₦airaland Forum

@akinalabi
Italy has won the world cup 4 times and have only won the euros once, and by the way, the spain that you are talking about didn't they beat the same italy that won the world cup just 2 years ago, or what of Germany that got to the World Cup finals in 2002 and couldn't even make it out of the Group stages of Euro 2004?

In other news today David Trezeguet just quit international football because of Monsieur Domenech, what a shame, another waste of talent.

Yep, they would never win anything under him.

This is unbelievable, i thought that the Nigerian FA was horrible and now i can say that the French Football Federation (FFF) can match them. How could they not have fired the guy, my only logical reason is this, the man used some other worldly power (you know what i mean) heck,he is an astrologer and an atheist, or he probably has some pictures of Escalettes (FFF supremo) in some uncompromising situations. Either way, Monsieur Domenech is probably the luckiest man on the face of the earth, the man had the audacity to propose to his fiancee on national television during a press conference after being kicked out of the Euros, he even had the audacity to blame there demise on the weather and the refrees (wonders shall never end). To make matters worse, the man is known for selecting players based on astrology as seen in his refusal to select Robert Pires for the national team because he says he doesn't trust players born under the sign of scorpio (can you imagine?). To compound on his eccentricities (being a theatre fanatic is not among them), he refused to select Ludovic Giuly because there was a rumor that the player had an affair with with Domenech's girlfriend (Giuly said he only exchanged one text message), and let's not talk about his boring and negative tactics or the exclusion of Bacary Sagna, Trezeguet, Phillipe Mexes (he said the guy is too arrogant), Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini, Hatem Ben Arfa or worse of all including the walking disaster they refer to as Jean Alain Boumsong in the national team. May God help France (oh i forgot, they are atheists)

Oliver Kahn hands down.

obviously you know nothing about football mr. kevinpur8 by putting the error prone, calamitious, one man disaster called Roberto Abbondanzieri. If you think i am lying go watch Getafe vs. Bayern Munich again, then see what i am talking about. You might just nominate Paul Robinson then, to make matters worse, you even put Kasper Scheimichel there of all people, this is a man who wasn't even on the starting line up of his team. Also, Petr Cech showed us that he is not invincible, the man did not have a great season this year at all and the blunder against Turkey summed it all up. By the way, why isn't Oliver Kahn on this list, the man had the best season of any European goalkeeper this season and yet nobody is talking about him because he didn't play in the EPL or the Champs league.

@tosinadeda
He "chickened out" because he doesn't want to end up like Cassius Clay and have Parkinson's disease, the man has made so much ridiculous money that its no use fighting again.

@mr lai lai
Let's get one thing straight, nobody and i mean nobody is in boxing for the love of the game, even the great Winky Wright said it. Everybody is in it for the money and that's why Sugar Ray Robinson, Julio Chavez, Joe Louis and the others kept on fighting past there expiry date.

@itu baba
Any team can beat any team anyday, the big question is what is the possibility, remember that even 5% chance is still a probability.

That's the problem with a lot of Nigerians, we read a lot of hand me down stories about athletes who have been immortalized by the press and we simply take it whole heartedly and believe it desperately without being open minded. Muhammed Ali has been immortalized by the press and Hollywood simply because he was a media darling for his big mouth and TV personality that's why everybody has bought into the hype that he was the greatest of all time, meanwhile someone like Pretty Boy Floyd who has not translated the sport of boxing to become a cultural icon is now being put down. Pretty Boy Floyd lost to NOBODY while fighting great opponents, he beat everybody they gave him unlike Ali, who lost 6 (SIX ) times.

In response to ritchboy,
What i just said applies C. Ronaldo also, right from when we've been young we have been told that Pele is the GOAT without questioning it. We sincerely hold this truths in our hearts like religion and saying anything else would simply be blasphemy despite the fact that none of us ever EVER watched the guy play (documentary's don't count because anybody could look good in a documentary). Well my friend i can honestly tell you this that if Pele played today, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand would put him there back pockets. Yes, the man scored over a thousand goals but who wouldn't if they were playing in the united states football league in the 70's, i am sure i would have scored at least 30 goals in one season ha ha ha. Also, there is the myth that the man won 3 world cups despite the fact that he only played in the finals in '58 and only played in there opening game of '62. If C.Ronaldo played in the same era with Pele, trust me we wouldn't even be be arguing about this, its like comparing George Best to C. Ronaldo.

did you guys read my posts

the person who posted that picture must truly admire themselves.

@poster
Please don't bring your americanization to naija, that country is a country built on debt and they are suffering it now. Like someone said, wait till you get the money then buy it yourself.

@redhotchic
Why did you post this? it is is truly disturbing, you've succeeded in damping my mood and traumatising me.

why would she ever want to be a Nigerian abeg tell am to live in Mushin for a day or go to states like Bayelsa, or kebbi, zamfara, katsina, yola, adamawa, maiduguri, then let's see if she still wants to be a Nigerian.

wonderful wonderful, wonders shall never end in Nigeria he he he.

ha ha ha ha ha ha,      chai chai chai Nigerians una go kill me for laughter, i was reading this in the computer lab and was almost crying with laughter, they truly need to fire those THIS DAY journalists, its as if they hire any body this days, no wonder i blame the university system especially the department of english and journalism. Any way it was good for comic relief he he he. Chai, Nigerians please don't make me laugh myself to death abeg o     

@nedra

i think the only european team nigeria can defeat will be MALTA OR TROY

You are clown TROY does not exist anymore since well , 2000 BC ha ha ha.

Because USA managed to draw 0-0 with Spain before the Euros or 1-1 with Argentina does that mean that the US is still good enough to beat them in a major tournament? Definitely and absolutely not.

viva espana.

more pictures http://www.elmundo.es/eurocopa/2008/albumes/2008/06/29/celebraciones_aficion/index_1.html

@akinalabi
You said that the Turkey was boring!!! are you serious scoring two goals within a space of the last 20 seconds of extra time? let's see Cameroun do that.

The UEFA technical committee just named Xavi Hernandez as the player of the tournament but for me, i believe its the indefatigable Marcos Senna and the irrepressible Andres Iniesta and they should both be number 1 and 2 european players of the year. But just for reminders because someone had a great competition does not make them world class, its there overall body of work (including club football) in terms of consistency that matters. Just for reminders, there have been many mediocre players who had people buzzing after one good tournament and turned out to be nothing more just like Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci (Italia '90) and Oleg Salenko (USA '94) and there have been many world class players that haven't exceeded expectations in the world stage like the Luca Toni's, Del Piero's and Thierry Henry's et al.

so for those trying to pick the future stars i suggest you read this.

VIENNA, Austria -- OK, so I've tried my best. I've held my tongue throughout this tournament. But, the fact is, I've had it. I've had enough of people telling me that Miroslav Klose and Karim Benzema are overrated donkeys because they haven't had a good Euro 2008. Or that David Villa is now the best striker in Europe (heck, he's not even the best striker on his national team). Or that Andrei Arshavin is the second coming of Zinedine Zidane.

I know that judgments are by their very nature subjective. Fine, I accept that. And I can also see how the European Championship is, together with the Champions League, the pinnacle of the sport (at least in the Old World). But you have to be a complete idiot to pass summary judgments on a few weeks' worth of matches in June.

Take Benzema. OK, so he only featured in two games and -- apart from a vicious strike against Italy which was well-saved by Gigi Buffon -- he did little shine. An idiot concludes that he's just another anonymous player. A scout looks at him, notices his touch, his strength, his pace, his balance, his athleticism and concludes that, yes, he's actually pretty good. Probably better in fact than, say, Roman Pavlyuchenko who has been drawing rave reviews.

There's a difference between playing badly and being a bad player. Pavlyuchenko has had a good tournament. Benzema has not. A good scout can tell you that. But what if you're not a scout? What if you don't spend your life watching soccer? Well, you can still use a modicum of common sense. Do the tiniest bit of research and you'll see that Benzema had an exceptional season for Lyon and that he did so at a very young age. And, when making up your mind about the player, take into account what he has actually achieved (not 10 years ago, but two months ago).

Arshavin is another fine example of this. Until Zenit St. Petersburg's run to the UEFA Cup, I would bet my left eye that 90 percent of mainstream fans outside of Russia had never even heard of the guy. Now, all of a sudden, he has a monster four months on the big stage and supposedly Barcelona and Arsenal are ready to break the bank to sign him. Oh, and, according to some, he's Zidane minus the monk's haircut.

Watch Arshavin in person and you can see a guy with a deft touch, good range of passing and excellent mobility. Plus, a keen understanding of the game. Great. But the fact remains that, apart from the Bayern Munich semifinal in the UEFA Cup and the quarterfinal against Holland, he hasn't really faced quality opposition (he will against Spain, of course). Can we please reserve judgment before comparing him to Zidane?

The point here is that everything gets magnified in big tournaments and big matches because the world is watching. Fine. And I accept that it takes a special player to do it on the big stage. But there is also such a thing as having the game (or Euros) of your life, no? Four years ago, Milan Baros had an exceptional Euro 2004. Some were ready to put him in a class with Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho. Don't they look stupid now?

Can we not have a tiny bit of appreciation for luck, happenstance, being-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time, whatever you want to call it? Can we not look beyond performance and, instead, evaluate characteristics? Who's fast, who's slow, who's gifted, who's not, who's bright, who makes poor decisions, etc.

One of the most respected talent evaluators in the game once told me how to judge a player.

"First, don't watch him on television, because anyone can look good on television," he said. "Second, ask around and get as much information about him from people who see him regularly. Over time, you'll learn which people's judgments to trust and which people's opinions to ignore. Third, watch him in person as many times as you can.

"Fourth, try to watch him when he's having a bad game. The way his teammates react to him playing badly is often the single most important indicator of whether or not they trust him. And, remember, his teammates will know him best. Fifth, look for tangible qualities like speed, strength, technique and tactical intelligence. Those will always be there, no matter how badly someone is performing [provided they're fit, of course] and no matter the quality of the opposition."

Words to live by. Words to consider when making summary judgments on players at competitions like this one. Otherwise you may find yourself looking like a fool faster than you can say Salvatore Schillaci or Oleg Salenko.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/gabriele_marcotti/06/26/euro/index.html

ahhhh!!! i can't believe this, i am just soooooo incredibly stunned, i just don't know what to think right now.

chai, i feeeeeeeeeeeel soooooooooooo incredibly sorry for him and his country, what a shame, my fellow Nigerians, let's keep praying for that country named Zimbabwe. Don't worry mr. Benji, nothing is permanent, one day mugabe would die just like Lamidi Adedibu and things would eventually get better.

wow , wonders shall never end. They should sue the school for unlawful dismissal.

@poster

one word, NOTHING!!!

this is soooooooooooooo on point. That's why they don't want to let Cristiano Ronaldo go because they would be finished.

Finally, an athlete who thinks wisely.

King Kanu for President.

Yepa!!! The group of Death is dead.

jose Bosingwa (Cape Verde)

19 ke who are they fooling

oyinye,
Yes its possible to spread meningitis through french kissing, i can't believe you are a med student, here the school health center warns us about the prevention of meningitis and they also tell us the causes of which French kissing is among them. French kissing is soooooooooooo disgusting  and like i said earlier is just an exchange of body fluids (in this case, saliva) and that's how the bacteria that causes it spreads through it, heck even AIDS spread through MouthAction and cunninglingus (don't ask me what they mean). Also, meningitis kills much faster than AIDS, i think it kills you within 3 days, if you like go and check it. So my fellow Nigerians, don't be fooled by yanki movies abeg.

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY TURKS!!! Those Cardiac kids have done it again. They never cease to amaze me, they never seem to do things the easy way, they have to wait till they are down, and then score in the last minute, abeg o make una no give me cardiac arrest. When you think this guys are down, they turn up and surprise you, credit Fatih Terim for being a great motivator and for being flexible in his tactics, now he has his team in the semis. God bless that country for giving such wonderful entertainment, i know they don't have the same talent as the class of '02 with Hasan sas, Alpay Ozalan and that guy that had the mohawk (can't seem to remember his name) but they do have the heart.

mr. jackal and everybody else
Did you guys see what the Cardiac kids (The Turkish team) did yesterday, or did you watch today's holland game. Tell me if you have ever seen anything like that in the world cup or if Iran or Angola is capable of that, like i said earlier in this post, this is a game of superior coaching and sublime football. This is also a game where your weaknesses get easily magnified like the Russians did to the Dutch today, i doubt if Nigeria or Uruguay would have been able to expose those weaknesses. In this competition, there is simply no room for mistakes.