By Joey Ad - ABUJA, June 21, 2008.

Playing in the best stadium in Nigeria with an ever sounding supporters club and a spectator base of mainly Nigerians, albeit only at half full capacity, the Super Eagles of Nigeria were expected to produce a win of significant quality against Guinea. However whilst producing a victory, they continued the meagre winning margins which despite leading them to the top of the table and confirmed their qualification, has led many supporters wondering if the Eagles are really still “Super”.

Today’s match ended 2-0 with Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Ikechukwu Uche both scoring towards the end of either half. Nigeria dominated possession but showed limited bite in the third half of the pitch. The first goal came as a result of a quick cross from Peter Odemwingie from the right flank which was met by Yakubu’s typical strikers’ finish in the six yard box. The second half started brighter with Peter Odemwingie proving to be a livewire down the flank but it was the introduction of John Obi Mikel and Uche which proved to be crucial as they both combined to score the second goal. Uche turned the defender inside out before unleashing a shot to the keeper’s right, easing the worries of many supporters who were weary of another 1-0 victory.

Many would say “at least we are still winning” and “better to win ugly than not win at all”. And whilst such comments possess intrinsic truths, they discolour the way football should be played. Just as former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho realised, sometimes winning is not enough and modern day football requires a bit of flair and attractiveness which the Super Eagles are so far yet to show in these qualifying games. With recorded wins of 2-0 against South Africa, 1-0 against Sierra Leone and 1-0 against Guinea, the Super Eagles have fallen from the standard most have come to expect from them.

Others may say the Super Eagles are suffering from over expectation. However bearing in mind these matches are world cup qualifiers and the World Cup consist of the best teams in the world, then it is fair for Nigerians to expect more from their team. Further, the Nigerian team has a significant number of players playing at the highest level of club football in the world and this adds to justifying any expectations imposed on the team. In addition, when comparing Nigeria’s performances with those of various European teams in the ongoing Euro 2008, which has shown us football at its highest quality, any expectation is justified.

On the brighter side, seven of the Super Eagles squad players are currently preparing for the Olympic Games and were unavailable. These are younger players that would be expected to show more flair and fervour than the older players have in recent qualifiers. The Olympics would form a good ground for these set of players to blend together and thus help build a more resolute and unified team. The current Under-23 Coach Samson Siasia is widely tipped to get the best out of them before they return to the Super Eagles and make the team undoubtedly “Super” again.

 

 

 

 

By Ben Amoah

 

There is not much in this complex world that makes me happy, but being a simple person I can identify precisely 3 things: 1. A Mariah Carey wardrobe malfunction; 2. The buy one get one free Big Mac deal; and 3. England not being in Euro 2008. I ask you this: Is it a mere coincidence that the standard of football in this Euro’s has been extremely high in England’s absence? I say unequivocally no!

 

Teams like Croatia and Russia, the same Croatia and Russia who were dismissed by misinformed tabloid journalists less than a year ago are (were in Croatia’s case) playing a brand of dynamic, imaginative football which typifies the welcome development of the modern game. Holland with their sensational speed and counter-attack play football how it should be played. Spain, although undersized, play a short passing game consistent with their tradition. After watching this feast of genuine football, only a fool would not realise England are so far behind these nations; Fabio Capello has the hardest job in the world.

 

Firstly; England have individual players that would grace any tournament, Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole to name but two. But collectively these muppets continuously embarrass the nation they are supposed to represent. Watching England players before a game during the anthems, you notice the facial expressions of the players indicate an indifference usually displayed by the sane people of this world after learning that Big Brother will be returning for a ninth series. There is simply no pride or passion in the national shirt and that is the first problem. Players for England simply care more about the clubs that pay their wages and fund their whorish lifestyle. In reality this is actually fair enough, but playing for your country is an honour and duty that must be treated seriously. This is something Fabio Cappello must instil or England have no chance.

 

Secondly, another embarrassing problem is the lack of skill and technique associated with English football at all levels. I remember as a child shouting after my P.E teacher with pride: “If in doubt, boot it out”! This pathetic grass roots attitude discourages any skill or technique. If a youngster likes to dribble he is labelled as greedy, yet the technically bankrupt defender who loves nothing more than to boot his opponents, gets the adulation of a grossly overweight fan club on the sidelines munching down kebabs at 10.30 in the morning. This primitive mentality urgently needs to be eradicated before England as a nation can progress to the level at which naive individuals believe they belong. Pass and move should never rid England of its natural, aggressive and direct approach as this is effective in its own right, but a lack of imagination will result in further home draws to Macedonia and home defeats to Croatia.

 

In conclusion, I would advise England to adopt this 2 point plan, although simple on paper, will be incredibly difficult to put into practice. It really is a blessing in disguise that England are not in Euro 2008 as it gives the entire nation the chance to sit back and observe what football is all about in 2008, and to come to the realisation that cowardly long ball excrement so aptly displayed by Greece is suffering a long awaited painful death. If England does not adopt this 2 point plan or at the very least consider it, all I can say then is: Enjoy World Cup 2010 from the comfort of your own home, and fight among yourselves on the vomit-stained streets outside the nightclubs and pubs.

 

 

By Dapo Ajala

 

After many weeks of speculation, Chelsea finally got their man and announced on Wednesday 11 June that 59-year-old Brazilian, Felipe “Big Phil” Scolari will be taking over the reins at the West London club from July 1 2008. Once coveted by the English FA, he finally arrives to ply his trade in the self-titled best league in the world.

 

The club statement reads

“Felipe has great qualities. He is one of the world’s top coaches with a record of success at country and club level, he gets the best out of a talented squad of players and his ambitions and expectations match ours. He was the outstanding choice.

 

Out of respect for his current role as Head Coach of the Portuguese national team, and to ensure minimum disruption to this work, there will be no further comment from Chelsea FC nor from Felipe about his new role until his employment with us commences.”

 

No doubt the Chelsea fans will be excited, and not many will be surprised by the appointment; it is the double-standard approach that sounds rather ridiculous. How can you ensure minimum disruption when a club the size of Chelsea makes such an announcement a week into a tournament where the same coach is widely-expected to take his team to the final?

 

With the timing of the “low-key” announcement, one can only imagine the media circus around the Portugal training camp over the course of the following days.

 

Abramovich’s desire to see his team play a beautiful attacking game has been well documented and the choice of ‘Felipao’ fits the puzzle perfectly.

Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Mancini’s are more known for their compact style of playing than a flamboyant attacking game. I witnessed Inter painfully grind their way to the title last season by pretty much doing what Mourinho’s Chelsea did in their back-to-back league winning seasons; it was never pretty but it got the job done.

 

The English Premier League awaits the football nomad for his first club assignment in Europe; interestingly, he apparently turned down the England job because of anticipated media intrusion into his private life. Seems a reported $13.6 million has miraculously eased his worries…i’m sure as always, the move is for “footballing reasons”.

By Ted Philo

Welcome to 711football.com. The site couldn’t have picked a better weekend to launch with Euro 2008 starting today, and Nigeria continuing on their road to redemption tomorrow.

The European Football Championship is a special tournament- probably the best international football tournament in the world. “Euros better than World Cup? Blasphemy,” I hear you say; but it’s the truth. The quality of the participants at the European Championships is always high whilst the World Cup always has some dross in it.

If you ask me, I actually prefer the Euros because I don’t have the same level of heartache I do when Nigeria disappoint me. Like my results did at secondary school, the Super Eagles’ performances have just gotten worse over the years.

The Euro is a special tournament for me. World Cup 94 was great if you were Nigerian as it was the nation’s first appearance but I didn’t even know what offside was then. Euro 96 was therefore the first tournament that I truly watched as a knowledgeable football fan (well there was the African Nations Cup in 96 but I prefer to suppress memories of Nigeria’s dismal performances).

Euro 2000 was for me the greatest tournament of my lifetime. Feel free to write in if you can come up with a better tournament, but I always hope for any tournament starting to be as good as Euro 2000. Without further ado, here are my favourite Euro memories.

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By Dapo Ajala

As the customary opening ceremony and the whistle goes off on 7^th June 2008 at the St. Jakob Park in Basel, there will be a few noticeable omissions from the procession to follow for the next 22 days. Euro 96 hosts, England, and Euro 92 champions, Denmark will be heading the list of unexpected absentees. Alas, England’s only representation will only be Referee Howard Webb and his able assistants.

Norway is another big name of note although their plight less surprising since they failed to make the cut in 2004 as well.

Cue that dreadfully unforgettable moment on 22^nd November 2007, 2-3 loss to Croatia at the new Wembley stadium condemning a nation to a summer that’s definitely not going to witness football coming home. Even more memorable for images of Steve McClaren in his dapper suit, sheltered from the torrential rain by an umbrella and wishing a similar gizmo would shield from criticism and the inevitably subsequent dismissal.

Never has failure been as astoundingly defined as the shell-shocked looks on the faces of the English players - the whole nation had been unbelievably let down.

England have consistently underperformed for a long time, rarely showing their true potential, except this time they paid the price. The much-touted “golden generation”had simply failed to deliver.

The press and TV media have not helped by elevating good English players and branding the majority as “world class”. A coach with skills akin to Johnnie Cochran would struggle to put a case together for the selection of a Spanish Michael Owen ahead of either Fernando Torres or David Villa in the starting line up based on pure talent.

Effects of failure were felt as far wide as the stock markets with sponsors’ market values spiraling into sharp but brief decline; reported cost to the economy supposedly about £2 million.

Denmark cannot really complain after finishing fourth behind Northern Ireland (albeit on a head-to-head count) in their qualifying group. With all due respect to Northern Ireland, Denmark had made qualification as much of hard work as England did too.

With a combination of experienced Jon Dahl Tomasson and exciting Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner at their disposal, Denmark should have at least given their Scandinavian rivals a good run for their money.

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