Player dropped for failing age test in Eaglets’ final list
By Ifeanyi Ibeh
The chief coach of the Golden Eaglets, John Obuh, is courting another controversy ahead of Nigeria’s U-17 World Cup campaign after including a player suspected to have failed age test in his final squad for the competition.
Deji Joel was one of the 15 players who were dropped from the Eaglets after the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan was conducted in August. But the player was surprisingly included in the final squad of 21 released by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) last Thursday, after the Eaglets’ training tour of Qatar.
The 15 players dropped from the squad of 36, according to a statement released on August 25 by the NFF, are: Kabiru Borgo, Abiodun Akande, Ariyo Olubukola, Habeeb Bello, Deji Joel, Yakubu Azeez, Ogungbe Ganiyu, Orji Alu, Justice Chinedu, and Chinedu Udegha. Others are: Amadi Moses, Solomon Enudi, Dubem Awaziem, Esse Joseph Junior, and Olaitan Gambari.
The player, Joel, was in the Golden Eaglets squad that crashed 3-0 to Benin Republic in Cotonou last year, a result that sent our Eaglets out of the African U-17 Championship qualifiers and led to the sack of Alphonsus Dike. Dike was the first coach to be given the task of producing the team for the Nigeria 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup but Henry Nwosu replaced him following the team’s humiliation in Cotonou.
Nwosu reigned for a few months before he was sacked and replaced by the current coach, Obuh, who has had to endure the controversies concerning the age of his players after the NFF ordered an MRI test to be conducted on the team.
The inclusion of Joel may have cast some doubts over the screening of over-aged players from the team as claimed by the NFF.
Meanwhile, the Eaglets are back in the country from Doha, Qatar, as they look forward to their opening game of the U-17 World Cup which comes up in Abuja on Saturday against Germany, the current European cadet champions.
Ugbade appeals
Meanwhile, former Golden Eaglets captain wants greater emphasis to be paid to players’ development at age-grade level. Nduka Ugbade called on Nigerians not to place so much expectation on the side many eagerly expect to defend the title won by their predecessors in 2007.
Ugbade, who led the Golden Eaglets to victory at the tournament’s maiden edition back in 1985 in China, and who went on to make numerous appearances for the Super Eagles, feels developing prospective players for the senior national team should be accorded greater importance than winning the U-17 World Cup.
“Everyone loves to win, nobody loves to lose,” said Ugbade. “But at this level of football (U-17) winning should actually be the secondary focus while discovering new players for the future should be the major focus.
“If this present team does not win the World Cup, many Nigerians will condemn them forgetting that there could be one or more players in the team with the potentials of becoming superstars in the future. So we shouldn’t lay so much emphasis on winning as it is a developmental competition.”
The current Golden Eaglets have not had the best of preparations for the U-17 World Cup and with just a few days to Saturday’s opening match against Germany in Abuja, chances are that they will not be able to win a fourth world title come the end of the tournament on November 15.
Age issue
There are also questions concerning the true ages of the Golden Eagl ets players but Ugbade hopes the problem, which he insists is not exclusive to teams from Africa, will soon become a thing of the past.
“The age issue does not look like something that will easily die away but it is not peculiar to Africa; it is a global problem,” he continued.
“But it could stop once countries realise that they are destroying, rather than developing their football by using over-age players.”
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Showing posts with label Eaglets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eaglets. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Lack of cohesion may cost Eaglets title
October 25, 2009
By Ifeanyi Ibeh
Former Green Eagles player and coach, Paul Hamilton, believes the Golden Eaglets’ apparent lack of cohesion and teamwork may prevent them from staging a successful defence of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The Golden Eaglets on Saturday came back from the brink of defeat to force Germany to a 3-3 draw at the National Stadium, Abuja. The Golden Eaglets, the tournament’s defending champions, were 2-0 down at the break and, two minutes after the commencement of the second half, conceded yet another goal against the European champions.
The 53rd minute sending off of German defender, Robert Labus, after he hauled down Omoh Ojabu in the area, and Stanley Okoro’s subsequent conversion of the resultant penalty kick, however, sparked a heroic fight-back for the Golden Eaglets, who then went ahead to score two more goals in quick succession through Kenneth Omeruo, in the 59th minute, and Edafe Egbedi, in the 61st minute.
But Hamilton feels the team’s lack of cohesion may stop it from a successful title defence adding that the core of a junior team in a competition is its ability to “fit in and play as one”.
Hamilton, while citing examples, said: “This is a cadet competition, the boys playing in this competition are home-grown; they ought to play with a certain level of understanding which, unfortunately, is lacking among our boys. The teamwork isn’t there; we did not see that cohesion that should characterise a cadet team.
“Look at Brazil and even Switzerland, we saw fantastic players playing beautiful football. The cohesion was there. The team that played against Germany lacks that.”
Role of MRI
Hamilton, who manages a weekend soccer academy also blamed the Eaglets’ performance on the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test failure, which resulted in the dropping of as many as 15 players, and the frequent changes of coaches.
“We are harvesting what we have sown. Do you remember how many coaches the team had within two years,” asked Hamilton before retorting: “none of the coaches spent a year. “The MRI failure too contributed; weeks into the tournament we still did not have a team.
“In Japan 93, [Nwankwo] Kanu and the boys spent more than two years together under Fanny Amun and we saw the result. The boys played beautiful football, the cohesion was there and we got the cup. The same in Atlanta 96, our boys won the cup because there was understanding in the team.
“For the senior team it is a little different, most play internationally and may not have enough time to prepare for a competition, relying more often on their experience and the direction of the coach to team up. But the cadets shouldn’t have that problem,” added Hamilton who, however gave credit to the team for pulling a draw against the Germans, just as he “expects them to improve with subsequent matches.”
Hamilton isn’t alone with regards to his expectations as a former Super Eagles defender and captain of the victorious China ‘85 Golden Eaglets side, Nduka Ugbade is also of the opinion that the performance of the Nigerian team at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup will only get better as the tournament progresses.
Ugbade, who had praises for the players, along with the technical crew, for coming back from three goals down against the Germans, said: “It was an incredible match and a wonderful advertisement for football.
“The boys and their coaches deserve a pat on the back for getting a draw. They did well to have come from three goals down and I feel they will get better now that the opening match is behind them.
Damman miracle repeated
“It was like watching the Damman miracle all over again,” added Ugbade with reference to the thrilling encounter between Nigeria and th e former USSR in the Saudi Arabian city of Damman at the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup which saw the Flying Eagles coming back from four-nil down to draw level with the Soviets before going on to win on penalties.
It wasn’t all plaudits though from Ugbade for the Golden Eaglets, as he feels that they could have won the game had they been more com posed from the outset.
“They appeared nervous, especially at the beginning,” continued Ugbade. “They weren’t confiden t of what they could do with the ball and gave too much room to the Germans to operate.”
By Ifeanyi Ibeh
Former Green Eagles player and coach, Paul Hamilton, believes the Golden Eaglets’ apparent lack of cohesion and teamwork may prevent them from staging a successful defence of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The Golden Eaglets on Saturday came back from the brink of defeat to force Germany to a 3-3 draw at the National Stadium, Abuja. The Golden Eaglets, the tournament’s defending champions, were 2-0 down at the break and, two minutes after the commencement of the second half, conceded yet another goal against the European champions.
The 53rd minute sending off of German defender, Robert Labus, after he hauled down Omoh Ojabu in the area, and Stanley Okoro’s subsequent conversion of the resultant penalty kick, however, sparked a heroic fight-back for the Golden Eaglets, who then went ahead to score two more goals in quick succession through Kenneth Omeruo, in the 59th minute, and Edafe Egbedi, in the 61st minute.
But Hamilton feels the team’s lack of cohesion may stop it from a successful title defence adding that the core of a junior team in a competition is its ability to “fit in and play as one”.
Hamilton, while citing examples, said: “This is a cadet competition, the boys playing in this competition are home-grown; they ought to play with a certain level of understanding which, unfortunately, is lacking among our boys. The teamwork isn’t there; we did not see that cohesion that should characterise a cadet team.
“Look at Brazil and even Switzerland, we saw fantastic players playing beautiful football. The cohesion was there. The team that played against Germany lacks that.”
Role of MRI
Hamilton, who manages a weekend soccer academy also blamed the Eaglets’ performance on the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test failure, which resulted in the dropping of as many as 15 players, and the frequent changes of coaches.
“We are harvesting what we have sown. Do you remember how many coaches the team had within two years,” asked Hamilton before retorting: “none of the coaches spent a year. “The MRI failure too contributed; weeks into the tournament we still did not have a team.
“In Japan 93, [Nwankwo] Kanu and the boys spent more than two years together under Fanny Amun and we saw the result. The boys played beautiful football, the cohesion was there and we got the cup. The same in Atlanta 96, our boys won the cup because there was understanding in the team.
“For the senior team it is a little different, most play internationally and may not have enough time to prepare for a competition, relying more often on their experience and the direction of the coach to team up. But the cadets shouldn’t have that problem,” added Hamilton who, however gave credit to the team for pulling a draw against the Germans, just as he “expects them to improve with subsequent matches.”
Hamilton isn’t alone with regards to his expectations as a former Super Eagles defender and captain of the victorious China ‘85 Golden Eaglets side, Nduka Ugbade is also of the opinion that the performance of the Nigerian team at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup will only get better as the tournament progresses.
Ugbade, who had praises for the players, along with the technical crew, for coming back from three goals down against the Germans, said: “It was an incredible match and a wonderful advertisement for football.
“The boys and their coaches deserve a pat on the back for getting a draw. They did well to have come from three goals down and I feel they will get better now that the opening match is behind them.
Damman miracle repeated
“It was like watching the Damman miracle all over again,” added Ugbade with reference to the thrilling encounter between Nigeria and th e former USSR in the Saudi Arabian city of Damman at the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup which saw the Flying Eagles coming back from four-nil down to draw level with the Soviets before going on to win on penalties.
It wasn’t all plaudits though from Ugbade for the Golden Eaglets, as he feels that they could have won the game had they been more com posed from the outset.
“They appeared nervous, especially at the beginning,” continued Ugbade. “They weren’t confiden t of what they could do with the ball and gave too much room to the Germans to operate.”
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