Justifiable Means
Hello everyone.
This post is a slight deviation from the usual subject matter of our Super Eagles, and for this I must apologize. If it’s any consolation, this will be a (relatively) short post.
Our National U-17 side, the Golden Eaglets are the toast of world youth football. This in itself is nothing new, as we hold the record for the highest number of tournament wins in this age category with 4. What makes this crop different then? It is this man.
Manu Garba, with braggadocio reminiscent of the Great Muhammad Ali (or for that matter, our very own Bash Ali), said before the tournament that there was no team who could stand before his boys. This confidence he attributed to his espousal of the Total Football ethos inspired by the great Ajax teams of the 70s led by the legendary Rinus Michels.
Well, his team most definitely walked the talk, setting an all-time tournament record in goals and announcing the next great star of world football.
If I catch anybody mention Opabunmi eh…
The question on everyone’s mind now is: how to build on this latest bunch of world beaters? The drop-off in performances between our cadet teams and the Super Eagles is not as sharp as many think; it starts from the very next age level, and this is illustrated by the fact that the Flying Eagles team has never won the U-20 World Cup. Once more, the key is not necessarily the players, but the coaching. The Nigerian Football Federation has announced that Manu Garba will be promoted to coach the U-20 National side, and I’m not certain I am in favor of this. What I am unsure of is what motives the NFF have for this decision.
Football is about winning, and the end justifies the means (so we are told), but what happens when the end is misguided from the start? It’s all well and good singing the praises of these players, and making their success out to be a by-product of some “Transformation Agenda” (the usually articulate Minister of Sports, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, really threw a bomb on this one), but we must realize that at the U-17 level, winning takes a back seat to development and the fostering of a distinct playing philosophy.
Keeping Manu Garba on as U-17 coach would have meant then that he would continue to build teams in his image, with Total Football as a template, though this would’ve only translated to success at other levels if the NFF were looking to make Total Football our overall footballing identity, and if they were to engage coaches at all other national team levels who are of the same mind. Only by doing this can we ensure continuity and growth of these players produced at U-17 level.
As it stands, Emmanuel Amunike will handle the Golden Eaglets now. What is his football philosophy? If it is at odds with Manu Garba’s, then there is no real coherence in the NFF’s approach to our youth team setup. One only has to look at Spain and the success they have enjoyed at all levels of football to understand how important it is to have a predefined footballing template, taught at all levels by coaches who are of the same persuasion.
Also, with Manu Garba’s promotion, one can only hope he is ready for the step up. There is greater tactical specialization at higher levels, as his predecessor John Obuh found out to his detriment. Having performed admirably at U-17 level, Obuh was prematurely promoted and his limitations were starkly exposed at a higher level. Coach Manu Garba, over to you. Learn from the experience of your predecessor and improve your craft, or this all-conquering lot may be surprisingly found out in two years at U-20 level.
The larger point of this article is this: the end may justify the means, but it will only do so if we divine the means with a proper end in mind. Let us set our priorities in order.
Thanks for reading. See? I kept my word. This was much shorter :-D . Get involved in the discussion by posting your comments on how you think we can make the most of our dominance at U-17 level and translate it to higher levels. Cheers!
