Sports

Lagerbäck Drops Nigeria’s Highest Goal Scorer

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Ikechukwu Uche will not be in South Africa. I doubt if this boy will ever play for Nigeria again.

He could not have been dropped for his injury since Mikel Obi is also just back from Injury lay off period.

Well, it could have been that he was not impressive in training. Or maybe the coach didn’t want to give 2 slots to the same family, since Kalu his brother is in the team.

Some people feared that the team was selected by Nigerian government officials. From past experience/ occurence, this may also be the case. You never know.

Depending on what happens in South Africa the truth will eventually unfold-if it was Lagerbäck’s team or a team packaged for him by NFF under the influence of this-and-that Minister or Governor. Actually it is not a rumour that government officials have or used to have slots in the National team. A former member of the super Eagles told me that just 2 days ago.

Well, I wish Uche a wonderful career ahead of him. If I was the coach to be candid I would take Uche to the World Cup and leave behind one of the tired legs. The man who scored the highest numbers of goals to take us to the world cup (unless the team doctors rule him not fit) deserve to be rewarded with a slot in the World Cup.

Life does not always bring what we wished or hoped for. Uche will have to learn to leave this sadness and disappointment behind. He should support his brother and wish the team well.

I HOPE THAT he will bounce back and continue to play good football. I hope that he will achieve more greatness in his international career. If he decides to play for Nigeria again in the future, he must show the coach and Nigerians that we made a big mistake to have dropped him in this crucial tournament.

Nigeria’s Final World Cup List

/ Adeola / 29 Comments

2010 World Cup

The Nigerian Team:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva, Israel)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Marseille, France), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes, France), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Joseph Yobo (Everton, England), Daniel Shittu (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Rabiu Afolabi (SV Salzburg, Austria)

Midfielders: Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany), John Utaka (Portsmouth, England), Kalu Uche (Almeria, Spain), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham, England), John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Sani Kaita (Alaniya, Russia), Haruna Lukman (AS Monaco, France), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Strikers: Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton, England), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth, England), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, Germany), Victor Obinna Nsofor (Malaga, Spain)

Inter Milans’ Champions League Victory: A million points for Samuel Eto’o

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By Adeola Aderounmu

Barcelona’s coach Josep Guardiola is the most ungrateful coach/ sportsman I have seen in the last few decades. Even if you were going to sell a player because he suddenly became a surplus, there was no need to subject that player to ridicule or humiliation in the process of doing that.

When Eto’o was sold to Inter Milan, he was subjected to unnecessary humiliation by Josep Guardiola. In fact one season before that he had wanted to do away with Eto’o but the humble Samuel went on to win both the league and champions league with Barcelona as one of the highest goal scorers in Europe.

Jose Mourinho has gone proved to the world that he is the best coach in the world and that Samuel Eto’o is one of the most versatile player alive today.

Eto’s didn’t have to scored all the goals. He did his bits but his contributions to the success story of Inter Milan this year shows that he is among the greatest African footballer of all time.

Nobody will forget that he gave the pass to Milito when Inter defeated Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions league final. Nobody will forget that he was in the attack, he was in the midfield and he was always beside Maicon when needed. You will never find a more versatile player in football today. Who could have thought that Samuel Eto’o has all these qualities? Thanks for Mourinho for bringing out all these qualities in Eto’s.

Mourinho is the special one, a genius who has proved to Guardiola that Eto’o is one greatest players in world football today. In short you don’t sell a treasure like him if you dream of winning the Champion Cup.

This topic will not be complete without feeling some sympathy for Zlatan. Zlatan left Inter Milan because he wanted to win the champions league with Barcelona. That was a wrong move. In recent history it has been rare to see a club win the champions league back-to-back. So Zlatan’s move to Barcelona was a careless move for success but good one for money. Now we know that Zlatan is a misfit in Barca’s shirt and he’s probably looking at his options now that Bacelona has bought David Villa. Well, their headache!

Congratulations Samuel Eto’o, Your name is now written in Gold. You have won 3 champions league gold in about a period of 5 years. You are one of the greatest African footballers. Some will say that you are the best. This is not a debate but a tribute to you, that we love you and we will continue to follow your progress.

Samuel, you have no more points to prove that you are one of the greatest. Just go to the world cup in South Africa and do your best.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

As we say in Nigeria, shame to bad people!

Inter Milan Wins Champions League 2010

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BY Adeola Aderounmu

Inter Milan 2: Bayern Munich 0

Inter Milan are Champions of Europe. D. Milito scored the first goal in the 35th minutes and sealed the game 35 minutes later, that is the 70th minute with a wonderful strike after receiving a wonderful pass from Samuel Eto’o.

Inter didn’t care much about the possession. They got only about 30% of it. Bayern Munich should have known better than making all those unnecessary short passes that led to nowhere. Football is not about number of passes or percentage of possession. You have to find the net. With 30% possession Inter Milan found the back of the net twice.

Two moments of magic and two moments of excellent strikes. Milito is not the one who scores 2 goals out of two chances but on the day of the final, that’s what he did. Two chances, two goals!

Mourinho is the greatest coach alive. He is definitely the special one.

Congratulations Inter Milan, Congratulations Italy!

NIGERIA’s WORLD CUP SQUAD

/ Adeola / 18 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

Lars Lagerbäck is not going to the World Cup to perform experiments. Conventional wisdom shows that that may be a fatal approach. The Nigerian coach will be going to South Africa in June with the players he inherited from Shuaibu Amodu.

What is then the difference between having coach Amodu in South Africa and Lars Lagerbäck who failed to qualify Sweden for the same competition? The outcome of the performances of the Nigerian team will be known in June 2010.

I cannot give a prediction of the outcome in South Africa but I know that the strategy of Mr. Lagerbäck will be different. Nigeria may end up playing a more defensive-style football and if this happens people are really going to be upset with the coach especially if the Super Eagles are disgraced out of the tournament.

Every Nigerian is a football analyst in his/ her own rights. If Lagerbäck’s strategies fail they will tell him what he doesn’t know about our football. They will let him know in clear terms that next to God, the next thing on the minds of Nigerians is football. To hell with politics and the looting politicians. Give us good football and take our sorrows away.

It doesn’t matter that Nigeria qualified for the world cup by a slim chance. The expectations are the same as if we qualified in a big way. Hence it is clear from the team squad that Mr. Lagerbäck himself is not willing to take chances. But the big question is “will he and his boys deliver when the heat is on in South Africa?”

Football coaches have one of the most fragile jobs in the world. Lagerbäck may not realise this because it took so long for him to get booted in Sweden despite several imperfections. Nigeria’s imperfections have produced coach after coach and the recycling of Amodu is a clear piece of evidence. He’s been there 3 times in the last 12 years !

If Lagerbäck fails in South Africa-not getting to the second round or quarter finals-there will be extreme pressure on his employers to fire him. That sort of failure will seal the automatic end to the international careers of the present crop of Super Eagles, most of whom are already past their primes anyway. If Lagerbäck survives he may eventually get the chance to try and do something new for Nigerian football. In that case, say 3 years from now, it would have become evident what he can do with the bunch of talents that Nigeria boast of. Some of us will get the chance to compare his records in Sweden with the situation in Nigeria if he survives 3 years as the coach of football-crazy Nigeria.

Just before the world cup, Nigeria will play 1 or 2 friendly matches. That is if the Football Authority is not fooling around like they did last month. These matches will not be adequate preparations for a country that is serious in going far in the tournament. If Nigerian plays the friendly matches, they will provide rare opportunities for Lagerbäck to see his squad first hand.

Performances in the friendly matches for those who get to wear the national colours and the few days in training will culminate in final selection of players for the world cup.

My expectations are not so high. Still the Nigerian in me wants Nigeria to do well in this world cup. Nigerians need something to cheer about, something to soothe us despite our political and social worries. Football is our religion and history has it that during those moments when Nigeria could have been torn apart, we were kept together by the common glories that football brought to our troubled nation.

I wish Mr. Lagerbäck and the Super Eagles all the best that the god of soccer can give them. With such a dull preparation, they will need all the luck in the world if they want to survive any game at all in the tournament. Good luck may even come from the seat of power. In Nigeria and for Nigerians, anything can happen!

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva, Israel), Bassey Akpan (Bayelsa United, Nigeria)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Marseille, France), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes, France), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Onyekachi Apam (OG Nice, France), Joseph Yobo (Everton, England), Daniel Shittu (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Rabiu Afolabi (SV Salzburg, Austria), Terna Suswan (Lobi Stars, Nigeria)

Midfielders: Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany), John Utaka (Portsmouth, England), Brown Ideye (FC Sochaux, France), Peter Utaka (Odense Boldklub, Denmark), , Kalu Uche (Almeria, Spain), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham, England), John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Sani Kaita (Alaniya, Russia), Haruna Lukman (AS Monaco, France), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Strikers: Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton, England), Victor Anichebe (Everton, England), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth, England), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, Germany), Ikechukwu Uche (Real Zaragoza, Spain), Victor Obinna Nsofor (Malaga, Spain)