he duo of Yakubu Aiyegbeni and John Utaka have finally caught the attention of new Super Eagles gaffer, Stephen Keshi who has concluded plans to hand both forwards a national team call.

Keshi exclusively told brilafm.net that the experience of John Chukwudi Utaka who plays for Montpellier in the French Ligue Un and Blackburn Rovers FC of England hitman Yakubu Aiyegbeni would come in handy for the national team as both players continue their scintillating displays for their respective clubs.

The Yak, as he is fondly called, notched two goals on Saturday for Blackburn in an English Premier League tie as they drew 3-3 against Wigan athletic.

Speaking with brilafm.net, Keshi insists a mixture of both the young and the old would make a better team.

“Well John Utaka has been a very good player with great quality and he just needs to know how to use his talent and if used well they can be one of the best players in the world so am not surprised about his performance.

“These are players with a lot of experience that we can use in the Nigerian team and I don’t see why I shouldn’t give them the chance again", he wrapped up.

The Nigerian senior national team failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and are expected to flag off their 2014 world cup qualification in June 2012 against the Brave Warriors of Namibia.

http://www.brilafm.net/YAKUBU--UTAKA-EARN-SUPER-EAGLES-RECALL/11517241

This i don't buy, why is Keshi in a hurry? BUILD A TEAM FOR US, i don't want any patching patching, can yak and utaka still survive playing football (competitive) by 2014?

Yakubu is the best Nigerian Striker after Rashidi Yekini in terms of goal scoring record. Correct me if I am wrong.


^^^ Games played/Number of goals scored

Keshi keshi I warn you 0o00

please build new super eagles we are tired of this expired players

go round the country scout for your own players send them abroad to have some experience and learn from the past

NFF will jail this man called Keshi and call back Siasia

maclatunji:

Yakubu is the best Nigerian Striker after Rashidi Yekini in terms of goal scoring record. Correct me if I am wrong.


^^^ Games played/Number of goals scored

I'm not sure about him being the second highest goal scorer for Nigeria. But he's a very good striker and his experience will help our strike force.

“Well John Utaka has been a very good player with great quality and[b] he just needs to know how to use his talent and if used well they can be one of the best players in the world[/b] so am not surprised about his performance.

Ask him at what AGE?

I DEY LAUGH, Wait till my prediction that "WE WOULD NOT QUALIFY FOR 2013 COME TO PAST" before i comment.

wait is it the same YAK at the last World Cup?

maclatunji:

Yakubu is the best Nigerian Striker after Rashidi Yekini in terms of goal scoring record. Correct me if I am wrong.


^^^ Games played/Number of goals scored

U are very correct.

Actually tha Yak is Super Eagles 3rd best shot ever with an accumulation of 21 career goals. He is behind Rashidi Yekini (37goals) and Segun Odegbami (23goals). He is still playing at the highest levels and heck he is still scoring!! The boss sure need to build a team but he has a qualifier to play in January. Anybody suggesting that it is possible to build a team in 3 months?? I'd play the Yak for what ever it's worth as many of the lackeys currently parrading as Super Eagles are not better than him.

If building  a new Supper Eagles is by recalling especially Yakubu Aiyegbeni by Keshi, that is a very big mistake by him. If Keshi cannot find a replacement for these present squad from the local league and the graduating flying eagles who are currently with Eguavon, then he is joking and will fail woefully than Siasia. I hate when people do things out of sentiment.  Yakubu’s present form cannot be used to recall him as a build up to new Eagles. To please people to the detriment of the entire Country is wrong.
Younger players are there looking forward to be called to the national team and they will be roaring to go and conquer. Age is against most of these our foreign based players as they are not the true age declared. Most of them are getting to 35 to 40 yrs while claiming to be twenty something.  Only Osaze declared his true age. They play bigman football as if they are doing practise in a match that maters most. Too bad. I believe that Osaze is one of the youngest amongst the present ealgles.  Every other player playing as Supper Eagles, are all old men. Only God can tell the true age of these players.

I cannot understand how Keshi wants to say he will succeed or form a new eagles with a winning mentality by recalling all these old guys.

Uhm Andyanders, if my understanding of the word "sentiment" is correct, you seem to be the one who should watch it. If you take a global look at all the Eagles' strikers in Europe and the Yak is amongst the in-forms right now, you'd be guilty of sentiment to refuse him a call up. If we agree that the man had a disastrous world cup in South Africa based on his poor run then, it is only fair to accept that his form so far in the EPL 2011/12 season is impressive.
As for the NPL young players you propose that the boss should call up, I'd request you to name a couple that have caught your attention this season. It will be nice of you also to confirm here that their given ages are any different from the current Eagles compared to their "god only knows" real ages. you get my point?

Hahaha, I'm laughing in Pidgin. [color=#000099][/color]

And now some start to make a case for Yakubu?!

Why, Keshi, why?

1forall:

And now some start to make a case for Yakubu?!

Why, Keshi, why?

Can you give me a very good reason why you think Yakubu should not be called up by Okechukwu Keshi?

What do u need yakubu for?

BCuZiMBlaCk:

What do u need yakubu for?

What don't you need him for?

I see nothing wrong in the re-call of Yakubu and Utaka especially given that the duo are currently on top of their game!

As a matter of fact,Similar consideration should be extended towards Obafemi Martins,he's unarguably one of the country's most prolific strikers in terms of goal-per-match indices and he rarely has run-ins with the coaches!

Olalekan 0:

I see nothing wrong in the re-call of Yakubu and Utaka especially given that the duo are currently on top of their game!

As a matter of fact,Similar consideration should be extended towards Obafemi Martins,he's unarguably one of the country's most prolific strikers in terms of goal-per-match indices and he rarely has run-ins with the coaches!

The same arguement can be made for Julius Aghaowa.

Only the strong survive - not the aging and the passionate. If our Super Eagles wish to halt this downward trend to abysmal levels of football such that when we hear country's like Botswana (is Botswana even a country  ) . we won't start skipping heart beats and start calling A-list Super-Eagles from all over the world to beat Botswana in a friendly- they held us to a draw with a home-grown team   What does that tell you about the level our football has reached in recent times   like saying Barca needs a complement of their in-form regulars to beat Malta National team - Haba!! have we sunk so low. Yakubu has seen better days and Yobo is just not the good ol' reliable Yobo (at least he scores own goals unlike Yakubu )

We just dey siddon look. . . .this is what you get when hungry men like Keshi with a proven track of corruption (as proven by Adebayor) are put in charge of the National team.

Ibime:

We just dey siddon look. . . .this is what you get when hungry men like Keshi with a proven track of corruption (as proven by Adebayor) are put in charge of the National team.

Nothing was proven, else he would have been in jail. It was a mere allegation.

And the next Sack will go to Stephen Keshi!

afam4eva:

Nothing was proven, else he would have been in jail. It was a mere allegation.

Allegations - oh sure   like we do not remember why exactly he is called the Big Boss - or have you forgotten the origins of teh Super-Eagles MAFIA!!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=356243&type=story

CAIRO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor is likely to start his country's next African Nations Cup qualifier against Cameroon on Wednesday, coach Stephen Keshi said on Tuesday.

Adebayor was involved in a public slanging match with his coach on Saturday night after refusing to start Togo's opening game of the tournament against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The two traded verbal blows at the post-match news conference and Keshi had to be restrained from attempting to confront Adebayor on the team's bus in view of reporters.

The Nigerian-born coach accused Adebayor of being a 'cry baby' after being initially dropped from the team against the Congolese and then refusing to play when Keshi changed his mind and later restored him to the starting line-up.

Adebayor made allegations that Keshi was victimising him because he had refused to allow Keshi to be his agent. Adebayor also said he was going to leave and return home to Lome.

But within 12 hours, the new Arsenal signing was training with the team and Keshi struck a conciliatory tone when he spoke to Reuters on Tuesday.

'It was not very professional but it has all calmed down now. I think he will start but I haven't formalised my team yet.'

Adebayor's action also drew criticism from his team mates, but he was greeted jovially when he joined them for breakfast on Tuesday.

He did not want to comment.

Togo lost 2-0 to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cairo on Saturday and must avoid defeat against Cameroon in their next Group B match to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals.

'We know we have to win this one, we'll be ok. I'm still confident we'll make the quarter-finals,' Keshi added.

These unforgiven nigerian!!!!

Yakubu sinned and has been purnished enough for his sin. Why cant he be forgiven. His wonderful goals against Wigan this weekend will make any coach call him back.

Yakubu gooooo and sin no more ok!!!

If that's so, Sani Keita should be recalled too.

maclatunji:

Yakubu is the best Nigerian Striker after Rashidi Yekini in terms of goal scoring record. Correct me if I am wrong.


^^^ Games played/Number of goals scored

We are not talking about who's the second highest goalscorer here, WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT HERE IS BY 2014, HOW OLD IS YAKUBU AND UTAKA GOING TO BE AND CAN THEY STILL BE ABLE TO CARRY THEIR OLD BODY?

We are building a team here, not in a hurry, so why not take out time, build and train the kinda strikers and midfielders he wants from the many lot we have around? from the U-20, U-23 and the league? he can as well go out there to search for fresh players, we are damn not in a hurry. we can't rely on 30 years PLAYEES for 2014 world cup.

Nigeria Learn from Ghana, Let the young grown and become classy players not those who don´t have anything in them again, Yak and Utaka, Soon na Kanu and GArba Lawal dem go call back,

de-moore:

These unforgiven nigerian!!!!

When some of us were advocating against Siasia's sack some users here said there was no forgiveness in coaching contracts.

de-moore:

Yakubu sinned and has been purnished enough for his sin. Why cant he be forgiven.

If Siasia was 'forgiven' Keshi wouldn't even be there as coach.

What is the problem with Nigeria sef?

de-moore:

These unforgiven nigerian!!!!

Yakubu sinned and has been purnished enough for his sin. Why cant he be forgiven. His wonderful goals against Wigan this weekend will make any coach call him back.

Yakubu gooooo and sin no more ok!!!

It's like you have a short memory.

You must have forgotten pregnant Yakubu's performance in Ghana 2008, compounded by his poor showing in the qualifiers and abysmal performance in the World Cup.

Yakubu has been a spent force since more than 3 years ago.

Even Leicester fans complain about his "laziness" not knowing it's old age.

At this moment, there is no way Yak should be considered whilst Emenike is popping hattricks in Russia, Odemwingie is top scoring in the EPL and Ideye Brown is popping every other game for Dynamo Kiev.

@honeric01 (m
I love what you said. Nobody will tell me that Keshi should be building a new team with old players like Yakubu. I am not saying that he is not doing his job now. Let him hang on and play for his club and collect money for his retirement. We are talking of 2014. This is 2011 and we should be going with younger players who will be able to play with full strength.

If you look at Chelsea with older players, same issue of lack of stamina is affecting them this season. They have good players, but cannot last full 90 mins of play. They are going down now.\
By 2014, Yakubu and his likes will do nothing positive to the national team.

Someone here @ kj_hova) is condemning me because I said “ keshi should not do something on sentiment. Too bad.

Yakubu is crap I live with him in London here I speaking without sentiments I'm an Esan man like Yakubu I ran with his Backfoot on the ground all the time. He doesn't react quickly to events around him quickly.