Nwabali

[amafolas]

Best keeper we have had since Enyeama.

[Bigpokey24]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

[Damunk]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

This guy’s humility deeply touches me.
It’s not something my country men do well, or frequently but this is another level.
In his own way he is a leader, like the anchors told him.
A true Gentle Giant.

God bless him for rising from nowhere and giving us joy in so many ways.
I pray he goes on to even greater things.

[Lolly]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

You just have to love this guy. God bless him. He has brought us so much joy especially those penalty saves against South Africa. Those guys were very boastful and I was so happy we put them in their place.

[Sunset]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

This guy’s humility deeply touches me.
It’s not something my country men do well, or frequently but this is another level.
In his own way he is a leader, like the anchors told him.
A true Gentle Giant.

God bless him for rising from nowhere and giving us joy in so many ways.
I pray he goes on to even greater things.

Definitely not from nowhere, most people just didn't bother to look

[Damunk]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

You just have to love this guy. God bless him. He has brought us so much joy especially those penalty saves against South Africa. Those guys were very boastful and I was so happy we put them in their place.

I particularly love the way he gives credit to his teammates and how he was BIG enough to admit he doesn’t think he would survive the social media bullying that Uzoho, Okoye and Iwobi have gone through.
That is what they call a MAN.
Not all these tinfoil ‘supermen’ going around calling everyone “mentally weak”.

[Damunk]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

This guy’s humility deeply touches me.
It’s not something my country men do well, or frequently but this is another level.
In his own way he is a leader, like the anchors told him.
A true Gentle Giant.

God bless him for rising from nowhere and giving us joy in so many ways.
I pray he goes on to even greater things.

Definitely not from nowhere, most people just didn't bother to look

Yes, I get your point.
But what I meant was that, barely three months ago he wasn’t even in the picture and hardly anyone knew of him or remembered him.
To rise from ‘zero’ to Hero in such a short time is truly inspiring.

He has definitely won the hearts of Nigerians.

[Enugu II]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

This guy’s humility deeply touches me.
It’s not something my country men do well, or frequently but this is another level.
In his own way he is a leader, like the anchors told him.
A true Gentle Giant.

God bless him for rising from nowhere and giving us joy in so many ways.
I pray he goes on to even greater things.

Definitely not from nowhere, most people just didn't bother to look

Yes, I get your point.
But what I meant was that, barely three months ago he wasn’t even in the picture and hardly anyone knew of him or remembered him.
To rise from ‘zero’ to Hero in such a short time is truly inspiring.

He has definitely won the hearts of Nigerians.

Damunk,

Those who did not know of him are those who refuse to pay attention to numerous talents emerging in Nigeria. I had known of him for years and I bet a few others did as well. This is a good example of why people should not dismiss the local talents by a wave of hands. Dis futball na efrywhere dem dey play am ooo! Let people begin to pay attention and not simply focus on the so-called 'BIG FIVE' leagues. Scouting is not error-proof as most people believe. There are numerous scouting errors!! If Peseiro was not pressured to look beyond Europe, Naija would have been saddled with Euro best like Uzoho for the AFCON. I bet you would have claimed that he was the best and then begin to axe "Wey be dose wey good for Naija?"

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

He is the best Keeper in recent times , and his mentality is up there. Dude was only making his 2nd appearance as a national team goalie vs EG, and to perform like this for 7 straight matches, and letting in 4 goals ( including a PK) wow ..... top gem we have here

This guy’s humility deeply touches me.
It’s not something my country men do well, or frequently but this is another level.
In his own way he is a leader, like the anchors told him.
A true Gentle Giant.

God bless him for rising from nowhere and giving us joy in so many ways.
I pray he goes on to even greater things.

Definitely not from nowhere, most people just didn't bother to look

Yes, I get your point.
But what I meant was that, barely three months ago he wasn’t even in the picture and hardly anyone knew of him or remembered him.
To rise from ‘zero’ to Hero in such a short time is truly inspiring.

He has definitely won the hearts of Nigerians.

People knew about him but you forget we’ve been stuck in an era where everything “foreign” is seen to be better than everything home grown. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times that neither Uzoho nor Okoye, for that matter, should have been in contention for #1 goalie, given the proliferation of talented and experienced goalies strewn all over Nigeria and elsewhere…

… and we seem destined to keep shooting ourselves in the foot by scouting for “good” defenders and midfielders all across Europe whilst ignoring the youthfulness and hunger of the likes Olisa Ndah and Daniel Daga


Cheers.

[Cellular]

Yes, I get your point.
But what I meant was that, barely three months ago he wasn’t even in the picture and hardly anyone knew of him or remembered him.
To rise from ‘zero’ to Hero in such a short time is truly inspiring.

He has definitely won the hearts of Nigerians.

Doc, he was known.
They just refused to scout towards his direction.
Let me tell you another couple of "unknowns" that if they give them an opportunity you will be saying, "hardly anyone knew of him".

Kingdom Osayi - Goalie for Doma United.
Sodiq Ismail - RB of Remo Stars. Top assist man from the RB position. Can cross the heck out of the ball and has PACE!

These two guys, I can bet anything on will not be out of place in the full Eagles squad. You just have to actually look.

Remember that Alhassan Yusuf came from not being a member of the squad to being a starter until he got injured and lost his place.



BTW, Nwabali still needs a lot of polishing. He needs to learn how to parry the ball away from the opposing players or catch di gaddam ball.

[Cellular]

People knew about him but you forget we’ve been stuck in an era where everything “foreign” is seen to be better than everything home grown. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times that neither Uzoho nor Okoye, for that matter, should have been in contention for #1 goalie, given the proliferation of talented and experienced goalies strewn all over Nigeria and elsewhere…

… and we seem destined to keep shooting ourselves in the foot by scouting for “good” defenders and midfielders all across Europe whilst ignoring the youthfulness and hunger of the likes Olisa Ndah and Daniel Daga


Cheers.

Oga TTTK, nothing to add.

[Enugu II]

I believe the problem that Damunk and those who swear by European scouting is that they have bought into the Euro propaganda that is incredibly ignorant of what is known about science today! The Euro propaganda spreads the story that all that is knowable is already known and that things like scouting are at the zenith of science and infallible. It ignores what the stuudy of general systems informs us -- we are barely scratching the surface in terms of knowledge about our world and that as you go higher among the nine systems in the world (with human systems near the zenith of systems) that what is unknown is incredibly VAST.

Scouting is at a pedantry level, barely scratching the surface and it has incredibly large errors with monumental mistakes! Let me, for instance (spare me a moment) take a look at the United States of America which is often held up as the beacon of science. In the USA, the scouting of players for the gridiron football draft attempts to cover even the minutiae starting from high school and through college with all kinds of measurements, IQ tests, physical tests, etc. YET, each year, the draft of this talent continues to make monumental mistakes in player assessment. This validates the FACT (I do not use the word lightly) that scouting is not as scientific as we think it is or even hope that it is. It is very rudimentary in its ability to predict. This is why I state that limiting oneself to simply relying on inviting players from a limited sample of BIG FIVE leagues is rubbish. We need to spread our dragnet as wide as possible and let them come and compete among themselves in our national camp. This way, you lessen the error of talent identification by using the LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS ( A familiar law in big population research).

[Damunk]

I believe the problem that Damunk and those who swear by European scouting is that they have bought into the Euro propaganda that is incredibly ignorant of what is known about science today! The Euro propaganda spreads the story that all that is knowable is already known and that things like scouting are at the zenith of science and infallible. It ignores what the stuudy of general systems informs us -- we are barely scratching the surface in terms of knowledge about our world and that as you go higher among the nine systems in the world (with human systems near the zenith of systems) that what is unknown is incredibly VAST.

Scouting is at a pedantry level, barely scratching the surface and it has incredibly large errors with monumental mistakes! Let me, for instance (spare me a moment) take a look at the United States of America which is often held up as the beacon of science. In the USA, the scouting of players for the gridiron football draft attempts to cover even the minutiae starting from high school and through college with all kinds of measurements, IQ tests, physical tests, etc. YET, each year, the draft of this talent continues to make monumental mistakes in player assessment. This validates the FACT (I do not use the word lightly) that scouting is not as scientific as we think it is or even hope that it is. It is very rudimentary in its ability to predict. This is why I state that limiting oneself to simply relying on inviting players from a limited sample of BIG FIVE leagues is rubbish. We need to spread our dragnet as wide as possible and let them come and compete among themselves in our national camp. This way, you lessen the error of talent identification by using the LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS ( A familiar law in big population research).

Prof, please do not patronise me.
That we have differences of opinion is no reason for you to do that.
When I debate you, you won’t find me using terms like “the problem with Enugu II”, or even derogatory terms like “ignorant”.
I reserve that kind of language for a very deserving few in this place.
I even call you ‘Prof’, not because I have to and not because your debate points are infallible. Far from it.
But if you believe you do not wish to keep the respect at that level, that’s fine too.

[Kabalega]

Nwabali is a basket case.
He almost gave people heart attacks after Iheanacho scored the winning penalty in the semifinal. Even his shaking before Ekong’s penalties was not good for fragile hearts.

Otherwise, the guy comes off as a leader.

On another note, maybe people especially on CE, will evaluate players on merit based on evidence on the green grass instead of the teams they played for.

[Enugu II]

I believe the problem that Damunk and those who swear by European scouting is that they have bought into the Euro propaganda that is incredibly ignorant of what is known about science today! The Euro propaganda spreads the story that all that is knowable is already known and that things like scouting are at the zenith of science and infallible. It ignores what the stuudy of general systems informs us -- we are barely scratching the surface in terms of knowledge about our world and that as you go higher among the nine systems in the world (with human systems near the zenith of systems) that what is unknown is incredibly VAST.

Scouting is at a pedantry level, barely scratching the surface and it has incredibly large errors with monumental mistakes! Let me, for instance (spare me a moment) take a look at the United States of America which is often held up as the beacon of science. In the USA, the scouting of players for the gridiron football draft attempts to cover even the minutiae starting from high school and through college with all kinds of measurements, IQ tests, physical tests, etc. YET, each year, the draft of this talent continues to make monumental mistakes in player assessment. This validates the FACT (I do not use the word lightly) that scouting is not as scientific as we think it is or even hope that it is. It is very rudimentary in its ability to predict. This is why I state that limiting oneself to simply relying on inviting players from a limited sample of BIG FIVE leagues is rubbish. We need to spread our dragnet as wide as possible and let them come and compete among themselves in our national camp. This way, you lessen the error of talent identification by using the LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS ( A familiar law in big population research).

Prof, please do not patronise me.
That we have differences of opinion is no reason for you to do that.
When I debate you, you won’t find me using terms like “the problem with Enugu II”, or even derogatory terms like “ignorant”.
I reserve that kind of language for a very deserving few in this place.
I even call you ‘Prof’, not because I have to and not because your debate points are infallible. Far from it.
But if you believe you do not wish to keep the respect at that level, that’s fine too.

Damunk,

I am actually surprised because that was not intended to rile you. If it did, obviously, then I extend my apologies. The intent was to drive home a point.

[Dammy]

He could be our own Dibu Martinez, who came into the spotlight late and took advantage of the opportunities that came his way

[Dammy]

He could be our own Dibu Martinez, who came into the spotlight late and took advantage of the opportunities that came his way

[Damunk]

I believe the problem that Damunk and those who swear by European scouting is that they have bought into the Euro propaganda that is incredibly ignorant of what is known about science today! The Euro propaganda spreads the story that all that is knowable is already known and that things like scouting are at the zenith of science and infallible. It ignores what the stuudy of general systems informs us -- we are barely scratching the surface in terms of knowledge about our world and that as you go higher among the nine systems in the world (with human systems near the zenith of systems) that what is unknown is incredibly VAST.

Scouting is at a pedantry level, barely scratching the surface and it has incredibly large errors with monumental mistakes! Let me, for instance (spare me a moment) take a look at the United States of America which is often held up as the beacon of science. In the USA, the scouting of players for the gridiron football draft attempts to cover even the minutiae starting from high school and through college with all kinds of measurements, IQ tests, physical tests, etc. YET, each year, the draft of this talent continues to make monumental mistakes in player assessment. This validates the FACT (I do not use the word lightly) that scouting is not as scientific as we think it is or even hope that it is. It is very rudimentary in its ability to predict. This is why I state that limiting oneself to simply relying on inviting players from a limited sample of BIG FIVE leagues is rubbish. We need to spread our dragnet as wide as possible and let them come and compete among themselves in our national camp. This way, you lessen the error of talent identification by using the LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS ( A familiar law in big population research).

Prof, please do not patronise me.
That we have differences of opinion is no reason for you to do that.
When I debate you, you won’t find me using terms like “the problem with Enugu II”, or even derogatory terms like “ignorant”.
I reserve that kind of language for a very deserving few in this place.
I even call you ‘Prof’, not because I have to and not because your debate points are infallible. Far from it.
But if you believe you do not wish to keep the respect at that level, that’s fine too.

Damunk,

I am actually surprised because that was not intended to rile you. If it did, obviously, then I extend my apologies. The intent was to drive home a point.

Point taken, apology accepted.
Maybe it just came across wrong.
No wahala.

[wiseone]

[mcal]

...while there praising Stanley Nwabali heroics, make una also thank the outgoing coach who actually went to SA to watch him, was convinced and brought him. It has always been the problem of our SE coaches, foreign or domestic, not to look within. Keshi was the last successful coach who looked within and got Sunday Mba before this current coach.

[Damunk]

...while there praising Stanley Nwabali heroics, make una also thank the outgoing coach who actually went to SA to watch him, was convinced and brought him. It has always been the problem of our SE coaches, foreign or domestic, not to look within. Keshi was the last successful coach who looked within and got Sunday Mba before this current coach.

This guy again.
He was at nest a Hero-of-the moment, or what in music they call a ‘One hit wonder’.

Grateful for his contribution, but I’d respectfully bow out of the group that classes him as one of the ‘greats’.

If Nwakali goes on to do great things for the SE, then yes, he will be up there.

[Enugu II]

...while there praising Stanley Nwabali heroics, make una also thank the outgoing coach who actually went to SA to watch him, was convinced and brought him. It has always been the problem of our SE coaches, foreign or domestic, not to look within. Keshi was the last successful coach who looked within and got Sunday Mba before this current coach.

This guy again.
He was at nest a Hero-of-the moment, or what in music they call a ‘One hit wonder’.

Grateful for his contribution, but I’d respectfully bow out of the group that classes him as one of the ‘greats’.

If Nwakali goes on to do great things for the SE, then yes, he will be up there.

Damunk

It depends on what people are looking at. Mba is an all time AFCON great fir Nigeria just as Musa ais all time World Cup great for Nigerua. However, none of those two will be named as all time Nigerian great.

To be honest, these are really a matter of opinion. For instance, I will never put Kanu Nwankwo as an all time great for Nigeria because he really was not in the shirt of Nigeria' senior team. Never scored an AFCON goal and barely averaged 60 minutes per game for the senior team. However, some others will put him there.

[mcal]

...while there praising Stanley Nwabali heroics, make una also thank the outgoing coach who actually went to SA to watch him, was convinced and brought him. It has always been the problem of our SE coaches, foreign or domestic, not to look within. Keshi was the last successful coach who looked within and got Sunday Mba before this current coach.

This guy again.
He was at nest a Hero-of-the moment, or what in music they call a ‘One hit wonder’.

Grateful for his contribution, but I’d respectfully bow out of the group that classes him as one of the ‘greats’.

If Nwakali goes on to do great things for the SE, then yes, he will be up there.

...take it or leave it, Sunday Mba is and will be known as all time great at the 2013 afcon championship win.
Like EII noted, until Nwabali also win he will be part of it. Meanwhile he was a revelation and great at this last afcon.