On Thursday, Berti Vogts – a former national coach for Germany – will start his work for Nigeria. The 60-year old Vogts takes over Nigeria’s Super Eagles, the African countries’ national team. The continent’s former No. 1 football power has hit hard times. In January, Nigeria dropped 27 slots in the FIFA World ranking. Vogts now faces the challenge to lead Nigeria to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
In this “Talk of the Week” with DFB editor Wolfgang Tobien, the former world class defensive player (96 caps), a member of the 1974 World Champions, Vogts speaks about his new assignment and the international reputation of German coaches.
Question: Mr. Vogts, your contract with the Nigerian Football Association starts this Thursday. Where will you spend it, what will be your first tasks?
Vogts: I’ll be in the Nigerian capital Abuja, but even though the contract starts on March 1, I’ve been busy for a few weeks now. For instance, I had travelled to England to talk with my captain Yobo (Everton) and my co-captain Kanu (Portsmouth) last Saturday. I wanted to talk with them before I nominated the team for our next game, our March 24 encounter with Uganda.
Question: You will travel quite a lot to scout your players in the European leagues?
Vogts: The key players of the Super Eagles play in Europe’s important leagues, in England, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Russia. Our goalkeeper plays in Tel Aviv. I will try to keep in close contact with all my players and their club coaches. Hopefully, the clubs will be understanding when we need our players for our international games.
Question: You are known as a coach that emphasis on the grassroots level as well. What structural changes need to be implemented for Nigeria?
Vogts: We’ll found a futures team, that will compete in the Nigerian league. I plan to visit this team once a month, so that I can coach them up to an international level. This will be my B-team, so to speak. During the summer, we’ll have training camps here in Germany. Of course, I also keep a close eye on our Olympics team and our U 21 and U 20 juniors. The U 20 juniors have qualified for the World Cup in Canada.
Question: Nigeria won Olympic gold in 1996. The last African championship dates back to 1994. Recently, the team dropped from rank 9 to 36 in the FIFA men’s ranking. How good are the Super Eagles?
Vogts: We need discipline and a very solid structure on the field. That will be my priority. I certainly don’t need to teach my players any ball handling. They can play, no doubt about that. But I have too many great forwards and we lack defenders.
Question: What are your goals with Nigeria?
Vogts: The Nigerian Football Association wants to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup…without giving up a single goal…but kidding aside, obviously we want to qualify for the next Africa Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That will be quite a challenge, because Africa’s football has made tremendous strides. Newcomers such as Togo, Angola and Mali have reached the next plateau. Everybody wants to succeed, that’s why they have all signed European coaches. Brazil plays the most beautiful game, but successful football is played in Europe.
Question: Do you foresee an African team reaching the final in 2010?
Vogts: Well, I’m pretty certain that an African team will reach the semifinal. If we solve a big problem.
Question: Which problem do you refer to?
Vogts: Many African players have to worry about losing their position in their European club team, when they travel to the international games. We have to find a solution for this dilemma. I will be in close dialogue with the club coaches.
Question: With Thomas Häßler and Uli Stein, you have signed two former German national players to your coaching staff. Meanwhile, Uli Stielike has signed on as the new head coach for the Ivory Coast. Why the sudden popularity of German coaches? Is that a ripple-effect from the great performance of Jürgen Klinsmann at the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Vogts: Absolutely not. The Germany football philosophy has a great international reputation. Staying disciplined, sticking to the tactical scheme. And the experts know, that we do a great job in educating our coaches.
Question: In the wake of the EURO 2000, where the Mannschaft had a sub-par showing, German coaches had a tough stance internationally.
Vogts: I think that’s just a coincidence. If the success of the national team really is the only criteria for hiring coaches from that respective country, why do we have so many great coaches from the Netherlands under contract. Remember, 20 years have past since the only international title won by a Dutch team. I think, the reputation of German coaches hinges much more on people such as Otto Rehhagel, who won the EURO 2004 with Greece, or Guido Buchwald, who has won the national title and the cup final with his Japanese team.
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On Thursday, Berti Vogts – a former national coach for Germany – will start his work for Nigeria. The 60-year old Vogts takes over Nigeria’s Super Eagles, the African countries’ national team. The continent’s former No. 1 football power has hit hard times. In January, Nigeria dropped 27 slots in the FIFA World ranking. Vogts now faces the challenge to lead Nigeria to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
In this “Talk of the Week” with DFB editor Wolfgang Tobien, the former world class defensive player (96 caps), a member of the 1974 World Champions, Vogts speaks about his new assignment and the international reputation of German coaches.
Question: Mr. Vogts, your contract with the Nigerian Football Association starts this Thursday. Where will you spend it, what will be your first tasks?
Vogts: I’ll be in the Nigerian capital Abuja, but even though the contract starts on March 1, I’ve been busy for a few weeks now. For instance, I had travelled to England to talk with my captain Yobo (Everton) and my co-captain Kanu (Portsmouth) last Saturday. I wanted to talk with them before I nominated the team for our next game, our March 24 encounter with Uganda.
Question: You will travel quite a lot to scout your players in the European leagues?
Vogts: The key players of the Super Eagles play in Europe’s important leagues, in England, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Russia. Our goalkeeper plays in Tel Aviv. I will try to keep in close contact with all my players and their club coaches. Hopefully, the clubs will be understanding when we need our players for our international games.
Question: You are known as a coach that emphasis on the grassroots level as well. What structural changes need to be implemented for Nigeria?
Vogts: We’ll found a futures team, that will compete in the Nigerian league. I plan to visit this team once a month, so that I can coach them up to an international level. This will be my B-team, so to speak. During the summer, we’ll have training camps here in Germany. Of course, I also keep a close eye on our Olympics team and our U 21 and U 20 juniors. The U 20 juniors have qualified for the World Cup in Canada.
Question: Nigeria won Olympic gold in 1996. The last African championship dates back to 1994. Recently, the team dropped from rank 9 to 36 in the FIFA men’s ranking. How good are the Super Eagles?
Vogts: We need discipline and a very solid structure on the field. That will be my priority. I certainly don’t need to teach my players any ball handling. They can play, no doubt about that. But I have too many great forwards and we lack defenders.
[bild2]
Question: What are your goals with Nigeria?
Vogts: The Nigerian Football Association wants to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup…without giving up a single goal…but kidding aside, obviously we want to qualify for the next Africa Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. That will be quite a challenge, because Africa’s football has made tremendous strides. Newcomers such as Togo, Angola and Mali have reached the next plateau. Everybody wants to succeed, that’s why they have all signed European coaches. Brazil plays the most beautiful game, but successful football is played in Europe.
Question: Do you foresee an African team reaching the final in 2010?
Vogts: Well, I’m pretty certain that an African team will reach the semifinal. If we solve a big problem.
Question: Which problem do you refer to?
Vogts: Many African players have to worry about losing their position in their European club team, when they travel to the international games. We have to find a solution for this dilemma. I will be in close dialogue with the club coaches.
Question: With Thomas Häßler and Uli Stein, you have signed two former German national players to your coaching staff. Meanwhile, Uli Stielike has signed on as the new head coach for the Ivory Coast. Why the sudden popularity of German coaches? Is that a ripple-effect from the great performance of Jürgen Klinsmann at the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Vogts: Absolutely not. The Germany football philosophy has a great international reputation. Staying disciplined, sticking to the tactical scheme. And the experts know, that we do a great job in educating our coaches.
Question: In the wake of the EURO 2000, where the Mannschaft had a sub-par showing, German coaches had a tough stance internationally.
Vogts: I think that’s just a coincidence. If the success of the national team really is the only criteria for hiring coaches from that respective country, why do we have so many great coaches from the Netherlands under contract. Remember, 20 years have past since the only international title won by a Dutch team. I think, the reputation of German coaches hinges much more on people such as Otto Rehhagel, who won the EURO 2004 with Greece, or Guido Buchwald, who has won the national title and the cup final with his Japanese team.
