SailorXY:


how did Pereira perform? it was Naija vs Brazil right?

He was one among 11, that's all. He was even substituted. Iheanacho was also average. and rightly substituted.

The second of the game was anticlimax. The passes and free flow football we saw in the first half went dead in the second.

At the end we lost the game due to:
1. Our goalkeeper cost us the last two goals. Brazil 3rd goal, the goalkeeper assumed the ball was going wide. The fourth goal the goalkeeper's terrible error. He thought he had picked the ball and hurried to get up, only for the ball to slip in between in his legs. Like the one DDG conceded against Sunderland in Capital 1 cup under.

2. The Brazilian coach had the tactical edge, because he read the game better and closed it up at half time.

3. Iheanacho was below average or just average.

4. We missed an empty net to put us up 3-1 when were in control, a minute later Brazil equalized.

Manu's attacking selection backfires wildly as Nigeria fall to Brazil

Manu Garba saw his title favourites lose out 4-2 to Brazil

Jun 1, 2015 10:00:09
The Flying Eagles set out their stall with an attacking line-up, but their defeat only shows it is possible to have too much of a good thing

The trouble with the invincibility (or the sense of it) is that it emboldens, and the trouble with boldness is that a surplus of it then makes us vulnerable, not to external forces, but to our own weakness. Make no mistake, the Flying Eagles' 4-2 loss to Brazil in the wee hours of Monday was wholly self-inflicted; and no, this is without reckoning with (goalkeeper) Joshua Enaholo’s second-half nightmare.

It is a shame that the MFM goalkeeper, the saviour many times over as Nigeria spluttered to the title at the African Youth Championship in Senegal, contrived to lay an egg as the team chased the game late on. What would be truly unfortunate though, is if his non-performance were perceived (both by fans and the coaching crew alike) as the sole differentiator between Nigeria and the five-time world champions.

Ultimately, the seeds for this loss were sown by the timing of the arrivals of certain players, and the preferential treatment afforded them. Both Kelechi Iheanacho and Isaac Success are viewed as integral parts of the team, rightly so. Neither was a part of the team’s very successful training camp in Germany though, and neither have had the benefit of a full week’s training with the Flying Eagles since the close of the European club season.

Expectedly, after a bright start here, both were soon running on fumes; their fading exacerbated by the unfamiliar roles they were tasked with playing.

Success, while certainly adaptable to an inside-forward role, simply offered no protection whatsoever to left back Abdullahi Mustapha. While it is a trade-off some coaches will accept (see Cristiano Ronaldo), and which paid off for his equaliser, his lack of understanding within the team structure meant he ended up making the same runs with and getting in Taiwo Awoniyi’s way.

It is no coincidence both of Brazil’s first-half goals came from overloads in that channel, The midfield double-pivot of Ifeanyi Matthew and Ifeanyi Ifeanyi were often forced to give up vertical compactness trying to provide half-space support in the left-back zone, resulting in huge gaps through the middle.

For his part, Iheanacho gave a glimpse of his ability with an exquisite curler that came back off the frame of the goal, but ultimately had little influence playing centrally behind the striker. A large part of his success two years ago at U17 level was his positioning on the left-side of the attack, his drifts unnoticed between the lines and the consequent understanding with captain Musa Muhammed on the overlap.

Here, it was Musa Yahaya on the left; the Tottenham man is more a direct dribbler, and Muhammed was unable to profit from intelligent movement.

Considering the right-back is the major source of attacking width in the team, this caused a huge problem. The narrowness of the front four made it easier to counterpress, and the Flying Eagles did brilliantly in the first period, forcing quick turnovers and trying to get in behind quickly (they were caught offside seven times, an indicator of their inclination to exploit Brazil’s backline while it was disorganised). The second goal, scored off a counter from a defensive corner, underlined this well.

The downside of counterpressing is its unsustainability over 90 minutes, and once the team tired in the second period, Brazil used their width from full-back to even greater effect to control the game.

On their part, there was very little control to the Flying Eagles’ display. The lack of compactness in the double-pivot has already been touched upon, but in possession they were not much better. Ifeanyi offers work-rate but is average with the ball, while Matthew is a creative presence, but does not bring the intelligent movement to evade pressure.

There were two ways to combat this in the build-up: either get both full-backs higher up the pitch and play out through them; or Iheanacho dropping deep to find space and dictate. The former was impossible because Abdullahi was being terrorized down the left, while the latter left the team without a body between the lines to tempt out the centre-backs.

For a coach who prides himself on the tactical cohesion of Total Football, it must have been an agonising watch for Manu Garba. It is however impossible to deny his own complicity, much as he is highly rated.

In terms of forwards, Garba may well have the best range of options in the entire competition as he says, but if anything, this match was greater evidence that quantity does not equal substance. His desire to shoehorn as many attackers as possible predictably left his team vulnerable defensively – attack may the best form of defence, as the saying goes, but not against the very best teams.
http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4082/editorial/2015/06/01/12281622/manus-attacking-selection-backfires-wildly-as-nigeria-fall

Who is that nigga that compared hazard to Messi? Hazard will only look bad with such talk...... He isnt ronaldo or messi level...... But after them, forget it........ Hazard is basically Messi without goals........

elampiro any news on our transfer business?

leggo:

Barcelona fan now?? plastic as it gets..

so it's a crime to like a player aside barca players ..no wonder man united fan are always sentimental.

bigkesh:
Who is that nigga that compared hazard to Messi? Hazard will only look bad with such talk...... He isnt ronaldo or messi level...... But after them, forget it........ Hazard is basically Messi without goals........

I didn't compare hazard with messi and cr7. go read my post again oga...man united fan are trying to bring that up since they couldn't counter my post about Hazard>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>dimaria>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>marco marin=kagawa.

bigkesh:
Who is that nigga that compared hazard to Messi? Hazard will only look bad with such talk...... He isnt ronaldo or messi level...... But after them, forget it........ Hazard is basically Messi without goals........

so Hazard comes next after Ronaldo & Messi as far as world football is concerned ok we get it

hensben:
I didn't compare hazard with messi and cr7. go read my post again oga...man united fan are trying to bring that up since they couldn't counter my post about Hazard>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>dimaria>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>marco marin=kagawa.

oh don't flatter yourself! nobody here tries to "counter" you cuz you're always a nincompoop

SailorXY:

oh don't flatter yourself! nobody here tries to "counter" you cuz you're always....

E pain am

elampiro:
He was one among 11, that's all. He was even substituted. Iheanacho was also average. and rightly substituted.

he will definitely go on loan first but he was one of the best players from the youth set up last season.

Lingard & James may return to join up the first team next season although James has a lot to do before he's considered for that left spot now LvG scrapped the wing back thing!

SailorXY:
so Hazard comes next after Ronaldo & Messi as far as world football is concerned ok we get it

Then who Depay? Di maria No rating by any site this season where hazard isnt top 5.......

hensben:
I didn't compare hazard with messi and cr7. go read my post again oga...man united fan are trying to bring that up since they couldn't counter my post about Hazard>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>dimaria>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>marco marin=kagawa.

United fans have a personal beef with hazard, since he dumped their ass and left them with kagawa... They have compared him to every winger they av, they keep praying to av a player like him

bigkesh:
Then who Depay? Di maria No rating by any site this season where hazard isnt top 5.......

you had a better season doesn't generally make you a better player. there are about 7 wingers who had better seasons than Gareth Bale & Angel di Maria in Europe - by that I mean on the general perception not statistically - it doesn't mean shiit Mr.

so keep your demi-god in your pocket & have faith that someday some club bid 'that £100m' for his services.

elampiro:


You re not serious. It was a landslide victory for me day and night for about a week.

Rooney is the best number 10 of his generation. That is why he has been indispensable. You see players like Joe Cole, etc changing clubs every time. But Rooney is so cherished. If na juju make you go do am and earn even 3k pounds/week. Den no dey pluck talent for tree.

Be guided.

There is simply no answer I can muster wen I see stuffs like this.My brain literally freezes that someone cud evn dare to harbour this sort of ridiculously terrible thought.

bigkesh:
United fans have a personal beef with hazard, since he dumped their ass and left them with kagawa... They have compared him to every winger they av, they keep praying to av a player like him

hmm u are 100% right...i forgot nani in my first write up.

SailorXY:
you had a better season doesn't generally make you a better player. there are about 7 wingers who had better seasons than Gareth Bale & Angel di Maria in Europe - by that I mean on the general perception not statistically - it doesn't mean shiit Mr.

so keep your demi-god in your pocket & have faith that someday some club bid 'that £100m' for his services.

since the days of eden hazard at lille he has been on his game; league 1 ypoty once, league 1 poty twice, epl ypoty n poty at the age of 24...oga what are you saying nau...fear God bros.

Kemizee:


There is simply no answer I can muster wen I see stuffs like this.My brain literally freezes that someone cud evn dare to harbour this sort of ridiculously terrible thought.

bro rooney has never been the best striker in epl neither has he been the best midfielder ..rooney has never won epl POTY AWARD. He is an average player, his talent is off and on like a switch.

Kemizee:

There is simply no answer I can muster wen I see stuffs like this.My brain literally freezes that someone cud evn dare to harbour this sort of ridiculously terrible thought.

bros that ship has sailed

thank you

hensben:
step below neymar yet hazard is in european team of the season and he is no where to be found...you think football is all about tap-in goals...talk about man united fan's logic.

If they ask you whats the source of this team of the season most likely you would point to some useless website or better lover magazine

hensben:
since the days of eden hazard at lille he has been on his game; league 1 ypoty once, league 1 poty twice, epl ypoty n poty at the age of 24...oga what are you saying nau...fear God bros.

Hazard 5 goals in 3 seasons of Champions League.

raumdeuter:


Hazard 5 goals in 3 seasons of Champions League.

for real?
5 goals in 3UCL seasons?

coogar:


for real?
5 goals in 3UCL seasons?

Sorry that was a mistake I meant 5 goals in his total CL career both Lille and Chelsea combined

raumdeuter:


Sorry that was a mistake I meant 5 goals in his total CL career both Lille and Chelsea combined

That 5 goals in the UCL career of Hazard Ikedia is the same 5 goals Neymar scored against PSG this season. The same PSG that Hazard was declared missing throughout.

raumdeuter:


Sorry that was a mistake I meant 5 goals in his total CL career both Lille and Chelsea combined

there must be a mistake somewhere.....
you mean world class winger eden hazard has only 5CL goals in his career & some of them were awoof penalties?

elampiro, we need your attention to come & address this.

coogar:


there must be a mistake somewhere.....
you mean world class winger eden hazard has only 5CL goals in his career & some of them were awoof penalties?

elampiro, we need your attention to come & address this.

"Just 3" of those 5 goals were penalties. He scored an incredible 2 career CL goals from game play

Hazard is the white verdion of luis nani, gbam

nyabinghi:
Hazard is the white verdion of luis nani, gbam

Stop disrespecting Nani. This season alone Nani scored 4 CL goals , while Hazard all career scored 5 CL goals

He is the white version of Pius Ikedia

the stat shows e. Hazard has played 28 champs mathch with 5 goals all from chelsea champions league games 2 last two season and 3 this previous season. No champions league goal with lile.

nyabinghi:
Hazard is the white verdion of luis nani, gbam

please stop this blasphemy!
nani scored 4 UCL goals this season....none of them was a pen for a lowly rated team known as sporting lisbon. he had only 448 mins on the pitch.

coogar:

buahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

parrotibaba:
elampiro any news on our transfer business?

The long argument didnt even let me follow up, but you know the usual every summer. The papers must sell. The bring their best fiction writers to speculate transfers. When Ronaldo says "I am not happy", someone will write that he is on his way out of Madrid, and that his agent was seen boarding a flight heading to Manchester, apparently heading to Old Trafford to discuss a move.....
...............

However, see this:

Who will Manchester United play in their Champions League play-off?
By Peter Smith
Last Updated: 01/06/15 4:22pm

Monaco and Lazio are on the list of potential opponents for Manchester United in their Champions League play-off.

Manchester United must come through a two-leg tie to reach the group phase after finishing fourth in the Premier League and, despite being top seeds, could face a tough test to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition proper.

First, ten teams will go head-to-head in the third qualifying round, with ties played on July 28/29 and August 4/5.

Seeded sides Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Club Brugge and Monaco will be paired with Young Boys, Sparta Prague, Fenerbahce, Panathinaikos and Rapid Vienna.

The winners will go into the play-off round – where United, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Lazio will be waiting. The draw for the play-off round will be held on August 7, with the ties played on August 18/19 and 25/26.

United, Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen will be seeded. So will Shakhtar and Ajax, should they qualify. If they don’t, Sporting Lisbon, followed by CSKA Moscow will take their privileged spots, with Lazio stepping up should the Russian side fail to make the play-off round.

With all those scenarios to play out, United can face one of ten teams:

1. Sporting Lisbon (UEFA ranking: 33)
Sporting Lisbon finished third in Portugal’s top flight this season, behind champions Benfica and Porto, failed to progress from their Champions League group after being beaten home and away by Chelsea, and immediately exited the Europa League at the hands of Wolfsburg. Top scorer in 2014/15, Islam Slimani of Algeria, offers a threat up front but reported Manchester United target William Carvalho is also key.

2. CSKA Moscow (UEFA ranking: 34)
CSKA Moscow frustrated Manchester City home and away in the Champions League group stages this season, defeating Manuel Pellegrini’s side at the Etihad after holding them to a 2-2 in Russia. However, they ended up bottom of a tough pool and, domestically, finished runners-up to Zenit St Petersburg.

3. Lazio (UEFA ranking: 40)
Lazio booked their spot in the Champions League qualifying round with a final day victory over Napoli to finish third in Serie A and showed their quality in cup competitions by reaching the final of the Coppa Italia. The World Cup’s top scorer of all time Miroslav Klose leads the line and came out on top of Lazio’s scoring charts, ably assisted by the creativity of Antonio Candreva.

4. Club Brugge (UEFA ranking: 51)
lub Brugge finished top of the regular season table in Belgium, but finished runners-up to Gent in the play-offs, meaning they will have to reach the Champions League group stages the tough way. Colombian import Jose Izquierdo has been a hit in his first season, while former Barcelona youth product Victor Vazquez remains a fixture in the heart of the team’s midfield.

5. Monaco (UEFA ranking: 68)
It seems odd that Monaco, who knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League before eventually going down 1-0 on aggregate to finalists Juventus, must face the rigours of a play-off, but such is the price Leonardo Jardim’s men must pay for finishing third in France’s top flight. Unless he earns a move elsewhere this summer, Radamel Falcao could potentially haunt United.

6. Young Boys (UEFA ranking: 69)
For the first time since 2010, Young Boys get a shot at the Champions League, after finishing second to Basel in the Swiss Super League. They were heavily beaten by Everton (7-2 on aggregate) in the last 32 of the Europa League in 2014/15 and, despite being ranked just one place below Monaco, would be a far more favourable draw for United.

7. Sparta Prague (UEFA ranking: 72)
While Czech league winners Viktoria Plzen take the ‘champions route’, Sparta Prague go into the ‘non-champions’ pool in the third-qualifying round. They failed to escape their Europa League group in 2014/15 but showed their strength at home with 3-1 and 4-1 wins over Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava respectively, before holding Napoli to a 0-0.

8. Fenerbahce (UEFA ranking: 75)
Fenerbache missed out on retaining the Turkish title by just three points to arch rivals Galatasaray this season, as Senegal international Moussa Sow got among the goals. With Turkey legend Emre and Brazilian playmaker Diego in their ranks, Fenerbahce could surprise – and former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt will be hugely motivated to upset his old rivals, should they be paired with United.

9. Panathinaikos (UEFA ranking: 100) – probably
Panathinaikos are the only one of United’s potential opponents yet to cement their place in the Champions League qualifying pool. However, the Greek giants – who finished second in the regular season table – currently comfortably top a post-season play-off group which determines who gets the Champions League spot. Former United player Luke Steele is their regular goalkeeper.

10. Rapid Vienna (UEFA ranking: 121)
Rapid Vienna lost out to HJK Helsinki in their play-off for the Europa League this season but finished second behind Red Bull Salzburg to qualify for the third qualifying round of the Champions League this summer. Slovenia international Robert Beric is their key man – the 23 year old is one to watch after netting 27 in 33 appearances in the league this season.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11667/9872126/who-will-manchester-united-play-in-their-champions-league-play-off