Former Nigeria international Ifeanyi Udeze has praised the talent of current Super Eagles star Chidera Ejuke but accuse him of over dribbling.
The 23-year-old has been a revelation since breaking into the Eagles.
The CSKA Moscow forward was impressive for the Eagles in the 2-0 win against Central African Republic on Sunday.
Also Read: 2022 WCQ: Super Eagles Will Do Everything To Qualify For Qatar -Balogun
Despite his performance, Udeze pointed out that Ejuke should learn to know when to make a pass rather than holding on to the ball for too long.
“Ejuke is a very good player and has shown that in the games he has played for the Eagles,” Udeze said on Brila FM’s Breakfast Show on Thursday.
“But I think he over dribbles a lot. He should know when to dribble and when to pass the ball. He’s a good player and I wish him all the best.”
Ejuke has scored two goals made two assists in 10 league appearances for CSKA this season.
He was recently named CSKA Player of the Month for September an award he also won in August.
45 Comments
Udeze stop downplaying the power of dribble. Same critics were aimed at Neymar and Sterling, lately they both hardly perform as they’re known for. Everyone with their uniqueness, my advice for Ejuke is to dribble as much as possible if he doesn’t have options to pass and when he gets to the box he should look for chances to shoot and convert.
That’s right. Pepper, salt, crayfish–all ingredients contribute to the taste of the soup. How can one hold up play without dazzling dribbling skills? Dribbling should be done with a clear purpose.
You guys are getting something wrong here. Take note: udeze said ‘over’ dribble. He is not against the guy dribbling skills atall. It is just the excess of it. And you guys should know that dribbling and anything done in excess is gonna harm the team dearly
Dribbling, this is one skill that attracted me to football, unfortunately modern day football has evolved. To me he should maintain his skills in as much as it is progressive.
Most of these exe international just want to talk..which one be over dribbling again!.Coming from someone who was average during his days..if I was the coach, I will tell him to dribble more inside the box.if it was Neymar, they will say he is skilful and technical, now that is ejuke, it is over dribbling
It is obvious some of you are guided by tribal sentiments on this completesports. Udeze is a distribalized Nigerian to the core and I’m happy he has just called a spade a spade. You see, Rohr is expecting Ejuke to grow up the reason why he doesn’t give him 90mins playing time. If you have been following the thread, Rohr mostly use him for few mins as a substitute. The players Nigeria needs now must be purposeful like Tyrone Ebuehi and not just the ones playing to the gallery while causing fans back home pains. In the CAR vs SE match in Cameroon, Osimhen with his mouth wide opened was waiting for Ejuke to drop the ball for him having dribbled 4 defenders but whoside, he continued dribbling till he dribbled himself. That is very bad of a player who knows his onions.
Very apt. I love Ejuke but he needs to know when to pass….I see some people comparing him to Neymar. That’s just stupidity….can you compare their assist and goal output? Even when Neymar was at Santos he still had a way way better output…..
Guy, what has ‘tribe’ got to do with anything anyone is saying here? People are giving their honest opinions and all you are seeing is ‘tribe’. The only person with tribal issues here is YOU. You don’t have to demonise people simply because they have a different opinion from you. Na wa.
Yes, Ejuke does dribble a lot and can improve on his end product but his creativity is BADLY needed in the Super Eagles because we are lacking in that area.
He is young and will learn. Meanwhile he is to be encouraged.
Honestly the guy dribbles too much. The sole aim of dribbling should be to open up space and create a purposeful attack. Modern day football has moved on from holding unto the ball unnecessarily to quick passing and technicality. Ejuke is a good player but must utilize his dribbles to the benefit of his team by releasing the ball as sson as a player is better positioned than him to score or at least make a dangerous advance into the opponent goal area. His style of play reminds me of Pius Ikedia who will dribble everybody, dribble the line and dribble himself, what we call in local parlance “beautiful nonsense”. Ejuke is a beautiful player but for him to Command a regular 90 minutes game time in the Super Eagles and displace Chukwueze who is more purposeful with his dribbles, he must not do too much of what is needed.
Bro what’s with you and this tribal shit every time….you are bringing hate into this forum…this is not the first time you have foolishly brought in tribal sentiments into the comment section….I’m not igbo but I think if at all there’s any tribalism on this forum it always originated by you….please stop the hate
Please dont bring in tribalism here
@collins listen to yourself. You talk doesn’t add up
What’s you talk doesn’t add up? Getaway joo. Are you more igbo than Udeze? And what is your take on Ejuke wastages on the field of play. Ejuke is a good football juggler no doubt it but he must stop playing to the gallery. This exactly is what Udeze like many of us are saying. @jones, state your opinion as it concerns Ejuke style of play and why you think he should be given 90mins play time, otherwise be quiet.
As a kid I used to watch the wizard of Oz and wondered how someone could talk without brain, then I got to CSN. Tell me what connect tribalism and ejuke dribbling. Get sense @collins
Hahaha
You are not getting it…….how can you say someone is over dribbling when he does not lose possession?……How can you say someone is talking too much when he is not talking Nonsense?……If he is losing possession frequently then you can say he is over dribbling……Flair has always been our major weapon in international football……But today our players pass back immediately an opponent gets close to them…….The more you show the opponent how well you can dispose of them the more fearful they will become……We also lack creativity of late hence our very low score lines even when playing weaker teams with inferior players……. Possession is very important and we need players who can retain it with style…….We should encourage players like Ejuke Chukwueze and Kalu because flair is really lacking in SE this days.
Just look at yourself…Ejuke Chukwueze and Kalu… Who can be far from a tribalist? No wonder people like 1st_Jones and Collins have tarred you tribal lots.@collins, hehehe…God bless Nigeria.
Why are you people doing this thing?……..it’s very disgusting to me and moreover My tribe is very far from the tribe those 3 players I mentioned hail from…… please stop this thing my good friend it has dragged us too far behind in this country……we need to move forward even if all our players are of the same family as long as they can get the job done then so be it……
@Ola what has tribe got to do with the fact that the three most talented players are from same region. Your thinking is rather tribal my dear.
Look this one, already deflated ewu. He said nothing wrong if you add God bless Nigeria. @Collins, God bless Nigeria.
Ola you are brainless honestly speaking. Instead of you to work on yourself, you are insulting someone your Inferiority complex is the only cause of this bitterness.
@E Samuels Yoruba people are naturally lazy low self esteem people with disgusting and disrespectful fellows. And they’re always the first to cry foul of ill treatment.
That’s bad bro!- referring to the use of the word ‘Yoruba People’
@Dennis so you have high self esteem? Common those who make your type of statement vare the ones with low self esteem. I believe you win even be able to say this when you meet some people on this forum face to face.
I always hate those who don’t have respect others of different tribes, religion etc.
Hahaha! What’s my business if you die a kid? My concern is that you must be stopped from dragging your fellow tribal lots along. Ejuke must change his game otherwise he gets kicked from left right left. You are on the media and people are reading the lines.
Won’t it be right to also say God bless Nigeria? Fool, go find someone else.
What I think Ejuke needs is a good coach who will help him find the balance his game needs.
Someone said he lacks the final pass but when he was in dutch league he created a lot of goal scoring opportunities that his teammates missed and now that he is in russia last season they were talk that he wasn’t a good signing but today he is winning one individual award after another.
He is just like chukwueze,clean dribbler of the ball, good speed and a great outlet for any team.
They just need one thing and thats goals! If they can add goals to their games they will be unstoppable and most teams will want them.
So ejuke should continue with his dribble runs the more he plays with his super eagles teammates they better he will understand them but we need goals from him. The super eagles need goal scoring wingers and midfielders inorder to be a complete team.
We are complaining of lack of creativity in midfield and now we are complaining that a player (winger) is too skillful! I wonder what kind of a team we actually want out super eagles to be.
You are trying hehehe…but no Collins would cane you if we add, God bless Nigeria, good luck Ejuke.@Collins
Oga, pls add something to your name to differentiate you from me, because I have been using this name and handle since the days of kickoff.com.i don’t want it to look like cloning. Thanks
God bless Nigeria seem the easiest, Aburo.
@ Collins you are the biggest fool in this platform. Your assertions to issues is very unintelligent
I think the argument here is that some of you are refusing to bless your fatherland, this I can see from the discussants. For those of you. Are you envisaging another country to the extent of not adding God bless Nigeria to your comments? Are you scared? From my understanding, the Collins you are all calling out is the real Nigerian here because he is very bold, assertive in his submissions. God shall continue to bless our children playing football all over the World and God bless Nigeria our country. Our children abroad brings us joy and not setting us up to be wasted. You people should not quarel but always be true, fair to all otherwise you have punished others already. Chief T. Adeboye HRH.
The level of thinking from some of us in this forum is so low that its quite frankly pitiful….I see why we are where we are as a country. Those of you bringing tribe into this discussion need to do a real rethink of what your agenda here is. Who’s hurt you? Grow up please
Despite his performance, Udeze pointed out that Ejuke should learn to know when to make a pass rather than holding on to the ball for too long.
“But I think he over dribbles a lot. He should know when to dribble and when to pass the ball. He’s a good player and I wish him all the best.”
I agree with you Udeze. Ejuke is a fantastic player but he should learn how to play with the team.
I saw that before now. If he have to be the world best player, he should follow Udeze’s advice.
In our last game against CAR, Ejuke was dribbling when Osimhen was waiting for Ejuke to pass him the ball to score and in the end, he, Ejuke wasted the ball.
As time goes on, Ejuke will improve on that. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Omo 9ja, the first leg against CAR Ejuke gave Osi a defence-splitting pass, what did he do with it?
Ejuke’s dribbling skills puts him in a vantage position to cause freekicks and penalties. Defenders know this, so whenever he gets the ball close to the box, panic will ensue, and mistakes will be made. Nigeria can benefit from this for years to come, as long as Ejuke remains in form and healthy.
With his recent performances, we can assume that African defenders are now on red alert. They will start employing the dark arts of football as they try to stop him. Kicks, elbows, sliding tackles, kung-fu tackles.
This is where Ejuke needs to apply intelligence. No need to go on dribbling expeditions when you’re far from the opponent’s vital area. When you get the ball, release it quickly and move forward. Then when you get it close to the opponent’s box, IT’S SHOW TIME!
Dribble directly into the box, looking for an assist opportunity, or a scoring opportunity.
As soon as he feels contact, even if it is breeze that blows on his body, down he goes! Watch guys like Suarez, CR7, Neymar, and many other forwards, and study how they win penalties. Roger Milla was another diving expert, and yes, it’s cheating, but the 1988 Afcon now belongs to Cameroon, thanks to Milla’s spectacular dive. I don’t think Cameroon will be having moral pangs about that anytime soon 🙂 🙂 🙂
When he gets the ball near the opponent’s vital area, Ejuke should go directly at defenders, beat them, and position his body in such a way that contact is unavoidable, then once he feels contact, hit the floor!
99.9% of referees will point to the spot immediately. First of all, refs are inclined to protect skillful players. Second, even if VAR is present, as long as contact happens in the box, the ref will point to the spot.
As I mentioned, African defenders will be sure to give him SPECIAL ATTENTION going forward, so he may need to get a stronger shin guard. And spend more time in the gym to get stronger and fitter. And more time on the training ground learning to evade crunchy tackles, because they will be coming aplenty.
God bless Nigeria.
@Pompei u said it all bro. He’s very skillfull and who cause defenders to foul him thereby leading to penalties. So he just need to watch a clip of himself more and learn from his mistakes. His dribbling skills is mostly needed at the opponent other half especially around the box. See dis small Folden for example not to talk of Debruyne. The guy is very technical and his final ball is world class. Our players need to improve on their end product
@pompei you have spoken well. I agreed with you 100% this guy will soon become our joker and many defenders will turn turn attention
to stop him while our attackers will cause havoc. This team will gel someday soon it may even come as early as the nations cup in January. Nigeria is blessed with exciting players. Lets go there!
God bless you
After d dribbling what his d end product? Can u compare is end product to those players u listed, d ans s no. Naymer at a younger age than ejuke his a fear factor, not by is dribbling alone, but by is contribution. Naymer in 2009–2013 in Santos appeared 177 and scored 107 goals. How many goals has ejuke scored since he starred playing football. A fitted chukwueze and moses Simon will relegate ejuke to bench, just because of their contribution to d team. Chukwueze cannot refuse to pass d ball twice to Victor just d way ejuke did on Sunday. We all love them to grow, so its better we tell them of their weakness so as they can improve on them.
Udeeze, do you think is easy to dribble? Check out all Brazilian strikers, they dribble so much, like say na only them dey for field. You must have pace before you can dribble. Udenze hope you don’t forget Olembe of camerou how he always use you do lunch in left flank. Abeg leave chidera alone biko
What udeze talking about is d finish point, u mention naymer, look at his stat at Santos 2009–2013
Santos appeared 177 and scored 107 goals. Okocha was in d match against Gabon in PH when KANU came from d bench to give killer passes that aid our winning. U don’t just dribble, u do it for a purpose. Victor was very free twice on Sunday match but ejuke choose to dribble and useless d both opportunity. Can’t u check out iwobi, bite ur marker and find a free person to give it to. He will do better if he can remember why he is dribbling.
@Collins I guess Udeze is Fulani and all the guys critiquing his comments are Ibos right? What a domb way to look at issues.
Udeze criticized Ejuke for excessive dribbling and the guys criticized him for his criticism and the only thing you could think of is their ethnic background, ths is why Nigeria is in this dangerous state.
Udeeze is right to point that out and all the guys critiquing him for that observation are wrong.
Excuses dribbling kills team spirit which was evident in the second game. If you paid attention you would have noticed that Osimhem was frustrated when Ejuke kept on dribbling instead of laying the ball to Osimhem who clearly was in a good position to stab the net. Dribbling is one of the reasons our players don’t do well. He dribbled excessively and did not know when to pass the ball, that’s not good football and it’s definitely unattractive. You can not convince big European club playing like that.
Am a footballer and a Midfielder. I Like dribbling and my fans and my chairmen like me alot. I create chances for my team mate to score. If osimehn know how to dribble in tight conner, no defender can stop him that’s why spaliti his coach says Osemhen still need to improve certain areas of his game, as a top 9, you need to know how to dribble, like Ronaldo de rima, Diego Costa, christiano Ronaldo, and many good top 9, like president of Liberia is a good top 9 with tireless dribbling that’s why he win world footballer of the year. Osemhen has power and pace to out run defenders but he doesn’t have dribble skills like chidera. He need to learn dribbling from chidera period.
@chibueke. It’s not compulsory for no 9 to be a dribbler. Yekinini was never a good dribbler. Even C Ronaldo is not really a great dribbler. Marci van basten was not a great dribbler. And many more.
Oshimen only needs to learn to finish very well. You don’t learn dribbling at that stage.