Hello there,

Here's the article in which the football pundit, Jamie Trecker, portrays Nigeria in a very negative fashion: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/32countries/story/Nigeria-32-teams-in-32-days

Here's a glimpse of what the article reads:

Nigeria is a kleptocracy that milks the most populous African nation. Oil wealth has made this massive African nation one of the most dangerous, most corrupt, most impoverished and straight-out saddest countries on earth. Despite billions and billions of dollars in annual oil revenue, virtually none of it reaches the general population, instead lining the pockets of one "big man" after another.

I was so disgusted by the way the author of this article presented Nigeria because, although there's a lot of truth behind it, he worded it in such a vile and disrespectful manner, as if his only goal was to get reactions from political fanatics and bigots. Honestly, I'm out of words right now.


PS: Just as a reminder, this article is supposed to be from a football blog discussing about the 32 countries participating in the upcoming Fifa World Cup. It's not supposed to be an article about politics!

Truth hurts

And what is the truth here that we already don't know?


discuss football if you know football and not apply lipstick to eye-lashes


Any small avenue, all of them would want to use it to insult and ridicule a whole country as if corruption only exist here and no where else.

@Arkhin
Based on such a reaction, I believe you have missed the point of this thread. But it's ok. I'm getting the feeling that you're not going to be the only one. . .

@honeric01
Right? Right?

People just need to read this trash!!!







Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.

Country: Nigeria
Nickname: The Super Eagles

Nigeria is a kleptocracy that milks the most populous African nation. Oil wealth has made this massive African nation one of the most dangerous, most corrupt, most impoverished and straight-out saddest countries on earth. Despite billions and billions of dollars in annual oil revenue, virtually none of it reaches the general population, instead lining the pockets of one "big man" after another.
NIGERIA
Nigeria Team Page World Cup schedule

June 12: vs. Argentina (Johannesburg)
June 17: vs. Greece (Bloemfontein)
June 22: vs. South Korea (Durban)


Home Away Key players

Mikel Jon Obi, Midfielder
Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Forward Best WC result: Last 16 in 1994, '98
FIFA World Rank: 21


Adding to the discord is the legacy of colonization and the North-South split in the nation along religious lines: Christians to the North, Muslims to the South. What passes for government in Nigeria is usually an uneasy balance between the two religions. However, since that government seems to exist only to leech off its populace and mineral wealth, it is predictably ineffective. War is a regular occurrence in Nigeria, and drug and arms smuggling have made it an almost-failed state.

The only thing that unifies the country is the national football team. And sadly, it reflects its state all too well.

The local league is hopelessly corrupt, with games that are routinely fixed. The youth national teams have been successful -- but too often tainted by accusations of cheating. African and some Asian players have routinely lied about their true ages in order to play in the age-eligible competitions, and until FIFA began cracking down on it, Nigeria was known as one of the worst offenders. In fact, prior to the U-17 World Cup that Nigeria hosted last year, FIFA announced it would begin conducting bone scans on all players in an effort to stamp out the practice. The day after, 16 Nigerian players -- half the squad -- dropped out of camp.

The sad part about all this is that corruption seems so endemic in Nigerian culture that it threatens to obscure the fact that some Nigerian players are world class. They play a gorgeous, flowing style of soccer when they are on, and some of their players have justifiably become legends, with Nwankwo Kanu and Jay-Jay Okocha being two prime examples. Sadly, the team tends to dissolve into pointless squabbles over the usual, venal matters. Bonuses aren’t paid, roster choices are always suspect and being a coach in Nigeria requires a hefty cash deposit up front, because you're not likely to see any more.

If Nigeria could get its act together, it could be one of the great footballing powers on the planet. Since it cannot, it won't.

PAST WORLD CUP SUCCESS: This is Nigeria's fourth Cup. Best showing was in America in 1994, where many observers feel they could have won the whole shebang. (Obviously, they didn't.) Recent history is a bit tougher: They stunk it up in Japan and failed to qualify for Germany.

REGIONAL SUCCESS: Two-time winners of the African Cup of Nations (1980, 1994). At the Olympic level (which is an Under-23 competition), they took gold in Atlanta (1996) and silver in Beijing (2008). See above for the caveats.

LEAGUE OVERVIEW: It's a corrupt mess. See above.

FIFA WORLD CUP
FoxSoccer.com gets you ready for the biggest sporting event in the world this summer in South Africa.

* World Cup Bracket Challenge
* Interactive map | Team pages
* Venues | Fixtures | Standings
* 32 Teams in 32 Days | WC Front
* Latest World Cup news and notes
* Photos: WAGS | Celebrity fans
* Best Strikers | Best Midfielders
* Decade's Best | Great Moments
* 30-man roster sunbs | Best of '06




MANAGER: Lars Lagerbeck. The former coach of Sweden quit after that country failed to qualify for the Cup. If he actually makes it to the Cup, it'll be something of a miracle as he's already had one run-in over non-payment, and Nigeria has a habit of firing their foreign coaches on the eve of a major tournament to reward some politically connected local hack.

KEY PLAYERS: Kanu, allegedly 37, is still playing in England for Portsmouth. Despite the fact that he may actually be closer to 42, he's going to play. Defender Joseph Yobo (Everton) is very solid as is his counterpart at Bolton, the unfortunately named Danny Shittu. The star is John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), who has been transformed from a foul-prone hothead into one of the better holding midfielders in the game. Yakubu (Aikegbeni; he goes by one name at Everton) and Obafemi Martins (Malaga) are the target men up top, running off the erratic Victor Anichebe (Everton).

FIFA RANKINGS: 21st. Top was 5th in those heady days of 1994; lowest was 82nd in 1999.

FIRST ROUND OPPONENTS: Argentina, South Korea, Greece

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST ARGENTINA: Nigeria has a long history against Argentina, but mainly at the youth level -- where Nigeria holds a firm edge. At the senior level, however, Argentina dominates. They have met twice in the World Cup, and lost to the Albicelestes both times. In 1994, Nigeria fell 2-1 in Foxboro; in 2002, Argentina got the better of them in Japan, 1-0. They played to a scoreless draw at the 1995 Confederations Cup.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST GREECE: Nigeria whipped 'em in the game that mattered, 2-0 back at Foxboro in the 1994 World Cup. They dropped a friendly by the same score in Greece five years later after most of their top players failed to show up.

HEAD TO HEAD AGAINST SOUTH KOREA: Never met.
FOX SPORTS POLL

*
How far will Nigeria go?
o Win it all
o Finals
o Semis
o Quarters
o Round of 16
o Won't make it past group play



HOW THEY QUALIFIED: Barely. They needed a big win over Kenya on the final day. Had Tunisia won its game, Nigeria wouldn't have made it at all. That said: Nigeria didn't lose a game (9-3-0) in qualifying. And yet, there was a lot missing.

PERCENTAGE CHANCE TO PROGRESS: 75%. If Nigeria cannot get out of this group, on African soil, there's something deeply wrong. Since we've already noted that there are, in fact, many things deeply wrong with this side, if/when they flop out, don't say we didn't warn you.

TO WATCH: First off, see if a coach actually shows up. Next, see if the players take the field. After that, see if the guys talk to one another. If you get all three, this team has a good shot.
ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Dele Ayenugba (Beni Yehuda FC), Bassey Akpan (Bayelsa United), Austine Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Marseille), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow), Onyekachi Apam (Nice), Joseph Yobo (Everton), Daniel Shittu (Bolton), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam), Rabiu Afolabi (Salzburg), Peter Suswan (Lobi Stars)

Midfielders: Kalu Uche (Almeria), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Sani Kaita (Alaniya), Lukman Haruna (Monaco), Ayila Yussuf (Dynamo Kiev), Peter Osaze (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Forwards: Yakubu Ayegbeni (Everton), Victor Anichebe (Everton), Chinedu Obasi (Hoffenheim), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg), Ideye Brown (Sochaux), Ikechukwu Uche (Zaragoza), John Utaka (Portsmouth), Peter Utaka (OB Odense), Victor Obinna (Malaga)

TOMORROW'S TEAM: Cameroon

I dnt need sum1 to tell me that the guy hates Nigeria, wetin concern politics, failed state with football?

War is a regular occurrence in Nigeria,

Is he talking about Nigeria or sudan/somalia??

This article is supposed to be purely football, why include politics??

The stupid guy even said the Christians in Nigeria are to the north and the Muslims to the south, what a slowpoke

omo, what a terrible article indeed, he be like say the guy fell for a scammer so he really has it in mind for us.

absolute rubbish! did you guys note the part where he said people should watch and see if a coach shows up and then watch and see if eleven players actually take to the field and then watch and see if they talk to each other, when in the history of Nigeria has a coach refused to turn up talkess of our players refusing to play. he makes it sound as if our players all hate each other when in reality you will observe that they are very unified going into huddles before and after each half. is there any way this man can be sued for this? (by our government of course), this is as flat out a case of defamation of character as i have ever seen before.

@OP

go siddon jare. Wetin we nor know. Patriotic my a, s, s

^ Thanks for your insightful input. That really serves the purpose of the thread.

1. Christians to the North, Muslims to the South: Please how did you arrive to this?? How is it related to the worldcup?

2.First off, see if a coach actually shows up. Next, see if the players take the field. After that, see if the guys talk to one another. If you get all three, this team has a good shot.

Nigeria has a habit of firing their foreign coaches on the eve of a major tournament to reward some politically connected local hack

Pls Which tornament did all these happen?

3. War is a regular occurrence in Nigeria which war are you talking about?? But The USA has been looking for trouble since the past decade,

I wish i could lay my hand on that slowpoke, the problem i even have with this editor is that he even works for FOX of all news company, yet he's as clueless as a dog offered a pen to sign a check.

the guy is a bloody fool

candylips:

the guy is a bloody fool

THE GUY SAID THE BLOODY TRUTH!

Iyineda:

Hello there,

Here's the article in which the football pundit, Jamie Trecker, portrays Nigeria in a very negative fashion: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/32countries/story/Nigeria-32-teams-in-32-days

Here's a glimpse of what the article reads:

I was so disgusted by the way the author of this article presented Nigeria because, although there's a lot of truth behind it, he worded it in such a vile and disrespectful manner, as if his only goal was to get reactions from political fanatics and bigots. Honestly, I'm out of words right now.


PS: Just as a reminder, this article is supposed to be from a football blog discussing about the 32 countries participating in the upcoming Fifa World Cup. It's not supposed to be an article about politics!

*hiss* am sure the guy works for fox, no wonder, pple who nt only hate democrats but ve also decided to add nigeria to their list and wud someone tell dis guy to stop writing if he cannot get his facts right, dumb a** slowpoke hater

It’s quite unfortunate that a fox news journalist can display such level of ignorance, he's obvious an a**h*le, dumb stupid idiot

Silly pundit the slowpoke cant even get his facts right

IF ONLY WE CAN UNITE TOGETHER MANY PEOPLE DONT LIKE US BUT THE QUESTION IS WHO WILL LIKE US
WIN OR NOT WE WILL NOT BE DISGRACED AND DEFINATELY GOD WILL WIL BE DONE
NIGERIANS LET US NOT BE MOVED

candylips:

the guy is a bloody fool  

   I dont think so dude, i think this is a food for thought for those at the helms of affair. If the resources circulates very well perhaps the author will have to look elsewhere for any available intriguing stories.  

a little exaggerated here and there but then m aybe some one needs to give us the reality . Kleptocracy, Hmmm thats a nice one

It's the truth but it's so negative, , i mean is everythin is not that bad,

davidif:

he be like say the guy fell for a scammer so he really has it in mind for us.

or some nigerian mistreated him, , chai!!!, it is well

U guys might al,so want to chk out the comments pasted in reply to this article

I will only agreed or disagree after our world cup show or display.

I have never seen an article about Nigeria that shows so much knowledge and ignorance about the country at the same time. I think the writer is a pioneer of a new style of writing that I will call Faction (A mixture of Fact and Fiction).

For those who are asking why the guy is talking about politics, the guy says:

Each day between May 10 and the day before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 11, FoxSoccer.com analyst Jamie Trecker will preview each of the 32 teams playing in South Africa and tell you everything you need to know about each nation represented at the world's greatest sporting event.


The guy said "everything", I suppose that includes politics.

babaearly:

@OP

go siddon jare. Wetin we nor know. Patriotic my a, s, s

Shut the fu*k up you asshole. Who the fu*k is this scumbag? They talk about your country in such light and see the stink you are typing. I'm danm angry. Shit. Look at that write-up. Very annoying. I wish I could lay my hands on that writer and scatter his balls.

Dude needs to shatap. Don't think u're hands are spotless. Whitey is also contributing to the corruption too.

All the said is the truth, Can anyone tell me where said the opposite?

i wrote this guy, i searched for his address on facebook and wrote him. This is his response

i hope he doesnt come to Nigeria soon cos ill arrange for his beating

can someone copy and send my post to him

what a vagabond!!!

war is a regular occurence in Nigeria?
the synonym for his name is doofus

Wow. Thanks for sharing that, ABAboi.

I kinda was expecting such a smooth and nuanced reply from him. What a douche. He still doesn't get the problem, does he. As I said in the OP, yes Nigeria has a lot of things going wrong HOWEVER, there's a difference between stating unbiased facts and spewing political slurs in a derogatory manner.

I mean come on! He bluntly said that Nigeria is "the straight-out saddest countr[y] on earth". No matter how he tries to justify that excuse of an article, the damage has been done and has tarnished his image as a football journalist/pundit. I know he couldn't care less but what can I say. . .