Yet another Barcelona college of excellence graduate makes good
A LOT continues to be said of the quality of
young players that come out of the La Masia
talent factory, but aside Pep Guardiola and
Luis Enrique not many of the graduates of the
Johan Cruff school of excellence have stamped
their feet on the difficult terrain called
coaching sector.
Pep Guardiola is the most popular Cruff
pupil, as he has won all there is
available in world football minus the
FIFA World Cup. The late Tito Villanova,
Frank Rijkaard (a Cruff pupil and son-
in-law, who, however did not play for
Bracelona) and Enrique are all
acknowledged as purveyors of the Cruff
philosophy.
However, there are others, who may not
be as popular as the aforementioned
quartet, who have also done one thing or
another to signal their ability to perform
at the big stage when the opportunities
are presented to them.
In a recent report by Goal.com, Miguel
Angel Nadal, who was one of the bright
players in the Barcelona of the Cruff era,
talked about Barca’s Luis Enrique, Paris
Saint-Germain’s Laurent Blanc, Bayern
Munich’s Pep Guardiola and Porto
trainer, Julen Lopetegui, who were
together at a time at the Catalan club.
Now, enters Emmanuel Amuneke, the
current FIFA U-17 World Cup wining
coach, who also played in the famous
Barcelona team of the 1990s.
Many pundits, including the FIFA Study
Group, openly confessed their inability
to decipher the pattern of football played
by the Golden Eaglets. Even when
comparing the victorious 2013 team with
Amuneke’s lads, some analysts readily
credit Manu Garba’s squad as being
more of a team than the Nwakali-led
Eaglets. But a little understanding of the
Cruff philosophy will give better insight
into what Nigeria did in Chile.
Guardiola came through the youth
system at Barca, became club captain
and spent over a decade at Camp Nou;
current coach Luis Enrique moved from
Real Madrid to Catalunya, where he
played between 1996 and his retirement
in 2004; former France defender Blanc
spent a sole season in Catalunya; and
Basque goalkeeper Lopetegui was around
for three years spent mostly as a reserve.
Amuneke came through a rougher part
trasversing Obanta United, Julius Berger,
Zamalek of Egypt and Sporting Lisbon
before landing in Barcelona.
In a recent photograph released by a
Barcelona fan, one can see some of the
finest players ever to strut their stuff in
European football. They include Albert
Ferrer, Oscar Garcia, Sergi Barjuan,
Albert Celades, Pizzi, Enrique, Amuneke
and Abelardo. There is also a young
assistant coach called Jose Mourinho in
the photo.
Miguel Angel Nadal, an uncle of tennis
player, Rafa, played in that Barcelona
team, where he also cut his managerial
before moving on to Mallorca as the
sporting director. So, he knows first hand
the Barcelona set up.
He says: “I think Barcelona’s style and
football philosophy hooks you. It’s a
special philosophy, a way of
understanding football, a very defined
style. And perhaps that philosophy
appeals and hooks you more than others
because it is a style of football centred
on the spectacle and on the importance
of having the ball.”
The head coach at the club during
Amuneke’s era was, incidentally, the late
Bobby Robson, in his sole season in
charge at the Catalan club, but Nadal
believes the emergence of so many young
managers is down to another man:
Johan Cruyff.
“For us the biggest influence was the
Cruyff brand,” he explained. “That
change of philosophy that we still see
today was brought about by Cruyff, first
when he came as a player but mostly
during his time as coach. The Cruyff
brand is still evident at Barca now.”
According to Nadal, every new Barcelona
player is hit by the unique atmosphere of
the club, which represent more than a
football club to the Catalunyans.
There is a distinct philosophy of football,
which a player must imbibe if he wanted
to be successful in Barcelona. It has been
there since Cruff’s days as a player.
Cruff, a member of the great Dutch total
football school, which he invented with
Coach Rinus Michels in the 1970s,
showed that good players can thrive in
the game no matter their physical
structure.
Many pundits, including the FIFA Study
Group, openly confessed their inability
to decipher the pattern of football played
by the Golden Eaglets. Even when
comparing the victorious 2013 team with
Amuneke’s lads, some analysts readily
credit Manu Garba’s squad as being
more of a team than the Nwakali-led
Eaglets. But a little understanding of the
Cruff philosophy will give better insight
into what Nigeria did in Chile.
“For Cruff, it was more about staying
tight, being quick and trying to go
forward than being good in the air,”
right back, Albert Ferrer, who went on to
play for Chelsea, said in a recent
interview in FourFourTwo.
Every team, from the under-8s to Barça
B, aped the senior side’s revolutionary
3-4-3 and desire to keep the ball.
“At the very least, Cruff installed our
way of playing, an idea of continuity
throughout the club,” says Eusebio, who
was Barcelona B coach until February
2015. “I could feel his DNA in my team.
Every player knew the system already. It
penetrated every part of the club. The
success of La Masia has proven him
right. Every time a youngster reaches
that group or the first team, it is a
success that Johan is part of.”
Pep Guardiola is the most popular Cruff
pupil, as he has won all there is
available in world football minus the
FIFA World Cup. The late Tito Villanova,
Frank Rijkaard (a Cruff pupil and son-
in-law, who, however did not play for
Bracelona) and Enrique are all
acknowledged as purveyors of the Cruff
philosophy. However, there are others,
who may not be as popular as the
aforementioned quartet, who have also
done one thing or another to signal their
ability to perform at the big stage when
the opportunities are presented to them.
In Chile, Kelechi Nwakali, a natural
number 10, was deployed deeper with
the mandate to help protect the
defenders, as well as spray passes to the
wingers, Chukwueze and Bamgboye and
the sole striker, Osimhen.
The only dent on the team’s play in Chile
was the 1-2 loss to Croatia, but some
pundits explain as a result of a desperate
team, which met a side that had already
qualified for the second round and was,
unfortunately, over confident in their
ability to withstand any foe.
But the team banished such foolishness
in their subsequent games and the result
was the success that Nigerians are now
celebrating.
Amuneke has achieved a height, which
many past Nigerian youth coaches
reached. The challenge now is in
building a career that can take him to
the big where his former colleagues now
play.
Although he realises that his journey in
the coaching world has just begun, the
success story would only be written
when he takes the right step up to the
champions’ league.
“We wanted to make no mistakes but we
lost the ball many times in the midfield
in the first half. But I don’t want to
complain because they are all kids. We
changed some things in the second half
and made some substitutes. That brought
us more safety in our game.
We are thankful for everything. We
wanted to bring the players to their
dreams and we did it. Thanks for the
support. We feel like we are at home. We
have worked very hard for this success
and we hope to continue.
The players will go home now but their
journey is not over yet. Personally, I’m
really happy. I have football in my
blood, as a player and as a coach. This is
what I want to pass to my players,” he
told FIFA.Com after Monday’s defeat of
Mali.
Amuneke has written his name in gold,
albeit in the cadet category, but to join
the likes of Guardiola, Blanc, Enrique
and Rijkaard, he has to keep working
hard and getting good results in
whatever role the Nigeria Football
Federation assigns to him after the U-17
World Cup celebrations.
Barcelona Coach, Luis Enrique (centre),
rubbing Amuneke’s head before a game
when they were still players of the
Catalunya club. picture 2
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