Young Boys DFC’s Adventure With Coach Lucky
text and images by Mustopha
Follow our live coverage of actions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Over the past few weeks, starting from mid July 2018, Young Boys DFC had welcomed and made home for Coach Lucky — a UEFA B Licensed coach who is currently preparing for his Grade A license. He returned to Nigeria from Wales after graduating with a degree in Physical Education, specializing in football where he mastered the tactics and techniques used by top football teams and managers.
The Game : Omole Football Club vs. Young Boys DFC
The first official meeting between Coach Dan and Coach Lucky was when the later accompanied Omole Football Club, as a contingent, to a friendly match between the two teams. The friendly game which happened over two legs had lots of high moments, most intriguing was when the first match was annulled after the opposing team lobbied the referee to award them a goal. In the first 10 minutes of that first leg, Young Boys DFC had gone two goals down owing to some of the key player not starting. This made the opposing team complacent and gave adequate time for Coach Dan to study the game. Five minutes into the second half and 3 tactical changes later, we scored our first goal — a thumping header from our center forward, Tobi, who received the cross from a dazzling run made by Michael. 2–-1, game on.
It was game-on for Young Boys as they sought to equalize the match while the opposing made two defensive changes, hoping to consolidate on their lead. Right on the hour make, a one-two defense splitting play happened between Oba and Korede leaving the last of the opposing team’s defender hanging, the equalizer came in. A rocket of a shot from outside the box-18 left the keeper in wonderland. He could not understand how the ball could be shot from such a long range by Oba, our mesmerizing midfielder. 2 — 2.
Once the game was on-par, Omole Football Club started coming out, they employed more offensive tactics hoping to gain an edge. The kept playing long balls into the defense and hoping their strikers latch onto it. In one of such plays, they succeeded and the resulting strike caused confusing. The referee was far away from action, somewhere around the center circle, and relied on the decision of his assistant, who said it was no-goal, as final. The opposing team would not have any of that decision and the game was cancelled immediately — rescheduled for a later time. Minutes after this, Coach Lucky met with Coach Dan.
The second match, which happened a week later, ended goalless.
The Experience With Coach Lucky
He loved the way the team responded tactically to the goals conceded and wanted to explore our way of football. We were also thrilled to have him on-board as we were going to learn from his travels and experience. When the coach announced his presence and intentions to the team, the players were excited at having a new mind around.
In the weeks that followed, Coach Lucky’s training sessions held sway. He organised new training regiments and drills, he planned new cone-works that test the players resilience and agility. His style of play, as we would find out, composed of ‘eating up’ space on the field — making efficient use of flanks and wing-backs to beat defenders. To achieve this kind of play, the team had sessions after sessions of player positioning and field space management.
Now when you see Young Boys play, and a player receives the ball, at least two players immediately open up, providing options for the marked man and confusing the opponent since they do not know who will receive the pass. And if you attempt to mark these open players, the wing-backs will be waiting at extreme ends of the pitch to run at defenders and kill the game out-rightly.
The team had come to love the deputizing Coach with his accented English. His English had been heavily influenced because he had spent the better part of the last 6 years in Britain. This made it interesting as the team learned new culture and approach to football taught in Western Europe.
“Oui, make sure you receive long balls with your far foot. And keep training persistently.”- Coach Lucky.
In Nigeria, the prevailing football culture is to pass the ball in a 4–3–3 play and run hard at the defense in a diamond formation — with each wingers changing position frequently — unlike in England and Wales where they love a central tall bullish striker who can head-in from long crosses and hold play for attacking mid-fielders to run-in at the defense. These mesh of tactics gives Young Boys Football Club dynamism as they can quickly switch play when they find one tactics is not working as expected.
More story of our adventure to come soon.
Follow our live coverage of actions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
