Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has replied the president of Napoli Aurelio De Laurentiis on his controversial comments on signing of African players.

Laurentiis ruffled feathers when he said that he won’t be signing players from Africa unless they agree not to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, which usually takes place in the middle of the European season as it is in January.

Peseiro when asked of his opinion on the statement made by the coach said even though clubs have the right to sign players only from specific regions, he believe there is no team in Europe that can survive without a player from Africa and to an extent South America.

“The club has the right to sign the players it wants. But we know that Europe will need more and more players from South America and Africa. There is no way to turn around. There are fewer and fewer young people born in Europe and fewer and fewer young people playing football ”, he explained.

“I usually say that if football in Europe wants to preserve the purity, skill and imagination that is increasingly present in countries where football remains on the street, children spend more time playing football than PlayStation”, he stated further.

He said it’s an undisputed fact that in few years from now, several teams in Europe will depend heavily on players from Africa and South America as interest in football in the above mentioned region is still very high.

“It is an indisputable fact: the quality of European football will increasingly depend on young people born in South America, Africa and Asia. I don’t see how this can be replicated in many clubs. They are indispensable if we want to play as we like to see him.

“Everyone who loves football in the world loves feelings. Unfortunately, due to the birth, the shared responsibility for what is happening to our young people in Europe, who have a lot to do, and football turns out to be just one more thing, while in Africa and South America.

“It is still Football is one of the most important things for young people and this gives them more potential to make the best and most beautiful game, which for me is the best game in the world”,he concluded.

Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze was once again the man in the spotlight for Spanish side Villarreal in their Europa Conference League opening game with a goal and assist in their 4-3 win over Lech Poznan.

Chukwueze helped his team draw level with a spectacular volley following a flowing team work in the 32nd minute. He followed it up with an assist for Alex Baena to put his team his team 2-1 up. Baena scores his second of the game and at that state it seems like the Spaniard were coasting to an opening group win.

The Polish didn’t quite give up as they rallied their way back from two goals down to bring scores to 3-3 much to the surprise and disappointment of the home crowd with around thirty minutes left to play.

A stunned Villarreal pressed to regain the advantage but had to wait till one minute before regulation time for Francis Coquelin to score what ended as the winner settling the seven goal thriller in their favour.

Former captain and star of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Okocha says it will be hard for Nigeria to find another player who is similar to him during his playing days.

Okocha was fame for his fanciful foot works and tricks during his playing days. He was so gifted that his dribbling became his trademark especially when he introduced himself with a wonder goal for Eintracht Frankfurt against Karlrushe in the German Bundesliga.

After getting past his markers, he twisted ans turned legendary German goalkepper Oliver Khan twice before finally slotting the ball home. The goal announced him to the rest of the world.

Speaking on the anniversary of that landmark goals, Okocha was asked if he thinks the Bundesliga and the senior national team of Nigeria will have another player of his kind, he responded by saying it will be hard because he is special.

“It will be hard if not impossible because I think every player is unique, you know,” says the man himself. We have got a lot of talented players in the Bundesliga. But, with all due respect, maybe I was a little bit special”, he rounded up saying.

The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says the team would have won the Africa Cup of Nations and also made it to the World Cup in Qatar if he wasn’t sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Rohr was fired with just three weeks to the Africa Cup of Nations, which was a little over three months to the World Cup qualifiers playoff games against Ghana. Nigeria ended up crashing out of the first elimination round at the AFCON and later failed to make it to the World Cup.

He holds the record of the longest ever serving head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria as he was at the helm from 2016 till 2021 when he was surprisingly axed from his role, few hours after Nigeria made it to the playoff stages of the world cup qualifiers by finishing as group winners.

” We were still celebrating when the news came that I have been sacked as coach. They claimed it was an order from the top. I was in shock. This came at a time when I feel we are almost getting close to making out project for the team work”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” The aim was winning the AFCON and we had plans for a team that would have won it and also qualified for the World Cup. There was a plan to integrate new players using the AFCON and also the pre world cup friendly games. I can’t think of any player in the team now that we didn’t have in our plan or gave a call up. I’m sad for my players “, he concluded.

As first reported by OwnGoalNigeria.com, the planned international friendly game between Nigeria and Portugal will now go ahead despite fears that the game would be called off over a disagreement on appearance fee.

The Nigeria Football Federation and Federação Portuguesa de Futebol have signed a formal agreement for the Super Eagles and A Seleção to clash in a prestige senior team friendly at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday, 17th November.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have won the Africa Cup of Nations on three occasions (as well as Olympic men’s football gold, silver and bronze) while Cristiano Ronaldo captained Portugal won her first continental trophy (Euro Championship) in France in 2016, defeating host France 1-0 after extra time at the Stade de France. As hosts, A Seleção lost the Euro Championship final to Greece in 2004.

Already billed to play 2019 African champions Algeria in Oran on 27th September, the encounter with Portugal is another ace by the Amaju Pinnick administration, which has enabled high-end international friendlies for the Super Eagles and other Nigeria National Teams over the past eight years.

Before now, the Super Eagles have played against five-time world champions Brazil, Argentina, England, Ukraine, Senegal, Mexico, Serbia, Poland, Cameroon, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Ecuador, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali.

The match with Portugal will be the first clash at senior men level for both countries, though last year summer, the Super Falcons and the Senior Women Team of Portugal fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw in the USWNT Summer Series in Houston, Texas, USA.

It can also be recalled that in 1989, Portugal’s U20 boys defeated Nigeria’s U20 boys 2-0 in the final of the FIFA World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup finals) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Estádio José Alvalade is a natural grass facility that holds 50,000 spectators, and is home venue for Sporting Clube de Portugal. The facility is named after José Alvalade, the founder and first club member of Sporting CP who died in 1918. The stadium was opened in August 2003.

Portugal will be led by five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, easily one of the best footballers the world has ever seen, while the Super Eagles will be led at the fore by Italy-based forward Victor Osimhen, growing to be one of the most lethal strikers in world football.

The senior national team of Nigeria will be without the services of top striker Victor Osimhen when they take on Algeria in an international friendly game on the 27th of September.

Osimhen suffered a muscular injury yesterday during the course of his team 4-1 win over Liverpool forcing manager Luciano Spalleti to sub him off after a little over 30 minutes. The manager confirmed after the game that he won’t be available for a while.

Spalleti didn’t give a time frame for his return but hinted that he won’t be available for the rest of the month starting from this weekend game in the Italian Serie A against Spezia.

“He is not at risk for Saturday, he certainly wont play and he will not play any more in the coming weeks for a while, since it is a muscle problem”, he said at the post match conference.

His absence will no doubt put Napoli’s fine start to the season at a loss as he has been pivotal to their unbeaten start to the season with three goals and two assists after seven games in all competitions.

The honour of who holds the title of top scorer after six games in the French Ligue 1 is as expected with the PSG duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe with both players having seven goals each.

PSG are favourite to retain their Ligue 1 title so it’s no surprise that players from the team are in the running for the top scorer award due to the fact that they create lot of scoring opportunities for their forwards.

That isn’t quite the case for players of other teams so it makes good reading when a player challenge them for the award of top scorer, and it’s exactly what Nigerian forward Terem Moffi is doing at the moment.

Yesterday, he was on target for Lorient helping them end the unbeaten run of Lyon as their claim a 3-1 win. It was his fifth goal of the season in just six games, same as the duo of Florian Sotoca of Lens Anglo-Nigerian forward Folarin Balogun on loan to Reims from Arsenal.

Only Mbappe and Neymar have scored more than the trio but emphasis is more on the 23 year old Nigeria international forward, who is just three goals away from equalling his last season tally of 8 goals from 34 games.

Napoli got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a flying start with a 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Diego Maradona Stadium in Italy.

Piotr Zieliński opened scoring for the home side from the spot following a hand ball incident. Victor Osimhen was later presented with the chance to his team two goals up from the spot after he was fouled in the box. He however failed to beat goalkepper Allison Becker form the spot.

Osimhen was once again involved in the thick of things when he robbed Joe Gomez to set up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but the Macedonian was denied by Becker.  That was Osimhen last major involvement in the game as he was subbed off with what look like muscle injury with scores at 2-0.

His replacement Giovanni Simeone made it 3-0 just before the half time break before Zieliński scored his second of the game. Luiz Diaz scored a consolation goal for the visitors.

Speaking as a studio guest at full time, ex Liverpool ace Michael Owen faulted defender Gomez who was subbed off at half time as one of the reasons why Liverpool lost heavily.

” You have to look at Gomes. He was second best all evening. From the blast of the whistle he had no answers to the pace and tenacity of Osimhen. He was taken off at half time but the game was already over as they were 3-0 down. Gomez won’t want to see this twice”, he said.

French Ligue 1 side Nantes are heavily dependent on their Nigerian forward Moses Simon to deliver goals or lay assists as they aim to make a splash this season.

Since joining the club initially on a loan deal no other player has had more goals contribution to the team like the recently turned 27 year old. He was pivotal in helping them lift the French Cup for the first time in over 20 years.

The plan was to find a strike partner for Simon following the departure of Randall Kolo Muani and Khalifa Koulibaly and among their options was Arsenal teen prospect Folarin Balogun, who was made available for loan by his club.

L’Equipe today writes that the 21-year-old had been ‘in the sights’ of their management of Nantes, but the signing was blocked by coach Antoine Kombouaré and sports coordinator Philippe Mao, who were ‘particularly opposed to his arrival’.

Arsenal ended up finding an agreement with Reims, and with his first appearances, L’Equipe writes that his performances are giving Nantes ‘some regrets’, as they now watch his success while their own team struggle to find the back of the net.

So far the England youth international who is eligible for Nigeria at senior level has scored five goals in six Ligue 1 games including last weekend when he scored against Lens.