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U-17 World Cup: Golden Eaglets Face Netherlands In Round Of 16

U-17 World Cup: Golden Eaglets Face Netherlands In Round Of 16

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will face the Netherlands in the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil on Tuesday, reports Completesports.com.

The Golden Eaglets finished as Group B winners and will now face the Europeans who qualified from Group D as one of the four best third-placed teams.

The encounter will hold at the Estadio Olimpico, Goiania where the Eaglets played their opening two games in the competition against Hungary and Ecuador.

Manu Garba’s charges lost 2-1 to Australia in their final Group B game last Friday.

The winner of the contest will take on either Paraguay or Argentina in the quarter-final.

Round of 16 Fixtures

Angola vs South Korea
Nigeria vs Netherlands
Spain vs Senegal
Japan vs Mexico
Brazil vs Chile
France vs Australia
Ecuador vs Italy
Paraguay vs Argentina

By Adeboye Amosu


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COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 42
  • Bukola 4 years ago

    Netherlands are European champion,please talk senses to their brains we beg you, they should not toil with our hearts and emotions this time. If Olusegun doesn’t co-operate please bench him. Amoo is my joker to destroy the Netherlands in the second half. We’ll continue to pray for you guys. Good luck!

  • With the kind of defense that we have, I’m not too confidence at this point anymore. I just want to enjoy good football and just hope for the best.

  • If we don’t win the game in the first half we are out.
    We must not conceed any goals.
    It is better to score a goal or two in the first half then wait for them on the counter as they will grow desperate.
    Manu Garba must keep it simple, 4-4-2, the fullbacks must maintain their positions and defend.
    The boys must understand that it is better to pass the ball to a team mate to score than balloon it like Olusegun did against Australia.

    The team wins and looses not a player.

    If we conceed first ww will loose because the Dutch are good on couter.
    Again it is sooooo simple to win this game, They must keep it simple.
    Don’t hold the ball too long, and not be selfish.

    Don’t join the APC and PDP and the selfish political criminal class in nigeria to be evil and wicked to Nigerian masses, bring them joy.
    And God will bless you.
    Good luck the Great Golden Eaglets of nigeria.

  • If we don’t win the game in the first half we are out.
    We must not conceed any goals.
    It is better to score a goal or two in the first half then wait for them on the counter as they will grow desperate.
    Manu Garba must keep it simple, 4-4-2, the fullbacks must maintain their positions and defend.
    The boys must understand that it is better to pass the ball to a team mate to score than balloon it like Olusegun did against Australia several times.

    The team wins and looses not a player.

    If we conceed first we will loose because the Dutch are good on counter attack, and we will be under pressure.
    Again it is sooooo simple to win this game, They must keep it simple.
    Don’t hold the ball too long, and not be selfish.

    Don’t join the APC and PDP and the selfish political criminal class in nigeria to be evil and wicked to Nigerian masses, bring them joy. The joy of many depends on your success.
    You are condemned to succeed.
    Success is your only option.

    And God will bless you.
    Good luck the Great Golden Eaglets of nigeria.

  • I see us winning this game. Nothing gantastic about the dutch. Watched all there games and nothing spectacular about them. I hope we don’t make the same mental mistakes from our 3 matches. The eaglets just need to defend and pass the ball just like it was pointed out. Good luck boys

  • Samchi 4 years ago

    Netherlands may just be lucky to still remain in this championship, looked ordinary nothing spectacular from my view, the Spanish team looks more dangerous, pulling up back to back top notch quality performance in every game.
    Its like the continental champions regressed at the actual tournament, Cameroon as worst case scenario.
    Eaglets better step up or ship out’!!

  • Simon 4 years ago

    Netherland will study past golden eaglets errors and used it against them Australia tried it they succeeded , the left 3 and defence is zero the coaches have been sleeping about the defence and goalkeeper they need to do something,

  • No amount of prayer will save the eaglet.its simple person way no good no good.so u watch the netherlands n u tink them no good.dont worry u go watch the match that day,u will see tactical game n nt this ur eaglet one direction, physical game.let me ask what pattern do ur team play.no pattern* thats it 
    Africa will keep dieing bcs of sentiment.only senegal is doing the right in terms of football picking the right players irrespected of there tribes.GO watch french team from senior to junior thay always pick many black good players more than the white.why? bcs thay dont do sentiment there if u are good u are good n thay no blacks in france are better players. No come down to Nigeria, the igbos are known to be better footballers than any tribe in nigeria.that doesnt mean players cant be pick from other tribes. Bt atlist u should give more priority to the igbo tribes when scounting players than bcs of envyness u no decided to forget abt scounting there n only went to north n west for ur screaning just bcs u belive with that u must produce another musa from there.for me lets stop this catchment stuff in nigeria n go for truth n merit n nigeria will be better.peace n one nigeria.

    • Ololo 4 years ago

      People would label you tribalistic but you only just said the truth, the east and south have more natural talents in football compared to any other tribe in Nigeria ,you can argue but that is the fact, how many football legend come from the north, no body is saying the north are not good in football as well, but if you are sincere, you know the east and south are very good in football, it’s just a natural gift they are blessed with..

      Both the male and female teams they do better, they produced Okocha, kanu and many others even those doing great presently in the super eagles.

      I know this my talk would stir lots of hatred, but deep they know it’s the truth, just imagine this fact, a tribe that didn’t play football from 1967 to 1970 due to the biafra war came in few years after the war to produce the captain of the team Christian chukwu, how come he become that good to captain the team when other tribes were not affected by the tragedy that came from war… This is pure natural gift they have.

      If we can adopt merit in the country, not checking where someone is from whether east, north, south, where ever and put the right people in the right places Nigeria would be unstoppable.
      Just look at France, whether you are black doesn’t move them, they are so proud of their zidane, kante, pogba, and the rest who have African roots, why won’t they not be works champions.

      Imagine the amuneke team of 2015 dominated by igbos rewriting the records of u17 world cup, destroying Big teams like Brazil and Co and producing the most players from u17 to super eagles.. My brother this people are good, I live close to the home of chukweze, the boy didn’t even have the best football education in umuahia like others places where they are better academies, he was even preparing for jamb and wasn’t playing football that much cos where he grew up they don’t play with education, yet with very little training his natural talent brought him straight to u17 team, now look at where he is, if you are good you are good, how many player went to the same Villarreal before him did they get to first team..

      Plz let forget about Ibo this, Ibo that, if scouts can come just alone to abia state, natural talents are in excess here, begging for who to discover them, I didn’t even mention Samuel Kalu,.. One Nigeria I preach but lets abandon hatred and go for merit ,, I love all my souther and norther brothers

      • Femi stephen 4 years ago

        What r u guys saying? Stop been tribalistic, the coach have chosen his team, let’s back him, Hausa,Igbo,Yoruba or whoever is presently in the team r doing gr8 to me, or what I gonna say if they eventually win the cup? 

  • The Netherlands. Lost 3-1 to Senegal, lost 3-0 to Japan and won4-0 to joint whipping boys in the group USA. 

    They are inherently beatable. They conceded the same number of goals as Nigeria 6, but crucially scores less goals than us 5.

    Under 17 world cup statistics.

    After the 3 group game matches, only two teams, Brazil and France registered maximum points, winning all three matches. 9 points

    4 countries, Japan, Spain, Argentina and Paraguay all won 2 matches and drew 1 registering 7 points

    Angola, Nigeria, Ecuador, Korea, Senegal and Italy won 2 matches lost 1 game. 6 points

    Canada, Hungary, United States, Haiti, Cameroon And the Solomon Islands have been eliminated all coming last in their groups

    Brazil, Paraguay and Mexico all scored more goals than Nigeria with 9. Mexico scored 8  and Paraguay scored 7 of those goals against the Solomon Islands.

    Italy scored the same number of goals as Nigeria 8, however, 5 of those goals came against the same Solomon Islands.

  • Ololo 4 years ago

    I wish this team the best of luck. I don’t hate them, it’s their career and they would love to Carry the cup, but it’s clear this is not our best legs. My best players are amoo and tijani.

    The u 17 is not basically about winning the cup but how many of them would transit into the senior side.

    The last u17 of 2015, the stars were oshimen, nwakali, Samuel Chuks and one defender like that I have forgotten his name, the early three have already played in senior team. And others might which represents massive success. The class of 2013 also did well, but I was a bit disappointed only iheanacho and musa Muhammad made it to the next level, even musa Mohammed that made the senior team I was disappointed after first game it seems rohn saw lapses in his game and never invited him again, only one player making the step up is not a good score.. I intentionally didn’t add ndidi cos MRI scan rulled him out from the team.
    The team of chrissantus for me is the worst team over produced. They won but we lost in real sense cos they boys were not what Nigeria needed, they robbed Nigeria cos a certain David alaba was begging to be in the team which was denied him, and surprisingly manu garba was an assistant coach, only Lukman haruna made the team through keshi to world cup and I don’t trust the late keshi( may his soul rest in peace) , something tells me that boy did something to get to the team for world cup cos he didn’t play anything in the world cup proper..
    After haruna not even a single player made the step up,, even the christantus I loved then didn’t get a good club side to play for let alone play for super eagles..
    This is very sad to remember.. I forget the team of 2011, over aged Little Messi and Co, but surprisingly they gave us azzez Ramon and Kenneth omero and onazi, that’s a pass mark,

    A certain u17 side I can’t remember the year gave us Mikel and ogbuke.. A pass mark as well.

    Now what am I saying, in modern football, they consult statistic cos no matter who you are, we always reason at times to discredit and favour a particular individual but statistic is never bias what is there is there,, the manu garba we always praise that his team plays good football, plz how many players has he produced for super eagles, I can only call out haruna lukman as an assistant to late yemi Tella and iheancho as head coach, I won’t mention success and musa Muhammad cos they never played more than two games for super eagles and I wont add ndidi cos he was ruled out by MRI. And I’m not talking about u20 that he coached as well because at thst level you are discovering raw players but players who are already fine professional.
    This means for me he is performing well in u17 and producing little at the long run, cos at u17 level older boys should play better than small real boys..

    Plz I want us to help me mention plsyers manu garba has produces for Nigeria super eagles also consider he is the only Nigerian coach at 3 different u17 world cup, 2009,2013,and 2019 not also adding his failed attempt in 2017..4 different opportunities.. Plz help me out which players did he produce.

    • JimmyBall 4 years ago

      You are a big fool for always writing this tribal nonsense… The number 5 Ferdinand Ikenna that is the worst of all the defenders… What tribe is he?

  • Ololo 4 years ago

    Just remembered now.. He gave us izoho,… 4 different teams as a coach, okay let me remove this current team because I believe amoo and jijani should make the step up,
    So 3 chances as a coach at u 17 only, haruna lukman, uzoho and iheanacho (3 time coach 3 players : one player per year) is that a pass mark for the 5 record u17 most champions..

    Something is definitely wrong somewhere

    • OmoEsan 4 years ago

      @Ololo; Your concept of rating Coach Garba is right, but your facts and statistics are wrong, hence you arrived at a wrong conclusion.

      Manu Garba assisted Tella in 2007 doesn’t put him in pole position to take responsibility for the team’s output, so please leave him out of that. The late Tella takes responsibility for his team’s output.
      Meanwhile, Tella’s team of 2007 produced Haruna Lukman, Dele Ajiboye and Obiora Nwankwo for the Super Eagles. Haruna was at 2010 world cup under Lagerback and not 2014 under Keshi like you said, so please let’s leave Keshi out of this too. Obiora Nwankwo was at 2013 AFCON under Keshi while Ajiboye was in 2018 CHAN under Salisu Yusuf. Rabid Ibrahim also had few caps for Super Eagles under Oliseh & Keshi. Not too bad from the team if you ask me. They only fell short of expectations cuz they emerged champions.

      Manu Garba’s team of 2013 gave us Iheanacho, Isaac Succes, Francis Uzoho, Musa Mohammed & Dele Alampasu and they have all been capped by the Super Eagles at various levels. Moreover, they’re still young and active , so they still stand a chance of having more caps if they take the right decisions about their respective careers.

      This on-going world cup is Garba’s 2nd as chief coach at U 17 level and so, let’s rate him correctly.

      Just setting the records straight.

      Thanks

      • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

        Thanks at OmoEsan for that beautiful rendition of facts. I have said I wouldnt join in the bigotry being spread around by some fellows here because that are just showing their state of ignorance of Nigerian football history.

        I know its clear that the current hatred and antagonism against Manu is because he somehow manged to strike a balance in his current U17. Some people obviously believe the National team belongs to them, hence 6 or 7 being from their part of the country isnt enough…it has to be 17 out of 21 before they can be satisfied. But like I said, racial and tribal bigotry disgust me.

        Just to chip in on our 2007 team…I think a whole lot of things went wrong with that team….yea, yea…they were pretty overaged, but they werent certainly the 1st overaged u17 team we would have at that level. However, the major undoing of that team was the truncation of their transition to the U20 level. From, any u17 team(s) that doesnt make that transition to either u20 or u23 somehow always gets lost along the way.

        For example, our 2001 and 2003 u17 teams gave us our 2005 U20 team which transitioned to the 2008 U23s, thus producing the likes of Mikel Obi, Ogbuke Obasi, Obinna Nsofor, Soga Sambo, Kennedy chinwo, Ambrose Vasenkin, Solomon Okoronkwo et al, who all at some point laced their boots for the SE.

        In 2005, Godwin Izilien’s U17 squad couldnt even win a single match at the U17 Afcon…(some bigots will come here and tell us 2019 U17 is the worst set of U17s in history, just bcos of their hatred for Manu)..that team had the likes of Moses Ocheje, Elderson Echiejile, Sunday Mba (C), Simon Zenke et al. We threw away the baby with the bath water and didnt allow them to transition into the U20, with only Elderson and Ocheje making the step up.

        In 2009, almost all the 2007 U17 winning team was graduated into the U20’s by Ladan Bosso with Ajiboye, Udoh, Nkume, Aliyu, Rabiu, Oseni, Chrisantus, Haruna et al and we won silver at the U20 AFCON that year, only for the FA to sack Bosso for heavens knows what and hand the team over to Siasia, who threw away almost everyone except Rabiu and Haruna and brought in some very useless players (sorry to use that word, but they really were) the likes of 5 ft 6′ goalkeeper Uche Okafor, Nurudeen orelesi, Ohawuchi, Harmony Ikande, Obiora, Shina Abe, Daniel Uchechi, Muktari Shagari, Odion Ighalo and some others whom I cant recall. We only managed to defeat Tahiti 4-0 after loosing to Venezuela and Spain to qualify as best 3rd placed team, only to loose to Germany in R16 despite having 1 man advantage for almost the entire 2nd half. I still believe till today, that break in transition of the 2007 team messed up that generation as 1. They couldn’t play at the global stage, 2. Those who replaced them werent even half as good as they were.

        In 2009, Obuh gave as a very exciting u17 after loosing all his team to MRI scans on the eve of the tournament. That was the 1st time the MRI would be introduced but we werent prepared for it. His team had Omeruo, Fortune Chukwudi (whose career was cut short by Adokiye Amasiemeka’s rather UNTIMELY whistle blowing), Ogenyi Onazi, Ramon Azeez, Abdul Ajagun (its still beats me till today why Ajagun has never,i mean NEVER been invited to the national team despite being our ever consistent no 10 in Europe for close to a decade now), Terry Envoh, Omoh Ojabu, Olanrewaju Kayode, Edafe Egebedi, Sani Emmanuel, Stan Okoro et al. Most of these guys graduated to the U20s with a player like Ajagun even playing in 2 U20 tournaments in the no 10 role.

        Pls help us ask our National team coaches from 2010 to 2016 why some of these youngsters never got a chance in the SE despite doing well at their level in Europe back then.

        That is why we need to appreciate the role G. Rohr has played for most of our youngsters today.

        The 2013 Manu Squad made the step up into the U20s (some winning the U20 AFCON in Senegal) and a large chunk of them have gone on to make their debuts under Rohr.

        The 2015 U17 squad suffered the fate of not making it to even U20 AFCON and that is their biggest undoing till date.

        Thank God for the likes of Samu and Victor who have fallen into the right hands and also lucky we now have a national team coach who gives youngsters enough opportunities. The old man even stuck with Victor Osimhen when he was just a bit part player at wolfsburg.

        And to those who have made it their point of duty to hate in Manu Garba for not making his team a sectional team…keep it up. No matter how black your try to paint the man, history and statistics will always vindicate him. Its still on record that he’s produced most talents for the SE, probably even more than fanny amun.

        So people even go as far as saying it was amunike who spearheaded the 2013 triumph and not Manu….then I ask, how come Manu was able to WIN 2015 U20 AFCON and move on to the U20 WC but Amunike couldnt even QUALIFY for U20 AFCON despite haing the same core of kids that won U17 only a year earlier…..????

  • Playxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 4 years ago

    DEAR HONORABLE LOTANNA. ITS SELF DELUSION TO THINK IGBOS ARE BEST FOOTBALLING PROPLE IN NIGERIA.WHAT OF THE BENIN PEOPLE AND JOS PEOPLE  TO SOME EXTENT I AGREE WITH YOU THAT TGE EASTERN PEOPLE ARE MIRE SERIOUS WITH PEOPLE BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST FOOTBALLING TRIBE IN NIGERIA AM A YORUBA MAN . WE YORUBAS ARE TECHNICALLY SOUND BUT HARDLY ARE WE GOING TO SEE A YORUBA PARENT ALLOW THIEIR CHILD TO CHOOSE FOOTBALL AHEAD OF EDUCATION. THIS IS WHERE I APPLAUD THE IGBO PARENTS . NIGERIA IS NOT SO DEVELOPED TO ALLIGN EDUCATION AND FOOTBALL IN THE SAME CURRICULUM OTHERWISE YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN SO MANY  YORUBAS . MOST OF THESE IGBOS YOU TALK ABOUT ARE DROP OUT OR HAVE POOR ACADEMIC BACKGROUND BECAUSE THEY CHIOSE FOOTBALL AHEAD OF OTHER THINGS IN LIFE AND MAJORITY OF THEM COME FROM BELOW AVERAGE FAMILY WHERE THEY ARE NOT REALLY CATER FOR AND SO THEY ARE FREE TO ROAM ATOUND THE STREET PLAYING BALLS.
    THEN MIND YOU LAGOS AND JOS HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL TO NIGERIA FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT AND EVEN ABUJA. CHECK THE NUMBERS OF BRITISH BORN NIGERIA PLAYERS AND SEE ENOUGH OF YORUBAS . THE REASON IS THE EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE ALLOWS FOOTBALL TO BE PLAYED ALING SIDE EDUCATION SO IF THE CHILD FAILS IN FOOTBALL EDUCATION WOULD BALANCE HIM UP.
    THEN FINALLY CHECK THE TRAMS OF YEMI TELLA MOST OF THOSE GUYS ARE ALSO YORUBA. SO TO ME I DONT CARE WHICHEVER TRIBE IS PLAYING AS LONG AS THEY ARE NIGERIANS. I LOVE JAY JAY LIKE SAY HE BE MY UNCLE SAME GOES TO KANU. 

  • Diutopep 4 years ago

    @playxxxxxxxxxx, You Are Just BLABBING! Truth Is Always bitter… Lotanna has said it all.. Take it/leave it..

  • Playxxxxxxxxxxxxx 4 years ago

    BROTHER DIUTOPEP I DIDNT DISPUTE WHAT LOTANNA SAID BUT I SAID IF OTHER TRIBE HAD INVESTED IN FOOTBALL LIKE IGBO OR LET EVEN SAY MIDDLE BELT THEY WOULD EQUALLY BE GOOD CHECK NIGERIA NATIONAL TEAM IN THE 70S AND 89S THEY ARE DOMINATED BY WEST AND MIDDLE BELT BUT AS TIME WENT ON THESE  PEOPLE JETTISONED FOOTBALL FOR ACADEMICS IN YORUBAKAND WHERE I COME FROM WE TEND TO SEE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PASSION  FOR FOOTBALL AS UNSERIOUS .  MY CASE FOR EXAMPLE I USED TO PLAY BALL AND EVEN AM A LEFT FOOTED PLAYER BUT BECAUSE I WAS SO INTELLIEGENT ACADEMIC WISE MY MUM FRUSTRATED MY DESIRE FOR BALL I EVENTUALLY DROPPED THE AMBITION WENT TO UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN FOR MY DEGREE AND MASTER AND NOW I HAVE MY BUSINESS IN ETOBICOKE IN TORONTO. 
    SO ITS ABOUT PARENTS SUPPORTING THEIR CHILDREN WHICH THE IGBOS PARENTS HAVE BEEN  DOING AND I LOVE THEM FOR THAT. 
    WE CANT JUST CONCLUDE THAT THR PRESENT U17. IS BAD JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE FROM OTHER TRIBES OTHER THAN IGBO IT SUCKS TO SAY THAT.

  • Playxxxxxxxxxxxxx 4 years ago

    SORRY WANTED TO SAY I WAS  AVERAGE ACADEMIC WISE WHICH MY MUM ATTRIBUTED TO GIVING TOO MUCH TIME FOR FOOTBALL

  • Ololo 4 years ago

    Dr drey I respect your point each time you release them here, I want you to list players manu garba has produced for Nigeria that had a good number of caps at least 4 for super eagles aside iheancho and uzoho,,
    I respect you for your facts and details so I need them now now..
    A coach who has been involved in 3 separate u17 teams as first coach 2013, 2017 and now 2019 and also as assistant coach in 2009..pls which coach has had such opportunity as this yet only iheancho and uzoho he gave to Nigeria after all this opportunities..

    You shouldn’t mention Isaac success he has played more than 2 games for super eagles obviously because he is over 30 and claiming 23,.

    Pls this is not hate but pure fact. I use to love garba before especially because his team plays so well but this fact before me shows something is wrong..
    Plz list players he produced that played significant number of matches, I need to see them, if you cant drey then I can conclude he failed Nigeria cos i respect your details drey

  • Ololo 4 years ago

    I’m tempted to add haruna lukman and rabie Ibrahim but this guy’s didn’t play much games for super eagles, drey should know the number of games they played each each for super eagles but I feel they are so insignificant and negligible, if you include them meaning just 4 players, how how an amuneke with only 2 chances one as an assistant and one as head coach and produced oshimen and Sam chukwueze.. Half of what someone produced from 3 chances

    • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

      First and foremost, kindly remove the 2017 and 2019 teams from your list. The usual gestation period of a cadet player to develop is usually 8 years (from age of 16 – 24), after the age of 24, development stalls and what is left of what you see any player do after that age is what he has learnt and match experiences he has garnered over the year. Your hypothesis of Manu being at the saddle of of 3 U17 teams and yet producing only Uzoho and Nacho is terribly flawed.

      Except for a few extravagantly talented ones, like Kanu, Femi Opabunmi, Mikel Obi and Iheanacho who make that straight jump into the National team within 2 years, most U17 players take 4-6 years before they get to lace their boots at senior level, by then they would have been in their 20s. So how you expect all 15/16 yr olds of 2017 to be in the SE as at now beats imagination, when its not that there is not SE on ground presently. Osimhen though made his debut in 2017 but we all know that he is just staking a claim for a permanent feature now in 2019 in the SE (4 years after his U17 days), Similar Scenerio for Chukwueze. Infact Sam was under the rader for almost the entire 4 years before bursting unto the scene last year.

      First and foremost, remove the 2017 and 2019 from your list of benchmarks for Manu. If in 5 years time, no member of both squads have not made the SE, then your assertion that he has failed can hold water. However, there are signs of progression being made by a couple of his 2017 U17 teams….some of whom have even made the step up to the U20s…the likes of Igor Ogbu, Nazifi, Alhassan Ibrahim, Yusuf Hassan, Maxwell Effiom and Jerome Akor to mention a few are now plying their trade in Europe mostly in sweden and norway, and we can only pray for they to continue to develop so that in 3-4 years, they can be good enough to be considered for the SE.

      The current 2019 set too isnt short of suitors. Though some ethnic bigots have labelled them talentless, useless, have no future …and all other derogatory names because they are not of their tribal stock, the news reaching us from the team’s camp is that of the coaches having a tough time warding of representatives of clubs from europe who want to have contact with these players. I post 12 links to reports of scouts from top clubs chasing after these so-called talentless, no-future players here for the ignoramuses to read. I wonder why Real madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Andelercht, PSV, Ajax, Arsenal etc will spend thousands of Euros to send their reps after these kinds if they have zero potentials as those bigots paint it.

      Now to the main crux of the matter, we can only judge Manu’s contribution to the SE so far, based on his 2013 (and probably 2007) team. I dont know if names like Dele Ajiboye, Kingsley Udoh, Sheriff Isa…..? These guys have made it up to playing for the SE, albeit the CHAN/WAFU teams. Add that to Haruna Lukman (who played at the 2010 WC) and Rabiu Ibrahim. You might want to argue that they never had as much as 10 caps each for the senior national team, the according to FIFA, it only takes 1 minute of playing in an official match for a player to become an ex-international and be tied to 1 country for ever. In as much as any of these players developed from being a 15 or 16 year old to being considered good enough to put on the Senior National team Jersey…..its missio accomplish for grassroot/cadet/youth development and hence enters the success story books for talent discovery at that level.

      Now lets look at the 2013 class. 5 years later, Ofcourse the likes of Nacho, Ndidi, Uzoho, Moses Simon (yes, same Moses simon – he left the team to sign in Europe b4 they went for the u17 AFCON – Used to know him then as Moses ‘daddy’ Ajala) have successfully become mainstays of the team. The likes of Chidi Nwakali, Musa Mohammed, Isaac Success, Taiwo Awoniyi and Dele Alampasu have been on the fringes. As a matter of fact Taiwo and Dele where part of our 2014 CHAN bronze medal winning squads. But apart from these guys, there are others like Alhassan Muazam (Support striker – CD National), Theophilus Solomom (FK Partizan), Ifeanyi Matthew (midfielder- Lillestrom), Mustapha Abdullahi (leftback – Lokomotiv Plovdiv), Musa Yahaya (Midfielder – FC Porto) most of whom were part of the U17 AFCON, but couldnt make the world cup due to injuries or MRI, while Muazam has debuted for the SE and being in camp a few times, its still shocking that the likes of Ifeanyi Matthew and Mustpha Ibrahim are yet to be called up going by their consistence with their clubs. Note though, that these players are still not 24 years old yet. So we cant say they have stalled. No one knows tomorrow, they still can make it to the SE in say 2-4 years from now, before we can outrightly rule them out as wasted.

      So Mr Ololo…..The facts are there for you, laid bare….feel free to contest them. But at least you can use your teeth to count your tongue.

      • Ololo 4 years ago

        Dr drey 2017 and now is 2 years, we are almost in 2020 meaning 3 years.. Is 3 years not enough time for a talented u17 players to make the push to senior team.. How many years did it take a Mikel to play for super eagles after u17, how many did it take a kanu and many others..

        What is the essence of being an u 17 coach other than discovering raw talents.. I mean raw talented players that the world would see and know a new gem is here,
        Manu garba has participated in wining 2 u17 world cup one as an assistant coach in 2009 and another in 2013 yet you are mentioning rabiu Ibrahim, Haruna lukmam, jerom akor than was playing like frog in the last u 20 world cup..

        It’s shows Nigeria are only after wining u17 world cup and not after discovering players that would shine like stars to the world..
        Was it not a coach like him that discovered Mikel obi who from the first day every one know a star has been born, did Mikel win u17 world cup yet we all saw what he did for super eagles, that is what we are talking about..
        Was is not a Nigerian coach that discovered kanu, okocha and the rest,, we need natural talents that would last the test of time not players that would manage to get 2 cap for senior team and disappear into thin air and you call that success… Dr drey I really expected more from you..

        Just look at players we played against at u17 world who we defeated, look at where they are today, the current man united goal keeper was the goal keeper we defeated against Spain at 2009 u17, yet he went to do great things in the future while ours were no where..
        A man that has not given us any tangible plsyers after all the opportunities given to him has failed,, the coach that discovered Mikel obi only deserves an award and I don’t think he coach the team more than once.

        • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

          1st and foremost

          “….Dr drey 2017 and now is 2 years, we are almost in 2020 meaning 3 years..”

          Dont be in a hurry to approximate just because you want to rubbish Manu Garba, the calendar year for FIFA U17s tournaments is Oct/Nov-Sept/Oct. The defunct 2017 is just 2 years old. Wait till Oct/Nov 2020 to call them 3 yrs. 1 season is a whole lot in football…It only took the first half of last season for Sam Chukwueze to take the entire world by storm…Any of those players can start galloping into the limelight by this time 2020.

          You are so quick to rubbish Manu Garba for the non emergence of the 2017 set as if their career timelines are over. Like I said before, most of them are still in their teens at the moment….let them reach the age of 24 which is often considered as the age of stagnation before you declare them as a wasted generation. You are bigger than allowing your hatred for Manu becloud your judgement. Even the 2 from Amunike’s 2015 team that have grown into the limelight were struggling as at 2 years after their WC triumph, not to talk of a set that didnt qualify of even AFCON U17s.

          And by the way, your initial argument was… “I want you to list players manu garba has produced for Nigeria”….but now your goal post seems to have shifted to longevity, with your citing of the cases of Mikel, David de gea et al. I mentioned earlier that often times, there usually a class of extra talented ones who take that Giant leap from U17s to the Senior National team in less that the usual 5 year window. Mikel’s debut was against Zimbabwe in 2006 AFCON (if my memory serves me right) 3yrs after playing at Finland 2003. Kanu debuted in 1994 (in injury time of that friendly against England at Wembly) but had to wait till 1998 to make another appearance for the SE.

          However, what you seem to forget is that of that Japan 93 sqaud, we had 20 other players who didnt debut as early as Kanu and didnt have the longevity Kanu had. Also, of 2003 squad, discovered mostly by Coach Ganiyu Salami, there were also the likes of Ezekiel Bala, Isaac Promise (now late), Nkem Ovunwo, Solomon Okoronkwo, Ambrose Vansenkin, Emma Sarki, Chinedu Ogbuke and the rest, who didnt debut as early as mikel did and neither had the longevity he had….so why have you chosen not to castigate them the way you have castigated Manu.

          The last time I checked, the duty of every national U17 coach is to unearth these talents and showcase them to the world, not to manage their careers till retirement….this Manu has done for us, looking at the number of his proteges who have made it to that point after the 5-6 yrs gestation period, where we can see them ripe enough for senior national team football.

          The longevity of every player in the game is depended on how he conducts and manages himself once he’s gotten to that top. If Kanu had been involved in the Mali 2002 brouhaha that led to the likes of Oliseh, Finidi et al being kicked out of the National team at their prime or if his heart condition had deteriorated along the line, would you have blamed Fanny Amun for that, or if Mikel had also been involved in all the brouhaha that happened during Oliseh’s time which led to the likes of Enyeama and Emenike bowing out abruptly, would you have also held Ganiyu Salami responsible for that..?

          If you want to argue from the point of view of longevity of David de gea, I wish to let you know too that Dele Ajiboye has always been a constant feature in our homebased SE and sometimes even in the main team till today. We also have the likes of Borja Krkic from Spain’s 2007 set, pls where is he today too…? Are you going to blame (is it) Luis or Fernando Camacho for Krkic’s downward turn…??! Or if Kelechi Iheanacho (God Forbid) happens not to be able to rise again to his previous level and falls out of the rather, will you also blame Manu for is fall from grace…?

          From which ever angle you wanna look at it…..I still make bold to say, and I challenge you to challenge it, that Manu Garba has been involved in earthing the most talents for the SE ever since the 1st U17 coach Baba Brodericks-Imasuen. Already within the 5-6 year maturity widow, we have had at least 11 of his proteges debut for the SE out of which 4 are already regulars, 6 more on the fringes while almost 5 more are ripe enough for call up anytime the National selectors feel like they are needed. Yet, they haven’t even reached stagnation age yet. Not to talk of his 2017 and 2019 teams who are still much in the embryo.

          So brotherman, dont be too hurry to judge. We’ve had worse U17s in the past…the classes of 95, 2001 and 2005 havnt even given us half as many potentials as Manu’s 2013 alone has given us at Senior level. The man has always done his bit…unearth talents and give us beautiful soccer to behold. If the man where to be in a sensible country, by now he should be a member of the NFF technical department and head of youth football development in the FA. He would also be a lecturer in the national institute of sports and would have published many manuscripts on his philosophies of talent discovery and style of play. His 2013 will still go down in history as one of the strongest squads ever to grace the FIFA U17 WC, blowing everyone away and scoring nothing less that 3 goals in every game from the first to the last game in the tournament.

          • Ololo 4 years ago

            Dr drey I love your analysis of football especially when it comes to the Nigeria game, but I feel you are too on manu garba side which has clouded your mind..
            Don’t be moved by the beautiful football his team mostly display in tournaments but critically analysis his achievements long term.

            As u said before no Nigerian coach have had the kind of opportunities that was given to him and mind you I was his number one fan until I looked critically and didn’t not allow favourism over shadow my view.
            He has tried his best no doubt, but something is obviously no right..

            It’s very true to say that a player longevity in the team depends entirely on his work and continuity, yes that true but the right character can be taught in camp, the right mentality can be infused into players from their young age which they can use in the future to survive what ever the future brings to them.

            As I said before he has not produced any tangible player for the super eagles since he came into the system, does it mean there are no more Mikel obi , okacha, kanu, yekini etc in Nigeria, players that when you see them play you just know this is pure talent, the only player close to these I mentioned is iheanacho in 2013, every one knew back then they he was purely talented, and we saw what he did at man city before he started dropping in performance, Mr drey pls which other player is close to that since he came in from 2009 till date.

            Plz not not allow his fine football style deceive there is every possibility the boys might be older and definitely would overpower the younger boys of other countries.

            OK drey see it in this light how many of his players have done well in their club sides after performing wonders at u17 world cup, considering he won it twice first as assistant coach and secondly as head coach in 2013…
            The best of them all is again iheanacho, pointing to the same point I raised previously.. Now check iheancho today he has dropped and if we are sincere to ourselves it’s probably because he is above 30 years.

            Leave what ever pattern of football but see his team display and check his statistics.. Dr drey a new question is before you… Which of his players have done well in their clubside since he came in, starting from chrustantus to rabui Ibrahim to an Isaac success, even an ajiboye (pls don’t mention Chan eagles again plz don’t embarrass the young man, someone who disgrace David de gee, ending up in Chan team) to alampasu, imagine it was an uzoho who was forced on him that went far, what of awoniyi to chidi nwakakli,.. So you mean all these players were just unfortunate.. Plz be sincere, he has failed.

          • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

            Well It might look to you that I’m on Manu’s side, but the truth remains that facts and numbers dont lie. It is the facts I have laid before you which I expected you to counter, equally with facts, which you’ve not succeeded to do.

            Pls where did you get the information that Uzoho was forced on him…? I dont want to believe that in your bid to severe Uzoho’s successes at senior level from Manu, you have opted to assert that he was forced on him…pls by whom…where….when….how…with what and how did you get that piece of information. Pls do well to share it with us…otherwise I put it to you that you are perjured and merely cooked up that story to score some points against Manu. But even at that, if he was forced on him as you claimed, you still cant separate Uzoho from Manu’s 2013 U17, same way we cant seperate Abba Bichi from his 2019 team.

            If you say no Nigerian coach had had as many opportunities as Manu, I also put it to you that that is a piece of false assertion. A certain Seb Imasuen was coach of 85,87,89 and 95 U17 sqauds…..and guess what, apart from Nduka Ugbade, Jonathan Akpoborie, Victor Ikpeba, James Obiorah and Karibe Ojigwe. I cant recall any other of his proteges across all 4 generations graduating into the SE. Anyone who has a more vivid memory can pls share it. Thats not up to half of Manu’s proteges who have made debuts for the SE, with many more even set to get their turns in the next 5 -7 years to come. We are so spoilt with avalanche of youngsters to call upon today…thanks to Manu.

            You claim he hasnt produced any tangible players for the SE like Kanu, Okocha, Yekini etc…..but those players didnt become tangible players in 3 years in the national team or with 20 caps. The became tangible over a decade long career with the super eagles. So if you are looking for tangible players, just as I have said wait for 5 or 6 more years before you can jump into conclusion. A players like Iheanacho, Simon and Ndidi have amassed over 20 caps each in their about 2-3 years in the national team, Uzoho is already following them closely…others like Awoniyi, Success, Alampasu, Musa Muhammed will still get their chances. I even heard Adeleke Adebayo his 2013 U17 AFCON goalkeeper is being monitored for a call up to the SE now after sterling performances in Isreal….its still early days. Dont be in a rush..!

            I have also noticed how you have somehow tactically omitted Wilfred Ndidi from Manu’s success stories….maybe I should remind you that he is the best tackler in the EPL for 2 seasons in a row now. I can place a bet he will me moving to a top 4 club in any of England, Spain or Italy by summer.

            You clain there is possiblity the boys were older and overpowered boys from other countries…pls substantiate that with facts and stop being petty. The last time I checked, all U17 teams are subjected to MRI tests since 2009 and the error bound of such tests have been proven to be +- 1 years by experts for those under the age of 17 and a lot of overaged players have been detected as a result…..so pls give us proof Iheanacho is above 30 years, meaning he was already 24 years of age in 2013 and explain to us how a 24yr old could have passed MRI tests for U17. Otherwise, if you are not ready with discuss based on facts that can be verified, but would rather base your discussions and assertions on innuendos which you cannot be proved true of false…..then I wish to rest my case here.

            If you claim Manu has failed all well and good. But the facts will always continue to stare you in the face for at least another 10 years when every list of the SE is made with at least 2 of his proteges in the line up. The finger prints of Manu Garba will take years to be erased from our football….love him or loathe him

            Facts dont lie…!

  • Please when did arguments/discussions turn to tribal/sectional promotions and interest here? What the blah is going on? I thought everyone here is above such base sentiments. I guess I was wrong. Why are we importing it into sports? Is sporting talent a preserve of any region? And why are arguments and counter arguments being viewed with suspicions or from the prism of ethnic motives? Anytime I argue, I always try to base it on purely footballing, unsentimental reasons/logic. And I’m sure it’s same for most guys here. As far as I can recollect, Nigerian football stars that gave us some of the best memories cut across all regions – from Rashidi Yekini, Kanu Nwakwo, Okocha, Odegbami, Musa, Oliseh, Babangida, Aghahowa, Agali, to Obafemi Martin. So what gives!?

  • With all the crap have read here about certain tribe producing more footballers is really a sick joke to me. People are here questioning how many players gatba has produced for the national. Are you kidding me. Is rohr meant to place his options on undee 17 or under 20 players to execute his plans. Are we for real here. Even Nwakali who played for amuneke never got a call to the national team. And he was an outstanding player at the chile tournament. Please lets stop all this sentiments that certain tribe plays better football. If you want to go that route, plateau state, jos to be precise produce better football players, mind you it comprises of all tribe.

    • JimmyBall 4 years ago

      …most of the Ibo guys they claimed who have played for Super Eagles were born and raised in either Jos or Kaduna… Jos and kudana has donated the most places to Super Eagles, anybody wiling to take me on, on this an reply let’s start listing names… there was a great player who really never went on to Super Eagles but was so exciting like Kanu Nwankwo in the late 80s in our youth team… he was was called Jide Oguntuwase… tall and lanky… he came up same time with Tijani Babangida but was even a better player… somehow Westerhof never called him to Super Eagles after the Junior days… That was a menace in the Plateau United team that was ruling Nigeria league then… we should also not forget how BCC Lions of Gboko ruled after plateau United… We used to have players like John Zaki… Barnabas Imenger and Dominic Iorfa playing for Super Eagles… all regions have contributed to donating players to national team and football is played everywhere with lots of passion in Nigeria… infact… When junior national team setups was drown up from shell cup participants like in the past and state academicals we used to see exciting players from all over Nigeria… Come to the south… I will say Delta(warri) and Benin City have also donated a great number of footbal players to national teams… So no, Igbo are only investing more in football with academies as a business not that they are the ones who are best footballers… no region can win that argument… Plateau United… BCC Lions and Elkanemi Warriors as clubs ruled Nigeria football landscape at different times for years…

      • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

        Not to talk of Abiola Babes, NNB, Stationary Stores (Up Stores), Leventis United, Almighty IICC Shooting stars. Thats why I said earlier…Its not worth it engaging in such a disgusting argument. Those who claim they have the monopoly of talents in Nigeria are just being cynical. They should go and research history properly.

  • Ololo 4 years ago

    Dr drey it took amuneke just twice first as assistant and second as head coach to produce players who went far in their club career, Sam Chuks and oshimen. Samuel Chuks getting FIFA recognitions as best under 21 in the world.. I knew iheanacho got his but it was caf young best player. You can’t compare the two.
    No wonder amnneke went far as a coach getting to afcon. These are what serious nation consider, not what you played in u17 world cup.

    Did they go far in their club side.. Dr drey I want a sincere reply, leave your love for him and face the fact

    • JimmyBall 4 years ago

      …by your Ibo logic… So Victor Osimhen is also Ibo? You are tribal maggot…

      • Broda nothing like tribal in this. Check out all d medal nigeria won from junior to senior… Less Igbos lead to disgrace..under 20 that just concluded…until Nigeria understand how important that tribe is they can never get it right. That is d facts like it or hate it. They are blessed.am not ibo but that is d truth we must admit in.this country.

      • Ololo 4 years ago

        It’s obvious you are the tribalist.. Didnt you read where I criticized my fellow Ibo brother in iheanacho..
        Everything to you appears as a tribal war.. We don’t need people like you in this country psychopath!

        • Ololo 4 years ago

          referring to Jimmy boy.. Mr ola it people like you we need in this country..
          Every region of the world have people who are good in certain sports.. When you come to football South America are naturally good, what they do with the ball is deposited in their gene.. When you talk of marathon race the Kenyan are naturally great they have the endurance and even the Caucasian who have better facilities for training can still do better than they do, you come to track and field you get the Jamaican, basketball ball you go for the US.
          Now coming home when you look for footballers you hardly find those from the north, jos yes have the best academies but many players from other tribes come there and do better than the natural owners of the land, in a country like France they won’t see anything wrong where in foreigner comes in to perform better than the indigene and we know the output when France plays football..

          The west, east, and south dominate in football while the north sorry to say are the least talented in football.. Yes certain good players has manage to come from the north musa one of them but if you check he has his maternal home in edo state, the north has still produce good players like garba lawal, babagida etc but can you compare them to players like yekini, okocha , kanu, how many player from the north have won African best player of the year.. None actually..
          So when you start seeing a team dominated by northern players , you just know something is not right,

          Using super eagles as case study most would agree rohn is corrupt when he selects his players and picks only by merit.. How many player from his list for games against Benin and Lesotho are from the north, just a little fraction of the team are from the north and if we go by Nigerian statistic the population of the north only is 2/3 of Nigeria total population so it becomes clear the minority region with little population providing the larger part of our football player.
          Does it mean I hate the north no I don’t, but these are fact that every mind would admit to

        • JimmyBall 4 years ago

          @Ololo, how many Ibo players were in Japan ’93 squad? China ’85?… Saudi ’89? Football is played everywhere… when you practise well in sports, naturally you will do well. Do you know I played professional football myself? i played several shell cups and went on to play in German Bundesliga 2 with FC Saarbrucken… I met Sambo Choji there… Nwankwo Kanu’s golden eaglet mate… that guy is even better than JayJay Okocha and he was never called to Super Eagles because of politics… he told me everything… he is From Jos…

          • Ololo 4 years ago

            This is how many who saw rabiu Ibrahim painted him better than Jay Jay okacha.. You never meet Jay Jay did you as a player ,if only you were close to him you would know he was far better than what we saw him do on TV.. So calm down with your man from jos who to you better than Jay Jay but played in 2 division in German. As least if you say I’m tribalistic and Nigeria with its politic, in German where the politics is not there he should have least played in German main league.. Guy stop calling me names,, you obviously don’t know football even if you plsyed it

    • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

      Mr. this is the last I will reply to you on this topic.

      Did it take Manu 20 attempts as head coach to produce Iheanacho, Ndidi, Uzoho…?? Are these guys not making a success in of their careers at senior level…? Iheanacho was 2ce on the shortlist for golden boy award and won Mancity and Caf youth player awards 2yrs in a row. Ndidi won the best young player award in both clubs he has played in and also won the best young player in belgium. He is currently the best tackler in the best league in the world for 2 seasons in a row now. Are these not good achievements….? Not to talk of others like Alampasu, Awoniyi, Musa Muhammed, Isaac Success who have all had their chances in the super eagles and are still emerging. Then add the likes of Ifeanyi Mathew, Mustapha Ibrahim, Alhassan Muazam, Chidiebere Nwakali, Adefemi Adebayo (best young goalkeeper in Israeli league) who are/were doing well with their clubsides in europe. That’s more than half of his 2013 team already doing well in their clubs at senior level 6 years after and knocking on the door of the SE. You talk most times as if these guys’ careers are already over…”gone far in their club career..”…who says they still cannot climb higher, beyond the level they are now…most of them are still in their early 20s, yet they are already cutting it at senior level. The fact that most of them are settled and consistent at that level shows they can go higher and further.

      You only always single out Osimhen and Chukwueze in Amunike’s team, pls were are the rest…? lets add Kelechi Nwakali to that list, Its 4 years now after 2015 WC and only 3 of them can be said do be cutting it at senior level yet….the rest are either nowhere to be found or playing on loan at B or C teams in Europe.

      A large chunk of Manu’s 2017 proteges are still in btw 17-19 years…..yet the likes of Igor Ogbu, Nazifi Yahaya, Alhassan yusuf (best young player in sweden), Jerome Akor, Ibrahim Alhassan have already played at U20 AFCON or WC and are already playing first team club football only 2 years after.

      His 2019 team may have been a misadventure, but I can guarantee that within the next 3-4 years, at least 3 (I tip Tijani, Amoo and Olusegun) will start emerging in the global space.

      It is you who should put your tribal sentiments apart and acknowledge all the hard facts I’ve laid down before you, none of which you have been able to dispute

      I dont know what you are trying to get at, but given the same opportunities as asst. coaches(2007/2013), 17 head coaches (2013/2015) and u20 head coaches (2015/2017), Manu has won more medals and produce more current and potential SE players than Amunike. Many of you say Amunike was the brain behind Manu’s 2013 feat, yet Manu qualified and won U20 AFCON in senegal, defeating the host team in the final, whereas your Amunike couldnt even qualify for the U20 AFCON.

      Whether you are happy about it or not, for the next 10 years, no super eagles list will be drawn without at least 2 proteges of Manu in the team. That’s how much talents he has poured into our laps.

      I wont repeat all i’ve said previously all over again…if you want a sincere answer, pls go back and read other previous replies, and also do your own research.

      Facts do not lie….! Records do not lie…!

      I dont discuss based on sentiments and innuendos….i discuss with raw facts and figures. If you doubt them, pls disprove them with superior facts, stats or figures.

      • Ololo 4 years ago

        Mr drey why do you always include ndidi and Moses Simon, ndudi was ruled out of his team after failing MRI scanning while Moses Simon was part of team in training but did not make the team.. I expected you to add all of this.. Plz don’t mention ndidi pls I beg you, ndidi, simon are in the same bracket like a certain Evie ejaria who played at reading, he also had time with the team during training but never made the team, if you keep adding training materials as players discovered by your manu barba then in the future when the likes of the arsenal guy he dumped in favour of abba the water bottle picker starts doing wonders you would say he discovered him or all other players who didn’t make team to this recent world cup starts doing well you say they were discovered by manu… Why didn’t he take Simon Moses to u 17 world, was it that he wasn’t good enough for the team, yet you keep mentioning him as one of his discoveries.
        Leave those boys alone and call players everyone saw play in his special football style if they had later had good club side.

        Finally you kept mentioning jerome akor and many others we saw at the last u20 world cup as his stars he discovered.. I want to ask do those average players that disgraced Nigeria in that last u2o world cup the stars we should hope for to break into super eagles any time soon

        • Dr. Drey 4 years ago

          “Mr drey why do you always include ndidi and Moses Simon, ndudi was ruled out of his team after failing MRI scanning while Moses Simon was part of team in training but did not make the team.. I expected you to add all of this..”

          Ahaa…..na wah o….whc kind blind argument b ds for heavens sake….did he (Manu) not discover them…??? Did they not play 17 AFCON qualifiers and U17 AFCON for him…are they not his proteges???

          Pls get your facts right, Simon didn’t go to the world cup because he wasnt good enough….the young man got a club in europe before the WC and moved on, while the rest of the team moved on…similar case with Theophilus Solomon who was part of the team all through the qualifiers and left to sign for a club in Croatia. Even Dennis Bonaventure was part of that team at the initial stage (though I cant confirm if he played any match), but left to sign for a club in Europe. Ndidi played at the U17 AFCON but couldnt make the WC due to MRI (alongside the likes of Muazam), both of them were immediately drafted to the U20s with Ndidi eventually making Obuh’s 2013 U20 WC team.

          The likes of Ejaria and Ebiowei who had made their names for Liverpool and Arsenal cannot be counted as proteges or discoveries of any Nigerian coach. They never played any matches (qualifiers or tournaments proper) under any Nigerian coach. Its like saying David Alaba was discovered by Yemi Tella. That will be a monumental falacy.

          So whether you like it and accept it or not, Ndidi and Moses were manu’s proteges…he gave them the 1st major platform that borught them to limelight…he made them Nigerian youth internationals, they were part of his team at some point and from there matured from little kids to men who have gone on to make the SE.

          If you didnt watch any of these guys play then its a pity…but pls get your facts right and quit this argument that is taking you nowhere.

          “….I want to ask do those average players that disgraced Nigeria in that last u20 world cup the stars we should hope for to break into super eagles any time soon…..”

          Who are you to judge…? Do you know the future..? Are you God…?

          The average U17 team that “disgraced” us in Finland 2003, did they not produce the likes of Vanzekin, Mikel, Ogbuke, Okoronkwo who all later played at the olympics and for the SE…???

          The average U17 team of 2005 that couldn’t qualify for WC, did that team not produce Echiejile and Sunday Mbah for the Super eagles…?

          The average team that John Obuh took to Toloun tournament in France in 2011, has that team not produced Semi Ajayi, Jamilu Collins and Sebastian Osigwe (whom many are clamoring for to be called up to the SE)

          You are so much in a hurry to condemn and rubbish Manu that you are now beginning to play God. You are just trying so hard to find a bad name to give a dog so you can kill it…so bad that you are even expecting righting off 17-19 years old whose careers are still taking shape and who still have up to 10 years or more to prove themselves on the big stage.

          I repeat, from Manu’s 2013 team alone…not less than 11 of them made their debuts for the SE within 4 years of playing at U17 level. 4 or 5 of them have become mainstays while the rest are waiting on the wings not because they are not good enough, but because there is currently no space for them yet. We have seen how people have argued and called for the inclusion of the likes of Alampasu, Musa Mohammed, Taiwo Awoniyi and Ifeanyi Matthew in the SE on this CSN forum…or will you say these players are not good…? Will you say they are wasted…???

          How many of your Amunike’s 2015 U17s have debuted for the SE 4 years after…? Osimhen (7caps), Chukwueze (11caps), Nwakali (1cap)….who else….??? Kingsley Micheal was part of your so-called average U20 team, Orji Okonkwo is on loan in the MLS and currently in the u23 team…oya tell us where the rest of the team are 4 years after.

          2017 till now is just 2 years….but I can assure you, if we continue to have a SE coach who believes in youngsters, Igor Ogbu and Alhassan Yusuf will play in the SE within the next coming 2 years, further swelling the number of Manu’s proteges who have made it to SE level

          Argue with facts…not with sentiments…!

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