₦airaland Forum

my guy i like drogba just like kanu but if you expose his stats in full glare of the public e go worse pass oputa panel.

one thing however you have to give Didier is that he's a clutch player especially for Chelsea when it mattered most he should up. against Barca, Bayern in the UCL against Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool and co in the EPL

andrewbaba44:
Drogba will get more goals than eto in laliga my ass

If vardy Aguero Harry can can average 1 goal in every 2 epl games why can’t the almighty drogba

Na Omoko full laliga but when salah come epl e show where the real omoko Dey ,salah that didn’t score much in seria A but in his first season in England he was looking like cr7 and Messi

If you think drogba is better than eto then you are a dreamer ,not surprised because almost all Chelsea fans are deluded

Thierry should have gotten his epl stats ar laliga if laliga is that easy ,drogba isn’t even close to Henry

Say something else okay

Lukaku! how could i have forgotten thanks for bringing that up. you would have heard "see him belle see him him head wey don dey pari! he's nothing less than 41"

Nostradamus1:
This thread would have fallen if Lukaku was a Nigerian.
There are lots of people with big education and small sense

well for Osimhen his height was listed as 184 now 186 which is still ok plus anecdotes about his time in school and brief time in his academy make his age seem legit. his looks physically also help.

GoddyOra:
#1. I have limited knowledge on uzoho so I can't say his height back then. From the pictures around 2015 till date I see no height difference.

#2. Osimhen was listed as 1.85m at 16yrs back in 2015, now 5yrs later he still haven't crossed that height. Picture quoted from transfermarket about our U-17 team (2015), compare their height back then to now (5yrs later) and you will see little or no height difference.

#3. Elyte answered this already, Amoo is very popular in OAU community winning deans cup and VC cup with Chem eng and Faculty of Technology in his part 3/4 days. He was picked by U-17 team during NUGA games and he played in our 2019 U-17 team. It is a known fact, every OAU football enthusiast know aguero of chemical engineering.

MODIFIED: see the ages and height of our 2015 U-17 team, some claiming 13yrs!. How can a normal 13yr old boy be selected for an international tourney?

I'm very happy you brought up the point about height i decided to check the squad list of our 2013 u17s

1. Nigerian squad Uzoho's height highlighted in yellow

2. His current height also highlighted in yellow.

let everybody see and be the judge. As much as we have had age cheats in the past or even in the present let us learn to judge each case on its merit not on our biases or cynical mindsets

Danielnino00:
@ bolded 1... Are u referring to Uzoho?
He is listed as 1.96m tall on Wikipedia and transfer market.. U can drop a picture of him with the u-17 and let's compare with his recent pictures...

@ bolded 2... You obviously didn't watch our last 3 sets of u-17 very well...
Go bcak and watch the 2013 and 2015 set very well... Was Iheanacho 6 ft tall in 2013? What about Osimhen??


@ bolded 3... Maybe u should mention the player's name.... I don't recall any midfielder nicknamed Aguero in the last u-17 set..

bro let's bet the answer will be along the lines you not understanding the "context" and seeing it with your "biased" eye

Danielnino00:
You also said Iheanacho won't get offers from EPL clubs..

Between Iheanacho and Ibe,who has had the better career within the last 3 years,all things considered??

o African don't go bald too abi? bros people look younger older than their age all the time whatever their race so saying African bodies are different doesn't cut it

komekn:
Oyibo body and African body are very different.

Rooney in his early 20s was already going bald. imagine the comments if he was Nigerian

komekn:
I knew Rooney when he was 16 he didn't look old.

If you like go an ask Anichebe and Yobo

Happy September everyone! May God's blessings and favor be with all of us throughout this month.

Saw a nice article on Osimhen happy reading



Victor Osimhen, a Super Eagles at Napoli
September 1, 2020 Taimoor Khan Italian Football, Napoli, Nigeria, Serie A, Serie A 2020-2021, Uncategorized Leave a comment
Victor Osimhen at Napoli

Napoli have struck gold after beating several European heavyweights to the signature of a striker who is rapidly developing into a serial goal scorer.

After being liked continuously with a move to Liverpool, Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, decided to reject the Reds’ advances and opted for a move to Serie A outfit, Napoli. Before the Neapolitans came swooping in, Inter Milan were also reportedly interested in the striker.

However, it is with the Parthenopeans where the youngster is going to shine, and we believe that his arrival could finally help the club boast a free-scoring striker the club has been craving for a long time.

The departure of Gonzalo Higuain did impact the club’s ability to score freely, and the youngster’s arrival promises to change all that.

Lille ended up making roughly 60 million Euros for their star striker, who decided to sign for Napoli because Gennaro Gattuso was genuinely interested in having him in his squad.

The 21-year-old joined Lille from Belgian outfit Sporting Charleroi last summer and impressed in his debut campaign. With Lille, Osimhen scored 13 goals and provided four assists. It is an excellent result for a player who was playing in one of the top five European leagues for the first time in his career since that ill-fated spell with VfL Wolfsburg, where he was just never given a lot of chances to impress.

This analysis will seek to find out Osimhen’s best traits, his strengths, areas that he could improve on, and how he fits in at Napoli.


Osimhen training.
Player Overview

For his age, Osimhen is already a physical specimen, blessed with a good pace and a diverse set to finish. The youngster is also powerful in the air and prefers to play short passes.

But to measure his true potential, it is essential to look at how Osimhen performed for Lille last season.

During the 2019/20 campaign, Les Dogues preferred a 4-4-2 formation with Gabriel and Jose Fonte, forming a very commanding center back pairing with Domagoj Bradaric and Zeki Celik placed on either flank.

In midfield, they fielded Renato Sanches, Jonathan Bamba, Benjamin Andre, and Jonathan Ikone. Upfront, the explosive partnership of Osimhen and Loic Remy wreaked havoc until Ligue 1 activity for wrapped up earlier than expected due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in France.

As this analysis delves deeper into the subject, you will see how Osimhen’s fluidity allows him to be more than just a striker.


Victor Osimhen Heat Map
As this heat map suggests, Osimhen comes to life in the final third. The red area represents the most active areas on the pitch.

However, the yellow heat signatures shed light on another key attribute the Nigerian boasts. The young striker might be very active in the final third, but he also tends to go to the right side of the field, which allows him to link up with his teammates and add an extra element to the team’s offensive setup.

By tiptoeing closer to the touchline, Osimhen creates more space for himself while also causing serious disruption in the opposition defense. That makes it difficult for any team to man-mark the striker throughout the game.

But why is it that Osimhen likes staying closer to the opposition full-back?

This particular tendency can be attributed to the player’s intelligence since he seems to be someone who chooses his battles carefully. By competing with a full back, Osimhen will always have a better chance of winning a physical duel. Moreover, his great acceleration means that the 21-year-old manages to get on the ball faster than most.

His acceleration is one of the reasons why a majority of Lille’s attacks were made either through the center or via the right-wing.

How would Osimhen fit in at Napoli?

The 2019/20 campaign was a mostly forgetful one for Napoli. In the early stages, the team struggled to put any consistency in their displays. This resulted in manager Carlo Ancelotti getting the boot. Gennaro Gattuso replaced his former manager in Milan.

Gattuso would go for a 4-3-3 formation for his side. The backline boasted the talents of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Nikola Maksimovic, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Elseid Hysaj. Diego Demme occupied the holding midfield role, with Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz just in front of him.

The team’s top scorer, Arkadiusz Milik (who may leave soon to Roma), was at the tip of the attack with the likes of Lorenzo Insigne (left) and Jose Callejon (right) on his either side. Dries Mertens also played as a center forward during the previous season.

But at the start of the season, Napoli played a relatively straightforward 4-4-2 formation where Milik and Mertens interchanged their roles as center forwards. The Belgian played as a false nine quite a bit.


Napoli Squad.
After seeing Osimhen showcasing his true qualities in a 4-4-2 formation, Gattuso might be forced to rethink how he wants the team to be laid out.

A 4-4-2 formation with Osimhen in the starting lineup will see the Nigerian move out sweeping towards the right-wing, which would naturally lead to more possession. Furthermore, Osimhen’s ability to drift down the flanks and drift inside when there’s space would allow the team to orchestrate a lot of attacks from that side.

Last season, most of Napoli’s attacks came from the left side. Insigne was under a lot of pressure to play out of his skin, but now that Osimhen is here, Napoli should look more flexible in the final third.

Osimhen’s attributes

Standing at 1.85 m, Osimhen is a physical specimen and is equally very athletic. Throw in his technical ability and tactical intelligence, and you have a striker who is going to be a success.

For his height, Osimhen is very agile and has excellent balance while running with the ball as well. His physique makes it challenging to shrug him off the ball, especially when he’s shielding or dribbling. Rapid change of direction further makes it difficult for the defender to win the ball.

The youngster is an exceptionally accomplished player when it comes to aerial ability. A good core and body strength allows him to generate near-perfect velocity to make vertical leaps when needed.


Osimhen offers Napoli various attacking options.
All these attributes, including his strong reading of different situations, positioning, and off the ball movement, make Osimhen a tough player to mark.

Osimhen’s aerial ability was on full display in Ligue 1 last season, where he averaged 10.82 aerial duels per game and boasted a 41.4% win rate. This percentage is a very good one because usually, defenders don’t allow even the most physically gifted football players to win headers off of them.

Playing his as a striker at Napoli would help since it would allow the Napoli backline and midfield to throw long balls his way and expect the Nigerian to hold his own in contrast to Mertens, who is understandably not a dominant aerial presence.

However, Osimhen still needs to improve in this particular aspect because Napoli players Fernando Llorente (85%) and Milik (46%) are two of the best headers in the Serie A.

Osimhen, however, compensates this with a good pressing ability, boasting 5.4 successful pressures per 90 minutes – more than Milik (4.2).

A speed merchant?

When we talk about Osimhen, any debate would be incomplete and pointless if we do not speak about his pace.

Due to his raw power and explosiveness, Osimhen can showcase regular bursts of accelerations regularly and use it to devastating effect in short-range battles/runs.

However, it is during counter-attacking moves where Osimhen’s pace stands out since he always seems to have a better chance of winning races against defenders when a ball is sent into space. Fabian Ruiz, in particular, would be drooling at the prospect of linking up with Osimhen.

Imagine the Spaniard picking out the perfect space for an attacking move to develop and Osimhen’s raw pace giving him the chance to leave a full back licking the dust off of his boots.


Osimhen’s first goal came just after 59 seconds.
Ball control – a learning trait?

The young Nigerian seems to be very comfortable when receiving the ball, and his touches are rarely heavy. However, but when his first touch is a poor one, the youngster can use his pace to make up for it.

For strikers who prefer to play down the flanks, they need to have the ability to get out of tight spaces. Here is where dribbling skills come into play. Unlike Mertens or Insigne, Osimhen’s dribbling skills are okay but enough for him to hold his own when he’s isolated.

But in all honesty, the youngster’s dribbling skills are pretty one dimensional, and you would mostly see him knock the ball to one side or try running through the defender.

Perhaps this is why the youngster rarely gets to be in one on one situations and prefers to play as a target man.

Mostly when he receives the ball, Osimhen tries to lay it off to a teammate as soon as possible. This particular attribute also showcases that the player isn’t that great when it comes to holding up play. But at the same time, his predisposition to release the ball quickly allows the following scenarios to unfold:

Quickly change the direction of the play.
Allowing himself to use his off the ball movement to get in a better area to receive the ball
Osimhen is not keen to go for dribbles and averaged only 0.56 per 90 minutes last season.

Moreover, he isn’t the best passer of the ball either. To shine at Napoli, the youngster would need to improve his distribution. Boasting only 0.22 passes per 90 minutes inside the penalty box, Osimhen has some work to do.

Lethal finisher

Despite not being the best dribbler or the passer of the ball, Osimhen pays his dues by being a monster when it comes to finishing.

While you cannot classify him as ambidextrous, Osimhen is comfortable finishing with either foot. Due to power and an excellent shooting technique, the Super Eagle’s star can go for full and accurate shooting regularly.

Victor is a clinical striker who is a cold-hearted finisher.


Victor Osimhen scores a hattrick in his first game for Napoli
Off the ball movement

The most crucial attribute that will make Osimhen a success in Italy would be his off the ball movement and intelligent positioning. While his lethal finishing cannot be discounted, the Nigerian’s ability to read scenarios as they unfold allows him to be at the right place at the right moment.

When the team is defending, the 21-year-old will stay high up the pitch, waiting for his team to win back possession so that he is in a perfect position to make himself available. By placing himself in the half-space, Osimhen helps out his teammates to pick him up.

Throughout his career, the youngster has made a habit of running in behind defenders, operating in half-spaces, and using his pace to add more value to the team’s attacking output.

Conclusion

At the age of 21, Victor Osimhen is perhaps one of the most exciting young strikers in the game today. While he may not be the most excellent dribbler of the ball and isn’t great at distribution, Osimhen’s finishing, positioning, aerial ability, and pace make him one of the deadliest young strikers in the game today.

After scoring 14 goals in his debut season for a young side in France, Osimhen is likely to develop further at a Napoli side that is in transition but is seemingly making the right moves this summer.

charlee it's ok. everything na banter. you win you troll us you lose we troll normal stuffs. nothing to be bitter or triggered over

Noisyrians:
We all know it a typical nigerian attitude now. Bring other people down (ridicule other countries) so you can feel good about yourself. And that is bad. Very bad attitude

there are certain angles you will look at him and think he doesn't look that bad but won't lie when I first saw him he looked mature for his age. anyway whatever his true age as long as he plays well for club and country what's my business? he's sha not coming to play u17 or u20 for us

tbaba1234:
He does look old but if those pics shared by supernerd are correct. He is not.

awon age checkers association tun ti de

ok will have to take your word for it regarding his crossing. what I liked from watching him is his speed. in addition to kingsley we now have two speedy fullbacks men i'm just rubbing my hands in glee cos Rohr now has some serious offensive weapons at his disposal

TheSuperNerd:
Those video comps didn't do him justice at all. He had made better crosses than those shown in the videos. I saw several of his games last season.

And yeah, I have seen the story. His rise is truly phenomenal. Four years in Portugal and he is now at the Biggest and best team in the land. And to crown it all, the lad is truly young. I have pics of Zaidu from 2017 which you can compare to now.


Attacking wise, he is most definitely an upgrade and he is super faster compared to Collins. Defensively, he will need to keep improving but the signs are good as I saw a couple of his last games where his defending really stepped up compared to the early parts of the season.

he's a real offensive weapon. like Supernerd said his pace and power would help our wingers whether Simon or Musa on that left side. crossing looks average but can get better from the videos i watched.

with him in the team i don't think Simon would have to worry about tracking back to defend all the time especially when facing lesser opposition. Zaidu from the looks of it will be the most offensive minded of all our full backs even more than Aina.

Danielnino00:
That would make sense...
But how good is Zaidu offensively?
His crossing in particular?

If we decide to make our wingers do more defensive duties just to complement the full backs,then our attack from wings will be limited..
We saw that at the AFCON when Simon constantly had to track back to defend...

he's very fast instincts are always to attack. Goodjoe will love him since he is always harping on how the SE should play more on the front foot i think Zaidu offers that. he needs to work on the quality of his crosses from the videos i saw of him on YouTube. i think he would flourish well in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 setup as a LWB.

from an attacking stand point he looks an upgrade on Collins but don't know how good he's defensively. would need to watch him in action before coming to a comprehensive conclusion on him.

here's a nice interview by the way he had with Mowiz of owngoal nigeria. Wish Sanusi all the best

https://www.owngoalnigeria.com/2020/08/31/fc-porto-new-signing-zaidu-sanusi-how-the-farmer-from-kebbi-state-fought-all-including-juju-to-get-to-the-top/

TheSuperNerd:
His Crossing is one of his finest strengths. He will only get better in that.

Yes, he is very attack-minded and even played at LW sometimes when his team's Left Winger was out on the sidelines. His deputy at LB filled in for him in that period at LB while he played LW. But when the main LW returned, the Clara coach swiftly returned Zaidu to his LB spot and the lad continued from where he stopped.

chop knuckle better person

COYG!

obaaderemi:
Congratulations to all gooners. Two trophies in quick succession. Next season, who can stop arsenal from taking the Premiership?
#arsenalonfire

big Ndidi fan but would he fit into Arsenal's pattern?

daveP:
Martinez it is

AMN Says he going nowhere

I think no midfielder coming in this time.

Elneny shows that. Not cos of his play, but cos Partey may no be sure.

Lets take Ndidi abeg. Nobody coming for him is verrrrrry strange to me. Haba

shout out to all the Gunners in the house. Hope you are all doing well.

Congrats everyone on yesterday's win big boost ahead of the season. Impressed by the shape and discipline of the players. Fitness still needs a little bit of work but i'm happy with the way Arteta has instilled grit and determination in the boys.

Quality wise we still need reinforcement in the midfield. Cebellos (if he returns) and El neny look good squad options but we definitely need a main creative spark especially with the current Ozil Situation (really hope someone Mikel and Mesut can resolve issues. DM is also still an issue hopefully Partey can be bought very soon.

We also need to find more goal scoring options because it's looking like last season again where our hopes sink or swim depending on if Aubameyang is firing on the day.

My expectations for this season based on Arteta's technical ability is that we should be able to challenge for the top 4. However realistically speaking the spuds and Man u have better squads man for man that said with Arteta's guidance i think we can nick the last UCL spot with a bit of good fortune. Europa league i think should be the main target. let's just see how the season pans out.

COYG!

Edopesin:
What's your definition of tough?
Asides the EPL, More goals/match were scored in the Seria A than any other league in the top 5. meaning it would be basically harder to score in the Ligue 1 than it would be to score in Seria A

Like I said I have high expectations from him and 22 goals is realistic

if Victor can get 15 league goals I'll be satisfied. anything extra will be a pleasant bonus.

TheSuperNerd:
Corriere Dello Sport, Italy on Osimhen after his preseason debut showing of 3 Goals + 3 Assists

"Just the time to admire the overflowing power, the speed, the feline progression, the flashes of technique. He presented himself in the best possible way: a gazelle and a panther, more simply a talented striker full of potential that he will obviously have to confirm in the league and in Europe. But the conditions are super."


The physique is defined as beastial:

"Long stride and explosive muscles. A deadly weapon on the counterattack and also in the cuts and insertions. And then he sees and hears the door and has variety of play. Napoli have got their hands on a diamond to be polished, maybe a little rough but still shiny".




Note: Osimhen had another goal disallowed. Would have been four.

great tune up game. good goals to boost his confidence and help him settle in faster.

happy that he's already building a good camaderie with his team mates. from his team initiation to the way he celebrated with his colleagues when he scored its clear he's gradually getting the trust of his team mates and building understanding.

for someone who hasn't played football for months glad to see he didn't look off the pace in comparison to the other Napoli players. By the time pre-season is finished Victor should be fully Match fit.

Obviously you cannot read much into the match because of the nature of the opposition and friendly conditions but his movement and alertness in front of goal it's definitely encouraging

Danielnino00:
There's a deeper meaning to that comment..
IYKWIM

lol we all know the player the comment is about. once said player struggles a bit you will hear talk of you can't use pre-season goals to judge true form bla bla bla. lol just free am na him way

I'm speechless 2020 strikes again. may God comfort his family

birth certificate yes are a definitive proof of age but other ways of corroborating a players true age can be employed.

Mikel Obi we know when he was involved with the pepsi academy so putting 2 and 2 together we can say he's around the age he claims even if you don't believe him.

same for the u17 players we produced since 2013 because of the mandatory mri scans they have undergone awaziem falls into this category.

this your constant talk about our lack of honesty and integrity gives the impression their are no honest people around which I think is a bit unfair. everyone in the world always finds a way to game the system so this pontification as if we're the worst in the world is over flogged. is football age cheating still a challenge in Nigeria? yes. has the situation improved? yes maybe not as much as we want it to but there is progress and we shouldn't rest on our oars until the system is sanitized to a reasonable degree

komekn:
That is not what I said in the bold.

Let me reiterate, because there is automatic birth date capture and no official independent corroboration of age in Nigeria.

You rely entirely on the integrity of individuals.

This is country where honesty, integrity and truth are not the best policy.

A country where at secondary school level we have exam cheating with high level WAEC officials implicated.

So I accept anybody official age whether I believe it is another matter. But in the end age is academic, we should concentrate on outstanding perfomance in the HERE and NOW.

lol @ relegation hopefuls this season is a make or break one for Nwakali. he either sinks or swims.

will we know for sure if he's worth the hype he's been getting.

the national team is daily adding more players in the midfield position. if Nwakali fails to click and grab his opportunity now then no be swear I don't see how he will break into the SE in the near future. hope i'm proved wrong about him.

charlesemeka85:
rohr have spoken with ejaria which propelled the kid to apply for change of allegiance from fifa

nwakali last showed promise 4 or 5 years ago and since then he is yet to do anything tangible after leaving the shores of africa while ejaria slowly worked hard to get where he is today atleast as a first team player in a championship side.

i can only listen to your sentiments when nwakali proves me wrong by becoming a hit in laliga or atleast makes 10-15 starts in the colors of relegation hopefuls huesca.

even younger michael olise is gradually making a name for himself in the championship while your acclaimed midfield maestro nwakali is yet to make a statement in 3 different leagues he has played since leaving for europe.

you may continue waiting for nwakali to reach his full potentials while players like eze,ejaria,onomah,frank onyeka,aribo,olise etc are improving every season in their respective clubs and tipped to make the leap to the super eagles in no distant time if they continue with their progression.

IDENNAA:
As of 2003 to 2005 Taye Taiwo's transfer from Lobi Stars to Enyimba FC broke record as one of the costliest transfer in the NPFL.

taiye taiwo enyimba? dude what are you talking about? tt went straight from lobi to Olympic Marseille in 2005

oh Lord imagine if it were rohr or some other nigerian coach who did what southgate did today we won't have heard the last of it. "bias" "corrution" "egunje" "tribaism" blah blah blah

tglobal:
In the manner of certain monikers on this thread, this inexplicable selection must be because of "egunje" or nepotism. Oh wait, it's not Nigeria, so the coach must have his reasons.....

if you know, you know

ok like you said time will tell

andrewbaba44:
Dennis is not attracting offers because he scored brace against Madrid alone ,Dennis is attracting offers because he has been good

So ejuke playing in Russia means the end ? The last time I checked a player joined psg from the Russian league and played in yesterday final and also played in the semi finals and the one purchased from the better epl was benched ,ejuke going to Russia is not the end okay

Ejuke might have a better career than some players playing in the top league ,you never can tell

see now dennis is attracting offers i'm sure because of his brace against R.Madrid at the bernabau in the UCL but we're not even sure he is better than ejuke. yet he it looks like he's going to a highly rated club in one of the top 5 european leagues but ejuke is headed to russia

andrewbaba44:
Make e go where e go play

Napoli inter e no go play

Atlanta na 50/50

Ndidi sef it's with comma.

Danielnino00:
@bolded... You are in that boat alone..

The only current Nigerian player that has been tagged world class is Ndidi!

exactly my point. if he won a WC or UCL you would definitely have watched him play and know if he's really world class but somebody born today in 20 years time if you say sterling was world class will ask you who you're talking about

andrewbaba44:
I didn’t watch Mario Jardel ,but he got the world class stats

if for example ejuke drops 5 goals 3 assists in russia to kalu who say drops 2 goals 1 assist in france knowing rohr samuel would likely get the call up. ejuke would have to drop very good stats to attract Gernot's attention if he goes to russia.

Russia might have a better status but Belgium enjoys a better reputation when it comes to buying players from their league

andrewbaba44:
I will call an ejuke who will score goals and assist than a Samuel kalu with poor stats playing in the French league

Did I hear you say Dennis ,what yeye status of league ? When did the belgian league become better than the Russian league ?

currently yes but if both of them end their careers without winning those big trophies there will always be an * beside their name. i can make an exception for league championships won but that will not stop some one in 2050 with no sense of football history posting on the future equivalent of whatever social media that they were local champions.

For instance if I say Mario Jardel was world class some people might laugh me to scorn even though his numbers in Portuguese league were crazy

andrewbaba44:
Nobody will doubt Raheem sterling or de bruyne credentials without any of them winning the ucl or World Cup

nobody is saying you have to win everything but if you're a world class player and you can't win any of UCL, WC or your continental trophy i would seriously doubt your credentials.

andrewbaba44:
You can be world class without winning things close to what Coman has won ,to make it worst Coman is not a world class player self