Football is won and lost in the midfield- period. This is
the engine of a team and the fulcrum upon which every move revolves. Midfield
is a mentality and not a position, the positioning follows an inbuilt
disposition in a player.
There are defensive and attacking midfielders, where a
special type is a playmaker who can be described as a central midfielder. The
defensive midfielders are more of tacklers and spoilers while playmakers and
attacking are creators. Passing is a must for any midfielder as it is the only
way to complete an efficient play. In Kenya, we have more than enough supply of
defensive midfielders but the others are rare.
It is with this in mind that I set my eyes on the Egyptian
side ENNPI when they played Gor Mahia in the return leg of Confederation Cup
second leg. They played a 4-3-3
formation but the two wingers fell into the midfield when they were defending
for a 4-5-1 on back peddle.
The three midfielders were defensive- Mohammed Sobhy Gazy
and creatives Nader Saber El Ashry and Abdalla Shahad Ibrahim. Whenever they
were defending Gazy was always infront of the defense but Nader came down to
play on Gazy’s left. This meant that the Egyptian side had a six man wall in
the defense then Shahad was in the centre circle to form a midfield triangle
with the base in the defense.
In the offensive, Nader moved up field as Shahad went to the left, shifting the base of
the triangle into Gor’s side of the field. Gazy remained as the apex in front
of the defense. This happened with a static Joseph Njuguna and Teddy Akumu positioned in a diagonal line in front of Gor defense. Thes three ENNPI midfield players blocked and outplayed a Gor midfield composed
of Kevin Omondi, Ali Abondo, Joseph Njuguna and Teddy Akumu.
Moses Odhiambo is
an accomplished midfielder, and his introduction stifled ENNPI in the second
half.
Gor appeared purposeful when Rama fell deep into the ‘hole’
behind Serunkuma and acted as a playmaker, which faults their midfield. There
was another shift in play when Innocent Mutiso came in for Teddy Akumu.
ENNPI ‘triangles’ meant that in the offensive they played a
4-1-5 system and 6-3-1 in defense. The transitions were seamless, the passes
accurate but their finishing was poor. The ‘extra’ players filling the gaps
meant that Gor’s efforts were always watched by an extra set of eyes not
committed to active play. This is the player who curtailed the moves before they turned dangerous. These extra player(s) sometimes transformed the triangle into a diamond,
another formation that if played well, locks opponents out of play.
Watching KPL clubs play leaves you with insights why our
football lacks an edge in the region and Africa as a whole. Our midfielders are
way average for the game. Those who can tackle and win balls cant hold on to
it. Those who can hold have a low complete passing rate. The play-makers are
non-existent especially with the exit of Humphrey Mieno to Azam FC.
We need to develop our midfielders’ individual play then
work on their team work in terms of transitions and cohesion. ENNPI employed a
simple play that made sure they consolidated their 3-0 win advantage over Gor
in Cairo.
Catch me on Twitter @stuttistician
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