Curtisaxel7:
I look forward to when Aigbogun's own bribe story will come to light. That dude is the most shameless thief I've ever seen. Some people on that team of his have absolutely no business playing football e.g Tijani his top striker. I can swear that Aigbogun auctioned off ALL the spots on that team of his.

And notwithstanding the fact that some of his "U-20" players could easily pass for 35-40 year olds, he still got walloped by the likes of U.S.A with genuine young blood. Na that one dey pain me pass. At least other Nigerian overage teams used to bully their way to victory. Aigbogun's team was the lowest of the low!. No genuine young talent on display, and the shameless old men with shaven beards were still disgraced by people young enough to be their children!

I swear if I meet Aigbogun in real life in a dark street corner eh....

I am so sure basco will still come out to defend him....

Curtisaxel7:
I look forward to when Aigbogun's own bribe story will come to light. That dude is the most shameless thief I've ever seen. Some people on that team of his have absolutely no business playing football e.g Tijani his top striker. I can swear that Aigbogun auctioned off ALL the spots on that team of his.

And notwithstanding the fact that some of his "U-20" players could easily pass for 35-40 year olds, he still got walloped by the likes of U.S.A with genuine young blood. Na that one dey pain me pass. At least other Nigerian overage teams used to bully their way to victory. Aigbogun's team was the lowest of the low!. No genuine young talent on display, and the shameless old men with shaven beards were still disgraced by people young enough to be their children!

I swear if I meet Aigbogun in real life in a dark street corner eh....

Bros, small small naa

daveP:
Ndidi is now a father...... Jaina

I'm so happy for him and his family.

Small Ndidi don turn Papa Ndidi, meanwhile old somebody like me dey here dey like pictures

Curtisaxel7:
I look forward to when Aigbogun's own bribe story will come to light. That dude is the most shameless thief I've ever seen. Some people on that team of his have absolutely no business playing football e.g Tijani his top striker. I can swear that Aigbogun auctioned off ALL the spots on that team of his.

And notwithstanding the fact that some of his "U-20" players could easily pass for 35-40 year olds, he still got walloped by the likes of U.S.A with genuine young blood. Na that one dey pain me pass. At least other Nigerian overage teams used to bully their way to victory. Aigbogun's team was the lowest of the low!. No genuine young talent on display, and the shameless old men with shaven beards were still disgraced by people young enough to be their children!

I swear if I meet Aigbogun in real life in a dark street corner eh....

dont be suprised that alot of dickheads in here will defend him

Football returns TOMORROW!!!

Subzero047:
Football returns TOMORROW!!!

You know when someone is recovering from an illness, so, they start by giving you small portions of food to build appetite, until you can eat more

That's what Bundesligs's return feels like.

safarigirl:


I'm so happy for him and his family.

Small Ndidi don turn Papa Ndidi, meanwhile old somebody like me dey here dey like pictures

Baba pass hin age o sha.

Small ke?

They leave the hospital..... Congratulations everywhere.... I hope Maddison or whoever doesnt steal that pam slippers sha....

daveP:




Baba pass hin age o sha.

Small ke?

if he pass am, he no go sha reach my own age, so, na still small boy.

If e wan old, na 25

safarigirl:
if he pass am, he no go sha reach my own age, so, na still small boy.

If e wan old, na 25

If you say so sha.

Because of the love for football, i think the ratings of the bundesliga is about to skyrocket among Nigerians.... We would give anything to just watch 90mins and they came first. I must watch too.

There is another twist to the 2014.bribing issue. Sylvanus Okpala, an assistant coach to the late Keshi claimed that Taiye Taiwo and Ike Uche threatened that they would ensure that Keshi was sacked that why they were not invited anymore to the SE.

Nsofor brings up u20 talk.....



Rumble in the Bronx leleyi o

Interesting read
https://africa.espn.com/football/nigeria-nga/story/4094830/super-eagles-daniel-akpeyi-says-mental-strength-key-defence-against-criticstrolls

lordofstrings:
So how much do QPR want

U wan buy d guy ?


Meanwhile

God knows how I survived without football

CaptainStephen:
I understand you, well he isn't near zidane yet but he needs to watch it.
Just my own opinion sha

Watch what sir ?

Are you guys trying to say osimhen is stubborn ?

If so then you are wrong

daveP:




Baba pass hin age o sha.

Small ke?

Make we leave that one Biko

Taye Taiwo Launched Mutiny Against Stephen Keshi – Sylvanus Okpala

---

A band of Super Eagles players led by Taye Taiwo during the AFCON 2013/14 qualifier staged a discreet rebellion against their coach, Stephen Keshi, less than 24 hours after the Eagles played Rwanda.

Former Green Eagle and Super Eagles assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala in an interview with Nneka Ikem Anibeze, dismissed bribery allegations in the Super Eagles team of 2013/2014.

“I also read about Taye Taiwo’s outburst in the papers. After our experience with him, we never invited him again, Okpala said.

Okpala further stated that Taiye Taiwo created an imaginary bedlam in the squad vowing to get Keshi sacked as Super Eagles coach.

During our AFCON qualifier against Rwanda, Taiye didn’t play well in that game, continued Okpala. Keshi complained after the match but the players went back to their rooms and started plotting how to remove Keshi. They never knew that Keshi’s room was the next to Taiye’s room.

“Taiye was telling other players that Keshi was shouting on him on the pitch and that he will do to Keshi what he did to other coaches and ensure that Keshi was sacked.

“Keshi was in his room listening to all their conversations. Now, most of them are now coming to talk about money. It wasn’t about money because I knew about these two issues involving Taiye and Uche. Which coach will like to invite a player who wants him sacked in his team? It’s not possible I am telling you what happened as an insider.

“I was not surprised that Ike Uche did not make it to the World Cup because I know what we went through with him during the 2013 AFCON. In our first game, we were playing 1-1 but were reduced to ten men and he was asked to come in. The coach told him what to do. When he got onto the pitch, he refused to do those things.

“We had to change another player to fortify our defense . When that player was going in, Stephen Keshi told him what to tell Uche but he still refused to play to instruction. We were one man down and Uche was not falling back to defend. It was mass attack and mass defense but Uche refused to adhere to instructions and always challenged Keshi’s coaching ability. Moreover, he was not in form.

“He was dropped from the team because he was disobedient. He kept on telling us that in his club, this was how they used to play and this was what our coach used to tell us. Then at a point in time, I called him and said Ike Uche, there is a way we want you to play here. This is the Nigerian National team and not your club, so this is how we want you to play. Don’t come and tell us about your club.

He said well… it will help me but I asked him that if he played for Villarreal and Liverpool bought him, will he go to Liverpool and start telling them that this is how they play in Villarreal? You don’t tell the coach how to play you in Liverpool.

“Brown Ideye helped the team a lot. He was instrumental to the team winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013 and made a lot of sacrifices. However, I wasn’t there during the World Cup but playing very well in the Nations Cup doesn’t mean that your form will be intact for the World Cup. You must continue to be in form to make the next competition.

“In 1980 when we won the Nations Cup, Nigeria overwhelmed the Algerians here but the following year during the World Cup qualifiers, they defeated us both at home and away. It was the same Algerian team with almost the same Nigerian team. So, in football, you have to maintain your form and not rely on your previous performance because other players are trying to break into the team and the coach wants to take the best to the competition.

“However, if you ask me, I know that not all the 23 players will play in the World Cup. If you’re lucky without injury, you may play the World Cup with only 18 players. Based on his contributions during AFCON, maybe I would have asked Coach Keshi if we could add Ideye’s name for his contributions in the past. He was one player then that if you say you don’t have a player on the left, Brown will go and perform creditably well. But that didn’t mean he had to relax because he won the Nations Cup. You must be in form for a coach to pick you. So, I’m still waiting for those who want to say rubbish about Keshi.’

“One of the problems we had then in the National team was that some NFF officials had too much contact with the players. They called them on the phone and became too familiar with the players. You don’t do that with players.”

“Westerhof is being regarded as the best coach that ever tinkered the Nigerian team but it took Westerhof 5 years and 6 months … let’s say six years to achieve the same thing that Stephen Keshi and his crew achieved in one year and six months! So who is better? Is it because we are Nigerians?

“I needed to reply them because I was an insider and nobody can say I’ve taken money from him to do this or that,” Okpala wrapped up.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/persecondnews.com/2020/05/15/how-taiye-taiwo-launched-mutiny-rebellion-against-stephen-keshi-sylvanus-okpala/amp/

Blueelf:
Interesting read
https://africa.espn.com/football/nigeria-nga/story/4094830/super-eagles-daniel-akpeyi-says-mental-strength-key-defence-against-criticstrolls

Long but worth it read
see bolded



Nigeria goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi says his mental strength keeps him going in the face of the onslaught of invective regularly sent his way.


Akpeyi, 33, has endured constant criticism from his compatriots after high-profile errors while keeping goal for Nigeria.


He was in goal when Nigeria lost for the first time in a competitive game against South Africa, during the qualifiers for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. An error also led to a goal by Argentina in a 2018 pre-World Cup friendly, and he was blamed for being out of position when Riyad Mahrez curled in a superb free-kick for Algeria with their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semifinal finely balanced at 1-1.


These mistakes mean the now carries the perception of being a goalkeeper with at least one mistake waiting to happen, but the Kaizer Chiefs custodian says he has learned to deal with it by shutting out criticism and staying strong.


"What helps me is my mental strength," Akpeyi told ESPN.
"I really don't follow the news about what is going on, especially when it comes to soccer from Africa and this part of the world.


"Thank God I grew up with a mentor who taught me how to be mentally strong. With all I have learnt from my mentor, I can't give up on myself. I am not going to prove a point to anybody, I only have to prove a point to myself that whatever I have been trained with actually works."


That mental strength allows Akpeyi to take responsibility for his own mistakes. Not the least of which is that Mahrez free-kick. Speaking about it for the first time since the Afcon, Akpeyi concedes he could have done better.


"I must say that maybe I was not in the right position where I should be," he told ESPN.
"My coaches always say that if the position of the set play is very close. he will probably have 20% chance of scoring on the other side. So I should have shifted a little.
"But not to take anything away from Mahrez; he has scored such free-kicks before at his club against great goalkeepers. But we won't say that we won't learn from our mistakes and others' mistakes.


"I take the blame for everything because it is what it is. As a goalkeeper, they won't look at what you have done before.

I remember they had a couple of chances in the first half that I made one-on-one saves. But those ones won't count in people's eyes. Because no matter how much a goalkeeper saves, it is the one mistake he makes that people remember."

Despite that, the 33 year old says he had to brace himself for the inevitable from his fellow countrymen.
"At the back of my head I just knew that Nigerians will come at me again, but you just have to stand your ground. It has happened to the best in the world. It is going to happen again, you won't be the last. But if you keep this in your head, it is going to drain you.
"At the end of the day, the people that tried to put you down will rejoin over this. So be a professional, take it, learn from it, and go on. So when I got all that backlash, as a human, you will feel it; but I laughed at it and shook it off.
"Imagine that a week later, he scored a similar goal in his club and the world did not come down.
"But because it is Akpeyi, it was very easy for the bell to ring in people's mind that Akpeyi is this, Akpeyi is that."


Akpeyi takes criticism from fans in his stride, but words from an international teammate cut him to the quick.
After the Argentina friendly in 2018, when he picked up the ball outside his box, leading to a free-kick and a goal, Akpeyi says his teammate was on the phone predicting the end of the goalkeeper's international career


when we got to the hotel, I overheard one of my teammates in the other room telling somebody on the phone 'I don't think he should be invited to the national team again; how can he concede that kind of goal.'
"My own team mate!
"He was just outside the room next to mine and talking. This is a professional footballer who plays in Europe

"But I thank God, because it is by His Grace that I am here."
And Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr, who never stopped believing in the former junior international.
"He thinks football differently," Akpeyi said of his international coach.

"Especially with the pressure that he has been under not to invite me again, and I know the pressure has been coming on him really hard. But he understands the dynamics of football and tries to hold his ground. He knows what he wants,


"A couple of times, he has told me to be strong, that he understood what is happening.but as long as I am getting game time in my team, I will improve and I will do well.
"And for now, he has not seen anybody else that he can bring in to replace me."
Rohr replaced Akpeyi at halftime of the Argentina game, but the goalkeeper said it was not because of his error.


"He had already told me that he invited this new boy, Francis Uzoho, and I will play the first half and then he will bring him in for the second half. So he did not sub me in the first half because of the goal.
"At the Nations Cup, the same thing happened. He had already told us that he would want all the players to play."


Rohr is not the only coach who believes in Akpeyi, as he was in a similar situation at Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa's Premier Soccer League earlier this year.


With Itumeleng Khune injured, Akpeyi stepped in. But when the South Africa No. 1 returned on the eve of the Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates in February, the majority of the Amakhosi faithful wanted the Nigerian dropped to the bench.


But Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp -- another German -- stood his ground and Akpey's self-belief saw him excel spectacularly, earning man-of-the-match honours.


"There was this debate over who would play and who would not play because Itu is back and all that,"Akpeyi said.
"I respect Itu because he has paid his dues. So if he has a whole lot of supporters backing him to play, he deserves it 100%. Again, I am not fighting for position with anybody, but sometimes the fans do not understand the dynamics of football and they believed that since Itu was back, whether I am playing or not, the coach should just throw him back into the team.


"But the coach is that kind of person who sticks to his instincts and doesn't get swayed by anybody's decision. He just stood his ground.
"After Itu came back he was playing cup games to get his match fitness back. So the coach made it clear that the should go on playing cup games while I should continue with the league.


"The atmosphere wasn't too conducive but I had to be mentally strong because I understand even some club legends wanted him to play. But the coach stood his ground and gave me the nod. So I made up my mind to go into the game to prove a point that we wanted to win the derby, and Akpeyi is not the Daniel Akpeyi they think. So I had a point to prove and I just had to make sure I don't disappoint the coach and the people who believed in me."


Akpeyi may not be everyone's favorite goalkeeper, but as long as he has the confidence of his coaches, and performs as well as he did in the Soweto derby, it will be hard to shake him off without good reason.

“One of the problems we had then in the National team was that some NFF officials had too much contact with the players. They called them on the phone and became too familiar with the players. You don’t do that with players.”

---

For an NFF who worked tooth and nail to get Keshi sacked, that kind of close relationship with players was very unhealthy to the coach.

People should note that there are other factors (especially in Nigerian football where a lot of people have vested interest in the team failing) that can lead to the dropping top players. It is not always bribery.

andrewbaba44:


Bukayo saka should better stay at arsenal

He wont start at valencia, i wont even talk of liverpool because he stood no chance there

If somebody said that about our Chukwueze they will call it HATE.

I think he will eventually start at Liverpool but not immediately it will take him a season or two to displace Robertson.

Valencia will not have the same competition as Liverpool so l expect him to break in sooner.

TheGoodJoe:


Not true at all. It is actually the opposite. Alex Ferguson disposed Diego Forlan because he did not abide by instructions. Did that mean he was a bad coach? Pep Guardiola cut off the likes of Ronaldinho, Deco and a host of others to promote harmony in his team. Did that mean Guardiola is a poor coach?

What of Harry Redknapp dumping Giovani Dos Santos (despite his immense talent) on the bench because of his play boy attitude. Does that mean Harry Redknapp is a terrible manager?

Mourinho dumped Mikel at a young age because of his unseriousness. An action which left a deep mark on Mikel and turned him into a very serious and disciplined player. Forlan became a coach's favourite with his discipline after leaving Manchester United.

You are using wide scale negative assumption to make overriding deductions on individual players.

It is not that simplistic.

Were you there in the training ground and behind the scenes.

TheGoodJoe:
Giovani dos Santos wonder goal for Tottenham (Pure Magic from the little Ronaldinho)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdD9y3TeqbM

This was the kind of talent Harry Redknapp dropped on the bench because of attitude. If it was a Nigerian coach, people will say he has collected bribe.

Redknapp is a well known corrupt coach and manager among so many in the UK.

Blueelf:
Interesting read
https://africa.espn.com/football/nigeria-nga/story/4094830/super-eagles-daniel-akpeyi-says-mental-strength-key-defence-against-criticstrolls

I pity the guy sha

TheGoodJoe:
During our AFCON qualifier against Rwanda, Taiye didn’t play well in that game, continued Okpala. Keshi complained after the match but the players went back to their rooms and started plotting how to remove Keshi. They never knew that Keshi’s room was the next to Taiye’s room.

“Taiye was telling other players that Keshi was shouting on him on the pitch and that he will do to Keshi what he did to other coaches and ensure that Keshi was sacked.

---

I don't like throwing my suspicions around but I am glad Sylvanus Okpala brought this out. My suspicion was always Mutiny was the reason why Keshi dropped and had problems with most of the star players of the team. No coach disposes of his best players without a genuine reason.

He (Taiwo) will do to Keshi what he did to other coaches

That to other coaches is what is important to note. That players decide to get coaches sacked if the coach does not respect them. When it should be the other way around.

I still keep a lot of my suspicions to myself because lots of people do not think in that direction.

Lol, Taiye sacked Lagerback, Siasia and Amodu

komekn:


If somebody said that about our Chukwueze they will call it HATE.

I think he will eventually start at Liverpool but not immediately it will take him a season or two to displace Robertson.

Valencia will not have the same competition as Liverpool so l expect him to break in sooner.

Maybe at Valencia but he won’t still start ,he isn’t up to the players they have at that position ,Jose Gayà is class ,juame costa nko ,make e just stay arsenal jeje

But sorry not Liverpool he stood no single chance at Liverpool,Andrew Robertson is still just 26 and that dude looks like who will start at that position for the next 5 seasons

BascoVanVeli:


Pep and Jose are great managers who have had beef with players. So ur theory is hog wash.

First of all l did not present any theory.

Furthermore, l did not indict any individual as bring right or wrong. But rather asking for an open mind on these matters.

It's a managers responsibility to man manage his team. And Managers as well as players can have egos.

But many a time people just disagree and or have different preferences that result in disagreement. That is not neccesarily ego and or insubordination.

For someone who has lived a large part of his life in the USA. You seem to lack understanding and appreciation of the socail dynamics, mannerism and etiquette that surrounds interrelationships in these settings in the West.

This sometimes creates big problems in my understanding and experience in the NFA and our Nigerian orientated managers.

I know of one Nigerian ex international who had to call Siasa aside and explain to him that his approach to players management and his disdainful way of talking to players was counter productive and was creating antagonism in the camp.

It's a very common phenomenon when Nigerian are working here they are mostly polite and considerate when talking and relating to people here in the UK.

Just watch as they land MM from Heathrow they just do immediate transformation and become rude and tyrannical.

safarigirl:
if he pass am, he no go sha reach my own age, so, na still small boy.

If e wan old, na 25

Curious assumption.

Ndidi failed an MRI scan in early 2013, not sure when the scan was done.

If he was 17 then ( which he was not) then he would be 25 now. Essentially he can't be 25 and he is probably a lot older than you depending in what is a lot too you.

At that stage of our football development shaving off 5 years was quite acceptable and routine others shaved off 7+ years. I am sure many here know them.

So you can speculate on his age, does it really matter his excellent performances are not tied to his age.