Addo: A more defensive approach
(FIFA.com) Thursday 29 April 2010
(FIFA.com) Thursday 29 April 2010
The first African nation to secure their ticket for the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup™, Ghana have set themselves the simple if ambitions goal of “creating history in South Africa, on our continent”. The declaration came from Eric Addo, one of the mainstays of the team, during an exclusive interview with FIFA.com. Beaten in the final of the CAF African Cup of Nations earlier this year by a clinical Egyptian side, the Black Stars are in the process of confirming their enormous potential and are ready to put Addo’s words into action. Indeed, the former PSV Eindhoven star, asked to drop back into a central defensive role by coach Milovan Rajevac, believes that the current crop of Ghana players are even better than those that qualified for Germany 2006.
The country’s recipe for success relies on two vital ingredients – youthful starlets from the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup-winning team and experienced campaigners sprinkled throughout the top European leagues. This complementary mix has resulted in the creation of a strong, skilful side, capable of combining flair with efficiency. “One of the first things the coach wanted to do was bring a bit more balance to our game,” explains Addo. “He didn’t change our style of play but just emphasised a more defensive approach. We’re now a bit more involved all over the pitch – everyone’s aware of the importance of defending from the front, everyone shares in the work.”
The Serbian coach, successor to Frenchman Claude Le Roy, has spoken previously about this change in mentality, describing its origins to FIFA.com in March, in the context of Ghana’s African Cup of Nations campaign: “I believe in winning football. In tournaments you have to get results, that is what is important for me and the rest of the team. We had to decide on what we wanted to do; whether we wanted to be entertainers or win our matches.”
Solidarity and unityAnd win their matches they did. With a defence that had suddenly turned itself into a locked fortress, they gained successful results in the first four matches of the concluding FIFA World Cup qualifying round, before eventually slipping up against Benin in a match that would not count against them in the final analysis.
The country’s recipe for success relies on two vital ingredients – youthful starlets from the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup-winning team and experienced campaigners sprinkled throughout the top European leagues. This complementary mix has resulted in the creation of a strong, skilful side, capable of combining flair with efficiency. “One of the first things the coach wanted to do was bring a bit more balance to our game,” explains Addo. “He didn’t change our style of play but just emphasised a more defensive approach. We’re now a bit more involved all over the pitch – everyone’s aware of the importance of defending from the front, everyone shares in the work.”
The Serbian coach, successor to Frenchman Claude Le Roy, has spoken previously about this change in mentality, describing its origins to FIFA.com in March, in the context of Ghana’s African Cup of Nations campaign: “I believe in winning football. In tournaments you have to get results, that is what is important for me and the rest of the team. We had to decide on what we wanted to do; whether we wanted to be entertainers or win our matches.”
Solidarity and unityAnd win their matches they did. With a defence that had suddenly turned itself into a locked fortress, they gained successful results in the first four matches of the concluding FIFA World Cup qualifying round, before eventually slipping up against Benin in a match that would not count against them in the final analysis.
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