₦airaland Forum

TheGoodJoe:

CR7 and Messi would have been among the top players but would never have dominated as they did in this era. They would have played more on the wings with two strikers in front of them. That was the challenge the likes of Figo, Overmars, Amunike, Finidi, Ronald de Boer faced.

Despite their exceptional talents, CR7 and Messi will not rake the kind of goals the did to win the Ballon D'Or repeatedly.

My thoughts exactly. Let's remember that you could be a top goalscorer only if you were an all out centre forward. Messi and Ronaldo would have been confined to the wings in that age with two more centrally positioned forwards scoring the goals. The current systems give them an opportunity to outscore the lone forwards and the reduced emphasis on the creative number 10 in favour athleticism in the modern game makes comparison with Zidane and co difficult

Found this banner interesting.

A city fan's idea of Pep's galacticos

komekn:
You made an assumption with the bolded that is accusatory towards me. I purposely did not say who I felt was younger. I left that to anyone to make up there mind. I do have an opinion but I did not state it so you err in that regard by your presumption.

We talk about Change in Nigeria from our leaders, when we as a people are not prepared to change. Corruption pervades every facet if life including our so called religious institutions. Age cheating is just one of the very minuscule aspects of corruption.

Unfortunately because our birth data systems are not systemically recorded and substantiated it is almost impossible to verify age in Nigeria. This is a simple fact, you then have to rely on people's integrity. Integrity is not part of the menu on our everyday meals.

There have been huge steps taken to address the problem but it doesn't mean it's gone away. Just like saying cause we have Buhari or the EFCC corruption has died.

Komekn, where in the world is Integrity is a part of the menu on their everyday meals?

komekn:

Chukwudi beat MRI scan are you sure? This guy was my friends senior who finished high school in 2000. Meanwhile he claimed U17 in 2009.

I have quit a few discussions on age cheating with people denying that it's far from rampant and that the MRI scan has largely ended the practice.

One thing I do know is that a 15 year old will not remain the same after 5 years in body or in facial features. Omeruah has remained largely the same physically in facial features and body since 2009.

While the Football Associations were required to conduct MRI tests in 2009, testing by FIFA was random. Not until 2011 was the FIFA testing mandatory.

I used to be skeptical about Nigerian age-grade teams until I met a group of boys in track suit at MMA in Lagos sometime in 2014. My thought was that these most be some secondary school boys jetting out for some high school competition. A few minutes later, my younger brother pointed out Amunike to me as he walked towards the boys. It was at that point I realised that these were members of the national U-17 team jetting out for some qualifiers. That day marked the turning point for me and I got interested again in nigerian youth teams. The WYC in 2015 was the first youth tournament I watched with interest since the 2005 final (and I only watched that because it was the finals and I wanted to see the much talked about Mikel Obi). I didn't even watch a single match of the 2013 U-17 world cup in UAE! No one was more skeptical than I was about institutional age cheating in Nigerian football, and it took me meeting the amuneke boys face to face to believe these guys are not far from their declared ages. Hell, I even couldn't believe they were 17 as I thought they were still in secondary school!

Trust me, they fall within the stipulated age bracket. I also believe that with or without MRI, it will become increasingly difficult for players to falsify their ages in the interconnected world we live in now. The reason why we don't doubt the ages of players from advanced economies is not because they are honest but because the records management system in those countries make it difficult. I see the same thing happening in 3rd world countries too, since there is increasing access to records through social media and other websites

Mickael2:
Yes but why was he removed from there?

Dont know in the case of Onazi, but players can get moved for different reasons apart from performance. Mikel comes to mind (AMF to DMF not because he was a poor AM player). Lauren was moved to RB in Arsenal even though he excelled in the midfield role (was player of the tournament at AFCON 2000). Even Okocha played DMF for a few games in PSG and that didn't work out. Players get moved if there ia a need in the team and if they excel in that new role, they retain their spot

TheNonce:
No shaking my guy! Tell your resident twunts to watch who they attempt to cross swords with in the future though! We love discussing the concept of jogo bonito but we are experts at also handling senseless trolls and shutting down threads! Abeg make I enjoy my man united match!

Is that your mission here? You are almost doing a good job of it!

zicky:
If you see a guy and a lady on the street insulting each other who would you caution.

You cation the man because the woman is at a disadvantage in a physical brawl.

This however has no way of getting physical, so I don't see why gender should be a consideration. I also hold that it is insulting to step in to defend someone on an online forum, simply because they are female because it is implicitly assuming that they do not have the capacity to do so and her fragile Frankly, it is insulting to safarigirl (or any woman for that matter) for anyone to think they can't stand up for themselves intellectually or verbally. From what I see here, safarigirl is well able to handle herself and shouldn't need people standing up for her.

We can only maintain this thread as a civil forum if people refrain from using personal insults and abusive words.

However, what I can't fathom is why two people will take a go at each other with derogatory comments and only one takes a stick and cautioned. What am I missing here?

goldfish80:
The Egyptians aren't good enough to beat the Camerounians.
I watched how Cameroun out played Burkina Faso and the same Burkina Faso outplayed Egypt.

Judging by this analysis, one will be tempted to tip Cameroun for the win.

If this theory were true, then the final round of group matches will have predictable results since you could measure the performance of both teams based not just on one but two previous common opponents. This is not saying Cameroon won't win however, but just saying it wont be based on a deductive logic

PetroDolla3:
I repeat, I don't give a fvck if Nigerians support Ghana or not. Why should I? Let the will of God prevail. You can take your 'support' and shove it................ Tweeaaaaaaaa!

Your aggression on the thread suggests otherwise....whatever gets you through the day though! Goodluck tonight!

PetroDolla3:
You people are pathetic! Ghana no gree pessimism hear word,huh? You've forgotten Ghana has won the title 4 times already, compared with a miserable two for your pathetic country? Nonsense! And who gives a fvcking who you prefer or who you don't prefer. Ghana will win the trophy, if it the will of God. All of you Nigerians can pray for Ghana to lose, we don'T give a fvck!

Dude! He can support whoever he wants, just like you can. He stated his preference with reasons and even included a smiley to show his good faith. You on the other hand had to result to insulting a whole nation because someone else doesn't have the same preference like you do. What is that? "My way or you are pathetic?" Please grow up. There are many many Nigerians who still want Ghana to win by the way. Each to his own preference.

Icon4s:
Now till August is still a long time. Players form and fitness at that time is what matters most. Besides, there are AFCON qualifiers in June and Cameroun will not be part of it as they are hosts.

Actually Cameroun will still be playing qualifiers as hosts. They are in Group B alongside Morocco, Malawi, Comoros/Mauritius. The idea is to ensure that host teams have the same opportunities as others in "tuning" their teams even though they aleady have automatic qualification. Add to that the possibility that they will play in FIFA confederations cup in June, if they win the AFCON

I would have been indifferent to Cameroon winning this AFCON, if not for the fact that they get to go for Confederations cup in the summer, which will help them further strengthen their team dynamics. I don't want that

Like I told an Egyptian friend last year, I will be routing for them because our ceding the ticket to them must not be in vain

Started following the Eagles passionately (lost my passion now) in 1993. So honestly cant tell if he featured before then or not. However, I know he was also a member of the bronze winning Cairo 91 All African Games team and he also won the Sekou Toure cup with Zamalek that year. I would say he was already an experienced professional before playing for the Eagles

TheGoodJoe:

So he was not an experienced Super Eagles player. Thanks for the info. Do you know the month the game was played and did Emmanuel Amunike start the game?

Okay. I remember that match. My memory is not clear. Is that the match Yekini scored a long range free kick?

Amuneke's first match i remember was in a 4-0 victory over Sudan in April 93. 1993 Matches as I remember them:

1. AFCON qualifier against Sudan (90 mins action for Amuneke)
2. WC qualifier against IVC in Abidjan (Amuneke featured, but not sure if he started)
3. WC qualifier against Algeria in Lagoa (90mins for Amuneke)
4. AFCON qualifier against Uganda in Kampala (90 Mins for Amuneke)
5. AFCON against Ethiopia in Lagos (90 mins and MOTM performance)
6. WC against IVC in Lagos (came in for okocha in the 2nd half)
7. WC qualifier ALG in Teslem (Started the game but I think got injured)

Amuneke was an integral part of the team but we had so much stars in 94 that he didn't get to start until the finals. Even Finidi didnt taste action until the group stages.

Also, we had 2 teams in 1993. The foreign based professionals prosecuted the WC qualifiers while the AFCON qualifiers were predominantly prosecuted by home based and untested foreign based players. Amuneke was the one player who featured regularly in both.

Nigerian football was so strong. Rufai was even part of team B and Oliseh didn't even get to play in the WCQ

Algeria Vs Zimbabwe not going according to script. Algerians dont seem to know what has hit them. Don't know if Zim can sustain the tempo though (Alg 1 - 1 Zim)

goldfish80:
The article I posted shows that Elderson was injured prior to the world cup. It trashes your earlier postulation that Oshaniwa benched him at the mundial.

From my observations on this thread, TheGoodJoe's clamor for Oshanaiwa has been based on his World Cup performances and the fact that he displaced Echiejile after a series of poor performances in the AFCON qualifiers and not prior to Brazil as you claim

AIG07:
thanks for dis post.

I knew we won't be grouped wit an african power house-all thanks to our recent upward move on FIFA rankings...
We really have so many things to thank rohr for and not forgetting to shower some praise on nff for his appointment...

which country is hosting d 2019 edition?

2019 host is Cameroon

safarigirl:
guess we'll be going for that AFCON....please tell me we play South Africa in March ....let them be the first to enjoy these small boys in 2017

lol!. Qualifiers start in June

It's Nigeria, South Africa, Libya and Seychelles for 2019 Afcon

BascoVanVeli:
If Nigeria were a south American country we would have a world cup by now.

I have serious doubts about this. We have had at least 11 opportunities to beat teams from South America in the past two decades (including the golden age of our football) and our returns have been very poor (including against Peru).
The only time Nigeria has ever beaten a South American side was the victory over Argentina in 2011 at Abuja (and the result even get k-leg). Columbia, Paraguay and Peru have beaten us in the past.

The best of African teams have found the South Americans a tough nut to crack. Only Cameroon seems to have been able to hold their own against them

bigblangston:
Hello TheSuperCOWARD! I know you wouldn't dare quote me but I can. Not all of us can come online and start bragging on what we are up to in reality unlike you that's fond of describing what you are in which I can bet my 2cents that you are not. Don't let me start with your medical whatever you claimed to be in which I'm very sure you are not. I know your type out there only to be forming what you are not in reality but LOOTING google to see some medical words to sustain your online ego. I remembered when a certain moniker bursted your lying _ass about you creating a Maastricht or whatever moniker just to feel important. You wanna know what I do in the real world? I will leave that to you so that your numbskull Yara Yara (very stale method to be relevant in the scheme of things) can find something doing. Part time medical student (Lol). This is me trying to be nice, just quote me and see what I have waiting for you... Ninnyhammer!!!

Absolutely no need for this, especially in the light of the call for more civility on the thread

bigblangston:
born in germany to a "croatian"father, "german mother" and a "nigerian" father... abeg who born dis guy?

"a Croatian father and a German mother with a Nigerian father"

His grandfather is Nigerian?

Don't know why I dislike these tags for our players: "Nigerian Messi", "Nigerian Pogba", "Nigerian Kante", "Nigerian Neymar" etc. Some even go as far as using the whole continent "African Messi" etc..WHO is giving them these names by the way?

Happy Birthday to you TheGoodJoe. Have your best year yet!

TheSuperNerd:
Well not yet.... CAF havent even done the draws for Afcon 2019 qualification series as Afcon 2017 is yet to be played.

But I'm guessing It may start in the international break of september 2018 after the World Cup in Russia (VERY UNLIKELY) OR may start in June next year and continue after Russia 2018 in the international windows of September, October and November.

#JustSaying

Oga Relax... I know you cant wait to see this team conquer Africa... Looolllll

Lol, thanks! Just asking as I feel this will provide competitive matches for the Eagles to further "gel" before the WC qualifiers begin again in August, since our opponents have the 2017 AFCON matches to do this and we dont. I was wondering if it will start around June 2017 like the last one started in 2015 (remember beating Chad in Kaduna in June last year)

Is there a start date for the 2019 AFCON qualifiers yet?

Icon4s:
Thompson Oliha didnt play that final for reasons i cant recall. Either suspension or injury.
I hope i can find that reason on google. (No b everything dey google.)

Oliha, just like Adepoju lost his starting place after the quarter finals against Zaire.

At USA 94, Okocha was injured for the first two matches, which is why he only came in as a substitute in the final moments of the Argentina match and much earlier against Greece. I also think for this matches, Siasia played his role as Oliseh was the only midfielder in the starting line up for the group games.

Oliha only played one match in that world cup- coming in for an injured Amuneke against Italy

TheGoodJoe:
Then you missed. Big time. In the AFCON with Berti Vogtz, Aiyegbeni missed and missed until Obafemi begged Kanu to talk to Vogtz to replace Aiyegbeni with him.

The guy kept on missing but kept his place because of his experience as one of he top EPL strikers.

My recollection of AFCON 2008 is that we hardly created chances in that tournament and Yakubu still managed to score. Our only chance against Ivory Coast fell to Obafemi and he missed. Maybe that is why Berti Vogts refused to start him subsequently.

TheGoodJoe:

Your point three highlights precisely my point. I know that most times, bias choices happens because of the weak favor of experience players. That is why Yakubu Aiyegbeni, [b]missed goals upon goals [/b]and kept his place. He missed until the woeful unforgettable World Cup miss before the scales fell off people's eyes that he was passed it.

Select who is better than that experience thing.

Not inserting myself into the experience talk but the bolded got me. I may be wriong, but I dont remember Yakubu being someone who missed goals upon goals. He was always a great finisher and have also always thought his miss wasn't what cost us the game against Korea (which came when we were still behind). Rather, Obagoal's miss of a sitter when we were already level and needed just one more goal to qualify ultimately sealed our fate

Kog45:
Respect for your wonderful thought,hating is a disease and if someone cannot control himself is a big issue.

How on earth w somebody come to this thread and indirectly saying Enyeama should be back coz of Mikel captain band then a wonderful Ikeme should be bench for no reason than hatred for God sake.

Honestly i have players that i don't like but that should not give me reason to base my analysis on hatred towards them

@Kog45, I think you may be misinterpreting Mikael here as his point about the captaincy is a valid one.

Case in point: When Domenech persuaded Zidane to come out of retirement in 2005 to help France revive a fledgling campaign, he was reinstated as captain. I think Luis Figo did the same (though I am not sure)

Adding the complexity of Nigeria, Mikael's question about the captaincy isn't far fetched. During the 2002 WCQ, Sunday Oliseh stayed away from a match in Omdurman. On his return for the last match against Ghana, PH fans were demanding that he should relinquish the captaincy to Finidi even though he only missed one match. Of course, we have had other former captains recalled to the team where there was no issue(Peter Rufai in 1998 comes to mind)

That Mikael may have a reputation for "hatred for Mikel" doesn't mean all his comments should be viewed from that lens when infact he raises an issue that might well arise if Enyeama returns

TheSuperNerd:
Abeg.... In the midst of the 3-4-3 arguments, Ehmmm... Oga Tglobal...

Abeg no vex... Been in and out of NL today coz I've been really busy today. Just hopped in the afternoon or so to drop news after the early morning drop.

So abeg... Sir Tglobal... I didn't know it was your Birthday until Sir Terzurum5 dropped something about that few pages back... Plsss... Emabinu...

My own dey come late... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU AND MAY ALL YOU WISH FOR BE GRANTED THEE.

GODBLESS.

Thanks everyone of you, @TheGoodJoe, @TheSuperNerd, @AIG07. I appreciate it. Before today I thought the birthday wishes on nairaland came from friends who knew each other and initially wondered how terzurum5 knew my birthday till i figured out I must have given nairaland the information at some point. Thanks all and keep up the good work