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Last Sunday, Samson Siasia made his competitive debut as coach of the Super Eagles with a game against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia at the National Stadium, Abuja. The game, a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, ended in a 4-0 victory for the Super Eagles, which they followed up with a convincing 3-0 drubbing of Kenya’s Harambee Stars two days later in an international friendly, also decided in Abuja.

In both games, the Super Eagles displayed time and again, flashes of good football to the delight of many Nigerians, most of whom were expectedly optimistic regarding the team’s future under Siasia, who coincidentally, was a pivotal member of the last Super Eagles side to have endeared itself to Nigerian football fans.

That was the Super Eagles side of the early half of the 1990s who, under the tutelage of Dutchman Clemens Westerhof, terrorised Africa and the world in general with a brand of football that was probably only inferior to that of the Brazilian side of that era. Westerhof’s team, although not filled to the brim with ‘world-class’ players in the sense of it, always gave a spirited performance during matches regardless of the level of opposition and in the process earned themselves a reputation, which transcended the length and breadth of the African continent.

Westerhof’s Super Eagles side also scored goals in torrents, while conceding goals in trickles. This past week, the Super Eagles, under Siasia, created scoring opportunities time and again against the Ethiopians and Kenyans, and even finding the back of the net seven times altogether. For a side that had in the past number of years found the art of goal scoring as difficult as the proverbial camel passing through the eye of a needle, the Super Eagles displayed a style of attacking football that was reminiscent of Westerhof’s all-conquering side, which raises the question: Are the Super Eagles truly back or is all these just a flash in the pan?

Past and present

“Now that was a side that knew how to score goals, and did so with reckless abandon,” said former Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju, who was a key member of Westerhof’s Eagles team. “We didn’t have all the big names but we scared every team that played against us.

“We were a team and didn’t depend so much on individuality. That is what is still lacking at the moment with this team but we must not forget that this is a team that is rebuilding.

“They have a new coach and the players haven’t gotten used to the way he would want them to play. There are also a lot of new players in the team so we all have to be patient and give them time to get to know each other. “But they have started well, and if they continue like this it won’t be long before the world begins to take notice of Nigerian football,” added the former Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Salamanca of Spain midfielder. It is also an opinion that is shared by Mainasara Illo, who was the chairman of the local organising committee of the 2009 FIFA Under 17 World Cup.

“This is a team in development and the coaches have done a good job,” said Illo. “I believe with time, this is going to be a very great team.” The games against Ethiopia and Kenya were characterized by early goals by the Super Eagles with Peter Utaka opening scoring under a minute in the former, and Ahmed Musa grabbing Nigeria’s first goal in the latter encounter against the Harambee Stars.

Another thing both games had in common was the inability of the Nigerian side to finish off the opposition in the first half only to emerge from the dressing room after the half time interval with renewed vigour culminating in a second half goal feast. “I guess credit has to go to the coach for telling them the right thing during the break, which was why they came out firing at all cylinders in the second half,” said Emeka Ezeugo, also a member of Westerhof’s Super Eagles side. “But they still have a long way to go before any comparisons can be made (with Westerhof’s Super Eagles team). He added: “The players are still trying to understanding one another and the midfield isn’t quite as domineering as it should be. But this is a new team, under a new coach and I believe with time, they will get to that level.”

Positive change

The duo of Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Inter Milan’s Joel Obi manned the Super Eagles’ midfield, at least from the start, in the games against Ethiopia and Kenya as Siasia opted for a 4-2-4 formation which transformed into a 4-4-1-1 formation whenever the side lost possession to the opposition. But unlike in the recent past, like at the 2010 World Cup under Lars Lagerback, as well as at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, where the Super Eagles defended deep in their half while depending on oftentimes ineffective counter-attacking moves, Siasia’s side pressed the opposition across the pitch beginning from the very moment they lost the ball. Siasia was pleased with the performance of his side in both games but knows there is still a lot of work to be done. “I am happy with the way they played but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Siasia said.

“We struggled in the midfield, especially in our first game against Ethiopia who outnumbered us in that department. He added: “But we made some corrections in the game against Kenya and by the time we get to play more games, they’ll get used to the way we want to play, which involves closing the opposition down and not giving them any room to operate.” It was a view corroborated by former Nigeria international Chukwuma Akuneto, who is currently a coach at English league side, FC United. “The Super Eagles did very well especially in the area of repossession of the ball,” he told NEXT from his base in England. “They played high and wide and knew that they didn’t have to wait for the opposition to lose the ball before attacking.

They forced them to lose the ball. “The attackers and midfielders piled a lot of pressure on their defenders and as result they lost the ball very close to their goal area as was the case against the Kenyans,” recalled Akuneto regarding Nigeria’s opening goal against the Harambee Stars where Inter Milan’s Obi intercepted the ball before Victor Anichebe laid the ball across the area for Ahmed Musa to open scoring. He added: “We were also forcing them to launch long balls into our area because of the high line of defence which made them feel threatened but credit must also go to the defenders for keeping their concentration all through the games.”

The future

The quartet of Joseph Yobo, Efe Ambrose, Taye Taiwo and home boy, Chibuzor Okonkwo manned the Nigerian defence line and provided good cover for goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba whose confidence would no doubt have been boosted with the clean sheets he kept in those games, especially in the absence of first-choice goalie Vincent Enyeama. For Yobo, it was another opportunity to play with another central defensive partner after pairing with Michael Odibe in the 2-1 friendly win over Sierra Leone, and the duo of Danny Shittu and Rabiu Afolabi during the 2010 World Cup, as well Dele Adeleye, who was his regular partner during the World Cup qualifiers. Although Ambrose churned out an acceptable display in the games against Ethiopia and Kenya, the situation might change in the coming months especially if England-based Nedum Onuoha opts to pledge his international future to Nigeria.

Recent reports suggest that Onuoha is seriously considering pledging his future to the Super Eagles, but having earlier failed to do that after being approached earlier by Siasia, he will need to take the initiative if he plans on featuring for Nigeria. “I went to him.

I drew the first blood, so it’s left for him to come back to me and tell me that he wants to play,” Siasia informed NEXT in Abuja. He added: “I’m not saying that I don’t want him, but the decision rests with him. If he wants to play, he has my number. So he can reach out to me and tell me he wants to play for Nigeria.” Having Onuoha in the Super Eagles, coupled with the likes of Italy based Obiora Nwankwo, Lukman Haruna, Nosa Igiebor and Nnamdi Oduamadi, who all shone like a million stars for the Nigerian U23s in their 5-0 win over Equatorial Guinea, could go a long way in transforming the Super Eagles into world-beaters in a few years time. But much more still needs to be done if Siasia’s team will in years to come, be comparable to Westerhof’s all-conquering side.

“In football, to create a team that is all-conquering you have to first start by building team and fan confidence,” wrote former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh on his blog site following the win over Ethiopia. “First step is getting several positive results; second, improve the manner of getting those results; then comes titles or set goals and achievements.

“It took the last successful Eagles time to build and lots of trials and errors to get to the top and this new breed should be given that too and with the victory against Ethiopia, we might be on the right track,” added the former Ajax and Juventus ace who played for nine years for the Super Eagles, from 1993 to 2002.

Westerhof arrived in Nigeria in 1989 and five years later, led Nigeria to a first ever World Cup appearance. A few months earlier, in 1994, he led Nigeria to the Cup of Nations title in Tunisia. Siasia has only been on the job for three months, but it is unlikely that he will have the luxury of time Westerhof had back then