Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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Some long-distance Liverpool fans travelling by train to Saturday's Merseyside derby will have had their tickets checked by a man who once played in an FA Cup semi-final.

Tunji Banjo still has a living to make with London Northwestern exactly 40 years after facing Arsenal in one of the biggest games in Leyton Orient's history.

It's hard to imagine Harry Kane or Eden Hazard spending their retirement shuttling between Milton Keynes and Crewe, but Banjo hasn't got that luxury. In any case, that's not one of the worst shifts.

'The earliest start is 5am in Northampton which means I leave home at three', he reveals. 'I've been a footballer so I know the difference between that and proper work!

'I wouldn't expect players from today's academies to understand but it's nothing new for me. I've been a bus driver, a dustman. I'd work summers at Orient, I did cleaning at Lord's cricket ground.'

Banjo was 18 and earning just £100-a-week when Second Division Orient beat Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Norwich to set up their semi with Arsenal on April 8, 1978.

The favourites won 3-0 in front of 49,000 at Stamford Bridge and it still hurts. 'Their first two goals were fluky, deflected shots by Malcolm Macdonald,' says Banjo.

He'd come on as a sub and is grateful there are pictures of him battling for the ball with Liam Brady because the match itself was a blur.

'We went back to Brisbane Road after and then I caught the tube home,' he says. 'I remember changing trains at Oxford Circus, thinking how crazy it was I'd played in an FA Cup semi-final two hours before.'

Banjo, a strong-running midfielder, was among a group of young, black players at Orient who helped change the face of football.

The most famous, Laurie Cunningham, left for West Brom in 1977 but John Chiedozie, Chris Hughton's younger brother Henry, Bobby Fisher and Kevin Godfrey remained.

'I had a bad experience at Bolton early on,' recalls Banjo. 'I was warming up to come on and got all this verbal abuse and bananas being hurled down.

'We were brought up tough in London so it didn't put me off but I'm sure those people looking back now must feel ashamed. It was just a way of life then. Sometimes you get angry about it but I don't feel it does you any good to hold any grudges.'

Black players supported each other. Banjo knew Cyrille Regis from London schools' football and was friendly with Cunningham, who later played for Real Madrid and Manchester United before his tragic death in a car crash in 1989.

'Laurie was never flash, always stayed down-to-earth. I bumped into him a few years after Orient. I walked into a bar in Muswell Hill and there he was! It was a lovely sunny day so we grabbed at a table outside and chatted about old times.

'Everyone knows about Laurie and Cryille and what they did but there were a lot of us who went through the same thing but were lesser-known. We were all trailblazers, definitely.'

Ironically, Cunningham's West Brom were the other beaten semi-finalists in 1978. 'I supported Ipswich against Arsenal in the final,' says Banjo. 'Not just because Arsenal had beaten us. I was also a Tottenham fan!'

At that time, Banjo was already a Nigerian international, eligible through his Dad. The trips to Africa were an eye-opener for the Londoner who found it a fascinating experience, but was startled to witness dead bodies in the street on one visit.

On the pitch, he came close to qualifying for the 1982 World Cup. Nigeria were beaten by Algeria in a play-off and they went on to defeat West Germany in the finals the following summer.


Banjo never became another Cunningham. He left Orient in 1983 to play in Cyprus where a bad ankle injury put paid to his dream of reaching the top. He drifted into non-league, retirement and a new life on the trains.

In 2004, he moved to Stoke-on-Trent to keep his son away from London gang culture and it remains his home town today.

On the trains, he occasionally sees famous football names like Paul Ince on board. He recognises them, but they haven't a clue who he is and he keeps quiet.

He is waiting to see if his next shift pattern puts him on earlies or lates but is devoid of jealousy or bitterness. 'I am still totally into football,' he says. 'I'm not one of those who thinks 'If only'. I had my time and that's how things were in those days.'

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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by ogiso »

I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
Segun Odegbami is not driving Taxi in Lagos. There is more to what you become than location!

He talked about the gang culture. I just hope the future of the youths don't get destroyed.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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wanaj0 wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
Segun Odegbami is not driving Taxi in Lagos. There is more to what you become than location!

He talked about the gang culture. I just hope the future of the youths don't get destroyed.
Abegi tell am! The moronic babbling one has to suffer on these pages sometimes... :oops:

And if the Ifa Whisperer is so appalled with dead bodies that are supposedly still on the streets, he can go pick ‘em up. After all, Nigeria belongs to all of us and is the product of our actions - or inaction! SMH
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA »

Gotti wrote:
wanaj0 wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
Segun Odegbami is not driving Taxi in Lagos. There is more to what you become than location!

He talked about the gang culture. I just hope the future of the youths don't get destroyed.
Abegi tell am! The moronic babbling one has to suffer on these pages sometimes... :oops:

And if the Ifa Whisperer is so appalled with dead bodies that are supposedly still on the streets, he can go pick ‘em up. After all, Nigeria belongs to all of us and is the product of our actions - or inaction! SMH

For every Segun Odegbami there are hundreds of former ballers that are dead broke or dead with no skills or safety net to fall back on. He is better off driving train in London that driving for Lastma in Lagos.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Waffiman »

wanaj0 wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
Segun Odegbami is not driving Taxi in Lagos. There is more to what you become than location!

He talked about the gang culture. I just hope the future of the youths don't get destroyed.
Spot on bro. Abeg tell am.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:For every Segun Odegbami there are hundreds of former ballers that are dead broke or dead with no skills or safety net to fall back on. He is better off driving train in London that driving for Lastma in Lagos.
And you think there are no former ballers "dead broke or dead" in the UK?! :blink:

Football proffers an OPPORTUNITY, not a guarantee of a life of luxury. Many Nigerian footballers have used it as an opportunity for education or a decent trade and profession. Nonetheless, that is besides the bigger point. If you want Nigeria to be as viable as the UK, roll up your damn sleeves, rather than sitting on the sidelines and point fingers, babbling incoherently. It's YOUR country too!
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
What's the point of this comment? Nigeria belongs to us all, its time to make our lil difference instead of belittling ourselves
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by deanotito »

Not that I don't support doing all one can for Nigeria, but statistically speaking, given Nigeria's relative wealth compared to GB, Emir is spot on. If you're going to blow the opportunity that football gives you, you're better off doing so in GB than in Nigeria. If you're trying not to get left on the street when you die, you're also statistically better off dying in GB than in Nigeria. His comment was harsh, but it was true.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Sir V »

Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

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Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by FATHER TIKO »

Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
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I can assure you it's more important than that..."
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Enugu II »

FATHER TIKO wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
He did not play in any of those. Note also that he missed preparatory games against Uganda and Liberia before that critical home game in 1981 where all the big stars were recalled. Line ups for all those games are available.what is possible is that I could have missed one but which one? My thought is I have included all his games.
The difficulties of statistical thinking describes a puzzling limitation of our mind: our excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in. We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events -- Daniel Kahneman (2011), Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Chief Ogbunigwe »

Enugu II wrote:
FATHER TIKO wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
He did not play in any of those. Note also that he missed preparatory games against Uganda and Liberia before that critical home game in 1981 where all the big stars were recalled. Line ups for all those games are available.
EII:

Are you sure he missed the home game vs Tunisia? Was that not the desperate "all hands on deck" second leg to overturn the 2-0 deficit, where Osigwe scored a great goal, before we went on to win on PKs (Odegbami limping with a bandaged thigh, Ogedegbe making 2 saves, and Ikhana missing)? To be fair, I watched the re-run on NTA, and don't remember seeing him play. My assumption is based on newspaper reports and clippings (maybe radio commentaries?). I somehow associated him and Chidozie with the turnaround vs the Tunisians.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by mcal »

Waffiman wrote:
wanaj0 wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:The dead bodies are still on the street in Nigeria. He's lucky he's British born, his fate would have been far worse! He makes a decent income driving train in LONDON, Much more than driving a taxi in Lagos. I'm actually happy for him considering football didn't pay much back then.
Segun Odegbami is not driving Taxi in Lagos. There is more to what you become than location!

He talked about the gang culture. I just hope the future of the youths don't get destroyed.
Spot on bro. Abeg tell am.
...driving a train is a noble job in the west, if a former footballer in Nigeria is seen driving a train, or cab for that matter, he will be put down asap, hence many of them (without Uni-degree) flock to sports ministry for a job.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by FATHER TIKO »

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
FATHER TIKO wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
He did not play in any of those. Note also that he missed preparatory games against Uganda and Liberia before that critical home game in 1981 where all the big stars were recalled. Line ups for all those games are available.
EII:

Are you sure he missed the home game vs Tunisia? Was that not the desperate "all hands on deck" second leg to overturn the 2-0 deficit, where Osigwe scored a great goal, before we went on to win on PKs (Odegbami limping with a bandaged thigh, Ogedegbe making 2 saves, and Ikhana missing)? To be fair, I watched the re-run on NTA, and don't remember seeing him play. My assumption is based on newspaper reports and clippings (maybe radio commentaries?). I somehow associated him and Chidozie with the turnaround vs the Tunisians.
That was not the home game of WCQ in 1985...that was WCQ in 1980 (Chiedozie's debut; he lasted 13 mins due to injury)
The WCQ 1985 home tie I referred to was the one that featured Emenalo (CB), Nwajiobi(FW), etc..John Fashanu was in camp but did not start...
Okey Isima (then a pro in Portugal) scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute...
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by FATHER TIKO »

Enugu II wrote:
FATHER TIKO wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
He did not play in any of those. Note also that he missed preparatory games against Uganda and Liberia before that critical home game in 1981 where all the big stars were recalled. Line ups for all those games are available.what is possible is that I could have missed one but which one? My thought is I have included all his games.
I'm not certain either; however if the line-ups for those games are authentic, then I defer to them...but my gut-sense is since he featured in the away ties of those qualifiers (home & away ties spanned 2 weeks), how could he not have played the home ties..?

Especially the Algeria home tie in 1981...every player worth his weight in gold was called up for that game (even Andrew Atuegbu, Odiye & Chairman Chukwu were recalled...hell, NFA Boss Dankaro was publicly pondering recalling Okala...)
"...Some say football is not a matter of life and death;
I can assure you it's more important than that..."
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by cchinukw »

Gotti wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:For every Segun Odegbami there are hundreds of former ballers that are dead broke or dead with no skills or safety net to fall back on. He is better off driving train in London that driving for Lastma in Lagos.
And you think there are no former ballers "dead broke or dead" in the UK?! :blink:

Football proffers an OPPORTUNITY, not a guarantee of a life of luxury. Many Nigerian footballers have used it as an opportunity for education or a decent trade and profession. Nonetheless, that is besides the bigger point. If you want Nigeria to be as viable as the UK, roll up your damn sleeves, rather than sitting on the sidelines and point fingers, babbling incoherently. It's YOUR country too!
Utter rubbish Gotti! (and you be my man anyday :D )

A lot of diaspora Nigerians respond to calls to rebuild old schools, help relatives, are probably the countries only significant number of tourists bringing in much needed forex etc., etc.

Show us some respect! :twisted:
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by airwolex »

Gotti wrote:
EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote:For every Segun Odegbami there are hundreds of former ballers that are dead broke or dead with no skills or safety net to fall back on. He is better off driving train in London that driving for Lastma in Lagos.
And you think there are no former ballers "dead broke or dead" in the UK?! :blink:

Football proffers an OPPORTUNITY, not a guarantee of a life of luxury. Many Nigerian footballers have used it as an opportunity for education or a decent trade and profession. Nonetheless, that is besides the bigger point. If you want Nigeria to be as viable as the UK, roll up your damn sleeves, rather than sitting on the sidelines and point fingers, babbling incoherently. It's YOUR country too!
Ever since dude came to Naija to try and settle down he has changed. Very embarrassing statement. Plenty of Nigerian ex footballers doing very well.
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Gotti »

deanotito wrote:Not that I don't support doing all one can for Nigeria, but statistically speaking, given Nigeria's relative wealth compared to GB, Emir is spot on. If you're going to blow the opportunity that football gives you, you're better off doing so in GB than in Nigeria. If you're trying not to get left on the street when you die, you're also statistically better off dying in GB than in Nigeria. His comment was harsh, but it was true.
Balderdash...

Will your folks be (or were they) left on the streets in Nigeria when they die (or died)? Of course, if you are determined to blow the opportunity that anything at all gives you (even the best education), the West would be the best place to do it - because at worst there’s the dole to fall back on while the rest of us working stiffs pay for your lazy arse. But at the end of the day, EVERY nation was/is built by its own citizens, and accordingly the state of Nigeria is the product of all Nigerians and an apt reflection of Nigerians! If you are “trying not to get left on the street when you die” then get off your whining backside and do something about it. Foreigners (coach or otherwise) will not be the ‘messiah’ you seek.
#ENDSARS #BLM
#ENDPOLICEBRUTALITY


#FREESENEGAL
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Goldleaf
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Re: Story on Tunji Banjo - Eagle from the 80s

Post by Goldleaf »

Chief Ogbunigwe wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
FATHER TIKO wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
Sir V wrote:
Enugu II wrote:
ogiso wrote:I remember Banjo and Chiedozie bringing a buzz to the Green Eagles’ preparations in1980 and 1981. They perhaps got 3-4 caps each?
Ogiso,

Tunji had 7 appearances for Nigeria from 1980 to 1981. Chiedozie had 8 appearances with 2 goals from 1980 to 1985.
He had 9 full caps.
Sir V,

Here is what I have and I don't believe there was a 9th game. If there was please let me know which one is missing:

7/12/80 Tunisia
12/6/80 Tanzania
12/20/80 Tanzania
4/12/81 Guinea
4/25/81 Guinea
10/30/81 Algeria
10/20/84 Liberia
7/20/85 Tunisia
\

Enugu II,
You noted the away WCQualifier v Algeria in Constantine (10/30/81)...what about the home tie on 10 October 1981 in Lagos..?
Didn't Chiedozie feature in that game?

You also noted the away tie of the WCQualifier v Tunisia (7/20/85)...What about the home tie..? Didn't he feature..?
He did not play in any of those. Note also that he missed preparatory games against Uganda and Liberia before that critical home game in 1981 where all the big stars were recalled. Line ups for all those games are available.
EII:

Are you sure he missed the home game vs Tunisia? Was that not the desperate "all hands on deck" second leg to overturn the 2-0 deficit, where Osigwe scored a great goal, before we went on to win on PKs (Odegbami limping with a bandaged thigh, Ogedegbe making 2 saves, and Ikhana missing)? To be fair, I watched the re-run on NTA, and don't remember seeing him play. My assumption is based on newspaper reports and clippings (maybe radio commentaries?). I somehow associated him and Chidozie with the turnaround vs the Tunisians.
We had lost 0-2 in Tunis and needed to beat them in Lagos to progress. Otto Gloria instructed Sylvanus Okpalla to take Tarek Dhiab out of the match. Okpalla did and Tarek Dhiab landed in hospital. Our first goal came through a delightful cross from a free-kick by none other than Tunji Banjo, the silky but tough midfielder who pinpointed his cross from the right wing onto the head of our central defender Leotis Boateng who headed into the net. In the 2nd half, outside right John Chiedozie, pacy, wily and smart sent a cross into the box which was promptly chested down and volleyed into the net by Emmanuel Osigwe. That goal will be repeated for years in the opener for the 9 o'clock NTA News.

As the match rolled into penalty kicks, Best Ogedegbe saved two and Odegbami (with heavy strapping around his thigh) scored the winning penalty to take us through to the next round.

[/video]
Last edited by Goldleaf on Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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