Cybereagles

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments

Kai! I forgot about ‘Pele’...

Arguably the best, but never did it at the Eagles’ level...
Kicked all over Nigeria (when it was a legal tactic), and quickly lost to the US collegiate system.

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

Bell, Mathias Obianika was arguably the most influential player in the early Rangers International lineup. His dribbling and ball control were incomparable and he was the closest to a number 10 that they had early on. Indeed, he was a precursor to the likes of Okocha. To put it in context, the Mighty Jets had Sam Garba Okoye and the Rangers International had Mathias Obianika

Christian Madu was a second generation Rangers International player, by way of Great Olympics of Ghana. He ended up in Rangers after terrorizing Emmanuel Okala in a Club of Champions encounter and the latter insisted he would quit the Rangers if they didn’t go and sign him. He was all that and a bag of chips


Cheers.

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Sir V wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

He did. He was in the National team years before Muda. After the Nigeria/Ghana sports festival in 1975, Father Tiko invited the young stars like Odiye. Usiyan, best Ogedegbe to camp, that was when Muda took that position from Ilerika. Muda was more of an intelligent player than Ilerika.

Sir V, you are mostly correct except for the fact that Haruna Ilerika was not a midfielder. He, like Godwin Ogbueze, was a centre forward


Cheers.

Gotti wrote:

Damunk wrote:But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

Banish the thought...
Haruna Illerika was probably the first name on the teamsheet in the early 1970s.

Muda Lawal did not make his Eagles debut till 1975 (his real coming out party was 1976 AFCON)...
Xtian Madu was just as great a dribbler as Haruna and Jay-Jay, but not quick enough for Father Tiko.

Thanks.
Didn't realise Haruna was one generation before Muda.

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Yes, I'm just realising this.

Damunk wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Yes, I'm just realising this.

Ilerika, in terms of his actual position on the field (Not his jersey number) was an attacking mid from the left. Note that throughout his career he had a striker playing. At the AAG and shortly after, the striker was Sunny Oyarekhua and at the AFCON 1976 it was Usiyan (Oyarekhua when Usiyan was injured at that tournament). The fact that many speak of Ilerika as a No. 9 for SE demonstrates more than ever the continued erasure of Oyarekhua's career from the memory of Nigerian fans. Yet, he delivered when it mattered in those days.

It was not Muda who took Ilerika's position, in any case. Ilerika was a starter at the AAG where he was one of the young players. However, after the AAG, the team was virtually disbanded with Tiko and three other Yugoslavs appointed to build a new team. ILerika was still on the team but was not favored as other players including Emeteole came into competition for that position. Ilerika, however, was a starter again, midpoint into the AFCON of 1976 and shortly after before he left the team. At that point it was Kelechi before Iwelumo then took over the position. It is important to also note that some of Ilerika's problems after the AAG were based on his insistence that he could not stay in the camp because he had a young daughter to take care of. Thus, he often joined training from home in Lagos. Just my tuppence.

Etim "Maradona" Esin arrived at a time when Nigeria was desperate for a new hero. The set that won the 1980 AFCON had faded and the set Onigbinde took to CIV in 1984 were good but not hitting the high levels. Esin was hyped and the 1987 Junior World Cup was meant to be his coming out party. For his teams Iwuanyanwu Nationae of Owerri, Flash Flamingoes of Benin and Calabar Rovers, Esin will often produce moments of brilliant flashes and genius and then disappear into obscurity. I remember he scored a wonder goal in Lagos during the Junior World Cup qualifiers after a dribbling waltz past 3 or 4 players and he got the nickname "Maradona".

Before the trip to Chile, however, Esin got shot in the thigh in Lagos and all hell broke loose. The nation wanted him patched up because of his importance. The tournament turned out to be a washout as Brazil smashed us 3-0 in the opener. Esin was on the pitch the day Okwaraji died in the goalless draw against Angola. There were far too many matches where he was anonymous but his hype lingered because of the handful of clever touches meant mainly to impress the fans. He will later move to Belgium where again, all we heard was hype than the real thing. He ran back to Nigeria after he was allegedly declared wanted for a rape case.

Goldleaf wrote:Etim "Maradona" Esin arrived at a time when Nigeria was desperate for a new hero. The set that won the 1980 AFCON had faded and the set Onigbinde took to CIV in 1984 were good but not hitting the high levels. Esin was hyped and the 1987 Junior World Cup was meant to be his coming out party. For his teams Iwuanyanwu Nationae of Owerri, Flash Flamingoes of Benin and Calabar Rovers, Esin will often produce moments of brilliant flashes and genius and then disappear into obscurity. I remember he scored a wonder goal in Lagos during the Junior World Cup qualifiers after a dribbling waltz past 3 or 4 players and he got the nickname "Maradona".

Before the trip to Chile, however, Esin got shot in the thigh in Lagos and all hell broke loose. The nation wanted him patched up because of his importance. The tournament turned out to be a washout as Brazil smashed us 3-0 in the opener. Esin was on the pitch the day Okwaraji died in the goalless draw against Angola. There were far too many matches where he was anonymous but his hype lingered because of the handful of clever touches meant mainly to impress the fans. He will later move to Belgium where again, all we heard was hype than the real thing. He ran back to Nigeria after he was allegedly declared wanted for a rape case.

It was like a national emergency.
I think he broke camp rules and was out partying that night when he got shot by armed robbers.
I still don't know how a footballer that took a bullet in the thigh was able to get patched up and fit to play in a WC tournament barely weeks later.

Part of our national folklore.

Enugu II wrote:

Damunk wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Yes, I'm just realising this.

Ilerika, in terms of his actual position on the field (Not his jersey number) was an attacking mid from the left. Note that throughout his career he had a striker playing. At the AAG and shortly after, the striker was Sunny Oyarekhua and at the AFCON 1976 it was Usiyan (Oyarekhua when Usiyan was injured at that tournament). The fact that many speak of Ilerika as a No. 9 for SE demonstrates more than ever the continued erasure of Oyarekhua's career from the memory of Nigerian fans. Yet, he delivered when it mattered in those days.

It was not Muda who took Ilerika's position, in any case. Ilerika was a starter at the AAG where he was one of the young players. However, after the AAG, the team was virtually disbanded with Tiko and three other Yugoslavs appointed to build a new team. ILerika was still on the team but was not favored as other players including Emeteole came into competition for that position. Ilerika, however, was a starter again, midpoint into the AFCON of 1976 and shortly after before he left the team. At that point it was Kelechi before Iwelumo then took over the position. It is important to also note that some of Ilerika's problems after the AAG were based on his insistence that he could not stay in the camp because he had a young daughter to take care of. Thus, he often joined training from home in Lagos. Just my tuppence.

Wow, that was very selfless of him.
Thanks EII.

I will always maintain that Etim Esin was one of Nigeria's greatest ever players despite his relatively short career. IMO, he was better than Okocha, mainly on his physical strength something which Okocha lacked. Etim could do anything JayJay did, only he was much stronger with thighs like tree trunks. I saw Etim make the legendary Cameroonian defender, Kunde, look helpless as kicking Etim had no effect. It's a shame he never got to play with Okocha.

Why is there so little tape on this guy? The little video I saw on youtube was super underwhelming compared to the hype sha...

Etim was a talented player and like Okocha, often dribbles for showboating sake. He also reminds me of Ndubuisi Okosieme. Another master dribbler with little or no end results.

By the way, wasn't Etim the player shot in the thigh by armed robbers and his career took a downward trajectory after the incident?

DIMKA76 wrote:[/video]

abeg wake us when you find a video of him heighting and nutmegging Arsenal players or Kenyans, while eating a sandwich.

Goldleaf wrote:Etim "Maradona" Esin arrived at a time when Nigeria was desperate for a new hero. The set that won the 1980 AFCON had faded and the set Onigbinde took to CIV in 1984 were good but not hitting the high levels. Esin was hyped and the 1987 Junior World Cup was meant to be his coming out party. For his teams Iwuanyanwu Nationae of Owerri, Flash Flamingoes of Benin and Calabar Rovers, Esin will often produce moments of brilliant flashes and genius and then disappear into obscurity. I remember he scored a wonder goal in Lagos during the Junior World Cup qualifiers after a dribbling waltz past 3 or 4 players and he got the nickname "Maradona".

Before the trip to Chile, however, Esin got shot in the thigh in Lagos and all hell broke loose. The nation wanted him patched up because of his importance. The tournament turned out to be a washout as Brazil smashed us 3-0 in the opener. Esin was on the pitch the day Okwaraji died in the goalless draw against Angola. There were far too many matches where he was anonymous but his hype lingered because of the handful of clever touches meant mainly to impress the fans. He will later move to Belgium where again, all we heard was hype than the real thing. He ran back to Nigeria after he was allegedly declared wanted for a rape case.

Your post captured my thoughts exactly. I utterly concur with you. Dude used to beg me for money and drinks back in the days (early 90s). He was everywhere (Niteshift, The Den, etc) in Ikeja with his Toyota Celica car back in the days.

iworo wrote:

Goldleaf wrote:Etim "Maradona" Esin arrived at a time when Nigeria was desperate for a new hero. The set that won the 1980 AFCON had faded and the set Onigbinde took to CIV in 1984 were good but not hitting the high levels. Esin was hyped and the 1987 Junior World Cup was meant to be his coming out party. For his teams Iwuanyanwu Nationae of Owerri, Flash Flamingoes of Benin and Calabar Rovers, Esin will often produce moments of brilliant flashes and genius and then disappear into obscurity. I remember he scored a wonder goal in Lagos during the Junior World Cup qualifiers after a dribbling waltz past 3 or 4 players and he got the nickname "Maradona".

Before the trip to Chile, however, Esin got shot in the thigh in Lagos and all hell broke loose. The nation wanted him patched up because of his importance. The tournament turned out to be a washout as Brazil smashed us 3-0 in the opener. Esin was on the pitch the day Okwaraji died in the goalless draw against Angola. There were far too many matches where he was anonymous but his hype lingered because of the handful of clever touches meant mainly to impress the fans. He will later move to Belgium where again, all we heard was hype than the real thing. He ran back to Nigeria after he was allegedly declared wanted for a rape case.

Your post captured my thoughts exactly. I utterly concur with you. Dude used to beg me for money and drinks back in the days (early 90s). He was everywhere (Niteshift, The Den, etc) in Ikeja with his Toyota Celica car back in the days.

Everything you said is correct but for one small detail, Naija beat Angola 1-0 via a Stephen Keshi (RIP) Goal. Angola had a penalty saved by David Ngodingha (sp).

Unpopular opinion: Etim may have been a rascal off the field, but he was better at timing his passes and laying off the ball for team mates. I don't remember him dribbling himself into a corner.

But we like atilogu so....

Kneedeep wrote:Unpopular opinion: Etim may have been a rascal off the field, but he was better at timing his passes and laying off the ball for team mates. I don't remember him dribbling himself into a corner.

But we like atilogu so....

hmmmm

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:

DIMKA76 wrote:[/video]

abeg wake us when you find a video of him heighting and nutmegging Arsenal players or Kenyans, while eating a sandwich.

So these are his highlights?

The YeyeMan wrote:

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:

DIMKA76 wrote:[/video]

abeg wake us when you find a video of him heighting and nutmegging Arsenal players or Kenyans, while eating a sandwich.

So these are his highlights?

abeg help me ask them o. If they are going to compare him to Okocha, dude better be performing serious tricks.

Hmmm, but see JJ early in his European journey how useless he was lol

[/video]

Damunk wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Yes, I'm just realising this.

OK, damunk, I THINK...


…your question has been answered adequately by gotti and sir v.
Bell

Enugu II wrote:

Damunk wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:

Damunk wrote:

Bell wrote:

TonyTheTigerKiller wrote:There are less than a handful of Nigerian players with comparable talent to Jay-Jay’s. The most obvious was Godwin Ogbueze. Mathias Obianika and Haruna Ilerika had considerable and significant dribbling skills, as did Christian Madu, who had general open field savvy as well. Samson Siasia also had his moments


Cheers.

GOOD LIST OF PLAYERS YOU DREW UP THERE, AND...


...with the exception of Madu, I'm familiar with their plays and levels. That's why I feel confident that Haruna Ilerika was clearly on a different level compared to them. He was at one time the offensive backbone of the SE, something that can't be said of any of the other players. As a matter of fact, I have a real problem choosing between Okocha and Haruna.
Bell

But Haruna was unable to nail down a permanent spot in the then Green Eagles.
Wasn't it Muda that was keeping him out?

No sir, definitely not. Haruna Ilerika was a centre forward and played for the Green Eagles between 1971 and 1975 and I’m almost certain he was a member of the AAG gold medal squad in 1973. Muda joined the National team much later


Cheers.

Yes, I'm just realising this.

Ilerika, in terms of his actual position on the field (Not his jersey number) was an attacking mid from the left. Note that throughout his career he had a striker playing. At the AAG and shortly after, the striker was Sunny Oyarekhua and at the AFCON 1976 it was Usiyan (Oyarekhua when Usiyan was injured at that tournament). The fact that many speak of Ilerika as a No. 9 for SE demonstrates more than ever the continued erasure of Oyarekhua's career from the memory of Nigerian fans. Yet, he delivered when it mattered in those days.

It was not Muda who took Ilerika's position, in any case. Ilerika was a starter at the AAG where he was one of the young players. However, after the AAG, the team was virtually disbanded with Tiko and three other Yugoslavs appointed to build a new team. ILerika was still on the team but was not favored as other players including Emeteole came into competition for that position. Ilerika, however, was a starter again, midpoint into the AFCON of 1976 and shortly after before he left the team. At that point it was Kelechi before Iwelumo then took over the position. It is important to also note that some of Ilerika's problems after the AAG were based on his insistence that he could not stay in the camp because he had a young daughter to take care of. Thus, he often joined training from home in Lagos. Just my tuppence.

HARUNA INDEED WAS NO. 9, BUT...


…he played not as traditional center fwd whose main thing was to score but played as a M/F behind the other four fwds. Up front, he was flanked on the left by Donbraye (11, left winger) & Mambo (10, inside left), and on the right by Oyarekhua (8, inside right) and Njoku (7, right winger). Mambo and Oyarekhua were the primary scorers thanks to the work of Ilerika who supplied passes for easy goals after discombobulating defenses.
Bell