lovewins:


In your bid to defend an indefensible statement made by Finidi you're simply being disingenuous. I didn't make the statement, he did.

What do you mean players don't determine when to defend or attack? That's just nonsense. Players very well largely determine when to defend and attack. You have possession of the ball, you attack. You lose possession of the ball, you defend.

What the coaches however determine is how they attack and how they defend. That's what formations are for. It's about coming up with the best strategy and setup that exploits the opponents weaknesses.

TheGoodJoe:


That is where Finidi George's statement gets even more interesting. His philosophy is that there are moments. I wish I had more insights and I will research it further on my own.

Let me give a scenario.

If a left winger is on the attack, and he is outnumbered and isolated from passing.

Maybe at that instance, the players of the isolated players should take a defensive shape by falling back.

Finidi has a philosophy to this called moments and he believes it is the key to winning and losing.

Meliforme:


The decision for players to fall back (defend) when they lose the ball or to press the opponent (attack them still) to recover the ball, is the coach's decision to make.

Like i have said, attacking and defending can be with or without the ball, it depends on whether the team have left their own half.

lovewins:


To be fair, the interviews of Finidi I've seen so far presents him as someone who isn't very articulate. So he could very well have intended differently from what he said. It is however not our place to cut him some slack just like we didn't Bosso and Manu Garba. We have to query statements like this and not assume intentions especially when there's a pattern of such statements across other national teams.

Subzerooo:
All these age grade tournaments we are missing means we have to rely on second-rate foreign borns for the foreseeable future.

charlesemeka85:
Olympiacos wins the Uefa Europa Conference League

Marjoribanks:
Footballers now have many route to football pinnacle. Most foreign clubs buy directly from academies! How many of our under 17 are currently in the national team. We have boys who never played under 17 at Inter, AC, Nice, Bayern etc.

Napoleon55:

All those players that were bought directly from academies from nigeria,
how many of them can we rely upon to win us tournaments?
it's not just about having players in foreign clubs,
it's about unearthing great talents through a process that has worked for us.

How many of such academy players that foreign clubs bought directly from Nigeria can you say are on the same level with the likes of
Ikpeba,
Kanu,Babayaro,Oruma
Mikel,Ogbuke,
Ndidi,Iheanacho, Awoniyi,
Osimhen,Chukwueze .
Etc.
If these players did not participate at the age grade tournaments starting from U17 ,do you think they would have attained this level?

Some might want to mention the likes Stanley Okoro, Chrisantus, Sani Emmanuel, Yahya and the rest.
But for the fact that our U17 teams has produced us some of our greatest players of all time,it worths taking very seriously.
Not only the U17,but all our age grade teams

Kalakulu:

Osimhen has a spectacular record of missing key international matches/tournaments. Incredibly, the 2024 AFCON was the first international tournament in which he started a game for Nigeria 🇳🇬 (since making his debut 7 years ago!). In those 7 years, his only other tournament experience for Nigeria 🇳🇬 was playing a grand total of 45 minutes at the 2019 AFCON 5 years ago. He was also injured for the key World Cup qualifier against Ghana 🇬🇭 which Nigeria drew, and which meant Nigeria did not qualify for the World Cup.

He has an uncanny knack of getting injured or contracting Covid just before key international matches.

I'm sorry but the truth hurts, Osimhen is simply a player that CAN'T be relied upon in very important moments.

joelsteron:
Why is everyone going after Pep Gardiola's assistants. First was Arsenal Arteta, now Chelsea going after Enzo, then Bayern after Kompany.

My country had similar opportunity but threw it in the bin and went for a man who said formation is not important in soccer.

I really hope banana banana and Rohr will not stop Nigerians from seeing their favorite players at the world cup.

jihday:
I wonder who the opportunity is

ChrisKels:
How many coaches can you see here?

Subzerooo:
All these age grade tournaments we are missing means we have to rely on second-rate foreign borns for the foreseeable future.

ChrisKels:
How many coaches can you see here?

komekn:


First of all what do you mean exactly by "second rate foreign born" in the first instance please ❓

Using your derogatory divisive notion of foreign born. Let me ask , how many of first rate Nigerian born players will get into first rated top teams and leagues in Europe ❓

elunico:
Watching El Khabi lead the lines for Olympiacos and I'm reminded that he was part of the Moroccan team that ran the CHAN eagles ragged few years ago. 4 - 0 in the finals I believe?

The team had Ajiboye, Faleye, Okpotu, Utin, Ojo, Adeleke and the rest.

Where are they today? 😁 😁

Danielnino00:


You really have a comprehension problem.. too much bitter leaf juice..

Anybody can tell that he is obviously talking about foreign born players who would consider playing for us as a last resort having been unable to get into the national team of their birth country... he isn't categorizing foreign born as second rate in comparison to Nigeria born players.

CaptainStephen:

Where are his Moroccan team mates also?

Napoleon55:

All those players that were bought directly from academies from nigeria,
how many of them can we rely upon to win us tournaments?
it's not just about having players in foreign clubs,
it's about unearthing great talents through a process that has worked for us.

How many of such academy players that foreign clubs bought directly from Nigeria can you say are on the same level with the likes of
Ikpeba,
Kanu,Babayaro,Oruma
Mikel,Ogbuke,
Ndidi,Iheanacho, Awoniyi,
Osimhen,Chukwueze .
Etc.
If these players did not participate at the age grade tournaments starting from U17 ,do you think they would have attained this level?

Some might want to mention the likes Stanley Okoro, Chrisantus, Sani Emmanuel, Yahya and the rest.
But for the fact that our U17 teams has produced us some of our greatest players of all time,it worths taking very seriously.
Not only the U17,but all our age grade teams

Marjoribanks:
Overtime! 73 v 73. Rivers unlucky not to have won that in normal time!

Danielnino00:


You really have a comprehension problem.. too much bitter leaf juice..

Anybody can tell that he is obviously talking about foreign born players who would consider playing for us as a last resort having been unable to get into the national team of their birth country... he isn't categorizing foreign born as second rate in comparison to Nigeria born players.

komekn:


He didn't speak 🗣️ Spanish but plain spoken English, which you struggle to comprehend.

You have made assumptions for him on what basis you are a mind reader.

He just called foreign born Nigerian players as second rate and you are trying to change the English language.

Your blinded by you own self birthed prejudices you cannot comprehend basic English.

What people say and what they mean can sometimes be ambiguous, that's why I asked him to explain for clarity.

But you Dr 2 Know ( mind -reader) have read his mind and want to explain for us. You are conceited in your bigotry.