joseph1013: [b][size=14pt]SIASIA INSISTS TEAM STILL FIRED UP, OFF TO BRAZIL THIS AFTERNOON[/size]
Nigeria Olympic coach Samson Siasia has remained defiant his team will not be demoralised by the several cancellations of their departure from their training base in Atlanta, Georgia, with assurances the team will now fly out this afternoon.
The team’s departure from their training base in Atlanta has been called off four times with the last cancellation being on Wednesday after the team were ordered back from the airport when it was discovered the chartered plane was too small.
“The boys are determined (despite these setbacks). We went to Senegal to conquer Africa under very difficult circumstances,” maintained Siasia.
Officials around the Nigeria Olympic team assured the 35-man squad will finally fly out of Atlanta for Brazil this afternoon to arrive at their venue for their opening match against Japan barely hours before the big kick-off.
“Everything has been resolved after much networking and talking and the team will now fly out 8am Atlanta time, which is about 1pm Nigerian time,” said one of the officials.
They will fly directly to Manaus on a chartered flight with flight time estimated at eight hours.
African champions Nigeria begin their Rio Olympics campaign against Japan by 2am on Friday in Nigeria.
8 hrs journey, departure time 1 pm Nigeria time, arrival time 9 pm Nigeria time, game starts 2am Nigeria time......hmmmm......anyway all I can say is all the best to them.....
Nigeria paraded a highly rated squad of some of the then young emerging players.Some players from that squad(as far as i can remember): Sam Okwaraji, Emeka Eziugo, David Ngodiga among others. Coming fresh from a 4-0 defeat suffered at Chile '87 WYC, we all applauded as Nigeria was drawing 0-0 at half time more so as we were d better side!
The Brazilian coach made 2 substitutions at half time and the rest is history. Romario and Bebeto tore into shreads our defense exposing David Ngodiga and we conceded 4 goals!
I wept!
Best moments: Atlanta 1996: Brazil 3-4 Nigeria.
It was the semi final match.
Nigeria featured a highly talented and experienced squad. It was like a complete super Eagles team without Rufai, Finidi, Iroha, Keshi & Eguavoen( the later 3 names were already rounding up their careers).
Imagine a team that had Amuneke, Amokachi, Oliseh, Kanu, Babayaro, Ikpeba, Taribo, Okocha, Okparaku and Okechukwu, In one starting 11 line-up!
Brazil had Bebeto, Ronaldo De Lima, Cafu, Ze Roberto, Roberto Carlos, Joninho, Dida among others.
Brazil led 3-1 at half time. Our only goal was even an own goal credited to Babayaro. Okocha blew away a penalty in 2nd half. Ikpeba pulled a goal back to make it 3-2. And at the stroke of 90mins Kanu worked his wonder and scored a kind of goal even Messi and Ronaldo of today would nt b calm enough to score.
A counter attack in the first half of Extra -time ended it as Kanu volleyed the ball into d net off from a through pass from Victor Ikpeba.
I wept for joy & jumped down from d balcony of a storey building to celebrate with my friends who were already setting the streets alight with the song "Ose, Ose o, Ose o, Ose Baba!".
We won d final bt d joy was nothing like the semi final win over Brazil.
Guys lets hear ur experiences. Dnt mind me, I am old school. No matter how old or recent it is, lets share.
cc: TheGooJoe, Tbaba1234, Joseph1013, safarigirl, Bascovanveli, confun, lakesidepapa, forgiveness, other forumites too
I can't forget that Atlanta 1996 oga icon, my father who never wanted us to watch football had to jump up dt night, the game was played In the midnight, we all woke up to watch d match, by the time Brazil was trashing us, my father chased all of us to go sleep, he said we are just disturbing ourselves, Nigeria has committed so many sins, Nigeria cannot win the match, those were his words, we felt so unhappy while we went to sleep, bt trust us, sleep no gree come o, suddenly we heard d shout of "goallll", the sound was buzzing, infact all of us......even my dad jumped up, it was kanu's goal making it 3-3, our eyes were clearly awake for the extra half.....o noo......those were great football moments........I wonder when we will have greater moments than dt.
Nigeria paraded a highly rated squad of some of the then young emerging players.Some players from that squad(as far as i can remember): Sam Okwaraji, Emeka Eziugo, David Ngodiga among others. Coming fresh from a 4-0 defeat suffered at Chile '87 WYC, we all applauded as Nigeria was drawing 0-0 at half time more so as we were d better side!
The Brazilian coach made 2 substitutions at half time and the rest is history. Romario and Bebeto tore into shreads our defense exposing David Ngodiga and we conceded 4 goals!
I wept!
Best moments: Atlanta 1996: Brazil 3-4 Nigeria.
It was the semi final match.
Nigeria featured a highly talented and experienced squad. It was like a complete super Eagles team without Rufai, Finidi, Iroha, Keshi & Eguavoen( the later 3 names were already rounding up their careers).
Imagine a team that had Amuneke, Amokachi, Oliseh, Kanu, Babayaro, Ikpeba, Taribo, Okocha, Okparaku and Okechukwu, In one starting 11 line-up!
Brazil had Bebeto, Ronaldo De Lima, Cafu, Ze Roberto, Roberto Carlos, Joninho, Dida among others.
Brazil led 3-1 at half time. Our only goal was even an own goal credited to Babayaro. Okocha blew away a penalty in 2nd half. Ikpeba pulled a goal back to make it 3-2. And at the stroke of 90mins Kanu worked his wonder and scored a kind of goal even Messi and Ronaldo of today would nt b calm enough to score.
A counter attack in the first half of Extra -time ended it as Kanu volleyed the ball into d net off from a through pass from Victor Ikpeba.
I wept for joy & jumped down from d balcony of a storey building to celebrate with my friends who were already setting the streets alight with the song "Ose, Ose o, Ose o, Ose Baba!".
We won d final bt d joy was nothing like the semi final win over Brazil.
Guys lets hear ur experiences. Dnt mind me, I am old school. No matter how old or recent it is, lets share.
cc: TheGooJoe, Tbaba1234, Joseph1013, safarigirl, Bascovanveli, confun, lakesidepapa, forgiveness, other forumites too
I can't forget that Atlanta 1996 oga icon, my father who never wanted us to watch football had to jump up dt night, the game was played In the midnight, we all woke up to watch d match, by the time Brazil was trashing us, my father chased all of us to go sleep, he said we are just disturbing ourselves, Nigeria has committed so many sins, Nigeria cannot win the match, those were his words, we felt so unhappy while we went to sleep, bt trust us, sleep no gree come o, suddenly we heard d shout of "goallll", the sound was buzzing, infact all of us......even my dad jumped up, it was kanu's goal making it 3-3, our eyes were clearly awake for the extra time.....o noo......those were great football moments........I wonder when we will have greater moments than dt.
This is all crap talk. You know nothing about the MRI test or how it's done or when it's done..... displaying your ignorance is very polluting indeed.
joseph1013: thegoodjoe, safarigirl, I told you the day will come when some id.iots will spew this nonsense about Isaac Success.
don't mind dem my brother, I hate to comment on this type of thread but those of us who have been following up d team from the UAE U17 days obviously know better, I wish d OP could present one of his pix during d U17 days......so many enemies of progress, dey can't even celebrate our own fellow nigerian....Issac, go and make us proud abeg, good luck to u bro.
safarigirl: @thegoodjoe and joseph1013, make Una drop that yeye United matter, if none of our players are in United, why are they a topic of discussion?
Anyway, Iheanacho got to model City's new kit.....i hear that's a major achievement...he was also given the podium to speak to City fans at their rally
Meanwhile, Kelechi has met Pep. Hopefully, this will be the start of something beautiful and great for both men. I know you can't see Pep, but I think he's smiling
Cc thesupernerd, icon4s, tbaba1234, confun, lakesidepapa, terzurum5, forgiveness
joseph1013: [b][size=14pt]ISAAC SUCCESS TO BE UNVEILED BY WATFORD[/size]
Isaac Success is set to be unveiled as a Watford player after Granada announced his departure from the club.
Success has been linked with the likes of Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but will put pen to paper on a deal at Vicarage Road as has been expected, owing to the club’s relationship with Granada, where he is currently on an international loan from Udinese.
The Nigerian penned a farewell letter on the Spanish club's website this afternoon, and they have confirmed Watford is expected to be his next destination for what could be a club-record free.
A price of between €9million to €11m has been touted for the Nigeria Under-20 forward, which the Watford Observer understand is broadly accurate.
His transfer has been speculated for some time and become more protracted throughout the summer, and last week it was suggested a move to Watford was imminent.
Success has been comfortable playing on either side of a front three or as an out-and-out striker during his time in Spain, and scored five goals in 30 games in La Liga last season.
The move was first mooted before the end of the season when Success' agent said he would turn down interest from Atletico Madrid and Valencia to sign for the Hornets.
Napoleon55: There is nothing left in our team anymore to look up to,the new terrorist group we heralded to b unleashed in Rio is far from been realistic anymore, Yet there is still one grip of hope still hanging on the air for some of us to cling on to. There is this strange thing that seems to work in favor of Nigeria teams,that anytime they r completely written off in any competition is when they will spring surprises n perform creditably well. So is still hope,not all hope is lost
I believe in my country, I also av a grip of hope to hold on to bt with a strong shock absorber, in case my hope is dashed, I won't be shattered.......
vlco: Thank you for taking out time to reply, the doctor did not look at the result extensively because i did not do the test in his clinic. He suggested earlier that i should do it but I was advised wrongly to go somewhere since his treatment was not yielding result after doing x-ray and paying huge amount for drugs and consultation. I was deceived also at the lab where i did the test.
I prefer referring cases like ds to a cardiologist, probably d doc couldn't interpret the ECG, y not request to see a cardiologist, or u can get to LUTH as someone has advised.
TheSuperNerd: You are certainly not alone in this thought.... I am struggling to keep my excitement for Rio 2016 burning coz of Siasia's "idiosyncratic God-knows-what" and his purposeful purposelessness.....
Meanwhile, Madam Confun.... You are yet to reply to my comment. I can come around to Gbagada soon. I don't mind at all.
I will love to meet my "Senior Colleague" in the world of medicine.
lol.....OK.....I'll send a PM to you, but for the Olympics, am so so pessimistic.
Siasia confirmed to news sources in Nigeria that Watford have denied Nigeria’s request to have Ighalo as one of the over age players at the Rio 2016 Olympics and they are doubts over the availability of Chelsea’s Obi Mikel.
The defence of the Nigeria U-23s is one area where the coach still has issues and even though he has extended invitations to William Troost Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo, he believed the experience of Efe Ambrose could come handy for Nigeria at the Olympic.
Efe Ambrose is yet to be informed by the coaching crew but sources close to the team camp exclusively revealed to Owngoalnigeria.com that the Beijing 2008 silver medalist is indeed under consideration following Igahlo’s withdrawal.
However Celtic under new manager Brendan Rodgers could prevent the 27 year old from going to the Olympics because pending on how far Nigeria go at the tournament he could miss their Champions League qualifiers and the start of the league in Scotland.
Already he has joined his teammates in pre season training under new manager Rodgers whom he will be eager to impress after losing his spot in the team last season under coach Ronny Delia. *Ahmed Ishaya owngoalnigeria.com/2016/06/24/exclusive-efe-ambrose-favoured-to-replace-ighalo-in-nigeria-rio-2016-olympic-team/
[/b]
ambrose.....chai....I don't think we need ds guy.....
BREAKING: GRANADA ISACC SUCCESS AGRESS FIVE YEAR DEAL WITH WATFORD
It is all but confirmed that Isacc Sucess won’t be playing for La-Liga side Granada next season after reaching an agreement to join English Premiership side Watford on a five year deal.
Athletico Madrid and West Ham were also linked with the forward but Watford beat the duo to the signing of the in demand forward after a ground breaking meeting which took place between the player’s agent and the hierarchy of the Premiership side.
Owngoalnigeria.com gathered that his agent Alfredo Fernandez held talks with Watford where terms of the initial deal proposed to 20 year were improved by the club before an agreement was reached.
Success will be annouced as a Watford player as early as next week, a big step up for the 20 year old who was once upon a time rated highly than Manchester City teen star Kelechi Iheanacho during their time together with the Nigeria U-17s.
Comfortable as a top striker he can also play from the wings and last season was his most prolific in front of goal with six goals to his name from 30 games for Granada where he has been since 2013.
He will team up with fellow Nigerian Odion Ighalo at Vicarage Road although they could miss the start of the season in England as they are reports the duo are set to be included in Nigeria’s team to the Rio 2016 Olympics.
I have seen the type if destruction girls can do to men. Look at Balotelli for instance...the CR7 you speak of, which woman is he following? CR7 is smart. Do you know his bay mama? Do you think the girls that hang around him enjoy his money?
Having a bevy of ladies whose names you don't remember the next morning is not the same as having one constant presence....especially the one that apparently, is just another opportunist.
Women can be dangerous. Women, gambling and alcohol, one or more of tthese three things destroy most men.
If you see what I see on Snapchat, you would be pissed as well
pls I need to see what you saw, kindly post it pls
TheGoodJoe: From one of my Old Post after Coach Keshi lost his Super Eagles coaching job.
[b] Thank you Coach Keshi for your hard work. The new stars you discovered for the country and the home based lads you exposed and gave them hope for a better life.
Coach Keshi and his crew are heroes. I will never forget them.
The Super Eagles draw against Catalonia. Nice goal by Bright Dike. The Super Eagles success in defeating Cote d'Ivoire at AFCON. The demolition of Mali at the AFCON. The Triumph over Burkina Faso and the win of the AFCON. Mikel's lovely goal against Uruguay at the Confederations cup. Mikel's dominating performance against Spain. Mikel's nomination for the African Player Of The Year.
The turn around performance of the Super Eagles in the CHAN game against Morocco. The equalising goal by Uzoenyi against Morroco at the CHAN. A lovely curling goal. The winning goal by Ibrahim Abubakar. The dance after the goal was funny and memorable.
Nigeria's World Cup Qualification winning game. The way people of Calabar ran to the section of the VIP crew to Celebrate with the Governor of the Cross River state - Gov. Liyel Imoke.
The draw against Italy. The man of the match performance of Shola Ameobi. One assist and A Lovely goal by Shola Ameobi after receiving an amazing cross from Benjamin Francis.
The defeat of Bosnia at the World Cup. A Nice slot in by Osaze and a last minute foot save by Enyeama, stopping Dzeko's chance of a last minute equaliser. The brace of Ahmed Musa against Argentina.
Finally the brace and goals from Ahmed Musa against Sudan. The lovely goal from Aaron Samuel. Despite all the criticism of bringing a player from the Chinese league, showed Aaron Samuel had quality.
Miss you Da Big Boss and his crew.[/b]
hmmmm, I feel sad......despite the negativities sourounding him when he was coach, the NFF was a burden for him, yet he still achieved many things......big boss....,we will surely miss you.....
A top official of the Nigeria U-23 side has said that four key players are in danger of losing their places in the team ahead of the Olympic Games in August, following coach Samson Siasia’s disappointment at their performances. Nigeria lost two matches and nicked a final win at the Suwon four-nation invitational that ended on Monday as part of preparations for Rio 2016 which kicks off in less than two months. The culprits of Siasia’s wrath are central defender Erhun Obanor, fullback Stanley Amuzie, striker Taiwo Awoniyi and goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel. The four players may have played their last game for the Olympic team unless they can find their form in the next series of test games. Siasia was saddened by the 6-2 defeat to Denmark in the second game that he has vowed to weed out unproductive players in the team. He confessed that he was very disappointed with the performance of the players. “Siasia is not happy that a player like Taiwo Awoniyi has failed to live up to expectations by not converting the numerous chances that came his way despite his potentials,” an official toldGoal . “He is considering dropping him for a more prolific striker unless he bounces back to scoring goals. That is if he considers him for the other friendly games any way. “The chief coach is also unhappy with the form of goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel, the team’s first choice in goal and he has told him to sit up or be shipped out. “He is also not happy that Obanor has not seized the opportunity left by injured Segun Oduduwa to lay claim to the central defence position while Stanley Amuzie who he had so much hope in has been given a final warning. “Siasia told Amuzie that if he refuses to sit up other players from Europe will take his position. “It was a heart to heart and very blunt meeting Siasia had with members of the team after the team’s 3-1 victory over Honduras in their last match at the Suwon Tournament. “He told the players bluntly that the Olympic Football Tournament is not a child’s play and any player who is not ready should go back to where they came from,” the official concluded. Siasia has less than two months to put together a team capable of reaching the final in Rio de Janeiro to match the feat of his last team at the Beijing 2008 games.
if Taiwo will not sit up abeg trow the guy out of camp. we have beter strikers
I didn't watch d match but I thot pp said d goal keeper made some saves....was he bad in d tournament?