Cybereagles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2BvwbYMAZ0[/video]

bret- hart wrote:If not for injuries Ammunike would have won a WPOY award. He was that damn good.

Bruh, no way, no how. He had a unique eye for goal, but his best club days were in lower tier leagues. Amunike was fast, but not extraordinarily so. He was skillful, but just a bit better than average. He wasn't that technical too. Finidi was as close to a complete winger as Nigeria has ever had. He is way better than Amunike in just about every area, save for goal scoring.

I would say Amunike was way better than Ikpeba (a player who I pretty much loathed) but apart from a bangin' 1994, Amunike's forays at the top of world football were unremarkable IMO. His ascendancy timed perfectly with Yekini's decline, and so he was able to steal an APOY that was destined for Rashidi.

Even at Atlanta, how would you rate Amunike? Granted that team was very good....but Kanu, Amokachi, Babangida, Okocha, Oliseh, Taribo, Babayaro, and Okechukwu all played consistently better than Amunike throughout that tournament....if I throw down a few drinks, I can even throw in Mobi ahead of Amunike as far as that tournament is concerned. So essentially, he was in the bottom half of performers??? WPOY??? Naah

Not making an excuse, but the Amunike you guys saw in '94 was even past his peak somewhat. By '94, he was bulky & stocky. The Amunike of Berger, the Junior Eagles & early days in Zamalek was lean.

Maybe our guys need to be better with nutrition, especially when they leave Nigeria for the first time. Being short does not mean you have to bulk up. Look at Iniesta & David Silva. Both short, but they remained lean throughout their careers.

Amunike bulked up once he got to Egypt. Ejike Uzoenyi was looking like the Pillsbury doughboy & his touch was like that of a Cassava farmer (© Mikel & BigPunkey) during the 2014 World Cup.

It's like these guys move abroad & start chopping like they've never seen food before. Additional weight for a short guy with a hard, aggressive style increases the likelihood of injuries, especially to the knees.

bret- hart wrote:

Lolly wrote:

bret- hart wrote:If not for injuries Ammunike would have won a WPOY award. He was that damn good.

Aside from Finidi all the other players you mentioned cannot clean Ammunike's boots. Did those guys play for Barcelona? Did they win a AFOY award? Old Timers like you keep mentioning Naija players from the 70s and 80s clamming they were World Class yet we could not qualify for World cups until 1994.mchewww.

Gbenga Okunowo too played for Barcelona. Does that make him WPOY material too?

You probably didn’t know that there were fewer spots in the World Cup for African teams in the 70s. Only one team qualified in 1978, and we it could have been us if we had beaten or drew with Tunisia in Lagos, the match Odiye scored an own goal. 1982, 2 teams qualified and we were in the top 4 teams.

Amuneke won the CAF awards playing in Zamalek, he won the CAF Champ league in 1993 and then AFCON the following year 1994.. Rare fit for a player in Africa, when you consider that Abedi Pele also won the ECL with Marseilles also in 1993.!

Purity wrote:Amuneke was deadly.. There is a reason why he won the CAF AFCON player and Finidi has not.. He won the CAF awards while playing for Zamalek in 1994 after helping Zamalek lift the CAF Champ league and Nigeria AFCON in 1994.

Good agents help players grow. Kanu and Finidi were lucky to have top class agents.

Both were great players........................Btw, Finidi was voted the best winger in the world, the same year that Ajax won the CL.

Two different type of players. Amunike was a wide attacking player while Finidi was a true winger. I watched a lot of the Ajax games - Finidi is one of the great wingers. His crossing accuracy was incredible and he was balanced both in defence and attack. He would have made any top 5 team from Brazil on down. Amunike was a big game player. He always rose to the occassion when it mattered. A lot of defenders underrated him because he was not that fast nor that skilful but there are few Nigerian players that had the positioning smarts like him. He read the game exceedingly well.

kali wrote:Two different type of players. Amunike was a wide attacking player while Finidi was a true winger. I watched a lot of the Ajax games - Finidi is one of the great wingers. His crossing accuracy was incredible and he was balanced both in defence and attack. He would have made any top 5 team from Brazil on down. Amunike was a big game player. He always rose to the occassion when it mattered. A lot of defenders underrated him because he was not that fast nor that skilful but there are few Nigerian players that had the positioning smarts like him. He read the game exceedingly well.

You mean Amunike?

Tobi17 wrote:

kali wrote:Two different type of players. Amunike was a wide attacking player while Finidi was a true winger. I watched a lot of the Ajax games - Finidi is one of the great wingers. His crossing accuracy was incredible and he was balanced both in defence and attack. He would have made any top 5 team from Brazil on down. Amunike was a big game player. He always rose to the occassion when it mattered. A lot of defenders underrated him because he was not that fast nor that skilful but there are few Nigerian players that had the positioning smarts like him. He read the game exceedingly well.

You mean Amunike?

Yes Amunike. Just look at the goals he scored in the ANC final and the one against Italy and then the one that sealed the Olympic gold medal. He popped up where the defence never expected.

His flying header against Bulgari was a delight.. A true Ajegunle boy.. Strong, never say die attitude and dangerous.

Bad argument. Amunike's time at Barca was largely forgettable. He had several average performances, spent quite a bit of time on the bench, and managed only one competitive goal while there. Despite this I would still rate Amunike as our best ever left winger. Moses would be my second choice. I would rate Finidi as our best ever winger though.

bret- hart wrote:

Lolly wrote:

bret- hart wrote:If not for injuries Ammunike would have won a WPOY award. He was that damn good.

Aside from Finidi all the other players you mentioned cannot clean Ammunike's boots. Did those guys play for Barcelona? Did they win a AFOY award? Old Timers like you keep mentioning Naija players from the 70s and 80s clamming they were World Class yet we could not qualify for World cups until 1994.mchewww.

Amuneke took the fight to Italy in USA.. We missed him badly after the injury against Italy..

I hate when we try to use clubs players played for to make them great players,Jonathan Akpoborie was a beast whne he played in the bundesliga but his form didnt tranfer to super eagles,Daniel AMokachie one of Nigeria's best players ever played in Besiktas and Everton. Emma was gold for Super Eagles,how may winning goals did he score for us? in Barcelona he had stiff competition,i remember watching Barca vs Newcastle in the CL 97,Amunike strugled and they removed him at half time and luis figo came on 2nd half and caused havoc,possibly the last game i saw Amunike play for Barca..

I just think its funny people can even fix their mouth to talk sideways about Emma..

omey2k4 wrote:I hate when we try to use clubs players played for to make them great players,Jonathan Akpoborie was a beast whne he played in the bundesliga but his form didnt tranfer to super eagles,Daniel AMokachie one of Nigeria's best players ever played in Besiktas and Everton. Emma was gold for Super Eagles,how may winning goals did he score for us? in Barcelona he had stiff competition,i remember watching Barca vs Newcastle in the CL 97,Amunike strugled and they removed him at half time and luis figo came on 2nd half and caused havoc,possibly the last game i saw Amunike play for Barca..

I just think its funny people can even fix their mouth to talk sideways about Emma..

https://youtu.be/lUsfsNp5pQs

Barca vs Newcastle 1997

Just re watched the 1994 ANC finals Nigeria vs Zambia and Amunike scored two goals in that match and was constantly fouled. If he didn’t play Nigeria May have lost that match as Yekini missed all the chances he got. Finidi was subbed towards the end of the first half for being ineffective.

Amunike again scored the winning goal against Argentina in 1996 final.

I accept Finidi had an exceptional club career with Ajax and was seen as the best right winger in the world but that success never transferred to Nigeria. He played against Italy in 1994 World Cup second round but wasn’t effective. Played against Denmark in 1998 World Cup no impact. Played against Cameroon ANC 2000. Played against Senegal 2002 ANC .

In reality he hasn’t won anything for Nigeria in key matches. So on what basis are people claiming Amunike could not wipe Finidi boots? I go to Spain regularly and Amunike is loved there even though he time was short while Finidi who played in the same league with Betis isn’t even known.

olu wrote:Bad argument. Amunike's time at Barca was largely forgettable. He had several average performances, spent quite a bit of time on the bench, and managed only one competitive goal while there. Despite this I would still rate Amunike as our best ever left winger. Moses would be my second choice. I would rate Finidi as our best ever winger though.

bret- hart wrote:

Lolly wrote:

bret- hart wrote:If not for injuries Ammunike would have won a WPOY award. He was that damn good.

Aside from Finidi all the other players you mentioned cannot clean Ammunike's boots. Did those guys play for Barcelona? Did they win a AFOY award? Old Timers like you keep mentioning Naija players from the 70s and 80s clamming they were World Class yet we could not qualify for World cups until 1994.mchewww.

He was hampered by injuries. If he wasn't injured, he would have made a far greater impact for both club and country. The WPOY was not beyond reach for him. He was just as good and effective as the likes of Figo, Finidi and that overrated pretty boy from Manchester. Nigeria was deprived of Ammunike at his prime.

hypotheticals are great because you can say anything and no one can really disprove you.