Gernot Rohr’s stint in charge of the Nigeria national team in barely three months. And International football rarely affords the kind of time needed to carry out exhaustive overhauls or create complexity, and considering the immediacy of the German’s brief, there is even less scope for drastic changes.
Instead, what Rohr has sought to do so far is a lot less cutting edge. Football is neither as complex nor as simple as most would like to think, but on some level, it is easy to accept that if you play your best players, you stand a better chance of winning. For a manager particularly who is not wedded to any one system of play, the quality of individual players available will always be the prime concern.
System managers will sometimes leave out a player of immense ability if he does not flow with the team’s general idea, Rohr, however, is not a man bogged down by particularity.
Largely, as evidenced against Tanzania, he will seek to select the strongest eleven of individual talents, and let them work out an understanding. Intelligent players will necessarily combine well, and tend to lock into a kind of telepathy that, if developed, can blossom into truly devastating passages of play.
The result against Tanzania in Uyo a month ago flattered the visitors somewhat, but the performance was something of a mixed bag in terms of execution. On the one hand, there were some sequences where the build-up was really good, but on the other players seemed to be getting in each other’s way. As the group gels and learns to play off of one another, this organic understanding which Rohr seeks to foster will improve. Of course, one must consider the personnel and evaluate their suitability to hang with the team ethos.
Ironically, teams that are built around individual quality tend to suffer with individualists, and this is where, in some ways, Victor Moses’ absence is something of a relief. The Chelsea man is outrageously talented, and when his confidence is high, can be impossible to live with.
Sadly, when it isn’t, this statement is also true for his own teammates. Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi will almost certainly come into the team in his stead, and is a wonderfully intuitive footballer for his age.
His ability to act as an enabler, rather than a magnet,makes him a better fit for Rohr’s style. Ahmed Musa on the opposite flank seems a selection that might be persisted with, but the Leicester man is in a bit of a rut for both club and country at the moment, and could well make way for Moses Simon, who is better with the ball at his feet and, crucially, can offer needed verticality by attacking the space behind the full-back with runs from out to in.
It will be interesting to see how Kelechi Iheanacho, now arguably the team’s brightest talent will be deployed.
In the first half against Tanzania, the Super Eagles set up in a situational 4-1-4-1 during the build-up, with the Manchester City man joining captain Mikel John Obi as one of the 8’s. It is a system that seems geared more toward coaxing Mikel though, freeing him of defensive duties in light of his new leadership role within the team, rather than unleashing Iheanacho, who is devastating in and around the penalty box.
It tells a lot about Rohr’s style too, in that he is seeking to keep the momentum going for his most influential player.
As it is now, there seems to be something to cheer about. In that, he is something of a breath of fresh air, and if his team repays that faith, there is potential for a turnaround in the Super Eagles’ fortunes.
credit: nationalmirroronline