics based on opposition and the pitch.”
Oliseh will approach the job with no preconceived tactical notions, but will seek to tailor his shape to the standard of his opponents. This is quite reasonable; in truth, few managers in the modern game make no adjustments for the opposition.
It is interesting that he mentions the pitch. It is a factor that comes into play on the continent in particular, where the standard of playing surfaces are not high. So while his priority is a possession-based game, he will alter it when the turf is not conducive to it.
This means: (a) Oliseh must have prior knowledge of the quality of the playing surface, as it is vital to his preparation. (b) Excusing a poor result due to the pitch will be unacceptable.
“The 3–4–3, 4–2–4 is just what we coaches use in deceiving people. The reality is that we get to the field [and] we animate that formation. How we animate is to use what we have to achieve.”
Buttresses the first point. Oliseh is not wedded to any one formation — yet. However, it is unlikely he is as flippant about it as he makes out here. In the attacking phase, players will often interchange positions, seeking to destabilize opponents’ organization and create space. However, in defending, a definite shape is needed.
“The style will be individual-player related… for that reason, we have to have a team style of play… every player would not only be told what to expect from him but would be chosen for that particular position based on certain qualities he has.”
Here, Oliseh dispels the notion of intuitive, fluid football. Every player will be assigned a role within the collective that must be performed toward the working of the whole.
There are two reasons this is a good idea. For one, international football gives little time for understanding between players. Secondly, by taking away instinctive decision-making from the players, mistakes are minimized.
This is, in some way, similar to the line of thinking for Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal teams. The idea is that if each player plays his own specific role, the team functions well. Over time, each player imbibes his instructions and also the rote movements of his team-mates to the point they become habit. Instinct is then achieved, but without the dangers associated with a learning period in-between, where breakdowns in linking could lead to bad results.
Ah, so it appears this will be a two-part series. We will continue this later in the week. Cheers everyone for reading and, as always, do leave comments and let me know what you think about this post, as well as your general impressions of Oliseh as the new boss.
