My St Petersburg Experience

[Ugbowo]

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

[Ugbowo]

Oh I forgot to add our meeting Egbon ID.

He is Brian Idowu's father. He was trying to hide but them cast am quick quick. We met him at the Nigerian restaurant there and he helped us so much for the remaining 3 days we were there. He introduced us to Mama Idowu as well. Gracious family. God bless them.

[GG of G]

Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree with the attack thing. Rohr clearly doesn't fancy it. Shows, why he is the wrong coach for an attack-minded footballing nation like 9ja. He is better serving Iceland and Denmark.

[asabatex]

thank you

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

I no see the pics o....abeg link ya twitter post for here.

[Ugbowo]

Pics on this thread

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=289679&p=5278994&hi ... o#p5278994

[Cmoke]

My nephew Ugbowo,

Meeting you was indeed a highlight of my trip. Young man like u Wey get sense, humble, respect him elders so much that him no gree make Larry and I spend one kobo whenever he was around us. Baba God go continue blessing u, young man!

Cmoke

[danfo driver]

My nephew Ugbowo,

Meeting you was indeed a highlight of my trip. Young man like u Wey get sense, humble, respect him elders so much that him no gree make Larry and I spend one kobo whenever he was around us. Baba God go continue blessing u, young man!

Cmoke

he is a bini man. That is how they are raised. The elder is always cherished.

[metalalloy]

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

We are our own worst enemies.

Excellent report bro. Well done.

[camex]

Your inside view correspond that what I noticed during the Argentina game. Nigeria did not attack at the beginning of the game. This was I think a strategic mistake by the coach.

[aruako1]

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

Well done bro. A shame that we didn't meet up. Thank you for being there for the SE.

[The YeyeMan]

Thanks Ugbowo.

Shame I couldn't hook up with you guys.

The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa

True. Seemed like there were about 50 Argentines to 1 Nigerian around the stadium. They were everywhere.

I hadn't planned to travel to St Petersburg but changed my mind on the morning of the game. I was due back in London but decided to buy a plane ticket to St. P in the hope of getting a ticket for the game. No chance! It was the first World Cup game I've been to where touts were scarce - maybe they were intimidated by the heavy police presence around the stadium. Some Americans offered me a ticket for $1000 - FOH! I was prepared to pay £300 at most.

Anyway, I ended up watching the game in one of the bars about 15 minutes walk away from the stadium. The bar was full of Argentina supporters but there was a small pocket of Nigerians in the corner of which I was a part of. I sat next to a Nigerian woman, a lecturer at Unilag, who had taken a few years out to study languages in Russia (in Kazan I think). The noise we made when Nigeria were awarded and scored the penalty - kai!!

I had a great time in Russia - in Moscow, St.Petersburg and Volgograd (btw there was a video posted here of Nigerians celebrating the Iceland victory - I actually feature in that video with the band playing after the game).

My sole bitter moment was with one taxi driver who tried to charge me £90 for a trip from the airport to my hotel - I know a lot of them work for the mafia but I wasn't going to put up with that nonsense - it was a £15 journey so I let him know that. Other than that I found the Russians to be very pleasant and friendly. And the locals, especially in Volgograd, were constantly asking us for photographs. They probably don't see so many black faces in that part of the country.

The highlights were arriving at Volgograd airport with fellow Nigerians from over the world - we were all in such high spirits despite the crap we were served in the Croatia game; the victory against Iceland and the aftermath were fantastic too - one Russian kid even approached me on the tram after the game to offer me one of his sweets - it was like being back in France during 1998 when wearing a Nigerian shirt brought kudos. ; meeting Javier Zanetti in Red Square was also a highlight.

I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong.

Such as...?

[1naija]

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

Nice one uncle.

I hope uncle Cmoke didn't take you to the onyx there o. He knows the onyx for every city.

[Janganza]

Thanks Ugbowo.

Shame I couldn't hook up with you guys.

The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa

True. Seemed like there were about 50 Argentines to 1 Nigerian around the stadium. They were everywhere.

I hadn't planned to travel to St Petersburg but changed my mind on the morning of the game. I was due back in London but decided to buy a plane ticket to St. P in the hope of getting a ticket for the game. No chance! It was the first World Cup game I've been to where touts were scarce - maybe they were intimidated by the heavy police presence around the stadium. Some Americans offered me a ticket for $1000 - FOH! I was prepared to pay £300 at most.

Anyway, I ended up watching the game in one of the bars about 15 minutes walk away from the stadium. The bar was full of Argentina supporters but there was a small pocket of Nigerians in the corner of which I was a part of. I sat next to a Nigerian woman, a lecturer at Unilag, who had taken a few years out to study languages in Russia (in Kazan I think). The noise we made when Nigeria were awarded and scored the penalty - kai!!

I had a great time in Russia - in Moscow, St.Petersburg and Volgograd (btw there was a video posted here of Nigerians celebrating the Iceland victory - I actually feature in that video with the band playing after the game).

My sole bitter moment was with one taxi driver who tried to charge me £90 for a trip from the airport to my hotel - I know a lot of them work for the mafia but I wasn't going to put up with that nonsense - it was a £15 journey so I let him know that. Other than that I found the Russians to be very pleasant and friendly. And the locals, especially in Volgograd, were constantly asking us for photographs. They probably don't see so many black faces in that part of the country.

The highlights were arriving at Volgograd airport with fellow Nigerians from over the world - we were all in such high spirits despite the crap we were served in the Croatia game; the victory against Iceland and the aftermath were fantastic too - one Russian kid even approached me on the tram after the game to offer me one of his sweets - it was like being back in France during 1998 when wearing a Nigerian shirt brought kudos. ; meeting Javier Zanetti in Red Square was also a highlight.

I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong.

Such as...?

Russia was just class. I am glad I experienced it.

[Janganza]

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

Well done bro. I envy you guys. I had to cut my trip short. Had great fun all the same.

[Heliopolis]

The lack of Nigerian presence at the game was disappointing. I was in SP until 3 days before the game and I came across like 10 Nigerians. Usually fans show up 5+ days before game day to explore the city. Friends inside the stadium said it was all Argentines. Folks had 7 months to buy tickets for the game, book flights and hotels, etc. The circumstances are different since it was our first WC in 28 years but there were 30-40K Egyptians in SP to watch the game vs Russia and the stadium was 50/50 on game day. Three days after the game SP was still full of Egyptians.

[Ugbowo]

The lack of Nigerian presence at the game was disappointing. I was in SP until 3 days before the game and I came across like 10 Nigerians. Usually fans show up 5+ days before game day to explore the city. Friends inside the stadium said it was all Argentines. Folks had 7 months to buy tickets for the game, book flights and hotels, etc. The circumstances are different since it was our first WC in 28 years but there were 30-40K Egyptians in SP to watch the game vs Russia and the stadium was 50/50 on game day. Three days after the game SP was still full of Egyptians.

I met sooo many Egyptians. They were a great bunch! Took a lot of pics too.

Russians were great hosts! The entire WC experience is A MUST for any football fan. My friends and I are already talking Qatar. We cant wait!

[Heliopolis]

Did you go to Moscow? It has been way better for the WC than SP. I'm not sure Qatar will have a great atmosphere but I plan to go anyways.

[Cmoke]

My Uncle 1NAIJA,

You don kolo finish. Na only u dey pay for wetin Russian babes dey give away for free!

Cmoke

I wish I was one of those forumers great at prose writing....this one for sweet. But I'm not so i'll try to keep it brief.

1. The NFF hierarchy are in for a fight. I'm not sure they are all on the Pinnick wagon. The elections will be interesting.

2. Rohr's fate is tied to Pinnick. If he wins, you can almost bank on Rohr staying.

3. There was peace and tranquility in the camp. The team walk was interesting to see. Tyronne and Troost spoke dutch the entire time and kept their interaction to themselves. Mikel's reputation as a snob is unfounded. Moses on the other hand.....no comment . Ezenwa and Onazi na correct guys.

4. Ighalo is such a nice, warm and humble fella. The team rep had to drag him away from fan interaction prior to the game. After the game, he was a mess. But he had good support later. Funny story: An unnamed agent told a story of how Ighalo was on his hands and knees praying to God before coming into the game in the locker room. He was speaking in tongues etc.....with the outcome he had, one must wonder....

5. The story about the fans in St Petersburg is murky. There were thousands of Nigerians in the City. We were everywhere...but on game day, to see us for stadium na wa. Now, I met a guy named Ibrahim from Istanbul. He was complaining bitterly about the supporters club. He followed the team from Kalinigrad to Volgograd and now to Petersburg. He was looking for tickets to the game. He informed me Glo had provided funding in millions of dollars to the supporters club but the organization still asked its members to provide 350-400K for tickets before they could travel. Needless to say it led to a small size in attendance. The members who made it were complaining of maltreatment and A LOT of them ended up selling their tickets to Argentina fans and watching the game at the fan fest instead. Then you hear stories from the players. One of the players informed me that they were each supposed to get 5 tickets each. NFF provided them with just 2. NFF allocated tixs were on sale for thousands on the black market. Argentina fans gazumped them. To twist things even more, Pinnick and I were on the same flight to Moscow from St Petersburg after the game. I confronted him about it. He told me he paid with his personal credit card for about 150 NFF affiliates to attend the game because when he arrived from his FIFA assignment, there were no tickets available. So someone somewhere was doing some sabotaging. It is his job to find who.

6. A LOT of ppl were upset at Rohr's tactics. A person really close to the team and its players, told me this was a great loss for Nigeria because Rohr does not believe in attacking football. This person said he had watched training sessions all the way back to a couple of years and Rohr just did not care much for attack. The Musa Kelechi combo had only been tried in practice once before the Iceland game. Make of this what you will. I personally thought this person's influence on the team was waning hence his gripe but hey im not so sure anymore.

7. I spoke with Victor Agali after the game. We walked out of the stadium together along with Rohr's brother. Victor was ADAMANT that the loss was all down to FIFA. He blamed it on the traveling Argentina fans putting pressure on the ref and FIFA not wanting to lose Messi so soon. Other than that, he seemed in good spirits and had aged quite more than I would have expected.

8. The coaching staff were really pleasant as well. Pachal Patrick (I think it was him) is the camp commandant and barks out all the directives to the players. Salisu Yusuf is a great guy. I have him and Sulaiman Folarin to thank for getting so close to the team and going on the team walk with them.

9. I have to thank my CE Ogas. It was great to meet and associate with Cmoke and Larry Ashagbe. Just excellent individuals. I troway salute una way.

Personally, I think Rohr should be left alone. I did see one or two things that were kind of troubling but I hope my instincts are wrong. Some of the players know their time is up. Echiejele cut a lonely figure but finally warmed up when 2Baba and Sound Sultan showed up. Mikel took time to intentionally say goodbye to the Nigerian fans at the stadium. At first, I thought he was retiring then maybe he was just thanking us because the WC was over. I don't know.

We have a good young core developing. We hope Osimhen develops well to become a great striker. We need that and other young players to join the team. I'm hoping Rohr can mold them into a nice group.

That's all I can remember o. I don send pics before. I have some more on twitter and fb.

Ciao.

Nice one uncle.

I hope uncle Cmoke didn't take you to the onyx there o. He knows the onyx for every city.

[Cmoke]

Good to see this thread gradually turn into a summary of every CE experience for Russia. If una let me, I go add my own later.

Cmoke

[analyzer]

Correct guy!!!

[The YeyeMan]

The lack of Nigerian presence at the game was disappointing. I was in SP until 3 days before the game and I came across like 10 Nigerians. Usually fans show up 5+ days before game day to explore the city. Friends inside the stadium said it was all Argentines. Folks had 7 months to buy tickets for the game, book flights and hotels, etc. The circumstances are different since it was our first WC in 28 years but there were 30-40K Egyptians in SP to watch the game vs Russia and the stadium was 50/50 on game day. Three days after the game SP was still full of Egyptians.

I met sooo many Egyptians. They were a great bunch! Took a lot of pics too.

Russians were great hosts! The entire WC experience is A MUST for any football fan. My friends and I are already talking Qatar. We cant wait!

There were huge numbers of Colombians, Mexicans and Argentinians. Huge support! I was also impressed with the numbers of Nigerians too. Also a very surprising number of Indians - who were prepared to pay big money for tickets. There'll be a World Cup there soon enough....

I had a very enjoyable time but if I'm to rank this amongst the World Cup experiences my order is:

1. Japan 2002
2. Brazil 2014
3. Germany 2006
4. Russia 2018
5. France 1998

Japan was five stars!! An amazing time.

Not sure I'll bother with Qatar but I'll be there in Mexico/US/Canada, God willing!

[Janganza]

The lack of Nigerian presence at the game was disappointing. I was in SP until 3 days before the game and I came across like 10 Nigerians. Usually fans show up 5+ days before game day to explore the city. Friends inside the stadium said it was all Argentines. Folks had 7 months to buy tickets for the game, book flights and hotels, etc. The circumstances are different since it was our first WC in 28 years but there were 30-40K Egyptians in SP to watch the game vs Russia and the stadium was 50/50 on game day. Three days after the game SP was still full of Egyptians.

I met sooo many Egyptians. They were a great bunch! Took a lot of pics too.

Russians were great hosts! The entire WC experience is A MUST for any football fan. My friends and I are already talking Qatar. We cant wait!

There were huge numbers of Colombians, Mexicans and Argentinians. Huge support! I was also impressed with the numbers of Nigerians too. Also a very surprising number of Indians - who were prepared to pay big money for tickets. There'll be a World Cup there soon enough....

I had a very enjoyable time but if I'm to rank this amongst the World Cup experiences my order is:

1. Japan 2002
2. Brazil 2014
3. Germany 2006
4. Russia 2018
5. France 1998

Japan was five stars!! An amazing time.

Not sure I'll bother with Qatar but I'll be there in Mexico/US/Canada, God willing!

Well I was in Japan/Korea, I was living there at the time . So that doesn’t count for me.