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Nigeria's Crashing-Out of World Cup 2002
By
Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD
Burtonsville, MD, USA
INTRODUCTION
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So Nigeria has crashed out of the World Cup 2002? Well, there is a famous saying: "It is not that the monkey rode the bike so well that is surprising; it is that it did it at all!"
Quite frankly, what with what one compatriot called our "organizational mayhem" in soccer - by organization, one here means the choice of administrative staff, their funding, choice of soccer team players, their remuneration, regular schedule of practice/training and slate of preparatory matches, etc. - that we got to the World Cup at all is really a marvel, and a testament to the GREAT individual skills of our players.
If each of our players played A NOTCH below their individual skills, and our ORGANIZATIONAL PREPARATION were a NOTCH above its present one, then we would actually work wonders - and our results would not be one of feast ("we could win the cup o.....") or famine ("but again, coming to think of it, we could crash out in the first round!"). That extreme uncertainty between two extreme outcomes could be quite depressing.
Let us do a little bit of analysis.
THE GROUP OF DEATH: GROUP F OF SWEDEN, ARGENTINA, ENGLAND AND NIGERIA
That we were in the "Group of Death" - Group F out of the eight groups A - H - did not help matters. Based on the number of world cup appearances, world cup wins, the number of countries that won them from detailed Table 2 below, I rate in Table 1 the Groups in descending order of difficulty as follows. The number of matches played and the goals for and against also figure into my rating. On can see why any schedule that has Argentina and England in the same The Group F is indeed "The Group of Death."
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ONIGBINDE AND HIS "NON-FOREIGN-NESS":THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD COACH
Of all the 32 teams in the World Cup, only 8 have foreign coaches: Senegal [4 points so far], Paraguay [1 point], Korea [4 points], China [0 points], Cameroon [4 points], England [4 points], Ecuador [0 points] and Japan [4 points]. In short: EXACTLY one per group! What a coincidence!
Thus, only those teams would QUALIFY to win the World Cup if using a native-born coach were a crime. One must admit that from the points recorded so far - with all the teams having played 2 matches each - the foreign coaches have done quite well. Five 4-point teams for them at this time ain't bad - but we will have to wait until all the matches are played!
But what about Onigbinde's native-born-ness? Well, inside Nigeria, Onigbinde is NIGERIAN. He was a foreign coach in Trinidad and Tobago. In Costa Rica or Bahamas or Ireland, he would still be NIGERIAN, but now would be a FOREIGN COACH there - yet he would be the same ONIGBINDE. So it is not domestic or foreign that REALLY matters.
When a country gets beyond the systemic organizational issue, a coach, particularly a native-born one, should be one with the POTENTIAL and ACTUAL PLAYERS respect and would be happy to play for. I believe that there are two minimum ingredients to earning that respect:
(1) the coach has himself earlier on played soccer at the same level at which the players are being asked to play. Otherwise, at the back of their minds, there is probably the "Do as I say, not as I do" skepticism.
(2) in coaching before, he has gotten a winning record, preferably at the same level at which he is demanding of the players.
(3) the coach does not fool around with the players with respect to wine, women, money and player favoritism, thereby losing their respect. The first two are due to moral turpitude; the next due either to greed and/or inadequate or irregular compensation; and the last due to job insecurity and the need to curry favor of higher powers.
Whether local or foreign, I always worry when a coach who has not played on a national soccer side where he has earned 10, 20, 30 international caps; has not played World Cup soccer itself - and has not at some point later on become a national coach in a World Cup event. My point one is that at the very minimum, I WILL ALWAYS support a coach, local or foreign, who has played for his country's national team, has shone brightly - and during it shown captaincy skills as well as motivational skills to the rest of his team. If we wish to develop local coaching skills, then as we go from national team to national team, we should have our eye on such people, and send them further and further for coaching training as their own playing skills diminish.
Let me admit that we have done some of that, with coaches like Christian Chukwu and a few others whose names I don't remember now - but we should do more and more of it. Even those that I remember vaguely, I don't know whether they were the chief coaches or just assistant coaches. [A look at the Assistant Coach list on http://www.supereagles.com/stories/profiles/2002assistantcoaches.asp shows that some attempt at grooming young former players is in the making.]
The second point of course is that you have to be a coach to have a winning record - and this is where FOREIGN coaches have an advantage over our own LOCAL NIGERIAN COACHES. I mean, many of them have played for their national sides
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in top level international matches and top league club-sides; have participated in the World Cup as players; and in fact have coached a number of countries to the World Cup.
Why do we think Mexico and Nigeria and Costa Rica and now China have been engaging Bora Milutinovic for the past four or five World Cups? Or Philip Troussier (formerly of Nigeria) who is now coaching Japan? Why is it in the US that one coach in Football, Basketball or Baseball gets fired today - and tomorrow he gets another job again as coach in the same sport? Yes, he may be fired from Team A today for being 11 - 15 for the season, but in 20 seasons, he may have 400 - 100 record - and people look at that! So Team B wants him quick.
I believe that record is what Bora and Phillip Troussier are riding on, their reputation for "turning teams around." One might be tempted to speculate that if most or all of the team members play on foreign club sides, then the coach should be foreign - like in Nigeria. The fact of the matter is that while the players would typically play in many different countries, the coach would have to come from just one country! In World Cup 2002, the best foreign-coach-fit seems to be Senegal, where 21 of the 23 players play on teams in French Leagues, and the Soccer coach is foreign and French (Bruno Metsu). On the other hand, 22 of the 23 players on the English squad play for English club sides (the exception is Owen Hargreaves), while the coach is Swedish (Sven-Goran Eriksson). In France itself, 18 out of the 23 players in the squad play for clubsides OUTSIDE of France, yet the coach is French. And in Saudi Arabia, all the 23 players are home-based - and the coach is home-grown too!
A final point - and this is a sore one - for arguing for foreign coach in an ethnic-besotted country like Nigeria: he gets freed to a lot of extent from accusations of choosing a team based on ethnicity. People are freer to criticise him free of ethnicism - and he is free to accept or reject such criticism free of ethnicism.
Imagine Onigbinde. I did hear murmurs that he got the job simply because he is Yoruba - and that because Obasanjo is Yoruba. Another coincidence: Onigbinde shares the same birthday (March 5) and maybe even the same birthdate (March 5, 1938) with president Obasanjo, since the president does not really know the year he was born! I did read some commentary of the suspicion that he restored Mutiu Adepoju and Opabunmi - who have not played in this World Cup by the way - because they are Yoruba like Onigbinde. A criticism that Onigbinde did not put in Ikedia or Oliseh or Ikpeba or others may be legitimate - and yet again it may just be one ethnic home boy rooting for another. Instead of Onigbinde accepting the criticisms on an objective note, he may simply dismiss them as the ranting of a "Yoruba-phobe" or one who wants his home boy to be there. And so on.
However, a foreign coach who does not interest himself in all of these local ethnic politics - or at least does good pretence at not being affected - gets a freer hand in choosing his team and in assessing criticisms of his work.
I have provided in the Appendix some synopsis of some World Cup coaches doing their coaching in their native land. You be the judge as to the history of their soccer involvements and the problems they have faced at home. I could care less who is on our soccer team, provided it wins matches. At this point, I could care less whether Onigbinde was fired or not; whether he is Yoruba or not; whether he put one particular Tiv or Igbo chap on the team or not. My own beef with him was not just that first we lost our first two matches and we crashed out of the World Cup, but in so doing I just saw him by the sidelines with his hands on his cheek seemingly making no adjustments during the match. He must have made some at half-time, but how am I to know? We may still have lost if he made adjustments during the match, but at least I would have been happier. We may still have won if he made no adjustments, but although I still would have complained, my complaint would have held no water because we won.
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As it is, we lost, so I am unhappy - like the rest of Nigeria. I want a coach who has great playing and coaching experience - and who can make good tactical adjustment during a match. That is AFTER we have straightened out our organizational mayhem - and de-ethnicized certain considerations around our soccer.
EPILOGUE
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Let me recapitulate:
(1) we need to straighten our organizational mayhem, particularly choice of NFA staff and NFA funding. All these oil and other companies making big bucks in Nigeria should be urged to chip in so as to free the NFA from government bureaucracy.
With so many of our players playing in international leagues now, NFA should be able to get a substantial slice of certain participation fees in order to use develop local talent.
(2) we need to choose a coach or coaches, domestic or foreign, with playing experience AND great winning records;
(3) if we feel that ethnic pressures beset our domestic coaches, then we should go for foreign coaches to choose our our players.
Best wishes.
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Table 1: Rating of Group Difficulties
Group NWCA NWCW NC Pl W D L Goals F-A
F 35 3 2 148 67 32 49 241-184
G 31 3 1 110 51 26 33 155-142
E 27 3 1 108 51 29 28 186-149
A 25 3 2 87 41 15 31 166-123
C 22 4 1 87 56 14 17 187- 95
H 25 0 0 75 26 15 34 105-106
D 20 0 0 65 23 10 32 87-122
B 20 0 0 58 20 18 20 80- 81
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{F: NC - [Argentina 2 times, England 1]; A: NC - [Uruguay 2, France 1];
G: NC - [Italy 3]; E: NC - [Germany 3] ; C: NC - [Brazil 4]}
NWCA - No. of World Cup Appearances; NWCW - No. of World Cup Wins
NC - No. of Countries Winning the World Cup;
PL - Number of Matches played; W -won; D - Drawn; L - Lost
Goals F-A - Goals For and Against
Sources:
Official site of the 2002 FIFA World Cup (Korea/Japan) http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/
World Cup Archives http://www.worldcuparchive.com/NATIONS/maraton.html
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TABLE 2: TABLE OF TEAM ASSESSMENT
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP A F - A
Denmark 3 1986 1998 0 N 9 5 1 3 19-13
Senegal 1 2002 - 0 F 0 0 0 0 0-0
Uruguay 10 1930 1990 2 N 37 15 8 14 61-52
France 11 1930 1998 1 N 41 21 6 14 86-58
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25 3 1F/3N 87 41 15 31 166-123
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP B F - A
Spain 11 1934 1998 0 N 40 16 10 14 61-48
South Africa 2 1998 1998 0 N 3 - 2 1 3- 6
Paraguay 6 1930 1998 0 F 15 4 6 5 19-27
Slovenia 1 2002 - 0 N 0 0 0 0 0- 0
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20 0 1F/3N 58 20 18 20 80-81
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP C F - A
Brazil 17 1930 1998 4 N 80 53 14 13 173- 78
Costa Rica 2 1990 1990 0 N 4 2 - 2 4- 6
Turkey 2 1954 1954 0 N 3 1 - 2 10- 11
China 1 2002 - 0 F 0 0 0 0 0- 0
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22 4 1F/3N 87 56 14 17 187- 95
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP D
Korea 6 1954 1998 0 F 14 - 4 10 11- 43
USA 5 1930 1998 0 N 17 4 1 12 18- 38
Portugal 3 1966 1986 0 N 9 6 - 3 19- 12
Poland 6 1938 1986 0 N 25 13 5 7 39- 29
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20 0 1F/3N 65 23 10 32 87-122
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP E
Germany (West) 16 1934 1998 3 N 78 45 17 16 162-103
Cameroon 5 1982 1998 0 F 14 3 6 5 13- 26
Ireland 3 1990 1994 0 N 9 1 5 3 4- 7
Saudi Arabia 3 1994 1998 0 N 7 2 1 4 7- 13
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27 3 1F/3N 108 51 29 28 186-149
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP F
Sweden 10 1934 1994 0 N 38 14 9 15 66- 60
Nigeria 3 1994 1998 0 N 8 4 - 4 13- 13
Argentina 13 1930 1998 2 N 57 29 10 18 100- 69
England 11 1950 1998 1 F 45 20 13 12 62- 42
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35 3 1F/3N 148 67 32 49 241-184
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP G
Mexico 12 1930 1998 0 N 37 8 10 19 39- 75
Italy 16 1934 1998 3 N 66 38 16 12 105- 62
Croatia 2 1998 1998 0 N 7 5 - 2 11- 5
Ecuador 1 2002 - 0 F 0 0 0 0 0- 0
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31 3 1F/3N 110 51 26 33 155-142
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TWCA FWCA LWCA WCW CNA Pl W D L Goals
GROUP H
Japan 2 1998 1998 0 F 3 - - 3 1- 4
Russia/USSR 9 1958 1994 0 N 34 16 6 12 60- 40
Belgium 11 1930 1998 0 N 32 9 7 16 40- 56
Tunisia 3 1978 1998 0 N 6 1 2 3 4- 6
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25 0 1F/3N 75 26 15 34 105-106
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LEGEND:
TWCA - Total World Cup Appearances
FWCA - Year of First World Cup Appearance
LWCA - Year of Last World Cup Appearance
WCW - World Cups Won
CNA - 2002 Coach's nationality (F-Foreign-born; N-Native-born)
PL - No of World Cup Matches Played
W - No of World Cup Matches Won
L - No of World Cup Matches Lost
D - No of World Cup Matches Drawn
Sources:
Official site of the 2002 FIFA World Cup (Korea/Japan) http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/
World Cup Archives http://www.worldcuparchive.com/NATIONS/maraton.html
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APPENDIX
PROFILES OF SOME NATIVE-BORN COACHES
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NIGERIA SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/nga.html
ONIGBINDE Adegboye
Nationality: Nigeria
Birth Date: 5 March 1938
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Profile:
Surely everyone in Africa's most populous nation is hoping recently-appointed head coach Festus Onigbinde can find a way to reconcile the flair and attacking verve of Nigerian sides past with a forward-thinking tactical acumen suspiciously absent in recent years.
Onigbinde was promoted from Technical Director to head coach after Shaibu
Amodu was handed his marching orders following a poor run of results and rumours of indiscipline at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali.
Oningbinde is a tough customer, an old dog. Though he would deny outright any assertions suggesting him to be a stern disciplinarian or harsh taskmaster.
The World Cup will be Onigbinde's second stint with the Super Eagles, as he led Nigeria to the African Cup of Nations final in 1984-a great achievement in the teething stages of Nigerian football. Despite the seeming progress he spurred with the national team in the 1980's,
Onigbinde was unceremoniously sacked by Nigerian FA decree in 1985. ...
Following his first years at the helm of the Nigerian national side,
Onigbinde put his footballing knowledge to work in the tiny island nation of Trinidad and Tobago where he served as Technical Adviser for three and a half years. Onigbinde, as in his native Nigeria, is as well respected as any man within Caribbean footballing circles......
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RUSSIAN SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/rus.html ROMANTSEV Oleg
Nationality: Russia
Birth Date: 4 January 1954
Profile:
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Oleg Romantsev is a Russian coach of the old-school style. A combative disciplinarian who cares little for public perception, he is a larger-than-life figure in his home country, and he demands complete authority. This has led to occasional confrontations with the media and his players, and he has even refused to honour FIFA's touchline smoking ban during the World Cup final.
However, the former international (12 caps) who was decorated with a medal for service to the nation in 1995, has brought passion and dedication to the formerly great Russian side that has failed to made an impact on international football since the fall of the Soviet Union.
His record in coaching is unquestionable. He first made a name for himself when he led Spartak Moscow to the 1989 league title in his first year in charge. From 1992-94, the club won three straight crowns under his leadership. In 1994, he was also appointed President of the club but soon after left the coach's position at Spartak to lead the Russian national team.
He was dismissed after a disappointing Euro 96 where the team took only one point from a very difficult group of Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. At that point, he became head coach of Spartak again, winning five straight league championships......
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ITALY SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/ita.html
TRAPATTONI Giovanni
Profile:
Giovanni Trapattoni's accession to national team coach two years ago was something Italians had taken for granted. The only surprise was that it had taken so long with the 63-year-old's greatest successes coming almost two decades ago.
But it was as a player that Trapattoni's name first became known. Playing as a defender in an AC Milan side which included Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Gianni Rivera and Jose Altafini, he won two Serie A championships, two European cups, a Cup Winners Cup and an Italian Cup in a 14-year career with the club. He also represented Italy 17 times most memorably in 1963 when man-marking Pele in Italy's 3-0 win at the San Siro. Trap's first appointment as coach was with his old club. However the Lombardian could not repeat his achievements and soon moved on to arch-rivals Juventus where he became a legend winning six scudettos, two UEFA Cups and a European Cup in the 70s and 80s......
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MEXICO SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/mex.html
AGUIRRE Javier
Nationality: Mexico
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Birth Date: 1 January 1958
Profile:
Mexico's route to the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan(tm) was by no means plain sailing. Indeed, Javier Aguirre was parachuted in as coach in mid-campaign to prevent a freefall into oblivion. The man affectionately known as "El Vasco", or the "Basque", duly chalked up the 13 points required to qualify his side behind Costa Rica; the product of 4 wins and a draw......
Aguirre is himself best remembered as a powerful, no-nonsense striker. He played for Guadalajara, Amirica and Atlante in his native Mexico before plying his trade in Spain, for Osasuna. But his fondest memories come as part of the beloved Mexico side - he wore the number 13 shirt - that went down on penalties to Germany in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup on home soil......
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REPUBLIC OF IRELAND SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/irl.html
MC CARTHY Mick
Nationality: Rep. of Ireland
Birth Date: 7 February 1959
Profile:
Faced with a qualifying group that included two semi-finalists from the previous UEFA European Championship, Portugal and the Netherlands, Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy kept his typically stubborn cool and led his side to the most unlikely of playoffs with Iran......
Narrow playoff losses to Belgium in late 1997 and Turkey in 1999 kept the team out of the FIFA World Cup [tm] and the UEFA European Championships and led to widespread criticism of McCarthy's tactical shuffling and desire to play a more attractive, passing style of football. However, the same doggedness and confidence that made McCarthy a tenacious centre- back and long-time captain for the Republic and British clubs Barnsley, Manchester City, Celtic, and Millwall led him to go his own way as coach.
McCarthy's playing career lasted for 20 years and included 57 caps for Ireland, though he was born in England. He had remarkably little coaching experience when he was offered the Irish job, having been a player-manager at Millwall for just four seasons.
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GERMANY SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/ger.html
VOLLER Rudi
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Nationality: Germany
Birth Date: 13 April 1960
Profile:
Rudi Voller leads Germany into the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan[tm] finals as coach just 12 years after winning it as a player. But, while he is remembered as a key player of their footballing hey-day, in the intervening period the health of the German game has altered dramatically.
In 1996, Voller ended a hugely successful playing career that had spanned almost two decades. The striker, nicknamed "fox of the box", spent five years at Werder Bremen, before joining Roma in 1987 where he played for another five years winning the Italian Cup in 1991. But it was in France with Marseille where he gained his greatest prize at club level winning the European Cup in 1993 - the only French club to win the tournament.
It is Voller's feats with the national team that especially catch the eye. He was a vital piece of unified Germany's World Championship-winning team in 1990, where he scored three goals and formed a lethal partnership with Juergen Klinsmann. The curly haired-forward also scored Germany's equaliser against Argentina in the 1986 Final and formed part of the 1994 World Cup squad, as well as the team that won the European Championship in 1980......
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BRAZIL SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/bra.html
SCOLARI Luiz Felipe
Nationality: Brazil
Birth Date: 9 November 1948
Profile:
Brazil have won the world's most prestigious tournament more times than any other country, but just reaching the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan(tm) was one of the most painful achievements in the history of the national team......
Born on 11 September, 1948, Scolari, like many famous coaches, was himself only a modest player, turning out as a defender for sides like Aymore, Caxias, Novo Hamburgo, Juventude and CSA. He was never picked for his country. His training career has been more star-studded, however, and, as well as coaching Cruzeiro, it has included victory in the Copa Libertadores with Gremio in 1995 and with Palmeiras in 1999. Scolari replaced Emerson Leco in response to calls from the Brazilian public for a "firm hand" to counter the lack of discipline in the squad. Although it was not the first time he had been asked, he walked out on his club side, Gremio, took command of the Selegao, and radically changed the team's style of play with a greater emphasis on defence......
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SLOVENIA SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/svn.html
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KATANEC Srecko
Nationality: Slovenia
Birth Date: 16 July 1963
Profile:
Slovenia's young coach Srecko Katanec has achieved nothing short of a small miracle with his inexperienced charges. With Russia and Yugoslavia looking like hot favourites to take the top two spots in UEFA qualifying Group 1 for the FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan 2002(tm), Katanec's boys confounded the experts, scrambling into second place......
Katanec, a clever tactician and outstanding motivator, has managed to banish the minnow mentality from the minds of his men. His own experience as a player has undoubtedly served him well. The Slovenian who also speaks Italian, English and a spot of German, remains one of his country's most successful exports. He earned his first plaudits and championship titles with Dinamo Zagreb and Partizan Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia, before moving to VfB Stuttgart of the German Bundesliga in 1988.
A year later the lanky, though surprisingly elegant, defender headed for Sampdoria in Italy's ultra competitive Serie A, where playing alongside Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini he won the Italian championship, the Italian Cup and a European Cup Winners' Cup medal, before hanging up his boots in 1994......
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SPAIN'S SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/esp.html
CAMACHO Jose Antonio
Nationality: Spain
Birth Date: 8 June 1955
Profile:
Most coaches reach the top of their profession after successful spells as club managers winning championships and more often than not gaining experience abroad. However Spain's coach Josi Antonio Camacho's has reached the top of his profession without a trophy to his name. Camacho's playing career is far more distinguished than his managerial one. One of the defensive pillars in Madrid's exciting "Quinta de Buitre" team, he made 415 appearances as a defender for Real Madrid from 1973 to 1989, helping the "Merengue" to 9 league titles, 3 Copa del Rey victories, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA Cup triumphs.
Camacho is the third most-capped Spanish player of all time with 81 appearances, including the disastrous 1982 FIFA World Cup(tm) in Spain and Mexico 86 - as well as reaching the final at Euro 84 in France. However his success as a coach has been less exceptional. After taking Rayo Vallecano up to the Primera Division in his first year, he moved to Barcelona and did the same thing with Espanyol. The Murcian oversaw an exciting brand of football in the very best Spanish traditions and took the club to 4th place in the league and a place in the UEFA Cup......
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SOUTH AFRICA SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/rsa.html
SONO Jomo
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Nationality: South Africa
Birth Date: 17 July 1955
Profile:
Ask even the most casual South African football supporter the name of the finest native-born player of all time and his answer will more than likely be a sharp and unequivocal, Jomo Sono. Now South Africa's best ever footballer has been promoted from Technical Director to acting Bafana Bafana head coach following the recent resignation of much-travelled Mozambique-born Portuguese boss Carlos Queiroz.
Under Queiroz, South Africa strolled through to qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan[tm]. They finished four points ahead of their nearest rivals Zimbabwe with a record of five wins and one draw in six matches, scoring 10 and conceding just three goals in the process. However with Queiroz's exit, Sono now finds himself in the unenviable position of having only three months to prepare his charges before the kick-off against South American powers Paraguay on June 2 in Busan. A tall order to be sure, but with his many years in the game and the total respect of his charges Sono might just be the talisman necessary to see South Africa improve upon a poor showing in the 2002 African Cup of Nations and a winless run through their first ever World Cup in France - and perhaps just prove a summer spoiler for some of the more established names in Group B.....
He still acts as a talent scout for the club that bears his name, and is well known as something of an eccentric with an unquestionable knowledge of the game and an uncanny eye for budding talent......
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FRANCE SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/fra.html
LEMERRE Roger
Nationality: France
Birth Date: 18 June 1941
Roger Lemerre had a hard act to follow when he took over for Aimi Jacquet following France's romantic triumph on home soil at the 1998 FIFA World Cup[tm]. But the Briquebec man has moved into the hot-seat with the minimum of fuss and with maximum results. Lemerre coached France's military team (Bataillon de Joinville) to its first world championship in 1995 - the first time the country had ever won a team tournament. And as national coach has completed all that could be asked of him so far, winning Euro 2000 and last year's Confederations Cup in style.
Continuity may well be the watchword in French coaching at the moment but Lemerre had to change his relationship with the team's stars in order for him to succeed in his new role. As No 2 to Jacquet, he was the players' confidant, smiling, joking and always available to listen to their concerns and offer advice. As coach, he has become serious and more aloof while carrying out a sometimes uneasy relationship with the press.
Lemerre has benefited from the way the French media has moderated its tone since being pilloried in 1998 following their almost unanimous criticism of Jacquet before the tournament......
Despite his penchant for confusing sayings and his personality transformation, he retains the respect of the French team. Key to this has been his approach to team selection, which might be best summed up as "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, this area also accounts for the sole bone of contention occasionally voiced namely to try a few more experiments......
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URUGUAY SOCCER COACH
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http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/uru.html
PUA Victor
Nationality: Uruguay
Birth Date: 31 March 1956
Profile:
After missing out on the last two FIFA World Cup(tm) finals, the Uruguayans are hungry for top-flight football again. The road to Korea/Japan was anything but easy, but they finally grabbed the last qualifying spot by beating Australia in the play- offs. The "Celestes" finished fifth in the South American table with 7 wins, 6 draws and 5 defeats and used two coaches: Argentinian Daniel Passarella who resigned in November 2000 and Victor Pua, the present incumbent. After making his name with the national youth sides, Pua first coached the full national side in the Copa America in Paraguay 1999, when the "Celestes" lost to Brazil in the Final. He then stepped aside for Passarella, who surprisingly stepped down in November 2000 despite enjoying the favour of the fans.
This time around the Uruguay Football Federation plumped for the worked wonders, earning Uruguay a much hoped-for place in the finals. But it has been anything but an easy ride for Pua, never knowing if his contract would be renewed after the qualifiers and a public slanging match with the team's top striker, Dario Silva, who called him a "traitor" and accused him of "gossiping" to the press. The fans seem to like him, however, and many believe he can steer their side into the second round in Korea/Japan.
His greatest success as a player was winning the Pan-American Games in 1983. He then played, without any great success, for Defensor Sporting, Liverpool (Uruguay), Rampla Juniors and second-division Cerrito. He has, however, coached Uruguay's River Plate and national youth teams. His main achievement here, apart from being runners-up at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia in 1999, has been to discover such talents as Fabian Carini, Nicolas Olivera and Javier Zalayeta......
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DENMARK SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/den.html
OLSEN Morten
Nationality: Denmark
Birth Date: 14 August 1949
Profile:
Brought in as the coach of Denmark after a disappointing performance at Euro 2000, 52-year-old Morten Olsen had national expectations on his shoulders heading into a potentially difficult qualifying group for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan [tm], which included Bulgaria, N. Ireland, Iceland, and the Czech Republic. But his team remained unbeaten and gained automatic qualification ahead of the fancied Czechs by two points.
It was not all plain sailing for the Danes, however, and Olsen suffered his fair share of early criticism. But it was also clear from the outset that the man who replaced Bo Johansson had improved the spirit of the team significantly.
He also shepherded a changeover in the dynamics of the side, with many older players making room for an exciting new generation of Danes. In keeping with this more electrifying style, Olsen has been open to a more attacking 4-3-3 system,
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which plays to the speed and potential flair of the team and allows more freedom than the rather one-dimensional team of 2000.
As a player, Olsen was one of the leaders of the golden age of Denmark's national team, winning 102 caps between 1970 and 1989 as a ball-playing sweeper. He was a major part of Denmark's European Championship semi-final team in 1984, as well as the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico and the European Championships of 1988.
At club level, he led Belgian side Anderlecht to the 1983 UEFA Cup and three league titles. After finally hanging up his boots at the age of 40, Olsen began his coaching career with Brondby in 1990, where he won two Danish titles. He moved on to FC Koln where he coached from 1993 to 1995 before taking over at Ajax Amsterdam, winning the Dutch League and Cup double in his first season......
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POLAND SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/pol.html
ENGEL Jerzy
Nationality: Poland
Birth Date: 6 October 1952
Profile:
When Jerzy Engel took up the reigns of Poland's national team two-and-a-half years ago, few people gave him much of a chance of surviving for very long. The press and public had expected a big name Henryk Kasperczak, Franciszek Smuda or Pawel Janas - or even foreigners like Anghel Iordanescu or Sepp Piontek - to be given the role. So when Engel's name popped up, it was immediately criticised. But the 50-year-old has achieved the unexpected and coached the nation to their first World Cup in 16 years......
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USA SOCCER COACH http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/usa.html
ARENA Bruce
Nationality: USA
Birth Date: 21 September 1951
Profile:
Bruce Arena took over as the head coach of the U.S. national team shortly after their disappointing last-place finish in the 1998 FIFA World Cup France(tm) and almost immediately changed the focus of the team's mindset from past shortcomings to future success.
After Steve Sampson was sacked in the wake of his U.S. team's failure to earn a single point in France, Arena was the obvious choice for a replacement, as he was without question the most accomplished American coach ever.
While some doubted whether any American coach could be successful at international level, and many others still question his tactics and player selections, Arena has the perfect temperament to deal with criticism. Mainly, he fails to pay it any mind. Stubborn, sometimes sullen or combative, the coach has instilled his players with the same sort of New York City fight
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that he grew up with as a child in Brooklyn. He is very loyal to the players that he trusts, again, shrugging off criticism of them by the press or supporters. In turn, his players know that if they get in his good graces, they will have a staunch defender on their side. Arena, who earned a single cap as a player, worked his way into his current job thanks to his unparalleled success as a university and professional coach.
After winning five national collegiate championships at the University of Virginia, he went on to lead D.C. United to championships in two Major League Soccer Cups, a U.S. Open Cup, a CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and an Interamerican Cup.
His characteristic focus was on display last year, when Arena, after shepherding his team safely through the semi-final stage of qualifying, led his U.S. squad to an historic victory over regional giants Mexico in their first match of the final qualifying stage.
The U.S. followed that victory up with three wins and a draw in their next four qualifiers, but injuries to key players and a string of three successive losses followed. With things seemingly falling apart, Arena's squad got back on track with a 2-1 win over Jamaica, the victory that clinched the U.S.' qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. Since qualifying, Arena has successfully tested his players with a strenuous schedule of friendlies against fellow FIFA World Cup participants Korea, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and Ireland, using those games to build confidence and assess players. Faced with one of the "so-called" easier groups alongside Korea, Poland and Portugal, Arena firmly believes his team has the on-field qualities to compete. If he can overcome the in-head barrier, then the U.S. may surprise a few in Asia.
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PORTUGAL SOCCER TEAM
COACH: OLIVEIRA Antonio http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/t/t/c/por.html
Nationality: Portugal
Birth Date: 10 June 1952
Profile:
The daunting prospect of continuing the form of the Portugal team that reached the semi-final at Euro 2000 fell to 50-year- old Antonio Oliveira, whose task it was to lead the side to their first World Cup since 1986. The former international, in his second stint in charge of the national team, took over after Humberto Coelho resigned and demonstrated wisdom by largely letting the very talented team continue on in the same style as before.
And yet many had been sceptical about the excitable Oliveira, primarily because he did not possess the track record of his compatriots, Artur Jorge or even his predecessor Coelho. Despite coaching a string of home-based clubs including FC Porto, whom he led to the 1997 and '98 domestic titles, this product of the Portuguese federation coaching system had never proved himself abroad, as his extremely short and unhappy stint in 1998 at Real Betis testifies.
Oliveira was in charge the penultimate time the Portuguese went to the European Championship in 1996, where he quit after a disappointing 1-0 quarter-final defeat to eventual finalists the Czech Republic. But the attack-minded coach understood the strengths of the side, while bringing in some new talent to round out the squad. And no one has been around the Portuguese game more than Oliveira. He has coached eight domestic teams since 1980, the first two - his home-town club, Penafiel, and Sporting Lisbon - as a player-manager. He won his first trophy, a domestic cup, at Sporting.
As a player, Oliveira was a midfielder with a host of sides, with Porto (for 14 years), Penafiel, Sporting Lisbon, and Betis all on his resume as well. He also had a keen eye for goal as demonstrated by his record of seven goals in his 24 international caps.
Portugal has high hopes for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan(tm), especially since their next major tournament, Euro
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2004, will be on home soil. Oliveira, meanwhile, is trying to shield his players from any pressure.
"We're going into this tournament with nothing to lose," Oliveira said. "We've won nothing so far, so it will hardly be the end of the world if we don't win it."
And yet the Portuguese coach's belief in his players is unswerving. "My players will give everything because they know that taking part in the FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to make history."
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NEWS ITEM
Nigeria to hire foreign coach after World Cup ouster Samm Audu
06/09/2002
Agence France-Presse
LAGOS, June 9 (AFP) - Nigeria are to hire a foreign coach after they failed to reach the second round of the World Cup finals for the first time, sports minister Stephen Akiga has said. "You cannot rule out the importance of hiring a foreign coach," Akiga told the local newspaper This Day. "Even the inventors of the game, England, have a foreigner as their coach. So going for one who will have what it takes to reorganise and restructure the team for the future will not be a bad idea."
Several of the country's top players including Pius Ikedia from top Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam have also canvassed for the employment of an expatriate to handle the 'Super Eagles'. Ikedia told a local television station Sunday that the team would be a lot better with a foreign coach calling the shots.
Adegboye Onigbinde, a 64-year-old former schoolteacher, led Nigeria to the 2002 World Cup after he was named in February in place of Shaibu Amodu, who was fired after the team failed to reach the final of the African Nations Cup in Mali.
Onigbinde's contract is only for the duration of the World Cup. The coach, who was first appointed to lead the team in 1983, had argued against the hiring of a foreign coach for the team on the eve of the World Cup.
Media reports had also linked several foreign coaches including Klaus Toppmoller of Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen with the top Nigerian job about the same time too.
Nigeria lost 2-1 to Sweden Friday to crash out of the soccer finals in Asia. They had lost 1-0 in their first group match against Argentina. Onigbinde has come under heavy criticisms since the first round elimination of the Eagles in Japan.
"He is a coach who does not like to be criticised. He is a coach who ignores suggestions and he is a master of wrong selections," said sports analyst Emeka Odikpo.
The twice African champions were guided by foreign coaches when they reached the second round of the World Cup in 1994 and 1998. Dutchman Clemens Westerhof was in charge in 1994 while the Serbian Bora Milutinovic called the shots four years later.
June 2002
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