Tactics is Key!
Finally the Word Cup has started, a breathe of relief for us all. Loads of goals, yellow cards, a lot of fouls, a few surprises from different teams and I bet it - we have not seen anything yet, time will unveil everything to us. This goes to confirm the good old popular saying that football is not mathematics.
I will be looking at an area which has always been a topic of discussion among African football fans and journalists. The issue of local coaches versus the foreign expatriates or to put it in the popular African term "Technical Adviser". I am not opening up a debate of who is better than the other - after all Yeo Martial of Ivory Coast won the 1992 edition of the African Cup of Nations hosted by Senegal against foreign coaches and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria did the same over a year ago in South African.
The issue of success is not in question; but that our African coaches do not pay attention to some details that matter when preparing for games.
When preparing for a major game, things like tactics against specific teams, drills in certain department like set pieces, free kicks and scouting of opponents must be put into play. Now these are the things that give foreign coaches the edge over our local compatriots. I dare even say that some team practice the art of simulating free kicks and penalties - I am not advocating cheating your way to victory but only saying this to illustrate the importance of paying attention to details. This is also not about going for foreign coaches but I am just highlighting the areas that our local coaches needs to improve on.
According to Matthew Rogerson's article in goal.com, Stephen Keshi confessed not knowing about Iran (Nigeria's first opponent at the World Cup). This is a cardinal sin against the coaching profession. In this day and age, when most teams send out scouts to spy on their opponents or at least get video footages to help them to map out a plan against them.
Former Nigerian Veteran Coach Festus Onigbinde made the same statement of not scouting their opponents. This is a trend commonly seen among our local African coaches that could be detrimental to the outcome of games.
I found this article on a forum site that buttress my point about tactics. A case study that was looked into after the Super Eagles of Nigeria played their last friendly game against USA which was put together by a football coach named Anthony K - please read the article below.
How USA won Nigeria - By Anthony K
I am predicting that the way they played Nigeria is how USA is going to play Ghana and this was just a dress rehearsal for that game. Having coached in the USA for 15 years I know them in and out and nothing they did surprised me, they are a mechanical team and everything they did was according to the plan they have to play Ghana. It is the template to play African teams that even Brazil adopted when they beat Ghana 3-0 in the world cup. The world has determined that African teams have yet to grasp the concept of scientific soccer, we still depend on physicality i.e. speed, dribbling skills, endurance, strength, size etc.
Denmark defeated Nigeria, Germany Cameroon, Brazil Ghana, even Sinama Pongolle's France u17 team beat Opabunmi's Nigeria u17 team in the finals after losing badly to them in the first round by employing the same tactics. The reason is that our teams have not incorporated the tactical systems to break down packed defenses, when teams pack a bus in front of their goal and counter fast.
I see people blaming Yobo just like they did Taribo West decades ago and I laugh because even the fans still don't get it. On one on one situations in this day and age, the advantage is with the attacker with the ball, it has been scientifically proven that an isolated defender will be beaten for a shot 80 to 90% of the time by employing certain movements that even a journey man sucky player like Altidore can pull off. In that sequence in which he beat Yobo, his cut back was conservative so if Yobo had anticipated it he would have cut back in and try to penetrate and if Yobo had recovered and denied him the penetration then he would have pulled the ball back and laid it off for a shot for one of the marauding midfielders bombing forward to give support, most likely Bradley. It would have been the job of Bradley to vary his run to get open for the shot and if the shot wasn't there then Dempsey should have made himself available for the pass off and Altidore would have had to make a diagonal run to the strong side and Bradley make a varying run to the weak side with other players showing up in supporting positions.
These are the types of tactical patterns that saw the US get shot opportunities on about 75% of their counter attacks while their packed defence yielded nothing to a tactically inept team that had more possession but no idea what to do with it.
I sat there recognizing everything the US was doing and it was right out of the training pitch, all their runs ( certain players bomb forward into predetermined positions and Dempsey time and time again drifted wide when the full backs overlapped to stretch the defence to create gaps, even the pass down to the touch line for a cross to the weak side of the goal for Altidore's tap in, is a designed play and an old one at that).
This is the reason why Brazil when playing England in a previous world cup with two wide defenders notorious for their going forward adjusted their tactics with Scolari instructing Cafu and Roberto Carlos to alternate their overlapping, when one goes the other stays so that the defence will not be stretched.
This US team sucks and this is the only way they can hope to advance so I hope Ghana watched and make the necessary adjustments. The key to beating this formation is to increase your speed of play moving the ball very fast and switching fields from side to side. Switching fields will allow you to catch the team on their weak side and penetrate from the wings essentially going around the horn as they say in the profession, the zone or block defence has a varying horn that moves to the ball depending on the position of the ball and the key its to get around that horn which is the strong side and attack the weak side. Switching also makes the team tired and it creates holes to be penetrated by quick predetermined passing patterns that should have been developed on the training pitch.
The USA also took chances by seating deeper than usual to prevent balls being played behind their defence and the reason for that is that they do not respect Nigeria's outside shooting. Another way of breaking down a packed defence after quick movements of the ball and penetrating down the wings is to send in quality crosses with predetermined runs by forwards and midfielders getting into the box for the finish but Moses was just bent on dribbling, and there were very few crosses into the box from Nigeria.
If Ghana figures out this US strategy they can beat them by 5 goals but if they fail to make the adjustments they can lose by 5 goals simple as that. Africa has to enter the realm of SCIENTIFIC SOCCER.
NB: Ghana unfortunately fell for the same tactical trap in their first game against USA
I will be looking at an area which has always been a topic of discussion among African football fans and journalists. The issue of local coaches versus the foreign expatriates or to put it in the popular African term "Technical Adviser". I am not opening up a debate of who is better than the other - after all Yeo Martial of Ivory Coast won the 1992 edition of the African Cup of Nations hosted by Senegal against foreign coaches and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria did the same over a year ago in South African.
The issue of success is not in question; but that our African coaches do not pay attention to some details that matter when preparing for games.
When preparing for a major game, things like tactics against specific teams, drills in certain department like set pieces, free kicks and scouting of opponents must be put into play. Now these are the things that give foreign coaches the edge over our local compatriots. I dare even say that some team practice the art of simulating free kicks and penalties - I am not advocating cheating your way to victory but only saying this to illustrate the importance of paying attention to details. This is also not about going for foreign coaches but I am just highlighting the areas that our local coaches needs to improve on.
 |
| Free Kick Drills which are quite foreign to our Local Coaches |
According to Matthew Rogerson's article in goal.com, Stephen Keshi confessed not knowing about Iran (Nigeria's first opponent at the World Cup). This is a cardinal sin against the coaching profession. In this day and age, when most teams send out scouts to spy on their opponents or at least get video footages to help them to map out a plan against them.
Former Nigerian Veteran Coach Festus Onigbinde made the same statement of not scouting their opponents. This is a trend commonly seen among our local African coaches that could be detrimental to the outcome of games.
I found this article on a forum site that buttress my point about tactics. A case study that was looked into after the Super Eagles of Nigeria played their last friendly game against USA which was put together by a football coach named Anthony K - please read the article below.
How USA won Nigeria - By Anthony K
I am predicting that the way they played Nigeria is how USA is going to play Ghana and this was just a dress rehearsal for that game. Having coached in the USA for 15 years I know them in and out and nothing they did surprised me, they are a mechanical team and everything they did was according to the plan they have to play Ghana. It is the template to play African teams that even Brazil adopted when they beat Ghana 3-0 in the world cup. The world has determined that African teams have yet to grasp the concept of scientific soccer, we still depend on physicality i.e. speed, dribbling skills, endurance, strength, size etc.
Denmark defeated Nigeria, Germany Cameroon, Brazil Ghana, even Sinama Pongolle's France u17 team beat Opabunmi's Nigeria u17 team in the finals after losing badly to them in the first round by employing the same tactics. The reason is that our teams have not incorporated the tactical systems to break down packed defenses, when teams pack a bus in front of their goal and counter fast.
I see people blaming Yobo just like they did Taribo West decades ago and I laugh because even the fans still don't get it. On one on one situations in this day and age, the advantage is with the attacker with the ball, it has been scientifically proven that an isolated defender will be beaten for a shot 80 to 90% of the time by employing certain movements that even a journey man sucky player like Altidore can pull off. In that sequence in which he beat Yobo, his cut back was conservative so if Yobo had anticipated it he would have cut back in and try to penetrate and if Yobo had recovered and denied him the penetration then he would have pulled the ball back and laid it off for a shot for one of the marauding midfielders bombing forward to give support, most likely Bradley. It would have been the job of Bradley to vary his run to get open for the shot and if the shot wasn't there then Dempsey should have made himself available for the pass off and Altidore would have had to make a diagonal run to the strong side and Bradley make a varying run to the weak side with other players showing up in supporting positions.
These are the types of tactical patterns that saw the US get shot opportunities on about 75% of their counter attacks while their packed defence yielded nothing to a tactically inept team that had more possession but no idea what to do with it.
I sat there recognizing everything the US was doing and it was right out of the training pitch, all their runs ( certain players bomb forward into predetermined positions and Dempsey time and time again drifted wide when the full backs overlapped to stretch the defence to create gaps, even the pass down to the touch line for a cross to the weak side of the goal for Altidore's tap in, is a designed play and an old one at that).
This is the reason why Brazil when playing England in a previous world cup with two wide defenders notorious for their going forward adjusted their tactics with Scolari instructing Cafu and Roberto Carlos to alternate their overlapping, when one goes the other stays so that the defence will not be stretched.
This US team sucks and this is the only way they can hope to advance so I hope Ghana watched and make the necessary adjustments. The key to beating this formation is to increase your speed of play moving the ball very fast and switching fields from side to side. Switching fields will allow you to catch the team on their weak side and penetrate from the wings essentially going around the horn as they say in the profession, the zone or block defence has a varying horn that moves to the ball depending on the position of the ball and the key its to get around that horn which is the strong side and attack the weak side. Switching also makes the team tired and it creates holes to be penetrated by quick predetermined passing patterns that should have been developed on the training pitch.
The USA also took chances by seating deeper than usual to prevent balls being played behind their defence and the reason for that is that they do not respect Nigeria's outside shooting. Another way of breaking down a packed defence after quick movements of the ball and penetrating down the wings is to send in quality crosses with predetermined runs by forwards and midfielders getting into the box for the finish but Moses was just bent on dribbling, and there were very few crosses into the box from Nigeria.
If Ghana figures out this US strategy they can beat them by 5 goals but if they fail to make the adjustments they can lose by 5 goals simple as that. Africa has to enter the realm of SCIENTIFIC SOCCER.
NB: Ghana unfortunately fell for the same tactical trap in their first game against USA
I have seen a popularity in playing 532 or 523 in much the same way Wigan were successful against Man City in the FA Cup not so long ago.
ReplyDeleteI believe Italy tried to do it to Spain in the last World Cup (or was it the Euro's?), but weren't quite refined enough to carry it out (and that Spain team was basically the Barca team of the era!)
However, even the Netherlands are playing three at the back, Argentina have a plan B with 3 center backs, Costa Rica have suprised their group by topping it (at the time of writing) playing, you've guess it, with 3 center backs.
With each World Cup comes new ideas and tactics, my guess is the winner of this years World Cup, will be playing 3 center backs!
........but who really knows?