New rave of the moment, Siena of Italy defender, Michael Chukwuike Odibe (born July 23, 1988 in Lagos) has admitted that he is stunned by the sudden wash of hype rolling round his emergence as a regular in the Serie A, and options of an appearance at the World Cup now coming his way.

The ex-Gabros International, Sharks of Port Harcourt and First Bank football club of Lagos stopper said during a live telephone interview on Sports Radio 88.9 Brila FM that he is happy with praise coming his way from Super Eagles coach, Lars Lagerback and pledged to give his very best if selected.

“I am very happy with everything that is happening. The new coach is charge is already making plans for the World Cup and I am happy that he is talking about me.

“It is the dream of any player to play for his country, especially at the World Cup, and that makes me happy for the coach to be talking about me already.

“I will be happier to play at the World Cup. I am ready to give my best for my fatherland and it is my biggest dream to play for Nigeria. I am ready to give my best for my country,” said the bulky stopper fondly called Asaba.

brilafm.net

that guy is not 21

ok, so how old is he?

42

Are you his father?

Face it, the guy can't be just abt 2 years older than Pato in the same pic. Mind you he's already played for 3 naija clubsides.

The guy is like 35yrs old. . .he's already played for Gabros, Sharks and 1st bank for crying out loud. Anyhow sha, I dont have a problem with his age if he's fit and playing regularly for his club.

Well, on the picture Pato looks like he's 10 years older than Odibe

35? debatable, but 42

Kgdavid:

that guy is not 21

That was the first exclamation in my heart lol
Well, if he is at his peak let him fill the gap at the world cup. Time will tell after the tournament if he will be that relevant again

which of them is really his age? this is not an age tournament so he doesn't have to answer to anyone.

he may not have to answer to us but there is something called integrity. i was kidding when i said he was 42 but i will never believe that he is 21 because that is my age range and if i see this guy on the street i would greet him "good morning sir".

His club is not complaining, let him be, even if he's 42, e no concern anyone, he's not coming to play for u-17, 99% of Nigerian players are not the ages they claim so let him be. as long as he's doing what he knows how to do best, nothing do am.

The luck most of these age-cheating players have is that sometimes they really do appear quite young for their "real" age, especially when they're kinda short. I met one of our fellow Najiamen in France. At the time he was playing for Bayonne, 3rd division I think.

It was cool to meet a soon-to-be-pro but then for some reason he told me that he was lucky to get a shirt because he claimed to be 21 when in reality he was 28. Not a huge difference but still. . .

So I won't be surprised if Odibe is close to his 30s.

how is african footbal to develop if things are not done the right way? young players are being deprived of the chance to develop while they are young because older players are taking their spots and then when these young players grow older,they do the same thing to young players all over again, vicious cycle

na wa for dis una dialogue about his age. if he is a good player, which one concerns you with his age?? free the guy abeg,

bboiabb:

na wa for dis una dialogue about his age. if he is a good player, which one concerns you with his age?? free the guy abeg,

Typical backwards Nigerian mentality I [b]HATE [/b]to see. . .

Good grief.

For one the world cup is not an age grade competition
Hope he knows senior men now have heart attack on the field

dis guy is very good,i watched him when he was in first bank against crown fc ogbomosho.Keep it up bro

what kind of rubbish is this, this guy in this photo is brazilian and not micheal odibe

Iyineda:

Typical backwards Nigerian mentality I [b]HATE [/b]to see. . .

Good grief.

how is that backward??
okay then, why don't you put five year olds on the team. once they turn six, take them off immediately. . . almost all teams have older players. . . zidane for example was old. did you hear any complaints.

OR


you should go join the team. backward fool!!

you probably havent even seen him play

His club is not complaining, let him be, even if he's 42, e no concern anyone, he's not coming to play for u-17, 99% of Nigerian players are not the ages they claim so let him be. as long as he's doing what he knows how to do best, nothing do am.

Question is how long would the guy last in the Super Eagles?

deb:

Question is how long would the guy last in the Super Eagles?

That should be his problem, as long as he's good now it doesn't matter how long he's going to last. which of our current players really used his real age?

bboiabb:

how is that backward??
okay then, why don't you put five year olds on the team. once they turn six, take them off immediately. . . almost all teams have older players. . . zidane for example was old. did you hear any complaints.

OR


you should go join the team. backward fool!!

Look, first of, I apologize for the aggressive words. I ought to stop that crap. :/
Secondly, what I meant is that some Nigerians choose to close their eyes on important issues rather tackling them. So in this instance, when you said you didn't care how old Odibe really is it upset me because I'm longing for the time when Nigerian football will be cleansed from age cheating.

exactly! why cant we make progress?!

[size=14pt]I need nigeria to reach the wolrd cup quarter finals with or without odibe[/size]

if the guy is good for the job lets try him,

Yes he deserve a call up to the super eagles

^how many times have you watched him play?

I Have watched odibe play against juventus bologna , bari,lazio and a whole host of clubs in nigerian and in belgium, so what are you doubting odibes ability, na wa for nigerians self una like doubt 2 much, a trial will convince you people when he eventually don the greeen and white jersey

i am not doubting him. i have never seen him play and i want to be sure that you know what you are saying when you say he is the best because right now we have some pretty decent players