tbaba1234:


How do you know who is ready to play for Nigeria?

These guys are Nigerians too. Give them a call to see if they are interested. If not , leave them.

If Solanke is showing potential, He is a Nigerian as much as Success and Iheanacho. Whether for age-group or senior team.

It is not in the character of everyone to announce themselves in the press. A single private call and they will be willing.

There are several pure english players in the EPL, yet they are trying to convince Iwobi.

They are not using the mentality of there are other pure english prospects out there, why invite a half british person?

We need to start seeing these guys as Nigerians.

I speak as a Nigerian living abroad. If i have children abroad, their first identity is Nigeria and if they happen to be footballers, i would hope they are given a fair shot to make the Nigerian team if they are good enough.

BascoVanVeli:


From up to the age of 17 our players are on equal grounds. Our boys have been crowned mvp of the last 2 U-17's so my answer to that is a resounding yes.

My question is how many English youth players end up playing with these clubs? Sure Rashford is great but when Man U needed a striker they went to France, he is only in his position by chance. If Man U didn't have so many injuries we would never know he exists.
Brasil are the kings of football yet their player are not all over England for the most part they are in smaller leagues till they are ready.

I am not saying have a team full of foriegn players but at least give them a chance, invite them and see what they can offer. Who is to say our homebased boys won't hold down their spots.

safarigirl:
same way they reached out to Agbonlahor, Onuorah and the rest abi?

tbaba1234:


Reuben Agboola
Balogun
Odemwingie

All played for Nigeria, give them a call and see if they are interested. How much is one phone-call?

safarigirl:
Odemwingie was never eligible for England, neither was Balogun, dunno the Reuben guy. Pale-skinned negroes tend to choose England over us

TheGoodJoe:


Long story. Because, we won U17 MVP, we have reached European standard of development. Look at Real Madrid Academy. Jese Rodriguez, Morata, Carvajal, Sarabia, from one Academy.

Southampton, Luke Shaw, Bale, Theo Walcott, Chamberlain, one Academy.

Barcelona, Sergi Roberto, Thiago Alacantara, Rafinha Alacantara, Montoya, One Academy.

Man City, Boyata, Denayer, Guidetti, Dennis Suarez, Sturridge,

The qualification required for an Academy job in Spain is the same with that of a top club in Spain.

We are far behind.

tbaba1234:


How do you know who is ready to play for Nigeria?

These guys are Nigerians too. Give them a call to see if they are interested. If not , leave them.

If Solanke is showing potential, He is a Nigerian as much as Success and Iheanacho. Whether for age-group or senior team.

It is not in the character of everyone to announce themselves in the press. A single private call and they will be willing.

There are several pure english players in the EPL, yet they are trying to convince Iwobi.

They are not using the mentality of there are other pure english prospects out there, why invite a half british person?

We need to start seeing these guys as Nigerians.

I speak as a Nigerian living abroad. If i have children abroad, their first identity is Nigeria and if they happen to be footballers, i would hope they are given a fair shot to make the Nigerian team if they are good enough.

BascoVanVeli:

Compare that to the amount of players that didn't make it coming through with these stars and u will see that we are not so far behind.
It is not the academies job to make them stars but to get them jobs as football players, the rest is up to the player and his club. People might not respect our team but they respect the fact that Nigeria is a marketplace for ball players.

TheGoodJoe:



When Athletic Bilbao played Partizan Belgrade in a Europa League match here Thursday night, eight of its starting 11 players had risen through the club’s academy. The other three have Basque heritage.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/sports/soccer/using-only-local-talent-athletic-bilbao-goes-a-long-way.html

BascoVanVeli:


Pls take this down it supports nothing. All bilboa players have to come from Basque, it is their rule.

TheGoodJoe:



Which kind of talk is that. They have that rule because they believe in the strength of their talents. They invest heavily in their talents.

Do you think Bilbao will be a top club if their Academy is not good?

Is Bilbao Academy good?

TheGoodJoe:


Tell me the name of one Academy in Nigeria we will use and compare with Tottenham Academy. Let us list the recent graduates and let us see if the Nigerian Academy is not dark ages behind.

BascoVanVeli:

U must have just started following Spanish football, Bilboa has been in la liga with this same set of rules since at least 1930 when they won la liga by going undefeated. I guess you'll say they had a world class academy then.
They one of 3 teams never to get relegated out of la liga. What goes on there is a miracle. Do u think any team in England can do that?

BascoVanVeli:


Oga u dey send me home work? I already said most our Eagles came from academies at home like Mikel and Elderson from pepsi or Simon and Musa from GBsomething but that is all i know the rest na google go answer.

All the same my point still is that being in Nigeria does not render a young player useless.
Remember Enyeama was playing in Nigeria when he made the world cup list and the rest is history.

TheGoodJoe:


Say what you know. How can you say I started following Bilbao recently. In France 98, one of the Subs, a winger who came in and dazzled for Spain against Nigeria was a Bilbao player and their team policy of only local players was already going on. His name was Exteberria.

What goes on in Bilbao is not just a Miracle but hardwork and patience. They invest and trust in their youth system. Something a lot of English teams are guilty off.

I pointed the Iheanacho's case. Where Man City prefer the expensive players over their home grown talents. Why sell Dennis Suarez and buy Sterling? Why let Denayer go on loan and keep Demeichelis.

The EPL teams are money driven and the clubs lack patience. Look at Chelsea with Solanke in the club and they went out for two crocked players Falcao and now Pato.

I am showing you how an Academy can produce 8 players in a starting lineup in a Europa League. That shows how good the Academy is. The current team, most of them are from the Academy.

I am waiting for the name of one Nigerian Academy that I will compare with an academy in Europe. Let us know if our Academy Football is close to the Europeans or if our academies are not dark ages behind.

I will use Sporting Lisbon with graduates like CR7, Moutinho, Nani, Quaresma, Veloso.

BascoVanVeli:


Be truthfull and honest no team elsewhere can accomplish that. I took u way back to 1930 so how can u say that they are successfull just because they have a good academy. Would Man U still be surviving with only homegrown players? Class of 93 good but no CR7, Rooney, Nani, RVP, Chicharito not so good.

TheGoodJoe:


When you list our top Academy graduates of the whole country, one Academy like Valencia can have more top stars than them. The gap is too much.

Look at how many graduates are in the current Tottenham team. I think Sherwood said hehe worked with Harry Kane since Harry Kane was twelve. Deir, Bentaleb, Mason.

Even West Ham. Our boys have nothing close to it. The gap is too much.

BascoVanVeli:


Ok give me Watford, Stoke, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Swansea and a sprinkle of leicester.
If we go as a whole Nigeria is not far from England in graduating top professionals. They have players in one country we have players all over the world. Our academies help provide jobs for young men to help take care of themselves and their families. For every great English player u name i will counters you with a Nigerian past or present. No striker they have ever had was better than Yekini.

BascoVanVeli:


Ok give me Watford, Stoke, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Swansea and a sprinkle of leicester.
If we go as a whole Nigeria is not far from England in graduating top professionals. They have players in one country we have players all over the world. Our academies help provide jobs for young men to help take care of themselves and their families. For every great English player u name i will counters you with a Nigerian past or present. No striker they have ever had was better than Yekini.

BascoVanVeli:


Ok give me Watford, Stoke, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Swansea and a sprinkle of leicester.
If we go as a whole Nigeria is not far from England in graduating top professionals. They have players in one country we have players all over the world. Our academies help provide jobs for young men to help take care of themselves and their families. For every great English player u name i will counters you with a Nigerian past or present. No striker they have ever had was better than Yekini.

TheGoodJoe:



Manchester United can but it will take time to build them. Just like the players Ajax Academy produced. The time is the problem. These teams want immediate Success so they do not give their players time to grow and dump them along the way.

If not for Van Gaal, a coach who stick to the ethics of promoting young bright talents from the academies of the club he coaches, we would not talk of Rashford today.

What Bilbao is doing is achievable but teams are not ready.

Remember Guardiola coming in and stopping the buying madness of Barca. He promoted players and made Academy graduates regular. That team went on to perform.

At the end, our grassroot Football is too backwards when you compare to a place like Spain where all clubs at different League levels have quality academies with quality coaches.

The gap is too much that the U17 for home based development is a good idea.

TheGoodJoe:



I am not doubting our talents. I am saying we succeed despite the challenges. They have better careers than us because things are easier for them. How many of our midfielders will you compare to Gerard.

I bet, if Okocha grew up in La Masia Academy, he will be a House hold name in every lips.

BascoVanVeli:


Pele said he could walk into the Brasilian team what more do u want from the guy?

BascoVanVeli:


U just answered ur own question, the teams cannot wait so the opportunities will not be there for the players. Pep promoted Thiago and took him to Bayern but who did he promote and make a star there? LVG the philosopher does have a track record with youths but Rashford came on because they had no strikers Rooney was injured and Martial pulled out just become kickoff, the boy wasn't even listed before the match. Honestly i put his story in the bilboa category, a miracle.

BascoVanVeli:


Ok give me Watford, Stoke, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Swansea and a sprinkle of leicester.
If we go as a whole Nigeria is not far from England in graduating top professionals. They have players in one country we have players all over the world. Our academies help provide jobs for young men to help take care of themselves and their families. For every great English player u name i will counters you with a Nigerian past or present. No striker they have ever had was better than Yekini.

TheGoodJoe:


Are you saying Yekini is better than Shearer? Small small with your patriotism.

TheGoodJoe:


They have a fair shot in the National team. The only place that is not open to them is the U17 because the European kids have better means to develop themselves as footballers compared to the Nigerian kids.

They can sacrifice the U17 for their less privileged brothers and join the U20 National team to make Nigeria team stronger. It is all for building a stronger Super Eagles and reducing the amount of Nigerian talented kids left behind.

BascoVanVeli:


They were both great strikers but if i were to start a team i would pick Yekini, great strenght and clinical in front of goal.

tbaba1234:


I can agree with under 17 but only because we have MRI now to minimize age cheats.

Even then, if a good player comes for trials from abroad, we can not reject him based on the fact that he plays abroad.

From under 20 level, the best Nigerians should be selected regardless of where they play.

TheGoodJoe:



I can imagine how Bitter Alaba felt because he wanted to represent his country. He still reps us like he did when Bayern won the Champions League. Seeing Alaba with the Nigerian national flag hurt a lot of people.

That is where the sentiments came from. Why stop a kid from representing his country?

The truth is that the challenges for young Nigerians are tough.

On Sunday I was with a young footballer who played with Aaron Samuel when they were younger. He said their best player Victor was a striker who kept Aaron Samuel on the bench in all their top games.

The Victor today is not a star. When Aaron Samuel came to Port-Harcourt, he met these Victor and promised to talk to his agent to help him.

So we have talents left behind because of limited opportunities. So the likes of Alaba who wanted or wants to contribute to Nigeria should understand the challenges here.

tbaba1234:


There will always be talents left behind, ALWAYS... Not everyone will make it. Choosing the best will only help your national team in the future because they have the best chance to succeed.

If Alaba was given a fair shot, perhaps we will be boasting about having one of the world's best left backs.

These guys are Nigerians too... Denying them of the same opportunity is like giving them up to other countries.