African Football Discussion Thread {Male & Female} Current Topic: 👉 WAFCON

[Pokapoka124]

Alex iwobi gets criticize alot because he hasn't lived to the expectations we had of him of following his uncle (Jay jay Okocha) footsteps but the player isn't doing bad on his own now the player with the highest assist in the premier league.

Is it that we expected too much from him that's why we think he isn't a great footballer or his uncle brilliance has just overshadow everything that he does. He isn't that bad as a player but I get that he had some bad seasons but what he does, many other Nigerian players doesn't but yet they get praised while he gets criticized.

Why is this if I may ask?

The criticism is baseless and not constructive. No law states that a nephew will outshine his uncle. I will assume that great players like Pele, George Yeah, Rashidi Yekini, Roja Milla and Abidi Pele also have children or relatives who were players and they don't need to do better. Alex Iwobi has his path in destiny and he is not also doing badly. He has played for some of the best clubs in England and has also contributed to the national team. Jay Jay Okocha has finished his career; Alex should be allowed to make his impact.

But another piece of information caught my attention. Kanu Nwankwo gave the second-highest assists. Kanu was one of the best strikers in Nigeria who scored some important goals for Nigeria. But seeing that he gave this much assistance shows that he even did more than I imagined.

Alex Iwobi is a talented player, coming up from the Arsenal academy he showed great prospects and was also predicted to be one of the top young players but he wasn’t considered a prodigy. Along the line, Iwobi began to drop in performance, Arsenal sold him out and since then he has struggled to stay relevant. I guess we expected too much from Alex Iwobi, it’s just like the way people are reacting to the news of Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo retiring from football at the age of 29. Alex Iwobi is not his uncle likewise Enzo is not his father.

[SOKO-DEKE]

The Super Eagles didn’t meet my expectations in the past AFCON. We have a star studded squad: Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman, Troost Ekong, Ndidi, Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi and still we couldn’t win the tournament. How many teams on the continent have this many quality players in their team?

Honestly, if we should look at the type of quality players we have, seriously, we were supposed to win that last AFCON. Looking at the other squads and comparing them with Nigeria, it is clear that Nigeria had a better squad than the other countries that participated in the competition. But from my observations, the team performed based on the management they had. If Nigeria had a better and more experienced head coach, I don't think any team in Africa would be able to beat Nigeria easily with the current set of players. If we had talented and tactical coaching during the last AFCON, I would have been less surprised by how those Nigerian players performed, compared to how they perform at their various clubs. I was not at all impressed with their performances in the last AFCON.

[Jegileman]

Alex Iwobi is a talented player, coming up from the Arsenal academy he showed great prospects and was also predicted to be one of the top young players but he wasn’t considered a prodigy. Along the line, Iwobi began to drop in performance, Arsenal sold him out and since then he has struggled to stay relevant. I guess we expected too much from Alex Iwobi, it’s just like the way people are reacting to the news of Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo retiring from football at the age of 29. Alex Iwobi is not his uncle likewise Enzo is not his father.

When Alex Iwobi was playing for Arsenal, I hold him with high esteem to be one of the potential young player in the future. He was doing well there and likewise was a top choice for the Nigerian Super Eagles. His drop in performance was very bad and that lead to him been sold out. He also played in Everton but can’t remember if it was on loan. His current club Fulham has been impressive and he’s also a very good player contributing to the success of the team so far in the league. I see him in their startup eleven most of the time and his contribution cannot be overstated, he’s doing well there. I hope he gets to perform well in the upcoming AFCON as much as he gives to his club now.

[Odusko]

The Super Eagles didn’t meet my expectations in the past AFCON. We have a star studded squad: Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman, Troost Ekong, Ndidi, Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi and still we couldn’t win the tournament. How many teams on the continent have this many quality players in their team?

Honestly, if we should look at the type of quality players we have, seriously, we were supposed to win that last AFCON. Looking at the other squads and comparing them with Nigeria, it is clear that Nigeria had a better squad than the other countries that participated in the competition. But from my observations, the team performed based on the management they had. If Nigeria had a better and more experienced head coach, I don't think any team in Africa would be able to beat Nigeria easily with the current set of players. If we had talented and tactical coaching during the last AFCON, I would have been less surprised by how those Nigerian players performed, compared to how they perform at their various clubs. I was not at all impressed with their performances in the last AFCON.

What do you expect from a team that have so much crisis the NFF and the entire team members and in disinterested in each other and at that, whatever may be the capacity of the players their will fail to deliver because at that point of disunity, a lot of things won't work together to give them possible success in matches, so while we as fans and supporter's are giving our opinion about the performance of the players, we shouldn't forget to mentioned or take into account what triggers such poor performance.

For the record, we may have a long way of poor performance and the AFCON trophy is still very far from the supper eagle even though our players have to highest capacity and motivation, but lack of management will definitely bring them down to nothing each season.

Corruption have Indeed eated the fabrics of our super eagle team and even the entire football body is decayed and untill something is done, nothing can really change.

[Stable090]

Exactly because when those players went out to play in other club in abroad they are doing well and their names sound well to the whole world but coming to Play in the country, they can't do anything. Look at the way they loss in the World Cup Qualifiers. Really I don't know where the problem is coming again because these are players that are doing well outside but loss at home for countries like Benin Republic.

Seriously, with the way our players are performing when they are playing for their clubs, it surprises me how they do perform when they are playing for their own country, there is always a difference in their performance. Sometimes I do think maybe the problem is from the coaches we have, or maybe there are some hidden problems that the players are having, that’s why they don’t mostly perform well when they are playing for the country. I don't know why they always find it difficult to win even some African countries which you won’t even hear about, or maybe the players are having internal conflicts, or maybe they are not always being paid well, that’s why they don’t always stress themselves.

[Oluwa-btc]

I'm not saying this because Chelsea and Nigerian Legend John Mikel Obi has said the same thing about such players but, I'm saying so because it's the right way to go about it. Tosin the Chelsea defender is 27 years and has just decided to join Nigeria realizing that he'll never get a chance with England national team, he is a good example of what Mikel Obi talked about that, they should make decision about who they want to represent at a young age and not when they're already at this age. I'm certain the Nigerian Football Federation would be quick to welcome him with warm hands because this is how they get their money through, bribing and corruption. Another good defender who never got his chance to play for England was Fikayo Tomori! What are your thoughts on Tosin Adarabioyo joining Super Eagles?

[Roseline492]

No doubt when it comes to quality players the super eagles are always at the top but yet I don’t think the issue why we’ve not won yet is just because we don’t have the best coach yet. A perfect coach is needed yet the team also needs to improve, let’s not only blame the coach rather our players also didn’t play perfect last time maybe if the super eagles find a good coach the coach can restructure the team because playing skillful alone is not the problem as seen. Victor Osimhen played brilliant but we can’t blame him or other players due to the environment at the moment but, I still think super eagles have what it takes to win.

I realized that having a perfect coach is not the only thing that would bring trophy to the super eagles but our players needs to have an individual goal to achieve because there performances is nothing to write home about and is not even like we don't have a good players, actually the super eagles have enough players that should have been winning trophies but is sad that we are even fighting to win a smaller countries that doesn't even have a good record in there football history, although is only the super eagles I'm seeing this kind of performance on all the African countries that has a lot international players because other countries that also have those kind of players are doing very well by making a judicious use of there players.

[Zigabel]

I'm not saying this because Chelsea and Nigerian Legend John Mikel Obi has said the same thing about such players but, I'm saying so because it's the right way to go about it. Tosin the Chelsea defender is 27 years and has just decided to join Nigeria realizing that he'll never get a chance with England national team, he is a good example of what Mikel Obi talked about that, they should make decision about who they want to represent at a young age and not when they're already at this age. I'm certain the Nigerian Football Federation would be quick to welcome him with warm hands because this is how they get their money through, bribing and corruption. Another good defender who never got his chance to play for England was Fikayo Tomori! What are your thoughts on Tosin Adarabioyo joining Super Eagles?

At some point I see all of this as retirement strategies because if not how else can this be described, he's been actively playing football over the years so what exactly is the reason he refused his alligence to the super eagles at his prime, he has to wait till this poo where he will soon be on a series of decline to pledge his alligence to the super eagles, know how unreliable the system is and how shitty they are and would tolerate trash at he highest level due to their poor understanding of what football business should be at all levels, rather they will feel honored to have him so he has decided to give the eagles his later strength after giving away the strengths of his youth.

[Amphenomenon]

Alex Iwobi is a talented player, coming up from the Arsenal academy he showed great prospects and was also predicted to be one of the top young players but he wasn’t considered a prodigy. Along the line, Iwobi began to drop in performance, Arsenal sold him out and since then he has struggled to stay relevant. I guess we expected too much from Alex Iwobi, it’s just like the way people are reacting to the news of Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo retiring from football at the age of 29. Alex Iwobi is not his uncle likewise Enzo is not his father.

Iwobi was actually a prodigy at Arsenal at that time being a teen, doing well, the media was all over him, Jay Jay Okocha nephew will just be like Jay Jay okocha, footballing runs in the family but sadly I Alex Iwobi failed to leave up go expectations, often have a on and off moment or seasons, if only he was more consistent with his performance he would have suffered little to no criticism like he has suffered now in his career notably during the time of the last Afcon.

His moved to Everton wasn't has to be something that would have affect him but make him have more game time since at that time he was still doing well from the fact that he was sold for £30+ million which was still relatively a huge money then

[Coyster]

I'm certain the Nigerian Football Federation would be quick to welcome him with warm hands because this is how they get their money through, bribing and corruption. Another good defender who never got his chance to play for England was Fikayo Tomori! What are your thoughts on Tosin Adarabioyo joining Super Eagles?

I don't see any reason why the NFF shouldn't welcome him, and what do you mean by bribery and corruption in this case, are you insinuating that Tosin is bribing his way into the national team?

Whilst it would be better if these players make up their mind quickly on which national team they want to represent, there is nothing wrong in them changing allegiance later on to play for Nigeria. It does not give them a free ticket into the team by the way, they would still have to show the manager that they have the quality to represent Nigeria.

[Zlantann]

I'm not saying this because Chelsea and Nigerian Legend John Mikel Obi has said the same thing about such players but, I'm saying so because it's the right way to go about it. Tosin the Chelsea defender is 27 years and has just decided to join Nigeria realizing that he'll never get a chance with England national team, he is a good example of what Mikel Obi talked about that, they should make decision about who they want to represent at a young age and not when they're already at this age. I'm certain the Nigerian Football Federation would be quick to welcome him with warm hands because this is how they get their money through, bribing and corruption. Another good defender who never got his chance to play for England was Fikayo Tomori! What are your thoughts on Tosin Adarabioyo joining Super Eagles?

If he has the quality that the Super Eagles need, it will cost the country nothing to allow him to play. Some twenty-seven-year-old players are still useful to their country and club. So if Tosin Adarabioyo impresses the coach he might be invited. I heard he had once invited the interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen, to watch him play. The coach has also confirmed that the defender is on his radar.

I don't care how long he played for the Nigerian team but how much he contributed to the success of the team. It will be a great achievement if he helps the team to qualify for the World and Nations Cup. If he can be impactful in ten games before he retires, that's a good contribution. His wealth of experience can also be helpful to young players he can be a mentor and motivator. Nigerians should give preference to players who sacrifice to represent it, but the doors shouldn't be shut against quality dual citizens who have an interest in representing the country.

[Huppercase]

At some point I see all of this as retirement strategies because if not how else can this be described, he's been actively playing football over the years so what exactly is the reason he refused his alligence to the super eagles at his prime, he has to wait till this poo where he will soon be on a series of decline to pledge his alligence to the super eagles, know how unreliable the system is and how shitty they are and would tolerate trash at he highest level due to their poor understanding of what football business should be at all levels, rather they will feel honored to have him so he has decided to give the eagles his later strength after giving away the strengths of his youth.

I saw a post about him today that he snub England to come play with Super Eagle and somebody quote the post and made a comment that he was obviously rejected hence the reason they came to represent Super Eagle because who in their right sense will see a better team that is coordinated than Super Eagle and will say they will come back to play at home, not saying our team is not superior but their are superiority over superiors in this game football.

There is nothing bad here, he is welcome and I hope this becomes a lesson for every other stars of Nigeria blood that are trying so hard to play for other countries when their home country is there waiting for them. Lookman is one big example because I'm not sure if he will be getting the PR is getting with Nigerians if he was to be playing for other countries, it might even be the reason why some of them are coming back right now, they want the PR too because Nigeria is now known.

[Pokapoka124]

I'm not saying this because Chelsea and Nigerian Legend John Mikel Obi has said the same thing about such players but, I'm saying so because it's the right way to go about it. Tosin the Chelsea defender is 27 years and has just decided to join Nigeria realizing that he'll never get a chance with England national team, he is a good example of what Mikel Obi talked about that, they should make decision about who they want to represent at a young age and not when they're already at this age. I'm certain the Nigerian Football Federation would be quick to welcome him with warm hands because this is how they get their money through, bribing and corruption. Another good defender who never got his chance to play for England was Fikayo Tomori! What are your thoughts on Tosin Adarabioyo joining Super Eagles?

I think Tosin Adarabioyo will be a good addition for the Super Eagles team, for a nation trying to get back on track we need every player we can spare. I mean every good player and talent available on deck. The time of decision should not be the bone of contention right now, Tosin Adarabioyo will give options and further boost our defense if he is accepted to the squad and I hope he is accepted. We need more good defenders to boost our squad depth.

[EarnOnVictor]

At some point I see all of this as retirement strategies because if not how else can this be described, he's been actively playing football over the years so what exactly is the reason he refused his alligence to the super eagles at his prime, he has to wait till this poo where he will soon be on a series of decline to pledge his alligence to the super eagles, know how unreliable the system is and how shitty they are and would tolerate trash at he highest level due to their poor understanding of what football business should be at all levels, rather they will feel honored to have him so he has decided to give the eagles his later strength after giving away the strengths of his youth.

I saw a post about him today that he snub England to come play with Super Eagle and somebody quote the post and made a comment that he was obviously rejected hence the reason they came to represent Super Eagle because who in their right sense will see a better team that is coordinated than Super Eagle and will say they will come back to play at home, not saying our team is not superior but their are superiority over superiors in this game football.

Let's face it, NFF has not been up and doing, and not in any sport in Nigeria at large, you will be hearing lapses upon lapses and the leaders will even be looking for ways to corner the players and steal their benefits, and even worse, is that what anyone will be encouraged to align with especially when the player is already doing well internationally?

Nothing is encouraging in the country, but still, some people like to align with their roots regardless of the odds, so we should not conclude for anyone on this. It's obviously not for the money anymore for most of these guys, though the rejection by the better side is a factor, how many of it has been proven true?

We've seen many of them well sorted for in the better countries and they stayed, and we've seen many of them better sorted for but rejected all and align with their roots, it's about choice and belief. Regardless, let's welcome anyone who wants to play for their national team and disregard the side talks by distractors.

[Rockstarguy]

Alex Iwobi is a talented player, coming up from the Arsenal academy he showed great prospects and was also predicted to be one of the top young players but he wasn’t considered a prodigy. Along the line, Iwobi began to drop in performance, Arsenal sold him out and since then he has struggled to stay relevant. I guess we expected too much from Alex Iwobi, it’s just like the way people are reacting to the news of Zinedine Zidane’s son Enzo retiring from football at the age of 29. Alex Iwobi is not his uncle likewise Enzo is not his father.

When Alex Iwobi was playing for Arsenal, I hold him with high esteem to be one of the potential young player in the future. He was doing well there and likewise was a top choice for the Nigerian Super Eagles. His drop in performance was very bad and that lead to him been sold out. He also played in Everton but can’t remember if it was on loan. His current club Fulham has been impressive and he’s also a very good player contributing to the success of the team so far in the league. I see him in their startup eleven most of the time and his contribution cannot be overstated, he’s doing well there. I hope he gets to perform well in the upcoming AFCON as much as he gives to his club now.

At early time of his career he was really performing well, I think then their was good passion that was why we could see that impressive performance then, but now to be serious that same energy and passion that was their is no more. People expected more from him and not just because of his but because of his performance,  dude was very good.  His poor performance can also be as a result of no permanent position, the various positions which can be affecting his performance.

[Agbe]

At some point I see all of this as retirement strategies because if not how else can this be described, he's been actively playing football over the years so what exactly is the reason he refused his alligence to the super eagles at his prime, he has to wait till this poo where he will soon be on a series of decline to pledge his alligence to the super eagles, know how unreliable the system is and how shitty they are and would tolerate trash at he highest level due to their poor understanding of what football business should be at all levels, rather they will feel honored to have him so he has decided to give the eagles his later strength after giving away the strengths of his youth.

I saw a post about him today that he snub England to come play with Super Eagle and somebody quote the post and made a comment that he was obviously rejected hence the reason they came to represent Super Eagle because who in their right sense will see a better team that is coordinated than Super Eagle and will say they will come back to play at home, not saying our team is not superior but their are superiority over superiors in this game football.

Let's face it, NFF has not been up and doing, and not in any sport in Nigeria at large, you will be hearing lapses upon lapses and the leaders will even be looking for ways to corner the players and steal their benefits, and even worse, is that what anyone will be encouraged to align with especially when the player is already doing well internationally?

Nothing is encouraging in the country, but still, some people like to align with their roots regardless of the odds, so we should not conclude for anyone on this. It's obviously not for the money anymore for most of these guys, though the rejection by the better side is a factor, how many of it has been proven true?

We've seen many of them well sorted for in the better countries and they stayed, and we've seen many of them better sorted for but rejected all and align with their roots, it's about choice and belief. Regardless, let's welcome anyone who wants to play for their national team and disregard the side talks by distractors.

You said it rightly. And I don't know why our leaders are still in this corrupt mindset in the area of football. Look at the amount clubs are paying their Players. And the small amount our leaders are paying the players, they will still share it with the players and you know why it happens in that way, the players were not selected with merit but with biased and nepotism so those who them brought have to remit to them as godfather in the team. We have godfather in every organisation in Nigeria. And not doing the players well is one of the lapses in the national team. And unskilful management. And most of the players are still there because they started from there and it is their Nation.

Nigeria has a good and strong football squads yet even in the Nations Cup, we are struggling. Then World Cup we are no were to be found. And another thing I will like to contribute here on this matter is the poverty level of the retired players except few that are doing well recently.

[SatoPrincess]

You said it rightly. And I don't know why our leaders are still in this corrupt mindset in the area of football. Look at the amount clubs are paying their Players. And the small amount our leaders are paying the players, they will still share it with the players and you know why it happens in that way, the players were not selected with merit but with biased and nepotism so those who them brought have to remit to them as godfather in the team. We have godfather in every organisation in Nigeria. And not doing the players well is one of the lapses in the national team. And unskilful management. And most of the players are still there because they started from there and it is their Nation.

Nigeria has a good and strong football squads yet even in the Nations Cup, we are struggling. Then World Cup we are no were to be found. And another thing I will like to contribute here on this matter is the poverty level of the retired players except few that are doing well recently.

Are you talking about the Super Eagles or another sport? Which of the Super Eagles players do you think was selected based on nepotism or bribery? What has the financial status of ex-Super Eagles players have to do with our team underperforming in competitions? Most of the players we have on the team are playing for top clubs in Europe and doing very well individually in their teams. The players seem to find it difficult to play together as a unit, that’s why we are losing games even though we have a star team.

[Davidvictorson]

I think Tosin Adarabioyo will be a good addition for the Super Eagles team, for a nation trying to get back on track we need every player we can spare. I mean every good player and talent available on deck. The time of decision should not be the bone of contention right now, Tosin Adarabioyo will give options and further boost our defense if he is accepted to the squad and I hope he is accepted. We need more good defenders to boost our squad depth.

If the rumours are correct, then I welcome him to the super eagles.
I’m sure he'll do great accomplishments with us. I know he's not perfect like he's  the Lanky version of maguire. Solid vs big striker but will struggle against attackers who can change direction quickly. Anyways on of his strength is that I know he'll be strong against long balls

[Agbe]

You said it rightly. And I don't know why our leaders are still in this corrupt mindset in the area of football. Look at the amount clubs are paying their Players. And the small amount our leaders are paying the players, they will still share it with the players and you know why it happens in that way, the players were not selected with merit but with biased and nepotism so those who them brought have to remit to them as godfather in the team. We have godfather in every organisation in Nigeria. And not doing the players well is one of the lapses in the national team. And unskilful management. And most of the players are still there because they started from there and it is their Nation.

Nigeria has a good and strong football squads yet even in the Nations Cup, we are struggling. Then World Cup we are no were to be found. And another thing I will like to contribute here on this matter is the poverty level of the retired players except few that are doing well recently.

Are you talking about the Super Eagles or another sport? Which of the Super Eagles players do you think was selected based on nepotism or bribery? What has the financial status of ex-Super Eagles players have to do with our team underperforming in competitions? Most of the players we have on the team are playing for top clubs in Europe and doing very well individually in their teams. The players seem to find it difficult to play together as a unit, that’s why we are losing games even though we have a star team.

clearly seen. Let's from here. Yes I am talking about Nigeria National Football Team to the Nigerian Premier League Clubs and most of the players are not meritocracy but nepotism and biased and bribery. A good player is always a good player and it always protect is jurisdiction whenever there is ball possession. Your arguments on Nigerian football team lack merit. Your arguments are from the surface. Mere looking at it, you have to understand something. So you don't know that the financial status of the ex players can affect the present players performance. Good let me give you simple example. If the ex players suffered financially after the retirement of serving the country and when the present players see that, they will put more effort in club side games because it pays well there than the National team. And this has been one the element in the Nigerian National Football Team. They play well in outside more and it is even recently that they are trying when Goodluck gave them some benefits cash rewards and landed properties in 2014 or there about. I don't want to talk too much, I don't know if you are a Nigerian or Ghanian. Have you seen an ex players suffered? Yes I do. And assuming you are a player in the team and seen your ex colleague in that situation because of improper allowance as of active service so when retired there is nothing to survive, and as a current Players of the team, and there is still improper distribution of allowance, and a club from Europe pays well. Hey!! What will you do? Woman I know what you can so without thinking twice. The players are united but the management is the issue.

Go to the internet, social media and the it by yourself. There were Players.who were not qualified to joined the team but handpicked to joined.  Coaches were also picked. And mostly in the financial aspects, it was Goodluck that make them happy and subsequent leader maintain the status quo. But the management within is too corrupt. You only Watch Nigeria Football and not the international affairs. Even the politics inside you don't know.

[Hatchy]

Are you talking about the Super Eagles or another sport? Which of the Super Eagles players do you think was selected based on nepotism or bribery? What has the financial status of ex-Super Eagles players have to do with our team underperforming in competitions? Most of the players we have on the team are playing for top clubs in Europe and doing very well individually in their teams. The players seem to find it difficult to play together as a unit, that’s why we are losing games even though we have a star team.
[/quote]
Actually one think I've noticed about the super eagles is they lack communication.. when I mean communication I mean most of the top player we have badly have time to connect with those whom are just based here in the country and not playing for other clubs outside. You are actually right I so many ways and I've seen this as an issue. We have many good international players in the super eagles. But we lose some important match that would have been a thing of history. If there was an internal connection between our super eagles probably we could have won the caf the last time.