mowah:
Seriously speaking, I don't like this rohr, he is too conservative to change. That's why he was sacked by Bordeaux and they won the ligue 1 after he left. Most people have been hailing him because of our results have improved since his arrival. But that was totally due to the rebuilding process and motivation of the players. But I'm sorry to say, I've not seen any tactical genius from rohr. How can someone use a 4-3-3 formation against england without a good dmf? He should have studied the English team and realized that they hardly concede goals from the wings in their past few matches . Now, he drops ola Aina without really giving him a chance, Brian idowu has tried but hasn't really been top notch like ebuehi, let's say, idowu gets injured during the WC, we'd be doomed with echiejile. He knows echiejile isn't good but doesn't want to drop him because he's a senior experienced player and was more involved in the qualifier but the dude doesn't have anything to offer. Now hes taking joel and onazi. After this wc, i think onazi should be removed as the vice captain and it should be given to ekong .I just pray Wilfred Is back on time and maybe we practice the 3-5-2 formation against Czech republic. I'd love to see victor moses as our left wing back instead of idowu cos I don't know where he'd fit in the formation but Its just that, if you put him as left wing back he'll start forming big boy and feeling reluctant to play and run the way he plays for Chelsea. But anyway, rohr knows best!

I said it earlier,but guys didn't believe, gernot rohr is overrated, there was a reason average African teams like Gabon, Burkina Fasa and Niger Sacked him quite early while our own late Steven Keshi took Togo to the world cup and improved the Malian team. Rohr needs to change his tactics against Iceland (I won't be surprised if he doesn't) 3-5-2 should have been used against Croatia but we can still try it against Iceland only if our wingbacks are more attacking because we will need a "force de frappe" of attack to crack them, With what I saw on Friday, I think victor moses can play lwb for us (dude has the ginger to play well in this wc) then tyronne should take the right. But let's think of it? We can actually drop Mikel, I hope gernot is bold enough to, (the only game we've won this year, Mikel was absent against Poland while we've lost every game he has played In this year) y'all need to remove that mentality that we can't play well without Mikel, etebo would do well and even ogu sef(I just like this guy cos him no dey do pass himself and does a great job too) my line up against Iceland would be 3-5-2
Uzoho; omeruo,balogun, ekong; moses ndidi etebo iwobi ebuehi; iheanacho, ighalo. Iwobi plays behind the 2 strikers while etebo and ndidi take up the dmf. This should work against Iceland as long as they play like beast with all their hearts, who knows we might even trash them, the only disadvantage of this formation is that it is too dependent on the wingbacks so if they Bleep up, we are dead. I still believe in this boys, hope they make us proud again #Naijaalltheway

Nice gesture from the Icelandics , I really like these guys. But this is also a sign that these guys know us well

mowah:


I said it earlier,but guys didn't believe, gernot rohr is overrated, there was a reason average African teams like Gabon, Burkina Fasa and Niger Sacked him quite early while our own late Steven Keshi took Togo to the world cup and improved the Malian team. Rohr needs to change his tactics against Iceland (I won't be surprised if he doesn't) 3-5-2 should have been used against Croatia but we can still try it against Iceland only if our wingbacks are more attacking because we will need a "force de frappe" of attack to crack them, With what I saw on Friday, I think victor moses can play lwb for us (dude has the ginger to play well in this wc) then tyronne should take the right. But let's think of it? We can actually drop Mikel, I hope gernot is bold enough to, (the only game we've won this year, Mikel was absent against Poland while we've lost every game he has played In this year) y'all need to remove that mentality that we can't play well without Mikel, etebo would do well and even ogu sef(I just like this guy cos him no dey do pass himself and does a great job too) my line up against Iceland would be 3-5-2
Uzoho; omeruo,balogun, ekong; moses ndidi etebo iwobi ebuehi; iheanacho, ighalo. Iwobi plays behind the 2 strikers while etebo and ndidi take up the dmf. This should work against Iceland as long as they play like beast with all their hearts, who knows we might even trash them, the only disadvantage of this formation is that it is too dependent on the wingbacks so if they Bleep up, we are dead. I still believe in this boys, hope they make us proud again #Naijaalltheway

please replace Ighalo with simmy....

If Marcus's prediction is anything to go by, it means Argentina will win Croatia and we'll defeat Iceland by a wide goal margin. Let's say 3 nil. Then come 26th, it'll be all square in our match against Argentina and all square in Croatia against Iceland.

The table will be

Argentina - 5
Nigeria - 4
Croatia - 4
Iceland - 2

We'll qualify by goal advantage.



We need goals against Iceland. Play me the formation that put 4 past Argentina, even if we lose, I won't be bitter. At least we exhausted our options.

mowah:
Nice gesture from the Icelandics , I really like these guys. But this is also a sign that these guys know us well

How them take know IKEME..Wait o u sure say no be KEME dem write




This guys go done prepare against us wella o


Am certain they would be going all out attack against us. Them go really need win that match

We seriously need a 3 man defence against iceland and John Ogu needs to start

For those of you that are saying the Iceland knows us very well from the Ikeme gesture, it really isn’t that difficult. All it takes is quick google search. I’m currently based in NA and the Ikeme story was all over the sports sites and tabloids.

mowah:


I said it earlier,but guys didn't believe, gernot rohr is overrated, there was a reason average African teams like Gabon, Burkina Fasa and Niger Sacked him quite early while our own late Steven Keshi took Togo to the world cup and improved the Malian team. Rohr needs to change his tactics against Iceland (I won't be surprised if he doesn't) 3-5-2 should have been used against Croatia but we can still try it against Iceland only if our wingbacks are more attacking because we will need a "force de frappe" of attack to crack them, With what I saw on Friday, I think victor moses can play lwb for us (dude has the ginger to play well in this wc) then tyronne should take the right. But let's think of it? We can actually drop Mikel, I hope gernot is bold enough to, (the only game we've won this year, Mikel was absent against Poland while we've lost every game he has played In this year) y'all need to remove that mentality that we can't play well without Mikel, etebo would do well and even ogu sef(I just like this guy cos him no dey do pass himself and does a great job too) my line up against Iceland would be 3-5-2
Uzoho; omeruo,balogun, ekong; moses ndidi etebo iwobi ebuehi; iheanacho, ighalo. Iwobi plays behind the 2 strikers while etebo and ndidi take up the dmf. This should work against Iceland as long as they play like beast with all their hearts, who knows we might even trash them, the only disadvantage of this formation is that it is too dependent on the wingbacks so if they Bleep up, we are dead. I still believe in this boys, hope they make us proud again #Naijaalltheway

While I like your set up. I think you underrate Mikel. When playee deeper, he is the best player Nigeria can have. Oh yes!

The mistake Rohr made was to push him upfront, which is hard for him due to hiw pace. Mikel plays better with the ball at his feet, shielding, ane creating spaces for other players to run into.

I love Etebo's athletism, but I will take Mikel because or his experience. Etebo can be a kind of insurance sub when we want to protect our lead.

edi287:

Nope. He's a Regista. Always plays alongside a b2b destroyer.
Emery is trying to correct that by getting Torreira. My only worry is we'll still lack someone who is able to drive forward with the ball in a midfield of Xhaka - Torreira - Ramsey. Unless Emery will make Torreira like Kante but from what I've seen he likes staying behind the ball like Xhaka.

Thank you.

Phreakabit should read this.

I concur!!

edi287:
This is interesting. Please do

BascoVanVeli:


Dembele played at Nantes. But did you guys see the nutmeg he did in his own half under pressure? Nerves of steel.

which of the Dembeles? the Akanji boy over impressed, I hear he had Nigeria's flag painted on his right boot

MEHN WHO SAW CARLOS VELA AGAINST GERMANY YESTERDAY, DAMN!!!!
THAT GUY WAS AWESOME, THE WAY HE WAS DRIVING THE BALL FROM MIDFIELD TO ATTACK WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH HIM, HE REMINDED ME OF ETEBO DURING THE U23 AYC WHICH WE WON.

Spy360:

Thank you.

Phreakabit should read this.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/granit-xhaka/profil/spieler/111455

Read that for yourself.
I don't do fancy words... He played the same position at Borussia Mönchengladbach beside Christoph Kramer in a double pivot (2 DMs) system.
Don't tell me about players I have watched for a while. Incase you forgot he played against Nigeria's U17 in the 2009 junior WC held in Nigeria.

forgiveness:


I totally agree we play with two strikers and I also totally agree we play that system but I don't agree we play Victor Moses as rwb or lwb. Mbanu!

Looking at that game, I understood why he used that system and I think it worked well until we conceeded a goal.

Croatia quickly parked the bus and relied on counter attacks and it worked for them.

OGA... Oil dey your head. We lost that game after that own goal. Though I would love Ebuehi over Shehu, he wasn't as bad as cats wants us to see.

Mickael2:



if you were smart, you would have noticed an error if you see one. Was Rakitic brought in recently? I obviously meant Coutinho was brought in to replace Iniesta and not Rakitic.

Barca played a 4-2-3-1 by the way not 4-3-3. in fact most times it was a 4--4-1-1 with Messi behind Suarez.

I don't see how Rakitic sounds like Coutinho, besides Coutinho was supposed to become the main CM not a CAM, but he couldn't fit the role.
I can easily show you his player thread created on Barca forum prior to his purchase where it was all discussed based on information provided by club insiders. At the moment they are still looking for someone to replace Rakitic and Christian Eriksen is the current target for that role, to be backed up by Carles Alena who is one of the clubs brightest prospects. Don't come here spewing garb you know nothing of. Iniesta recently only just decided to leave. It wasn't planned or expected. Iniesta's original replacements were Sergi Roberto and Dennis Suarez (in that order), but they failed to meet up to expectations.
BTW, Valverde started the season with 4-3-3 when Dembele was injured and Paulinho had to play along side Busquets and rakitic.
Then mid-season, he reverted to his preferred 4-4-2 which caused some kind of rift between him and senior players.

Dannyxy:
singing, dancing, prayers are just our traditions, they are not the reason our players are not meeting up to expectations..

And when fans pray for the players, how is that a bad thing, it's just a form of support..

This is Nigeria..... Falz.
No wonder we not going anywhere. Just my opinion though. Let them continue singing and dancing, after three matches they will come back.

BTW don't always take things too seriously bro and @ TheSuperNerd

When you see someone that means business you will know.

Fail to beat Iceland ��, and we done for. Guess they don't need anyone to tell them. So that should occupy their minds.... If I see any singing and dancing again.........

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

So much passion in his words

Me just feel that FIFA restricts any club movements once a double season is over and few days to the world cup

It's going to be very painful if Nigeria reach far in this mundial and Etebo goes to relegated Stoke to continue his career.


I wish to raise the cash attraction. seems to be what motivates players from naija these days. But I don't like the move.

See the same for the Spanish coach also.

Humility017:

I tell you my brother.....
now he is trying to look for excuses...
I think he still don't know how Nigerians are so quick to forget...the good times when they keep getting served failures....

I expect him to resign honourably should Nigeria fail to grab up to 3 points from this group.....

I'm still very pissed right now. I'm trying very hard to get over the heartbreak and disappointment.

Even if he was too stubborn and foolish play the obviously essential 3-5-2 instead of that useless 4-2-3-1, I still can't fathom why he pushed a red hot Iwobi to one side. Iwobi is not a winger. He (iwobi) has shown this each and every time he played ther particularly in the last three games.
Shows Genot Rohr is not a good coach and is too rigid ... in this modern day football.

If Iwobi had played in the AM role and played Tyrone instead of the ineffective Shehu I swear we'd have won that match. at worst a draw.

I almost cried that night... It just seemed like Gernot Rohr deliberately sabotaged us.

MetalJigsaw:
I'm still very pissed right now. I'm trying very hard to get over the heartbreak and disappointment.

Even if he was too stubborn and foolish play the useless 4-2-3-1, I still can't fathom why he pushed a red hot Iwobi to one side. Iwobi is not a winger. He (iwobi) has shown this each and every time he played there.

If Iwobi had played in the AM role and played Tyrone instead of the ineffective Shehu I swear we'd have won that match. at worst a draw.

I almost cried that night... It just seemed like Gernot Rohr deliberately sabotaged us.

I echo your sentiments. I find it hard to watch other matches. It's as if he got a lucrative offer and did this on purpose to get sacked eventually. What's worse is that there was no attempt to shift gears 2nd half. He literally had no emotion on his face when the final whistles blew. I just can't.....

Is it safe to say that Gernot Rohr sabotaged us against Croatia as Westerhof did against the Italians in U.S.A 94?.Rohr knows the right thing to do and yet he chooses to do the Opposite...

Since the last game against the Croats, we are yet to see or hear anything from the camp of the S.E...I hope the team has not been disbanded.

If we fail to qualify out of the group, Gernot Rohr must be sacked.
There are so many fine young and talented Coaches who can do better...

Our team has what it take to even top our group. The Croats didn't do anything special that was deserving of a win...

Beating the Icelanders will be a herculean task but with the right mindset,tactics and formation, we can win the game.

I am still Optimistic we can still Qualify...

#SoarSuperEagles

MetalJigsaw:
I'm still very pissed right now. I'm trying very hard to get over the heartbreak and disappointment.

Even if he was too stubborn and foolish play the obviously essential 3-5-2 instead of that useless 4-2-3-1, I still can't fathom why he pushed a red hot Iwobi to one side. Iwobi is not a winger. He (iwobi) has shown this each and every time he played ther particularly in the last three games.
Shows Genot Rohr is not a good coach and is too rigid ... in this modern day football.

If Iwobi had played in the AM role and played Tyrone instead of the ineffective Shehu I swear we'd have won that match. at worst a draw.

I almost cried that night... It just seemed like Gernot Rohr deliberately sabotaged us.

One of the most essential attributes of a coach is the ability to read the game...

We struggled to create chances. Mikel had been our best attacking midfielder but that is now a thing of the past!

During the friendlies Iwobi has been a headache for opponent's defense. repeatedly, he has been fantastic playing behind the striker.
He perpetually proved to be the hair to the AM throne (at least currently). He possesses killer passed that Ighalo would derive joy in feeding from. It was so clear a fact!

How was Rohr unable to notice/realise this

Shehu was having very long night while there is a certain Tyrone Ebuehi that never fails to prove that he's way better than Shehu anytime he's called upon!

Guys here are just looking for excuses. it is possible we play 352 and still lose. we lost that game because of two mistake goals aside that we did very well. we made it difficult for them with the caliber of midfielders they possessed they could not create clear cut chances we were simply unlucky.
This world cup shows how difficult it is to score goals. Germany that is known for goals could not score yesterday even Brazil could not create clear chances to score they scored through the brilliance of Coutiho. what of Argentina? even spain could not use their smooth passes to score they relied on the individual doggedness of costa, even Portugal was more of the brilliance of Ronaldo. what of France, Uruguay with cavani and Suarez?
My point is teams are becoming more technical this is where you need players who would create something special, we need to make good use of our set pieces they may make the difference because most teams are now very cautious.

Mujtahida:

The bolded is a topic I studied on and off for 9 years. It's a big fat lie - yes the 6 million holocaust story is a lie. I have e- books and online sources I can direct you to.
Do you know that the popular Anne Frank Diary is a forgery? Dr Robert Faurisson convincingly proved it to be a forgery. Do you know that none of the labour camps had gas chambers? Do you know that questioning the historicity of the holocaust as in asking questions whether it occurred or not is a crime in at least 17 countries and that Ernst Zundel died in prison for questioning the holocaust. Currently as we speak Moniker schaeffer and Ursula Haverbeck (she is above 80 years old) are is in prison for denying the holocaust. David Irving(foremost historian on Hitler. I have an e-copy of his book 'Hitler's War') was sentenced to three years imprisonment in the UK. Meanwhile Arthur Topham in Canada stood trial and has been banned from publishing. Allison Chabloz is currently standing trial in the UK for singing holocaust denying songs. People question all sort of things even the existence of God without any consequences. Why is the holocaust an exception? I can go on and on but let me stop.

This is why I said your thinking on this matter is just your opinion and a simplistic one at that: a coach picks one player ahead of the other and you automatically say it's sentiments. In context what you mean is not that the decision was prompted by emotion or feeling but by bias, by prejudice. And even if you go by your dictionary meaning I have told you and it is well known that Germans are less prone to make decisions based on emotions.
Suddenly a coach who has been there since 2006 choses players to prosecute the WC and then you tie it to sentiments. And shockingly you are so sure of it. What you are saying is that if I cannot give you any reason then automatically your opinion that his decision was prompted by bias and prejudice is the reason for his decision and no other.

you mentioned fitness and sentiments in the same breath and I showed you that you are wrong cos they had same concerns in 2014. Edi28 has given you reasons why the coach dropped the players he dropped but you said that's his thoughts but yours nko? What are they? Facts? No. They are opinions.

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.

daveP:
Me just feel that FIFA restricts any club movements once a double season is over and few days to the world cup

It's going to be very painful if Nigeria reach far in this mundial and Etebo goes to relegated Stoke to continue his career.


I wish to raise the cash attraction. seems to be what motivates players from naija these days. But I don't like the move.

See the same for the Spanish coach also.

Etebo can move to another club from stoke same season

Martin demechelis did that 2013 without playing a game for for ATM after signing a deal he move to mancity,ATM made profit with the deal.

U doubt the formation was the issue


End of discussion, It was just setpieces that killed us. that its!!!


Ighalo can't player line striker. The middle played well with the wings but the wings failed to deliver crosses that could cause trouble. we've suddenly forgotten how to use our wings to fly.


Well we are jamming the Vikings next. I hope they don't use us to do their "Bloody Eagle" torture for enemies.


Sons of Odin
Descendants of Ragnar Lothbrok


Beatable still


Joel Obi and Onazi are needed without argument. If Rohr tries to pass them around till they tire, it may backfire.

andrew444:


Etebo can move to another club from stoke same season

Martin demechelis did that 2013 without playing a game for for ATM after signing a deal he move to mancity,ATM made profit with the deal.

He is African rem. Will it be that easy. We know we have sloughy steps in every transfer deal that a naija guy goes thru.

Sacking Rohr will only take us back. Let's no get carried away, it will be difficult to attract a coach of high caliber. Rohr is disciplined and for the first time we are seeing steady progress and a clear road map to where we are going we will reap from the experience of this tournament regardless the outcome. am tired of us going in circles without direction. now we have a direction our team play may not be the best, that will be work in progress.
I don't think that Rohr is too conservative. lets go back to the beginning and you would see the changes Rohr has made on the team. Those shouting shehu, he was not even a favourite for that role. i remember ndidi playing rb then Kenneth before shehu grabbed that spot. where is elderson today? even the 352 we so much love now was brought by this same Rohr. Many here are looking at the good side of the formation why is nobody telling us the negative side of that formation abi we think that formation is the Golden without fault?
we are quick here to give excuses and look for whom to blame. after the Poland friendly, many blamed it on the absence of Mikel, with Mikel the whole team will click and ofcourse Shehu too was attacked many wanted Ebuehi to start against Serbia. we know how that match went and the resultant excuses that followed.
we need to calm down and understand that we do not have world class players yet and this team is relatively new.

daveP:
He is African rem. Will it be that easy. We know we have sloughy steps in every transfer deal that a naija guy goes thru.

Only EU issues and U.K. Work permit issues African normally have problem with.

Stoke got etebo for 7.5 million euros,for example of a club bring 15million they might do business

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

What a guy! We must always try to remember the man behind the player.

mowah:


I said it earlier,but guys didn't believe, gernot rohr is overrated, there was a reason average African teams like Gabon, Burkina Fasa and Niger Sacked him quite early while our own late Steven Keshi took Togo to the world cup and improved the Malian team. Rohr needs to change his tactics against Iceland (I won't be surprised if he doesn't) 3-5-2 should have been used against Croatia but we can still try it against Iceland only if our wingbacks are more attacking because we will need a "force de frappe" of attack to crack them, With what I saw on Friday, I think victor moses can play lwb for us (dude has the ginger to play well in this wc) then tyronne should take the right. But let's think of it? We can actually drop Mikel, I hope gernot is bold enough to, (the only game we've won this year, Mikel was absent against Poland while we've lost every game he has played In this year) y'all need to remove that mentality that we can't play well without Mikel, etebo would do well and even ogu sef(I just like this guy cos him no dey do pass himself and does a great job too) my line up against Iceland would be 3-5-2
Uzoho; omeruo,balogun, ekong; moses ndidi etebo iwobi ebuehi; iheanacho, ighalo. Iwobi plays behind the 2 strikers while etebo and ndidi take up the dmf. This should work against Iceland as long as they play like beast with all their hearts, who knows we might even trash them, the only disadvantage of this formation is that it is too dependent on the wingbacks so if they Bleep up, we are dead. I still believe in this boys, hope they make us proud again #Naijaalltheway

Guy, You're so soot on.

But we still need Mikel though but not as AM this time (that should be for Iwobi or Etebo). I think Mikel would be great at CM or DM role. His experience and calming presence is still there trust me.

forgiveness:


My friend, if you are becoulded by emotions to remit judgement, I have gone beyond that.

I don't care about what Ighalo played years ago, I am talking about what I saw yesterday which is fact.

You all shouting Ighalo didn't play well. Ok who will play well in that situation?

Na Iheanacho abi na Simy? Well, maybe simy can do well alone yesterday but I don't think Iheanacho will do nada yesterday. Fact.

Read my lips abi na finger again. Iheanacho will do nada if isolated like Ighalo yesterday.

Simy will do little too because he still needs support but Mikel didn't do anything to support or add pressure.

You people should cool down and read match with common sense before you start shouting this player no good.

The ball Ighalo took a weak shot was as a result of no Nigerian player in the box to receive a pass.

Simy is our best striking option.