Egyptian football revolution to take Africa by storm
There is a revolution taking place in Egyptian football that has ramifications for the whole African continent, with the birth of a new super club that threatens to shake up the established order.
The sale of modest Alassiouty Sport -- a team in the ancient town of Asyut on the banks of the Nile some 400 kilometres south of Cairo -- to Saudi billionaire Turki al-Sheikh has seen the new owner invest over US$33-million on players alone in a little over a week.
Al Sheikh, who is also the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority, essentially making him the country's sports minister, was previously honorary president of Al Ahly, and reportedly a financial backer of the team.
But he resigned in May and after a fallout with the board -- just five months into his tenure -- decided to buy his own club over which he would have full control, and start a new super team to dominate the African continent.
He installed former Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry as the chairman of the club on a reported salary of €2.5-million per year, just as the tactician was about to sign on the dotted line for South African Premier Soccer League giants Kaizer Chiefs.
Al Sheikh has also brought in Brazilian coach Alberto Valentim from Botafogo, a former right-back who played for Udinese and Siena in Italy.
Boosting the technical team further is Argentine former Mexico national team coach Ricardo La Volpe, who took the country to the Last 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Added to that, there are four players signed from Brazilian clubs for a total of US$20-million, most notably winger Keno from Palmeiras, as well as two other wide midfielders, Carlos Eduardo (Goiás) and Arthur (Chapecoense), and striker Ribamar (Atlético Paranaense).
Al Sheikh has not confined himself to just raiding the South American country though; he has also taken Egypt internationals Tarek Hamed and Ali Gabr from Zamalek, weakening their challenge, as well as highly-rated Mohamed Magdy from ENPPI and Mohamed Hamdi from Al-Masary.
There have already been 18 new arrivals confirmed in what is a complete overhaul of the squad that has seen many of the players from last season either released or put on the transfer-list.
It is essentially the reshaping of a team from top to bottom, in terms of playing staff, coaching and management, and while there might be a period of adjustment, it could take Pyramids FC not only to the top of Egyptian football immediately, but also African football.
Their benefactor appears to have deeper pockets than most club owners on the continent, and is certainly not afraid to splash the cash.
Turki al-Sheikh chats to the Saudi Arabia team ahead of the 2018 World Cup Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
To put it into perspective, Mamelodi Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe has a net worth of almost US2-billion and has been generous in funding his club. The team's acquisition of Venezuelan striker Jose Ali Meza for a reported R13-million is a South African record transfer fee paid.
But Brazilian Keno alone cost Pyramids FC almost R140-million, spending that no other team on the continent will be able to match.
Al Sheikh is a key sports figure in the Arab world, holding positions not on in Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority, but also the Union of Arab Football Associations, Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, and is also a member of the Saudi Royal Court. He was appointed to head the General Sports Authority in September last year, soon after the start of the reign of Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He has made some quick strides, allowing women to enter football stadiums for the first time ever, agreeing partnership deals with Spain's La Liga and the Italian Serie A, and roping in legendary former German international Oliver Kahn to set up a goalkeeping academy in the country for the national teams.
Quite how or why he is so interested in Egyptian football has never been made clear, though he could see it as a gateway into the African market.
What is clear is that he has changed the game on the continent and Pyramids FC is a name we will likely be hearing much more of in the coming years.
Even the Komekn that posted Lukaku's story (like say we never see am before), has PHD in pulling down Naija based players. The hypocrisy ehn......
You know in England and across Europe even in America i come across racist bigots who i could describe as being highly despicable. But such behaviour is sometimes not entirely their fault, its reflection of ignorance, lack of knowledge and exposure. i then present to them the complete opposite of what stereotypical prejudiced they have had. That for me is refreshingly positive making a change for good.
After all the well established views i presented , all you could pick up was negative, you could find nothing positive just doom and gloom. You summed it up with conclusion of hypocritical.
So as to give you the opportunity to have clarity.
I do not have a double standard, or change the goal posts or set a different set of measurement for players because they are coming from Nigeria, no preference is given, it is a level playing field whether you were born in Agbaroh or Peckham, it doesn't matter. You are still Nigerian.
Having your deduction in mind, quote me if you can, tell me where i have maliciously and cast aspersions on the ability of Nigerian players. What i will not do is exaggerate and over state their attributes.
nigerian international moses simon is few details from signing for bundesliga team wolfsburg while taiwo awoniyi's move to club brugge will be completed very soon. good and decent moves in my opinion than players players running to the czech league hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
charlesemeka85: nigerian international moses simon is few details from signing for bundesliga team wolfsburg while taiwo awoniyi's move to club brugge will be completed very soon. good and decent moves in my opinion than players players running to the czech league hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
charlesemeka85: nigerian international moses simon is few details from signing for bundesliga team wolfsburg while taiwo awoniyi's move to club brugge will be completed very soon. good and decent moves in my opinion than players players running to the czech league hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Please not Wolfsburg, this a relegation team and a shadow of its former self yester years ago, a player it was reported here multiple EPL teams were chasing or was it all hype and hearsay.
I personally thin he can do better than Wolfsburg.
well the likes of real madrid, barca,juve,man untd and co who you hoped for them to fight for moses are not interested. liverpool were unable to come up with the fee gent demanded while wolfsburg paid the exact amount. a move from gent to a team of the caliber of wolfsburg is a good move. wolfsburg is one of the teams in the germany with rich tradition and history and huge fan base. they under-performed for some seasons ago doesnt rub off their achievements, rich history and status. its far better than remaining in belgium or moving to slavia prague hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. if simon performs well consistently he will attract bigger teams in germany and europe as a whole
Please not Wolfsburg, this a relegation team and a shadow of its former self yester years ago, a player it was reported here multiple EPL teams were chasing or was it all hype and hearsay.
I personally thin he can do better than Wolfsburg.
Please not Wolfsburg, this a relegation team and a shadow of its former self yester years ago, a player it was reported here multiple EPL teams were chasing or was it all hype and hearsay.
I personally thin he can do better than Wolfsburg.
This is why people should not get carried away with all the media hype, a lot of the time its just contrived by agents and other intrested parties to market thier player.
There is an article by Josh Sippie i have just read again similar hype, a player has scored 1 goals in the easiest league to score among the the top twenty league in Europe and scored 4 in the 2nd tier of Dutch football, definitely way below championship. This being hailed as remarkable progress. It simply is not , that's hype.
He is going too Porto you are struggling to play in Eredivise and you go to Porto. he needed to find a club that will give him clear first team football because it may not go as he is projecting. I hope he does wonderful and sets Europe on fire with Porto, that is my wishful thinking for him. Objectively speaking it certainly looks highly unlikely but not impossible.
How long will Arsenal give him, should he even be staying at Arsenal ? or moving on before he becomes fa forgotten transaction, will he qualify for a work permit , can he perform only time will tell.
Quite a few chose to Arsenal leave and quite a few were asked to leave. Arsenal have been quite poor at retaining and encouraging top youth talent in recent times and should i say even impatient, this is primarily due to lack of opportunity.
Serge Gnabry was frozen out at Arsenal and let go for literally nothing now he is the toast of the Bundesliga and now signed long term at Bayern Munich after an outstanding two seasons with first Werder Bremen and then on loan from Hoffienham from Bayern. Hemade the right choice to leave.
Ovie Ejaria was released from Arsenal at 16 now at Liverpool having played quite a few first team games the rest is now History, England U21 international. If he had remained at Arsenal, would he be in the first team, very much doubt it.
Raheem Sterlng was invited to Arsenal but chose QPR instead because he felt he would have more opportunity, well he was dam right.
Chuks Aneke was described by Arsene Wenger as the like Yaya Toure, was even invited to Nigeria U17 and then forgotten he was not given opportunity so left. A bad injury kept him out football for almost two seasons last season he came back to league 1 MK Dons and was simply outstanding.
ykalhaji: Come on.. All this Nigerian players just love money. Which kind stupid talk una dey talk sef ?? Although I don't think Peter Olayinka should go to Czech but of he decides to go who are we to say oh Nigerians like money too much ?? Are we forgetting that this is their source of earnings ? What is the likelyhood that he would not be injured next season or that bigger clubs will always come ?
Abeg make him make him money dey go. If he is still great come next year, bigger clubs will still notice him, at least players in the Nigerian leaugue still get trials, so what more a club already in Europe and is playing at UEFA level.
No be Mikel just pay N10 million to ransom him papa ? Did the critics(US) donate towards his funds ?
Abeg make una free Peter and his co money first Nigerian players abeg.
Na u go still be the first to say we invite players from the back water leagues forgetting that our players should go where there is money since thats how they earn a living.
Abeg no cry tomorrow if u c the team filled with chinese players and Ivorien team filled with French ligue 1 players. U know the Ivoriens dont love money neither do they have families to feed.
charlesemeka85: well the likes of real madrid, barca,juve,man untd and co who you hoped for them to fight for moses are not interested. liverpool were unable to come up with the fee gent demanded while wolfsburg paid the exact amount. a move from gent to a team of the caliber of wolfsburg is a good move. wolfsburg is one of the teams in the germany with rich tradition and history and huge fan base. they under-performed for some seasons ago doesnt rub off their achievements, rich history and status. its far better than remaining in belgium or moving to slavia prague hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. if simon performs well consistently he will attract bigger teams in germany and europe as a whole
I agree with you in bold.
But it such an anti climax after all the talk of all these big clubs you settle for a relegation bound team. If Liverpool think he is quality they will pay but i assure you they did not, that is if they were ever interested in the first place.
Disappointed i too got carried away with the hype.
Joebie: It’s firstly, a political thing. Just like Guadeloupe which is located in the Caribbean, (not in Europe). There are many islands still under the control of Britain, the US, France etc.
charlesemeka85: nigerian international moses simon is few details from signing for bundesliga team wolfsburg while taiwo awoniyi's move to club brugge will be completed very soon. good and decent moves in my opinion than players players running to the czech league hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Even though I dont rate SiMoses highly. Even though I believe Onyekuru is a better player than him, I still wish he joined Liverpool bro. Dont masturbate over this news yet, it's owngoalnigeria.com report after all. Don't turn to a troll because of Forgiveness.
this kid showed too much promise when he was an arsenal youth team player.
komekn: This is why people should not get carried away with all the media hype, a lot of the time its just contrived by agents and other intrested parties to market thier player.
There is an article by Josh Sippie i have just read again similar hype, a player has scored 1 goals in the easiest league to score among the the top twenty league in Europe and scored 4 in the 2nd tier of Dutch football, definitely way below championship. This being hailed as remarkable progress. It simply is not , that's hype.
He is going too Porto you are struggling to play in Eredivise and you go to Porto. he needed to find a club that will give him clear first team football because it may not go as he is projecting. I hope he does wonderful and sets Europe on fire with Porto, that is my wishful thinking for him. Objectively speaking it certainly looks highly unlikely but not impossible.
How long will Arsenal give him, should he even be staying at Arsenal ? or moving on before he becomes fa forgotten transaction, will he qualify for a work permit , can he perform only time will tell.
Quite a few chose to Arsenal leave and quite a few were asked to leave. Arsenal have been quite poor at retaining and encouraging top youth talent in recent times and should i say even impatient, this is primarily due to lack of opportunity.
Serge Gnabry was frozen out at Arsenal and let go for literally nothing now he is the toast of the Bundesliga and now signed long term at Bayern Munich after an outstanding two seasons with first Werder Bremen and then on loan from Hoffienham from Bayern. Hemade the right choice to leave.
Ovie Ejaria was released from Arsenal at 16 now at Liverpool having played quite a few first team games the rest is now History, England U21 international. If he had remained at Arsenal, would he be in the first team, very much doubt it.
Raheem Sterlng was invited to Arsenal but chose QPR instead because he felt he would have more opportunity, well he was dam right.
Chuks Aneke was described by Arsene Wenger as the like Yaya Toure, was even invited to Nigeria U17 and then forgotten he was not given opportunity so left. A bad injury kept him out football for almost two seasons last season he came back to league 1 MK Dons and was simply outstanding.
lmao okay bro well noted. but if the move materializes its a step up for him. good performances in a season or two will make the likes of dortmund, levekusen and bayern to take notice of him. a good number of nigerian players will make decent moves this summer
Even though I dont rate SiMoses highly. Even though I believe Onyekuru is a better player than him, I still wish he joined Liverpool bro. Dont masturbate over this news yet, it's owngoalnigeria.com report after all. Don't turn to a troll because of Forgiveness.
lmao no mind some here wey they hype our players like the english hype theirs. the gospel truth is we have decent and average players not world beaters as some makes us to believe here
But it such an anti climax after all the talk of all these big clubs you settle for a relegation bound team. If Liverpool think he is quality they will pay but i assure you they did not, that is if they were ever interested in the first place.
Disappointed i too got carried away with the hype.
charlesemeka85: well the likes of real madrid, barca,juve,man untd and co who you hoped for them to fight for moses are not interested. liverpool were unable to come up with the fee gent demanded while wolfsburg paid the exact amount. a move from gent to a team of the caliber of wolfsburg is a good move. wolfsburg is one of the teams in the germany with rich tradition and history and huge fan base. they under-performed for some seasons ago doesnt rub off their achievements, rich history and status. its far better than remaining in belgium or moving to slavia prague hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. if simon performs well consistently he will attract bigger teams in germany and europe as a whole
I couldn't find this news elsewhere, so I dont believe it. Owngoalnigeria.com is never a credible site. KPOM
charlesemeka85: lmao no mind some here wey they hype our players like the english hype theirs. the gospel truth is we have decent and average players not world beaters as some makes us to believe here
You are new here, else u would have understood that the man u quoted is the chief hyper, the only different is that he hypes the Anglo Nigerians instead of the Nigerian born players.
komekn: I've Got Some Things to Say- ROMELU LUKAKU
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 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
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 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 I’m 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.”
Talking about MOTM awards these are awarded by the league via an independent panel usually set up be the league sponsors in conjunction with the FA. They are completely different from the club awards which reflect your performance in relation to your team mates not the opposing team , for example you could be beaten 7-0 but be awarded MOTM and or MVP by your club. Indeed different journals state who they see as their MOTM however, for a balanced approach we tend to make reference to the official league awards.
I am still unable to find any official and or reputable source that confirms he had 5 MOTM awards at least. See the bold you state he has scored braces, thats clearly plural and it gives the impression he has scored a good number of goals. Forgiveness, is a lot better than that at me, so i would humbly ask if he can confirm or any body else for that matter.
I do not know Jeorge Bird have never met and probably never will, what makes him an authority? Is he a coach Part of recruitment Whats his official Arsenal position The people i do know don't say the same thing he is saying. Being born in Nigeria or England has absolutely nothing to do with it . Like i said if Nwakali was born here he would not have a FREE RIDE to Arsenal. He would have had to battle through local youth football, get noticed, go on trial impress get signed, by pass the politics, corruption , favoritism, injury, etc and sustain continuous development all the way to U18, 21 & 23 otherwise be dropped. There is no guarantee he would even excel at local level, just too many ifs. The only reason he gets a big boost to fly over all the hurdles and jump into Arsenal is his exploits at Nigeria U17. NOTHING ELSE.
I had a talk with Harry Kane's former HO of development at Tottenham, and he told me they considered dropping him at 18 , indeed many got dropped he survived the rest is history.
In 2013, my friend John Fashanu brought the Nigeria all stars U18 Football team from Nigeria (if I'm right they were sponsored by the then Oceanic bank) , they came to play Manchester united and City some of those boys had been selected for Nigeria's u17 Eaglets. The independent academy I was involved with at the time was called to give them a warm up match to prepare them. My team was made up of boys who were predominantly U16 and almost entirely African origin and not playing for any academy at the time.
Cut a long story short we flogged them 8-1, after that game two boys were called to a EPL club for trials none from Nigeria Al stars. After that i don't think the game to play Manchester united and City materialized. Essentially this example tell you that being part of the National team set up gives you credence to get into the EPL in a sense through the backdoor without going through all the hoops.
In reality I don't think too much should be placed on playing for Arsenal Youth because what counts is playing first team football not growing dust playing academy football. The best way to do that is playing first team at any level and fighting your way up. In my opinion 70% of academy boys would be lost playing lower league football.
So when i think of Nwakali i would say he has had it VERY EASY in comparison . I mean that without prejudice
Finally, some of you think that life is easy in England and everything comes easy, it certainly is not.
I am going post Lukukau's story after this , it made me want to cry. he did not see Skytv until he was 16 and his mum had to mix milk with water because of no money. They would not have electricity for 2/3 weeks, that's extreme abject poverty and he is in Western Europe. Thats the kind of poverty some of you here can not even fathom. Yet he was in Europe where its assumed things are easy.
Let me start with the John Fashanu story. When a man like Fashanu arranges a program which he took the participants to UK labeling these guys Nigeria all star, I think you should ask yourself how he came about this program in the first place. Do we have a functional academy league where he took out the best and labeled them "All star"? I hope you know " football with Fash" was an elaborate scam cooked up by the colorful character that is Fashanu which each participant numbering thousands paid fees and bought forms to participate. As a matter of fact, Efcc was involved at a point to investigate that program.
If indeed, we have a Nigerian U17 all star, can you bet your money that England u17s can get a draw against them in a FIFA organized competition? Do you know how many competitions Fc Abuja academy have won outside the shores of Nigeria? Even Fc Inter academy of Enugu and one other academy from Onitsha, Bolowoton, Buruj academy have participated in organized tournaments in Europe and came out tops. Some of these tournaments these guys have won included participants from England, Spain and the Nordic countries. As a matter of fact, Fc Abuja won a particular finals beating Real Madrid youth team. I'm going out of my way to say some of these things so as to clear you that the story about a Nigerian all star getting drubbed 8:1 by an English academy means very little because there is indeed nothing like a Nigerian All star. It is not beyond Fashanu to carry people who are not footballers to the UK. I won't say more than this.
Good you mentioned K. Nwakali if born in England would have to play, get noticed and navigate through the murky waters of nepotism and every other bottle neck to get a contract. I agree, but have can you image what guys like K. Nwakali has to go through in Nigeria before they even get attention of national selectors, battle through over 5 thousand players most of who have letter of recommendation from politicians, ex players and the likes. Take for instance the story of Victor Moses in England. He basically was seen playing in the park by a crystal palace agent who invited him over to their academy, he stood out in his first training session with the U13s and the rest is history. This story is not different from that of Moses Odubanjo and so many others. A typical Ajegunle born player will have a much more though part, almost e100, to Crystal palace than Victor Moses did.The odds are fully stacked against him.
You have a young Nigerian boy who had to deal with his father's demise early in his life, helped his mother in her petty business to survive and get a soccer boot, navigated his way through politics, man know man, quoter system, nepotism, bribery, hunger to get himself into the Nigerian U17, captained the team and won a world championship, won the Mvp and got signed by Arsenal. In search of development, this same boy was farmed out to Holland at 18, living alone, different language and culture. Proved himself in that league by winning a few man of the match award, adjudged the best Arsenal loanee by a reputable Arsenal youth team expert Jorge Bird, sent on loan again to the Dutch first division were he got less playing time but still have a goal to show for his effort in 300 mins he played (mind you, he is a deep lying playmaker). Back on loan to the 2nd div, he scored 4 goals in the 2nf half of the season. Now, this same guy have a shot at Fc Porto. Yet, you think he has done nothing and he has things handed to him because Nigerians see him as a golden boy. I took out my time to say all these so you get the proper perspective, because I see a total disconnection in your narrative and bias.
BascoVanVeli: Egyptian football revolution to take Africa by storm
There is a revolution taking place in Egyptian football that has ramifications for the whole African continent, with the birth of a new super club that threatens to shake up the established order.
The sale of modest Alassiouty Sport -- a team in the ancient town of Asyut on the banks of the Nile some 400 kilometres south of Cairo -- to Saudi billionaire Turki al-Sheikh has seen the new owner invest over US$33-million on players alone in a little over a week.
Al Sheikh, who is also the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority, essentially making him the country's sports minister, was previously honorary president of Al Ahly, and reportedly a financial backer of the team.
But he resigned in May and after a fallout with the board -- just five months into his tenure -- decided to buy his own club over which he would have full control, and start a new super team to dominate the African continent.
He installed former Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry as the chairman of the club on a reported salary of €2.5-million per year, just as the tactician was about to sign on the dotted line for South African Premier Soccer League giants Kaizer Chiefs.
Al Sheikh has also brought in Brazilian coach Alberto Valentim from Botafogo, a former right-back who played for Udinese and Siena in Italy.
Boosting the technical team further is Argentine former Mexico national team coach Ricardo La Volpe, who took the country to the Last 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Added to that, there are four players signed from Brazilian clubs for a total of US$20-million, most notably winger Keno from Palmeiras, as well as two other wide midfielders, Carlos Eduardo (Goiás) and Arthur (Chapecoense), and striker Ribamar (Atlético Paranaense).
Al Sheikh has not confined himself to just raiding the South American country though; he has also taken Egypt internationals Tarek Hamed and Ali Gabr from Zamalek, weakening their challenge, as well as highly-rated Mohamed Magdy from ENPPI and Mohamed Hamdi from Al-Masary.
There have already been 18 new arrivals confirmed in what is a complete overhaul of the squad that has seen many of the players from last season either released or put on the transfer-list.
It is essentially the reshaping of a team from top to bottom, in terms of playing staff, coaching and management, and while there might be a period of adjustment, it could take Pyramids FC not only to the top of Egyptian football immediately, but also African football.
Their benefactor appears to have deeper pockets than most club owners on the continent, and is certainly not afraid to splash the cash.
Turki al-Sheikh chats to the Saudi Arabia team ahead of the 2018 World Cup Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
To put it into perspective, Mamelodi Sundowns owner Patrice Motsepe has a net worth of almost US2-billion and has been generous in funding his club. The team's acquisition of Venezuelan striker Jose Ali Meza for a reported R13-million is a South African record transfer fee paid.
But Brazilian Keno alone cost Pyramids FC almost R140-million, spending that no other team on the continent will be able to match.
Al Sheikh is a key sports figure in the Arab world, holding positions not on in Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority, but also the Union of Arab Football Associations, Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, and is also a member of the Saudi Royal Court. He was appointed to head the General Sports Authority in September last year, soon after the start of the reign of Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He has made some quick strides, allowing women to enter football stadiums for the first time ever, agreeing partnership deals with Spain's La Liga and the Italian Serie A, and roping in legendary former German international Oliver Kahn to set up a goalkeeping academy in the country for the national teams.
Quite how or why he is so interested in Egyptian football has never been made clear, though he could see it as a gateway into the African market.
What is clear is that he has changed the game on the continent and Pyramids FC is a name we will likely be hearing much more of in the coming years.
Talking about MOTM awards these are awarded by the league via an independent panel usually set up be the league sponsors in conjunction with the FA. They are completely different from the club awards which reflect your performance in relation to your team mates not the opposing team , for example you could be beaten 7-0 but be awarded MOTM and or MVP by your club. Indeed different journals state who they see as their MOTM however, for a balanced approach we tend to make reference to the official league awards.
I am still unable to find any official and or reputable source that confirms he had 5 MOTM awards at least. See the bold you state he has scored braces, thats clearly plural and it gives the impression he has scored a good number of goals. Forgiveness, is a lot better than that at me, so i would humbly ask if he can confirm or any body else for that matter.
I do not know Jeorge Bird have never met and probably never will, what makes him an authority? Is he a coach Part of recruitment Whats his official Arsenal position The people i do know don't say the same thing he is saying. Being born in Nigeria or England has absolutely nothing to do with it . Like i said if Nwakali was born here he would not have a FREE RIDE to Arsenal. He would have had to battle through local youth football, get noticed, go on trial impress get signed, by pass the politics, corruption , favoritism, injury, etc and sustain continuous development all the way to U18, 21 & 23 otherwise be dropped. There is no guarantee he would even excel at local level, just too many ifs. The only reason he gets a big boost to fly over all the hurdles and jump into Arsenal is his exploits at Nigeria U17. NOTHING ELSE.
I had a talk with Harry Kane's former HO of development at Tottenham, and he told me they considered dropping him at 18 , indeed many got dropped he survived the rest is history.
In 2013, my friend John Fashanu brought the Nigeria all stars U18 Football team from Nigeria (if I'm right they were sponsored by the then Oceanic bank) , they came to play Manchester united and City some of those boys had been selected for Nigeria's u17 Eaglets. The independent academy I was involved with at the time was called to give them a warm up match to prepare them. My team was made up of boys who were predominantly U16 and almost entirely African origin and not playing for any academy at the time.
Cut a long story short we flogged them 8-1, after that game two boys were called to a EPL club for trials none from Nigeria Al stars. After that i don't think the game to play Manchester united and City materialized. Essentially this example tell you that being part of the National team set up gives you credence to get into the EPL in a sense through the backdoor without going through all the hoops.
In reality I don't think too much should be placed on playing for Arsenal Youth because what counts is playing first team football not growing dust playing academy football. The best way to do that is playing first team at any level and fighting your way up. In my opinion 70% of academy boys would be lost playing lower league football.
So when i think of Nwakali i would say he has had it VERY EASY in comparison . I mean that without prejudice
Finally, some of you think that life is easy in England and everything comes easy, it certainly is not.
I am going post Lukukau's story after this , it made me want to cry. he did not see Skytv until he was 16 and his mum had to mix milk with water because of no money. They would not have electricity for 2/3 weeks, that's extreme abject poverty and he is in Western Europe. Thats the kind of poverty some of you here can not even fathom. Yet he was in Europe where its assumed things are easy.
Honestly, I can't get any official information on the MOTM he won in the second division of Dutch league.
ChrisKels: Did u know that Thomas Lemar's grandfather was a former super Eagles player, perhaps, Lemar could have been in Russia representing Nigeria instead of France.
Did u also know that Ousmane Dembele's father is Nigerian/Malien?
Do ur findings guys, this is becoming more and more interesting after the news of Mbappe.
Yeah lots of immigrants stories and France is always the location. so I'm not surprised.
Many Ibadan peeps even say that it's not Adesanmi that makes him Nigerian, but that name Mbappe. They say it's actually "Oluwambape" I.e "It's God I'd have called"
(shrugs)
With the immigrant influx I can't doubt that, especially knowing the story of Zidane being Algerian too. Some demeaning Nigerians would actually arise and start the bad belle stance by saying its not true, or that we claim them when they succeed. I care less about that na.
Past two seasons they have been escaping relegation on the last game of the season.
Literally the great escape, that's creates instability and it's difficult to play good football when you are struggling to survive.
They faced relegation twice but they have also showed character to get out of it 2 times. In Germany, Bayern is the only club that u can beat ur chest and be sure about. All other spots are up for grabs. U follow English football so I am sure u know that Burnley were candidates for relegation prior to last season but they ended up bagging a European spot.
charlesemeka85: this kid showed too much promise when he was an arsenal youth team player.
This is the bit I do not get.
We can invite players from Norway, Cyprus, Dutch, Isreal league who are not the stand out players in those leagues.
Even academy players who have not really smelled first team football yet.
But not outstanding players in the lower league of English football. It's quite common for outstanding players in league one even league two to leap frog straight into the EPL into top teams.
For example, Ademola Lookman, Gomez. Dele Alli, Ethan Ampadu from Exeter( league 2) to Chelsea, Mason Holdgate Everton RB from Barnsley. etc etc.
Putting any kind of typical kwaruption stories or happenings aside, if €2.5million is invested in a NPFL team like Heartland FC, Rangers, Sunshine Stars or Loving stars,.... we would have a rejuvenation that would be a money spinner and eye opener for those handling our sports.
IUFC is looking like Asif they don't know how to do stuff. Do they even have a plan, take less, a master plan?
Sometimes I wonder everyday if officiating improves, if the rest of the clubs won't improve and earn FIFA recognition for this refs.
