₦airaland Forum

Former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde has added his voice to the growing list of apprehensive Nigerians over Thursday’s semifinal clash between Nigeria’s Super Falcons and the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroun at the 7th Africa Women Championship (AWC) in South Africa.

Onigbinde who commended Falcons for their flawless run in the biennial football show piece told SuperSport.com on Tuesday that it will be too risky for Nigerian campaigners to lower their guard for ambitious Camerounians.

“It will be suicidal for Falcons to underrate the Camerounians, women football has come of age in Africa and every country wants to be winner, so Falcons will be in for shock if they underrate them.

“AWC is football in its totality, Falcons have done very well winning all their matches so far, I advice them to maintain their winning streak, keep to their cool-headedness and see every opponent as foe.”

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee member expressed confidence in the five-time African champions to qualify for the World Cup as well as re-claim the title they lost to Equatorial Guinea two years ago. “I have not changed nor intend to change nationality, every Nigerian expects them to lift the trophy and that is my sincerest expectation, qualify for the World Cup and win the trophy,” he said.

Nigeria will engaged perennial rivals Cameroun in the second semifinal while host South Africa tackle title holder Equatorial Guinea in an epic duel that will see the finalists qualify to represent Africa at next year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup billed for Germany.

Bala Nikya, the Super Falcons' assistant coach said the team will put in a better performance than in their previous matches when they face Cameroun in the semi-final on Thursday.

"I think the team is getting better going by the way the team has been improving with every game", Nikya said in a post-match interview with reporters on Sunday after the Falcons dimmed Tanzania's Twiga Stars 3-0 at the Makhulong Stadium.

He said every member of the team had been improving and that there was no cause for alarm no matter who they meet in the final stages of the competition.

"The players have been improving and I can say the team overall has been doing well, not minding today's performance and result.

Question: Coach, please tell us about women football in Cameroon.

Coach: We operate a premier football league back home. The league consists of 8 teams and it is played at the national level. As I speak with you, we have our players spread all over the world and I can count nothing less than 20 Cameroon players playing in Europe, America and Latin America.

Question: How has that rubbed on the development of the Indomitable Lioness?

Coach: We have progressed and we have gained a lot of experience. We have really improved if you compare the Cameroon of today with that of 2004; we have improved in the way we play and now, I think we can rival with any team in the world.

Question: What do you think needs to be done to further raise the standard of the game in Africa?

Answer: I believe strongly that the time has come for CAF to also introduce theCAF champion’s league and the CONFEDERATION’s cup to women club football in Africa. Such tourneys will only help strengthen the women football culture and further boost its popularity and standard.

Question: How do you see the semi-final pairing between your team and Nigeria?

Answer: The match will be just like any other match. We are not under pressure although we have lots of respect for Nigeria. In fact, we all know that when a dog bites a human being, it is not news. It will be news if human being bites a dog. We are used to losing to Nigeria but tomorrow, we will cause an upset. The pressure is not on us, but come tomorrow, Cameroon will be proud of us.

Question: At what level will you see your participation in the competition as being worthwhile?

Answer: Our aim here is to qualify for the world cup. It will be a massive disappointment if we fail in that ambition of ours but it will also serve as a
lesson for us.

President of the female football interest group (FFIG) Henrietta Ukaigwe has call for caution as Super Falcons tackle perennial rivals the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon in the Thursday’s second semifinal of the 7th African Women’s Championship (AWC) in South Africa.

Title holder Equatorial Guinea will face host South Africa the same day.

Cameroon edged out the weeping child of group B Algeria 2-1 to finish second behind title holders Equatorial Guinea who defeated Black Queens of Ghana 3-1; the results ensured both teams booked their passage to the last four of the biennial football event.

Ukaigwe told SuperSport.com on Monday that Cameroon are hungry for the World Cup show piece and will be tough even as she tips Falcons to come out of the encounter unscratched.

“Cameroon know us in and out, it will be tough. They have not been to the World Cup; it has always been Nigeria and Ghana. They are hungry and would want to play in the final that will give them the World Cup ticket.

“Many of their ex-internationals are products of Nigeria’s National Institute for Sports (NIS); some of their players also played in the women football league in Nigeria and the rivalry between Nigeria and Cameroon has been there so expect a tough game.

“However, Nigeria have always had the upper hands, so I still expect Falcons to triumph.”

The seasoned journalist who hailed the first class form of former Caf women footballer of the year Perpetua Nkwocha and coach Eucharia Uche expressed optimism that the five-time African champion will not only pick one of the World Cup tickets but will win the trophy also.

“Perpetua is on fire right now, it is like the older the wiser. She said this AWC will be her last, I think she is withdrawing in a grand style.

“Eucharia is not disappointing too. I gave her chance, she has proved that women can do it and I think she is making ways for other women coaches to come on board.

“Falcons will qualify for the World Cup, I see them also winning the trophy,” she enthused.

http://www.nigeriasoccernews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2206:ukaigwe-predicts-tough-duel-for-falcons&catid=42:features&Itemid=185

Simon Kalika, Samson Siasia's long term right hand man, has said that the new Super Eagles coach has targeted the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.

Siasia was last week named as Nigeria coach, and is expected to be presented to the media on Wednesday and Kalika says work must start in earnest, to achieve the team's long term goals.

"He has in his mind that the Eagles must surpass what they have achieved so far," Kalika said.

"In his mind Nigeria must play in the final of the 2012 Africa Nations Cup and must play in the semi-final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil."

Kalika admits that while these objectives may appear tough, they are achievable.

"This may look like a tall order or ambition but it is achievable. Everything is a matter of good and long planning. We need to start the job now and work on the likely players that can give us the result as well as make discoveries too.

"There are talents in the Nigerian local league but we only need time to work on them to become some of the best players around."

And the Dutchman is convinced that Siasia can deliver success.

"Firstly if I don’t believe in him to succeed in anything he does I wouldn’t have been always there to help him. I believe he would do wonders with the Super Eagles. He just needs a conducive environment to work and the full support of the Football Federation and Nigerians too.


"He wants to bring back the attacking football style of the Super Eagles of the past. He wants to change the playing pattern of the Eagles now. He wants to bring back the attacking instincts of the Eagles. He believes that when a team attack and attack the team would definitely sore goals and scoring goals is the only way a team can continue to win games."

http://www.kickoff.com/news/18696/simon-kalika-samson-siasias-target-is-2014-world-cup-semi-final.php

NFF hands off Siasia

Nigeria's success or failure under Samson Siasia's watch would be entirely the responsibility of the former international, according to the NFF.

Technical Committee chairman Christopher Green told KickOffNigeria.com that Siasia has been told that he although there will be monitoring, he will have full, unfettered powers over his team.

"We shall monitor the activities of our staff, our players and all that we have but that does not mean that we are going to interfere with his job. We are not going to interfere," Green told KickOffNigeria.com.

“We are going to give the coach a free hand and we have started by asking him to get his back room staff. That is free enough but that does not mean that we shall not monitor. We have a monitoring team of the Technical Committee.

“But he is at liberty because the truth of the matter is that we have told him and he has agreed that the successes and the failures of the team are his sole responsibility. He has accepted them so we should go to sleep. It is as good as that," Green disclosed.

Green, who was head of the committee that selected Siasia ahead of Keshi, said he had no regrets.

“Well I don’t think I have any reason to blame myself or we have any reason for blaming ourselves tomorrow for picking Siasia.

"We were faced with two very good coaches, two coaches we considered about the best in the country and it could have gone to any of them, but it favoured Siasia. So I don’t have any regrets and we are not going to have any regrets tomorrow."

http://www.kickoff.com/news/18697/nff-hands-off-samson-siasia.php

joanana:
you are welcome dear

mens dept:
Mr. Man, let me be the first to kindly tell you that Kaita/Keita is not even on the same level as his Malian counterpart Seydou Keita, not to talk of those you mentioned above (Beckham, ZZ, etc).

In 2005, we had a Mikel Obi, who today, does not play the same way, ditto for Keita.

There's nothing spectacular about his play, and frankly, if he's recalled fine, if not, better.

mens dept:
LOL. Keita was even listed. Just imagine

efoghorjos: I observe that our current Super Falcons team is made up of over 90% Igbos (From the coaching crew to players). I have never seen a time where our national team has been so composed of one ethnic group.

Just being curious anyway. Do you think it has got anything to do with the coaching crew or what?

1025:
@original poster,
not only with our national female team, but there is still an igbo girl in the eq. guinea female team by the name Chinasa okoro and she is make waves there too. as i write, she has scored in this there game against ghana so it cut across africa.

nigeria has refused to move forward because the igbos are not allowed into the right places. okonjo iweal and soloudo were close to doing great things but obasanjo politically killed that all.

mikeansy:
There is a role for Mikel in Our Midfield but not as the offensive player

Mikel can be our deep lying playmaker in a 2 man defensive midfield. Football has gotten too fast for one defensive midfielder.

Mikel should stop trying to be Okocha's replacement as he will never be. We should start looking at Mikel as a Xabi Alonso or our own Sunday Oliseh.

Nigeria needs to discover a new offesive midfielder.

Mobinga:
Examples of the silly threads are?

Mobinga:
I hate MTN