Nigeria will lift FIFA U-17 World Cup

[Mikky jaga]

We’ll lift FIFA U-17 World Cup – Eaglets’ Coach
Sports Oct 29, 2009

Golden Eaglets coach, John Obuh has reiterated that his boys would lift the trophy of the U-17 FIFA World Cup. After surviving the scare of Germany before they dramatically came back from 3-0 to end the tie on a 3-3, Obuh said that he was confident that the boys would get it right. “I was shocked but not disappointed.

I know the boys I have put together for this championship. They are good and will definitely deliver at the end. First matches are always very difficult for all teams. They made mistakes but came back gallantly to even scores. That Lion spirit will now see them through. All I still ask from Nigerians is patience. Let them cheer the young players and not boo them”, Obuh pleaded.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/2...2%80%99-coach/

[Mikky jaga]

So far, so good.

Nigeria is on course to defending the title they won the last time.

Defeating Argentina ihas sent a warning signal to the rest of them that the Eaglets have come home to land.

I hope they continue like this. They made the Argentines look like people learning to play football for the first time. For poor marksmanship, and hard luck, it would have been a basket full of goals against the Argentines.

Carry oin boys and shame the perpetual pessimists that always credit Nigerians' success at this level to age cheats.

Now, with the scientific method of determining age, Nigeria is still shinning. Carry go, boys! Na una biko.

[Mikky jaga]

After Beating Argentina, Nigerian Coach sees nothing stopping him from winning the ultimate prize.

Smarting from his team's hard earned 2-1 victory over Argentina at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in Bauchi on Friday evening, the former Nigeria Tornadoes Chief Coach was particularly happy with the way his team responded sharply to Argentina's first goal scored by Esteban Orfano in the second minute when Nigeria's forward, Omoh Ojabu equalised three minutes after.

Sani Emmanuel converted a spot kick in the 72nd minute to seal victory to top the group and securing second round berth for Nigeria in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup being played in the country.

'I am particularly happy with the performance of my players against a tough and quality side like Argentina in today's match. I am also elated with our come back in the match; I mean the way my boys responded after Argentina's first goal. That shows character and seriousness on our part,' Obuh told PANA shortly after the game.

'I believe this team will continue to improve from game to game. The victory against Argentina today is good for the psychology of my boys and this would definitely place them in good stead to confront any other opponents we might face on our way to lifting the cup, by God's grace,' he added.

He praised to high heaven the performance of the Nigerian players saying that all of them performed above 80 per cent.

'Like I said before the beginning of the tournament, I have said our ambition and goal is to retain the cup won by our predecessor in 2007. Now that we have overcome our earlier scare in the tournament, I think the boys are in good frame of mind and positively in psychological frame of mind to achieve this objective,' Obuh vowed.

The disappointed Argentinian Head Coach, Jose Brown, however, blamed his defeat on the eight changes he made in the match.

Brown brought into the match against Nigeria eight players that have not played in the previous matches and he confessed that he had learnt his lessons in this game and would correct these lapses in the subsequent matches.

Brown, however, did not hide his respect and admiration for the Nigerian team which he confessed played a good match against his team.

'The Nigerian team is a very difficult side to play. The boys are very good and have a good chance of going far in the tournament.

'As regards my team I believe the changes I made which is eight players might have affected the performance of my team in today's game. But I am confident of the fact that the boys would bounce back in the subsequent matches. They have rested well for now and I am sure that by the time we play our next game they would go full blast and make our people happy at home.

'I thought I should give other people the chance to play in the tournament; th at was the reason for making these changes. But I have learnt my lessons now and the mistakes would be corrected in the subsequent games,' Brown promised.

Source: http://www.afriquejet.com/news/afric...103137332.html

[Mikky jaga]

Obuh is gradually emerging as the prophetic coach of the year. He saw Nigeria in the finals when nobody gave them any chance at all.

[Mikky jaga]

I'm a local champion - Obuh

Nigeria coach John Obuh says the reason he wasn’t given any chance prior to the tournament is because he is a 'local champion'.

Obuh's team ripped co-tournament favorites Spain to pieces in a 3-1 defeat and the former Kwara United coach says he feels like he now answered his doubters.

"The reason people didn’t give me a chance before is because I am a local champion.

"A lot of the people who talk do not watch the local league so they don’t know about me, or my achievements with Niger Tornadoes, Sharks or Kwara United.

"But now I believe that they have seen enough," he said.

Obuh went on to give credit to Spain, describing them as one of the most difficult opponents he has faced.

"The Spanish pushed us all the way but I think we deserved to win. I was thinking Korea Republic are the toughest team we have played so far and it was a big relief when we knocked them out.

"But Spain were a very tough team, and you expect games to get progressively harder at a World Cup."

Obuh's next opponents will be the impressive Swiss in the final, but he was giving nothing away.

"We will face them depending on what they bring on that day. Everyone can see that we have got better with each game, so we will give it everything against them."

[agensheku]

Originally Posted by Mikky jaga

I'm a local champion - Obuh

Nigeria coach John Obuh says the reason he wasn’t given any chance prior to the tournament is because he is a 'local champion'.

Obuh's team ripped co-tournament favorites Spain to pieces in a 3-1 defeat and the former Kwara United coach says he feels like he now answered his doubters.

"The reason people didn’t give me a chance before is because I am a local champion.

"A lot of the people who talk do not watch the local league so they don’t know about me, or my achievements with Niger Tornadoes, Sharks or Kwara United.

"But now I believe that they have seen enough," he said.

Obuh went on to give credit to Spain, describing them as one of the most difficult opponents he has faced.

"The Spanish pushed us all the way but I think we deserved to win. I was thinking Korea Republic are the toughest team we have played so far and it was a big relief when we knocked them out.

"But Spain were a very tough team, and you expect games to get progressively harder at a World Cup."

Obuh's next opponents will be the impressive Swiss in the final, but he was giving nothing away.

"We will face them depending on what they bring on that day. Everyone can see that we have got better with each game, so we will give it everything against them."

Hi Miki,can i interrupt your monologue here please?So,if nija lifts the cup,at what price?a serious allegation that an over-aged player is (CAPTAIN)of our team is blowing all over the place,noone is talking?why?and they said he is not the only one?should the controversy not be resolved BEFORE we win or what happens if the opposing team protestsAFTERWARDS?have you not seen people who won Olympic gold medals,but because they used steroids,the victory turned to ashes in their mouths!OR SHOULD SOCCER CUP ALSO BE WON,DO OR DIE!!!!

[Mikky jaga]

Originally Posted by agensheku

Hi Miki,can i interrupt your monologue here please?So,if nija lifts the cup,at what price?a serious allegation that an over-aged player is (CAPTAIN)of our team is blowing all over the place,noone is talking?why?and they said he is not the only one?should the controversy not be resolved BEFORE we win or what happens if the opposing team protestsAFTERWARDS?have you not seen people who won Olympic gold medals,but because they used steroids,the victory turned to ashes in their mouths!OR SHOULD SOCCER CUP ALSO BE WON,DO OR DIE!!!!

Allegation na allegation, no substance, no proof, just allegations.

Abeg no carry bad belle come this thread.

Wait make we see road clear Swiss comot for final. After that come yarn me your orishirishi story.

Nigeria is making it double this weekend. Qualification for SA and retaining the WC Golden Eaglets won 2 year ago.

Up Eagles, Up Eaglets, Up Nigeria!!!!

[Balo]

Like my brother Bunch just talk, the under 17 cup has been won by a real under 17 team. Hehehe, the truth will always come through but to be honest though it gives me no joy watching us lose.

[lateesha]

This is sad
Those oyibo boys were not really a match but somehow we lost as usual

[Bunch17]

Originally Posted by Balo

Like my brother Bunch just talk, the under 17 cup has been won by a real under 17 team. Hehehe, the truth will always come through but to be honest though it gives me no joy watching us lose.

We sold our morals and our reputation for this? Silver?
My fear is that if FIFA decide to release the results of the MRI reports we may still end up being banned.

[Dapxin]

Originally Posted by lateesha

This is sad
Those oyibo boys were not really a match but somehow we lost as usual

what match ?

[Big-K]

This is one loss I didn't feel bad about. I wouldn't have been proud if our Under-25s won the match.

Whatever happened to YSFON that produced real youngsters in those pre-Osondu days?

[omaks]

Originally Posted by Big-K

This is one loss I didn't feel bad about. I wouldn't have been proud if our Under-25s won the match.

Whatever happened to YSFON that produced real youngsters in those pre-Osondu days?

Originally Posted by Bunch17

We sold our morals and our reputation for this? Silver?
My fear is that if FIFA decide to release the results of the MRI reports we may still end up being banned.

This is one loss i didn't feel bad about too, but for a different reason. Those chaps were a delight to watch. They did themselves, and Nigeria proud. Nigerians are sometimes their own worst enemies, and unnecessarily now we are doubting the ages of our players despite adequate measures in the form of MRI SCANS, we still doubt the ages of those boys? I have come across many white male and female kids still in Secondary school who look way older than their age. Furthermore, many of the players in the Swiss team (and indeed other participating teams) may be accused of the same allegation judging by their looks, but of course their record keeping is better than ours, and so we are supposed to conclude they will never cheat? I beg to differ on that. WELL DONE, GOLDEN EAGLETS

[shinycoin]

At least we made it to the world cup finals in south Africa. what glory is better than that?

[omaks]

Blatter: Nigeria Was Right Choice. Click

On the eve of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009 final, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter held a press conference at the Congress Centre in Abuja, accompanied by a number of dignitaries including the President of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Jack A. Warner and Engr. Sani Ndanusa, Sports Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It proved the perfect occasion to look back over the three weeks of action since the competition began, the use of MRI tests to determine the age of players and the progress of African teams in general, while giving journalists the chance to ask their own questions.

Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA President
On the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009
Even though I was on the move a lot, I followed the first three weeks of the competition through the media and FIFA.com. It’s the second time that this competition has featured 24 teams, giving a total of 52 matches in eight different cities and stadiums. I’m very happy with the success of this competition after the headaches we experienced before the initial kick-off. Since it started, though, we’ve realised how successful the tournament has been. FIFA is happy to have organised the competition in this country – and not only FIFA, since the teams themselves have all expressed their satisfaction.

On Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests to determine if players comply with the age limit.For years now, FIFA has been combating this problem together with the national associations and confederations. After the research and tests carried out thanks to MRI techniques, we’ve reached the conclusion that the players who’ve taken part in this competition are all in their 18th year at most, as the regulations stipulate. For us, the subject is therefore closed. There’s no more need for me to discuss this problem unless someone has proof that requires it to be looked at again.

On the qualifying criteria for the knockout phase
We need to look into the use of fair play in the elimination of teams when they have the same number of points, the same goal difference and the same number of goals scored. Fair play in this case means yellow cards and red cards, but these cards are at the referee’s discretion. Very tense games can result in just one or two yellow cards, whereas others without the same intensity can sometimes finish with eight or nine cards. We need to look at this problem with the organising committees of the various competitions.

On the chances of African teams at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™
The difficulty African or Asian teams face in terms of winning the World Cup isn’t just a technical one but also a mathematical one. Until now, we've only had world champions from Europe and South America. When you have 32 teams, including 13 from Europe and four or five from South America, there is a group of 17 teams from which the champions have always emerged. For the others, they need to be stronger in terms of technique and tactics to reach the semi-finals. That said, in 2002 we saw that Korea Republic were able to reach the semi-finals, so in South Africa next year I really hope to see an African team do at least as well. That nearly happened at Italy 1990 when there were only 24 teams. Cameroon came very close to reaching the semi-finals that year, having lost very narrowly to England in their quarter-final. We’ll see what happens for the local sides next year with an African atmosphere at the tournament.

Jack A. Warner, FIFA vice-president and Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-17 World Cup
On the organisation of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009
The principal lesson I’ve learnt from this tournament is that you always have to keep believing. I say that in particular for the Nigerians, because in their first match Nigeria were losing 3-0 to Germany. The spectators began booing their team and leaving the stadium – and today Nigeria are in the final and are getting ready to play in a full stadium which is ready to lift them up. Nigeria has shown it has the enthusiasm to organise a FIFA World Cup in a higher age group, but it’s not yet ready as things stand now.

On the next FIFA U-17 World Cup
The next edition will be held in Mexico, and as soon as Nigeria 2009 comes to an end we’ll start preparing for that. I’ll be going to Mexico as early as Monday with a FIFA delegation to carry out an initial inspection. Nine cities have put themselves forward as candidates to host games. So, as soon as the final whistle blows in the last match here, it will be farewell to Nigeria and welcome to Mexico!

[Mikky jaga]

Thanks Omaks for bringing out this interview with FIFA president. My only surprise is that Big K allowed himself to be influenced by these people talking without thinking.

FIFA specified MRI test to determine the qualifier for their event. It is a shame that people want them to change the rule when the game had already started because one Adokiye said so.

I do not follow multitude, no matter what. Rules are rules, sometimes it favours you as they claimed it did the eaglets and other times it is against you like the head to head rule that denied Nigeria participation in the last WC.

Our boys performed excellently well in the face of distractions from people that supposed to support them. I never knew they could even reach the final. These boys are great. Greater than all those that prayed for their downfall.

Kudos to FIFA president for standing firm in the face of intimidation by the same vociferous Ribadun crowd (with possible exception of a few).

[Ebe]

Didn't feel too bad about this one either. Our victory would have been seriously tainted by the age revelations.

But in terms of tactics, I think the main problem of this team, apart from the occasionally suspect defending, is selfishness and stupid individualism in attack. Our lead striker, Okoro, took many ill-advised shots at goal (some from impossible angles) and went on silly (and futile) solo runs at a solid walls of defense when team mates were clearly open and unmarked in the 18 and 16. Okoro was the worst offender but I noticed the trend throughout the tournament from several members of the team. They all wanted to score and take the glory ( not to mention the juicy European pro contracts) for themselves.

It was clear that many of them simply wanted to use the tournament to capture to attention of scouts. Which is understandable for 25-28 year olds because they are at their football prime and this could be their last opportunity to go abroad for a pro career. As long as we kept winning and advancing, the coach obviously let the problem slide--and fester--to the detriment of the team. I never understood why John Obuh allowed such undisciplined individualism to continue especially in attack!


But the team paid a heavy price for this selfishness in the end.