Algeria head coach, Djamel Belmadi, has explained how his side prevented Super Eagles duo, Ahmed Musa and Samuel Chukwueze from having a major influence in Sunday’s AFCON 2019 semifinal match at the Cairo International Stadium, reports Completesports.com.
The Desert Foxes handed the Super Eagles a 2-1 defeat in the last four encounter.
William Troost-Ekong’s own goal and Riyad Mahrez’s sublime free-kick goal was enough for the Algerians to seal a place in the final where they will face the Teranga Lions of Senegal, while Odion Ighalo scored Nigeria’s only goal of the game from spot-kick.
Belmadi believes the way his side set up ensured their victory against the Super Eagles in the game.
“We had to make a plan for Nigeria. We knew that they like to use the pace of Musa and Chukwueze. They like to be direct in their approach,” Belmadi told reporters after the game.
“We tried to close those spaces. Musa’s pace is so impressive. He was the most dangerous player in this team.
“I also knew that their defenders are very good, but not very fast. If you run at them, they struggle.
“We knew that it would be a tough game because of the tough match against Cote d’Ivoire three days ago and because of the quality of the opponent.”
By Adeboye Amosu (photos: by Ganiyu Yusuf) in Cairo
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COMMENTS
I said it before the match. If our opponents clipped down our wings is there any way out and exactly what happened in yesterday match.
As a good coach, you must be able to have plan A, B and C be for any match.
You must having an idea on how your opponents playing their game.
This Algerian coach knew his job too well. Mr. Rohr should please gooooooo. God bless Nigeria!!!
Good analysis. Even as a neutral, from what I have seen of the SE so far, Mr. Rohr has left me with many doubts about his ability to read the opponent’s tactics and make his own tactical adaptations to neutralize the rival’s game plan. As far as I am concerned, a number of African sides have players plying their trade in the best leagues in the world. Their coaches and management are also top class. They come to Africa and are coached by third grade coaches most of whom may not even get a coaching job with a second division European team. Add to that, they come home to be managed by incompetent and corrupt officials, playing on bad surfaces, delayed bonus payments and the like. Until Africa undergoes drastic changes, we will not be among the global elites of the game. And that is not because of a lack of talent either.
Because he lost to Algeria right?Anyways, I have different opinion,let him stay as he promised us semi final before the tournament & perhaps the team is still young br
In that case, Gernot Rohr should go. We will now start afresh with another coach. NFF should equip Nigeria coaches with the required coaching course or attach them with top European clubs to acquire necessary experience otherwise Nigeria coaches will crumble at the high profile competition. We have not learned our lesson, if we keep changing coaches without adequate planning. God bless Nigeria
Well done SE.
Rhor MUST GO BACK TO NIGER.
Because he lost to Algeria right?Anyways, I have different opinion,let him stay as he promised us semi final before the tournament & perhaps the team is still young br
Rhor back to sender
I wish people could go back and read my comments before and after the match.i said the Algiers will block our wingers and will rely on long balls, because our defenders are error- prune to long balls. That’s why I warned them against committing silly fouls. Rohr has no clue or game plan against Algeria, we gave them too many spaces our wingers failed to track back to help the fullbacks, Iwobi was no where to be found in that midfield, the left full back of Algeria was getting tired Chukwueze was seeing more of possessions Rohr took him out lol, we have tired legs like Musa, Iwobi, Ndidi, Ighalo, Collins, Ekong, But our coach took out our most dangerous player, I don’t know what he was thinking.we should be thanking etebo for the monstrous performance yesterday. Our skipper can’t organize is players to defend set pieces, folks we conceded three goals from set pieces and two own goals from six matches.i don’t see any improvement from this team since we lost to Argentina, this team lacks leadership, no character no guts. Etebo was the only player that shows guts. We can’t continue to rely on Iwobi as the only playmaker, do we retain Musa as the skipper, Ighalo Ighalo Ighalo lol.For me Rohr has done is best, we need to look for a better foreign replacement. With Siaone and finidi as the capable assistants.
nice contribution. the coach needs to be replaced with a good foreign coach and assisted by either finidi or amokachi
Sadly amaju Pinnick has said the NFF will retain Rohr and will send him on a refresher course with Bayern Munich in Germany..That to an extent means the nff also noticed the flaws of Rohr and for business to continue as well the NFF needs someone who has a white skin and understands their language and deals..in plain terms business must continue.No sane white coach will be owed salaries and feel comfortable working except of course something else brings in money on a steady
@Omo9ja you are on point. Coach Rohr lack some basic technicality required in modern days football. Having stayed with the team for 3yrs, he has no starting 11, no outstanding goal keeper, no no potent striker, there is no serious attacking midfielder, poor and late submission, poor team selection, lacks dynamism and too easy to predict.
Nff pls give us a local coach and pay him the same salary you are paying Rohr as well as all the necessary support you are giving Rohr. Give the same coach 3yrs with a mandate of Olympic, nations cup and World Cup and let’s see how he’s going to perform. But certainly not Eguavon.
God bless Nigeria.
@AK, it shall be well with bro. AK, God will answer all your prayers. Hmmm, @AK, I’m wishing you a long life and prosperity bro. You said it all and you made my day.
Where have you bn since all these years? We need somebody like you on this forum. I can’t do this alone. You knew what you were saying.
NFF have to be blamed for this. NFF have no choice this time. Our local coaches have to stepped in. No time to check time. God bless Nigeria!!!
Well said. You are very much on point
local coach wont help us trust me. Those in power will manover a local coach and tell him what and what to do. If the Nff can get a stubborn coach like Harvard Rennard of Morroco. he is someone you cant push over and he has good knowledge of african football.
Spot-on bro
@ Sunnyyb, I cannot agree less with you, Sia Sia is the best Nigerian coach and the most hated by the corrupt NFF because of his no nonsense approach, go to any lengthy to discover players and no player can hold him to ransom.
NFF always appoint him by bowing to the pressures of fans who knows he is the best to handle oyr national team but NFF always have last jokers , will not pay him salary ,will not provide funds even to move the players to the tournament , it is as bad as that !!! Check history even the last Olympic as many other instances , it was another country that hurriedly provide funds for tickets to the dream team to enable them arrive few minutes to the kick off their match without having 1 minute to train and have to move to the pitch , yet the team won that match and still came with bronze medal ( the only medal won by Nigeria in that year Olympic) after beating many teams coached by the so called white coaches. In the past tournaments, Siasia will go and be begging state governors for funds for his team ,2 bad.
Some low thinking ones will say SiaSia failed to qualify eagles for first African Nation cup and I laugh , somebody that took over a team that had been messed up by Eguavo before asking him to take over , a coach that did not lose any match but only drew due to the winner who had beaten eagles under Eguavon with manipulation of NFF who was backing Vicent Eyama to create problem in the super eagles which ultimately affected Dele Ayenuba who was super hero before that match especially his performance at away match.
What would you even say about our uncultured fans who were insulting a legend Segun Odegbami who was by all standard a living legend who combined education with football ( mechanical engineer) , just because the expert knew Roh is a total failure without brain with a lot of excuses ” my team is young ” as if the young boys was forced on him, Now a local coach has taut him elementary of football, taking over a team within a year and messed up a team assembled by the so called white coach for 3 solid year.
Give Siasia half of what is given to Roh and hand over the team to him to build from the scratch, we will all see wonder
u guys r all on point..but base on the Algeria game..yes we struggled badly mostly in the first half..but the major ish..started from subbin chukwueze..y do u do that? he was growing into the game.and was the spark at that point 2geda wit iwobi and etebo..musa would hv bin the 1 to b subbed for henry..even odion was not in the game..that sub changed the game and reduced our pace..infact we needed some 1 that can push them..and it was suppose to be simon for musa.. anyway I doubt if a Nigerian coach can satisfy me as well..play the kind of football I will like to see our darlyn super eagles play..NFF should get a good foreign coach..any local coach for the job should start from the under 23..or under 20..that’s my opinion..God bless Nigeria..
@omo9ja
The problem I have with you is you talk as if you know much about football and got coaching skills but got non to me. Can you tell me about a coach that has plan ABC in the world? Even pep don’t have plan C. Algeria are better but mind you, they Dont have plan C. Their game never change from the start of competition, but only have a team organisation.. Stop talking garbage and assemble a team in your area for us to see how good you are in managing a street..
God bless you my brother. Omo9ja and co only come here sitting on their couch talking tactics as if they have a kindergarten coaching license. One even said he wants a better foreign replacement with Siaone who failed to qualify us for AFCON on two tries and currently battling the issue of his mother’s kidnap with no coaching job since the 2016 Olympics. I wonder how people reason at times. They can always be quick to condemn but they don’t know what the coach is thinking in a real life situation. Extra time, penalty all on his mind. For continuity and the steady progress of the SuperEagles Rohr stays.
@Ayphillydegreat, did you hear what CJ has said? Don’t lose your respect on this forum because of you must follow coach Rohr whether good or bad.
Like I always said, Oga na master any day any time. Gba fun Oga ę omo9ja.
It is your choice to follow Oga Rohr but please don’t follow him blindly because the outcome of it is a total failure and it won’t help our football. That is the message for you and your types. You know I love you too much. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
All these lawyers for Rhor pls learn from the mistake of the Western nigeria in bringing baba Buhari back even after failing in his first term.
His next level of Fulanization and banditry is there for all to see.
Rhor fumbled at the world cup, he has not improved at all. We are still defending him.
Why are black race so contented with mediocrity?
RHOR MUST GO.
My brother AY, you are one of those few people I respect so much on this wonderful forum, as a Nigerian, we appreciate what GR has done to our team, he has brought in stability and bit of consistency in the team but I don’t think that man has the tactical ability to take SE to the next level, he has really done well but we need to move forward. The game againstb Algeria is pure tactical game and we have the personel on the bench to finish the job, Algerians became bit nervous wheb Ighalo scored that PK, he should have gone for all attacking approach to finish job instead of defending and loosing the ball in the midfield. It’s well my brother.
To add to that, the NFF needs to get its house and acts in order. They need to chart specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific ambitions for the national team (one in which they can provide the right atmosphere for any coach to succeed and thrive).
If you change the coach but retain the same shambolic approach to football management in the country, I guess you will get more of the same.
I would not be too harsh on Rohr : he has done well. But his tactical shortcomings are there for all to see.
Under the right football administration climate, I would encourage the NFF to try to build on the good works of Rohr by seeking a new coach (with fresh ideas and a vibrant football philosophy) that can take the team to a whole new level tactically.
@ deo, you never fail to strike a balanced view. I may not agree with you all the time, but I admire your approach to issues.
If only the NFF could read what you just wrote…
Rhor is not a bad coach but he lacks tactical consistency when it matters most.
How did he plan for Algeria the way Algerian coach planned for Nigeria? That’s a good coach.
During the match, what instructions was he giving to his team to close down the midfield?
Why still stick to 4-3-3 when it was obvious that Algeria was playing 4-4-2 thereby controlling the midfield? Why not revert to 4-4-2 by bringing in additional midfielder?
Why not change Ekong for Balogun when he was obviously struggling and jittery?
Why remove chukwuezi,our only threat going forward? When chukwueze was marked out, why not advise him to switch plays?
Why leaving selfish ighalo all through the match even when it was obvious that he was caged with little or no impact in the match apart from selfishly denying musa a goal as his usual selfish self does?
Thirdly, can we say in all honesty that our three goalies are the best Nigeria has at the moment? What are the keeper trainers doing?
They are really failing us when it mattered most.
For those shouting young team and time for the coach,remember the Algerian coach has stayed barely one year but he’s taking his team to AFCON final.
Are we saying that Algeria has more talent than us? I don’t think so.
The buck lies with the NFF. They decide what to do going forward. That Rhor qualified us for AFCON after 2 absences is not a big deal. Amuneke qualified Tanzania for the first time after 39 years. Our other indigenous coaches have also qualified us for world cups so it’s neither a big deal for Rhor. I don’t know why other lesser African countries sacked him. But he’s not tactical masterclass required at this level.
I’m really pained by the way we lost.
The Algerian team have been together since 2014. This Algerian team was actually built by Vahid Halihodzic. It’s not like the new coach started building the team from the scratch. They’ve all played at the 2015 and 2017 AFCON with few additions. Nigeria did not play at the 2015 and 2017 AFCON. Therefore, Rohr should stay. We can be quick to talk about tactics, but if given the chance to face reality it’s not easy.
Ara Nkita and Omo9ja ,this blind supporters will never agree with you, I think is better to be quite, let wait and see tomorrow, we will till come back here and continue identify same rohr mistake that just it. we are going to see a much better sound coach tomorrow between rohr and Alien mark my word.
I think the algerian team is great.
The coach did great job.if attal comes back they will go to world cup.
Good defense good mid field.
The african teams are too physical
Algeria will win.Mehraz need attal or another support to take algeria to anothet level.go algeria.
This is their time.
Hahahaha! The hypocrisy I see among the Gernot Rohr critics is monumental. Lol. Its amazing how they think they think they.know what Rohr should of done.
After the Algeria defeat, some coaching experts felt Rohr didn’t utilize the Nigerian “philosophy” that makes them the giant of Africa. And talking of the Nigerian philosophy, citing Segun Odegbami’s example of their hey days when they deployed the use of wingers, saying that Nigeria is known for wing play. I read some CSN coaches here lecture Rohr that.he didn’t play a formation that utilized wing play. Now Algerian coach reveals he deployed a tactics to clip Eagles wing play and the same people would rise up to criticize Rohr. You see being an arm chair critic is easy. Its when you.find yourself in the job that.you will know that its not mere words or being a football manager in PES 2019. Thierry Henry was always criticizing Arsene Wenger and pointing out what he should have done and what he should do but when he was given the AS Monaco job, he failed woefully that he became a laughing stock. Same goes for Paul Scholes. He couldn’t even handle ordinary Oldham united
It would be good all the naysayers go coach some street football first.
You see, 24 teams had their eyes on the AFCON trophy, when it comes to semi final stage anything can happen. When you see the pain, agony and tears on the faces of teams like Egypt, CIV, Ghana and even Madagascar it will tell you no team came to joke. Our ouster from reaching the final was really painful but that is how competitive that stage is. Algeria are one of the best teams in Africa and the manner and way they dispatched star studded tournament favorites Senegal is a testimony to how good they are. Let’s not be too emotional each time we lose and call for heads….
Gbam!!!!
When we defeated South Africa, they felt they should have won the match if they played their game. The fact was, they were not allowed to play their game. Stuart Baxter with tactical astuteness didn’t consider that Rohr would deploy tactics that would neutralize South Africa’s game plan. South Africa’s goal were.their only major threat on goal as Akpeyi was adequately protected.
If coach Belmadi saw our strengths and weaknesses and deployed tactics to shackle our strength and exploit our weaknesses is nothing for game at this stage of football. It does not mean Rohr lacks tactical ability, but simply that our weaknesses were too glaring to be capitalized on. These are common phenomenon even in club football where some of your beloved clubs were eliminated from UCL on a day they played so badly that.it seems your club coach is daft.
We have to realize that Algerian players applied themselves more to the.game.and were more tactical aware than our.players on the day. That some people thought coach Rohr.should have changed to the same 4-4-2 Rohr is only semantics. We all know many teams have played Barcelona with a game plan to stuff the midfield and clip the wings but it didnt make Barcelona change their 4-3-3 in most occasions. Change.of.approach.could.do the trick and not necessarily.formation.
Super Eagles came.out.in the second half better until they.equalized. This is where mentality,exposure and cutting out individual errors should come in. Their lack of.experience in seeing out the.match to.extra time.and going for the jugular was lacking
Giving away free kick in dangerous area at dying seconds is something you shouldn’t be taught to avoid at this stage.
Any way, what separates two good teams is.little details and Algerian coach can afford to boast of his game plan