₦airaland Forum

After palying with that wack team against Tanzania and putting us in a difficult position .I dnt know y our coaches dnt learn. Always preferring inexperienced players ahead of established names. I will also like to see the likes of Efe Ambrose, Leon Balogun, Ogenyi Onazi, Michael Babatunde, Sone Aluko, John Ogu, Imoh Ezekiel, Aaron Samuel, Isaac Success and Kelechi Iheanacho in that team.

The following players IMHO should be dropped: Lukman Haruna, Joel Obi, Rabiu Ibrahim and Anthony Ujah.

Imortal001:
L

Sorry, U arrived late.

So Fashanu is 53 now. Hmmm how time flies. I remember while I was growing up and Nigeria was begging this guy to play for us.
He does nt deserve the Nigerian Football ambassador tag placed on him IMHO.

Did I hear that she read Education and is deaf? Then let her look for teaching job in the school for deaf na. Na everybody go work for Oil Company, Bank, Telecoms etc?

If left to me the minimum qualification for lecturing should be a 2:1 plus a masters degree.

My take on the Dream Team Vs Burkina Faso game.

Nigeria did not deserve to lose the way they did: YES, we were the better side. Forget the scoreline. Yes we lost but I saw great athletism in that team. We lost mainly because we conceded an early goal. The Burkinabes sat back, absorbed the pressure and hit them on 3 counters which lead to all 3 goals.

Problem with the team: Siasia has been known to fall short in the defence in several of the Teams he has handled. The 2 centre backs in that game were always out of place. The midfielders did nt fall back enough to support the defence which was understandably bc they had to play more with the attackers to get that needed equalizer. For a game that Burkina Faso played 6-7 players in the defence u will expect the Mid field players to join forces with the attackers to have to work pass the great wall of defence to break through. SHITTS HAPPENED IN FOOTBALL. That was jst one of such. I know that defence will be sorted out when: Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost-Ekong, Kingsley Madu, Wilfried Ndidi, and Musa Mohammed are introduced into the team if we qualify for the Olympics.

Problem ahead: I have always lamented that we are better than the crop of U23 players being paraded. Understandably, we only featured the home based players. And I think that crop are the best available for selection for now. Now, the problem ahead is that we will still fall back on the local U23 Players for the Olympic qualifiers! The CAF U23 Championship is not in the FIFA Calendar so no foreign club is gonna release any player for the tourney. Bleep CAF for choosing a wrong time for that Tourney cos Africa may end up nt being represented by the best.

However, I still believe that Team has what it takes to at least get to the semis of the Olympic qualifiers. Siasia has promised to make some changes and I hope the changes will make some positive impacts. Question is if he knew there were some better home based lads some where y did he have to wait till now that we lost to Burkina Faso to introduce them. Siasia should also make attempts at release of some of the foreign players. Who knows we may be lucky with some of them.

Lets just manage these lads for now and wish them well. The real U23 Team will emerge after we qualify for the Olympics.

cc: terzurum5
cc: safarigirl
cc: Thesupernerd
cc: TheGoodJoe
cc: linked
cc: joseph1013
cc: Danycrusoe
cc: other well meaning forumites.

I thought this thread was created to discuss d Olympic team.

Nacho this Ibe that. City this Pelegrini that.

Well, let me b d first to announce it here dat the U23 team lost 3-1 to Burkina Faso.

safarigirl:
lol. I'm just advicing caution, not joining your side sir

Jst like i have also been advicing caution in d hypes.

So hu are we playing at AAG semis? Burkina Faso or Sudan?

terzurum5:
[b][size=14pt]
Nigeria get tough Olympics qualifying draw
[/size]
Nigeria received what appears to be a tougher task than South Africa when the 2016 Olympic Games African qualifying tournament draw was made in Cairo Monday.
The Nigerians were placed in Group B with Egypt, Algeria and Mali while South Africa face hosts Senegal, Zambia and Tunisia in Group A.
South Africa visited Tunisia for two warm-up matches last weekend, winning 4-0 and losing 2-1 when the teams met again.
Group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals, whose victors secure places at the Rio Olympic Games.
The losing semi-finalists play off to fill the third and last place reserved for Africa at a tournament won by Nigeria in 1996 and Cameroon four years later.
Nigeria edged Congo Brazzaville to reach Senegal while Egypt outclassed Uganda with rising star ‘Kahraba’ scoring four goals.
Algeria overcame Sierra Leone and Mali were too strong for Mauritania and 2012 London Olympics qualifiers Gabon.
Senegal are automatic participants as hosts and South Africa won at home against Zimbabwe with Keegan Dolly scoring twice after drawing away.
Tunisia beat Sudan comfortably and Morocco narrowly while Zambia eliminated Botswana and edged Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout.
Senegal host the November 28-December 12 tournament in Dakar and Mbour, which lies 80 kilometres south of the capital.
[/b]
www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/nigeria-get-tough-olympics-qualifying-draw/

That Nigeria's grp to me is nt as tough as d AAG grp of Egypt, Senegal, & Ghana. Although Egypt pulled out.

We should b able to beat Algeria and Mali. As for Egypt, until d match day.

safarigirl:
All these editorials on Iheanacho ontop one goal sha, make una sofri abeg. As much as I do agree that the boy has great potential as well as a good head on his shoulders, we should take care not to hype him too much or allow this breakthrough be all there is to it. We need not get ahead of ourselves, just take things as they go

Welcome to my side.

safarigirl:
Sir Icon don too tey for football followership, na wetin make am dey argue like this . I no wan argue again, let's wait till these boys settle, that's when we'll know the true worth of an U20 Silver medal

No naaa, we are all free to air our views.
How will u feel in say abt 15-20 yrs time if some kid start telling u what or what nt abt d Golden Eaglets of 2013 & Flying Eagles of 2015.

See, Nigerian Flying Eagles and post Flying Eagles have so dissapointed me over d decades dat i have learnt to lower my expectations from them. The 2011 set was d last straw dat broke d camels back.
I am sure with this last U20 u guys have learnt dat d competition at U20 is far more dan that of U17; dat winning d U17 does nt guarantee u d U20 two yrs later.
D learning continues. I am nt being a prophet of doom bt jst with ur very eyes u'll see how most of those guys u call super talents will fissle out.It happens in football every where in d world.

TheSuperNerd:
Oga, where have u been hiding? I really miss Sir Tbaba1234, Kannymoore and Mikron. They've just disappeared. Well, I still got Safarigirl, TheGoodJoe, Icon4s, Joseph 1013, AIG07, Linked (won't make the same mistake twice), Basco van veli, Big Blangston, and others(abeg no do like Sir Linked
o, If u no hear ur name directly).

Yeah man.Kudos to all d guys and lady that have kept this thread active.

We should all know dat we cannot hold same views as regards football. There will always b arguments. And i also give kudos to peeps on this thread for the high level of maturity displayed so far in our analysis: devoid of insults and names calling. U guys have my respect. This is d thread i spend 80% of my nairaland time on.

Keep d topics and arguments coming. 1 love.

linked:
Your question is very funny... The 2005 team reached the finals, the 2015 team round of 16
Na question be that
What I am saying and I feel others in this thread are saying is that the 2015 team had on individual bases more talented players than previous teams and a huge reputation preceded them.

Maybe it is the word ''talent'' confusing you.... Talent is all potential.. It has to be put into good use... As earlier posited, the talents of the 2015 team wasn't harnessed. Therefore they did not reach their true potential in the tournament.
That is the fuss people are making about manu. HE simply wasted the huge talents he had at his disposal

I get ur point bro. Those Boys are talented bt i also feel they are a little over hyped. To most peeps here they feel Manu kept his best legs on d bench.Which i dnt completely agree.

linked:
hahaha.... With how many cap?.. None played top-league football and none lasted 10 years post saudi-89

All of them na ojoro

At least Mutiu Adepoju played upto 2002 WC

TheGoodJoe:

We are talking guys that will become among the best of a generation, you are talking Super Eagles. Man watch Success hit gear, same with Simon Moses, Yahaya, Awoniyi and Co. If it is just Nations Cup triumph and World Cup impressive performance, I will be disappointed with these guys.

Those players i mentioned featured for d Super Eagles dat were ranked 5th in d world. And as at that time Nations cup and world cup performance were far more important that club success. The greatest achievement for any player then was to win d continental cup (whether in Europe or África) & pose a good world cup showing. The likes of Guilit, Platini, Maradona, Socretes, Romario etc were nt known bc of their club performances bt national team action.
So bros winning d Afcon and a good WC showing was a great deal to footballers then.

As for those players u jst mentioned, i remain coservative in their hyping cos i have seen even more promising young players dan those fissle-out without living up to their ratings.

TheGoodJoe:

Based on results, the Siasia 2005 team did far better.

That 2005 team u jst mentioned, i am sure u watched dem play. Be sincere were dey nt better dan d 2015?

TheGoodJoe:
You make that 89 team look invincible but they were not. Their tournament results show it.

They won 2-1 against Saudi Arabia, lost 1-0 to Portugal, they drew 1-1 with the Czechs, played 4-4 with Russia and won on penalties, they won USA 2-1 and lost 2-0 to Portugal.

That is Three wins against Saudi Arabia, USA and Russia on penalties. One draw and Two losses. They were not all that as you make them.

I know u quickly had to google search those results out. The fact remains u never saw them play. In dat grp game lose to Portugal we finished d game with 9 men as two of our players were red carded. It took a late goal for Portugal to win against our 9 men. The czechoslovakia dat we drew 1-1 against was a footballing power house in Europe then jst like Yugoslavia and d USSR.For the 4-4 draw against d USSR, have u ever heard of "The miracle of damam"? That game is available on youtube.The "miracle" was performed in dat match as we scored 4goals with 20minutes of d game left against an Oleg Salanko led USSR (does dat name ring a bell? If mayb not bt atleast peeps dat watched USA 94 world cup will know him).
In d semis against USA it took d "Head master's" header (Mutiu Adepoju) to beat d fantastic Kessy Keller hu was d USA goalie then.

We lost in d final to an excellent Portugues side led by Joao Pinto and Rui Costa.

Ask anybody dat watched the 89 lads play. That assemblage is only next to d 94 WC and 96 Olympic teams.

The 2015 U20 were brilliant. But dey were nt d best crop.

linked:
Yea. Remember they were at their peak at that time... And from my experience of the game, players usually peak between ages 25-28. No wonder none of them could manage top-flight football in the ensuing 10years post saudi-89...

Dimeji Lawal, Nduka Ugbade and Mutiu Adepoju got to play for d then highly competitive Super Eagles (Westerhoff's era).

linked:
The 89 team is by considerable distance the best u20 team nigeria has presented for a tournament... They were a real functioning machine... They didnt win the cup anyway but got to the finals..
However, when we say potentials, the 2015 team takes it all on a player by player basis.. Infact that is why their showing was seen as a huge disappointment. The 2007 team of brown ideye, bala ezekiel et al reached the quarter-finals but it was clear they where running on full throttle and could not have provided anything more.. . The 2015 team ran on gear one when they were a six gear machine..

If you still cant fathom my analogy then..........

I get ur point bro. I was jst mentioning d '89 Flying Eagles for those shouting that d 2015 were d best ever. Only 3 of dat 89 crop ever made it to d Super Eagles mostly due to d competitiveness of d Super Eagles of d early 90s. The 2007 flying eagles u mentioned also produced Efe Ambrose, Elderson Echiejile and Brown Ideye. The 2011 Flying Eagles also held promises as they produced Ahmed Musa, Uche Nwofor, Ramon Azeez, Kenneth Omeruo. Ogenyi Onazi was part of dat crop at U17 level bt was missing at U20.

The 2015 U20 crop holds promises for the national team bt d game of football is so cruel such that some how jst a few of them will sustain d tempo and leave up to their rating and hype. It happens every where in the world. From that crop, i see at least 3 players who are ready to *compete* for senior team action which are Simon Moses, Kingsley Sokari and Kelechi Iheanacho. Infact i would like to see Iheanacho and Ighalo's combination at any of d NFF arranged friendlies in october.
I have maintained a conservative approach to the hyping of these Manu's boys bc i have seen generations upon generations of our youth players hu have failed to live up to expectations. Lets hope this crop will b different.

Chill it guys.Iheanacho is jst coming up. We probably know him so well jst bc he is a Nigerian. I know Nigerians love Iheanacho a lot. No one is even talking ant d brilliant goal scored by Odion Ighalo against Swansea yesterday. U can See u are all guilty of what u are accussing d Bein analyst of: selected praise.

safarigirl:
10 years ahead, we'll judge this on player-by-player

I am talking abt what they played at d U20 level. How dey'll turn out in d next 10 years is another topic of discussion.

I am pretty sure most of u did nt see the likes of Phillip Osundo, Nduka Ugbade, Dimeji Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju, Christ Ohenhen, Christ Nwosu, Samuel Elijah, Chinedu Odiare, Bawa Abdulahi when they played at Saudi 89. The most talent U20 crop till date.

enomakos:
the greatest nigeria u-20 team?
No no
tunde disu team were the greatest u-20 team

"the greatest U20 team he has seen" he said. When u mentioned Tunde Disu's boys i know u meant the Saudi 89 set which to me are till date d best ever U20.
Manu's U20 were nt even as good as d Siasia's 2005 U20.

BascoVanVeli:
Sokari with a world class finish

The same Sokari that some peeps here were questioning Manu Garba over.
That lad won d 2014 NPFL young footballer of d year.

safarigirl:
No Awoniyi, no Iheanacho, no Success, no Moses Simon, no Godwin. Nigeria should've just withdrawn on the same grounds as Egypt

Here we go again. Those players u mentioned are nt even d core members of this team.

uduokirika1:
Mfm fc = Agege stadium
Ikorodu united=Onikan stadium

These are nt of the NPFL standard.
They have to relocate to the Teslim Balogun stadium.

Which venue(s) will serve as their Home ground? I hope dey will both play at Teslim Balogun stadium. Cos I know wan see any Ikorodu Township stadium on Supersports o.

omoakin111:
This is my 2 years old catfish which i specifically reared for a special purpose.

What was the weight?

I have produced a 5kg fish in 6months.

gbosaa:
Eaglets was third in the suwon youth international tournament.

They lost their final match against Croatia 2-3. Ironically, both Nigeria and Croatia are in same group in the under 17 FIFA World Cup coming up next month in chile.

Too bad. Not a good sign of things to expect.

safarigirl:
Senegal deserved to win that game, they were the better side. Anyway, looking forward to the game against our perennial rivals, Ghana, that should make for good football. Meanwhile, CIV just might be hit with the Curse of the AFCON Champions and I don't think Nigeria will qualify either.

Nops. Just 2 points separating Nigeria from Egypt. We snatch 4pts from both legs against Egypt(eg a draw in Egypt and a win in Nigeria) and we are cruising home and dry. It is still very much in our hands. CIV too will qualify.