Nigeria Banned

If Fifa do ban them does that mean nigerian players would not be able to play with their club teams?
 
i dont think it was the smart move in the first place,if you are looking for inprovments, forget about results and just use the upcoming games as 2 years of blooding a new generation, its something i'd like to see us doing through euro qualifying

Exactly, and I'll be watching the Euros with great interest to see if Capello's recent statement about blooding some of the younger English talent rings true -- or if it were just a face saving exercise by a man with his head in the gallows?

Personally, I think any player who thinks they're above the team should be gone. You don't have to pick your star players to win games. Dunga is a prime example of a man who picks players to suit his tactics (though he does have a rather large pool of players to pick from) -- we seem to pick players and work a formation around them. The fact that the USA topped our group and a team like Ghana (without their best player) are in the quarter-finals backs up the need for team unity and work ethic.

Something that Nigeria needs to work on too (imagine how ****** off their president would be if Enyeama hadn't played so well and kept their scores respectable?)
 
Exactly, and I'll be watching the Euros with great interest to see if Capello's recent statement about blooding some of the younger English talent rings true -- or if it were just a face saving exercise by a man with his head in the gallows?

Personally, I think any player who thinks they're above the team should be gone. You don't have to pick your star players to win games. Dunga is a prime example of a man who picks players to suit his tactics (though he does have a rather large pool of players to pick from) -- we seem to pick players and work a formation around them. The fact that the USA topped our group and a team like Ghana (without their best player) are in the quarter-finals backs up the need for team unity and work ethic.

Something that Nigeria needs to work on too (imagine how ****** off their president would be if Enyeama hadn't played so well and kept their scores respectable?)
rodwell, wilshere, shawcross, gibbs, hart, johnson, sturridge and welbeck must all feature over the next 2 years.
 
I am with Joss, well they can do what they like as FIFA in the grand scheme of thing does not care about africa.

Or, maybe they do...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8780028.stm
What idiots, France were warned that Politics had no influence in football and should be kept separate and now FIFA are showing they're serious by threatening to expel the Nigerian Team from World Football all together.
The Nigerians weren't stopping at the ban though: They've sacked the two top officials which presumably didn't help their case against FIFA.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8786834.stm
They did lose to Greece... but this is getting ridiculous.
 
Firstly they werent that bad. Second, they were in a group with no easy teams.
Third, what Irish Scouse said. Fourth, ahem... France anyone!!

But mainly, this comes across to the international community as an unwillingness to compete due to the fear of losing, which i've never seen before and has no place in football.

After all its not like everyone now hates Nigeria because they didnt win the World Cup or anything sheesh, and there are much worse teams out there. Its all about knowing your place. Wales never qualify for anything but that doesn't stop them trying, and if we did it would be the equivalent in Wales of an English World Cup win!

You've got to set realistic goals.
 
Firstly they werent that bad. Second, they were in a group with no easy teams.
Third, what Irish Scouse said. Fourth, ahem... France anyone!!

But mainly, this comes across to the international community as an unwillingness to compete due to the fear of losing, which i've never seen before and has no place in football.

After all its not like everyone now hates Nigeria because they didnt win the World Cup or anything sheesh, and there are much worse teams out there. Its all about knowing your place. Wales never qualify for anything but that doesn't stop them trying, and if we did it would be the equivalent in Wales of an English World Cup win!

You've got to set realistic goals.

I beg to differ:

Nigeria 0-1 Argentina (fair enough - tough opponents, saved embarrassment by Enyeama)
Greece 2-1 Nigeria (the side that lost to South Korea and didn't look like scoring a WC goal in the first game, let alone winning beats Nigeria, favourite to go through with Argentina)
Nigeria 2-2 South Korea (Finally a half decent performance from the African side, but 4 lucky goals means South Korea go through for the first time outside their own country)

Overall Group:
52303855.jpg
 
I beg to differ:

Nigeria 0-1 Argentina (fair enough - tough opponents, saved embarrassment by Enyeama)
Greece 2-1 Nigeria (the side that lost to South Korea and didn't look like scoring a WC goal in the first game, let alone winning beats Nigeria, favourite to go through with Argentina)
Nigeria 2-2 South Korea (Finally a half decent performance from the African side, but 4 lucky goals means South Korea go through for the first time outside their own country)

Overall Group:
52303855.jpg

Greece only won because of Sani Kaita's moment of madness. Nigeria were in control up until then. Against South Korea they created more chances than the Koreans but couldn't take them. I'm looking at you Yakubu and don't think I've forgotten about you Obafemi Martins. The Korean goals were both set pieces. They've definitely played pretty well, even creating a few chances against Argentina
 
They were far from good enough, theres no hidding that but this has been blown out of proportion, its football, keep politics out and stop making such a farse.
 
close defeat to argentina.
Greece counter like crazy and mainly sit back so Nigeria HAD to at least take a run at them and idd a good job.
Finally then they get a point against, not only one of the best underdogs in the competition but the team that qualified from their group!

So not brilliant certainly but not as bad as some teams. Besides its about performance not results in this case.
 
Greece only won because of Sani Kaita's moment of madness. Nigeria were in control up until then. Against South Korea they created more chances than the Koreans but couldn't take them. I'm looking at you Yakubu and don't think I've forgotten about you Obafemi Martins. The Korean goals were both set pieces. They've definitely played pretty well, even creating a few chances against Argentina

That's not the point i was making, it was an easy group and they didn't qualify when they should have, so despite the action being taken obviously over dramatic and silly considering the inevitable consequences if they don't listen to FIFA..

They were far from good enough, theres no hidding that but this has been blown out of proportion, its football, keep politics out and stop making such a farse.

This.

close defeat to argentina.
Greece counter like crazy and mainly sit back so Nigeria HAD to at least take a run at them and did a good job.
Finally then they get a point against, not only one of the best underdogs in the competition but the team that qualified from their group!

So not brilliant certainly but not as bad as some teams. Besides its about performance not results in this case.

But according to the President of Nigeria, which is who is making the decisions not you, or us, it is entirely about the results, they finished bottom and lost to Greece, you can't excuse that, whether it was a moment of madness or lack of a performance or whatever. S. Korea then promptly got comfortably beaten by Argentina, and then didn't go anywhere after the group, and only beat Greece as you say, because of two moments of madness.
 
am i to think you've been attending all Greece and S Korea games lately?

S Korea finished 3rd in WC 2002 and Greece won Euro 2004.

If you think that the only good teams are still ARG, BRZ, ITA, ENG, FRA, HOL, GER, POR then you are wrong mate, things have changed, and for you to call that an easy group defies my belief tbh.

Let's be honest here, how did everyone expect Nigeria to finish in their group? I predicted third, after S Korea who i felt from the start had the strongest chance.

So whichever way you look at it, they weren't expected to qualify really, and even in any other group it would have been hard.

France and Italy didnt qualify from their groups and they weren't even in the group of death. So Im astonished the poor Nigerian side are getting treated like this, when as one of the weaker African sides I thought they gave a good account of themselves in what was a tricky group to get out of.
 
Argentina were obviously going to qualify from that group, while the other 3 teams are all pretty similar - I wouldn't say any of them should have qualified. Argentina won every game so it was between the other 2 games.

Against Korea... Yakubu.
Against Greece they lost because of Kaita.

They were unlucky not to qualify
 
Argentina were obviously going to qualify from that group, while the other 3 teams are all pretty similar - I wouldn't say any of them should have qualified. Argentina won every game so it was between the other 2 games.

Against Korea... Yakubu.
Against Greece they lost because of Kaita.

They were unlucky not to qualify
I think they should have qualified comfortably, they have some decent players who are/were playing in the EPL and other leagues around the world, who do Greece and South Korea have?
 
I think they should have qualified comfortably, they have some decent players who are/were playing in the EPL and other leagues around the world, who do Greece and South Korea have?

Are you serious?

Greece have Papastothopoulos (genoa), Kyrgiakos (liverpool), Gekas (plays in the bundesliga), Samaras (celtic), Tziolis (plays for Siena who have just been relegated from serie A), Ninis (about to join Manchester united), Katsouranis (3 years with Benfica), Karagounis (formerly of Inter and Benfica), Seitaradis (formerly of Porto and Atletico)
And they have the same tactician that won them Euro 2004.

South korea have Park Ji Sung, Ki Sung Yong, Lee Chung Yong, Lee Young Pyo and Park Chu Young playing in Europe
 
They had good players but some of their players are getting on a bit I believe(may be wrong though), Samaras isn't great but have to agree that Ninis is a good player.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_national_football_team
Check their national team, surely capable of qualifying.
Didn't mean to paste the team.

Heres the Korean one(About half way down).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea_national_football_team

And Greece(also about half way down)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_national_football_team
 
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I would say those 3 teams are pretty similar in quality. Who cares what league they play in.
Everyone knows that Sani Kaita pretty much cost them the 3 points against Greece that would have seen them through.
 
The ban has been rescinded they just said on sky sports news
 
I would say those 3 teams are pretty similar in quality. Who cares what league they play in.
Everyone knows that Sani Kaita pretty much cost them the 3 points against Greece that would have seen them through.

You just completely contradicted what you said before, listing a bunch of largely average players in the S Korean and Greek sides who play (or for the most part have) played for a decent European team.

Those teams really don't seem very even in quality, park ji sung is South Korea's only stand-out player with the exception perhaps of the Bolton winger Lee Chung Yong, really not meaning to be harsh or offensive in any way, but the majority of those players play in South Korea or Saudi Arabia, hardly the best leagues.. Same goes with Greece, with the majority of the players playing for Panathanikos or Olimpiacos again with two or three exceptions in Krygiakos and im sure you'll point out others who have notably been relegated from Serie A. The only reason S. Korea achieved 3rd place 8 years ago was because of Guus Hiddink and the home advantage. Greece won the Euros by sitting back for 119 minutes and grabbing a goal on the break. Nigeria on the other hand, have Yakubu, Obasi, Uche (x2), Martins, Obinna, Kanu, Mikel etc. To not qualify or beat either of those teams really isn't that impressive, South Korea didn't have to be anywhere near their best to defeat an AWFUL Greek side in the first game, and were gifted two goals, before getting thumped by Argentina, while Nigeria really didn't play well either, with Yakubu in particular missing a tap in among other chances.

The point is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8790094.stm It doesn't matter anymore, because the ban has been taken away because Goodluck failed to read the BBC website and see that the French President had been told to ****** off by FIFA.
 
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