Joe Aribo was on target but Rangers lost 5-4 on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt in the final of the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday night.
After a goalless first half, Aribo put Rangers ahead in the 57th minute.
The Nigeria international slotted the ball past Kevin Trapp after Tuta slipped to allow him with a sight of goal.
Read Also: Aribo Upbeat Ahead Europa League Final Clash Vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Colombia forward Rafael Borre equalised for Frankfurt in the 69th minute.
Both teams could not be seperated after 120 minutes of energy sapping football.
Substitute Aaron Ramsey missed his spot-kick and the German side converted all of theirs as the Ibrox side fell short, just as they did in 2008.
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Bassey was colossal in that Rangers defence. Nigeria is indeed lucky to have him declare to represent us. He has a great future at just 22years of age.
*Nigeria is West Africa’s Worthy and Respectable Flagbearer*
Aribo’s goal might not be good enough for a win but the participation of not 1, not 2, but 3 Nigerians in the Europa League final was more than good enough for Nigeria fans.
Many of us Nigerians at home and abroad had to pinch ourselves in amazement yesterday to determine whether what we were witnessing was true or not.
Just think about our Ghanaian antagonists:
– Do they have a single player featuring in any of Europe’s 3 elite Cup Competition Finals this season?
– Will they witness the surge of adrenaline that rushed through our veins when Aribo scored in yesterday’s Europa League final?
– Will they be invested as a nation in any of the 3 UEFA Cup finals this season?
– Will any of their defenders post a five star world class debonair performance, the likes of which Bassey produced yesterday?
The simple answer to these and many other related questions is an emphatic No!
And do you know why? Ghanaian players are weak, feeble with talents only suited to lower mundane levels of football.
Luckily, they have the Qatar world cup to look forward to. Hopefully their average and largely mediocre players can put up a show.
It has been a hugely embarrassing year for Ghanaian football thus far. Their Black Stars were soundly humiliated at the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (as Nigeria shone like a million stars in the group stages only to lose narrowly in the second round), their Under 20s crashed out of the Wafu Cup embarrassingly without a single point to their name while their women had a shambolic Afcon qualification campaign that resulted in ultimate failure.
They needed a combination of Eguavoen’s incompetence, VAR intervention and archaic away goals rule to somehow find their way to Qatar.
It now remains to be seen how they perform in Qatar where the factors that aided their dubious qualification will be largely non-existent.
My only hope is that their players don’t start fighting people left right and center at the world cup. Ghana has a chequered past in tournaments. In the recently concluded Afcon, there was an ugly, grotesque, disgusting, disgraceful and deplorable scene involving Benjamin Tehteh throwing a punch simply because his team could not defeat ordinary Gabon as there were no away-goals rule in the Afcon tournament to bail them out (video below).
These are the types of hooligans masquerading as footballers who are expected to show West Africa as a bastion of morality in Qatar?
I remember another tournament, 2004 World Cup. According to modernghana.com, Sulley Muntari went beserk and starter assaulting his own officials in their hotel room. The excerpt below was lifted verbatim from modernghana.com:
“When Sulley charged into Room 208 like mad bull spoilt for a fight, Alhaji Lartey was the first person he floored before charging towards his prey, Moses Parker Armah. Sulley was wearing only shorts. He floored another person before he was overpowered. Mr Armah was whisked away but Sulley broke his Mac book, two phones before leaving the second floor of the hotel to the third floor, where his room was. Moses Parker Armah was forced to relocate to a different hotel that Tuesday night.” End of qoute.
These are the unruly, shameless, crass hoodlums, thugs and delinquent pugilists that Eguavoen and Away Goals rule have unleashed on the unsuspecting global audience in Qatar?
Never in the history of Nigerian football has our well behaved players conducted themselves at the Afcon or world cup in such an appalling or disgraceful manner.
As Ghana plans to humiliate herself in Qatar, Nigeria continues to make strides in football. The next stop is the Europa Conference league final featuring Cyriel Dessers followed by the Women’s Afcon which the Super Falcons expect to shine like a million stars.
Coming to think of it, who needs Qatar 2022? Nigeria fans are more than satisfied with all the other wonderful strides our players are making elsewhere. Nobody wants to attend the same world cup where the likes of Muntari will be going beserk in the hotel room and Benjamin will be throwing punches on the pitch.
No, thank you!
https://youtu.be/eF4qqr9NLd0
Another version of the disgraceful scenes following Ghana’s inability to overcome Gabon.
https://youtu.be/N8I-jxbW-LQ