Enugu II wrote:
Akure4Life wrote:
I don't think a German kid born and raised in Nigeria will choose Nigeria over Germany.
I remember one Italian striker who was born and raised in Australia but played for Italy
He had a proper Aussie accent too
Then we (Nigeria) have a bigger problem!! No way will a kid born to Nigerian parents in Europe or United States choose to platy for Nigeria ahead of those countries
except in a case where the kid feels he may not get an opportunity with those countries. We have seen that case repeatedly and, in my view, not surprising about that. It is all about comfort level.
If you now state that a kid who has socialized a lot with Nigerian kids in Nigeria will instead choose to play for a European country of his parents' birth, then we even have a bigger problem at hand. I hope you are wrong because that would appear to go against the grain of socialization.
That is the core issue right there - but remember the kid may rightly but also
wrongly feel he has "no opportunity".
In countries that have an embarrassment of riches (eg, imagine Maradona and Messi being of the same generation) a very talented kid could feel he will make the pick but eventually doesn't, while another might feel he won't make it but does. Add to that the varying rates at which kids develop (late bloomers, early peakers etc) then its to a degree a guessing game.
You win some, you lose some but you don't give up the fight for quality. No-one is going to give you any brownie points for 'gentlemanly behaviour' In the war arena that is the World Cup or even AFCON.
For what?
This is why the NFF's 'early strike' policy should not be rubbished. It should be encouraged. We are mostly talking about
young players on the rise here, not seasoned 'rejects' like Sola Ameobi and Danny Shittu.
I really don't know why there is such a reluctance for Nigerians to join in this dog-eat-dog world that is the modern game today. I think it is hypocritical tbh - especially coming from those of us that have emigrated out to the west with our higher skills.
We have no problem hiring out our skills and services to the highest global bidder for the benefit of
their societies
and to the absolute detriment of ours, yet we whinge and whine and shed crocodile tears about
''reaping where we did not sow'' when recruiting
bona fide diaspora Nigerians for a game of football!
Who or what is impacting more negatively on Nigeria - the unrelenting 'brain drain' or the 20-30 odd foreign born footballers that over time get invited to play for the SE?
It's a ridiculous argument to be having in 2020 and as far as I am concerned it is driven by a mixed bag of naivety, ego, racism, personality politics, identity ambiguities and a misplaced sense of patriotism.
Go for the very best available wherever they might be, and while you're at it, fix the local league to be the best it can be.
They are not mutually exclusive. 