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Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Sports / "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup (12285471 Views)
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Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by fabyom: 2:25pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
I watched the Iceland coach interview this morning and he emphasized one thing, Nigeria will want to win the match. This guys are not on twitter promising shit, they are training guys real training. This will be most difficult match at this year world cup cos we loss we go home. If we win this match forget Argentina, we will qualify. However, I do not think we will beat Iceland with this team and moral killing coach. 7 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by goldfish80(m): 2:34pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Mujtahida:OH please, let's not turn this place to a freaking twilight zone with these conspiracy theories. How about the over 3000 documents submitted by the allied forces at the Nuremberg trial after the war? How about the evidence of Nazi Germans filming themselves and accomplishments which was used as evidence in trial? How about films and photographs German Soldiers and police made themselves of their actions against Jews and other civilians? This is why I call your rendition a leftist opinion and conspiracy theory, although worth investigating but cannot be passed up as fact the way you're doing. This can even have you arrested in some countries. I have done my best to list names such as Kevin Kuranyi and Stephan Kisling who were at the top of their game but Loew ignored them for non footballing reasons. A guy like Kisling was binned by Loew even when he was the top scorer in Bundesliga and Germany had Klose and Gomez injured. I would have thought a non emotive German would have made peace and recalled their league's top scorer to the national team because he was statistically his best option. I don't know what evidence you want from me again. Maybe you are anticipating I would pull a quote from Loew saying he was emotive and sentimental to his boys in selection. 2 Likes 1 Share |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 2:37pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
It is crystal clear... Iceland must fall!!! |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by oloriooko(m): 2:42pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Bolowolowo:You mean Iceland must melt ![]() 3 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by joseph1013: 2:49pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
I have been debating if I should share Lukaku's story here, just like I shared Leon's. His is also incredible. But I fear I would be derailing the thread. Let me know if you want it. 5 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 2:51pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
oloriooko:
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Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 2:51pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
joseph1013: Go ahead. We don't mind 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by kennysville(m): 2:59pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Friends, Countrymen, Nairalanders.... It hurts but the truth has to be said. I dont think I was surprised at the result considering the approach our gaffer took. A glance (not even a cursory look) at his team list tells you what to expect. By the time we start to take cursory look, we will all notice the formation had something wrong in it. If there is anything I have noticed about our coach , its his stubborness and supposed loyalty to his players , most especially the ones that got us qualified. Having said that, I wanna ask a question. Why keep playing a formation that failed against european opponents during the friendlies? Why did we bother to play the friendlies if he was going to keep repeating the same thing? Lets take it back to the friendly against poland. We scraped through that match and we played nothing of note and won the game on the strength of selfish play of moses which resulted in a penalty. Lets not forget that the referee in the said match is an EPL referee ( Michael Oliver). So we got away with a win only to crumble against Serbs. My question is what did we change Before going into the games against both England and Czech? At best we got labelled a 2nd half team. The way Rohr kept tinkering the team, it felt like a mechanic trying to put the steering wheel of a car inside the trunk and expecting to steer the car by just opening the door and closing it. We all know how machines work. A wrong pulley or cog in the wrong place and ur machine grinds to a halt. Why will he not play with the strengths of his players? Is it a must to play 4-3-2-1? Or 4-3-3? In fact the pertinent question is what exactly is his coaching philosophy? Is it one of winning mentality? Or one of Conservatism? Its like setting ur team up with no plan to win a game and saying if we win, its a plus.... afterall the players are average players. Siasia is known for 90mins attacking football, Keshi is known for being very defensive in his approach but I cant understand what Rohr will tag his own philosophy (get battered in the first half then wake up and put up a seemingly brave fight in the 2nd half so it can appear like the players played well? ) I would have expected him to build heavily on the 3-5-2 formation because it brought about the best in a lot of players. Even blind Bartimeus could see this in all clarity. It is a formation that relied on pace which some of our players seem to have and ultimately would have affected his 23 man list simply because some players WILL never fit in. It is a formation that works with 1-2 quick interchanges of passes. Even if he wanted to accomodate all his beloved players, he could still do so in a 3-5-2. For crying out lout, who says both Shehu and Ebuehi cannot play in the same game at the ssme time?? If he noticed that Ebuehi has pace and can run the wings, why not groom him into a winger than can have sweet ball deliveries in the wings? Oh I forgot! he doesnt have more RBs. This is why you need utility players in your team. Its called plan B,C and D. Tactically, he goofed big time! I bet he is one of those that prefer Nokia3310 phones to Androids. Oh gosh now its all adding up! We Should have known from his way of dressing. Wearing short sleeved suits with odd color trainers. If its not that he planned sabotaging Nigeria, after seeing the way we played the first half against England and Czech, why repeat the same thing at the world cup? Who is he trying to accomodate really? Why play that stupid formation of lone ranger upfront? And as if that wasnt enough, his substitutions were mind boggling. I see a lot of people blaming Mikel. Mikel cannot split himself into 2 being both a defensive and attacking midfielder at the same time. Lets also not forget that he doesnt have the pace anymore. Common sense should play Mikel in the role he has been TRAINED to play in the last 13years. Who was charged with the responsibility of driving the attack? Oh yeah.... its Mikel. And he is supposed to pass to who? Ighalo? Watch Ighalo and see that all long balls to him upon first touch, he goes to ground. His own idea of being a 9 is drawing fouls from opponents. Only for Moses to come and take the useless resultant free kick into the air for...... nobody in particular. And this is the one we charged with scoring all our goals? Kolewerk now? AVERAGE PLAYERS At this juncture, we should stop saying average players. Mikel the leader plied his trade for 11 long years with chelsea. What is average about him? Iheanacho before being offloaded by Baldiola was not a flash in the pan, otherwise there wouldnt av been a buy back clause inserted into his transfer. If we keep tagging them average just because of the clubs they play for, when will they actually be seen as quality? The players we currently have, have all it takes to beat just about any team and i mean every word of it. Our gaffer should be brave enough to attack like his life depended on it. Play the right personnels for the good of the team. Have an attacking mentality and we will see a different super Eagles. These are the same set of players that qualified, average or not! They are the same players that beat Argentina. Stop calling them Average so you can downplay their prowess!!. If this team fails, its not because we lack quality.... it is down to the coach!! End of Long Story!!! I still support the team even in their frailties. #NAIJA4LIFE 13 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by kennysville(m): 3:12pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
JSMMUYIWA: The role of AMF has been coached out of Ihaeanacho courtesy Man City. He cant be as effective as he was in the days of u-17. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 3:13pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
fabyom: You will surprised, we might put 3-4 past Iceland, something Argentina couldn't do. 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by mumemma: 3:17pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Truidstar: Not with ur 4-3-3 coach........ 2 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 3:26pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
fabyom: Iceland coach said he will pack the bus against Nigeria.. How can we get a win knowing fully well that the Vikings are well composed and organised in defence?.. 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Icon79(m): 3:33pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Gernot has been with the team for well over a year going to 2 years but he still doesn't know his best team yet. He's probably the only person who thinks that Jude Ighalo is better than Kelechi Iheanacho. He's probably the only person who thinks that Shehu Abdullahi is better than Tryoone Ebuehi. He's probably the one person who doesn't agree that 3-5-2 is the formation that gives us the best chance to win. That man has really made some strange decisions that kept me befuddled. O pari 4 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Icon79(m): 3:35pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
That's why we'll need to play 3-5-2 even if that means playing Moses as a LWB - to stretch the field and create spaces. They would come out of their shields to attack once we score them. Problem is, I don't see us not conceding because our defense is crap. They are slow and they can't mark anybody. And with all the tall players we have in the team, we can't seem to win any headers. O pari Daninya11: 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 3:37pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Icon79: I will not be surprised if he fields the same players and benches the wrong ones. His substitutions scared me. Depending on how the Iceland game goes, we should start calling for his sack. 2 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by TheLoneCitizen(m): 3:52pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
joseph1013: Could you post it, player tribune isn't opening on my mini browser. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by adetoya234: 3:54pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Icelanders must trash super chickens. They deserve to qualify more than any team in that group. The Argies should come second because of my admiration for Messi. 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Oasis007(m): 3:55pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
superbouck: ![]() When dem say drink responsibly, una dey take am for joke ba?! Nice one Bruh...... I hope it comes to pass. To some Doubters like unlimited22, Diggz and Co, you need to learn to support the Eagles - they are our Brothers! 4 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Mujtahida: 3:56pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
fabyom:Go on my brother. Probe. The Internet is at your disposal. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by TheLoneCitizen(m): 3:58pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Icon79: But didn't you see him condemn Okocha's analysis, he said he understood 3-5-2 to be great, but Croatia had attackers who needed more than 3 defenders. The fact that he will be considering this in the next game is satisfying enough. 2 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Mujtahida: 3:58pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
goldfish80:The account of the other side =Leftist = wrong = arrest in some countries (that's your reasoning). Truth is not your concern but orthodoxy. Still No facts. Just inference and projection. Same old Roundabout, roundabout, roundabout, roundabout. The discussion is now sterile. I don move on. Cheers. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Humility017(m): 4:00pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Bolowolowo:to be honest that's my fear...he may field same players again.... 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Icon79(m): 4:00pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Oh he did? I must have missed that, please can you give me the link to the article or the post. Again, this is the problem of thinking too much about your opponent. Sometimes you just play to your strength and let your opponent counter. O pari TheLoneCitizen: |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Icon79(m): 4:03pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Bro, I was highly disappointed with what I saw on Saturday to be quite honest with you. But I would still want him to continue. It would be a bigger mistake to fire him right now, even if we lose all our matches in Russia O pari Bolowolowo: 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Danielnino00(m): 4:06pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
joseph1013: Baba, pls share it.. I love stories like this....storied that motivates and inspire.. You can still drop the link too.... Leon's almost made me cry 2 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by TheLoneCitizen(m): 4:06pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Icon79: It made Frontpage on this forum, so check out the history. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Oasis007(m): 4:10pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
![]() Some Monikers really amazed me. I thought they religiously believe in Rohr, trust his Project and ready to stand by him even if he fails at this World Cup. They preached severally to us not to be fickle-minded, just in case things go south at the Mundial. They tagged Rohr the second coming of Messiah, and the best thing to ever happen to Nigeria Football - post-Westerhof Era though. Alas! They keep wailing more than bereaved. They keep lamenting, gnashing Teeth, ready to tear down Rohr and his Project. My Point is; why are they preaching what they can't practice?! Some Monikers are looking up to them cos they are Homies on this Thread, but they've failed those who believed in their loyalty and patriotism. TheSuperNerd, Michael2, Mujtahida, Tbaba1234, Joseph1013, Komekn, Icon4s, Forgiveness, and some other notable Monikers weren't as well happy with the Result, but didn't discard Rohr, the Project and the Players because of the Match. They analyzed the Match, where it went wrong, and suggested tactical Solutions to avoid another negative Result in our next Game. They ain't cursing or insulting Rohr or the Coaching Crew, they picked the talking-points, analyzed it, debated it and already move unto the next Match. Pls Eagulians, enough of wailings. Let's go back to pre-world Period. Let's believe again...... coz in a Game of Football - Nothing is Impossible.. 5 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by ykalhaji(m): 4:17pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
BascoSourcing: We are saying the same thing. But he was still our holding midfielder Nigeria is not an European team where long passes work. How many passes from Leon connected ? I understand Rohr's tactic that was why he played Ighalo and Mikel up front(long passes from deep & Ighalo muscle his way and maybe score), it would have worked if the 2 costly mistakes had not happened but that is what you get by game planning to your opponents strength. Etebo was given too much responsibilities. That was Mikel's position. Iwobi should have played in the middle, Nacho and Vic Moses should have spearheaded the attack. Then Etebo brought in the 2nd half to replace a tired Mikel. That would have ensured we scored at least 2 goals. About cornerkicks, we should forget the over emphasis on defending them, we should just do our best. The last game showed that the apprehension in defending them is so much, that we lost the game simply on the fear some of the guys have defending corner kicks. I say let's stop worrying about it, defend what we can and then play our game. The fans will understand if we lose but not playing entertaining and free flowing ball, no that one we can't and should not forgive. 3 Likes |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by AIG07: 4:21pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Even Panama are playing a purposeful football. 1 Like |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by ChrisKels: 4:22pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Oasis007: Coming from a man who called him clueless white Onigbinde. Your hypocrisy no be here oo 5 Likes 1 Share |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by Nobody: 4:26pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
Icon79: When I saw the lineup head to head, the thought of winning literally left my head. My heart was thumping and I was just praying that they survived the match and not concede much. I nearly lost it when they started dominating possession. AFCON qualifications is right after so sticking with him is best then. |
Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2023, 2025 And 2026 World Cup by joseph1013: 4:26pm On Jun 18, 2018 |
I'VE GOT SOME THINGS TO SAY by Romelu Lukaku remember the exact moment I knew we were broke. I can still picture my mum at the refrigerator and the look on her face. I was six years old, and I came home for lunch during our break at school. My mum had the same thing on the menu every single day: Bread and milk. When you’re a kid, you don’t even think about it. But I guess that’s what we could afford. Then this one day I came home, and I walked into the kitchen, and I saw my mum at the refrigerator with the box of milk, like normal. But this time she was mixing something in with it. She was shaking it all up, you know? I didn’t understand what was going on. Then she brought my lunch over to me, and she was smiling like everything was cool. But I realized right away what was going on. She was mixing water in with the milk. We didn’t have enough money to make it last the whole week. We were broke. Not just poor, but broke. My father had been a pro footballer, but he was at the end of his career and the money was all gone. The first thing to go was the cable TV. No more football. No more Match of the Day. No signal. Then I’d come home at night and the lights would be shut off. No electricity for two, three weeks at a time. Then I’d want to take a bath, and there would be no hot water. My mum would heat up a kettle on the stove, and I’d stand in the shower splashing the warm water on top of my head with a cup. There were even times when my mum had to “borrow” bread from the bakery down the street. The bakers knew me and my little brother, so they’d let her take a loaf of bread on Monday and pay them back on Friday. I knew we were struggling. But when she was mixing in water with the milk, I realized it was over, you know what I mean? This was our life. ![]() I didn’t say a word. I didn’t want her to stress. I just ate my lunch. But I swear to God, I made a promise to myself that day. It was like somebody snapped their fingers and woke me up. I knew exactly what I had to do, and what I was going to do. I couldn’t see my mother living like that. Nah, nah, nah. I couldn’t have that. People in football love to talk about mental strength. Well, I’m the strongest dude you’re ever going to meet. Because I remember sitting in the dark with my brother and my mom, saying our prayers, and thinking, believing, knowing … it’s going to happen. I kept my promise to myself for a while. But then some days I’d come home from school and find my mum crying. So I finally told her one day, “Mum, it’s gonna change. You’ll see. I’m going to play football for Anderlecht, and it’s going to happen soon. We’ll be good. You won’t have to worry anymore.” I was six. I asked my father, “When can you start playing professional football?” He said, “Sixteen.” I said, “O.K., sixteen then.” It was going to happen. Period. Let me tell you something — every game I ever played was a Final. When I played in the park, it was a Final. When I played during break in kindergarten, it was a Final. I’m dead-ass serious. I used to try to tear the cover off the ball every time I shot it. Full power. We weren’t hitting R1, bro. No finesse shot. I didn’t have the new FIFA. I didn’t have a Playstation. I wasn’t playing around. I was trying to kill you. When I started growing taller, some of the teachers and the parents would be stressing me. I’ll never forget the first time I heard one of the adults say, “Hey, how old are you? What year were you born?” I’m like, What? Are you serious? When I was 11 years old, I was playing for the Lièrse youth team, and one of the parents from the other team literally tried to stop me from going on the pitch. He was like, “How old is this kid? Where is his I.D.? Where is he from?” I thought, Where am I from? What? I was born in Antwerp. I’m from Belgium. My dad wasn’t there, because he didn’t have a car to drive to my away games. I was all alone, and I had to stand up for myself. I went and got my I.D. from my bag and showed it to all the parents, and they were passing it around inspecting it, and I remember the blood just rushing through me … and I thought, “Oh, I’m gonna kill your son even more now. I was already going to kill him, but now I’m gonna destroy him. You’re gonna drive the boy home crying now.” I wanted to be the best footballer in Belgian history. That was my goal. Not good. Not great. The best. I played with so much anger, because of a lot of things … because of the rats running around in our apartment … because I couldn’t watch the Champions League … because of how the other parents used to look at me. I was on a mission. When I was 12, I scored 76 goals in 34 games. I scored them all wearing my dad’s shoes. Once our feet got to be the same size, we used to share. One day I called up my grandfather — my mum’s dad. He was one of the most important people in my life. He was my connection back to Congo, where my mum and dad are from. So I was on the phone with him one day, and I said, “Yeah, I’m doing really well. I scored 76 goals, and we won the league. The big teams are noticing me.” And usually, he always wanted to hear about my football. But this time it was strange. He said, “Yeah, Rom. Yeah, that’s great. But can you do me a favor?” I said, “Yeah, what is it?” He said, “Can you look after my daughter, please?” I remember being so confused. Like, what’s Grandad on about? I said, “Mum? Yeah, we’re cool. We’re O.K.” He said, “No, promise me. Can you promise me? Just look after my daughter. Just look after her for me, O.K.?” I said, “Yeah, Granddad. I got it. I promise you.” Five days later he passed away. And then I understood what he really meant. It makes me so sad to think about, because I just wish that he could have lived another four years to see me play for Anderlecht. To see that I kept my promise, you know? To see that everything was going to be O.K. I told my mum that I would make it at 16. I was late by 11 days. May 24, 2009. The playoff final. Anderlecht vs. Standard Liège. ![]() That was the craziest day of my life. But we have to back up for a minute. Because at the start of the season, I was barely playing for the Anderlecht U-19s. The coach had me coming off the bench. I’m like, “How the hell am I going to sign a pro contract on my 16th birthday if I’m still on the bench for the U-19s?” So I made a bet with our coach. I told him, “I’ll guarantee you something. If you actually play me, I’m going to score 25 goals by December.” He laughed. He literally laughed at me. I said, “Let’s make a bet then.” He said, “O.K., but if you don’t score 25 by December, you’re going to the bench.” I said, “Fine, but if I win, you’re going to clean all the minivans that take the players home from training.” He said, “O.K., it’s a deal.” I said, “And one more thing. You have to make pancakes for us every day.” He said, “O.K., fine.” That was the dumbest bet that man ever made. I had 25 by November. We were eating pancakes before Christmas, bro. Let that be a lesson. You don’t play around with a boy who’s hungry! I signed my pro contract with Anderlecht on my birthday, May 13. Went straight out and bought the new FIFA and a cable package. It was already the end of the season, so I was at home chilling. But the Belgian league was crazy that year, because Anderlecht and Standard Liege had finished tied on points. So there was a two-leg playoff to decide the title. During the first leg, I’m at home watching on TV like a fan. Then the day before the second leg, I get a phone call from the coach of the reserves. “Hello?” “Hello, Rom. What are you doing?” “About to go play football in the park.” “No, no, no, no, no. Pack your bags. Right now.” “What? What did I do?” “No, no, no. You need to get to the stadium right now. The first team wants you now.” “Yo …. What?! Me?!” “Yeah, you. Come now.” I literally sprinted into my dad’s bedroom and was like, “Yo! Get your ass up right now! We gotta go, man!” He’s like, “Huh? What? Go where?” I’m like, “ANDERLECHT, MAN.” I’ll never forget, I showed up to the stadium, and I like pretty much ran into the dressing room and the kitman said, “O.K., kid, what number do you want?” And I said, “Give me number 10.” Hahahaha! I don’t know. I was too young to be scared I guess. He was like, “Academy players have to take 30 and above.” I said, “O.K., well, three plus six equals nine, and that’s a cool number, so give me 36.” That night at the hotel, the senior players made me sing a song for them at dinner. I can’t even remember what I picked. My head was spinning. The next morning, my friend literally knocked on the door of my house to see if I wanted to play football and my mum was like, “He’s out playing.” My friend said, “Playing where?” She said, “The final.” We got off the bus at the stadium, and every single player walked in wearing a cool suit. Except me. I came off the bus wearing a terrible tracksuit, and all the TV cameras were right in my face. The walk to the locker room was like 300 meters. Maybe a three-minute walk. As soon as I put my foot in the locker room, my phone starts blowing up. Everybody had seen me on TV. I had 25 messages in three minutes. My friends were going crazy. “Bro?! WHY ARE YOU AT THE GAME?!” “Rom, what is happening? WHY ARE YOU ON TV?” The only person I texted back was my best friend. I said, “Bro, I don’t know if I’m gonna play. I don’t know what’s going on. But just keep watching the TV.” In the 63rd minute, the manager subbed me on. I ran out onto the field for Anderlecht at 16 years and 11 days old. We lost the final that day, but I was already in heaven. I made good on my promise to my mother and to my grandad. That was the moment I knew we were gonna be O.K. ![]() The next season, I was still finishing up my last year of high school and playing in the Europa League at the same time. I used to have to take a big bag to school so I could catch a flight in the afternoon. We won the league by a mile, and I finished second for African Player of the Year. It was just … crazy. I actually expected all that to happen, but maybe not so fast. All of sudden, the media was building me up, and putting all these expectations on me. Especially with the national team. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t playing well for Belgium. It wasn’t working out. But, yo — come on. I was 17! 18! 19! When things were going well, I was reading newspapers articles and they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker. When things weren’t going well, they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker of Congolese descent. If you don’t like the way I play, that’s fine. But I was born here. I grew up in Antwerp, and Liège and Brussels. I dreamed of playing for Anderlecht. I dreamed of being Vincent Kompany. I’ll start a sentence in French and finish it in Dutch, and I’ll throw in some Spanish or Portuguese or Lingala, depending on what neighborhood we’re in. I’m Belgian. We’re all Belgian. That’s what makes this country cool, right? I don’t know why some people in my own country want to see me fail. I really don’t. When I went to Chelsea and I wasn’t playing, I heard them laughing at me. When I got loaned out to West Brom, I heard them laughing at me. But it’s cool. Those people weren’t with me when we were pouring water in our cereal. If you weren’t with me when I had nothing, then you can’t really understand me. You know what’s funny? I missed 10 years of Champions League football when I was a kid. We never could afford it. I would come into school and all the kids would be talking about the final, and I’d have no idea what happened. I remember back in 2002, when Madrid played Leverkusen, everybody was like, “The volley! Oh my God, the volley!” I had to pretend like I knew what they were talking about. Two weeks later, we were sitting in computer class, and one of my friends downloaded the video off the Internet, and I finally saw Zidane smash it into the top corner with his left. That summer, I went over to his house so I could watch Ronaldo Fenomeno in the World Cup Final. Everything else from that tournament is just a story I heard from the kids at school. Ha! I remember I had holes in my shoes in 2002. Big holes. Twelve years later, I was playing in the World Cup. Now I’m about to play in another World Cup, and my brother is playing with me this time. Two kids from the same house, the same situation, who made it out. You know what? I’m going to remember to have fun this time. Life is too short for the stress and the drama. People can say whatever they want about our team, and about me. ![]() Man, listen — when we were kids, we couldn’t even afford to watch Thierry Henry on Match of the Day! Now we’re learning from him every day with the national team. I’m standing with the legend, in the flesh, and he’s telling me all about how to run into space like he used to do. Thierry might be the only guy in the world who watches more football than me. We debate everything. We’re sitting around and having debates about German second division football. I’m like, “Thierry, have you seen the Fortuna Düsseldorf setup, though?” He’s like, “Don’t be silly. Yes, of course.” That’s the coolest thing in the world, to me. I just really, really wish my grandad was around to witness this. I’m not talking about the Premier League. Not Manchester United. Not the Champions League. Not the World Cups. That’s not what I mean. I just wish he was around to see the life we have now. I wish I could have one more phone call with him, and I could let him know … “See? I told you. Your daughter is OK. No more rats in the apartment. No more sleeping on the floor. No more stress. We’re good now. We’re good … … They don’t have to check the I.D. any more. They know our name.” ![]() Romelu Lukaku BELGIUM 15 Likes 3 Shares |
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