By Harry Awurumibe
Never in the 32 years history of Nigeria’s Super Falcons have the team lost three matches in one single championship.
No coach of the 9-time African Champions had lost many Grade A international matches than the present Super Falcons Head Coach, Randy Waldrum, who is coaching the most successful team in the African continent on Ad hoc basis.
The United States-born Waldrum is the current Head Coach of University of Pittsburgh Panthers women’s soccer team, a job he is doing full time and only comes to handle the senior women’s football team of Nigeria, the giant of Africa on Ad hoc basis.
This arrangement agreed upon by his employers, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has now left Nigeria holding the short end of the stick in terms of return on investment as the Super Falcons have failed to sparkle under the American gaffer since he was appointed by the NFF on October 5, 2020.
The 65-year native of Irving, Texas replaced interim Christopher Musa Danjuma who took over after Super Falcons substantive Head Coach, Thomas Dennerby walked out of the job after winning 2018 WAFCON trophy in Ghana and taking Nigeria to the second round of 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final in France, citing interference in his job.
However, hiring of another foreign coach for the Super Falcons has not yielded the desired results as the new coach has taking the team from top to bottom if the failure of Nigeria to retain the trophy Dennerby won for Nigeria three years ago.
In fairness to the NFF, coach Waldrum has enjoyed a good working relationship with his employers, providing him and his team several high-profile Grade A international friendlies matches played across the globe.
Upon taking charge of the star-studded Super Falcons, NFF arranged several foreign friendly matches starting with Antalya, Turkey ‘Festival Women’s Trophy Championship’ in February 15 to 24, 2021 for the team and later in June Super Falcons embarked on 3-match Summer Series in Texas, USA where Nigeria lost to lowly rated Jamaica 1-0, Team USA 2-0 and drew 3-3 with Portugal.
The football house also organised better forgotten 6-Nation Invitational Tournament tagged ‘Aisha Buhari Cup’ held in Lagos from September 15 to 21, 2022, for the coach and his team to use as a dress rehearsal for the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco.
Again, Waldrum’s team was roundly defeated on the final day of the competition by new “nemesis” South Africa’s Banyana Banyana tutored by Coach Desiree Ellis whose team also did a double over Super Falcons in Rabat, Morocco at the just concluded 12th CAF WAFCON.
After managing a 2-0 victory over Mali in the first match, Nigeria was humiliated in the final match by South Africa as Banyana Banyana thrashed Super Falcons 4-2 at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos with all the “big stars” including African Footballer of the Year (Women), Asisat Oshoala and a handful of foreign-based players in the squad.
Then came the WAFCON Morocco 2022 qualifying matches against Ghana Black Queens which Nigeria won 2-0 in Lagos but lost 1-0 in Accra, Ghana to qualify for the final round where Nigeria beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 in Abuja and 1-0 in Abidjan to book her ticket for Morocco 2022.
Determined to prepare the Super Falcons adequately for the event in Morocco, NFF again arranged another top notch international friendly match against Canada Women’s National Team from April 8 to 11 in Vancouver with Nigeria beaten 2-0 in the first game and forced to a 2-2 draw in the second match of the Tour of North American country.
It was therefore a miracle for a team that had lost woefully to Team USA, Canada, Ghana and South Africa in friendly and competitive matches to turn things around in a bigger football championship in Morocco where the 11 other participating nations are vying for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup tickets.
Expectedly, South Africa again stunned Nigeria 2-1 in the Group C opening match at Complexe Moulay Hassan in Rabat and the Super Falcons never recovered from the defeat as they went on to lose two more games to Morocco in the high-tempered 5-4 semi final penalty loss and 1-0 loss to Zambia in the third- place match to complete the coup d’ grace in Morocco.
Thus the dream of Nigeria winning the 10th WAFCON trophy (La Decima) in Morocco came down crashing in the face of the American coach and his team as they left Morocco without any medal hanging on their necks.
It was also the first time in history of the Super Falcons that the team will not only lose three matches in a single championship but played poorly and got two players sent off for two straight red card offenses.
In the ill-fated semi final match against hosts Morocco, two key players-Halimat Ayinde and Rasheedat Ajibade were red carded for obvious stamping on the legs of Moroccan players. The referee issued yellow cards but each time, the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) called for a review and the results were obvious- red cards.
But the dismal performance of the once dreaded Super Falcons in Morocco could have been avoided if the Head Coach had got his tactics right on the days of the three lost matches against South Africa, Morocco and Zambia respectively.
Truth be told; Waldrum’s coaching style and tactics have been doubtful to those who have followed football for a long time and it was not a big surprise for some of us who have followed Super Falcons for 32 years and counting.
Perhaps, those who appointed him as Head Coach of the most successful senior national women’s football team in Africa do not know that he has no pedigree in coaching a big national team like Super Falcons or they probably wanted to make him a “big national team coach” if he had won the WAFCON trophy which every Super Falcons Head Coach including two women coaches-Eucharia Uche and Florence Omagbemi have led Super Falcons to win.
A college coach, Waldrum’s only romance with handling of a national women’s football team was from 2014 to 2016 when he coached the Trinidad and Tobago women’s football team but was fired in January 2016, meaning that he lasted for one year on the hot seat.
Snippets of information about his style of coaching and his tactics have been faulted by most of the players who are questioning the rationale behind improvising his playing personnel when there are a glut of players to play in their preferred positions in the team.
For example, Michelle Alozie, an American-born Nigerian professional footballer plays as a forward for National Women’s Soccer League team, Houston Dash FC but Waldrum has converted her to right-full back position in the Super Falcons.
Also, Ashleigh Plumptre, British-born centre-back for Leicester City in the English Women’s Super League has been dragged to play left -full back position for Nigeria and the poor lady cried out after the 2-1 loss to South Africa in Rabat.
She had a torrid time defending against South Africa’s fast-playing attackers- Jermaine Seoposenwene and Thembi Kagtlana in the opening match. She benched in the next match for complaining.
It was also discovered that the only style he is very familiar with is playing the ball out from the back, a style only big team coaches like Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea FC and Pep Guardiola of Manchester City both of England can force their players to adopt.
With his outlandish style, it was not a big surprise that Waldrum-tutored Super Falcons have always lost to teams managed by top quality coaches as he has failed to come up with superior tactics that will enable him to grind out victories when playing against tough opponents.
This means that should NFF remain adamant in the call by Nigerians for Waldrum to go, the country should not expect Nigeria to go beyond three group matches in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup holding in Australia and New Zealand.
The American cannot be compared to former Head Coach Thomas Dennerby who has better pedigree coming to Nigeria and he did not disappoint by winning 2018 WAFCON trophy in Ghana and taking Nigeria to the second round of the last FIFA Women’s World Cup final in France.
Dennerby as Sweden women’s national team Manager, guided the Swedish national team to a third-place finish in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. His team beat France 2-1 in the third-place playoff.
They continued their rich vein of form at the London 2012 Olympics where they reached the quarterfinals. France exacted revenge on Sweden as they beat Dennerby’s troops by the same scoreline as that of the World Cup in 2011.
With Nigeria, he led the team to a third-place finish at the 2018 WAFU Women’s Cup in Cote d’Ivoire, and in 2019, he went on to bag the trophy.
He also won the 2018 African Women’s Cup of Nations in Ghana and later steered the nation to the Women’s World Cup knockout stage for the first time in 20 years in France. He was also awarded the 2018 Coach of the Year in Nigeria.
Dennerby is currently the Technical Adviser/ Head Coach of India National Women’s Teams (senior and juniors) with his tour of duty in India ending in October 2022, approximately three months from now.
By Harry Awurumibe, is Africa’s No.1 women’s football journalist.
