Former Super Eagles captain and current Assistant coach of the team, Joseph Yobo, has commended John Utaka Football Club (JUFC) after he watched the youthful Minna based team lose 2-1 to NPFL side at the Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi, Completesports.com reports.
Yobo who was in Bauchi on a scouting mission was so impressed by the standard displayed by the two teams that he marvelled why the John Utaka FC are not playing in any category of the Nigerian leagues.
“I am so impressed with this young JUFC side for their robust and direct style of play add to the high intensity they applied all through the 90 minutes. I find it difficult to believe that they are a non league side, the way they pressed an experienced and quality side like Wikki Tourist was a delight to watch
“I am carried away by their amazing display despite losing the game 2-1 to Wikki. They put up the kind of performance we love to see in the National team setup, that fighting spirit of never giving up. I still don’t believe they are not a league side. I want to commend my former national teammate, John, for the wonderful team he has here,” Yobo told the media in Bauchi
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Skipper Alhaji Idris Guda and Manu Garba scored for Wikki Tourist FC who are tunning up ahead of the kick off of the NPFL season. JUFC lone goal was scored by 16 year old Istifanus Jofrank Gombiman.
Speaking after the game, Vice president of John Utaka Football Club, Usman Chata, said the club embarked on series of friendly game to prepare for the tour of France early next year, and added that he was impressed with their performance so far and though there’s room for improvement
“Our coach is using these friendly matches to blend the old players with our new graduates from our academy and to evaluate the players’ fitness after the long Covid-19 pandemic layoff. So far we have played about five games losing to Flying Eagles (2-1), Wikki Tourist 2-1 and Kano Pilllars by a lone goal. We also best Crown 1-0 and Monaco Barca 3-0,” Chata said.
Yobo however refused to comment when asked if he discovered any player good for national team.
“My job is to scout and report back to my boss, Gernot Rohr,” Yobo said.
By Richard Jideaka, Abuja
13 Comments
Scouting??????!!!!!!
This is just foul! I mean totally annoying!
Scouting players to come and what?!? To replace who??!
Dare crossed the line! For those that think rohr is their problem, I want to ask you : what miracle can guardiola perform with our kind of home based players???
I have said it over and over. Dare, Odegbami and Pinnick are our biggest problem as far as SE is concerned. There is NO COACH who can make much impact with those two vultures (Odegbami and Dare) hovering around SE and Pinnick’s horrible administrative blunders due to his greed.
As for Yobo, this is the kind of scouting he is supposed to do for Under 17 or under 20 national teams. This kind of scouting is definitely not for SE. This is extremely ridiculous. With the path these bunch of ignoramus had chosen to tow, the future of SE is gradually turning gloomy except there is an urgent intervention.
In my opinion, if the league starts and there are no commas in terms of league stoppage, in essence the league goes on smoothly, I would say that since GR is mandated to be in 9ja majirity of the time and he is earning cool 20M naira monthly as the coach of SE, he should be asked to raise the CHAN team afterall he is the SE coach not just the foreign players SE team. In this regard I don’t see anything wrong. This will not only help the players improve but also to afford them 1st hand what the gaffer would expect if they make it to the main team. It will also help their confidence as well knowing that they coach of the national team is interested in them. However, if that was not part of his renewed contract, asking him to do that will not be proper tho. Where me personally have a problem is the requirement of 4 local players in the SE at the expense of better players. There shouldn’t be a target for the CHAN team as well since they haven’t played football in awhile regardless of who tutors the team.
But to show how bad our league and players are, how can a team of NFPL calibre like Wikki tourist be struggling to beat a non league side. I understand soccer is not 1+1=2, some non league sides do spring surprises but na wa for wikki tourist ooo. Are these the players to displace the players in the present SE. Just a thought.
Hmmn it is now adding up.so of all the matches played in Nigeria, it is that of John Utaka academy that yobo went to scout players? The same academy played flying eagles.Very soon, He will be at wasimi, then at Yakubu academy and Ighalo academy at Epe.
“I am carried away by their amazing display despite losing the game 2-1 to Wikki. They put up the kind of performance we love to see in the National team setup, that fighting spirit of never giving up”.
Good job coach Yobo.
This statement shows that you understood the pattern of Super Eagles than your boss Oga Rohr.
We love to see a solid, well balanced and an entertaining team but unfortunately, I’m sorry to be optimistic here we haven’t seen that from Oga Rohr and the entire team of the Super Eagles.
That should be a big concern for NFF.
As a team, you defend together, attack together and the defend the lead as a team.
Oga Rohr and coach Yobo should use Manu Garba’s under 17 team that won under 17 trophy in UAE back in 2013 as a template.
They had purpose going forward and in defense, they were organized. They never relents and they were very entertaining.
The last edition that Mr. Gerber took our boys to, he allowed NFF and agents to destroyed his name.
Oga Rohr and Yobo shouldn’t allowing that from happening no more.
However, nothing wrong if NFF asked Oga Rohr and Yobo to scout for quality local players.
We still have more than 30 Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu, Peter Rufai and Uche Okechwuku out there. All they need is a chance.
It’s a good idea to have home based Super Eagles team B.
If any of our foreign based player is not available, no need to be pandemic we have alternative.
Most of our foreign based players were struggling to cope with the physicality of African opponents.
By having this team B, it will give the coaches the opportunity to strategize their plans because they have options.
By forming this team B, no need to worry about WAFU tournament. Yobo can take the team to WAFU Afcon. Why not.
Nonetheless, I am still waiting for the feedback from NFF about the new assistant coach. Will Amunike join the team? Let’s wait and see. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Crazy man.
How can you use U17 as a comparison to the senior national team….there are so many different factors to be considered. Can you expantiate on what u mean bu using them as a template?
“The last edition that Mr. Gerber took our boys to, he allowed NFF and agents to destroyed his name”. You see that’s exactly what we’re talking about that most people like you don’t get and probably stuck on not to get.
Manu Garba started very well, played entertaining football and the team was arguably the best Golden Eaglets in history. Afterwards he ended abysmally by producing the worst U17 performance in recent memory. The same thing applies to Keshi during his days as the coach of the SuperEagles. He started well by not allowing the NFF and agents to manipulate him. Even though he was an agent himself. The end result was the beginning of missing 3 out of 4 AFCONS. Same issue was with Salisu and the CHAN team. This is why when it comes to the SuperEagles I cannot trust a local coach to take us anywhere.
They can continue their bribery and pay to play with the U17, U20, U23 and CHAN team till they’re caught up with their acts and the recent results of those teams have shown why it’s important to never trust the SuperEagles with a local coach. At least not for now. Even Amunike with arguably one of the most talented U20 in recent memory failed to qualify for the U20 AFCON. Scouting players in the local league where 35 year olds are masquerading as U17. After 2 to 3 appearances at senior level then disappeared into oblivion. I can still be sure that an Aribo or an Iwobi are actually 24 years old. Balogun at 32 continues to improve while Omeruo has reached his ceiling at 26 or 27. The notion that home based players should be included in the SuperEagles with the current state of our league is quite laughable. It shows the magnitude of our administrators all the way to the Sports ministry. What a joke!!!
Hahahahahahahahaha….
@Omo9ja…..
Chai…..
Well; there’s no need of singing Yobo’s praise for now….
Our pple normally says “when breeze blow fowl nyash go open…..
CHAN go soon come… Na there we go know whether Yobo sabi naija football pass him oga or not…..
Just cool down…..
Shebi Yobo sabi coach?….
Wahala no dey…..
You don’t get my point here my people.
Gentlemen, building a team is like house plan and the clothes we are wearing.
You need to have a style and structure ready that will suits the players you have at hand.
This is why I respect coach Amunike.
Mr. Amunike came out to make it known to us that his under17 style of play would be different to coach Manu Garba’s team.
Mr. Amunike’s team style of play similar to his character in a real life.
He, Mr. Amunike doesn’t reacts quickly. He will studied and responded to you smartly.
We have two characters and style of play to choose from here.
Oga Rohr’s team have no pattern of play. I am so sorry to be optimistic here.
No game plan.
I know quite well that under
17 is not Super Eagles but I’m talking about structure here.
However, some of us don’t believe in Yobo because he is our own.
He knew that we loved to see attacking and entertaining football.
That spirit never say die Nigerians attitude and winning mentality should be in this team.
No matter what I say, you people will not listen to me because of the love you have for Oga Rohr. Is the gaffer driving Super Eagles forward or backward?
There’s nothing wrong in that if the coach is capable to delivered.
Yes, I love Oga Rohr but he’s letting me down when it’s matter most.
Oh well. God bless Nigeria!!!
A local league where the best player is a 40 year old Rabiu Ali who could even be 45 or older. Lmao!! The only place to discover talents this days across Nigeria is the academies scattered all over the country not the NPFL. That’s where the likes Sanusi, Ndidi, Osimhen, Chukwueze, Iheanacho and co came from. I don’t think any of them ever played in the NPFL before moving to Europe and they’ve all had success in their own right. In fact I stand to be corrected I think only Musa and Etebo are the only product of the NPFL in the present SuperEagles. Honestly speaking there are talents in Nigeria. Talents abound everywhere in the country. However, every little opportunity given to them to sniff around the SuperEagles they see it as their jackpot to move to Europe immediately after an average performance. And when a league hasn’t function properly over the last 4 years, how can you tell me there are 4 better players in the NPFL better than the players we have in Europe at the moment??? You gotta be kidding me. Well I will continue to enjoy this moment while it last. After 2022 WorldCup hopefully we qualify when GR leaves I will be brazing for the next era of not qualifying for ordinary AFCON.
Great, Yobo finally got a job, let him scout players for the Olympic team, I think that would be a good start for him. Siasia did it he gave us Zubby and Etebo, Yobo should be able to scout one or two players for us too. Ay, you guys are correct I don’t see anybody in our local league playing for the super Eagles for now. Nothing is currently working in that country morales are down, our local league players are not motivated.
Yobo shouldn’t forget to also keep “scouting” for his coaching badges.