There has been a whole lot of talks regarding the statement made by the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George on the issue of the captain of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Finidi stirred a little controversy during his media tour when he said the issue of the captain of the team is going to be who is the oldest in the team, which many interpreted to be Kenneth Omeruo the vice captain to the present one William Troost-Ekong.

“That of the captainship we all know it. From my time till date is based on seniority. The most senior player in the team has always been the captain those that have been there before you will definitely have the opportunity to be the captain before you that is just coming”, he said and made reference to ex international Ifeanyi Udeze who was with him in the studio during the interview.

“Like Udeze here he met me in camp then, no way he can be captain when I am still around unless we decide and reach an agreement with the older player to make the younger player captain.

” For a young guy that is just coming up thinking that he will be the captain of the Super Eagles that will not work in my time. The status quo will be maintained”.

His statement opened a lot of interpretatios but yesterday he laid the issue to rest in another station where he went in continuation of his media tour.

“There are things I cannot change. I played this game and was also the vice-captain, I was not the youngest. If we want(ed) to go by oldest players, I think (Sunday) Oliseh wouldn’t have been the captain. That’s the truth because this Super Eagles, I started in 1989 while I was playing, he came 1993. So, if you go by that, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be captain”, he explained.

“Looking at the present squad, we have to see those that are older, capable. We are not stripping captaincy from Ekong because the reports say ‘Finidi wants to strip Ekong’. I cannot do that, Ekong is our captain, Omeruo is also captain, Musa is captain, he’s not around, Ekong not around,” he concluded.

The newly appointed coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has explained the role erstwhile coach of the team Jose Peseiro played in ensuring that he succeeds him as the coach of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Finidi was the assistant to the Portuguese for 20 months and was handed the chance to be the new coach after his exit upon the expiration of his contract in February. He started as the interim coach of the team.

Speaking during his media tour, the former Ajax winger revealed that when Peseiro left he told him he would wish for him to replace him as coach, a remarkable twist in their friendship which wasn’t the best when he first turned up as one of the assistants of the coach.

“Our relationship was fantastic. When I joined the Super Eagles almost two years ago, he didn’t know why I was there. He thought I was coming for his job. But when he saw that I was there to work with him and help him, we became closer. When he left, he sent me a message, hoping I would be the next man.”

He rounded up by revealing that the coach called to send him his best wishes when he was named as the new coach of the team on a one year deal.

“When the announcement was made, he called me and congratulated me. Our relationship remains very cordial and good to this day,” he stated.

Ade Emmanuel

Nigerian sports administrator David Doherty has taken time to explain why Europa League final hattrick hero Ademola Lookman initially subbed the chance to play for the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lookman represented England at various youth levels before making the switch to Nigeria at senior level, where he presently has 21 caps with six goals with half of it coming at the last Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

He stole the show at the tournament despite Nigeria losing the final 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire. He capped a memorable year with all three goals to hand Atalanta a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, ending the unbeaten run of the German side in all competitions this season.

UK based Doherty who has a very close and personal relationship with most of the players of Nigerian descent in England penned a lengthy post on all his social media handles about the 26 year old who is largely tipped by many to be the next Africa Player of the Year.

Below is his post.

Here is a perfect example of why we should not blame these kids when they choose England, Germany, Holland, or Spain over Nigeria. 🇳🇬🇩🇪🇳🇱🇪🇸

I remember trying to get Lookman Ademola to play for Nigeria, but to no avail, so I wrote to my friend who is the director of grassroots football and education at the FA, who then arranged my visit to see the England U21’s or U20’s. So I went with an old Naija Jersey [Adidas] for all the players to sign. We had some Naija boys on the squad, i.e., Lookman, Tomori, Abraham, and Ojo, to name a few.

Luckily for me, I bumped into Lookman, who was going for an interview,  so I stopped, whispered into his ears; You will play for Nigeria. 🇳🇬✌️

His facial expression conveyed his displeasure with my statement. Despite his initial reluctance, I managed to convince him to take a picture with me as proof. Those familiar with Lookman understand his reserved demeanor, akin to the Olise personality type.

The reason I chose this particular scenario is as follows:

– Lookman believed he had an opportunity to play for the England senior team and was hesitant to commit to Nigeria due to his success at the time.

– Aina’s situation was more straightforward. He promptly acknowledged that the England route was unlikely, making my approach with him uncomplicated. His father’s trust in the process, along with the influence of his close friend Iwobi, facilitated a successful resolution.

In conclusion, I kindly request that we refrain from criticizing Nigerian descendants who initially decline to play for Nigeria. If you were presented with the chance to represent England, Germany, or the Netherlands, would you unequivocally choose Nigeria, even for your child?

Presently, I am pleased that both players are part of our team. Although there are challenges within the NFF, the platform has provided benefits. The significance of the Nigerian factor cannot be overlooked.

For us,we will continue to push behind the scene, what matters to us is a better Nigerian football development for nigerians home & Diaspora

✍️  David Doherty
Football Administrator
@nigerianyouthfa x @nigeriauksportawards

Nigeria international striker Sadiq Umar has told his employers of his intentions to leave the club in the summer after getting limited game time since the turn of the year, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 27 year old joined the team two summers ago on a record transfer worth €20m from Almeria, but after a whirlwind start to life at the club, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season, and since his return he hasn’t hit the same height.

As per Relevo, Sadiq has asked to leave the club this summer, and they say that Getafe are his most likely suitors, with a loan deal in the offing. Getafe are keen to reinforce their forward line, and a loan fits both parties.

Getafe lost Enes Unal this season to Bournemouth, while Borja Mayoral is coming off surgery, and Jaime Mata is another year older. La Real will also have to rebuild their frontline too, if Sadiq leaves. Andre Silva will return to RB Leipzig after his loan, and Carlos Fernandez remains injury prone, leaving them without a natural number nine.

However Getafe are not the only team keen on having the forward with Valencia and long term admirers Villarreal also willing to make a push for him when the transfer window opens in the summer.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has revealed his happiness over the performance of Ademola Lookman for Atalanta in the Europa League final, where his hattrick handed them a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Lookman played for England at various youth levels before deciding to switch to Nigeria at senior level in 2021. He has since gone on to have 21 caps for the Super Eagles with six goals. Three of which came at the last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.

He was by far the star of the Nigerian team, and he followed it up with another impressive performance for Atalanta capped with his extraordinary performance in the final. Not forgetting that he was voted the man of the match in the semi final.

Speaking on the process of convincing the 26 year old to play for Nigeria, Rohr who held talks with the then RB Leipzig winger said it’s unfortunate that he was no longer in charge when his international clearance came through.

Rohr said: ” Lookman was in my preliminary squad for the AFCON in Cameroon before I was sacked from my role as coach. The talks happened with him while he was playing in Germany for RB Leipzig. It was straightforward and I was keen to have him in my team, but I left before he was cleared”.

The coach went on to explain how other players like Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and Nathan Tella were approached to play for the Super Eagles. ” Olise I invited but his agent had other ideas for him. For Eze I am happy he is making progress with England after training with us. He was very young then and not having the best of time in his club football.

” When he finally reached the level of a call up, we extended one to him but he picked England U21. As for Tella his switch came through when I was still in charge, but his form wasn’t at the level of a call up just like Chuba Akpom who is now doing well for Ajax”.

Osas Mahawi

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George says the list of players called up to the team for the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively has new players in it, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Already a preliminary list of 35 players has been submitted to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with the coach expected to trim it down to 25 players before the games.

The coach is expected to make the list public by the end of this week as preparations for the game take a new turn, particularly for the first game against South Africa on the 7th of June in Uyo.

Ahead of the game, the coach during his media tour revealed that he has the names of two to three new players in the squad, but maintained that the bulk of the team was picked from the team that went all the way to the final of the AFCON before losing 1-2 to the host.

“Definitely we will have one or two new faces but the majority will be players from the last AFCON. So now you have an idea what’s in my mind and what we are going to do. We will have two or three new players in the squad but the majority will still be players from the last AFCON. We will have time to see all the new players but they have to first come and showcase themselves”, he said.

The coach of Italian Serie A side Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini says he didn’t expect Ademola Lookman who scored a hattrick in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final to come this good, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lookman struck in the 12th, 26th and 75th minutes of the game to hand his team the title bringing to an end the unbeaten record of the German side in all competitions this season. It also marked a remarkable turnaround for the Nigerian.

The 26 year old has had a nomadic career since his breakthrough at Charlton which earned him a move to Everton. Since then he has been to Leicester City, Fulham, Everton and RB Leipzig without achieving anything meaningful.

However since moving to Atalanta he has found his way up leaving the coach Gasperini in awe of his growth in such a short time at the club. The coach revealed how they signed him despite his poor return in England.

Gasperini said: “We had a senior manager at Atalanta [Lee Congerton] who had worked at Leicester, who saw the opportunity to bring him in and thought he was a possible useful player.

“Nobody could ever imagine he’d could make this much progress. He wasn’t overly prolific in England. I changed his position to a more attacking role.
“Tonight he achieved something which will remain in the annals of football history – a stunning hat-trick.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former England international striker Peter Crouch says the hero for Atalanta in their 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League would have played for England if he was patient, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lookman stole the headline yesterday by hitting a hattrick for the Italian side ending the unbeaten run of the Germans in all competitions this season. The 26 year old struck in the 12th, 26th and 75th minute of the game in Dublin.

Born in England to parents of Nigerian descent, he represented England at various youth levels and even won the U20 World Cup with their U20 team, but in 2021 he decided to switch his nationality to the senior national team of Nigeria.

He was the star of the team at the AFCON scoring three goals and one assists as the Super Eagles went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final. Crouch says he could easily have played for England if he was patient.

“Honestly, this is why you play football,” Crouch said while on analysis duty with TNT . “Somebody like Lookman, who’s been around, a footballing nomad at times, somebody who’s been Sunday League, to Charlton, to Fulham on loan, Leicester, Leipzig, he’s gone around the houses to get to the moment where he’s found a home today and scored a hat-trick in a European final. It’s an amazing story. He could easily have played for England like his U20 mates if he was patient.

“Those fans will never forget the name of Ademola Lookman. It’s absolutely sensational.

Ade Emmanuel

The Nigeria U17 team rounded up their group campaign at the ongoing WAFU B U17 championship with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Togo in their final group game to seal a date with Côte d’Ivoire in the semi final of the tournament

After seeing the game postponed twice, the U17 team of Nigeria wasted no time in taking the lead with striker Abdulmuiz Adeleke firing home a left footed drive past the goalkeeper of Togo.

One soon became two when skipper Simon Cletus delivered a peach of a ball for Rapha Adams who met it with a diving header for his second of the tournament. They went into the break with a commanding 2-0 lead.

After the break Adeleke put the game beyond the reach of the Togolese with his second goal of the game. He could have easily bagged a hattrick from the spot but his tame effort was easily gathered after a foul in the box resulted in a penalty for Nigeria.

They wasted further chances to extend their lead but will be delighted that they ended the group stages unbeaten with seven points from a possible nine. The draw against Burkina Faso in their opening game was the only game the Manu Garba led side didn’t pick up all points.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has left out the duo of William Troost-Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo from the Super Eagles squad for the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.comcan exclusively reveal.

We exclusively gathered that both players who were expected to play the role of captain and vice were left out on the account of their fitness levels, as they are both returning from injuries.

Our source said while Omeruo is still in with a slight chance, there is no hope of Ekong making the team despite his return to training which brought about his inclusion in the 35 man provisional list.

Meanwhile we also gathered that Luton Town defender Gabriel Osho is in with another chance to make his senior debut for Nigeria as he is in the list, after missing the friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively due to injuries.

Benjamin Tanimu of Tanzanian side Ihefu FC who made his debut is also in the team, alongside the duo of Semi Ajayi of West Brom and Calvin Bassey of English Premier League side Fulham. It’s still unclear if Boavista defender Chidozie Awaziem is in the list.

The full squad is expected to be made public after recent alterations due to injury to some players in the final list of 25 players for the games against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman