Utaka and Datti will lead the eagles:Eagles starting line-up

qwerty · Post by **qwerty** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 4:57 pm

In the absence of ‘twin teen terrors’ Obafemi Martins and Bartholomew Ogbeche, John Utaka and Standard Liege of Belgium ace Aliyu Mohammed Datti will lead the Eagles search for goals in Sunday’s crunch World Cup tie against Luanda.

Eagles chief coach Christian Chukwu exclusively told
www.kickoffnigeria.com from the team’s hotel in Luanda
that his 4-4-2 selection is capable of getting a
result against the power-playing Angolans.

Utaka has said his best position is as a support
striker but he has often been played out of
positioning the national team mainly on the right side
of midfield which involves tracking back and forth the
right-side.

But it was as a striker that he first made his name
with Egyptian club Ismaili and in the absence of
Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Victor Agali at Tunisia 2004, the
RC Lens forward was given a more offensive role and
the result was that he scored twice including the
winner versus defending champions Indomitable Lions of
Cameroon.

Datti, on the other hand, will be making his
long-awaited debut for the Eagles after showing such
great promise four years ago when he featured for the
first team of Italian giants AC Milan.

The Zaria-born striker banged home five goals for
Standard in the Belgian league this past season in his
first year on loan from Milan.

Belgium-based Rabiu Baita has recovered from a knee
injury to win his third cap within a month as a
battling midfielder and not as a striker that he is
better known.

Another Belgian league star, Joseph Enakahire, has
been preferred to Freiburg of Germany defender Seyi
Olajengbesi to partner skipper Joseph Yobo in the
heart of the defence.

Also given a chance to further establish himself in
the starting eleven will be Iwuanyanwu Nationale star
Paul Obiefule, who first shone in the recent LG Cup
otherwise it is virtually the same team that beat both
Republic of Ireland and Jamaica to win the Unity Cup
in London.

Eagles starting line-up vs. Angola – ENYEAMA - ABBEY, LAWAL,YOBO (CAPT), ENAKAHIRE –
OLOFINJANA, BAITA, OBIEFULE, EKWUEME – UTAKA, DATTI
http://www.kickoffnigeria.com/stories/? ... attack.php

27 · Post by 27 » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:00 pm

Eagles starting line-up vs. Angola – ENYEAMA - ABBEY, LAWAL,YOBO (CAPT), ENAKAHIRE –
OLOFINJANA, BAITA, OBIEFULE, EKWUEME – UTAKA, DATTI

Good team.

Fegwu · Post by **Fegwu** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:21 pm

qwerty wrote:
The Zaria-born striker banged home five goals for
Standard in the Belgian league this past season in his
first year on loan from Milan.

In the absence of ‘twin teen terrors’ Obafemi Martins and Bartholomew Ogbeche, John Utaka and Standard Liege of Belgium ace Aliyu Mohammed Datti will lead the Eagles search for goals in Sunday’s crunch World Cup tie against Luanda.

Why did the journalist choose to use banged? Why not scored? It is just 5 goals Kickoff......5.......there is no need for the drama. It makes me feel that the journalist feels like he/she is wirting for idot consumers. Methinks of double digit goals when banging home goals comes to mind. Maybe it is just me.

And is Ogbeche still a teenager? I thought he is at least 21 or older now? Oh well......

Shownoja · Post by **Shownoja** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:43 pm

This team will get all three points later today. That's for sure.

DIMKA76 · Post by **DIMKA76** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:44 pm

Lets wait and see

mister dolly · Post by **mister dolly** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:58 pm

The key is team chemistry...if we can exhibit that by denying the Angolans possession, we've got a chance to get a result from this game.

All the best to the Super Eagles of Nigeria...

UP EAGLES!!!

Talk IT · Post by **Talk IT** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:03 pm

We are starting with 9 regulars. So what are we afraid of?

Enyeama
Yobo
Enakhire
Garba Lawal
Abbey George

Olofinjana
Obiefule
Ekwueme
Baita

Utaka
Datti

mister dolly · Post by **mister dolly** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:07 pm

I just pray Obiefule does not go about hacking players down like he did in the Unity Cup..hopefully he's learnt his lesson.

UP EAGLES!!

Ayo Akinfe · Post by **Ayo Akinfe** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:08 pm

Not a bad line up. This is how it will appear on the pitch:

**************Aliyu*******************Utaka************

***Ekwueme*****Obiefule**********Olofinjana******Baita***

***Lawal*******Enakharhire********Yobo*********Abbey***

***********************Enyeama***********************

Pretty similar to the team that played Jaimaca in the Unity Cup. The only differences are:

Enyeama comes in for Rotimi
Abbey comes in for Adamu
Yobo comes in for Olajengbesi
Olofinjana comes in for Obodo
Aliyu comes in for Ogbeche

In each case, however, it is a like for like swap and I expect the same kind of formation we saw against the Jamaicans with a rigid 4-4-2 structure. I must say, I have a loot of faith in the Obiefule/Olofinjana partnership in the middle of the park. Their job of keeping the defence shielded will be crucial, as will the role of Baita and Ekwueme tracking back to provide the full backs with cover.

I do not expect to see Abbey and Lawal venture too far forward and Utaka is likely to drop off and try and catch out the Angolans on the counter attack with his trademark runs. All in all, a good line up.

Sir V · Post by **Sir V** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:11 pm

What time(GMT) is the match

mister dolly · Post by **mister dolly** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:16 pm

Ayo Akinfe wrote:Not a bad line up. This is how it will appear on the pitch:

**************Aliyu*******************Utaka************

***Ekwueme*****Obiefule**********Olofinjana******Baita***

***Lawal*******Enakharhire********Yobo*********Abbey***

***********************Enyeama***********************

Pretty similar to the team that played Jaimaca in the Unity Cup. The only differences are:

Enyeama comes in for Rotimi
Abbey comes in for Adamu
Yobo comes in for Olajengbesi
Olofinjana comes in for Obodo
Aliyu comes in for Ogbeche

In each case, however, it is a like for like swap and I expect the same kind of formation we saw against the Jamaicans with a rigid 4-4-2 structure. I must say, I have a loot of faith in the Obiefule/Olofinjana partnership in the middle of the park. Their job of keeping the defence shielded will be crucial, as will the role of Baita and Ekwueme tracking back to provide the full backs with cover.

I do not expect to see Abbey and Lawal venture too far forward and Utaka is likely to drop off and try and catch out the Angolans on the counter attack with his trademark runs. All in all, a good line up.

I totally agree with you. The only variables are that Obiefule and Datti are being thrown into a competitive match for the first time and one can only hope they have the right reaction..

I will also be looking out to see how Ekwueme performs in this game, for me he is not the real deal and I wait to be proven wrong.

UP EAGLES!!

BTW, did you record the Holland vs Czech Republic game? I need a copy.

Ayo Akinfe · Post by **Ayo Akinfe** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:23 pm

MD, I did not tape the Holland/Czech game sorry.

As per the Eagles, I must admit I have not watched Aliyu for a while now so am in no position to comment on his form. As per Obiefule, I have no fear at all.

The boy is fully capable of rising up to the challenge. Remember Seyi Olofinjana in there, so Paul will be playing in front of him and the combination of the two will provide the defence with adequate cover. I will expect Seyi to use his experience to guide the boy along and make sure he drops back in whenever Seyi runs forward.

I expect the Angolans to be physically robust so Seyi's role in the game is vital. Obiefule will be a good understudy for him and I am not worried. My only concern at the moment are in the ful back positions.

Abbey is not fully fit, having only played less than two games in three months and Garba Lawal's legs have gone. A pacy winger could give both of them a few problems.

Go and look at the Jamaica game again and you will notice that it was Ekwueme that saved Lawal's bacon on several occassions. Ifeanyi tracked back tirelesly to cover for Garba who was not able to match the pace of his opponents. I expect him to do likewise today.

pasamu · Post by **pasamu** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:57 pm

we may just get away with this. the formation is decent and i think the angolans are a ball playing team. this plays into our hands because i do not think that the midfield is hard enough to handle a rough aggressive team. baita is too lightweight to play midfield for me right winger maybe striker drifting behind a top striker also but not a midfield player. he goes to ground too quickly when tackling because he does not know the art of sheparding a player into a dead end. hope datti can stake a real claim. have not seen him play.

pasamu · Post by **pasamu** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 7:00 pm

who is on the bench?

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 8:57 pm

Subs

Rotimi Sunday, Seyi Olajengbesi, Tosin Dosunmu, Robert Akaruye, Adewale Wahab

Robbynice · Post by **Robbynice** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:00 pm

KickOff Chief, when is kickoff time in Nigeria?

airwolex · Post by **airwolex** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:03 pm

Is AIT/BEN TV showing the gaME?

Its a Goal · Post by **Its a Goal** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:05 pm

Talk IT wrote:We are starting with 9 regulars. So what are we afraid of?

Enyeama
Yobo
Enakhire
Garba Lawal
Abbey George

Olofinjana
Obiefule
Ekwueme
Baita

Utaka
Datti

Ekwueme is not a regular. Infact he is short one.

Robbynice · Post by **Robbynice** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:05 pm

airwolex wrote:Is AIT/BEN TV showing the gaME?

I don't know about BEN TV but I do know AIT is showing it. But I don't know if it will be shown live or on tape delay like they did in the game against Rwanda.

KOC, I beg when is the kickoff time for the game in Nigeria? Or better yet what is the time differential between Nigeria nd Angola?

Larry Ashagbe · Post by **Larry Ashagbe** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:43 pm

pasamu wrote:we may just get away with this. the formation is decent and i think the angolans are a ball playing team. this plays into our hands because i do not think that the midfield is hard enough to handle a rough aggressive team. baita is too lightweight to play midfield for me right winger maybe striker drifting behind a top striker also but not a midfield player. he goes to ground too quickly when tackling because he does not know the art of sheparding a player into a dead end. hope datti can stake a real claim. have not seen him play.

Well said.

It is not going to be an easy match and I hope that we don't lose.

biloboy · Post by **biloboy** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:54 pm

The match would a a difficult one. I would be happy with a draw.

GUEST · Post by **GUEST** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:57 pm

Looking At the Team List IF Legit and the Formation deployed in UNITY-CUP, I see 4-3-3 Formation here.

-----PAUL OBEIFULE---------------SEYI OLOFINJANA--------------IFY EKWUEME----

--------------------------------------RABIU BAITA-------------------------------------------

----------------------JOHN UTTAKA-------------------ALIYU DATTI-----------------------

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:28 pm

Robby, game is supposed to be 3:30pm Naija time, although I would advise you begin to keep watch from 3:00pm.

Guest, CCC is a 4-4-2 man and it will be hard to see him play anything else. Baita will play on the right wing.

Cybereagles

Utaka and Datti will lead the eagles:Eagles starting line-up

Utaka and Datti will lead the eagles:Eagles starting line-up

Re: Utaka and Datti will lead the eagles:Eagles starting lin