ChrisKels:


Deji Behruether and Chima Okoroji should borrow a leaf, go down to Bundesliga 2 to display their wares and improve themselves instead of sitting on the bench of Bundesliga clubs and occasionally playing for their youth teams in the Regionaliga, Collins has already blazed the trail, and here is Agu following same footpath.

Got my eyes on him already and he is just 19

gamaliel9:


Good. Chima Okoroji today played 90mins for Regensburg as a left back oooo in 4 4 2 formation...They beat Hamburg 3-1 in Bundesliga 2

Earthquake2:


Don't be carried away he scored 4 goals last preseason

TheSuperNerd:
You need not wait for Valentine to step up sef. Stephen Odey is already a good testimony for the league.

TheGoodJoe:


Portugal is just producing quality talents at a large rate. Rafael Leao plays a lot like Jo of Brazil who played for Cska Moscow, Manchester City, Everton and Galasataray.

Wish Osimhen the best.

darkelf:


Let us set high standards for the SE

I am getting sick and tired of looking to lower tier leagues to fill in positions

Semilogo was very average in AFCON. Let us not populate the team with average players

BascoVanVeli:
Powerful header by Kalu (3:24)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxinTDhg4ck

BascoVanVeli:
Powerful header by Kalu (3:24)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxinTDhg4ck

TheGoodJoe:


Portugal is just producing quality talents at a large rate. Rafael Leao plays a lot like Jo of Brazil who played for Cska Moscow, Manchester City, Everton and Galasataray.

Wish Osimhen the best.

Earthquake2:


What is semilogo?

andrew444:


Jo of Brazil ,not that a better player ,average at best

Rafael leo ,not bad ,but not better than osimhen in my opinion

ChrisKels:
When men were men, where were u?

jihday:
Isokay

Earthquake2:
Osimhen is set to replace Lille frontman Rafael Leao

Taliban:


I think Rohr is contemplating leaving us. His comments if I stay makes me think that.

TheGoodJoe:


Portugal is just producing quality talents at a large rate. Rafael Leao plays a lot like Jo of Brazil who played for Cska Moscow, Manchester City, Everton and Galasataray.

Wish Osimhen the best.

tbaba1234:
I have been saying this for years here. I have even been tagged a local league player hater. This article from Colin Udoh is brilliant.

The next Mikel or Ighalo isn't going to come from Nigeria's league

While Cup Final weekend is upon Nigeria, as Kano Pillars go up against Niger Tornadoes to determine who wins the 2019 Aiteo Cup on Sunday, the talk is still on the Super Eagles' Afcon campaign.

Conversation in Nigeria remains centred on the future of coach Gernot Rohr as the team's failure to reach the continental final continues to enrage, but little has been said about the team itself. Specifically, the loss of key personnel.

And therein lies the crux of the matter. The Aiteo final, and the domestic season as a whole, has done little to showcase new talent, so where will Rohr, or the next coach, find players to replace the likes of John Obi Mikel and Odion Ighalo?

The combined retirements of captain Mikel and forward Ighalo have left two huge voids in the team. John Ogu is bound to follow suit soon, and it is possible that, being on the other side of 30, Leon Balogun is not far off. Surely there must be some concern about finding replacements?

Fans and media never seem to let up with telling Super Eagles coaches to pick players from the domestic league, with goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa the only regular home-based player in the side. But the fact remains that the NPFL has no real talent of international quality, and there is a huge body of evidence to support this.

Two wins in the CAF Champions League (both by Enyimba in 2003 and 2004) are a far cry from other top African nations. The CAF Confederation Cup (including its previous two-competition iterations) offer a slightly better picture, but the wins there came at a time when Nigerian domestic football was on a high and players from local clubs represented the country.

In recent years, performances at continental club competitions have been woeful. Lobi Stars, Nigeria's CAF Champions League representatives last season, travelled to South Africa and were soundly beaten by Mamelodi Sundowns.

It was not just about the result, but the disjointed and predictable play of the Nigerian team that left heads and fists shaking.

Then, CAF's African Nations Championship (CHAN), which offers a barometer of the strength of national teams sans Europe-based players, provides a clear-eyed metric. It is not one that flatters Nigeria.

The Super Eagles B-side failed to qualify for the first two tournaments, and then at the most recent final in 2018, were thrashed 4-0 by Morocco.

They also shipped four goals against rivals Ghana in the regional WAFU Cup of Nations final in 2017, and will hope to do much better this September at the event in Senegal.

Any manner of spin may be put on these results and performances, but the bottom line is that the players are simply not good enough until they move to Europe and have all their accumulated bad habits trained out of them.

On Sunday, Pillars and Tornadoes will square up in the aforementioned Aiteo Cup final. There will be further examples of this lack of formal football education, guaranteed. Anyone even suggesting the national team coach should be there, for anything other than ceremonial reasons, probably needs to rethink some life choices.

At the moment, what the Super Eagles need are two goalkeepers, one right back, one additional centreback and at least two midfielders. None of those who will be on show on Sunday can fill those gaps.

Prime Mikel on the ball was a wonderful sight to behold. Difficult, one might even say impossible, to shake off the ball and could ping passes with the precision of a German-engineered machine. No player in the domestic league comes close. Ighalo did not have the best first touch in the world, but as a cold-blooded goalscoring forward, his numbers speak for him.

The late Stephen Keshi spent over six months in camp with domestic players and ended up taking just six to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, so it isn't for lack of effort on the coaches' parts. Of that number, only two - Godfrey Oboabona and Sunday Mba - played significant minutes. A mere six years later, none are currently anywhere near the Super Eagles team sheet.

Rohr - if he stays - or his replacement, are better served scouting for players already in Europe to fill those gaps. At least for now.

But suggesting that Rohr, or whomever the coach may be in the coming months, picks from the teams involved in the Final is a line few are brave, or stupid, enough to venture across.

https://africa.espn.com/football/club/nigeria/657/blog/post/3906752/the-next-mikel-or-ighalo-isnt-going-to-come-from-nigerias-league

TheGoodJoe:
"The Super Eagles Thread: The Dawn Of A New Era"


This should be the title of the thread. No need adding tourneys. Thus the name stays for a longer period. We are in the dawn of a new era.

edi287:

Colin Udoh isn't saying anything new. This is obvious to anyone who is an ardent follower of Nigerian football.

realpoacher:


Oga not everyone is an ardent follower of Nigerian football, so what is saying is new to a whole lot of us because many ignorant Nigerians believe that we can gather 11 world beaters straight from our league.


Which in reality its a fantasy.


What Collins has done is to bring to the fore(and by extension to the world) in one concise piece, a summary of our inherent football problems and solutions.

safarigirl:
sadly, such a piece will not reach the people it is meant for, it will remain on this thread, rather than be a Front Page topic

Icon4s:


When the story is not about how Tiwa Savage Kissed Wizkid at Eko Hotel.

Seriously, Seun needs to review his moderators list.

TheSuperNerd:
9 Most Expensive transfers in history involving Nigerian Players

1. Kelechi Iheanacho £25m
2. Ademola Lookman £22.5m
3. Odion Ighalo £20m
4. Ahmed Musa £17m
5. John Obi Mikel £16m
6. Wilfred Ndidi £15m
7. Isaac Success £12.5m
8. Yakubu Aiyegbeni £11.25m
9. Obafemi Martins £10.1m


Who will be Nigeria's first £50million+ player?

edi287:

Colin Udoh isn't saying anything new. This is obvious to anyone who is an ardent follower of Nigerian football.

Taliban:


I think Rohr is contemplating leaving us. His comments if I stay makes me think that.