Cybereagles

I recently had a friendly argument with one of my good friends, an ardent Super Eagles fan. When we were discussing the abiding influence of the 1994 Super Eagles set, we ended up making the inevitable comparison with the current team. Since the bulk of the famous 1996 Olympic team emerged from the 1994 World Cup team, there is no denying their legendary status in Nigerian football. They are deservedly the gold standard despite only achieving the second round (literally few minutes away from eliminating Italy). So, which of our current players would make the squad of 23, if the current set were available for selection in 1994? In my opinion, only Victor Moses and Captain Mikel (add Enyeama, if he were to be on the team) would make the 1994 team. Even then, they would be hard-pressed to start ahead of more complete or talented starters. For illustration, let me note the presumed starters for each team. My selection for starter for each position will appear in bold. So, who of the 2018 Rohr-led Super Eagles would crash the Westerhof team of 1994?

1994 - 2018


Rufai - Uzoho


Eguavoen - Abdullahi
Iroha (Emenalo) - Idowu
Nwanu - Ekong
Okechukwu - Balogun



Oliseh - Onazi
Okocha - Ndidi
Amokachi - Mikel


Finidi - Moses
Yekini - Ighalo
Amuneke - Iwobi (Simon)

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"WE ARE THE SUPER EAGLES!!!"

I think Mikel and Moses would be on the team, don’t know about starting tho.

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Super Eagus 4 Life!

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The Lord is my Shephard. I shall not be in want.

Iwobi and Ndidi will make the team but like you said starting is another whole thing.

Na this one dem dey call sacrilege....biko there are some comparisons you need not bother with before the gods of the lans vex with. Abeg my man remove some of the obvious ones and leave the rest. Comparing Ighalo to Yekini is comparing Lada to BMW.

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"There is big pressure at this club as you cannot be like the manager at Arsenal and ask for five years to try and to win one trophy" - Jose Mourinho

.... I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it - Jose Mourinho

Why would Ndidi be opposed to Okocha ?

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WHAT SHALL BE SHALL BE SABI

This. The only starter I would change is Eguaveon. Dat one nah constant red card waiting to happen.

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We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brand
Roy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.
Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

I think Spain’s by far the best league.
Scholes. UK Guardian 9/6/16

I mean comparing Uche v Balogun...i don begin purge just thinking of the idea....Obong don turn my belle. Balogun na my man, but abeg shoe get size.

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"There is big pressure at this club as you cannot be like the manager at Arsenal and ask for five years to try and to win one trophy" - Jose Mourinho

.... I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it - Jose Mourinho

Nwanu and Eguavoen were weak links. We didn’t really replace Keshi until West, who in 94 was not quite ready. So I actually think Balogun and Ekong would have both made that squad on current form.
But West and Yobo who came later were better than all of those.
Of course Mikel would make that squad, even now that he’s past his prime. Sacrilege I know, but at their respective bests, Mikel is a better player than Oliseh (watch them kill me now). Regardless, he’d at least make the squad.
As would Iwobi, Ndidi and Moses. They would bench Oliha, Ezeugo and Ekoku. Easily.

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MY NAME IS WAKA-MAN, and YES, I AM A CHELSEA FAN. Please don't hate me - I was fan when David Ellery dashed Cantona two penalties as Man U beat us 4-0 in the FA Cup final. So I've paid my dues.

oloye, I'm not comparing ( and I am fully aware of the sacrilege I would hardly commit). However, those are the personnel we now have. Unfortunately, by position or formation, they go head-to-head. The yawning gap in difference between both teams is rather alarming.

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"WE ARE THE SUPER EAGLES!!!"

We replaced Chukwu the very afternoon in 1981 when Belloumi messed him up inside the national stadium and he was replaced by a young Stephen Okechukwu Keshi. I am a Chukwu fan to the core and watching that hand over ceremony pained me more than the loss of the game.

Which kain talk be this? Compaing West and Chukwu...what do they have in common? Nna make una becareful with blasphemy this evening o.

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"There is big pressure at this club as you cannot be like the manager at Arsenal and ask for five years to try and to win one trophy" - Jose Mourinho

.... I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it - Jose Mourinho

Shehu Abdullahi over Eguavoen? Hmm. One was an experienced hard-as-nails defender who could also play central defence and performed creditably against some of the World's best from Bulgaria, Argentina and Italy. The other is a converted midfielder who is watching his back for Tyronne Ebuehi and plays more midfield for his club.

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"WE ARE THE SUPER EAGLES!!!"

oloye, even Ighalo will agree with you!

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"WE ARE THE SUPER EAGLES!!!"

Apologies, I meant Keshi. Change made.

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MY NAME IS WAKA-MAN, and YES, I AM A CHELSEA FAN. Please don't hate me - I was fan when David Ellery dashed Cantona two penalties as Man U beat us 4-0 in the FA Cup final. So I've paid my dues.

Do the 23 v 23 comparison first so that things will be clearer.

i think Mikel will be the only one to start

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SuperEagles

The players that I will add from this year's crop are as follows:


Mikel Obi
Victor Moses
Wilfred Ndidi

That would be it. The rest won't make the 1994 team in my opinion. Both Mikel (for Oliseh) and Victor (for Amuneke) will start as well.

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The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics

You sir are forgiven....go and sin no more with ya keypad

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"There is big pressure at this club as you cannot be like the manager at Arsenal and ask for five years to try and to win one trophy" - Jose Mourinho

.... I believe in God. I try to be a good man so He can have a bit of time to give me a hand when I need it - Jose Mourinho

The Mikel of today will bench every single 1994 midfielder. Oliseh and Okocha were going into their first worldcup, and they were very inexperienced ..they were both very young players still improving on the game, However the Mikel of today is a seasoned vet adn will walk into that team with no single sweat...

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SuperEagles

None....We have average players.

Mikel for Oliseh, BUT VM over Amuneke? Unless you expect your #11 to play wingback. Quietly, Amuneke and Finidi were 2 of our most talented, cerebral (apologies for using this word, not meant to put others down) and highly effective/efficient players. A healthy Amunike all day!!!!

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AFCON 2015 sweet o
Barren for 35 yrs no good o
New member and Titled Chief, Distant Gunners Consortium.
"This is an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water."

I don't think a Mikel type of player would start over Oliseh because of the sheer amount of donkey work Oliseh had to do to cover for non defending midfielders like JJ. He would gas out after 60 minutes doing the kind of chasing and winning back Oliseh had to do and then give the ball right back to JJ to lose it again lol.

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Super Eagus 4 Life!

bros you sure sey you watch that match? Even Egu himself will disagree with you.

_________________
We have been brainwashed by the Premier League that it's the best in the world. Nonsense. It's the best brand
Roy Keane: ITV 02/25/14

He says that we are currently "brainwashed" into believing that the Premier League is the best competition in the world, and that we are now a long way off dominating the Champions League again.
Gary Neville: Mirror: 12/23/14

I think Spain’s by far the best league.
Scholes. UK Guardian 9/6/16