jumobi1:

SO Mr. Intellectual, give me a good reason why the coach wasn't there (if the story is true)

Simple. He does not want to watch it, at that point (after selecting order of penalty kicks), it is completely a game of ability between individual players and keepers.

Coach is there or not is virtually irrelevant (both negative and positive). Even line up the national cabinet (president and ministers), the beauty queens from the Miss World beauty pageant and family members on the sideline would not affect a players ability to take penalty at such a stage.

I have never heard of the coach of a team not having enough balls to stay and watch the penalty shootout! very very funny

semid4lyfe:

Frankly, all of you who expected the Super Eagles to completely outplay the Zambians, run them ragged and win are suffering from severe & chronic amnesia. . . . .Rewind to Tunisia 94. . . .the same Zambian team( 2nd string & hurriedly assembled) completely outplayed the S.E(Our best team ever) & ran us ragged with Clemens Westerhof (A white man & world class coach?) in charge. . . .Funny thing is no one complained back then becos it was the final and we won.

Now lets fast-forward to Ghana 2008. . . .Egypt the eventual winners of that tournament only drew one match(1-1). . . and YES, it was against Zambia (in the group stages). . . . .IMO, that match was the best in the competition. . . . .fast-paced football, great end to end stuff, scintillating dribbles, timely tackles etc. In fact, Egypt was lucky to have drawn that match because they were completely outplayed by a Zambian team led by their present captain. . .
Katongo.

Now the Present. . . . .unlike most of you, I was opportuned to see a recording of the friendly match between Nigeria & Zambia in South Africa and that match was pretty similar to what we saw yesterday. . . .The Zambians were very fast, mobile, nimble on the ball, very good dribblers and completely dominated play in that friendly. Therefore, coming into this match, I was under no illusions we were going to dominate play and overrun the chipolopolos. . . . this was the reason I refrained from making a pre-match  prediction (1st time for a Nigerian match in Angola 2010) cos to be truthfull, I was afraid & very fearfull we'd lose. Amodu knew this and chose to play more of containment football by playing a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation and stealing victory if he could. . . . .in fact, I was rather surprised by the obvious respect we were getting from the Zambians in the 1st 30minutes and I said to my friend. . . . .'no be the same zambia wey wan kill us for that friendly be this?' Having said this, what I saw yesterday wasn't brilliant but it wasn't bad either. . . . .the midfielders (particularly Kaita) fought, battled, marked and contested every ball. For the 1st time in this competition, I saw a Mikel who was a bit attack-minded, was not too immobile, moved forward with the ball and took shots at goal when in position to, instead of passing or doing 'merry go round'. We chased everyball, defended resolutely and played with determination and grit. I saw more of close pressure marking and something akin to the 'do or die' spirit I have always advocated. We were certainly very determined not to concede a goal and lose in regulation time or 120 minutes. . . .those were the positives for me. Save for Yaku-fat. . . .Amodu started exactly the 1st 11 I would have started and he made the right substitions too though a bit belated.

Finally, make una stop to dey think sey una players better pass those of other countries becos dem dey play for Europe and as a result una suppose outplay & beat any country. Football no dey work like that. You all should be happy we won. . . . .For school, na person wey pass sabi book, no be person wey answer questions pass for class or appears to be the most intelligent. . . . . Zambia did the playing but we Won. . .EOD.

Make I stop here for now. . . . .e no easy to dey post with mobile.

What a load of bull.
Zambian were on the pitch to play their game, which they did. Tell me, what was the gameplan of Amodu? His tactics and team selection again failed him. He wasted one good substitution by playing Etuhu and Keita. Keita was winning balls in the middle but his distribution was poor. Etuhu was not winning any balls but was wasting possession whenever he had the ball. The midfield changed as soon as Ayila came on. Now tell me, why are we playing Mikel, Etuhu, and Keita together when their distribution is not very good. Why are we using 3 DM against a team like Zambia? How many would we use against Argentina. That game was crying for just Mikel and Ayila in the middle, two people on the wings, and a striker supporting Martins.

Ever since Obasi scored against Egypt, he has done f0'ck all. Yusuf Mohammed is not Eagles material. Echeijile just tackles hard, he doesn't support the attack at least Yusuf M tries but he doesn't connect with anyone. Only three players represented Nigeria yesterday: Shittu, Enyeama, and Apam. The rest were just running around like fowls.

Abdblues:

I have never heard of the coach of a team not having enough balls to stay and watch the penalty shootout! very very funny

I guess neither hd you heard of a coach that said in public that he is the special one until about 4 years ago. Eventually, one day you will see people different from the norm.

I congratulate al d staunch supporters of amodu nd his s.e sagamite,semid etc but pls d word of advice is dat we shuld nt play d way we did against ghana or else dat wil be our bustop i wil continue watching d debates 4rm d sidelines.

What a load of bull.
Zambian were on the pitch to play their game, which they did. Tell me, what was the gameplan of Amodu? His tactics and team selection again failed him. He wasted one good substitution by playing Etuhu and Keita. Keita was winning balls in the middle but his distribution was poor. Etuhu was not winning any balls but was wasting possession whenever he had the ball. The midfield changed as soon as Ayila came on. Now tell me, why are we playing Mikel, Etuhu, and Keita together when their distribution is not very good. Why are we using 3 DM against a team like Zambia? How many would we use against Argentina. That game was crying for just Mikel and Ayila in the middle, two people on the wings, and a striker supporting Martins.

i AGREE we made it confortable for the Zambian from the firstminute playing as a lone striker, The Zambians grew in confidence when we offered nothing upfront, playing as a lone striker is not easy and the Village Idiot we have as a coach was too inept to notice, Odewingie was hugging the line with the other guy on the left wing leaving Yakubu isolated, atleast Amodu could asked the 2 wide men to tuck in and support Yakubu, but no then I thought Martins was coming on to support the Yak but no he was coming to replace him,  Martins is not a lone striker

Guys pls, for your information AMODU was on the bench when penalty kicks were being taken. I had to re-watch the game to be sure and YES HE WAS THERE,

Amodu represent Moses at mount Angola, The 11 players represent the 11 tribes of Nigeria, the critics represent the noise making isrealites who never appreciate or see anything good in Amodu, at the end of the day in Angola, the Pharaoh amodu see today, he shall see them no more.



[size=3pt]
Saw this on tv[/size]

The quality of match was very poor. Eventually, the most important thing is that the SE won,  Inexperience was the undoing of the Zambians, but that is football. Cote D'voir lost to Algeria in the most annoying fashion. These same Zambians we played against dealt with Cameroon evn though the latter won. Gabon also defeated Cameroon at the group stage, it goes a long way to say that the so called big teams didn't find it going well with them.

My major concern is that our players are not fit. Martins is back from injury, Yak has just put to birth just look at te size of his stomach. Nsofor, is not diffferent from a home base player. Look how he just balloons the ball.  If they can continue playing like this and win all their games thats ok by me.

vislabraye:

The quality of match was very poor. Eventually, the most important thing is that the SE won,  Inexperience was the undoing of the Zambians, but that is football. Cote D'voir lost to Algeria in the most annoying fashion. These same Zambians we played against dealt with Cameroon evn though the latter won. Gabon also defeated Cameroon at the group stage, it goes a long way to say that the so called big teams didn't find it going well with them.

My major concern is that our players are not fit. Martins is back from injury, Yak has just put to birth just look at te size of his stomach. Nsofor, is not diffferent from a home base player. Look how he just balloons the ball.  If they can continue playing like this and win all their games thats ok by me.

It all proves my point earlier in the year that football in Africa is no more like in the 90s where you know the winning team before the match starts. The only thing in those days is to bet by how many goals the win will be.

The only team I disregarded as a mino beat Algeria 3-0.

A lot of teams can call on players that play in the top 10 leagues in Europe. Most ignorant people will say "ordinary" Benin, they don't know that Sessegnon that hit the bar is a star playmaker for PSG. Ordinary my arse, when we have a team where none of our players would be in the Top 10 of African Player of the Year, and some idiots will still be relying on "Giant of Africa". Bloody coons!

@ Katsumoto
I repeat Amodu's gameplan was to play containment football, battle & fight hard in the midfield and steal victory. . . .the only hindrance to that game plan was a fat, slow & immobile Yakubu. Martins almost did this with the few minutes he played.

On team selection, Mikel, Etuhu, Kaita & Ayila. . .I beg to disagree. kaita was marking well, battling very hard, winning balls and passing well. It was Etuhu who was playing slightly ahead of him who did nothing, kept on losing possession and passing to the opponents, hence his removal. IMO, the 4-4-2 formation you advocate with Mikel and Ayila in midfield wouldn't have worked yesterday cos both players though skillful are poor markers & battlers, lack pace and are very lazy. This would have led to a collapse of the midfield. . . .and our eventual loss in regulation time. The problem with the team yesterday where Etuhu who was anonymous (He was brilliant againt Benin), Mikel who was playing more of passing instead of as a ball carrier, Obasi who is a lazy he-goat and a Yakubu who is a F.O.O.L. Echiejile btw played very well. . . . .it was Obasifool who kept on losing the ball and made it appear as if he wasn't supporting the attack. . .Anyway he's still far better & preferable to T.Taiwo anytime, anyday.

Having said this, my proposed & preferred starting 11 against Ghana is as follows:-
Vincent Enyeama-1
Yusuf Mohammed-2
Elderson Echiejile-3
Yusuf Ayila-5
Danny Shittu-6
Sanni Kaita-4
Mikel Obi-10
Osaze Odemwingie-7
Taiye Taiwo-11
Obinna Nsofor-8.
Obafemi Martins-9

They should play a 4-4-2 formation with Nsofor playing a free role & constantly drifting into midfield and serving as ball carrier and support striker to Martins. Standing instructions to those playing as 7, 8, 9 & 11 should be shoot at sight of goal since all of them have good shots. 7 & 11 must also backtrack constantly and help out their wing backs.

N.B - nos indicate position of play on the pitch.

@SemiD4lyfe, well spoken.

You are the first person including sports writers, pundits, Xbox managers and their ilk who has actually gone beyond saying play 4-4-2, or "we have many better players" to propose what should be done.
We are so used to complaining it has become reflexive, very soon we will start complaining about the color of the sky and why water makes you wet.

To add to your earlier post, Mali in the 2002 ANC gave us a torrid time in the midfield. Where are those "unknown" Malians today? Senegal gave us a tough time starting with the 2000 ANC, we all know the heights Senegalese football reached after that. In 2006 Angola pipped us to reach the WC. The "experts"  whose every word is repeated by the mentally lazy, said it was a fluke. We now know it was not, the work done by the Angolan Football Academy and Luis Goncalves is now bearing fruit. Names do not make a team, the English National team plays for Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, blah, blah, blah, yet they have never won an European Cup. Even Greece and Denmark have won one. Only a blind man cannot Zambia is back on the rise and is a very good team lacking top-flight exposure.

Nokka:

@SemiD4lyfe, well spoken.

You are the first person including sports writers, pundits, Xbox managers and their ilk who has actually gone beyond saying play 4-4-2, or "we have many better players" to propose what should be done.
We are so used to complaining it has become reflexive, very soon we will start complaining about the color of the sky and why water makes you wet.

To add to your earlier post, Mali in the 2002 ANC gave us a torrid time in the midfield. Where are those "unknown" Malians today? Senegal gave us a tough time starting with the 2000 ANC, we all know the heights Senegalese football reached after that. In 2006 Angola pipped us to reach the WC. The "experts"  whose every word is repeated by the mentally lazy, said it was a fluke. We now know it was not, the work done by the Angolan Football Academy and Luis Goncalves is now bearing fruit. Names do not make a team, the English National team plays for Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, blah, blah, blah, yet they have never won an European Cup. Even Greece and Denmark have won one. Only a blind man cannot Zambia is back on the rise and is a very good team lacking top-flight exposure.

Intelligent talk, Nokka.

I don't know why I get myself dealing with dimwits on NL that, from their vomits, it is obvious they cannot organise a queue in their personal day to day life, hence why Nigeria sucks and foreign operators prefer to mostly get expat and repats as the local talent are few.

People that jump to conclusions based on uncomprehesive info, mere conjectures and unverified rumours. Shite brains!

semid4lyfe:

Having said this, my proposed & preferred starting 11 against Ghana is as follows:-
Vincent Enyeama-1
Yusuf Mohammed-2
Elderson Echiejile-3
Yusuf Ayila-5
Danny Shittu-6
Sanni Kaita-4
Mikel Obi-10
Osaze Odemwingie-7
Taiye Taiwo-11
Obinna Nsofor-8.
Obafemi Martins-9

They should play a 4-4-2 formation with Nsofor playing a free role & constantly drifting into midfield and serving as ball carrier and support striker to Martins. Standing instructions to those playing as 7, 8, 9 & 11 should be shoot at sight of goal since all of them have good shots. 7 & 11 must also backtrack constantly and help out their wing backs.

N.B - nos indicate position of play on the pitch.

This is a very good formation. Perhaps Taiwo can occupy the left of midfield, but mind you, the role of a left midfielder is not always comfortably occupied, even by an attacking full-back. A left midfielder usually receives the ball to feet whilst an attacking full-back receives the ball in space. Can Taiwo beat a man with the ball at his feet? Remains to be seen.

Another formation we can try is exactly the same formation we played against CIV in the olypmpics:


Martins

Obasi Nsofor Odems

Kaita Mikel

Echiejile Shittu Ayila Yusuf




Note that the midfield and attack is exactly the same one we played against CIV if we just substitute Ajilore for Mikel and Isaac Promise for Martins.

@ Ibime
I'm glad we're on the same page. That match against Cotedevoire at Beijing 2008 was the most 'tactically aware' match Siasia ever played with the U-21's & U-23's. . . . .who would have thought Nsofor could have played a free role/10 behind Osaze and Obasi? With the benefit of hindsight, that was a masterstroke by Siasia and we won that match even before it began.

Looking at your starting 11, there's only 1 difference between your team and mine and that's at left midfield. I thought of choosing Obasi for that role but I came to the conclusion he has contributed nothing to the team going forward ever since the 1st match. He's lazy & quickly fizzles out, loses possession easily and doesn't backtrack enough to help out his 3. Taiwo on the other hand has speed (this is what u need to beat defenders sometimes not dribbling), strength & endurance, can shoot very well and he'll also be an additional marker & ball winner in midfield. Apart from these, Taiwo provides an option for set pieces. All these tipped the scales in favour of Taiwo for the left side of midfield. . . . . . .make Obasi siddon for bench small make em head correct. . . . . . .The guy dey vex me gan with em lazy & nonchalant attitude

Anyway, make we just hope we win no matter the starting 11 or formation Amodu adopts on Thursday.

I SEE A NIGERIA VS ALGERIA FINAL,

filaman:

I SEE A NIGERIA VS ALGERIA FINAL,

I see Nigeria vs Egypt in the final;man I can't wait!

Egypt should not be in the final oo, i don't want to see them.

Nigeria A'r going 2 win b'cos we were 1 point down n we came second nam sur wi ar going there 2 win

tobi1994:

Nigeria A'r going 2 win b'cos we were 1 point down n we came second nam sur wi ar going there 2 win

Can you bloody type in English? What is with this lazy text posting?

I see Ghana - Egypt in the final. Nigeria is coming 4th. So unbelieveable that you guys are already underating the Ghanians. Wait until they run the Super Fowls down.

The Ghanaian team is no pushover but as a Nigerian, i want us to be in the final if we put our priorities right.

I don't like Amodu, I have said it before on this thread and am saying it again, and the reason is not far fetched
it is just because Super Eagles don't play good football under him. Judging by his results and other statistics that
are most important in football, Amodu is by far to be called the greatest coach Nigeria has ever produced but I
still don't like him simply because Super Eagles has refused to impress in their matches under him even though Amodu
has hardly ever lost matches.

Now I have chosen to keep my clean mouth shut because this guy keeps winning despite our criticism and SE performance
on the field of play. If we want to be factual, I don't just want to sound like I am making a U-turn on Amodu, I will say henceforth
let us leave Amodu alone to do his job since he has practically proven us critics wrong by winning most of his matches despite the
bad performances of the team in term of play on the field.
Result is the most important thing in football and even if for the next 20years Amodu still remains our coach and he keeps winning
despite SE wobbling and fumbling play, I don't want to care anymore,  BUT THE VICTORY MUST DARE NOT STOP?!!! 

Amodu has met the requirements of the NFF of semi final place and should be allowed to continue.

I watched this game, my comments about this bunch of players are worse than the the writers. We played the game with no urgency, purpose or direction. Our passes were going back to our own goalie most of the time. Our attempts at the opponents goal was few and far between and when it happened the attempts were feeble, we hard 2 corner kicks as oppose to 100(exergeration but it seemed like it) by the Zambuans. Let us face it, these players are older than they claim to be, that is why they tired out. We were schooled by the younger Zambians, we can't keep up with the pace. They were playing for the extra time and go for penalty kicks, no wonder Shaibu took out Etuhu and replaced with a defensive midfielder Ayila(he saved 2 sure goals). For a World Cup bound team playing the likes of Zambia, they were looking for the referee to save them. What an embarassing way to steal a win(the best team went home). Let us face it, most of our players are bench warmers at their respective European clubs and we call these average players our best in a country of over 140 million(has our sporting standard gone that low?). Yes I do blame the coach who fielded these kind of players, he does not really understand the game, games are not won by the club u play for, but the understanding of roles by the players. Let us borrow from the Egyptians, Zambians and Ghanians that are fielding mostly local players. Afterall, our local teams performed exceptionally at the various African competitions. They face all these players and win(Kano Pillars defeating Al Ahly of Egypt, Al Ahly players make up 40 percent of the Egyptian squad). Anyway, these bunch of players are not World Cup calibre players. We have benefitted from a good draw at the World Cup qualifying matches and the current African nations cup. We do not neccessary need a foreign coach, but we need a technically better coach. My 2 cents.

deb:

I don't like Amodu, I have said it before on this thread and am saying it again, and the reason is not far fetched
it is just because Super Eagles don't play good football under him. Judging by his results and other statistics that
are most important in football, Amodu is by far to be called the greatest coach Nigeria has ever produced but I
still don't like him simply because Super Eagles has refused to impress in their matches under him even though Amodu
has hardly ever lost matches.

Now I have chosen to keep my clean mouth shut because this guy keeps winning despite our criticism and SE performance
on the field of play. If we want to be factual, I don't just want to sound like I am making a U-turn on Amodu, I will say henceforth
let us leave Amodu alone to do his job since he has practically proven us critics wrong by winning most of his matches despite the
bad performances of the team in term of play on the field.
Result is the most important thing in football and even if for the next 20years Amodu still remains our coach and he keeps winning
despite SE wobbling and fumbling play, I don't want to care anymore,  BUT THE VICTORY MUST DARE NOT STOP?!!! 

otokx:


Amodu has met the requirements of the NFF of semi final place and should be allowed to continue.

Would you be saying this if we missed one of our penalty kicks and Zambia scored all theirs?

Sagamite:

Intelligent talk, Nokka.

I don't know why I get myself dealing with dimwits [/b]on NL that, from their vomits, it is obvious they cannot organise a queue in their personal day to day life, hence why Nigeria sucks and foreign operators prefer to mostly get expat and repats as the local talent are few.

People that jump to conclusions based on uncomprehesive info, mere conjectures and unverified rumours. [b]Shite brains!

I don't know who you think you are but you are entitled to your opinion just as everyone else. Why do you persist in speaking to people as if you are the embodiment of all knowledge. Your tone is downright condescending, arrogant, and immature. Why not have your say just like everyone else without speaking like football was invented in your village.

What makes your contribution more meaningful than others? If you are so knowledgeable, then you shouldn't be here. FIFA should have invited you to hold a more purposeful role.

May I say anyone who thinks that these are the best players we have in Nigeria is simply deceiving him or herself?

Notwithstanding I still support them (and will always do) and ONLY because they are wearing the colors of my country.

If stats were the keys to all victory then minnows would never have had their chances.

I can bet even Amodu is not impressed with himself (he shouldn't be).  If that is the "best" he can produce, I dare say that the SE have no future. You can quote me any where.  

Katsumoto:

I don't know who you think you are but you are entitled to your opinion just as everyone else. Why do you persist in speaking to people as if you are the embodiment of all knowledge. Your tone is downright condescending, arrogant, and immature. Why not have your say just like everyone else without speaking like football was invented in your village.

What makes your contribution more meaningful than others? If you are so knowledgeable, then you shouldn't be here. FIFA should have invited you to hold a more purposeful role.

I don't think who I am, because I know who I am. An objective, logical and purely smart individual.

And you are gaddam right. I am downright condescending, arrogant and have superior intellect. All evidence points to it.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I am entitled to my opinion that their opinion is stuupid.

Would you be saying this if we missed one of our penalty kicks and Zambia scored all theirs?

Did you read the very last line of my comment well?

Dutch coach applies for Eagles job
By RICHARD JIDEAKA, Abuja
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
•Photo: Sun News Publishing

* More Stories on This Section

Dutch coach, Tom Saintfiet has applied to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for Super Eagles’ job.
The coach promised to take Eagles who are battling to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola to the semi final of the FIFA World Cup or forfeit his pay if given the job.

Saintfiet, who led Namibia from obscurity to stardom with only two losses from 11 matches said with the abundant talents in Nigeria, he would produce a classy team that will stun the world by reaching the semi final of the World Cup in South Africa. Saintfiet insisted that he wants to do better than Westerhof and Bonfere Jo, two Dutch men that made waves with Nigerian teams.

“I have submitted my application to the Nigeria Football Federation with a programme of how I hope to reach the semifinal of the World Cup if I am given the job to be technical head of the Super Eagles. My optimism stems from the fact that I have been a keen follower and admirer of Nigeria players and I believe I can do wonders with them
“Namibia is now a great side because the players were ready to learn despite the lean talents they have, with Nigeria I can turn out world beaters and I am ready to work with Amodu and his present crew to achieve our target,” stated the Dutchman
Meanwhile, Clemence Westerhof, who is unarguably the most successful coach the Super Eagles have ever had thrown his weight behind Tom Saintfiet as the man he feels can adequately work in the Nigeria and get the results.

"Since I left the Super Eagles, I have been an avid follower of the Nigeria National team. In recent days there has been talk in the media about the possibility of the NFF looking for a new coach to take the Super Eagles to the world cup. It is with this background that I would recommend Mr. Tom Saintfiet as the new Super Eagles coach" the letter read in part.

He stressed that Mr. Tom Saintfiet is the only man that is capable to do the job of training the Super Eagles to doing very well at the world cup within the shortest period they have to prepare for the world cup.
"He has shown and proved that he can work in Africa, with the minimal resources he has in Namibia he got miraculous results which will insure that he can prove even more with Nigeria" Westerhof noted. .

Namibia is not Nigeria. We have 'big boys' in the game and namibia had learners. can this man make our big boys play his 'good' pattern (if he has one) in the short time left ( i know they are professionals). what is his other credential aside coaching namibia? i wonder,

Amodu should be left to finish chewing his cord and swallow it if he can. He started it and has not finished yet. Surely i can bet Amodu would overhaul this team before SA 2010 in june.