₦airaland Forum

BascoVanVeli:
I am willing to sign off on this boy if he decides to play for us, to me he could be the total package at his position with, size, speed and skill.

terzurum5:
[b][size=14pt]
AF South Africa 2016 Olympics - Men Football South Africa U23
Quinton Fortune backs SA U23's to topple Brazil
[/size]
https://africanfootball.com/bp_images/2016/08/1edskgp2n0jfz1fn6tj7fdxdv1_580x473.jpg
Former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune
by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Speaking to FIFA.com, former South Africa U23 international Quinton Fortune says he believes the current crop of players can stun Brazil.


The U23's are getting ready to meet the hosts, Brazil, in their 2016 Rio Olympics football opener on Thursday.


The Cape Town-born footballer, who amassed 46 international caps for Bafana Bafana, was part of the U23 side who defeated Selecao 3-1 at the Olympic Games in Sydney 16 years ago.


Ahead of the crucial encounter, the former Manchester United and Atletico Madrid midfielder said the South African's must just enjoy every moment.


Moreover, he picked three players in the current team who he believes can make things happen and stun the Neymar led Brazilians on home soil.


“The pressure is on Brazil,you saw at the last World Cup, the amount of pressure that was on the national team," he tells FIFA.com.


BANYANA BANYANA, SWEDEN TO KICK-OFF OLYMPIC FOOTBALL
"I would just tell [the South African team] to enjoy every moment. Of course they want to get a good result.


"Win, first of all, but if not, at least get a draw. You need to be well-organised.


"Rivaldo Coetzee from Ajax Cape Town is a strong central defender, Keagan Dolly, who’s at Mamelodi Sundowns, is a good midfielder and Phumlani Ntshangase is also a talented player - these are players who should be making a difference.”


ODG's men share Group A with Brazil, Iraq and Denamrk. They kick-off their campaign against the hosts on Thursday at Mane Garrincha Stadium, at 21h00.
africanfootball.com/news/635372/Quinton-Fortune-backs-SA-U23s-to-topple-Brazil

[/b]

Icon4s:
This U23 is for players born on or after 1st January 1992. Sammy is older.

Icon4s:
The Olympics is here again!

MY WORST AND BEST MOMENTS OF PAST OLYMPICS.

Worst moments:
Seoul 1988: Nigeria 0-4 Brazil.

Nigeria paraded a highly rated squad of some of the then young emerging players.Some players from that squad(as far as i can remember): Sam Okwaraji, Emeka Eziugo, David Ngodiga among others.
Coming fresh from a 4-0 defeat suffered at Chile '87 WYC, we all applauded as Nigeria was drawing 0-0 at half time more so as we were d better side!

The Brazilian coach made 2 substitutions at half time and the rest is history. Romario and Bebeto tore into shreads our defense exposing David Ngodiga and we conceded 4 goals!

I wept!

Best moments:
Atlanta 1996: Brazil 3-4 Nigeria.

It was the semi final match.

Nigeria featured a highly talented and experienced squad. It was like a complete super Eagles team without Rufai, Finidi, Iroha, Keshi & Eguavoen( the later 3 names were already rounding up their careers).

Imagine a team that had Amuneke, Amokachi, Oliseh, Kanu, Babayaro, Ikpeba, Taribo, Okocha, Okparaku and Okechukwu, In one starting 11 line-up!

Brazil had Bebeto, Ronaldo De Lima, Cafu, Ze Roberto, Roberto Carlos, Joninho, Dida among others.

Brazil led 3-1 at half time. Our only goal was even an own goal credited to Babayaro.
Okocha blew away a penalty in 2nd half.
Ikpeba pulled a goal back to make it 3-2.
And at the stroke of 90mins Kanu worked his wonder and scored a kind of goal even Messi and Ronaldo of today would nt b calm enough to score.

A counter attack in the first half of Extra -time ended it as Kanu volleyed the ball into d net off from a through pass from Victor Ikpeba.

I wept for joy & jumped down from d balcony of a storey building to celebrate with my friends who were already setting the streets alight with the song "Ose, Ose o, Ose o, Ose Baba!".

We won d final bt d joy was nothing like the semi final win over Brazil.


Guys lets hear ur experiences. Dnt mind me, I am old school. No matter how old or recent it is, lets share.

cc: TheGooJoe, Tbaba1234, Joseph1013, safarigirl, Bascovanveli, confun, lakesidepapa, forgiveness, other forumites too

tbaba1234:
Best game

4:3 Nigeria Brazil...

I remember starting this game with my dad and younger brother.

At half time, both of them went to bed so i was left alone to watch the second half. I stayed awake not because I thought we will equalize but because at that point, I did not feel so bad about a loss.

Penalty, penalty... Nigeria was given a penalty late into the second half... Jay Jay Okocha stepped up and missed it... All hope was lost... I was muffling my screams and abuses on Okocha.. It was late afterall.

Then up stepped Ikpeba with some hope... Terrific finish... By then, the Brazilian coach thought he had the win in the bag and had withdrawn Ronaldo Delima.

Jo Bonfere brought in Teslim Fatusi, who had been influencial in qualifying. He also brought in Oruma.. Nigeria was going for broke..

Last minute, Okocha with the traditional long throw... Fatusi scuffs his shot.. fell to Kanu who gently lifted it over Dida.... Goallllllllllll!!!!

All alone, going crazy by myself while trying not to scream....

Golden goal time... Nigeria was in full flow, there was only one winner. Off the back of Amokachi, Kanu picks it, drags it to the left and smashes home...

Goalllllllll!!!!!!! Unbelievable, we are through....

After jumping around by myself in the parlour like a monkey. I went to wake my bro... We won..we won..

Outside my house, were the songs of victory...

Winner o o o, winner... as fans sang the night away..

Unforgettable.

goldfish80:
Sorry to digress, but I think we have over celebrated the achievement of beating Brazil in Atalanta 96.
Wining a game after coming from behind by virtually the last kick of the game is stuff of dreams, should be memorable and rightly so. But the extent we have gone as a nation celebrating this one victory after 20 years is starting to bother me.

Isnt it high time we move on from that victory which was an U23 tourney?

I feel ashamed whenever I hear Rafiu Ladipo and Co singing "Bebeto wants to cry when Nigeria win Brazil" in this era.

Imagine Nigeria on the ropes against Congo and the Atalanta 96 songs comes on like the game was played 24hrs earlier. It simply shows we are not ready to move on.

The Germans won Brazil at the maracana 7:1 yet they seem to have moved on.

I don't see the Spanish making songs and dances of the 4:0 thumping of Italy at the Euro 2012 finals.

It's just like England still making songs about about their famous 1977 heroics.

Am sorry to say this, but u think it's time we move on. The rest of the world have left us behind.

TheGoodJoe:


How do you know the Germans have move on? They will celebrate 2014 for ages. Just as they celebrated Italia '90.

Atlanta' 96 is our biggest achievement. When we beat it, we will celebrate other. However, we will not forget Atlanta '96.

That is like telling Cameroon to forget Italia' 90.

Do you think Spain do not reflect of their golden era with Xavi, Puyol and co.? They do.

Celebrating our great past does not mean we are not striving to achieve more. The dream team two was a strong squad and we wanted to win. That was the Olympics after Atlanta. That showed we moved on. We just can not and will never forget Atlanta. We will always remember it, even if we win the World Cup.

TheGoodJoe:


How do you know the Germans have moved on? They will celebrate 2014 for ages. Just as they celebrated Italia '90.

Atlanta' 96 is our biggest achievement. When we beat it, we will celebrate other. However, we will not forget Atlanta '96.

That is like telling Cameroon to forget Italia' 90.

Do you think Spain do not reflect of their golden era with Xavi, Puyol and co.? They do.

Celebrating our great past does not mean we are not striving to achieve more. The dream team two was a strong squad and we wanted to win. That was the Olympics after Atlanta. That showed we moved on. We just can not and will never forget Atlanta. We will always remember it, even if we win the World Cup.

TheGoodJoe:


How do you know the Germans have moved on? They will celebrate 2014 for ages. Just as they celebrated Italia '90.

Atlanta' 96 is our biggest achievement. When we beat it, we will celebrate other. However, we will not forget Atlanta '96.

That is like telling Cameroon to forget Italia' 90.

Do you think Spain do not reflect of their golden era with Xavi, Puyol and co.? They do.

Celebrating our great past does not mean we are not striving to achieve more. The dream team two was a strong squad and we wanted to win. That was the Olympics after Atlanta. That showed we moved on. We just can not and will never forget Atlanta. We will always remember it, even if we win the World Cup.

goldfish80:
I never asked anyone not to refelect and savour the victory atleast my first paragraph was clear on that.

But holding on to that particular Atlanta achievement like the way some us still do could probably be one of the reasons Nigerian football haven't grown beyond that achievement.

I hope you do realise that it wasn't a senior team event, but largely an U23 tourney.

Celebrating this particular achievement deep into 20yrs+ simply tells that we haven't achieved much in the game to savour durring this period.

You mentioned Cameron, but interesting you didn't mention Cameroon grining from ear to ear and still celebrating their Olympic gold in Sydney 2000.


We are going to play Cameron for the world cup slot,I will bet my house that they won't be singing songs and dances about winning Sydney 2000 football event gold.
Looking over at our supporters club, their theme song would be "Bebeto want to cry, when Nigeria win Brazil" and we are not even playing Brazil.

The Germans reserve the right to have nostalgic memory about the Brazil thrashing but that feeling would not be poured out when they are playing Belgium. Why is our case different?

Ask a random non Nigerian in the streets of Paris, who won the gold medal at they Sydney football event, you will be lucky to find 1 out of 100 who will remember.

The world have moved on, Let's move on.

goldfish80:
I never asked anyone not to refelect and savour the victory atleast my first paragraph was clear on that.

But holding on to that particular Atlanta achievement like the way some us still do could probably be one of the reasons Nigerian football haven't grown beyond that achievement.

I hope you do realise that it wasn't a senior team event, but largely an U23 tourney.

Celebrating this particular achievement deep into 20yrs+ simply tells that we haven't achieved much in the game to savour durring this period.

You mentioned Cameron, but interesting you didn't mention Cameroonians grining from ear to ear and still celebrating their Olympic gold in Sydney 2000.


We are going to play Cameron for the world cup slot,I will bet my house that they won't be singing songs and dances about winning Sydney 2000 football event gold.
Looking over at our supporters club, their theme song would be "Bebeto want to cry, when Nigeria win Brazil" and we are not even playing Brazil.

The Germans reserve the right to have nostalgic memory about the Brazil thrashing but that feeling would not be poured out when they are playing Belgium. Why is our case different?

Ask a random non Nigerian in the streets of Paris, who won the gold medal at they Atlanta football event, you will be lucky to find 1 out of 100 who will remember.

The world have moved on, Let's move on.

joseph1013:
[b][size=14pt]SIASIA INSISTS TEAM STILL FIRED UP, OFF TO BRAZIL THIS AFTERNOON[/size]

https://africanfootball.com/bp_images/2016/08/dream_team_departure.jpg

Nigeria Olympic coach Samson Siasia has remained defiant his team will not be demoralised by the several cancellations of their departure from their training base in Atlanta, Georgia, with assurances the team will now fly out this afternoon.

The team’s departure from their training base in Atlanta has been called off four times with the last cancellation being on Wednesday after the team were ordered back from the airport when it was discovered the chartered plane was too small.

“The boys are determined (despite these setbacks). We went to Senegal to conquer Africa under very difficult circumstances,” maintained Siasia.

Officials around the Nigeria Olympic team assured the 35-man squad will finally fly out of Atlanta for Brazil this afternoon to arrive at their venue for their opening match against Japan barely hours before the big kick-off.

“Everything has been resolved after much networking and talking and the team will now fly out 8am Atlanta time, which is about 1pm Nigerian time,” said one of the officials.

They will fly directly to Manaus on a chartered flight with flight time estimated at eight hours.

African champions Nigeria begin their Rio Olympics campaign against Japan by 2am on Friday in Nigeria.

http://africanfootball.com/news/635542/Siasia-insists-team-still-fired-up-off-to-Brazil-this-afternoon[/b]

joseph1013:
[b][size=14pt]SIASIA INSISTS TEAM STILL FIRED UP, OFF TO BRAZIL THIS AFTERNOON[/size]

https://africanfootball.com/bp_images/2016/08/dream_team_departure.jpg

Nigeria Olympic coach Samson Siasia has remained defiant his team will not be demoralised by the several cancellations of their departure from their training base in Atlanta, Georgia, with assurances the team will now fly out this afternoon.

The team’s departure from their training base in Atlanta has been called off four times with the last cancellation being on Wednesday after the team were ordered back from the airport when it was discovered the chartered plane was too small.

“The boys are determined (despite these setbacks). We went to Senegal to conquer Africa under very difficult circumstances,” maintained Siasia.

Officials around the Nigeria Olympic team assured the 35-man squad will finally fly out of Atlanta for Brazil this afternoon to arrive at their venue for their opening match against Japan barely hours before the big kick-off.

“Everything has been resolved after much networking and talking and the team will now fly out 8am Atlanta time, which is about 1pm Nigerian time,” said one of the officials.

They will fly directly to Manaus on a chartered flight with flight time estimated at eight hours.

African champions Nigeria begin their Rio Olympics campaign against Japan by 2am on Friday in Nigeria.

http://africanfootball.com/news/635542/Siasia-insists-team-still-fired-up-off-to-Brazil-this-afternoon[/b]

TheGoodJoe:
Move on to where? Football is about creating unforgettable memories.

We work to create a memory that we would not forget. I doubt you hear French, so how can you tell what their supporters chant.

Watch Soccer Africa on Super Sport and you will see repeatedly how the South Africans celebrate the 1996 AFCON success.

Watch the build up to the World Cup how memorable games are replayed over and over again. Before the Champions League finals, older finals are replayed.

If we moved on from the past, Would I be distraught after the death of Johann Cruyff. Do you really believe The Oranje Fans will ever stop celebrating the 1974 Dutch squad. With loads of documentaries celebrating them.

How would the younger generation know how great we can be if we toss out such history out of the window.

The Atlanta win is bigger than the Cameroonian win because it was the biggest footballing Accomplishment by an African triumph. That does not mean it was not a remarkable achievement or the Cameroonians do not celebrate it.

Watch Soccer Africa and see how they repeatedly bring the Italia '90 performances of Cameroon even though the team of analysts are not Cameroonians.

What do you want the Supporters Club to Sing? "When Ighalo scored the Goal?"

When the Supporters club sing "Bebeto Started To Cry." Most of the players playing for us remember that memory and it motivates them to perform better.

Win or Lose, that memory lives on, it is unforgettable and it is a motivational force to the growing generation.

goldfish80:
Well it's a danming indictment on Nigeria that we haven't been able to create another memorable moment to sing about.
The Italian and Dutch examples you gave were full national team victories not U17, 20 or 23 tournaments.

A country of about 200 million people singing and dancing to tunes of thier U23 team's achievement 20years down the line is a f@cking disgrace.

Not so long ago, it was mooted by the IOC and FIFA that football should be dropped at the Olympics. You may laugh at this, but it can still happen.
What would be the fate of our cherished memory if the football event is struck out like FIFA has always suggested?

TheGoodJoe:


If you want to question our lack of winning trophies or our poor organizational situation that mess us up on numerous occassions, that is fine.

We can discuss, analyse and offer solutions. Some of us who feel we can contribute more to the growth and success of Nigerian football can do more than just talk about it.

That does not mean we should throw our past away. Or, we should not hold on to the motivational power of our past successes.

When Keshi led our CHAN boys to a comeback from a 3-0 behind to the Moroccans in the first half.

When Uzoenyi equalized with a brilliant curling shot, I covered my mouth with my hands. My friend who left watching the match was in his room when I screamed.

"It is happening again."

He ran out. "What is happening?"

"The Atlanta Spirit." I replied. "It is happening again."

When Ibrahim Abubakar put in the winner, we danced Etighi with them. That spirit, The Darman Miracle, the Bebeto Started To Cry spirit, we can not throw away or let it go.

We will keep striving to achieve and do better. I still believe we will shock the World soon and create more chants to celebrate it.