Russia 2018: Bitrus Bewarang Sets Semi Final Target For Super Eagles

By Admin The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Technical Director, Bitrus Bewarang has said that the target of at least semi-finals for the Super Eagles at Russia 2018 is realistic. The former Super Eagles coach also told reporters that he is even expecting the team to go beyond the semi-finals. When he was asked, how satisfied he was with the performance of Super Eagles Team B in the friendly match against La Liga giants, Atletico Madrid? "I have been an advocate of catch them young. If you will remember when I joined BCC Lions of Gboko, I brought up young players like Edward Anyamikegh, Aondofa Akoso, Justin Nnorom, and some other young ones. And in Plateau United, it has always been youthful players that I used. I am one of those that always beat my chest that we have talents in Nigeria. Our problem is how to develop them and bring them to the standard that is required. You will discover that we are always in a hurry in Nigeria. But football is a developmental programme." "You have to take a period of time to be able to get the required result. It is not good for us to be doing this fire-brigade or trial by error all the time. And when you don’t get the desired the result, you begin to sack coaches just because you want immediate result. I am happy that the present NFF board are now trying to deviate from the old way of doing things.". "I was delighted to see that the boys, some of them were paring for the first time in that kind of international match and they played very very well as far as am concerned. In fact, I stood up to salute the two spectacular goals scored by the team." He replied. On what the NFF is going to do to get the best out of these boys? "We need to now monitor these players. Get them more matches to play and build the necessary understanding. Sometimes I get crazy when coaches or football officials say this boy or that coach does not have experience. How do they get the experience you are talking about if they do not get to play friendly matches?. Is it not when you give that person more chances of practising before experience comes in? I think this is a welcome development. We shall continue to monitor the progress of the players." He did not hide his opinion qhe hea was asked whether he Would be surprised if Rohr immediately elevates one or two of the youngsters to the senior national team for the 2018 World Cup? "I don’t think it will be a surprise. When I was in the Super Eagles in 1994, there was a deliberate plan by Clemence Westerhof to bring some of these young players to the main stream so that they would practise with the big boys and continue to mature. Good enough, the present technical adviser of the team, Gernot Rohr was on ground in Uyo and I am sure he saw what the boys did. I hope he would take a step in that direction. Do you see members of this team forming the bulk of Nigeria’s team for the 2022 World Cup? "That is exactly what I am saying. It is not something we clap today and allow these boys to just fizzle out. They should be monitored. Making sure that they playing regularly. It is high time we started thinking of planning two to four years ahead. We should be thinking of 2022 and 2026. In the technical department of NFF, these are some of the things we are working on." Technically speaking, what are the things that the Super Eagles Team B did against Atletico Madrid that impressed you? "Their positioning and ball distribution were good. They were able to hold the ball to play their team mates into positions. As a matter of fact, their passing and movement made them to dominate their opponents but experience somehow just failed them." What are the things that the team did wrongly that cost them victory? "You will agree with me that Atletico’s first goal came from unnecessary holding to the ball by Emem Eduok. Secondly, when an opponent is attacking you, you don’t start retreating into your goal area. It can be very dangerous. You might foul him where it will result to a free-kick in a dangerous position. Thirdly, if you want to stop your opponents, you can do zonal marking and there are times you mark man to man. Then the goalkeeper should be able to organise his defence so that they should keep their opponents further away than coming close. And of course, you try to pick defenders whose size and height are same or nearly the same with opposing strikers. Fernado Torres scored the second goal because he was clearly taller than our defender who went for the ball with him. These are some of the things they need to correct to do better in future matches. I want to encourage the NFF and LMC to keep bringing such matches for the young ones." How much support is the NFF technical department giving to Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr as he puts finishing touches to the team’s preparations for the 2018 World Cup? "Well, the technical department is fully behind the technical adviser and the team. You know all of us that are in the department are former coaches but we do not want to interfere with the selection of players. We try to also watch and observe if a player is not fit, we advise the coach. If in the course of the game, we observe that a player is not doing the right thing, we give advice. The Technical Adviser is always listening to me because I also have World Cup experience at both the junior and senior level. So we are doing our best technically to support the team. Of course, the board led by the president Amaju Pinnick is handling issues of policies while the General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi is carrying out administrative duties. So we are united and working towards achieving a common goal." What would you say is responsible for the harmonious working relationship between Rohr and the Nigeria Football Federation? Gernot Rohr is a man who listens. He is unassuming and ready to work. I am very happy that he stayed back. I am happy that he is so committed to building a very strong team for the country. He has brought a lot of discipline to the team. That is why you see once camp opens, players rush in unlike in the past when players would literally stray into camp. So far we thank God, everything is moving well. We pray for our Super Eagles to do much much better in Russia. Talking of doing much much better, are you also of the view that the team can go as far as semi-finals in Russia? You heard me saying much much better. Of course as a coach, you always aim at the top most prize in a competition. When you appear to just show face, then it means you are not a positive coach. It means you are aspiring to do very little. When a coach is going into a competition, he must aim at the ultimate prize. So we are also thinking in the same direction. Semi-final target to me is realistic. Do you believe we have the players who can do the country proud in Russia? I have confidence in the team. One may think these boys are too young, we do not have the best players and so forth, but in football eleven against eleven is what matters. Once there is ability and determination, everything is achievable. It is true some of our players are not getting enough playing time in their clubs but this is the time for them to tell their clubs that they deserve to take the centre stage when they are back. That was what happened at the World Cup in 1994. After the World Cup in the USA, majority of our boys got bigger offers in bigger clubs and that is what players are always aspiring to get. The World Cup is a platform for them to market themselves and bring honour to the country.