₦airaland Forum

you also saw the part where i agreed with you that individuals solely don't make a team. yes we all know that nigeria vs cameroon is like a derby match which no matter the form or quality of teams can go either way but doesn't mean one is being blindly patriotic by saying nigeria has better players. barcelona has better players than athletico madrid but that doesn't mean the game won't be tight.

it was in 2008 AFCON not 2006 that kalou dribbled our defenders even in 2006 both teams were equally matched talent wise

irrefragable:
you saw where I stated that even if Cameroon hadn't qualified from the group stage they will still be a tough nut to crack.

Now let me tell you, 2006 afcon Nigeria had more quality players than Ivory Coast but we lost to them. Kalou broke into our defense dribbled about 4 defenders and scored.

2013 afcon Ivory Coast had more quality players but Nigeria defeated them. So what does that tell you........

You must know that Cameroon might get defeated by all the teams in the world but once they see Nigeria that's when they remember that they do have a pride to protect, that's when they come out with all the power and determination they can muster in the world. It has happened before, it will happen again.
That game is 50-50

goldfish80:
They are many names oh... From the home front we can start with Okocha.

Okocha won 1994 AFCON Na! Plus Okocha being world class is debatable please give me more credible names

goldfish80:
I know, but he didn't win any league title or champions league.
My point is that main players have won more than Totti but they are not in the same class as Totti. The guy is a football god.

That is why I mentioned Club or country you might be unlucky not to win something with your Club and win with your country and vice versa but no self-respecting world-class player would lose out on both if not name one world-class player who has not won neither a club or national team trophy

goldfish80:
I agree with this but no 4 is a no.
A player like Totti never won the champions league or Seria A but it would be hard for me to name my top 5 best player over the past 20 years without mentioning Francesco Totti. Dude is a top top player. Proper legend.

Totti won a world cup

to be fair that optimism is not totally misplaced. man for man as at this present moment nigeria has better players than cameroon in most positions based on the prestige of the clubs our players are in right now but yes individual talent maketh not a team that said if senegal had been more clinical in front of goal we won't be having this conversation

irrefragable:
I don't have the time to argue football with anyone because most times you don't achieve anything and it usually leads to insult. An average Nigerian's idea of world class is just a bit above average in the world stage that's why we hype our own too much here.

A lot of you are already tipping Nigeria to get an upper hand in the two - game encounter with Cameroon just like you did against Egypt in the nations cup qualifier. Let me tell you that game is a 50-50 chance which could swing either way even if Cameroon hadn't qualified from the group stage in the AFCON.

I followed this thread earlier and i saw some people write off Cameroon from getting to the final of the tournament. I LAUGHED. there is no way you could write off any of Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria as not being favorite to lift the afcon anytime even if their players are playing with half-leg. It's like writing off Brazil in the world Cup or writing off sevilla in the uefa cup. All I'm saying is some teams do feel it's their birthright to win the trophy in a particular tournament and it's stupid to write off that team even if you feel they are weak.

So what I'm saying is 1. MIKEL IS NOT WORLD CLASS (PERHARPS ALMOST) 2.THE GAME NIG VS CAM IS 50-50(NO FAVOURITE, COULD SWING EITHER WAY)

All in all, like i said i don't argue football nothing good ever comes out of it and this is just my opinion. Everybody is welcome to his /her own opinion.

my able doc! you know you are my guy but on this mikel note i will have to say let's agree to disagree and leave it like that

TheSuperNerd:
Mikel sticks all these boxes... Thank you so much Sir Chrisooblog.

kante world class? not 100% sure have to see him play more for france and dominate in champions league before i can make up my mind about him but i don't think he's far off

edi287:
He was great, but not as good as Kante was. Kante was practical 2 players in one. It's no coincidence Leicester is flopping without him.

my criteria for being world class:

1. be an exceptional performer in your role which all and sundry will acknowledge (not just club fans and country men)

2. personal awards won (best goalkeeper, top scorer, team of tournament etc)

3. churning out consistent good sometimes great performances over a long period of time for club and country

4. trophies won club or country

now if a player ticks all the boxes in the above mentioned criteria then i would consider him world class

hi joebie well come to the house hope you would drop by often to help make this thread more lively and informative. read your views during the mikel debate i share your views about mikel's place in the scheme of things world football wise but no doubt as far as nigerian football is concerned he's an absolute legend. if in his early years he had played under a coach who would have groomed him properly i have no doubts he would have turned into a world class CM but instead he jammed mourinho who didn't have the time and patience to work on him turning mikel into an above average DM.

Congrats to Cameroon they lived up to their name indomitable happy they won because all our eyes don clear say we are facing formidable opponents. i'm quietly confident that we will get something positive out of our 2 matches against cameroon. rohr's attitude and comments so far regarding the lions shows he appreciates the task at hand. yes 5 months is a long time for cameroon to lose their team cohesion but the confeds will still help them gel further so we have to prepare and get ready like we are facing world champions. that approach saw us through against algeria and will God willing see us overcome the cameroonians.

bros as in! was surprised that some of our posters were backing them. cameroon sef as much as they have cost us major heart ache in the past still show us respect but our bredas? mbanu dem must to make mouth even though them never win trophy since obama dey toast michelle wetin i dey talk sef michael jackson still dey reason him career by that time sef. i'm sure that loud mouth from yesterday is feeling very foolish now.

Icon4s:
Well, Andre did that again.

TheGoodJoe, its like you dnt know these Ghanaians. If they had won this AFCON u would have seen how they would have trooped here and start insulting Nigerians, from our Government to our populace and to our players. They would want to rubbish this thread.

Ghana was my second favorite team, after Nigeria. I stopped supporting them after the prolonged battles at kick-off Nigeria and Kick-off Ghana. When the sites were closed down we trooped down to nairaland and the bashing continued . Although I had always been on nairaland even before joining Kickoff.
I know their monikers very well. I dnt want to give any mention here. The way that guy was throwing insults yesterday here shows they have still not grown up.

I am glad Ghana is out period.

Icon4s:
TheSuperNerd abeg borrow me that your gun.

oga icon please ignore the irrelevant one he is just seeking attention. he is still suffering from the ill effects of the accumulated toxic dust of their trophy cabinet. abeg let's discuss better things

true this is a massive move for bassey i pray he makes full use of this opportunity. even if he ends up playing for a spanish 2nd division club when it's all said and done it will still be miles better than playing for enyimba at the moment

TheGoodJoe:

What about the multitude of kids that played for Barcelona and later, went to clubs and did well. At the moment, Grimaldo who left Barca B is attracting huge interests from different clubs. His buy out clause is a fortune. Players like Jordi Alba, Diego Capel, Sergio Garcia and Nolito made it from Barca B. Unless you feel staying at Enyimba is a better option.

actually we have won it 3 times while the last time you won black and white tvs were still in vogue a little humility goes a long way

PetroDolla3:
You people are pathetic! Ghana no gree pessimism hear word,huh? You've forgotten Ghana has won the title 4 times already, compared with a miserable two for your pathetic country? Nonsense! And who gives a fvcking who you prefer or who you don't prefer. Ghana will win the trophy, if it the will of God. All of you Nigerians can pray for Ghana to lose, we don'T give a fvck!

you are so right under pep kelechi has lost a bit of that hold up play and passing acumen but his pace has improved tremendously dude is now really fast

TheGoodJoe:

I doubt you have watched Iheanacho closely. He is insanely fast. You are trying to make him look slow.

Where you should hinge your point which I will wholeheartedly agree with you is on the ball speed. Iheanacho does not like making runs with the ball. He is more of an off the ball player. Off the ball, Iheanacho is insanely fast. However, Sane, Sterling and Gabriel Jesus like to make runs with the ball.

i agree with you that kelechi needs to change clubs now that it seems pep doesn't fancy him but i don't believe the trio of sane gabriel jesus and especially sterling are so much better than iheanacho. alot of us still forget that this is kelechi's second season as a full fledged professional player these other guys have had years of exposure and experience so i think its a big plus to iheanacho that he's done so much in so little time. looking at sane yes he's very good but what has he done in football that has surpassed kelechi? had a good season with schakle last term was called into the german national team for the euros in france didn't feature much so achievement wise nothing earth shattering, sterling decent player did ok at liverpool but like most english players a product of hype hasn't done much in the national team and truth be told hasn't set the world alight in man city just benefiting from prolonged playing time due to his huge transfer fee as for gabriel well he might turn out to be a very good footballer but if he is still the one i watched play in the olympics for brazil that neymar dragged to the gold medal then i comment my reserve. but pep na one kind pesin sha someone sacrificed personal chance to go to olympics and shine instead stayed to under go your special ''drills'' you pushed to the curb yet the one wey no learn special ''drills'' wey go olympics expose himself pep come hug am say yes you are the chosen one. hmmm ok o

komekn:
I didnt say Kelechi is not good, the operative word is COMPARATIVELY.
to other players I mentioned.

Raheem was younger than Kelechi when he lead the line as the lone striker for Liverpool with considerable success. Then he got his big pay out transfer to City.

Statistics don't always tell the full story, Bolasie doesn't have great stats but drives the whole team forward.

You can see just like at Bayern Guardiola wants to use pace. Pace isn't everything but matched with technical ability it becomes devastating.

Currently Raheem, Gabriel and Sane have some lightning pace. It's not that Kelechi is slow just that these guys are much faster. Then compare what they have done in thier respective clubs and on the international scene and Kelechi is definitely not on par with them. Kelechi will get there but not in my opinion very fast, if he stays at City.

Then consider the investment they have made on these players and Kelechi's fee is mere pennies.

Finally even the much respected Aguero with all his pedigree may find things not so easy. Therfore if Aguero can be left out. Kelechi really can't complain or other on this forum about discriminatory practice where Kelechi is concerned.

thanks meant to type his name slipped my mind

TheSuperNerd:
Yeah... That was Dino Zoff....

remember the goalkeeping department is one of least tasking roles on the pitch. italian legend and world cup winner kept keeping until his 40s and this in an era when not many people were bothered about sport nutrition but kudos to el-hadary 45 years no be beans

TheSuperNerd:
Nope... Apart from the genetic side to his story, nothing more. Just Dedication to exercises and staying off junks, fatty and sugary foods. Do you how many calories are found in Butter, cheese and even ice cream?? Hadary obviously stays off desserts altogether.

It is miraculous because you are seeing the full fruits of dedication and discipline plus the extreme heights of professionalism in the sport. If you wanna last long and stay active, you must super consistently mind what your body houses and takes in....

Another name for Miracle in Hadary's case is "Effort"

Maybe you should google Jack la Lanne... And you'll understand me.

great to see k nwakali improving in leaps and bounds. if he stays on this trajectory he might be rewarded with a call up against the south africans for the afcon qualifiers. what about his brother how is he doing in norway? hope he improves too

TheSuperNerd:
Is wonderkid Kelechi Nwakali Arsenal's next
Nigerian superstar?




https://i2.wp.com/metrouk2.files./2016/09/599846974.jpg


18-year-old Kelechi Nwakali was signed by Arsenal in the summer from Diamond Football Academy in Nigeria before being loaned out to Dutch Second division League side MVV Maastricht.

Nwakali comes with some pedigree and hype
following a starring performance in the 2015 U-17 World Cup, where he captained Nigeria to the title, winning the Golden Ball in the process.

A move to the Netherlands was seen as the ideal fit for Nwakali due to work permit regulations and the proviso that he would get first-team football in a competitive league.

Maastricht, a team who Arsenal also loaned
defender Stefan O’Connor to, haven’t been in the top league of the Netherlands since 2000 and were eager to snatch a player the calibre of
Nwakali to assist in their push for promotion.

Nwakali plays with a languid style that belies his endeavour and ability. It took a couple of months before he fully embedded himself into
Maastricht’s team but now serves as a focal point, floating in off the right, and adds a grace to the team it would otherwise lack.

Not one to typically break beyond the attack, he trails the play and has the ability to beat a player and release the ball quickly, opening up space for his fellow attackers.

His ability to step up his speed of play has led to him winning several penalties over the last few months and was evident in the – sole – goal he has scored, against FC De Graafschap.

There, he ended up the lead point of a counter
attack but didn’t panic where other young
players might, instead turning the last defender
in and out before deftly finishing through the
goalkeeper’s legs.

This goal is indicative of the type of player Nwakali is, a youngster with great ability but also a confidence and composure that allows him to influence a game in flashes.

He has been utilised in a few different positions by manager Ron Elsen who has looked to bring the promise of the flashes of brilliance into a more consistent player.

Maastricht, a team built around combative centre forward Thomas Verheydt, have flipped between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 depending on the game circumstance and despite a few appearances centrally, it is generally on the right where Nwakali has flourished.

Given the remit to float into the space between
the lines, he has shown the ability to quickly turn a game.

Now a first-choice player for a team that currently lies 3rd in the Eerste Divisie, Nwakali has built a solid foundation for his first professional season and will look to continue to find consistency as he looks to help his team gain promotion.


As one of the youngest players in the league, he has already taken great strides to a potentially bright future, both in Holland and for Arsenal.


Source: http://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/players/wonderkid-kelechi-nwakali-arsenals-next-12519566

joseph1013:
There will be plenty time to discuss hometown, ancestry and progenitors once we complete this transaction. We have to stay on topic fess.

oga forgiveness you have come again o how is leon balogun a sentimental choice? a regular for mainz and our best defender for now. i thought ebuehi was primarily a RB and was just a makeshift LB? anyhow if he will give echejiele good competition then no wahala. ighalo has already been dropped long time ago by rohr. i like ideye too in your initial team line up but sentiments aside iheanacho conversion rate for super eagles is better

forgiveness:
Well, it's good we have many options for our team. Unlike before we had problems with quantity and quality players.

However, we should choose players based on current form because it will increase competition.


If I have to choose my first 11, I will drop some players in your list.


................................ Ikeme.............


...... Idowu ....... Ekong...... Otigba ....... Ebuehi

..................... Ndidi
................................... Etebor

.
Iwobi.................... Mikel.............. Victor

........................ Ideye

These are the ones playing regularly and in form.


But if we want to select based on sentiment then..



........................... Ikeme

.... Idowu..... Ekong...... Balogun...... Echiejile


................. Onazi
................................... Etebor

... Simon............ Mikel............ Victor


........................ Ighalo

yes we are all waiting but i don't see how i'm putting the cart before the horse by saying we are a top 5 african team when the evidence on ground backs me up?

Lazyerudite:
For me, I will wait for the true test and judge then, I know they will get better but I will not put the cart before the horse

south africa lately always raise their game against the big boys us, cameroon, senegal, burkina faso etc but let them face gambia, sierra leone, congo etc normal service will resume. they are just benefiting from the fact that most of their players are based in SA so it stands to reason that they will have time to blend, perfect and easily understand each other. think about it why is it when it comes to AFCON tournaments when the big teams have enough time to train and blend with each other they deal with teams such as south africa, gabon, uganda, zimbabwe who rely on team work?

goldfish80:
You just nitpicked some points I raised to form a general conclusion which is unfair.
If you read my post holistically, you have noticed I tried to eliminate officiating and judge the teams on balance of play.

Against Burkina Faso, they dominated Burkina for long periods till somehow the home team rallied to pull an undeserved draw.
Against Senegal, it was the same story. They out played Senegal based on the balance of play. If you actually watched that game, I challenge you to say otherwise.

Finally, you have to understand the strength of a league reflects on the national team. Especially for a country whose national team depends on their league for players.
When Ahly nationale were rulling Africa, Egypt dominated the AFCON for 3 editions. DRC have dominated the champions league with TP Mazembe and they have 2 CHANs to show for it. Their national team is one of the best in Africa at the moment. Same can be said about South Africa. There's a relationship between the league and the national team.
It's easy to call out Ingurland but people don't usually point out Germany, Spain, France, Argentina, and the likes who have a good league and a solid national team.

People may laugh it off when I say this, but had Christian Chukwu blended in more Enyimba players in his Afcon squad of 2004 and 2006,we would have won the those editons easily.

i'm saying even in missing 2 back to back AFCON one cannot conclude our team is not there without looking at extenuating circumstances. cameroon failed to qualify for 2012 and 2013 AFCON but qualified comfortably for the world cup in brazil. yes our team is still growing but at this moment we match up favourably against the best on the continent if and when this generation of players reach their potential we will be talking of them matching if not surpassing our 90s golden generation

Lazyerudite:
My point has not been one but missing two in tow says a lot. Our time will come, until then let's not put pressure on a growing team.

i feel man for man ghana has slightly better players than egypt. the only thing going for the egyptians is that the coach plays them to their strength which is defensive counter attacking play

Icon4s:
Good analysis. Except I would replace Ghana with Egypt.

@lazyerudite i think you are underestimating the current strength of the super eagles. yes we failed to qualify for this year's AFCON but like icon said we were slightly unlucky against the egyptians a last minute loss of concentration cost us a win in kaduna. mind you these same egyptians beat a highly fancied ghana in the WC qualifiers. yes congo and sudan beat us but you didn't add that we later rallied to defeat them. don't let failure to qualify for AFCON be the main determinant of our team's level remember we didn't qualify for the 2012 edition but went on to win the next one

interesting question let me take a shot at it.

1. NIGERIA
currently we have very exciting young players doing great things in top clubs in europe. right now we are in dominating form in the qualifiers rohr has so far moulded our individual talents into a very team and our rise in FIFA rankings indicate this change in fortune with continued good coaching and seriousness on the part of our players we would make a great african representative.

2. SENEGAL
team filled with great emerging talents all over europe with sheer ability they would beat most on the continent. i'm not yet 100% convinced the senegalese have a coach who can harness their talent to play to their full potential yes they are doing well in the AFCON but their world cup qualifying campaign hasn't been quite smooth. i feel with excellent coaching they will be formidable opponents.

3. GHANA
in terms of talent they are not as formidable as they were a couple of years ago but they are still a threat. they have a good coach who uses tactics wired to their strengths. doing well so far in AFCON were unusually sloppy in their preparations for the world cup qualifiers hence their poor start.

4. DR CONGO
these guys have been knocking on the door for some years now have some exciting players an ambitious coach things are really looking up for the congolese been great in the world cup qualifiers AFCON campaign hasn't been too shabby either seems the glory days of congolese football are gradually coming back.

5. IVORY COAST
most of their golden generation of players are now retired but make no mistakes they are still a dangerous team started their qualifying campaign for the world cup on a decent note though AFCON has been shaky. still a great african team.

for the rest of the top 10 cameroon is a bit depleted talent wise, algeria need a good strong coach to handle the ego of their players, egypt few outstanding players but very disciplined and dangerous, tunisia just there above average, burkina faso have potential just need belief and more confidence

Icon4s:
TOP FIVE TEAMS IN AFRICA.

I was discussing with a friend a while ago and he said this AFCON is boring - A view I countered anyway but that is not what this write up is all about.

He further said this AFCON has also pointed out that Africa does not deserve the additional slots being award for the future expanded world cup, which I also countered. I told him that African Power houses are almost at par. That the additional countries from Africa would not in anyway diminish the standard because of the parity I earlier mentioned.

I gave him a simple test by listing the top 10 African footballing nations presently. And that irrespective of FIFA ranking, based on his understanding of the game in Africa, he should chose the best 5 footballing nations based on current form.

I tell you, after picking his first 2 he became confused and started analyzing who the other 3 should be.

See the list of top 10 African teams I gave him in no particular order:

Nigeria
Ghana
Cameroun
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Algeria
Egypt
Tunisia
Morocco
DR Congo

I want to throw it open to the house, forget about FIFA ranking. Using your knowledge of African football and knowing the capabilities of these individual nations can u list the best 5 teams presently in Africa? If you don't agree with my top 10 you can also list yours.

cc: All parliamentarians here.

SUPPPPEEEERRRRNNNEEEEERRRRDDDD! great to have you back our able Doc

TheSuperNerd:
Sir "legend" Tbaba1234, Sir "Arch guardian" Icon4s, Sir Chrisooblog, Sir Lakedsidepapa, Sir Mickael2, Sir BascoVanVeli, Sir Goldfish80, Sir Terzurum5, Sir Orkepekyandega, Sir Kingphillip, Sir Forgiveness (does he still give anyone trouble?) , Sir "Elder" Kog45 (oga ehn... That 1984 revelation still dey my mind... Chaiii...), Madam Confun, Sir Tglobal, Sir Chriskels, Sir Blackalbino6, Sir Komekn, Sir ... Who again? **scratches head**

Note: pls bear with me as I typed these names entirely offhand... Without pausing for reference to any thing...

Oh yes... Sir BigBlangston... (Always on my case)

I wonder where Sir Maastricht is.... Hmmm...



Anyway.... Happy new year to you all.... Yes it is bloody late but I can't just return to the house without saying hello for the year...

God bless y'all

actually support enyimba and have a soft spot for ''up sooting'' but as a proud ijebu man guess i will have to support remo stars as well

DMeanMan:
Proudly Remo Stars



This goes to Seun, Lalasticlala, the other mods here on Nairaland and Our very many Bloggers. Let us play our part and talk week in week out about out stars, results, League standings, Rumors, right about anything to create that agitation and excitement on the part of we readers and well meaning Nigerians.

Our league can directly engage (or employ) tens of thousand of youths. Let's jointly take it upon ourselves to make that happen.

Let's make the NPFL great again.

did you read what the op wrote before posting the pictures he said brake failure caused the accident you are mentioning bad roads.

loomer:
With bad roads, I still no understand how people dey drive over 50-60km/h for naija.

any news about osimhen and musa yahaya? hearing good reviews about mikel agu think he deserves an invite against senegal to prove himself

good day all special shout out to goodjoe and his power\manual drill that kelechi has to work when no be say the poor boy na carpenter. jokes aside i'm also concerned with the way iheanacho has been gradually sidelined from the team. for some reason pep doesn't trust him so much to make mistakes and grow into a game unlike sterling, aguero and co. for a guy who has scored 6 goals in all competitions so far this season i think a little bit of trust and patience on pep's part is not too much to ask for as for kelechi he should shine his eye o and do the needful to help himself it's his career that's on the line if for what whatever reason pep is no more keen on him he should seek a move elsewhere after all it's not caste in stone that to succeed in football you must work with guardiola. that's why in as much as i think wenger is past it i admire the way he works with youngsters in this case our iwobi. he gives you good playing time to prove yourself and grow in confidence. if you lose form he still sticks with you if that doesn't change then all and sundry will see you deserve to be benched

Nice