joseph1013:
THE WITCH AND THE SUPER EAGLES
by Leon Balogun

My sister’s best friend’s mom had a best friend, and she was the witch.

She could read auras, or some crazy nonsense like that. I was 19 years old when I was told about her. I was trying to become a professional soccer player in Berlin — I didn’t have time for nonsense. But I had this issue … I was injury prone. Every year I felt like I would take one step forward and two steps back in my career because of the injuries. My sister, who is 13 years older than me and also my best friend, had an idea: The witch. Maybe witch is a bad term. I’m not sure. But she was a little spooky.

When my sister first pitched me the idea, I sort of rolled my eyes, like, Yeah … I’m sure she’ll know what’s wrong with me.

“No, Leon,” she’d say to me, “She sees things.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s give it a try.”

Let’s meet the witch.

She was a middle-aged Russian woman. She didn’t look like much of a witch, or an oracle for that matter. Her eyes walked up and down me as soon as I entered the room. My eyes darted around. She started to talk to me and my sister. It was about nothing in particular really, but I think she was studying me — my energy. Her first diagnosis was that there was an hole in my aura. I was like, Alright, well, anybody could have guessed that.

She said, “It’s on your right side.”

“The hole in my aura?”

“Yes.”

That’s where I had a scar from a bad right-shoulder injury. She had no idea about it, and she had never seen me with a shirt off … she just, felt it, I guess. Now she had my attention.

Then — and I’ll never forget this — she really blew me away.

“Four or five years ago, you lost a person very close to you, but someone who you didn’t completely know, either.”

I don’t think I said anything. She went on about how all people have someone like this in their lives, whether they know them or not. Someone who, no matter the strength of your connection, you will feel connected to — your soulmate, in a way.

She said, “Is this true, Leon?”

“Yes, my grandma.”



I was amazed. I hadn’t thought about my grandma that much since she passed when I was 16 years old. But, this lady was right. My grandma’s death had a huge effect on me, and I had never even met my grandma, who lived in Nigeria. That’s the part that was wild to me. My sister didn’t know anything about my reaction to grandma’s passing. This woman, though, she saw it. She told me I had to heal my soul, my heart, before I could become the player I wanted to be.

After we left, I didn’t completely understand if my experience with her was successful. The most important thing that came out of that day was that it got me thinking about my grandma. When I got home, my mind went straight back to the day my dad told me the news.

Because I had never met her, my dad didn’t tell me right when it happened. He actually waited a few days — that’s how distant my relationship was from her. She only spoke Yoruba. So when we talked on the phone when I was little, my dad would try to translate for us. He had never taken me to Nigeria, for reasons he didn’t make clear to me, and I only ever saw photos of my grandma.

When my dad told me, he pulled me aside in our home. I have this vivid memory of the feeling — like, this terrible, terrible feeling of sadness. I crawled up the stairs, sobbing my eyes out. I cried for an hour. My mom had to come to my room and ask me what was wrong … she couldn’t understand why I was so sad, either.

I think, what I knew at a young age was that my grandma represented a part of my life that I didn’t completely understand. I was mixed race. My mom was a German, my dad Nigerian. I was different than the other kids. And I knew that my grandma, and Nigeria, had a lot do with it.

I now wanted to understand more about that part of my life. And because of a witch, I knew how important that part of me truly was.

My dad used to walk three miles every day before school when he was growing up in Nigeria. I knew this because he never let me forget it. It was one of a handful of stories he would tell me about his childhood. He moved to Germany in 1966, learned the language, got his diploma and met my mother. He was the blueprint for immigrants. He made it sound easy — being a foreigner who looked different — but I knew it wasn’t. Because even though Germany is a progressive country, there is that group of people, especially in sport, who still lurk around waiting to knock you down if you’re different.

I met one of them when I was playing U-16 in Berlin, in 2003. I had given up on my dreams of being Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho, so I was playing at center back. The other team had this huge striker. He was bad news. I played really well, and I kept him in my pocket. We were up 1–0 at halftime, and as I was walking to the locker room, the striker kicked the ball at my head. It missed me by about an inch. Woosh. I turned, and he was yelling at me. He was calling me the n-word, using other racial slurs.

Nobody did anything. There were people all around us, and nobody did anything. After the game, while we were still at the park, I told my dad about him kicking the ball at me.

“Leon, you must always be calm. You’re smarter than they are. You’re better than they are.”

Then I told him what the boy said to me. And that, for the first time in my life, was when I saw my dad lose his cool. He had this look on his face. I told him I wanted to go home because Mom said she was making a nice dinner.

“No, we have to fix something.”



So we waited in the parking lot for the boy to come out with his parents. They did. And my dad let them have it.

“Hey, how can you raise your kid like this? Do you know what he said to my boy? We all come here to play football, and you lost, and that’s the game. But your son is 15 — he’s 15! — and he acts like this. I hope that you can one day fill his heart with love, instead of hate.”

Their back-and-forth went on for awhile, and the other parents weren’t very nice. But I will remember what my dad said forever: Love, instead of hate. He was very upset in that moment, but he used empathy over rage. And I began to understand, little by little, how he made being an immigrant look so easy. I think because my dad worked so hard to integrate into society in Germany, it gave me the opportunity to do the opposite and connect with my Nigerian roots.

I never supported the German national team, mostly because I thought they were arrogant and their football was boring to watch. Even in 2006, when Germany hosted and the whole country had World Cup mania — I secretly cheered for them to lose. Because I was a kid, and I was rebellious. And because, even though I felt in my mind that I was just as German as all the other kids, a lot of people didn’t see me like that.

I was always asked, “Where are you from?” Or, “How long have have you been here?”

I would think to myself sometimes, Maybe I was meant to be Nigerian.

Even after I overcame some of the injury issues I had as a teenager and began playing regular minutes in the 2. Bundesliga and Bundesliga, that thing — the part of my soul that I had been told to heal all those years ago — was still missing from my life. In 2014, I was coming to the end of my contract with Fortuna Dusseldorf. I wasn’t sure where I would go next. There was uncertainty in my life, and from time to time I would think of the witch. What did she mean, “heal my soul?”

One night in March, my phone rang. It was a Nigerian number … it was Stephen Keshi, the Nigerian National Team manager. I was sweating as soon as he introduced himself. I wanted him to say the words I had thought about for so long. He spoke for awhile about how he wasn’t totally familiar with me, but he liked how I played.

Then he said it: “I would like to invite you to be a Super Eagle.”

Those words … they meant so much to me. It meant validation for every step of my footballing journey. It meant happiness for my family. Most of all, it meant an opportunity to go to Nigeria.

And that … that was everything to me.



When I told my dad the news, he was skeptical. “Are you sure it was the coach?” he said.

And he had a point. I don’t want to speak poorly about the people of Nigeria, but there are some that are real scam artists. They spoil our name. I think that was a part of why my dad never took me back there.

“Yes, Dad, it was the coach. I even listened to his voice on YouTube right after to make sure it was him!”

He warned me about some of the things I could encounter in Nigeria. It wasn’t quite the celebratory phone call I had played out in my head, but that was my dad, always preparing me. But he was proud, I could hear that in his voice. I knew, as much as I understood about myself, about my father, I would learn even more on this trip.

My first impression of Nigeria was probably same as that of any person who has lived in Germany his whole life: Man, it’s hot — heat like I’ve never experienced. I flew down with Anthony Ujah, a striker playing for Koln at the time. He helped me prepare for the trip a bit, too. Tips on what to do, how to act, all that stuff. When we stepped off the plane — the craziest thing was that people knew who I was. Some smiled and asked for photos. I couldn’t believe it. Just as I knew that in Germany I would always be seen as black, I assumed that in Nigeria I’d be seen as another white guy on a business trip. But they knew me, they were happy for me. Maybe I was meant to be Nigerian.

We landed in Abuja, the capital city. We were there for a few days before training started. When we drove to practice that first day, I was listening to music, headphones in. “Nobody Knows” by August Alsina was playing. I like that song because, as somebody with a little fame, people sometimes seem to forget that I go through things, too. As I was listening, I saw a boy on a skateboard on the street. He had a disability. He had to sit on the board and use his hands to get around — something you would never see in Germany. And I just started to cry. I think, because I had seen some of the poverty in the city — in this beautiful city, with wonderful people — that it just sort of put things into perspective for me. It made understand how fortunate I was to grow up in one of the world’s greatest countries, to have the family I did. It was a humbling few days, and that boy’s problems made mine seem so inconsequential.



It was a such an important trip for me, such a great trip. I felt a sense of … healing. I felt like I was connecting with a part of me that had been lost — or better yet, never truly found — a long time ago. I love Nigerian food; I love the culture. Everyone is always playing music, laughing … trying to have the best time. I felt at home. And I understood that I could have two homes.

I want to make both of them proud in Russia at the World Cup. Because Germany gave me this opportunity to have success with Nigeria. It is my footballing heritage. I get that. But when I wear that Super Eagles kit … it feels so good. And when we beat Zambia in October 2017 to punch our ticket to Russia, it felt amazing. I remember the final whistle, our stadium in Uyo erupting. I fell to my knees in tears. John Obi Mikel, our captain, came up to me.

“No, no, you don’t get to cry. You don’t get to cry. We’re going to Russia!”

We’re going to Russia. It still feels surreal to say. I just can’t wait.

I know when we get there and I hear the national anthem, I’ll feel that much closer to my family, to my two homes, to my grandma.

And that, more than anything, is going to make the World Cup incredible.


Leon Balogun
NIGERIA

Source: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/leon-balogun-nigeria?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=worldcup18&utm_term=Balogun

Respect Leon.
What a thought provoking piece...No wonder ,he plays with his heart.

Humility017:


mikel in the AM role...depends...I can as well sub him for etebo if there be need for more fluidity in the midfield.....and introduce ogu to take etebo place in the CM role...

Ighalo will be removed for nancho who spear head the attack with nancho....


Moses play the wing back role...on the left and ebuehi play the wing back role from the right.......

achieving results with the super eagles calls for flexibility

I'm beginning to enjoy you now Bruh. Can you present your Formation and Lineup against the Iceland pls?! Also the Tactics you gonna use to suppress, break and defeat them?!

goldfish80:


Your rendition of events about the holocaust is not main stream, even your claims are still at investigation level. Questions are still being asked. You cannot use an investigation to destroy my argument on this topic.

I have come across various conspiracy theories which suggests 9/11 didn't happen. Infact they made compelling analytical videos and solid evidence that jet fuel cannot melt steel beam, WTC was never struck by any aircraft, some experts in structural engineering and mathematical modeling looked at the physics of the building collapse and came to a scientific conclusion that the collapse was nothing but a controlled demolition. Also, scientifically fire cannot cause the collapse of a steel framed high rising building.
For the whole juicy detailed scientific backing of the reports, they still remain conspiracy theories which nobody can use to build an argument because they are yet to be proven and a total departure from the official reports of 9/11.

Back to football, Joachim Loew have a history of making biased and prejudiced decisions, he may have gotten away with it but it doesn't make them less sentimental. Are you conversant with his beef with Kevin Kuranyi and why he was dropped? Was it for footballing reasons he dropped Kuranyi? How about Kevin Kiesling? German's Bundesliga top scorer, yet he refused calling him up for non footballing reasons even when Klose and Mario Gomez were injured.
You cannot keep shouting German's are not sentimental when I'm dropping hard evidences. Citing Edi287's post as a reference is nothing but cognitive bias.

On the holocaust. Investigation you say? Okay then. Six million is the number you and almost everyone that has heard about the holocaust knows abi? Are you aware that the original plaque put after the war at the Auschwitz- Berkanau camps were changed from 4 million to 1. 5 in 1995(yet till date everybody still recites 6 million). Germans are meticulous record keepers. Yet till date not even a single document can be found emanating from the German military high command directing the organised killings of Jews. a. k. a holocaust.

Again why is it a crime to question the historicity of the holocaust? Why?

Are you aware that right from the 19th century the six million figure had been making the rounds in publications even before the supposed holocaust happened?

Charles the Gaule published his 3 volume war memoirs, (published in 1954 & 56). No single mention of such a pivotal event as the holocaust. Churchill published(published from 1948-1953) his 6 volume war memoirs. No single mention of the holocaust. Dwight Einsenhower published his two volume war memoirs. No single mention of the holocaust. I trust you know who this men are and the roles they played during the War. I am one who doesn't accept the dominant view of history without at least querying it. I ask questions and probe. 6 million holocaust story is huge gigantic money spinning fraud. Were Jews killed? Yes. So were other nationalities. You talk about the killing of Jews, have you talked about the Jewish inspired killings of German women and children? How they firebombed German cities and levelled it? Read Operation firestorm: the bombing of Dresden edited by Paul Addison. Read also Hellstorm: The death of Nazi Germany by Thomas Goodrich. This were holocausts that mainstream media says nothing about. Have you talked about the holodomor?

You have read about the holocaust from its proponents, watched films like 'inglorious basterds,' 'escape from Sobibor', 'Schindler's list'. But have you investigated to find out if what you think you know is true? Have you heard the story of the other side? You read one side and take their account as fact just because it's the dominant view. You hear even the faintest whisper from the other side. You close your ears and even possibly worst your mind and label their own account as 'conspiracy theories'. Your logic is this: mainstream = to truth. Unorthodox version of events = lies and conspiracy theories. You are an adult man! Think! Investigate!

It's a truism that the Victors always write the history. But I know the danger of a single story as chimamanda warned. Professor Y. B Usman always enjoined his students to thrust beyond the dominant view and interrogate history. I have so much to say but let's bury this subject cos it is like talking about religion. I don't think I can convince you otherwise. But perhaps ar least one or two persons here will read this and go test the waters.

Now back to football: you are only mentioning players dropped and making inferences. Abeg point me to one single factual online report (not opinion ooo) backing your opinion. I have told you several times that what you say about sentiments is your opinion. No fact whatsoever.

forgiveness:


The tactics we used made Croatia average.

Isahalbash:







God bless you. I don't understand which kind of fans super eagles have at all.

I aussre you Sir. Those are not even FANS. They are razor blades masquerading as fans. They only joined the thread and the shouts in support of the team from the moment we downed Zambia away and Algeria in Uyo. That is when most of them began having rethinks on whether to come join the shouts of support for this team.

While there are those that haven't believed in this team and still don't at all even before Rohr took over. They have since lost hope and belief since or befpre our failure to qualify for Germany 2006.


It is not hard to decipher for me. But one thing I know is this: These same fickle folks will ride and die with their wobbling and fumbling European club sides (because even the mighty Barca and madrid have all faced nadir points across all those past seasons) and even will be seen arguing mindlessly in defence of their so called beloved clubsides against rival club fans and will never give up on them or be seen mocking their teams... But they can easily come in here and tell me the Super Eagles deserve to be mocked. That is a whole load of bullcrap and dogsh*t. Confused lots they are.... They better stick to their club sides and leave the Super Eagles alone if they cannot bear the same rubbish their clubsides serve them season in, season out... Every team must have good and bad times. It is not new.

"Fickle fans utd" they are.

forgiveness:


We neutralized their midfield with two DMF and rendered their wingers impotent by defending with two players.

Those two areas are the Croats strength.

So all those balls from Modric to Kramaric that kept exposing Shehu was evidence of impotent Croatian wingers or a neutralized Croatian midfield?

Na wa o

Ex Super Eagles Stars Fault Iwobi Substitution, Rohr’s Formation



Former Super Eagles stars have come out to criticize the tactics employed by current handler of the team Gernot Rohr in Nigeria’s 2-0 defeat to Croatia in their opening group game at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

A very poor and dismal Super Eagles team fell to an own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo in the first half and a second-half penalty from Luka Modric . . . . http://www.soccerassembly.com/ex-super-eagles-stars-fault-iwobi-substitution-rohrs-formation/

joseph1013:
THE WITCH AND THE SUPER EAGLES
by Leon Balogun

My sister’s best friend’s mom had a best friend, and she was the witch.

She could read auras, or some crazy nonsense like that. I was 19 years old when I was told about her. I was trying to become a professional soccer player in Berlin — I didn’t have time for nonsense. But I had this issue … I was injury prone. Every year I felt like I would take one step forward and two steps back in my career because of the injuries. My sister, who is 13 years older than me and also my best friend, had an idea: The witch. Maybe witch is a bad term. I’m not sure. But she was a little spooky.

When my sister first pitched me the idea, I sort of rolled my eyes, like, Yeah … I’m sure she’ll know what’s wrong with me.

“No, Leon,” she’d say to me, “She sees things.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s give it a try.”

Let’s meet the witch.

She was a middle-aged Russian woman. She didn’t look like much of a witch, or an oracle for that matter. Her eyes walked up and down me as soon as I entered the room. My eyes darted around. She started to talk to me and my sister. It was about nothing in particular really, but I think she was studying me — my energy. Her first diagnosis was that there was an hole in my aura. I was like, Alright, well, anybody could have guessed that.

She said, “It’s on your right side.”

“The hole in my aura?”

“Yes.”

That’s where I had a scar from a bad right-shoulder injury. She had no idea about it, and she had never seen me with a shirt off … she just, felt it, I guess. Now she had my attention.

Then — and I’ll never forget this — she really blew me away.

“Four or five years ago, you lost a person very close to you, but someone who you didn’t completely know, either.”

I don’t think I said anything. She went on about how all people have someone like this in their lives, whether they know them or not. Someone who, no matter the strength of your connection, you will feel connected to — your soulmate, in a way.

She said, “Is this true, Leon?”

“Yes, my grandma.”



I was amazed. I hadn’t thought about my grandma that much since she passed when I was 16 years old. But, this lady was right. My grandma’s death had a huge effect on me, and I had never even met my grandma, who lived in Nigeria. That’s the part that was wild to me. My sister didn’t know anything about my reaction to grandma’s passing. This woman, though, she saw it. She told me I had to heal my soul, my heart, before I could become the player I wanted to be.

After we left, I didn’t completely understand if my experience with her was successful. The most important thing that came out of that day was that it got me thinking about my grandma. When I got home, my mind went straight back to the day my dad told me the news.

Because I had never met her, my dad didn’t tell me right when it happened. He actually waited a few days — that’s how distant my relationship was from her. She only spoke Yoruba. So when we talked on the phone when I was little, my dad would try to translate for us. He had never taken me to Nigeria, for reasons he didn’t make clear to me, and I only ever saw photos of my grandma.

When my dad told me, he pulled me aside in our home. I have this vivid memory of the feeling — like, this terrible, terrible feeling of sadness. I crawled up the stairs, sobbing my eyes out. I cried for an hour. My mom had to come to my room and ask me what was wrong … she couldn’t understand why I was so sad, either.

I think, what I knew at a young age was that my grandma represented a part of my life that I didn’t completely understand. I was mixed race. My mom was a German, my dad Nigerian. I was different than the other kids. And I knew that my grandma, and Nigeria, had a lot do with it.

I now wanted to understand more about that part of my life. And because of a witch, I knew how important that part of me truly was.

My dad used to walk three miles every day before school when he was growing up in Nigeria. I knew this because he never let me forget it. It was one of a handful of stories he would tell me about his childhood. He moved to Germany in 1966, learned the language, got his diploma and met my mother. He was the blueprint for immigrants. He made it sound easy — being a foreigner who looked different — but I knew it wasn’t. Because even though Germany is a progressive country, there is that group of people, especially in sport, who still lurk around waiting to knock you down if you’re different.

I met one of them when I was playing U-16 in Berlin, in 2003. I had given up on my dreams of being Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho, so I was playing at center back. The other team had this huge striker. He was bad news. I played really well, and I kept him in my pocket. We were up 1–0 at halftime, and as I was walking to the locker room, the striker kicked the ball at my head. It missed me by about an inch. Woosh. I turned, and he was yelling at me. He was calling me the n-word, using other racial slurs.

Nobody did anything. There were people all around us, and nobody did anything. After the game, while we were still at the park, I told my dad about him kicking the ball at me.

“Leon, you must always be calm. You’re smarter than they are. You’re better than they are.”

Then I told him what the boy said to me. And that, for the first time in my life, was when I saw my dad lose his cool. He had this look on his face. I told him I wanted to go home because Mom said she was making a nice dinner.

“No, we have to fix something.”



So we waited in the parking lot for the boy to come out with his parents. They did. And my dad let them have it.

“Hey, how can you raise your kid like this? Do you know what he said to my boy? We all come here to play football, and you lost, and that’s the game. But your son is 15 — he’s 15! — and he acts like this. I hope that you can one day fill his heart with love, instead of hate.”

Their back-and-forth went on for awhile, and the other parents weren’t very nice. But I will remember what my dad said forever: Love, instead of hate. He was very upset in that moment, but he used empathy over rage. And I began to understand, little by little, how he made being an immigrant look so easy. I think because my dad worked so hard to integrate into society in Germany, it gave me the opportunity to do the opposite and connect with my Nigerian roots.

I never supported the German national team, mostly because I thought they were arrogant and their football was boring to watch. Even in 2006, when Germany hosted and the whole country had World Cup mania — I secretly cheered for them to lose. Because I was a kid, and I was rebellious. And because, even though I felt in my mind that I was just as German as all the other kids, a lot of people didn’t see me like that.

I was always asked, “Where are you from?” Or, “How long have have you been here?”

I would think to myself sometimes, Maybe I was meant to be Nigerian.

Even after I overcame some of the injury issues I had as a teenager and began playing regular minutes in the 2. Bundesliga and Bundesliga, that thing — the part of my soul that I had been told to heal all those years ago — was still missing from my life. In 2014, I was coming to the end of my contract with Fortuna Dusseldorf. I wasn’t sure where I would go next. There was uncertainty in my life, and from time to time I would think of the witch. What did she mean, “heal my soul?”

One night in March, my phone rang. It was a Nigerian number … it was Stephen Keshi, the Nigerian National Team manager. I was sweating as soon as he introduced himself. I wanted him to say the words I had thought about for so long. He spoke for awhile about how he wasn’t totally familiar with me, but he liked how I played.

Then he said it: “I would like to invite you to be a Super Eagle.”

Those words … they meant so much to me. It meant validation for every step of my footballing journey. It meant happiness for my family. Most of all, it meant an opportunity to go to Nigeria.

And that … that was everything to me.



When I told my dad the news, he was skeptical. “Are you sure it was the coach?” he said.

And he had a point. I don’t want to speak poorly about the people of Nigeria, but there are some that are real scam artists. They spoil our name. I think that was a part of why my dad never took me back there.

“Yes, Dad, it was the coach. I even listened to his voice on YouTube right after to make sure it was him!”

He warned me about some of the things I could encounter in Nigeria. It wasn’t quite the celebratory phone call I had played out in my head, but that was my dad, always preparing me. But he was proud, I could hear that in his voice. I knew, as much as I understood about myself, about my father, I would learn even more on this trip.

My first impression of Nigeria was probably same as that of any person who has lived in Germany his whole life: Man, it’s hot — heat like I’ve never experienced. I flew down with Anthony Ujah, a striker playing for Koln at the time. He helped me prepare for the trip a bit, too. Tips on what to do, how to act, all that stuff. When we stepped off the plane — the craziest thing was that people knew who I was. Some smiled and asked for photos. I couldn’t believe it. Just as I knew that in Germany I would always be seen as black, I assumed that in Nigeria I’d be seen as another white guy on a business trip. But they knew me, they were happy for me. Maybe I was meant to be Nigerian.

We landed in Abuja, the capital city. We were there for a few days before training started. When we drove to practice that first day, I was listening to music, headphones in. “Nobody Knows” by August Alsina was playing. I like that song because, as somebody with a little fame, people sometimes seem to forget that I go through things, too. As I was listening, I saw a boy on a skateboard on the street. He had a disability. He had to sit on the board and use his hands to get around — something you would never see in Germany. And I just started to cry. I think, because I had seen some of the poverty in the city — in this beautiful city, with wonderful people — that it just sort of put things into perspective for me. It made understand how fortunate I was to grow up in one of the world’s greatest countries, to have the family I did. It was a humbling few days, and that boy’s problems made mine seem so inconsequential.



It was a such an important trip for me, such a great trip. I felt a sense of … healing. I felt like I was connecting with a part of me that had been lost — or better yet, never truly found — a long time ago. I love Nigerian food; I love the culture. Everyone is always playing music, laughing … trying to have the best time. I felt at home. And I understood that I could have two homes.

I want to make both of them proud in Russia at the World Cup. Because Germany gave me this opportunity to have success with Nigeria. It is my footballing heritage. I get that. But when I wear that Super Eagles kit … it feels so good. And when we beat Zambia in October 2017 to punch our ticket to Russia, it felt amazing. I remember the final whistle, our stadium in Uyo erupting. I fell to my knees in tears. John Obi Mikel, our captain, came up to me.

“No, no, you don’t get to cry. You don’t get to cry. We’re going to Russia!”

We’re going to Russia. It still feels surreal to say. I just can’t wait.

I know when we get there and I hear the national anthem, I’ll feel that much closer to my family, to my two homes, to my grandma.

And that, more than anything, is going to make the World Cup incredible.


Leon Balogun
NIGERIA

Source: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/leon-balogun-nigeria?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=worldcup18&utm_term=Balogun

Those discriminating FB can see what they go through. They are seem as foreigners eventhough they were born there and lived all their lives there.

There true identity is Nigerian and they should be allowed to identity with their place of origin without discrimination.

What a tale.

Copied from a forum. Make we laugh small.

---

After their defeat by Croatia, Nigeria Players were so ashamed of their failure that they decided to hide their identity so that they would not be recognized. Moses dressed like a monk. While walking on the streets of Kaliningrad in Russia, suddenly an old lady walked up to him and said,"Hi Moses!" Amazed and angry that an old lady had recognized him, he went back and dressed like a Muslim girl, covering his whole face leaving only the eyes. Again he bumped into the same old lady and she said, "Moses, nice meeting you again!" Confused and puzzled he asked,"But how did you recognize me ma'am?" The old lady laughed out loud and said,"Are you stupid or what? It's me Iwobi.

Guys, there's absolutely NO need to panic yet. Please let's calm down and stop all these emotional overreactions. The team still have a chance to qualify and that's all that matters. Nobody promised that they must qualify without losing a match, OK?

Did the team play well on Saturday? Certainly not. I am disappointed as much as the next guy because for the first time in recent memory (since SA 2010), I saw a Super Eagles team playing with fear ... I saw a Super Eagles team playing NOT to lose instead of playing to win the game. For the first time in recent memory, I saw a Super Eagles team playing without passion and fight.

Did Rohr has a game plan? I didn't really see one except trying to ensure that Croatia doesn't score. That's not our style. Team like Iceland and some Scandinavian countries can play that style but not us. Bottom line, Rohr got the tactics wrong and got the personnel wrong. After everything we saw during the friendly matches, it beats me why he abandoned the 3-5-2 formation. That doesn't make any sense at all. After everything we saw during the friendly, it beats me why/how Rohr would decide to stick with Shehu ahead of Ebuehi. Is it on his contract that he has to play, at least, one player from the north? Like I said before the tournament started, I am going to cry BLUE MURDER if Shehu starts ahead of Ebuehi in Russia. And that's exactly what happened, so I am crying blue murder!

But having said all those things, do I think that Rohr should be fired? No, I don't think so. Those who are calling for his firing are simply refusing to face the reality. The reality on the ground is that Nigeria (the NFF, to be specific) has a reputation in the football world. No serious coach would agree to coach the Super Eagles because our reputation. Hence, firing Rohr would mean hiring another European journeyman. The good thing about, is that he is willing to work and he has a program he's trying to implement. The previous coaches like Berti Vogts, Lars Lagerback, Bonfrere Jo, etc didn't have any program at all. They were only after their money. In fact, ever since Clemence Westerhof, Rohr is the only coach that actually has a vision for the team. So I vote that we stick with him, win or lose in Russia, at least thru the AFCON.

Anything else would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.


O pari

MetalJigsaw:
Mr man I expected you to know that players change technically. Players develop and improve. Players mature and and acquire confidence.

And that is the case with Iwobi. I'm somewhat surprised that a self acclaimed pundit in this forum hasn't noticed this.



Iwobi is at a stage in his career where he's done with learning to be confidence which he was lacking.

and now mikel has reduce in confident and now should be replaced by iwobi, football team is not created by cut and join at every obstacle.

Germany will play with almost same team in there next game, I'm not saying Rohr should use same players against iceland but we forget that iwobi has played more of his professional game in that same position you guys claim to be out of position.

let this team breath, even the so called big team are struggling, we don't have better players than them

TheSuperNerd:
Spot on... And on Iwobi's wing being on vacation that is why most of our attack from the flanks were incoming via Moses' wing and he needed his fullback to support him and this is where I fault Shehu's offensive timidity. He is not inventive or adventurous upfront.

Defensively, I cannot fault Shehu. He put every foot right defensively save for only when Perisic got in behind once. Just once. But Shehu was good defensively and also had Moses supporting him defensively but when it was time to return the favor offensively, he became a wimp. Always too afraid to venture into those spaces Moses created with his movement down that right to enable Shehu charge in and collect a pass for a cross.

In all, we could have done better as a team. Those two mistakes cost us. If not for them, we would be talking about a draw now.

I totally agree with you in regards to Shehu's offensive timidity.

I still don't understand why Rohr dropped Ebuehi for Shehu.

Hopefully, he does better against Iceland.

TheSuperNerd:
Look don't mind metaljigsaw... He is so clueless as to how we executed that game. Probably must be the booze again.

In truth, Egbon , it is not just about what Rohr said. We ourselves that saw that game can confirm it. I mean those of us that can actually analyse and not some that love to rant because of just a loss while ignoring every other detail.

Aha! Hahahahahaha!

Ok make kuku ma leave am.

Icon79:
Guys, there's absolutely NO need to panic yet. Please let's calm down and stop all these emotional overreactions. The team still have a chance to qualify and that's all that matters. Nobody promised that they must qualify without losing a match, OK?

Did the team play well on Saturday? Certainly not. I am disappointed as much as the next guy because for the first time in recent memory (since SA 2010), I saw a Super Eagles team playing with fear ... I saw a Super Eagles team playing NOT to lose instead of playing to win the game. For the first time in recent memory, I saw a Super Eagles team playing without passion and fight.

Did Rohr has a game plan? I didn't really see one except trying to ensure that Croatia doesn't score. That's not our style. Team like Iceland and some Scandinavian countries can play that style but not us. Bottom line, Rohr got the tactics wrong and got the personnel wrong. After everything we saw during the friendly matches, it beats me why he abandoned the 3-5-2 formation. That doesn't make any sense at all. After everything we saw during the friendly, it beats me why/how Rohr would decide to stick with Shehu ahead of Ebuehi. Is it on his contract that he has to play, at least, one player from the north? Like I said before the tournament started, I am going to cry BLUE MURDER if Shehu starts ahead of Ebuehi in Russia. And that's exactly what happened, so I am crying blue murder!

But having said all those things, do I think that Rohr should be fired? No, I don't think so. Those who are calling for his firing are simply refusing to face the reality. The reality on the ground is that Nigeria (the NFF, to be specific) has a reputation in the football world. No serious coach would agree to coach the Super Eagles because our reputation. Hence, firing Rohr would mean hiring another European journeyman. The good thing about, is that he is willing to work and he has a program he's trying to implement. The previous coaches like Berti Vogts, Lars Lagerback, Bonfrere Jo, etc didn't have any program at all. They were only after their money. In fact, ever since Clemence Westerhof, Rohr is the only coach that actually has a vision for the team. So I vote that we stick with him, win or lose in Russia, at least thru the AFCON.

Anything else would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.


O pari

This here is the problem bros.

Can such passion be kindled within such a short period if we couldn't kindle it since we qualified.

Truthfully, its gonna be hard bro

wayodude:


So all those balls from Modric to Kramaric that kept exposing Shehu was evidence of impotent Croatian wingers or a neutralized Croatian midfield?

Na wa o

How many times was he beaten?

How many chances did Croatia create from his wing?

ykalhaji:


Na dribbling we go chop ? Lol. For his first game at the biggest stage, he tried but for the connection between the defence and the attack, he was too indecisive. He kept passing backwards to the extent that Leon Balogun was the one that had to initiate passes up field to the attacking players.

His job was to win the ball and maintain possession, dribbling is part of that. Croatia were pressing our midfield and what do u think would have happened if he started forcing balls to already marked men? We see CBs like Boateng, Pique and Ramos initiate attacks all the time so what is new? In his first game on the biggest stage he matched the likes of Rakitic and Modric. He was one of the best players on that pitch and if we had won or even drawn he would have been the man of the match in my books.

wayodude:


So all those balls from Modric to Kramaric that kept exposing Shehu was evidence of impotent Croatian wingers or a neutralized Croatian midfield?

Na wa o

Kramaric is a striker. He likes drifting to the left and cutting in. Shehu cannot chase him like a mad man when he cuts in. The winger was Perisic and we didn't hear his name much.

Mujtahida:
Copied from a forum. Make we laugh small.

---

After their defeat by Croatia, Nigeria Players were so ashamed of their failure that they decided to hide their identity so that they would not be recognized. Moses dressed like a monk. While walking on the streets of Kaliningrad in Russia, suddenly an old lady walked up to him and said,"Hi Moses!" Amazed and angry that an old lady had recognized him, he went back and dressed like a Muslim girl, covering his whole face leaving only the eyes. Again he bumped into the same old lady and she said, "Moses, nice meeting you again!" Confused and puzzled he asked,"But how did you recognize me ma'am?" The old lady laughed out loud and said,"Are you stupid or what? It's me Iwobi.

Hahahahahaha!

What I have been uncomfortable with since after the Croatian game is the fact That we didn't have 2 shots on target.

BascoSourcing:


Kramaric is a striker. He likes drifting to the left and cutting in. Shehu cannot chase him like a mad man when he cuts in. The winger was Perisic and we didn't hear his name much.

Shehu tried jo. Ebuehi though would be an upgrade. My only problem is Ighalo. If ball no gree come, go and bring it. He doesn't even check his line before running.

To be honest, after the first half, I thought Rohr was going to making 3 quick changes in personnel early in the second half and switch to a pure 3-5-2 to make more impact on the game. This would've have been his simple changes:

- Ebuehi for Shehu was getting burned all day. Some folks were blaming Moses for having a poor game but the dude was literally playing RWB in that game because Shehu totally out of his depth. Why Rohr decided to stick with him for the whole game is beyond my comprehension.
- John Ogu (Omeruo or Awaziem) for Obi Mikel - as a third CB then Iwobi would slide middle AM position
- KC Iheanacho for Jude Ighalo

Those three changes might not be the silver bullet that they would've given us a better chance of winning. It beats me why he decided to stick with the same tactics that wasn't working and mostly stuck with the same players until it was too late.


O pari

darkelf:


This here is the problem bros.

Can such passion be kindled within such a short period if we couldn't kindle it since we qualified.

Truthfully, its gonna be hard bro

forgiveness:


How many times was he beaten?

How many chances did Croatia create from his wing?

Plenty!! watch the highlights again.

maputohq:

Shehu tried jo. Ebuehi though would be an upgrade. My only problem is Ighalo. If ball no gree come, go and bring it. He doesn't even check his line before running.

My brother this is all people have to see but they would rather destroy the man just to get Ebuehi in the team. I have always agreed that Tyrone brings something special with him but I can't get along with this bring a man down methodology.
I noticed Ighalo running offside a couple times even in our friendly but I also believe our players try to dress the ball too much before passing it. I just think that whoever we play up will not find it easy all alone.

You guys should stop consoling yourself with this " we neutralized Croatia midfield, we made Croatia tactics looks useless". Croatia played rubbish just as Nigeria was trash. Are we talking of the same croatia team that couldn't utilize the very exposed super eagles midfield, or a croatian side that couldn't really threaten on goal? Or a Croatian side who couldn't capitalize on our disorganisation? A quick counter attack side like Iceland ,mexico or peru or a team with fast dribblers like messi, Isco, would have done so much damage to our side before we could even bat an eyelid. A second half super eagle performance against England would have granted us maximum 3 points against Croatia right from the first half. Croatia side was just as shitty as Nigeria side, but was only lucky to win. If Croatia plays against Argentina the same way the played Nigeria, they will lose heavily, but I'm sure we will see a better croatia side.
We can only hope we see an improved super eagles against Iceland and Argentina. Enough of consolation abeg.

I wonder what on earth made rohr to drop ebuehi for bench

You sure say no be quota system


Because ebuehi is miles ahead of shehu in every aspect of the game

Shehu offered almost nothing offensively, his positioning was poor, na just few normal interceptions him get

Crotia fully flexed that his position well sotey vic moses had to be assisting shehu alot yet rohr left a brilliant player like ebuehi for bench

Men i just weak


Rohr deserves full blame. As i see lineup and formation na im i begin fear


if ebuehi and iheanacho no start next match make thunder fire rohr

BascoSourcing:


Kramaric is a striker. He likes drifting to the left and cutting in. Shehu cannot chase him like a mad man when he cuts in. The winger was Perisic and we didn't hear his name much.

Sure he is a striker but when he drifted to the left, received balls from Modric and took on Shehu one on one what were your thoughts in those moments. This scenario played out a few times.

MetalJigsaw:
Just imagine that silly statement " they have gone through hell"...

Dis others jump automatically into the World cup? nonsense

nor mind the guy... He just they make me laugh. Nothing serious though.

Reminds me of students who pray all night in preparation for exams as if that is the solution.

I wish our team well, would be happy if they succeed. It only affects me emotionally as a fan but for them it affects their career and finances. So basically they don't need reminders on the importance of this? Do they?

Croatia 2 - 0 Nigeria Nigeria 3 - 2 Argentina Nigeria 1 - 0 Iceland Round of 16 Denmark 1 - 1 Nigeria extra time (1 - 2) Quarter finals Nigeria 1 - 0 Portugal Semi finals Nigeria 2 - 2 Brazil Penalties (5 - 4) Final Spain 1 - 1 Nigeria...

superbouck:
Croatia 2 - 0 Nigeria
Nigeria 3 - 2 Argentina
Nigeria 1 - 0 Iceland
Round of 16
Denmark 1 - 1 Nigeria extra time (1 - 2)
Quarter finals
Nigeria 1 - 0 Portugal
Semi finals
Nigeria 2 - 2 Brazil
Penalties (5 - 4) Final
Spain 1 - 1 Nigeria...

u know one thing I like about dreams?
It is free of charge

Very inspiring stuff from balogun, i must confess. He went through the fire and came out as refined diamond.

But hey, i'm sure the icelanders have even more touching and inspiring stories, especially considering that most of their players are just parttime footballers

Behind Many smiley-faced footballers are rejects, outcasts, people who have had to weather the storm. Infact, lukaku and kasper schmeichel's stories are currently on player's tribune and i've previously read those of pique and rakitic.

Thats beside the point. Our game against croatia was embarrasing, to say the least. We lost that match even before the blast of the whistle. We gave too much respect to the croats. Rohr's tactics was that of containment and not really explosive and domineering. Our plan for containment was brilliant, we reduced the croats to a miserly 2 shots on target team, Uzoho was hardly tested. But that was just the extent of it, when we had the ball, we were almost always clueless. The containment plan meant that shehu was meant to babysit perisic, he was meant to always have eyes on perisic which meant that even when we were on the attack, he had to make sure that perisic never went out of his sight. This had an awfully demoralizing effect on moses, who was left to do all the attacking work from the right wing whilst also doubling up with shehu to cage perisic - too much respect .

There were times when all moses had to do was beat a player, and lay a pass out wide for a cross but due to the lack of the luxury of an outlet, he had to try to beat them all, sometimes resorting to cheap gimmicks to win freekicks.

Very poor from rohr, i must confess. Countries have played germany, played spain, played argentina, played brazil in this same tournament and they did it with more courage than we could muster against a not-so-impressive croatian side.

Its going to be a different ball game against iceland, atleast i hope it'll be - scratch that - it must be.

Iceland played argentina with so much coordination, especially defensively. They were okay with ceeding possesion to the argentines, and always had more of their players behind the ball. Against Nigeria, there are going to fancy their chances. If not for anything, but for the mere fact that they also need the 3 points. So they'll come at us, much more than they did against argentina. Also, seeing how we concede from setpieces, they are going to try their luck in that aspect also, and with sigurdsson, it is going to be harder to defend.

In our attack, we need to be quick in thinking and also try some outside shots. I like the way kroos was always sending thunderbolts against mexico. But for ochoa's brilliance, one would have gone in. A team like iceland wont always give you the luxury of strolling into their 18yard box. Our attackers and attacking midfielders should be inventive and always look to force a shot whenever there is a slight opening.

Though practically impossible, a part of me is still praying we qualify, even at the expense of my dear messi.

waoo, mujta the Great. Short for words brother! Currently doing some findings on the 6days war of 1967 and October 1973 Israeli Arab war. The findings have been absolutely breathtaking. We need to break the religious barrier and open our mind and heart to investigate history cos at the end of it all we are all families from the same source; Adam and Eve

Mujtahida:

On the holocaust. Investigation you say? Okay then. Six million is the number you and almost everyone that has heard about the holocaust knows abi? Are you aware that the original plaque put after the war at the Auschwitz- Berkanau camps were changed from 4 million to 1. 5 in 1995(yet till date everybody still recites 6 million). Germans are meticulous record keepers. Yet till date not even a single document can be found emanating from the German military high command directing the organised killings of Jews. a. k. a holocaust.

Again why is it a crime to question the historicity of the holocaust? Why?

Are you aware that right from the 19th century the six million figure had been making the rounds in publications even before the supposed holocaust happened?

Charles the Gaule published his 3 volume war memoirs, (published in 1954 & 56). No single mention of such a pivotal event as the holocaust. Churchill published(published from 1948-1953) his 6 volume war memoirs. No single mention of the holocaust. Dwight Einsenhower published his two volume war memoirs. No single mention of the holocaust. I trust you know who this men are and the roles they played during the War. I am one who doesn't accept the dominant view of history without at least querying it. I ask questions and probe. 6 million holocaust story is huge gigantic money spinning fraud. Were Jews killed? Yes. So were other nationalities. You talk about the killing of Jews, have you talked about the Jewish inspired killings of German women and children? How they firebombed German cities and levelled it? Read Operation firestorm: the bombing of Dresden edited by Paul Addison. Read also Hellstorm: The death of Nazi Germany by Thomas Goodrich. This were holocausts that mainstream media says nothing about. Have you talked about the holodomor?

You have read about the holocaust from its proponents, watched films like 'inglorious basterds,' 'escape from Sobibor', 'Schindler's list'. But have you investigated to find out if what you think you know is true? Have you heard the story of the other side? You read one side and take their account as fact just because it's the dominant view. You hear even the faintest whisper from the other side. You close your ears and even possibly worst your mind and label their own account as 'conspiracy theories'. Your logic is this: mainstream = to truth. Unorthodox version of events = lies and conspiracy theories. You are an adult man! Think! Investigate!

It's a truism that the Victors always write the history. But I know the danger of a single story as chimamanda warned. Professor Y. B Usman always enjoined his students to thrust beyond the dominant view and interrogate history. I have so much to say but let's bury this subject cos it is like talking about religion. I don't think I can convince you otherwise. But perhaps ar least one or two persons here will read this and go test the waters.

Now back to football: you are only mentioning players dropped and making inferences. Abeg point me to one single factual online report (not opinion ooo) backing your opinion. I have told you several times that what you say about sentiments is your opinion. No fact whatsoever.

superbouck:
Croatia 2 - 0 Nigeria
Nigeria 3 - 2 Argentina
Nigeria 1 - 0 Iceland
Round of 16
Denmark 1 - 1 Nigeria extra time (1 - 2)
Quarter finals
Nigeria 1 - 0 Portugal
Semi finals
Nigeria 2 - 2 Brazil
Penalties (5 - 4) Final
Spain 1 - 1 Nigeria...

Nice dream though, wish to see all that in reality