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/Nigeria midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has won Belgian Pro League club, Royal Antwerp Player of the Month for August, reports Completesports.com.
Yusuf beat goalkeeper, Jean Butez as well as strikers, Vincent Jansen and Michel-Ange Balikiwsha to the individual award.
The 22-year-old has made seven league appearances for his club this season.
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The box-to-box midfielder has emerged one of the top performers for Antwerp following his arrival from Swedish club IFK Goteborg.
Mark van Bommel’s sIde are top of the table with 21 points from seven matches.
Antwerp will face Cercle Brugge in their next league game on Sunday.
By Adeboye Amosu
19 Comments
Go and play for the black stars
Alhassan Yusuf and Raphael Onyedika are the best things that have happened to the super eagles midfield in years to come.
Congratulations Yusuf; Keep up the momentum!
Heaven bless Alhassan Yusuf and all deserving Super Eagles players
We don’t know that yet until we see them play for the super eagles.
I wish them luck should they get an invitation.
Wait and let them win club player of the season first, or best player of Jupiler league for the month before rushing to hype them here. Na so we dey always hype our players.
Alhassan yusuf and raphael should be part of the super Eagles team for the upcoming friendly game. Players like frank and BONKE should be dropped for now. We have seen them play for the super Eagles, now we need to see other talented players.I have a good feeling about these two. They possess the potential to be a main stay in the team and a major force in the midfield.
Frank Onyeka never put a foot wrong for the super eagles.Against Ghana in Abuja he was one of the standout performers until injury stopped him and was replaced.
At least he should be an option from the bench.
I’m in support of either Alhassan Yusuf or Raphael Onyedike to be invited for our next internationals but in the absence of any of the senior midfielders both should be called.
It’s better to introduce players bit by bit to build team spirit and chemistry at international level.
Exactly greenturf.. bonke and onyeka have not played much for the super eagle . All thanks to injuries..
It will be wrong to discard both of them for fresh players. How do you build synergy when you invite and kick out thr next day. Bonke is playing regularly in France, he started their last match, unlike onyeka who is never starting games..
Bonke and Yusuf should be invited while onyedika should be given more Time to settle in his new club, we still have another game in November by then if he continues to play regularly for his club and also does well in the champions league, I will see no reason why he should not be invited..
The super eagles midfield selection is gradually getting shaped up with the availability of: Ndidi, Aribo, Iwobi (the maestro), Yusuf (MR. Dependable), Bonke, Onyedika and Onyeka. But same cannot be mentioned of the super eagles Central defence which calls for urgent reinforcement if truly Mr. PESEIRO really knows what he’s doing.
The likes of Omeruo, Ekong and balogun can’t be dependable anymore. The reason being that while Ekong is supposed to be at his peak he is rather dwindling with all forms of errors both in club and national team actions. For Omeruo, I personally, think of him and whenever I do that I see nothing but a better yesterday in him. Watch the Omeruo of 2013 AFCON and compared it with Omeruo after then you will know better of what I am talking about and for Balogun, the best amongst the quartet has no age on his side any longer. This calls for a new recruits starting with the reabsorption of high flying Kevin Akpoguma of Hoffeinham, the invitation of A dependable defender in the name Ndah of Orlando pirate and I will give out a first time invitation to Ighor Ogbuh of Lillestroem.
For those who don’t know about Ighor Ogbuh should check his stat on sofa score app. Ighor has a very impressive stat where his Defensive outstanding strength lies in: Positioning, tackles and Aerial dwells. The App said that he has no outstanding weakness at all.
Ighor Ogbuh is the next big thing to happen to super eagles’ central defence selection. As for the attack, it needs no mention at all as your guess is same as mine.
One of the faults of Nigerian football has been its reliance on wingers/wing play to progress the ball at the expense of approaching the opposition’s goal area with interplay passes from the midfield. Manchester City with its use of the midfield has shown that it is an effective and winning area to progress the ball and score, while their currently failing traditional opponents ManU and Liverpool still use the wings.
This Nigerian tradition harking back to 1994 and saw Eguavoen not thinking beyond wing play; making his teams predictable to opposing teams.
I would even suggest that creative midfielders like Alex Iwobi were stifled by developing the habit of passing sideways to the wings to progress the ball, and his recent resurgence is because he has abandoned this trait and now progresses the ball either by passing or movement through midfield.
The tradition has also caused a lot of Nigerian youths to favor being forwards and wingers, creating a surplus of talent in these areas, while seeing midfielders as hatchet tackling players who rarely get praise for skills, so it is nice to see some good midfield prospects about to break into the SE.
Alhassan Yusuf, Abdurazak ishak, and Raphael Onyedika should be groomed and gradually integrated into the national team…..I hate hearing the ignorant question of “who will they bench”…..Bench Zeus if you like but I need them in the team……They are the future of Midfield play and they will bring alot of Energy and pace plus technicality into our Midfield…..I don’t want to mention names but any Midfielder in SE that is above 23 and not playing in a Top 5 league should be dropped asap……habaaaa!
Alhasan Yusuf and Raphael Onyedika are fine prospects that will solidify the SuperEagles midfield for years to come. I see no reason they shouldn’t be invited for the next friendly international. It will be a major surprise not to see this two in the next SuperEagles list.
At this point we have nothing to lose by inviting new top prospects to the SuperEagles. There’s no major tournament for us until January 2024 and the next WorldCup in the USA Canada and Mexico will be a monumental heartbreak if Nigeria doesn’t qualify. Both Yusuf and Onyedika will be pivotal to that team going forward. They will both also be a valuable key players for our next installment of U23 DreamTeam. Though it’s always difficult for clubs to release players based abroad for the qualifiers. But if we qualify for the Olympics Yusuf and Onyedika should be the spine of that Olympic team.
I’ve been watching both players this season doing well in Belgium. From what I’ve seen if the SuperEagles have Onyedika in midfield with Osimhen in the team. SuperEagles will be a force to be reckoned with over the next 4 years climaxing to the WorldCup in 2026. The other two prospects Akinkunmi Amoo and Samson Tijani are out for the season with debilitating injuries.
Inviting the two will mean we must drop either bonke or onyeka who are still yet to taste much action with the team.. excluding Etebo( I feel he would be left behind this Time which is sad) we have ndidi, aribo, bonke, onyeka, iwobi these are 5 midfielders.. some can add iheancho but let me ingore him from this list.. inviting onyedika and Yusuf will be make this list a 7 man midfield.. obviously some players in my previous list will have to be dropped.. who do you think will be the affected player?
Super Eagles have been lacking ferociousness and aggressive and strong playing and players on defensive midfield since 1994 or since 2000 till now; after Clemence Westerhof and Joe Bonferer SE have been coached with clueless coaches who have not upheld the philosophy of their successors Westerhof and Bonferer who had done well for SE defensive midfield; coaches after them had neglegted agressive defensive playing and recalling strong and ferocious and agressive defensive midfielders with playing pressing play from the back line to the forward line ; all thoes coaches cared about attacking pressing and neglegted the back lines from center defence to defensive midfield this tactical philosophy has produced a weak and shaky Super Eagles or called by other African countries Super chickens when Cote De’Ivore players had called them in Afcon. Cup in Egypt 2006 when Cote De’Ivore koncked SE out of the championship. I think Jose Peseiro must return SE back to their golory to their strong and pressing and agressive defensive style of play; leaving pressing and agressive style of defessive play on center back and midfield had cost SE many Afco. Cup championships also had made SE to lose tow World Cup participtions in 2006 in Korea and Japan and now in 2022 in Qatar ; from up to now or coming times NFF and SE coaching crew must prepare SE well for coming African Cup o Nations in Cote De’Ivore, also Peseiro must return to a pressing and agressive an ferociuos SE defensive play with a perfect attacking pressing this need to recall a strong and agressive center backs and strong and agressive defensive midfielders; I suggest to Peseiro to exclude Frank Oneyka , Oghenekaro Etebo , Innocent Bonke from SE squad, he must recall Onyedika , Alhassan Ibrahim, Anderson Esiti , Nwankwo Obiora player of Chavis CF in Portugal all those are agressive and ferocious defensive midfielders who have these traits; also must exclude William Troost finally from SE , Leon Balogun, Simy Ajayi all they are shaky center defence players , Peseiro must recall agressive and strong center defenceplayers like Valentine Ozornwafor, Egoh Ugboh player of Norway club Lillestorm, Godfry Oboabona if he is an interactive at his club; this technical overhaul can change the face of SE to a gigant team in Africa any team in Africa will scare and fear , so SE must return back their prestige and their strength.
Haha thank God you are not a super eagle coach, Nigeria go collect wotowoto die.
So your basically saying that The SE should start packing the bus tactically with a mix of pressing and counter attack right? And to mention Godfrey Oboabona who is not at semi ajayi’s level hmmm interesting…. it’s true that the SE deviated from the physical yet flamboyant Dutch football philosophy that Clem westerhof and Jo bonfrere brought and replaced it francophonic physical and counter attacking football with strong wing play and midfield pressing but a coach cannot impose a style on players whom are not suitable for it and moreover what we currently have is in the eyes of the technical crew the best Nigeria has to offer, Coach Jose Peseiro to me is trying to add some flair to our current style so as to maximize our chances going forward. This,folks is why a coach should never listen to online coaches on this platform.
Unique I’m not a Super Eagles coach , but I have a concept and depth for solving dilemmas of SE with my concepts and my anaylises, but where are your concepts to solve SE football dilemmas? you only succeed on cynicism and taunt on the scientist persons who have penetratingly overviews and gazes for solving rebellious matters; thank for your inconsequential taunt.
Alhassan Yusuf will bring agressiveness and Technicality into SE midfield……SE needs midfielders that can mark and close down with pace……SE need to start dominating midfield in Matches and to do that we need players like Alhassan Yusuf…..Alot of EPL and Bundesliga clubs are already keeping tabs on him because of his display this season…… Alhassan Yusuf is not only for the future he is also for the present…….We need to invite him now and increase his profile because that guy is destined for a bigger league from what am hearing in Belgium.
Akapa, Yusuf is not ready. Don’t overhype average players.