Newly appointed Super Eagles assistant coach, Joseph Yobo says that home-based players must to prove they are equal to the task anytime they get invited to play for the Super Eagles.
Speaking on a radio program monitored on Friday morning on Brila FM, Yobo said he believed there are good talents plying their trade in the Nigerian Professional Football League but such players need to take their chances and not be timid when they get called up to the national team.
Also Read: Super Eagles Job: How Players Clinched It For Rohr
Super Eagles head coach, Gernot Rohr who recently penned a new contract had been mandated by the NFF to monitor players in the NPFL.
“We have good players in the local league but they must change their mentality when they are to the national camp because it is different,” begins the former Everton star who captained Nigeria to win the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.
“When they get the opportunity and are invited to the Super Eagles, they must not be shy or timid. They need to take their chances and must be bold to show their qualities because they got the invitation on merit in the first place.”
Yobo also stated that it is up to the head coach to bring the local based players into the national team.
“Inviting players to the national team is the decision of the coaches and there must be good understanding between the head coach and the Federation towards such invitations,” Yobo said adding that lack of television coverage also makes it difficult for national team selectors to watch and access the players.
By Sulaiman Alao
24 Comments
Chan is going to be a platform for you Yobo n home based players to prove a point. Take it when it comes.
Part of your duty as assistant coach, do scout them out.
Yobo, You don begin do the work wey them send you abi? Dont come and destroy the chemistry of our team oh and dont bring your home trouble to confuse our dear Gernot Rohr. Anyway start first with CHAN lets see how far you can go in coaching without a certificate. After you do well with Chan thats when I can talk to you. But as for now, I assume you ve not said anything.
I laugh in Spanish.
“Inviting players to the national team is the decision of the coaches and there must be good understanding between the head coach and the Federation towards such invitations,” Yobo said”
What do you mean by ‘good understanding’? Because we know what good understanding in Nigerian context means. It seems to me like you have hit the ground running with the original intention of your corrupt backers. I hope I’m wrong anyways.
You better keep quiet and continue to do ball boy for the players in training for now. Then after you have performed miracles with the same NPFL players you’re talking about in CHAN, we can start listening to you.
“Home based players are not ripe enough for the Super Eagles: Yobo” was the headline carried by The Vanguard newspaper during Nigeria’s doomed campaign to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup Nations however (according to the article above) it will appear that the now-Super Eagles Homebased Head Coach Joseph Yobo has had a change of heart.
Good!
At a time where many fans have written the NPFL off, Yobo comments above will be laughed off by many.
However, the former Everton man is now in prime position to show fans what homebased players are truly made of. Football for Wafu 2021 is less than 10 months to come whilst qualification for Chan 2022 will also commence shortly after wafu.
So, if Gernot Rohr has been issued the target of winning the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, I see no reason why we shouldn’t task the head coach of the Super Eagles homebased team – Joseph Yobo – with the target of qualifying for and winning both the Wafu and Chan tournaments.
Afterall if these players, in Yobo’s views, are good enough to be in the full Super Eagles squad, winning both tournaments should be seen as a realistic target.
If he pulls these off, then Yobo would have done his quota of improving the credibility of homebased players.
Perhaps then we can start talking about integrating more of them into the mainstream super talented Super Eagles team.
Well said bro
Thank you Jones.
Rohr will lead the team to WAFU cup and CHAN henceforth
I have said this several times that we still got so much talented players in Nigeria. in Lagos alone, we have talent players in Agege ilepako, Agege stadium, Ajegunle, Iyana Ipaja and so on. Also in Kaduna and in Port Harcourt, talents are there. We still have talents in our League.
the introduction of the new sports minister is very effective. How can a coach said that NL is not good enough and to have just a single players from that league to join Eagles is a no no idea?
Many of our ex players have played in the NL before moving abroad.
NFF have to get us one more ex player. No more business and excuses. NFF have to sit tight this time around.
We still have great people in Nigeria but for them to get to the top is very hard. These our oppressors won’t allow them. I am so happy that in front of our carbal, God sent Mr. Dare to changed their mentalities.
Yobo, I know you are so smart and I want you to use your smartness to learn man management skill from your boss Oga Rohr.
That is the only skill that African coaches are lacking.
Don’t worry, sooner or later, another ex players will join you. We are working so hard to have the best candidates to represent Nigeria. I’m proud of you Yobo. It is time to stand up and do something good for our fatherland. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
A player in the Nigerian league has to prove to be better than what we have already to be part of the super eagles otherwise it’s needless inviting a player just for the sake of wanting to include home based professionals.If i may ask,at whose expense?and what do you want to prove for doing that?
@Greenturf, thanks for asking me such a quick question.
“If i may ask, at whose expense”? Who is in charge of the Nigerian sports? I hope i have answered your question?
You also asked another question here.
“A player in the Nigerian league has to prove to be better than what we have already to be part of the super eagles”
For example, Mba and Oboabona were not good enough during their days in the Super Eagles? For late Keshi to discovered many of those generations of the 2003 Afcon local players that won the title in South Africa means that we still have plenty of abundance players in the NPFL til tomorrow.
I am talking of the best of the best here. We still have players like Rashid Yekini, Jay Jay Okocha, Amokachi, Kanu, Mutiu Adepoju, Iroha, Amunike, Tijani, Finidi, Peter Rufai, Ike Shorunmu and Enyeama in Nigeria.
The main problem is that, if you don’t have money and know the top people in Abuja, you are going no where.
Yobo is now seeing what I’m seeing. Only the fewer people will understand Yobo.
Let me stop here Mr. Greenturf. Truth is better. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Thanks @Omo9ja for your response.
My point is that quotas shouldn’t be reserved for the local based players.Anyone who is better than the Osimhen’s,the Moses,Ndidi and the lots should be given a chance to prove their mettle local or foreign.There should be fairness.
Meanwhile,the situation was different during Keshi’s because we were at a low when he was appointed as the gaffer and had to make changes.The home base players weren’t as desperate as ones we have today who leaves for Europe and other obscure leagues in the world with just the littlest of recognition as a super eagles invitee,so how can a coach work in such circumstances when the players aren’t long enough to be integrated into the team just like the Finidi’s the shorumu’s as you mentioned in your post during their days with the super eagles.
I think the CHAN tournament will provide a platform for the local players to prove how good they are and would be duly assessed before getting invitations to the super eagles.Just to remind you also the talents we have at the moment is by far better than what we have when keshi assumed duty to coach the Nigerian team so it was easy to get a few local players to compliment what we have in Europe back then.
Na so
Those who don’t wish Super Eagle well will use Yobo to disorganize Rohr’s efforts. Yobo should not play so much role in the National Team while CHAN demands his services.
Yobo, don’t worry i think you are right, tons of ballers are in our domestic league, showcase them for us thank God next Chan is close, prove everybody wrong by discovering new Ndidi, musa. Two years from now we will assess the new players you discovered from our league.
Yobo, I’m very sure you’ll get much talented ballers @Aba Enyimba city…
try my idea…
@glory i guess som1 help u to make dat coment. bcus the glory i knw is not capable of makin such witty coment.
Oga calm down. You have CHAN and WAFU to prove we doubters wrong in so many ways. First, let us see how you can discover talents in this your NPFL. Secondly, let us see what you can do with them to assess your Coaching ability without a single certificate to show. Then we’ll see if 100 caps are good enough to win you trophies as a Coach. Because you must not only qualify the Home based players for WAFU and CHAN! YOU must Win both WAFU and CHAN or get them to the FINALS at least then we can believe in you.
Meanwhile, am seeing one funny article that says GERNOT ROHR will also be the one to Coach/Supervise the Home based players in the WAFU and CHAN tournaments. I just hope this is not true! Because YOBO has to prove himself to us all. Thank you
Follow follow people for the records Nigeria did not qualify for the next Chan. And most of our ex superstars started from the league. If any league player is exceptional he has to be encouraged to take the next step. Can we stop slaying ourselves for once all in the name of making comments!
So kindly quote where someone said “Nigeria qualify for the upcoming CHAN”! Cuz all I can see is NEXT. If you can’t quote anyone, then you are just but a big MUMU that you are
Lol@femi…this one off me…lol
Fly what chan do you want yobo to prove himself because the next chan will happen before the Afcon and after the Afcon comes the next chan? And Who hates Rohr most of you guys behave like babies when matured people think about forward ever. Mind you most times i post my comment and walk away because I Know morons will always have a counter comment just to happy themselves. But you all forget that when Naija win we all win! You should all comment without insulting people because if those same people choose to insult you guys they’ll not be wrong because 6 and 9 is right depending on your view. Na your mouth big pass na femi
I’m happy Yobo said we’ve good talents in NPFL, this means he’s no excuse at all if he fails to win either WAFU/CHAN.
Just the same way Rohr’s haters have been saying “they want Rohr to deliver or face the penalty”.
We’re expecting Yobo to assemble those good talents he’s seen in NPFL & bring that CHAN & WAFU TROPHY to Nigeria.
Rohr is only the head coach of our national team(SE), he can’t handle 2 post.
The people that apointed Yobo as Ass.Coach saw that he’s good enough & can handle the CHAN eagles hence he was apointed, so let yobo proof his coaching prowees let’s see.
Afterall, if Rohr gives Yobo the clue on how to go about, or Rohr decides to take charge of the chan eagles & wins both wafu & chan; ROHR’s hater will attribute it to Yobo.
(A typical example was seen when one of them claimed that ADELAKUN is the one doing all the work of scouting foreign born players for Rohr to assemble.That ROHR isn’t doing anything.
We don’t want a repeat of that again.
Yobo show us your coaching strength o!
Omo9ja the fact that you’re naming porthacourt and kaduna as Nigeria’s soccer talent hubs(with due respect to these cities)shows you know next to nothing about Nigerian football…and by the way How old are you?… Cos it seems to me you’re just a Nigerian soccer novice inspite of you noise