Imagining a Nigeria without Mikel & Moses With John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses struggling for game time at their respective clubs, how can Stephen Keshi arrange the Super Eagles without them? Mar 26, 2014 10:45:00 AM John Obi Mikel NigeriaGUEST FEATURE By Olasoji Tolulope Does Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho know how John Obi Mikel’s stint on the sidelines could prove detrimental to Nigeria’s chances at the World Cup in Brazil, which is only a few months away? At this moment it’s so obvious, Mikel is experiencing some kind of recurring deja vu, but in this case it seems different. Typically, he has always had the last laugh under past coaches but Mourinho sees his competitor, Nemanja Matic, as an upgrade in all departments. This has reduced Mikel to the role of substitute, entering games late on to close down the opposition. It is uncertain if Mikel is going to start many, if any, of Chelsea’s remaining matches with Matic churning out impressive and dominating performances in the heart of midfield. Mourinho | Is the Chelsea boss compromising Nigerias World Cup prospects? On the other hand, Chelseas loanee Victor Mosess ambition at Anfield looks gloomy as Raheem Sterling put up an impressive full debut for England against Denmark in a recent international friendly. It’s so glaring that Sterling would be given more chances at Liverpool as hes thought to be in the running for Brazil, potentially even bound for England’s starting XI. With the duo not getting much game time at their clubs, there is a genuine fear that this could dent Nigeria’s hopes at the World Cup. Both men played crucial roles as Stephen Keshi guided Nigeria to the top of the mountain, but could their current struggles undermine the Super Eagles on the grandest stage of all? An Alternate Plan With world class teams such as Germany and Spain having the luxury of assigning several fantastic players to each position. Nigeria do not have the luxury of doing without either Mikel or Moses. What Spain and Germany are also able to do, however, is tweak their tactics and modify their approach to compensate for injuries or for star men when they are not on form. For instance, Vicente Del Bosque’s Spain employed the false nine during their Euro 2012 success when their reliable strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres were unfit and underperforming. Then Germany adopted the same tactics with Mario Gotze when Miroslav Klose was declared injured during their own World Cup qualifying campaign. By contrast, Portugal, who have struggled to match the achievements of Spain and Germany, are often a completely different (and much weakened) prospect when missing their star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. With Stephen Keshi said to be proving his adaptability by deviating from his trusty 4-3-3 to an unfamiliar 4-4-1-1, as identified by Goal’s own Solace Chukwu, it would also prove beneficiary for him to have an alternate game plan, that doesn’t feature his two vital players. Nigeria are not blessed with the depths of talents to directly replace Mikel or Moses, and so it may be wiser for Keshi to modify his approach to account for their sub-standard showings.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 20:39:52 +0000
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