₦airaland Forum

That was when grandpa dem were playing for Nigeria under17

That dude was at least 30 years in 2007. Reason why they all faded easily .
The keeper was rumored to have 2 children back then in 2007 when he was fooling himself as an under 17

Kalulu44:
Even now MRI scan still can't detect true age though it somehow reduces them to the barest minimum

Everyone of those set would have been disqualified and it wouldn't have been the only time.

90 percent of a certain set were disqualified prior to an U-17 AFCON..

His not 16 but 12 years since we come here to lie give me foam I want to lie down

And he retired playing active oh.

Sensiblerealist:
Na why most of them faded after like max of 6 years. Toni Kroos wey be their mate just retired last season

There is not 'Football age'in Europe

Softmirror:
As long as FIFA approved him to play. I see no questioning his age has being not legitimate. It used to be called 'Football age'.

crossbreedwears:
There is not 'Football age'in Europe

Of course there isn't.

donbenie:
Everyone of those set would have been disqualified and it wouldn't have been the only time.

90 percent of a certain set were disqualified prior to an U-17 AFCON..

I understand what you're talking about

Kalulu44:
Even now MRI scan still can't detect true age though it somehow reduces them to the barest minimum

How old could Osihmen be?

donbenie:
2007 Golden Eaglets..

The last over aged set....

Ooooo

😆😆😆

Sensiblerealist:
Na why most of them faded after like max of 6 years. Toni Kroos wey be their mate just retired last season

Some still dey play sef like James Rodriguez, Bojan, De Gea, Danny Welbeck etc..

larryUG:
This guy looks Older than me even when he was 17 and I am 36 now. Hmmn.

That is why our under 17 players do not last compared to Europeans

This one no last?

larryUG:
This guy looks Older than me even when he was 17 and I am 36 now. Hmmn.

That is why our under 17 players do not last compared to Europeans

I think it's true. If you see my 15 year-old, you will shout. I'm a tall person but not upto his shoulders He plays football but not professionally, not to talk of a professional that is in the gym almost everyday.

Ablesam171:
This guy that year.
He was the captain of Yemi Tella's team that won under17 world championship.
Most of the players in that tournament didn't live up to expectation.
The likes of Chrisantus Macaulay, Luckman Haruna and Rabiu Ibrahim got a nude to play for the super eagle but dem flop.
That's why I respect Mikel Obi and Victor Osimhen because na only dem try after doing well at the youth level of Nigeria national team

chrusantus own pain me oh.... Mikel obi is only lucky he stayed at Chelsea, if he had moved ehn.....that would have been d end and mourinho made him 4, so that he won't have to be run up and down d pitch ... Osimhen set no 2 cut their age because of Technology era, but u see that chrusantus set ehn... Na cutlass dem use

Nonsense Nigerian people. What's the significance of this news sef? Just to bring the poor guy here for dragging by those who are not worthy to lace his boots?

Sensiblerealist:
Na why most of them faded after like max of 6 years. Toni Kroos wey be their mate just retired last season

that tropy should be returned

Abi ooooh.
Unless we are lying to ourselves, most of our players cheated age-wise and are still cheating unless those that were born in Europe.
The question is: if na your brother dey involved, you go complain!
Food for thought

azpekuliar:
Some still dey play sef like James Rodriguez, Bojan, De Gea, Danny Welbeck etc..

Very terrible player with al those renounce goals. No wonder he changed club 😂🤣😂 13times in 12years

blowjohn:
Even Nas( greatest lyricist of all time and greatest MC ever) at 50+ looks younger than him

Why NAS into this matter? Wetin be the relationship between Nas and Lookman? Shuu!

How you go compare bread with potash?

Lukman, that was always playing like a big man in the Super Eagles! Once he got the ball, he behaved as if the opponents were small boys.

That's what killed his career. The Coaches handling him in Nigeria did not like his attitude.

larryUG:
This guy looks Older than me even when he was 17 and I am 36 now. Hmmn.

That is why our under 17 players do not last compared to Europeans

Nigerian

Kelechi Iheanacho won FIFA U17 world championship in 2013, He won the golden ball and silver shoe at the tournament. He still plays at club and national levels today.

Wilfred Ndidi was part of Kelechi's team but did not go to the U17 world cup. He still plays at both club and national levels today.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puKBsxPes3o

Victor Osimhen won the FIFA U17 world championship in 2015. He won the golden boot and silver ball at the tournament. He still plays at club and national levels.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BSptvynkFc

Kenneth Omeruo was part of Nigeria's silver winning 2009 U17 team and played for the Nigerian Under-20 team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. He played 7 games for the Super Eagles in 2024.

Omeruo's goal at 0:46


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmkQp-3QFpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2IMbFfAhM

European

Germany
Marcel Witeczek was the first player to win the Golden Shoe award at the 1985 edition of the (then) Kodak U-16 Championship held in China.

He went on to win the Golden Shoe award at the 1987 U-20 World Championship in Chile

He scored 50 goals in 410 Bundesliga appearances between 1985 and 2007.

He played for the German U-16, U17, U-19, U-20 and U-20 teams but never played for the national team.


France

Sinama Pongolle won the the 2001 U17 championship with France. He was the player of the tournament, winning the golden ball and golden shoe. He was the first person to win the Golden Boot and Golden Ball and holds the joint second all-time highest FIFA U-17 goal scoring record of 9 goals. Pablo Zabaleta played in that tournament.

He was already a Liverpool player by the time he went for the competition and played another 5 years in England.

In 2012, after playing for teams in Spain for 6 years, he spent two years in the Russian Premier League with FC Rostov where he featured rarely.

He played his only game with the French national team senior on 14 October 2008, during a 3–1 friendly win against Tunisia


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lac4roxnrOo

Spain
Borja Bastón represented Spain's under-17 at the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria. His team finished in third position while he won the Golden Boot. This was the same competition Kenneth Omeruo featured in. Borja never played for the Spanish national team.

Switzerland
Benjamin Siegrist was the best goalkeeper at the 2009 U17 world cup. He never played for the Swiss national team.



Sweden

Valmir Berisha won the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot while Iheanacho won the[b] Silver Boot[/b]. At the tournament he scored 10 goals.

His only other international goals were 1 for the Sweden U-18 side and 5 for the U-19 side.

His other notable international experience was being in the Sweden Olympic football team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He never played for the senior national team.

Judolisco:
chrusantus own pain me oh.... Mikel obi is only lucky he stayed at Chelsea, if he had moved ehn.....that would have been d end and mourinho made him 4, so that he won't have to be run up and down d pitch ... Osimhen set no 2 cut their age because of Technology era, but u see that chrusantus set ehn... Na cutlass dem use

Mikel nor use cutlass reduce im age, at most na razor blade e use. The human body is not a machine. Mikel had a good career. Spent 10 years in Chelsea and played for 4 more years at other clubs after that. You nor fit last one season in the worst premier league side if you nor dey show workings talkless of 10 seasons.
Take the worst age cheat wey I don ever see - Julius Aghahowa. Dude came to the Premier league at the age of ‘27’ when he should have been at the peak of his career. He could only manage 20 appearances in two seasons and could not score a single goal.

Haruna lookman, a very good player in those days.

WickedAfonja:
Meet Nigeria veteran star when he just won the U-17 World cup as a 16 year old

He killed his career with unseriousness

Cost us round of 16 knock out in u20 that year

vb0mb:
This will soon be debunked. Just wait and see how it goes.

debunked what?
Didn't you watch the tournament? That's him with u17 trophy

The Nigerian Mario Balotelli.



As for his age then, I have nothing to say now.

This is how time flee away

Obafemi Martins never played the age group competitions at national level but moved to Europe at age 16.

He played in Europe between 2000 and 2013 before moving to the US and playing there till 2015.

He moved to China in 2016 and retired in 2020.

He played for the Super Eagles between 2004 and 2015 making 42 appearances and scoring 18 goals.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcV68DSDNBc

Photo: Martins at his first European club, Reggiana.

johnie:
Nigerian

Kelechi Iheanacho won FIFA U17 world championship in 2013, He won the golden ball and silver shoe at the tournament. He still plays at club and national levels today.

Wilfred Ndidi was part of Kelechi's team but did not go to the U17 world cup. He still plays at both club and national levels today.

Victor Osimhen won the FIFA U17 world championship in 2015. He won the golden boot and silver ball at the tournament. He still plays at club and national levels.

Kenneth Omeruo was part of Nigeria's silver winning 2009 U17 team and played for the Nigerian Under-20 team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. He played 7 games for the Super Eagles in 2024.

European

France

Sinama Pongolle won the the 2001 U17 championship with France. He was the player of the tournament, winning the golden ball and golden shoe. He holds the joint second all-time highest FIFA U-17 goal scoring record of 9 goals behind Nigeria's Kelechi Nwakali's 10 goals.

He was already a Liverpool player by the time he went for the competition and played another 5 years in England.

In 2012, after playing for teams in Spain for 6 years, he spent two years in the Russian Premier League with FC Rostov where he featured rarely.

He played his only game with the French national team senior on 14 October 2008, during a 3–1 friendly win against Tunisia

Spain
Borja Bastón represented Spain's under-17 at the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria. His team finished in third position while he won the Golden Boot. This was the same competition Kenneth Omeruo featured in. Borja never played for the Spanish national team.

Switzerland
Benjamin Siegrist was the best goalkeeper at the 2009 U17 world cup. He never played for the Swiss national team.



Sweden

Valmir Berisha won the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Boot while Iheanacho won the[b] Silver Boot[/b]. At the tournament he scored 10 goals.

His only other international goals were 1 for the Sweden U-18 side and 5 for the U-19 side.

His other notable international experience was being in the Sweden Olympic football team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He never played for the senior national team.

Since you want to start reeling out Stats. How about 2005 U20 World cup. Nigeria Argentina.
Apart from Mikel who reasonably had a long career (Even though Messi that played with him is still playing today), what about the rest. Chinedu Obasi, Taye taiwo, Snai Kaita, Chinedu Apam, How many years did they play football before they all retired and stopped playing? What about Isaac? Vanzekin the Goalkeeper? You are mistaking longevity for playing for the national team. I am not talking about the National team here. After the tournament, how many years did they continue playing football befoire retiring compared to the Europeans. Even Mikel that we thought was the youngest in that team, retired years ago and Messi at 38 is still playing, what does that tell you?

Who is talking about playing for the senior team? Their clubs, how many years did those Europeans play before Retiring? Sinama Pongolle, Who did he play with in Nigeria? Karimu Shaibu, Sambo, and etc. Which clubs did those guys play for and how many years did they play football?

IMPARTIAL:
Why NAS into this matter? Wetin be the relationship between Nas and Lookman? Shuu!

How you go compare bread with potash?

larryUG:
This guy looks Older than me even when he was 17 and I am 36 now. Hmmn.

That is why our under 17 players do not last compared to Europeans

Macauley Chrisantus was rumored to have 3 kids at the time he participated in this same U17 world cup.

larryUG:
Since you want to start reeling out Stats. How about 2005 U20 World cup. Nigeria Argentina.
Apart from Mikel who reasonably had a long career (Even though Messi that played with him is still playing today), what about the rest. Chinedu Obasi, Taye taiwo, Snai Kaita, Chinedu Apam, How many years did they play football before they all retired and stopped playing? What about Isaac? Vanzekin the Goalkeeper? You are mistaking longevity for playing for the national team. I am not talking about the National team here. After the tournament, how many years did they continue playing football befoire retiring compared to the Europeans. Even Mikel that we thought was the youngest in that team, retired years ago and Messi at 38 is still playing, what does that tell you?

Who is talking about playing for the senior team? Their clubs, how many years did those Europeans play before Retiring? Sinama Pongolle, Who did he play with in Nigeria? Karimu Shaibu, Sambo, and etc. Which clubs did those guys play for and how many years did they play football?

How many of the European players I listed above are widely known for playing club football today?

Did they play longer than any of the Nigerian players I have listed?

How many of the team mates at the U-17 Championships of the European players I listed can you mention? Which clubs did they play for and for how many years?


Omeruo played in the 2009 U-17 championships and still plays club football. Can you mention 3 European players in that tournamentthat still play?

Can you mention 3 European players in the 2005 U-20 tournamentthat still play at Messi's level?

Other notable players (with the year they stopped playing in brackets) who played in that competition but have stopped playing at the highest levels while Messi continues to play include the following:

Netherlands- Ryan Babel (2021), Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (2017)

Spain - David Silva (2023) , Fernando Llorente (2022) and Cesc Fabregas (2023)

Argentina - Pablo Zabaleta (2020), Sergio Aguero (2021)

Germany - Marvin Matip (2019)

USA - Freddy Adu (2021)


Mikel stopped playing in 2021

Obasi stopped playing in 2021.

Taye Taiwo stopped playing in 2022

Have you factored in the level of medical and other care Messi has had in his career compared to Chinedu Obasi and the Nigerian players?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK1Xzr2TJMQ