Enyimba’s opponents in this year’s Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Champions League semi-final, Al Ahly, have claimed that they have entered into an agreement to sign one of the Nigerian club strikers, Stephen Worgu.

Worgu, 19, is this year’s highest goal scorer in the CAF Champions League with 13 goals in 13 games, an average of one goal per match.

But 711football.com understands that the Enyimba teenage forward is being chased by Al Ahly and this was disclosed by the Egyptian club’s Marketing Manager, Adli Al-Qaeyi.

Al-Qaeyi claims that the Egyptian champions have struck an understanding with Enyimba to sign the striker though a fee is yet to be agreed upon.

The Egyptian club was represented by one of its board members, Amri Farouk, during its negotiation with Enyimba over Worgu’s ownership.
“Our talks with Enyimba went well and our representative, Mr. Amri Farouk, believes that we have a deal with Enyimba to sign the player but we are yet to agree on the amount,” Al-Qaeyi disclosed to 711football.com.

Though both clubs have agreed on a deal in principle, which could be finalised in the return leg when Enyimba visit the Military Stadium in Cairo, Egypt on the weekend of October 17 and 19 after a goalless draw in Aba, 711football.com gathered that the two-time CAF Champions League winners, Enyimba, are holding out for a transfer fee of $1 million.
South African Premier League side, Mamelodi Sundowns, are also reportedly interested in Worgu.

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.