₦airaland Forum

Humility017:
Tammy will likely scale through...not until they get a new and fire brand Caucasian scoring from all angles....

but for Tomori... I just laugh.
he made a silly mistake....he may likely regret because Chelsea may end up loaning him....
Eze is threading same path...the best time to play for Nigeria and enjoy it...is when the country officials and coach come calling....

anything after that...you're on your own....

should we get Ovie and he prove so good...in an AM role.... forget Eze
many Nigerians and Rohr will ignore him... and then he'll be the one crying for attention after which may be too late....

Eze is a better 10 than Ejaria in my opinion. Ejaria is a b2b midfielder like Aribo. I don't think he's creative enough... Skillful, strong, great ball carrier but not as creative as Eze.
Unless Rohr is planning on switching to a 4-3-3, we need both.

Ademola Lookman keeps World Cup options open as he waits on England
RB Leipzig’s forward discusses his ‘serious decision’ for 2022, who he turns to in tough times and listening to Denzel Washington
When Ademola Lookman has felt in need of reassurance – and there have been a few such occasions over the years – he calls up two men who know him better than almost anyone.

Des and Felix coached him from the ages of 11 to 16, during an extended teeth-cutting process playing Sunday league football for Waterloo FC, and beyond that he has counted both as “mentors” for as long as he can remember. If uncertainty began to take root during those teenage years they would put him straight immediately, keeping his focus trained on the dream that had always consumed him.

“I wanted to be playing in an academy and, as time went on, I was thinking: ‘Time’s catching up, when’s it going to happen?’” he says. “Sometimes I’d be like: ‘Maybe it won’t work out for me.’ And they’d quickly go: ‘What are you talking about? God’s given you this talent for a reason, don’t ever give up on it.’

In defence of RB Leipzig
“Them reminding me what I have is always refreshing. Even if there’s that second of doubt where you’re saying, ‘I’m not too sure’, they’re always like: ‘No, no, no, we didn’t start off [playing football] to doubt ourselves, we do it properly, we do it because we back ourselves no matter what the situation is.’”

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It is a sentiment that comes to mind now because this is not the easiest of times. Lookman has just come inside from an hour and a half’s training with RB Leipzig and, make no mistake, he has looked the part out there. In an 11-a-side match crammed into two-thirds of a pitch and containing its fair share of hard knocks, he has scored a couple of sharp finishes and to the naked eye has responded well to Julian Nagelsmann’s constant demands for “intensität”. But on a match day, when it really matters, Lookman has had only 201 minutes all season. Leipzig, a point off the Bundesliga summit, are flying but on a personal level the move he sought for more than a year has yet to catch light.

“This time around it’s definitely different,” says Lookman, whose loan from Everton in the second half of 2017-18 brought five goals, a series of sparkling performances and a clamour for his return. “The first time it was like a leap of faith, but this time it’s more like ‘go’ time. The club has changed, the team is stronger – a lot stronger – and there’s a new coach, so it’s something I have to adapt to.”

It was, he says, a “no-brainer” to come back in July when the clubs finally agreed a fee. Last season it had been hard, initially, to get over the disappointment when Everton rejected two offers. “At the beginning it was,” he says. “But then thinking of that was hurting me. If I was thinking, ‘I wish I was there’ then I’d be like, ‘How’s that going to help my situation now?’” He knuckled down and received some reassurances from Marco Silva but a breakthrough never really came. Only three starts in the league ensued and he admits it was hard, at times, to wonder what was going wrong when those ahead of him were hardly firing on all cylinders.

That was another situation in which Des and Felix, who stopped him going “off-topic”, proved invaluable. Their advice appears to work because Lookman, for all the stop-start nature of his career to date, hardly seems low on confidence. He talks fondly and at length about Waterloo, a club set up two decades ago to provide a supportive and inclusive community for youngsters in disadvantaged parts of Lambeth and Southwark, but in the same breath as recalling the leaf-strewn, bobbly, sloped pitch of his youth he is unhesitant in stating: “This is my stage now.”

Ademola Lookman in action against Schalke this season.
Ademola Lookman in action against Schalke this season. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy
The players who came through at Waterloo were “a bunch of brothers”, he remembers. “We were a top team. Dead serious. All should be playing at a top level; all 16 of us, including the subs, were good enough. Some of them are now in uni or working and some of them are playing football part-time.”

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He was picked up by Charlton after a trial game in 2013, reaching the first team within a little over two years. Looking back he wonders whether his truncated formal football education has held him back in some way. “Yes and no. There are some things I’d love to have learned. Tactically there are things I’m not too sure about and I’d definitely have learned that inside an academy. But there was never a time when I wasn’t getting coached. I was playing with my friends and that was cool.”

Much of Lookman’s conversation is lighthearted, peppered with little asides that underscore his confidence in things coming good. Nagelsmann, the prodigious 32-year-old coach, has told him “to play with freedom” and encouraged him to back his ability. “If I have to think about what I’m going to do I don’t do it well,” he says. “When I’m instinctive I do things off the cuff and it just comes naturally.”

There is some thinking to do, though, where his international future is concerned. A senior England call looks far off, even though he seemed primed for that when he shone in the Under-20 World Cup win two years ago, and Nigeria – his parents’ homeland – remains an option. The England setup keep in occasional contact but he knows he has “a serious decision” to make with the 2022 World Cup in mind. “I’ve not changed my mind [on wanting to represent England] but I’m open and it’s good to have different opportunities,” he says. In three years’ time he will be “not at my peak but good, very good” – that self-belief again – and it is something he wants to demonstrate in Qatar.

Ademola Lookman celebrates with the trophy and England teammates after winning the Under-20 World Cup in 2017.
Ademola Lookman celebrates with the trophy and England teammates after winning the Under-20 World Cup in 2017. Photograph: Alex Morton/FIFA via Getty Images
By then he will hope to have proved his worth at Leipzig. Life under Nagelsmann has meant adapting to a possession-based style that informed onlookers say is as complex as any they have seen. After a long pause he agrees he has never quite worked in conditions like these but the winter break is coming and the expectation is he will receive far more game time from January.

During those weeks off he will develop himself off the pitch too: when he is alone in his apartment he reads assiduously and enjoys watching speeches and lectures by people who inspire him, with Denzel Washington a current favourite.

“I just like to learn about different people,” he says. “Even if I watch something 10 times, every time I’ll learn something different, take it and use it.”

The relative quiet of Leipzig sits well with Lookman. Despite the frustration of the last five months he is certain he is in the right place, even if young English players have not always taken easily to a continental setting.

“Yeah, it’s happened,” he says. “But in my case it was successful first time, and this time it will be even more successful.”

Source - The Guardian.

1. Nigerian Player of the Year:
- Wilfred Ndidi

2. NPFL player of the Year:
- Ifeanyi Anaemena


3. Most Impactful New Inclusion (2019):
- Joe Ayodele-Aribo


4. Best Ogedengbe Super Eagles Best Goal Keeper of the Year:
- Daniel Akpeyi


5. Stephen Keshi Best Defender of the Year:
- William Troost-Ekong


6. Samuel Okwaraji Best Midfielder of the Year:
- Wilfred Ndidi


7. Rashidi Yekini Best Attacking player of the Year:
- Odion Ighalo


8. Most improved player (2019):
- Ola Aina


9. Young Player of the Year (U-21):
- Samuel Chukwueze

10. Best performing Foreign born Prospect of the year:
-Eberechi Ezeh


11. Super Falcons Player of the Year:
- Chiamaka Nnadozie


12. Super Eagles Goal of the Year:
- Paul Onuachu vs Egypt (Friendly)


13. Best assist of the Year:
- Aina for Ighalo vs Burundi (2019 AFCON)


14. National Team of the Year:
- The Super Eagles

CC: Tbaba1234, Safarigirl, Komekn, Bascovanveli, TheSuperNerd, Andrewbaba44, forgiveness, Icon4s.

Abusule007:
Rohr Disagrees With Pinnick On Ebere Eze, Switch Target To Ovie Ejaria

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr isn’t on the same page with the president of the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) Amaju Pinnick on the need to lure QPR midfielder Ebere Eze to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

While Pinnick is keen on having Eze play for the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of England where he is now a player of their U-21 team same can’t be said about Rohr who isn’t entirely convinced by the ability of the 20 year old.

Rohr instead has his sight on Ovie Ejaria, the former Nigeria U17 trainee who is on loan to English Championship side Reading from UEFA Champions League defending champions Liverpool, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

According to findings by our editorial team, the coach has already established contact with the 20 year old who he feels will add something different to the Super Eagles midfield unlike Eze who tends to go missing without the ball.

Ejaria has been scouted by the coach and talks will be held with the forward after the busy festive period in England although it is believed that Ejaria who won the 2017 Under-20 World Cup with England is keen on switching allegiance to Nigeria.

Source: OGN

Both Ejaria and Eze would be solid additions to the team. Let's get Ejaria now and worry about Eze later.

safarigirl:
who said he will get an invite ahead of Lukaku and Origi? Una don dey change talk. Lukaku was never even part of the argument.

I'm just saying the who he'd be behind if he picks Belgium...Eartquake1 said he'd be the most inform striker minus Lukaku.

andrewbaba44:
I have nothing against dessers madam

Go and follow all my post about dessers

My point is that dessers will not make the Belgium national team from Heracles ,it’s either you take it or leave it

What are you even saying ,yes man you got Depay from the same league but is it a small club like Heracles ? Depay was playing for one of the best club in holland which is psv

Don’t come and make it look like I even said dessers can’t join a big club from Heracles

My point is that if he chooses to play for Belgium he won’t be called and it’s simple

If this same guy didn’t choose to play for naija Na una go still talk how e no go ever make Belgium team ,Lol

So because I am saying dessers won’t make the Belgium team means I am not giving him the accolades ? Lol

Abeg say something else

Exactly. Lukaku and Origi are the first two options. Dessers can't get ahead of those two.

Eartquake1:
Dessers has 15 goal contributions this season, Origi has three

Statistically Dessers is the highest performing Belgian striker behind Lukaku and the Dutch league is not far away from the Italian league

Modified : The Dutch league is better than the Italian league in the current Uefa coefficient

Origi is playing in a more competitive league and competing with one of the best strikers in the world in Firmino. Oh and he has 3 goals in 4 starts.
As for the coefficient rankings, we all know Serie A is better than Eredivisie. It has 3 ucl spots. Eredivisie is higher because they perform better in the europa league which Serie A teams mostly don't take seriously.
No coach is picking Dessers over Origi. Origi is better... Simple as that.

Eartquake1:
Players are chosen on form and based on form Dessers is far better than them

Dessers is not better than Origi on current form. Origi might not be first choice but he performs when he's played....both in epl and ucl.
Origi would easily start at any team in the eredivisie.

jimmyiovine:
A professional coach in Amuneke is telling you being an assistant is too big for him. Who are we to say otherwise? Let us be honest telling Amuneke to come and assist Rohr is an insult to Amuneke and so is suggesting him for our age group teams

If he's saying it, then cool. However, there is no big insult in assisting Rohr. What has Amuneke achieved in the game to think assisting Rohr is an insult?? Are you serious?
I said be assistant coach which is also head coach of team b and U23 job...not be U23 coach.

Eartquake1:
Amunike is too big to be an assistant coach, he may come in as a temporary assistant with a view to take over from Rohr

But to be employed as an assistant is a downward trajectory for him

Not if he's an assistant to a better coach and for a bigger team.
Carlos Querioz twice went back to Manure to be Ferguson's assistant from being head coach of South Africa and Real Madrid.

Eartquake1:
Now reread it

Your point? You are claiming Amuneke is too big to be assistant to Rohr because he's coached Tanzania and I'm saying it isn't necessarily true.
With that, he could be well positioned to replace Rohr when he leaves.
Whether he'd want it or not is a different thing. Saying he's "too big" for it is hilarious.

Eartquake1:
Amuneke will return from head coach to assistant

Do you know the job of an assistant?

Head coach of Tanzania?? Carlos Querioz used to go back to assisting Alex Ferguson after coaching national teams.

Humility017:
sarcastic where? ??
he is the best for the job as it is now....

Even if that is true, he should not be anywhere near the national team after what he did.
Let Amunike be Super Eagles B/U23 and first assistant.

Humility017:
please rest joor.
forget the bribery case...he is the best for the job as it is now....

I am so excited by this news...

please let NFF confirm this appointment...will be so happy.
square pegs in square hole

I hope you're being sarcastic.

Clementoke:
I'm sure England can not go through the stress of change of allegiance for a player like Maja

LOL true Sha.

Blueelf:
Even in the ligue 1 highlights I streamed this morning, the commentator was annoyingly referring to him as an England International

They know what they're doing. Rohr will invite him for our next game so no shaking...

quickberry2:
Olofinjana, Finidi In Line For Nigeria Youth Team Coaching Job, Salisu Retains Role In National Team Setup
December 5, 20190228

The recent decision of the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) not to renew the contracts of coaches of the youth teams of Nigeria have given the football body the chance to freshen things up with some former Nigeria international players who are now coaching abroad.


Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that while the NFF advertised the jobs for U17 and U20 teams, the football house have decided to retain Salisu Yusuf as the coach of the U23 team following his return from suspension for his involvement in a bribery ‎scandal regarding players selection.

Salisu will keep his dual role as the head coach of the B team of the Super Eagles and also the Nigeria U23 aside his job as first assistant to coach of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr. The process of bringing him back into the system has already started with his secondment to Enugu Rangers by the NFF.

The coach took over from sacked coach Bennedict Ugwu after Rangers requested for a coach from the NFF. The move by the NFF is to make the coach have a smooth return to the touchline before taking over his roles with the national teams.


On the jobs available, the football house is favouring former Mallorca and Real Betis B youth team coach Finidi George for the job of coach of U-17 team while Seyi Olofinjana who is presently a coach with English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers is the leading candidate to be named the U20 coach.

Olofinjana presently works as the manager of players sent on loan by Wolves and he will push to retain his job with the club even if he is appointed by the NFF when the list of the successful coaches is announced next year.

God will punish Pinnick if Salisu is back in the NY setup.
Stop this nonsense for FFS!! Is Salisu the best home based coach around? Only in Nigeria will we reward corruption.

GFFN think they're sharp... Maja is 100 percent a Nigerian international.

Queen & Slim. Ending had people crying in the cinema lol. Good movie... Definitely not thrash like some are making it out to be.

Woow what is this I'm seeing/hearing... Nacho with an assist and winner after coming on as a sub?? More of this please!!

Blueelf:
One thing I know of is that Osimhen is better than Joao Felix of athletico Medrid but not Haaland. Lai lai

Nope. 100 percent disagree with that. Joao Felix is more talented than both Osimhen and Haaland.

BARAJ92:
What has chidera ejuke done or eberechi ejuke. both are average

Ejuke is a baller.

BascoVanVeli:
What is wrong with where he is?

Nothing. He'd get game time at West Brom with the potential of them getting promotion to the epl.

West Brom are scouting Maja. I wouldn't mind if it's on loan.

Man this is so sad. SA needs to something about high rape rate... Too many beautiful women getting killed.
Trust some foolish imbeciles to use it as an opportunity to have their petty xenophobic bullshit... Like Nigeria is heaven or something...

Kbs468:
EX-NIGERIA GOALKEEPER IKEME open to Wolverhampton Wanderers return


The 33-year-old is looking to make a comeback for Wolves after overcoming a life-threatening disease

Former Nigeria international Carl Ikeme has revealed his desire to return to Wolverhampton Wanderers in a coaching or mentoring capacity.

The goalkeeper, who spent his entire career with Wolves since joining the side at the age of 14, was forced to an early retirement last year due to his battle with leukaemia.

However, after intense treatment, the ex-Super Eagles star was told he is in ‘complete remission’ from the disease and has spoken of his desire to return to his childhood club soon.

“With football, last year, it was not something I envisioned going back into. Now this year, slowly, the taste is coming back,” he told Express and Star.

“It’s not fully there yet, I’m not too sure, but maybe, eventually, I’d like to be involved at some level. I don’t know if it would be full-on or full-time, but I’d like to do something around the club.

“The club have always been brilliant with me and said the door is open when I’m ready to come back. Everything is settled in my life at the minute, and I’m not quite ready to make a decision.

"When I decide I want to do it, I want to be able to do it to my fullest. Maybe in the near future, maybe into the next year, possibly. I’d like to be involved with the club. I think I could help in any sort of way.”

Ikeme made 191 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers and featured 10 times for the Super Eagles before his retirement.

Should be replacing Aloy Agu...

komekn:
Listen to what you are saying.

So therefore according to you Leicester are playing kick and rush football. And so are all thier players effectively by your definition.

Well l TOTALLY DISAGREE.

That means that Ndidi arguably one of the best DM midfield players is playing kick and rush.

Vardy is the top goal scorer in the EPL that's not an easy feat by any standard. And you ascribe it to kick and rush.

Osimhen is not a technically adapt player, he doesn't thrive on skill to beat his man but speed, he is very aggressive but not physical his number one attribute is PACE and POSITIONING.

Drogba used skill, dominance with physicality and extremely good finishing both feet and total air dominance. He didn't really use PACE.

So how is Osimhen like Drogba ❓

Vardy always plays with the ball in front,through balks and balls behind the defence using pace and positioning very similar to Osimhen to gain the advantage.

He honestly has the attributes of both players. Osimhen runs in behind more than Didier did in his chelsea days(tbh he had to change his style of play when he joined Chelsea). He links up play and dominates CBs like Didier.
Whether he can get to the level of both strikers remains to be seen.

forgiveness:
Hmm! Saka is a very good player though this is not the first time seeing him play. He will be a very good addition to the team.

Tiago Ilori played CB for Sporting Lisbon today and from what I saw, he will be a very good addition to the team. I wonder why NFF or Rohr never tried to approach him until now.

I saw a little bit of Adekanye in first half for Lazio though I didn't know he was the one until I saw he assisted on Livescore.

Bro forget Ilori. That one is a lost cause. I view him in the same category as the likes of Jordan Ibe, Sydney Sam, Ross Barkley, etc....dude has no attachment to naija or whatsoever other than having a naija name unlike the likes of Tammy, Eze, Tomori, etc.

Akpeyi wins PSL ABSA player of the month award.
Now if he can bring this form to SE..

PrecisionFx:
How can u value school wen u don't have money to pay for it.

How can u value school wen ur parents are uneducated

How can u value school wen ur father is in prison and ur mother who earns a minimum wage is left alone to train u.


How many poor Nigerians like school?


And pls black Americans don't hate black Africans, that speech is born out of ignorance.

U can only comment on the challenges facing black Americans wen u have enough information on their problems they face

Let me assume u are Yoruba, And the 40 million yorubas in Nigeria own 2% of Nigerian wealth and Hausa n IGBO owns 97%.......Where do u think u and ur tribes men would end up in this society?

Most folks base their opinions of black Americans on what they see on Fox News and what ignorant folks tell them.

Joebie:
A concise read:

https://www.history.com/news/debunking-slavery-myths

Yep. Writer gets it. Funny how we never talk about the sections of our forefathers who sold their(black American/British/Caribbean) ancestors to white folks for mirrors and shit.
It's to make ridiculous generalizations about them while we are in a terrible country we know. Sha they've started pushing back...

Blueelf:
Jesus. this world is turning to something else

No wonder my 50+ yr old uncle in the USA still asks my grandma to look for a good Nigerian girl for him back home. He has spent more than 20yrs in the USA and his eyes must have seen things. Even my grandma warns us not to think of marrying Americans. They tend not to have stable homes. Divorce rates there are something else

Your uncle is not looking well enough. I have Uncles and Aunties that are married to black Americans and life has been good. Two of my oldest cousins are married to AAs too and they wish they had gotten married earlier instead of following this "oh go back to Nigeria and look for a fine Igbo girl" or whatever.
People keep talking about Black American women that have kids out of wedlock yet don't talk of how many of them do/did so with Nigerians/African/carribean men.
Some naija men will knock these ladies up and as soon as green card runs click they'll leave them to be single mothers... Yet some of you guys think it's cool to be making lazy stereotypes about them... This our fake "holiness" is one of the most disgusting things I hate about us Nigerians.