₦airaland Forum

Listen, I don't doubt his talent. My argument is that Africa has produced similar if not MORE talented players than anything you'd see in Europe. The only difference is lack of exposure and respect compared to their Euro counterparts.

For instance, Jay Jay Okocha should've played for the biggest football clubs in the world (and received even more recognition) if he were European or even a non-African. And you can say the same thing about Abedi Pele, George Weah, Roger Miller, Patrick Mboma,Joel Tiehi etc.


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TheGoodJoe:
Zaha has not started to scrape the surface of the Water Laudrup walked on. Laudrup is one of the grandmasters of the round leather game.

Watch this clip and explain how Zaha can come close.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UNSX4K6Bak#

Well, let's just say that Uruguay didn't impress me in their South American qualifiers. They only qualified in the second place because the Argies were disorganized and trying to self destruct plus FIFA decided to stick it to them with that ridiculous ban on Messi. But all in all, I might not be the most objective person to speak on Uruguay sha. My distaste for that team started the day Luis Suarez handball denied Ghana a semi final bet at South Africa 2010


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andrew444:
I am not betting with Uruguay but never say never in football and this is a team with all round world class players.

This is a team that reach the semi finals in 2010 and about 8 of the players are still there.

This is a team that won the 2011 copa America.

As far as I am concerned Belgium hasn't done anything in World football no be name we wan chop,Belgium got bunch of underperforming players.

The '96 Olympic team, if that's what you were referring to, were more talented than the '94 World cup team. But the '94 team play better as a team and play better football. The '96 team won matches with talents alone. It was not a well coached team. Bonfrere Jo was a piss poor coach. And he got exposed when he was made the Super Eagles coach.

Nigeria should've become a world powerhouse if our leaders had the foresight to retain Clemence Westerhof after the '94 World Cup. Rather those morons blamed him for our loss to Italy and ran him out of town. Then BonJo turned around and stabbed him at the back


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Martz101:
96 team was better than the 94 team to me, it was a perfect team

You can count on me, bros. I know what I am talking about .... I will never let you down

You can take it to the bank, once you hear it from moi


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lexyman:
this one that i keep marking your word ... if you fail me ehn....? but all i want is victory , who ever start doesn't matter .

Bros, if talent along wins soccer matches then we'll simply give the World Cup to France and the runners up to Belgium. There's more to a team than talents. Trust me, Uruguay ain't making the semi finals. And I am willing to bet you on that one.


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andrew444:
Its seems you are looking down on uruguay,You dont know the calibre of players uruguay have if you know the calibre of players i doubt you will say anything about them you will just watch and see what might happens.

Let me give you small clue.

Central defence pair....... Diego Godin and Jimenez......Both plays for ATM and they are both starters in ATM defence,Martin caceres of Lazio might play right back and Maxi Perriera of porto is left back,uruguay most capped player with 125 appearance.

Midfield...... Lucas Torriera plays for sampdoria,he is about to join arsenal..... Mathias Vecino plays for Inter millan and he is a starter there.

Striker...Luis suarez and cavani.....Chritian stuani,but stuani will be benched because they will be playing a 4-4-2,Cavani suarez and stuani add their goals together this season its better than any other strikers together.

I am not telling you uruguay will make it to the semi or win the world cup...A good football analyst will never tell you uruguay will be out till they see it happens.

If super eagles have the calibre of players uruguay have i think we will be dreaming to win the world cup and not quarter final achievement.

Same here. They, along with France, has one of the most talented team at this world cup, but both of them would underperform as usual.


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darkelf:
I don't see them making it past the second round

We thought there were shockers in 2014 but we ain't seen nothing yet. This WC will be full of them

So what makes you think that Wilfried Zaha doesn't belong in the debate? I don't wanna argue about Obasi because injuries stunted his game but to say that Zaha doesn't belong is an outrage. Is it because he plays for Crystal City? Are you aware that Zaha is arguably the best dribbler in the EPL today? Are you aware that, apples to apples, Zaha was the past EPL player of the season? Are you aware that Crystal Palace did not win a single match when Zaha didn't start? Are you aware that Real Madrid is currently discussing terms with Zaha's agents?

Anyway, I give up on you guys. EOD!


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TheGoodJoe:
How can someone put Obasi and Zaha in the same place when we are talking Cruyff, Michael Laudrup and Seedorf? By the way, I stated clearly that the South Americans top on skills. I do not know why you are bringing Messi and Ronaldinho into the debate.

I am saying Nigeria as a whole lacks behind when it comes to skills, compared to the Europeans. For instance, who can we compare skill wise to Martial or Pogba?

First of all, you don't have to start a game in order to provide an assist or even score a goal. Got it

Having said that, I think Ebuehi would start on Saturday because Rohr would play 3-5-2.

Mark my words!


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MetalJigsaw:
I doubt if Rohr will start Tyrone.

Let's hope he guessed right on Nigerian and Argentina. For me, that's all I care about


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TheSuperNerd:
Lol... I already know why you say so oh thou O Pari Master.. I too was about dropping my observation based on the pairings for the knockout rounds... But had to speak a little on the Mujtahida football philosophy discussion.


I checked the likely knockout round matches and found that Mystic Marcus (the pig) may end up being right on just three if all goes according to its prediction... because two of the four are likely to clash before the semis... Leaving just three to make it into the semis.

Well, time will tell... Let more mystics please come forward and drop their own views please... Looolll

KPOM! Exactly what I was thinking.



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safarigirl:
whether it is wrong or not, I can't say.

However, a semi finals without one of Spain, Brazil, France and Germany looks quite off the mark to be honest, unless those upsets tbaba spoke of, happens in Russia

Safari, I can tell you right now that the so called psychic pig would be wrong. I pray and hope that Nigeria and Argentina makes it to the semi finals, but I don't see Uruguay and Belgium making it past the quarter finals.

Go write it down .... we'll revisit this post at the appropriate time.


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TheSuperNerd:
Lol... Thanks Safari dearie... Thanks to you, I ran my quick surveillance and I found it in other sources too..

It is bizarre yes... But I just finished reading through the Pig's impressive Résumé... The pig's track record of predictions is dangerously impressive.. #100%correct every time... Hmmm na wa ooo

Anyway, guys and ladies.. Here is the Mystic Marcus Safarigirl just talked about...

Of all those players you listed, which one of them can you compare, in terms of dribbling skills, with the non-Euro players like: Ronaldinho; Messi; Jay Jay Okocha; Neymar; Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi; Wilfred Zaha; Kanu Nwankwo; Abedi Pele; George Weah .... and I can go on and on but the above would suffice.


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TheGoodJoe:
First, let us remove the notion that the Europeans do not produce good dribblers.

Off the top of my head, Figo, Brian and Michael Laudrup, Gascoigne, Joe Cole, Ryan Giggs, Overmars, Seedorf, Johann Cruyff, Dugarry, Djorkaeff and a host of others.

Today, in dribbling talents, which Africans would we put above the likes of Hazard, Dembele, Isco, Thiago Alcantara, Bernardo Silva, Sane etc.

I doubt we should think we edge the Europeans in individual creativity.

This should be the concern of the South Americans. Not us.

cc: Mujtahida, Martz101.

These guys do they do anything else besides taking pictures? I mean, with all the time they spend posing for photos and selfies, I wonder what time they have to train and do other things.


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Soldiers are NOT law enforcement agency. The Nigerian government should stop deploying soldiers against civilian population. It there's a civil unrest then deploy Nigerian police to restore law and order. Soldiers are not designed to operate amongst civilian population. A civil unrest is not equivalent to a war zone.


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I think Rohr would be a fool not to adopt 3-5-2 as his primary formation considering what we saw in the friendly games.


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Icon4s:
Indications pointing towards Rohr starting with a 4-2-1-3 against Croatia with Ogu and Ndidi the DMs (2 blocking 4) and Mikel in front of them.
This is still a variant of 4-3-3 that can easily be converted to 4-5-1.

We used to, but not any more. You cannot have a football philosophy when most of your players leave for Europe as teenagers. We need to develop our league, that would discourage our players from joining all those backwater leagues in Europe.


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Mujtahida:
do we have a football philosophy?

Why you shouldn't root for these countries in the 2018 World Cup

PORTUGAL: Cristiano Ronaldo might be brilliant, but his whining and diving makes him soccer’s equivalent of the third grader who’s always starting trouble on the playground and then tattling on other people. You can’t root for that.

NIGERIA: Nigeria would actually be the ideal team to embrace, what with its fabulous nickname – The Super Eagles – and jersey that’s all the rage. Except the jersey is almost impossible to get, and you can’t claim fandom if you’re not able to look the part.


Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2018/06/12/world-cup-2018-favorites-dont-root/692334002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories


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Nna, you ain't never lied o, jare. Full concentration would definitely be a problem, with Safari out there trotting her stuffs all over the pitch


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Humility017:
and sit on the bench with it...abi?
I will doubt your concentration level being that safari made the list as well.....

come on relax that Jersey belongs to me...

Even with our poor pre-tournament friendly games, most ESPN pundits are still picking us as the group D runners up. Read this:

http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3522997/world-cup-predictions-espn-fcs-experts-picks-for-champion-golden-ball-and-more


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Safari, that's the spirit now. Soccer is in the air


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safarigirl:
hian! Why are there so many people?

These footballers dey try sha

Good one bro. I will reserve Messi's the iconic #10 jersey


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soetanoreoluwa:
Nairaland 23 Man Squad with Technical crew

---

Goalkeepers

1.Bascovanveli
2. edi287
3. Danielninono

Defenders

4.Lexyman
5.Napeleon55
6.Taliban
7.AIG07
8.Komekn
9.davep
10. maidaboi
11. omanbala

Midfielders

12. Certitude
13. Humility
14. Safarigirl
15. darkelf
16. bolowolowo
17.solonnachi

Strikers

18.Metaljigsaw
19.icon79
20.Realpoacher
21.Goke7
22.klexycole
23.Krattoss

Technical crew

Coach
Icon4s

Assistant Coach 1

Kog45

Assistant coach 11

TheGoodjoe

Assistant coach 111

TheSuperNerd

Goalkeeper Trainer

Tbaba1234

Medical Team

Michael2
Dr kclever

Fitness Trainers

Captainstephen
Andrew444
goldenfish80

Team Psychologists

Mujtahida
Congo4ka

Video Analysts

Joebie
Oasis

Team scouts

Chriskels
Forgiveness
Charlesemeka

Logistics and protocols

Elyte
Loogan

media Officer

soetanoreoluwa

Incase you are not selected keep working hard AFCOn 2019 is fast approaching

If you like shout corruption and Wayo Wayo...

Incase you are doubting the selection kindly ask questions

Technical crew should set up the game plan.

Just hope the team will be able to work together to bring the cup home

2 days to World Cup... I can't wait

Bros, you can never tell until he actually plays there. I said exactly the same thing about Obafemi Martins. I remembered saying that Oba Martins would set the EPL on fire, but we both know how that ended up. And I made the same mistake about Ahmed Musa. Bros, I have given up on such predictions sha.


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charlesemeka85:
etebo's style of play will suit the championship so i am confident that he will make a name for himself in the league

Yes, that's quite possible but not easy at all ... especially if you're not a striker or a solid Center Back, then you'd really have be a standout player in the Championship to be noticed by an EPL team.


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charlesemeka85:
he doesnt need stoke to gain promotion before he can play in the epl, all he needs is to shun out breath taking performances which i know he is capable of doing then an epl team will come calling. he mustn't join real madrid, manchester united and barca of this world before you can admit he made a good choice

Because they can always do more instead of sitting them stealing public funds in the name is distributing all manner of ridiculous allowances (hardship allowance, newspaper allowance, etc) to themselves. I am NOT a big Buhari supporter but compared to the NASS he's an angel.


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kinibigdeal:
So why's he saying the National Assembly are doing nothing?

Even though he doesn't play for Nigeria, I have so much respect for this guy. He always represents each time Bayern Munich wins something. I would say that he's more patriotic than many Nigerians sef.


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MetalJigsaw:
Alaba: I Would Have Loved To Play For Nigeria
June 11, 2018 1:17 pm

Bayern Munich of Germany and Austria international defender David has revealed exclusively to Complete Sports that he loves Nigeria and would have loved to play for the Super Eagles but for circumstances beyond his control.

Alaba, of Nigerian parentage, was born in Austria and capped at U-17 level by the European country when he was barely 15.
However he has not forgotten his Nigerian root as he went to the Super Eagles Pre-World Cup training camp in Bad Tatzmanndsdorf, Austria over the weekend to wish the Nigerian team well on their way to the World Cup in Russia.

“I love Nigeria and I would have been happy to play for the country. However, I was spotted by Austria at a very early age and I was guided to play for them. So it was not that I choose one [country] over the other,” he told Complete Sports.

Alaba, a six-time Austrian Footballer of the Year who also holds the record for being the youngest player to be capped by Austria, is a lover of Nigerian food and music with Wizkid being his favourite musician among many others.

The 25-year old was born to a Nigerian father from Ogere Remo in Ogun State and a Filipino mother.


https://www.completesportsnigeria.com/alaba-i-would-have-loved-to-play-for-nigeria/

Extremely poor move. Joining a relegated team that is unlikely to gain promotion next year. He should've waited until after the World Cup to see what's out there. Patience is virtue.

I don't know who's advising these guys!


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edi287:
Etebo signs for Stoke. Poor move imo. Should've waited till after the World Cup

Yup. Semi finals is very possible but not this time. This time, due to the luck of the draw (group of death) and our goalkeeping problems, I don't expect anything better than a round of 16 performance. And that would be a big achievement. Because if we come second in our group, we may most likely France in the round of 16 - an uphill task!

However, if the NFF has the common sense to keep Rohr in charge, with his organization and foresight, I will expect us to do very well in 2022. Semi finals isn't an unimaginable goal either. After all, Ghana was on their way to making the semi finals in 2010 if not for Luis Suarez's hand ball in the last minute of the extra time!


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ykalhaji:
Semifinal is possible depends on the luck of our route there. I have a sinking feeling we will play France again for our 2nd round though, if we can avoid that, we have a chance to progress further than we have ever done (except in France 98 when we played and lost to Denmark on our way to playing Brazil in the quarters.

Omo if we take 2nd place in our group, we will then have to play the first 2nd round game of the tournament and that will put too much pressure on us(we would not want to be the first to "ja"(commot) in the 2nd round stages).

Buhari has every rights to claim any so called achievement by the national assembly. It is the Buhari government. And in addition, any act of the national assembly has to be signed into law by the President before it can become law; unless they passed it by overriding his veto.


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Buhari has every rights to claim any so called achievement by the national assembly. It is the Buhari government. And in addition, any act of the national assembly has to be signed into law by the President before it can become law; unless they passed it by overriding his veto.


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Satan has power, you can only defeat him by power and the authority in the Name of Jesus Christ.

You need to be sure of your relationship with God before you go casting out demons because it's not a child's play. As the scripture says, 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty (Zachariah 4:6). This also reminds of what the demons said to the 7 sons of Sceva in the bible: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15).


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solonnachi and charlesemeka85: thank you both! These are the kinda things I would prefer tat we focus on instead of nitpicking on the players who are not going to Russia. I mean, the Russia bus has already left the station

Meanwhile, if we can stay organized and don't take any panicky fire brigade action of sacking the coach after the world cup; I sincerely believe that Nigeria would go far in the 2022 World Cup. We have several good young players and Gernot Rohr has the organizational skills to incorporate them into the team. Like I had said a few times before, this world cup is coming up a few months too early for us. If the AFCON were to be held this year and the World Cup next year, I can bet you bet you a top dollar that Nigeria would reach the semi finals of the World Cup.


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charlesemeka85:
also fred onyedimma, domininc iorfa jnr,taiwo awoniyi,ikouwem. lakosa should be excluded abeg

Ronaldo (the real Ronaldo): 2002


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Icon4s:
You dey find page 4000 abi?

Well,

Diego Maradona: 1986

Zinadine Zidane: 1998.