In 2015 Obong Paul Ekpo, AK PDP team manager fielded a duo that changed the dynamics of Akwa Ibom, nay, Nigeria political football. It was like having Christiano Ronaldo and Leonel Messi in the same team. PDP was the defending champion with AK APC as challenger for INEC Cup final. At first it was unclear whether Team PDP may settle for defensive football where all the players would be given strict man-marking responsibilities and play extremely aggressive and physical football in attempt to hold on to what they already have.
But Paul Ekpo shocked the world of political football. He seemed to have noticed that the high propaganda APC side may outnumber PDP in the air (internet) and this may cause PDP to struggle to command the midfield zone or find overloads in attacking positions. It would also have put pressure on the defence without an attacking full-back which allowed quick attack.
But trust a veteran team manager who was ably supported by Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga as Technical Adviser and Elder Ufot Ebong as match tactician. The team settled for a combination of “Total Football” and the “Tiki-Taka” strategy. This strategy allowed each player to be capable of playing in defense, midfield and attack and constantly interchanging positions to drag opponents out of shape.
The strategy, which allowed for the 4:4:2 formation put the duo of Mr. Udom Emmanuel and Sen Akpabio at the most virulent attack ever witnessed in political football. APC post was pounded by this duo to the extent that by the time the referee (INEC) blew the whistle there was no more net hanging on APC goal posts. All APC fans were reported to have left the stadium through the backdoor to organize protest to football (tribunal) alleging INDIAN magic and asked for match cancellation. The rest is history.
Therefore if there’s anything APC wants to avoid in 2019 INEC cup finals, it is another Udom-Akpabio attacking machine. Therefore when you see those headlines “Akpabio blast Udom” or “Udom Whitewashed Akpabio” etc don’t listen to them. Na job. E no go work. No stopping Udom-Akpabio combination.
Sadly while they waste time writing all sorts of nonsense in The Nation Newspaper, Udom-Akpabio are busy training together to perfect their combination and political ball handling skills with emphasis on ball retention. Someone should tell APC to try another strategy - every attempt to put this duo apart before the tournament will be wasted efforts.
Signed: James Abang R828
Atte-Okiuso Village, Urueoffong/Oruko LGA
Atte-Okiuso Village, Urueoffong/Oruko LGA
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