₦airaland Forum

Cameroon, 4 times afcon champion at the expense of nigeria on 4 occasions.
cote d'ivoire, 2 times afcon champion at the expense of ghana on 2 occasions.
hearty consolation with u guys! Better luck nxt time.

The final 21-man list of the Flying Eagles
will be announced soon after the team’s
final phase of camping in Banjul, Gambia. the
coaches will work with a 30-man team in
Banjul with the likelihood of players like
Isaac Success and Kelechi Iheanacho
returning to the team after missing out on
the Super 4 Invitational.
There will be very little rest for the
team after the hectic 10-day Invitational in
Abuja as they will now turn their attention
to a 2-legged test match against a team
from Ghana. Coach of the side, Manu Garba, revealed
the team’s itinerary as the kick off date for
the 2015 U-20 African Youth Championship
draws nearer.
Garba said his team will engage Ghana on
February 15th and 3 days later play the
2nd-leg of the friendly.

Manu Garba has stressed the need to work
on the defensive line and finishing of the
team.
The Flying Eagles picked the Super 4
Invitational trophy scoring 11 goals and
conceding 5; only Enyimba best the
number of goals conceded (4), but the
Coach says more needs to be done
The Coach has also revealed he is yet to
pick his final team for the 2015 CAF U-20
African Youth Championship.
In an exclusive interview with
www.footballlive.ng, Manu Garba
expressed satisfaction with the team’s
performance considering the quality of
opposition at the Super 4, but demands a
resolute defensive line and clinical strikers.
” We can say we’re satisfied with the
performance of our players having played
against tough and very experience teams.”
” But we need to fortify our defensive line
and equally work on our goal scoring,
taking our chances and being effective at
it.”

Assistant Coach of Flying Eagles, Nduka
Ugbade has predicted that Nigeria will win
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, saying part of
the age grade teams’ coaches plans is to
prepare their current players for the
challenges. He also tells RICHARD JIDEAKA
in this interview that the target of the U-20
team is to win the AYC in Senegal and go to
the World Cup as African champions…

Congratulations on your victory at the just
concluded Super Six tournament, what is the
secret?

Thanks. There is no secret about this feat
but we got rewarded for our hard work, focus
and style of football. I think this six team
tournament has afforded us the opportunity
to see what we wanted to see in the boys.
We have been able to notice some flaws and
errors. We were able to correct some in the
course this tournament and the ones we
cannot do now, we will try to do before the
Africa Youth Championship in Senegal.

Will beating the likes of Nigeria’s league
champions Kano Pillars and Federation Cup
winners Enyimba in the six team tournament
boost your team going into AYC?

The good thing about this tournament is
that it afforded the chance to test what we
have been practicing for a period of time in
camp. We were watching out for possession
of the boys on the ball, positional play, unity,
how we press when not with the ball and
how we defend under pressure. Pillars and
Enyimba no doubt are big clubs and for us to
beat them will definitely give our boys the
confidence they need ahead of the AYC in
Senegal.

From what we have seen here, it looks like
you have a deliberate plan not to rely too
much on the squad that won the FIFA U-17
World Cup in 2013, why this decision?

Yes, because most of these boys you are
talking about are too young and some of
them have gone abroad, so getting them
anytime we need them may not be that easy.
Again we are introducing new talents
because the AYC is not in FIFA calendar and
the clubs abroad are not compelled to
release their players for the tournament. In
view of this, we have to build a strong team
at home that will be able to compete with
the best. We are also aware that getting
these players from extreme cold weather to
extreme hot may affect the team.

So you are not going to have the majority of
Golden Eaglets players that won the U-17
World Cup in 2013 for the AYC tournament?

Definitely, we will not have all of them
available for the AYC for obvious reasons.
Like I said earlier, their clubs, forms and
commitment will determine their fate in the
team.

How would you explain why some of the
players who honoured your invitation were
not given much time to prove what they can
offer?

It has to do with their fitness level and form.
There is no sentiment in our team selection.
You have to prove yourself to make the
team. We in the technical crew know what
we want and what we want to achieve, so no
favouritism in the team’s selections. Play the
way we want and you are in simple.

Can this team win the AYC in Senegal, given
the fact that you may not have the full
complement of your Europe based players?

I won’t tell you anything contrary because
our focus is to win the AYC and go to the
World Cup as African champions. Yes, we
would win the AYC. You see, we are doing
something which I hope the Super Eagles can
benefit from. We just have to play more on
information than playing on formation. We
are equally working hard to make sure we
produce future Eagles for the nation. Football
is dynamic and we have to keep pace or we
fall away from track.

The belief is that your team has spent more
time in camp and that is why they were able
to perform better than other teams in the Glo
Super Six, how would you react to this?

That is just an excuse. The truth is that we
are better than them because we are national
team. We approach all the teams we have
played with different game plan and I believe
if they had beaten us, they won’t be talking
about not having enough training before this
six team competition. If they are ill prepared,
they should also agree that they are more
matured than us. I think it was victories for
youth over experience.

The players that won the U-17 World Cup in
2013 are now in U-20 team; do you think
they can progress into Super Eagles to win
the World Cup in 2022?

This question is like you read my thoughts
and our hope. If you go to my hotel room, I
have a replica of the World Cup and I am
optimistic that by 2022, Nigeria will win the
FIFA senior World Cup. But this is like saying
that a nest is created for something. It is
only when the design is finished that one can
say yes it is ready for the safety of the eggs
that the bird will lay there. For that reason,
we are taking control of our destiny by
preparing these young guys for a dream.
There are three levels for this dream; a level
where you compete for fun, the second level
is competing for laurels and the third is
training for high performance. That level will
come after these guys have passed this U-20
stage to U-23 and getting set for the senior
national team, Surely, surely, I strongly
believe without doubt that Nigeria can just go
on to win the 2022 world cup. But then there
must be continuity in the administration and
coaching in football in the country to achieve
that.

So will it be right to say that the Golden
Eaglets class of 2013 will form the bedrock
of the team that will win the2022 World Cup
for Africa and Nigeria?

Yes, if they remain focused and keep on
developing their game. But they must not
give themselves undue pressure. They need
to play lots of games for clubs and country
to gain competitive edge, so that under
intensity, you are able to think very well to
create a balance psychologically and move
on.

Why has Nigeria not been able to win the
World Cup after doing so well at age grade
levels, winning the U-17 thrice, reaching the
final in the U-20 World Cup and winning the
U-23 Olympic gold?

At the level of finished product, we tend to
finish well. We have not won because we
have not planned properly and we do not
have continuity in both administration and
coaching, if we have long time plan and
execution, we should have won the world
Cup.

Don’t you think it is due to age cheat?

I don’t think it is due to age cheats. I think it
is because the talents we have are not
nurtured in the acts of science of football.
Age cheat has become thing of the past now
with the coming of MRI. Age cheating does
not come to bear in football like before again.

Thank you for talking to Complete Sports.
It is my pleasure to talk to you.

What a climax to the competition. well done guys. And that referee dat always give freekick instead of penalty in the box, he did it against enyimba and today again. keep it up, they will deal with u wen d league starts. Olodo!

I still find it very funny how most of our sport journalists kept reporting the same wrong news. In the match between flying eagles vs dolphins fc, tunde adeniji hits his left-footed shot against the post but all of them said musa yahaya. too sad! Copy and paste people!

Yes they need to be clinical. Finishing is still a concern. Awoniyi, Eze ,Adeniyi, and Muhammed are all guilty of poor finishing. Freekicks are game changers, they need to master how to bend or curl the ball very well. Sad day for Dolphins FC. Positional awareness was very poor. Better learn fast from Warri Wolves. Great tournament no doubts. brought out lot of flaws of the teams. Kudos to the organizers.

fujirice:

Forget o! Those small small boys, their blood dey hot o!

Very funny. i think fatigue is showing on the boys. Plssss oga manu, start nwobodo, bulbwa and yahaya in their nxt match ooo. Fresh legs. that suliaman abdullahi is not it. too heavy, cant turn and dribble. good he was subbed quickly. the saleh guy is by far better. Awoniyi needs to be clinical and improve his short and long passes. lost too much possession in the first half. Captain musa should adjust his shooting style. needs to lift the ball well in corner kicks or simply do a short pass. The two centre back for the eagle also tried. thumb up to roland silas. overall, warri wolves by far the better team in the first half but lack dat finishing instinct to score goals and win games. Possession is nothing if u cant score.

Having watched two matches, i will propose the following players be preserved for the AYC.
Goalkeeper:
1.ojo
2.alampasu
3.enaholo

defender:
4.musa
5.ndidi
6.omego
7.bello
8.mustapha

midfielders
9.akinjide
10.alfa
11.yahaya
12.nwobodo
13.ifeanyi
14.bulbwa
15. Mathew
16. jimoh

attacker
17. awoniyi
18. eze

Then the remaining three slots be contested for by
success, iheanacho, nwakali, aggreh, alhassan, lawal
abdullahi, aliyu , solomon and sokari. Though some of them will not turn up.

ok. tnx for confirming. omego was red carded in dat match. cant remember well now sha.

He is right, Izu Omego missed a penalty kick but it was against Cote 'd Voire in last AYC. Coaches were shocked the way he approached and executed the kick.it nearly cost him a place in the final squad. I read somewhere that he was made to pay for his MRI at calabar.[/quote]You are wrong also. He said in South Africa, Home based eagles and against Ghana not in Morocco against cote d'ivoire. Read well before u post. Not so sure now sha but i tink it was nwakali.

thegoodjoehunt3:
That was the old way Man City was run. Now, Man City have a new philosophy. We are going the Barcelona route of fielding more players developed by the club. That is why Man City owners built the biggest football academy in the World. We are spending loads of money bringing in special talents.

The technical director that helped bring in the Guardiola crop of La Masia players is now at Man City. The Coach who trained Messi when he was a kid is now at Man City. It is a new approach and Nacho is key to the team.

hmmm...its a matter of time. they r putting nwakali on loan very soon. And jus bought bony too. We shall see!

joseph1013:
Remember Prince Izu Omego? He missed a spot kick when Eagles played Ghana at the Home Based Players African Cup in South Africa.

You are wrong. kindly modify ur post. Na Rangers fc player be dat one o.

Many might not agree, but Enyimba and Kano pillars are good teams as far as African football league is concern. i will always have my respect for them. The edge flying eagles have over them remain quick movement going back and forth and positional awareness. They are always moving, closing down the spaces. Unlike Super eagles who are always slow and ponderous.

joseph1013:
Awoniyi with two well-taken goals, Musa Mohammed with an own goal and Chidera Ezeh missing a spot kick. Kano Pillars have nothing to complain about. They were well beaten.

Good game for the Manu Garba boys.

Awoniyi one goal and an assist.

More might be injured. The league teams play more of physical football than technique, u see them hitting the ball with power rather than simple pass. There style is miss ball dnt miss the leg. was thinking awoniyi but omego, too sad!

joseph1013:
Not sure I agree with you. He is a good player. His ball awareness seem to have improved too, thanks to foreign training, I guess.

More might be injured. The league teams play more of physical football than technique, u see them hitting the ball with power rather than simple pass. There style is miss ball dnt miss the leg. was thinking awoniyi but omego, too sad!
with ss9, nvr missed an action.

chidera eze has always been an average player. The guy is really very lucky. No special talent to me.

Super Four|Flying Eagles
make changes for Kano
Pillars clash

Coach Manu Garba has made three changes in the starting line-up of the Flying Eagles for Monday’s clash against reigning Nigeria Premier League champions, Kano Pillars in the ongoing Super 4 tournament in Abuja. Upfront, El Kanemi Warriors striker Sulaiman Abdullahi will be partnering Tawio Awoniyi having been picked as the replacement for suspended Prince Aggreh, who was sent off in the opening day 2-0 win over Enyimba. Coach Garba has also opted to test Giwa FC goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo in goal has he comes in for Joshua Enoholo, who started against Enyimba, and Abdullahi Alfa has given way to Ifeanyi Matthew in the midfield. Despite his sweet goal against the Peoples’ Elephant in the opening day of action at the Super Four, Tottenham Hotspur youth star Musa Yahaya is again billed to start from the bench against Pillars this afternoon.
Kick-off is 3pm at the Abuja National Stadium.
Flying Eagles start list vs Pillars Olorunleke Ojo – Musa Muhammed(Captain), Mustapha Abdullahi,
Zaharadeen Bello, Izu Omego – Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Wasiu Jimoh - Sulaiman Abdullahi, Taiwo Awoniyi.

Subs: Joshua Enaholo(gk), Obinna Nwobodo Abdullahi Alfa, Adamu Abubakar (gk), Usman Hassan, Tunde Adeniran, Bernard Bulbwa, Ali Chiwendu,
Musa Yahaya, Roland Silas, Chidera Eze, Abubakar Lawal

Pls note, Man city dnt train any player to stardom. They are big spenders. Deals with finished products. You deliver or abandoned.

Krasid:
I really expected more from enyimba.If they don't improve, they will end up getting eliminated in the CAF champions league 1st round.

Dat enyimba is good. if udoh or bashir played dat match they would ve scored before the boys. their defence wasnt dat solid. And the goalkeeper always dropping his ball-enaholo. their advantage was quick movement going forward, high rate of recovery when not in possession of the ball- all the boys irrespective of position- they were like ants on enyimba players. close their spaces quickly which can only be achieved when you re very fit.

messi scores with both feet from time to time. kelechi doesnt. All his goals are left footed. he brings every ball to his left, doesnt use the ryt when moving wit the ball. success has an edge there.

iheanacho is technically clinical as a striker. isaac is very versatile. uses both feet very well unlike kelechi who is a lefty. He dribbles well too.

And the officiating should be improved too. Aggrey was brought down rashly in the penalty box, instead of a penalty he gave a freekick in the box! And no card to enyimba player but gave aggrey a second yellow and a red card for dissent. He then compensated it with a soft or dubious penalty few minutes later. What a shame! Now i know why they get beaten up.

if enyimba wins dis match, its due to experience. the boys are up to them.

stop deceiving us. Saviour Godwin warmed the bench in the u17 world cup. against uruguay, came in as usual, he was a total poo. one on one with keeper, played shot like a preggo. hiss! overhype reporting.

watched him play of recent, not impressive. still prefer mathew, yahaya and alfa to him any day.

rabiu ali total scrap

Maybe Manu did not see bank alerts from his Agent on time. You know almost everything in naija na biz. Jus my guess o, keshi state of mind. Maybe Manu did not see bank alerts from his Agent on time. You know almost everything in naija na biz. Jus my guess o, keshi state of mind.

About the pitch, we in west africa don't wet our grass always knowing fully well how harsh our sunny weather is. Apply water always and trim it
to standard, used or unused and it will remain plush. visit private homes or catholic church or seminary, you will be marvelled at how plush their grass is. the secret remains proper nursing and regular maintenance. once this is done, our grass will be always lustre green. but corruption won't let them do it. they will deliberately leave it dead then sought for contract to import from God knows where. Criminals!

Goalkeeper:
1.ojo
2.alampasu
3.enaholo

defender:
4.musa
5.ndidi
6.omego
7.aliyu
8.bello
9.madu
10.mustapha


midfielders:
11.nwakali
12.akinjide
13.alfa
14.yahaya
15.nwobodo
16.sokari
17.ifeanyi
18.bulbwa
19.simon

attackers:
20.isaac
21.iheanacho
22.alhassan
23.awoniyi
if we ever qualify for the world cup, our squad should look more like this.
Good squad it will be i guess. why has this thread gone to sleep.

I hereby advise Samson Siasia to leave the following players out of his invitation of foreign based players for coach Manu Garba so as not to create a conflict of interest between them. This is because they are already with the u20 team. Iheanacho, awoniyi, success, yahaya, and musa mohammed. Unearth your own talents. Give us more!