Rare footage: Rangers vs Hafia, IICC VS Tonnere 1975 and 76

[FATHER TIKO]

Those pitches (except national stadium) were so bumpy that ground passes were rare. Even short passes that should be made on the ground, were nearly always slightly lofted, which means the receiver often had to take more touches to control the ball. It really makes it hard to compare the technical ability of those players to modern footballers. The quality of goalkeeping was dire.

I would not make such conclusions based on these clips alone. I doubt we have been able to get a GK in the calibre of Okala....perhaps Rufai in his prime comes close.

We all loved Okala but how good was he really?
Kids of today will probably tell their children in 30 years time that Enyeama was 'the best keeper in the world'.
That's what time does.

its funny you said this because my best Ghana friend told me that in Ghana the name Okala has a completely different connotation because just like in Nigeria we refer to all our bad keepers as BASKET and the good ones as Okala. In Ghana however following some Rangers or perhaps green eagles game where they managed to put 3 goals in okala's net all bad keepers in Ghana since till date are referred to as Okala. So next time you hear a Ghanaian yell Okala!!! no, he is not actually glorifying the great Okala.

Nonetheless I think we often make this mistake of comparisons say - of Labron james to Michael jordan etc forgetting you can't really eclectically extrapolate events of one generation to another

Wow. Spot on.
Its actually fascinating to hear another perspective on someone or something we assume to be infallible or flawless.

Oga Jette, your Ghanaian friend must have been acting out the 9ja-Ghana rivalry thing where we try to 'mock' the best from either country...

I can opine that Okala was 'feared' in Ghana, and not just because of his height...

One of my earliest memories was prior to AFCON 1978 hosted by Ghana while reading a Ghanaian newspaper pull-out on the tournament at my high school English teacher's home (he was Ghanaian)...

One article surveyed comments across Ghana streets... The fans were unanimous: FTiko's Nigeria was the team Ghana feared most...Okala, Odegbami, Chukwu & Odiye were the players on most comments...especially Okala...

Even Ghana's golden boy Abdul Razaq (the poster boy of the tournament) mentioned Okala as one of the players to watch out for in the tournament...

Your Ghanaian pal must have been taking the mickey out of you...
Anyway, Enugu Rangers never lost to a Ghanaian clubside during Okala's prime because club football was poor in Ghana during that period (clubsides in Guinea, Cameroun, & Magheb countries were the bomb then)...

[Lolly]

My one regret was not taking up the offer of the late Chief Femi Olukanmi who invited me to come and digitize his old IICC & Rangers 'tapes' for CE before he died suddenly not long after.
After his death, his wives threw out all his 'junks' and the tapes were lost forever.

Oh no, what a shame, didn't he have any children that was a football fan.

I wish they had contacted the NFA or any TV station to come for them.

What a loss!!

Yeah, the thing pained me nor be small.
The old man was taking a real liking for CE and indirectly interacted with us here a couple of times.
That's when he said he would love to share his collection which he stored in his sports office in Lagos.

But death struck a little too early. viewtopic.php?f=18&t=137483
He regretted none of his kids were sports-inclined and was looking to his grandkids instead.

Oga Damunk, I wont be surprised if there are dozens of tapes collecting dust in some forgotten shelves at NTA...

Back in 2000, I once had an eye-opener while working on some material for FESTAC 77...
I visited Daily Times Archives at their offices at Oba Akran(?)...Man, the amount of Daily Times back-issues going way back to 1920's stocked there were eye-popping...

I confessed my amazement to the good lady at the desk...she simply shrugged: "No one visits here...everything is here.."

But they were so poorly catalogued...

Won't be at all surprised if NTA is the same...Our researchers & chroniclers are lazy...

FATHER TIKO,

Actually, some of the places have kept good record. Boer who published a book on the history of Nigerian football and Kunle Solaja have used the archives in Lagos for wonderful work. Boer mentioned using entries in the Hope Waddell Institute's archives to locate the early games played at the turn into the 20th century in Calabar. In the USA, I have used the Library of Congress to collect important football data. At that Library the Times of Southern Nigeria , going back to 1904, is available i.e. then years before the Southern and Northern Protectorates were amalgamated into Nigeria. The good thing is they have it in microfiche which helps to preserve it better. I have used the data to disprove some work by Saveedra and Awurumibe who claimed women football started in Nigeria in 1978. In reality, the records indicate women football had existed by the 1930s until it was banned by colonial government through an edict issued in June of 1950.

I myself used the Newspaper Library in Colindale London (no longer exists) for a lot of my research. They also had copies of the The very first edition of the Daily times and hundreds of other publications on microfilm. I also visited the Daily Times Archives in the mid nineties and got some good material and photos.
Does the Peter Obe photo agency still exist? I remember going to the offices in Surulere and asking to use some of his pics in my book but he turned me down (practically chased me out of his office infact ). He had some absolutely wonderful images. I hope they are not all lost as well?

I have also tried to get copies of old matches from NTA many years ago and even got as far as getting someone to compile a list of matches ni their library but I didn't get far when I was told that most of the tapes had been reused. It pained me. But I was told by one of the NTA guys that one Dudu-Orumen guy had a big collection of old matches. I believe Odegbami also has some.

[FATHER TIKO]

Those pitches (except national stadium) were so bumpy that ground passes were rare. Even short passes that should be made on the ground, were nearly always slightly lofted, which means the receiver often had to take more touches to control the ball. It really makes it hard to compare the technical ability of those players to modern footballers. The quality of goalkeeping was dire.

I would not make such conclusions based on these clips alone. I doubt we have been able to get a GK in the calibre of Okala....perhaps Rufai in his prime comes close.

We all loved Okala but how good was he really?
Kids of today will probably tell their children in 30 years time that Enyeama was 'the best keeper in the world'.
That's what time does.

its funny you said this because my best Ghana friend told me that in Ghana the name Okala has a completely different connotation because just like in Nigeria we refer to all our bad keepers as BASKET and the good ones as Okala. In Ghana however following some Rangers or perhaps green eagles game where they managed to put 3 goals in okala's net all bad keepers in Ghana since till date are referred to as Okala. So next time you hear a Ghanaian yell Okala!!! no, he is not actually glorifying the great Okala.

Nonetheless I think we often make this mistake of comparisons say - of Labron james to Michael jordan etc forgetting you can't really eclectically extrapolate events of one generation to another

Wow. Spot on.
Its actually fascinating to hear another perspective on someone or something we assume to be infallible or flawless.

Oga Jette, your Ghanaian friend must have been acting out the 9ja-Ghana rivalry thing where we try to 'mock' the best from either country...

I can opine that Okala was 'feared' in Ghana, and not just because of his height...

One of my earliest memories was prior to AFCON 1978 hosted by Ghana while reading a Ghanaian newspaper pull-out on the tournament at my high school English teacher's home (he was Ghanaian)...

One article surveyed comments across Ghana streets... The fans were unanimous: FTiko's Nigeria was the team Ghana feared most...Okala, Odegbami, Chukwu & Odiye were the players on most comments...especially Okala...

Even Ghana's golden boy Abdul Razaq (the poster boy of the tournament) mentioned Okala as one of the players to watch out for in the tournament...

Your Ghanaian pal must have been taking the mickey out of you...
Anyway, Enugu Rangers never lost to a Ghanaian clubside during Okala's prime because club football was poor in Ghana during that period (clubsides in Guinea, Cameroun, & Magheb countries were the bomb then)...

Er...Oga Jette..,
There's more:
Kindly inform your Ghanaian pally that Okala was the first Nigerian player to be named Africa Footballer of the Year (1978)...
(Award given by ASJU - Africa Sports Journalists Union; different from the more coveted award given by France Afrique)

A goalkeeper must have been pretty special to win any sort of MVP award in any year ...

Cue the date: 1978...
The same year Ghana hosted AFCON...

Hardly suggests Okala as a sobriquet for "basket" on the streets of Accra, does it?

[Goldleaf]

There was one Rangers match I remember watching live on a black&white tv back in the day on a heavy downpour at amaduadhijo stadium Cameroon. I still remember waves of endless desperate attacks that Okala was flying like a kite from one post to the other . Perhaps someone here knows the particular match

Canon v Rangers African Clubs Champions Cup SFinal 2nd Leg 1978 0-0

1st Leg also ended 0-0...

Canon won PK Shootout 6-5...and went on to win the trophy...

But there was also another match that Rangers destroyed Canon 4-1 in Lagos with goals from Nwokocha and Onyekwelu and drew 1-1 in Yaounde with Madu scoring for Rangers. Memories a little hazy but it might have been in 1979.

[jette1]

Those pitches (except national stadium) were so bumpy that ground passes were rare. Even short passes that should be made on the ground, were nearly always slightly lofted, which means the receiver often had to take more touches to control the ball. It really makes it hard to compare the technical ability of those players to modern footballers. The quality of goalkeeping was dire.

I would not make such conclusions based on these clips alone. I doubt we have been able to get a GK in the calibre of Okala....perhaps Rufai in his prime comes close.

We all loved Okala but how good was he really?
Kids of today will probably tell their children in 30 years time that Enyeama was 'the best keeper in the world'.
That's what time does.

its funny you said this because my best Ghana friend told me that in Ghana the name Okala has a completely different connotation because just like in Nigeria we refer to all our bad keepers as BASKET and the good ones as Okala. In Ghana however following some Rangers or perhaps green eagles game where they managed to put 3 goals in okala's net all bad keepers in Ghana since till date are referred to as Okala. So next time you hear a Ghanaian yell Okala!!! no, he is not actually glorifying the great Okala.[/

Nonetheless I think we often make this mistake of comparisons say - of Labron james to Michael jordan etc forgetting you can't really eclectically extrapolate events of one generation to another

Wow. Spot on.
Its actually fascinating to hear another perspective on someone or something we assume to be infallible or flawless.

Oga Jette, your Ghanaian friend must have been acting out the 9ja-Ghana rivalry thing where we try to 'mock' the best from either country...

I can opine that Okala was 'feared' in Ghana, and not just because of his height...

One of my earliest memories was prior to AFCON 1978 hosted by Ghana while reading a Ghanaian newspaper pull-out on the tournament at my high school English teacher's home (he was Ghanaian)...

One article surveyed comments across Ghana streets... The fans were unanimous: FTiko's Nigeria was the team Ghana feared most...Okala, Odegbami, Chukwu & Odiye were the players on most comments...especially Okala...

Even Ghana's golden boy Abdul Razaq (the poster boy of the tournament) mentioned Okala as one of the players to watch out for in the tournament...

Your Ghanaian pal must have been taking the mickey out of you...
Anyway, Enugu Rangers never lost to a Ghanaian clubside during Okala's prime because club football was poor in Ghana during that period (clubsides in Guinea, Cameroun, & Magheb countries were the bomb then)...

Er...Oga Jette..,
There's more:
Kindly inform your Ghanaian pally that Okala was the first Nigerian player to be named Africa Footballer of the Year (1978)...
(Award given by ASJU - Africa Sports Journalists Union; different from the more coveted award given by France Afrique)

A goalkeeper must have been pretty special to win any sort of MVP award in any year ...

Cue the date: 1978...
The same year Ghana hosted AFCON...

Hardly suggests Okala as a sobriquet for "basket" on the streets of Accra, does it?

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

[FATHER TIKO]

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

My bro, I'm not dissing you in any way...abeg, no vex...

I'm just setting out the factual evidence to back up the Okala 'myth'...

Make no mistake, Okala was more than decent...

Pity our record-keeping is abysmal...otherwise there would be no debate about Okala's prowess...

Okala was one solid reason Enugu Rangers went unbeaten for almost 3yrs on the domestic front (Oct 1973- July 1976)...Chroniclers like Enugu II go 'casually overlook' this stupendous record because na Rangers


Enyeama's stats may shade Okala's, but I witnessed both keepers in their prime, and I'll take Okala everyday of the week...

[Enugu II]

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

My bro, I'm not dissing you in any way...abeg, no vex...

I'm just setting out the factual evidence to back up the Okala 'myth'...

Make no mistake, Okala was more than decent...

Pity our record-keeping is abysmal...otherwise there would be no debate about Okala's prowess...

Okala was one solid reason Enugu Rangers went unbeaten for almost 3yrs on the domestic front (Oct 1973- July 1976)...Chroniclers like Enugu II go 'casually overlook' this stupendous record because na Rangers


Enyeama's stats may shade Okala's, but I witnessed both keepers in their prime, and I'll take Okala everyday of the week...

Kai,

FATHER TIKO na so you don judge me say Vasco man no fit fair to Okala? Na waoo! You don judge and jail me and no give me chance to defend myself?

Anyways, I will repeat that Okala was a great goalkeeper and to call him a basket is ridiculous. I would point out that he saved Rangers' skin in so many games and did the same for Nigeria as well. Think of the 1977 Africa Cup Winners Cup semi in Kaduna against IICC. IMHO, without Okala, Rangers would have lost that game. However, having stated the above I believe Vince is better than Okala. Just my tuppence and it isn't because I am a Vasco man.

As for what Jette1 mentioned, I think I know the game he was referring to. That was the second game of the 1975 Ghana-Nigeria Games held in Ghana. Nigeria had won the first game 2-1 in Accra but we got creamed in the second (3-0) and it was not Okala's best day TBH. But I am shocked that such a singular game was used to defined bad goalies in Ghana as Okala. After all, Ghanaians had seen much of Okala and should have known better.

[FATHER TIKO]

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

My bro, I'm not dissing you in any way...abeg, no vex...

I'm just setting out the factual evidence to back up the Okala 'myth'...

Make no mistake, Okala was more than decent...

Pity our record-keeping is abysmal...otherwise there would be no debate about Okala's prowess...

Okala was one solid reason Enugu Rangers went unbeaten for almost 3yrs on the domestic front (Oct 1973- July 1976)...Chroniclers like Enugu II go 'casually overlook' this stupendous record because na Rangers


Enyeama's stats may shade Okala's, but I witnessed both keepers in their prime, and I'll take Okala everyday of the week...

Kai,

FATHER TIKO na so you don judge me say Vasco man no fit fair to Okala? Na waoo! You don judge and jail me and no give me chance to defend myself?

Anyways, I will repeat that Okala was a great goalkeeper and to call him a basket is ridiculous. I would point out that he saved Rangers' skin in so many games and did the same for Nigeria as well. Think of the 1977 Africa Cup Winners Cup semi in Kaduna against IICC. IMHO, without Okala, Rangers would have lost that game. However, having stated the above I believe Vince is better than Okala. Just my tuppence and it isn't because I am a Vasco man.

As for what Jette1 mentioned, I think I know the game he was referring to. That was the second game of the 1975 Ghana-Nigeria Games held in Ghana. Nigeria had won the first game 2-1 in Accra but we got creamed in the second (3-0) and it was not Okala's best day TBH. But I am shocked that such a singular game was used to defined bad goalies in Ghana as Okala. After all, Ghanaians had seen much of Okala and should have known better.

Enugu II, my guy, abeg forget Okala matter...
Na Rangers unbeaten domestic run Oct 1973 - Jul 1976 wey soccer chroniclers (including you) conveniently ignore...
I brought it up in my response to Jette 1 to buttress my point about Okala's prowess...

Same way dem subtract the League title (1971 - Amachree Gold Cup) from Rangers' title collection...

[Sir V]

There was one Rangers match I remember watching live on a black&white tv back in the day on a heavy downpour at amaduadhijo stadium Cameroon. I still remember waves of endless desperate attacks that Okala was flying like a kite from one post to the other . Perhaps someone here knows the particular match

Canon v Rangers African Clubs Champions Cup SFinal 2nd Leg 1978 0-0

1st Leg also ended 0-0...

Canon won PK Shootout 6-5...and went on to win the trophy...

Nkono was the best African goalie I have watched. And one of the best the world has ever produced.

[jette1]

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

My bro, I'm not dissing you in any way...abeg, no vex...

I'm just setting out the factual evidence to back up the Okala 'myth'...

Make no mistake, Okala was more than decent...

Pity our record-keeping is abysmal...otherwise there would be no debate about Okala's prowess...

Okala was one solid reason Enugu Rangers went unbeaten for almost 3yrs on the domestic front (Oct 1973- July 1976)...Chroniclers like Enugu II go 'casually overlook' this stupendous record because na Rangers


Enyeama's stats may shade Okala's, but I witnessed both keepers in their prime, and I'll take Okala everyday of the week...

Kai,

FATHER TIKO na so you don judge me say Vasco man no fit fair to Okala? Na waoo! You don judge and jail me and no give me chance to defend myself?

Anyways, I will repeat that Okala was a great goalkeeper and to call him a basket is ridiculous. I would point out that he saved Rangers' skin in so many games and did the same for Nigeria as well. Think of the 1977 Africa Cup Winners Cup semi in Kaduna against IICC. IMHO, without Okala, Rangers would have lost that game. However, having stated the above I believe Vince is better than Okala. Just my tuppence and it isn't because I am a Vasco man.

As for what Jette1 mentioned, I think I know the game he was referring to. That was the second game of the 1975 Ghana-Nigeria Games held in Ghana. Nigeria had won the first game 2-1 in Accra but we got creamed in the second (3-0) and it was not Okala's best day TBH. But I am shocked that such a singular game was used to defined bad goalies in Ghana as Okala. After all, Ghanaians had seen much of Okala and should have known better.

chinua achebe could have probably relayed the story better than I did; Osei never said they thought okala was a bad goalie nor a basket rather they hated him for fear he would be a torn in their flesh and were elated when he slipped hence they capitalized on that single slip to give themselves something to displace the fear they harbored about Okala for years, sort of a - how about that moment - I dont know if anyone had this experience in naija when you are walking in the dark and you are so scared but you start singing real loud to displace your fear.

[Enugu II]

Tiko i'm only sharing what my friend shared only because he is an authentic source for anything football in Ghana. He played high school football in ghana and moved to the States about same time I did and played college football. we met while stationed at same US military base. He played for his military unit against mine several times and remains an ardent football follower so much more than I could even manage. and its not as if he doesn't know about Nigerian football history vs ghana.

My bro, I'm not dissing you in any way...abeg, no vex...

I'm just setting out the factual evidence to back up the Okala 'myth'...

Make no mistake, Okala was more than decent...

Pity our record-keeping is abysmal...otherwise there would be no debate about Okala's prowess...

Okala was one solid reason Enugu Rangers went unbeaten for almost 3yrs on the domestic front (Oct 1973- July 1976)...Chroniclers like Enugu II go 'casually overlook' this stupendous record because na Rangers


Enyeama's stats may shade Okala's, but I witnessed both keepers in their prime, and I'll take Okala everyday of the week...

Kai,

FATHER TIKO na so you don judge me say Vasco man no fit fair to Okala? Na waoo! You don judge and jail me and no give me chance to defend myself?

Anyways, I will repeat that Okala was a great goalkeeper and to call him a basket is ridiculous. I would point out that he saved Rangers' skin in so many games and did the same for Nigeria as well. Think of the 1977 Africa Cup Winners Cup semi in Kaduna against IICC. IMHO, without Okala, Rangers would have lost that game. However, having stated the above I believe Vince is better than Okala. Just my tuppence and it isn't because I am a Vasco man.

As for what Jette1 mentioned, I think I know the game he was referring to. That was the second game of the 1975 Ghana-Nigeria Games held in Ghana. Nigeria had won the first game 2-1 in Accra but we got creamed in the second (3-0) and it was not Okala's best day TBH. But I am shocked that such a singular game was used to defined bad goalies in Ghana as Okala. After all, Ghanaians had seen much of Okala and should have known better.

Enugu II, my guy, abeg forget Okala matter...
Na Rangers unbeaten domestic run Oct 1973 - Jul 1976 wey soccer chroniclers (including you) conveniently ignore...
I brought it up in my response to Jette 1 to buttress my point about Okala's prowess...

Same way dem subtract the League title (1971 - Amachree Gold Cup) from Rangers' title collection...

FATHER TIKO,

I no deny una domestic run. Not at all.

But una no shame to call Amachree Cup 1971 league? Which kin league be dat? How knock out competition come be league?

[ohsee]

That Hafia match in Lagos still hurts.

It sure does. I was at the National Stadium for the match, having delayed my return to Enugu just to watch it with my cousin. We were all soooo confident Rangers would win, after their heroics against Mehalla in the previous semi-final leg. But football knows how to disappoint.

My understanding is that the back four of Odoh, Chukwu, Ezeani and Nwosu were forced on the Rangers by some higher-ups, whether in Enugu or Lagos, I don't know. They were disjointed and leaked like a sieve. The normal Rangers back four was Ufele, Chukwu, Nwosu and Mecha, but Mecha was injured, and many thought Ufele was the weak link in that defence as he was getting up there in age. So the team played an all center-back back four. Odoh had played very well against Mehalla, so he was played out on the right in Ufele's position.

Hafia won 2:1, and in the second goal, Francis Nwosu was burned badly on the wing by the Hafia full-back. Nwosu had never played full-back as far as I know, whether playing for Nike Boys, or for Lagos Academicals, or Rangers. The normally reliable center back looked really bad in that game.

[FATHER TIKO]

That Hafia match in Lagos still hurts.

It sure does. I was at the National Stadium for the match, having delayed my return to Enugu just to watch it with my cousin. We were all soooo confident Rangers would win, after their heroics against Mehalla in the previous semi-final leg. But football knows how to disappoint.

My understanding is that the back four of Odoh, Chukwu, Ezeani and Nwosu were forced on the Rangers by some higher-ups, whether in Enugu or Lagos, I don't know. They were disjointed and leaked like a sieve. The normal Rangers back four was Ufele, Chukwu, Nwosu and Mecha, but Mecha was injured, and many thought Ufele was the weak link in that defence as he was getting up there in age. So the team played an all center-back back four. Odoh had played very well against Mehalla, so he was played out on the right in Ufele's position.

Hafia won 2:1, and in the second goal, Francis Nwosu was burned badly on the wing by the Hafia full-back. Nwosu had never played full-back as far as I know, whether playing for Nike Boys, or for Lagos Academicals, or Rangers. The normally reliable center back looked really bad in that game.

Oga Ohsee, apart from that back four problem, I still think the major factor that contributed to that loss was the lack of focus caused by the administrative tug of war about staging that final at Enugu or Lagos...

[ohsee]

That Hafia match in Lagos still hurts.

It sure does. I was at the National Stadium for the match, having delayed my return to Enugu just to watch it with my cousin. We were all soooo confident Rangers would win, after their heroics against Mehalla in the previous semi-final leg. But football knows how to disappoint.

My understanding is that the back four of Odoh, Chukwu, Ezeani and Nwosu were forced on the Rangers by some higher-ups, whether in Enugu or Lagos, I don't know. They were disjointed and leaked like a sieve. The normal Rangers back four was Ufele, Chukwu, Nwosu and Mecha, but Mecha was injured, and many thought Ufele was the weak link in that defence as he was getting up there in age. So the team played an all center-back back four. Odoh had played very well against Mehalla, so he was played out on the right in Ufele's position.

Hafia won 2:1, and in the second goal, Francis Nwosu was burned badly on the wing by the Hafia full-back. Nwosu had never played full-back as far as I know, whether playing for Nike Boys, or for Lagos Academicals, or Rangers. The normally reliable center back looked really bad in that game.

Oga Ohsee, apart from that back four problem, I still think the major factor that contributed to that loss was the lack of focus caused by the administrative tug of war about staging that final at Enugu or Lagos...

That is a strong possibility. The talk was that the boys were demoralized by the decision--people said they did not like to play in Lagos because their otumokpo was not buried there. Seriously, that's what people were saying. I don't know if you heard that before the Mehalla game, all the dibias in Igboland descended on the old Enugu Sports Stadium, chanting, and burying stuff. Laugh all you want, but the result speaks for itself.

[FATHER TIKO]

That Hafia match in Lagos still hurts.

It sure does. I was at the National Stadium for the match, having delayed my return to Enugu just to watch it with my cousin. We were all soooo confident Rangers would win, after their heroics against Mehalla in the previous semi-final leg. But football knows how to disappoint.

My understanding is that the back four of Odoh, Chukwu, Ezeani and Nwosu were forced on the Rangers by some higher-ups, whether in Enugu or Lagos, I don't know. They were disjointed and leaked like a sieve. The normal Rangers back four was Ufele, Chukwu, Nwosu and Mecha, but Mecha was injured, and many thought Ufele was the weak link in that defence as he was getting up there in age. So the team played an all center-back back four. Odoh had played very well against Mehalla, so he was played out on the right in Ufele's position.

Hafia won 2:1, and in the second goal, Francis Nwosu was burned badly on the wing by the Hafia full-back. Nwosu had never played full-back as far as I know, whether playing for Nike Boys, or for Lagos Academicals, or Rangers. The normally reliable center back looked really bad in that game.

Oga Ohsee, apart from that back four problem, I still think the major factor that contributed to that loss was the lack of focus caused by the administrative tug of war about staging that final at Enugu or Lagos...

That is a strong possibility. The talk was that the boys were demoralized by the decision--people said they did not like to play in Lagos because their otumokpo was not buried there. Seriously, that's what people were saying. I don't know if you heard that before the Mehalla game, all the dibias in Igboland descended on the old Enugu Sports Stadium, chanting, and burying stuff. Laugh all you want, but the result speaks for itself.

Make I laugh small...
Oga Ohsee, don't tell me you didn't know about Oghe...Rangers juju location

Back in the early days of Rangers, my mom (a devout Catholic) used to query my late uncle about the veracity of 'Oghe', and whether he was involved in that satanic rubbish...
My uncle, impish as ever, would laugh away my mom's worries without offering any response...

Later, my mates would mock me about my uncle: "Oghe is about real players; not 3rd eleven pretenders.." (my uncle never made Rangers main squad, though he never missed a day of training at Enugu)

Rangers seeming 'invincibility' sold the Oghe myth to me until the Hafia debacle ...

[ohsee]

That Hafia match in Lagos still hurts.

It sure does. I was at the National Stadium for the match, having delayed my return to Enugu just to watch it with my cousin. We were all soooo confident Rangers would win, after their heroics against Mehalla in the previous semi-final leg. But football knows how to disappoint.

My understanding is that the back four of Odoh, Chukwu, Ezeani and Nwosu were forced on the Rangers by some higher-ups, whether in Enugu or Lagos, I don't know. They were disjointed and leaked like a sieve. The normal Rangers back four was Ufele, Chukwu, Nwosu and Mecha, but Mecha was injured, and many thought Ufele was the weak link in that defence as he was getting up there in age. So the team played an all center-back back four. Odoh had played very well against Mehalla, so he was played out on the right in Ufele's position.

Hafia won 2:1, and in the second goal, Francis Nwosu was burned badly on the wing by the Hafia full-back. Nwosu had never played full-back as far as I know, whether playing for Nike Boys, or for Lagos Academicals, or Rangers. The normally reliable center back looked really bad in that game.

Oga Ohsee, apart from that back four problem, I still think the major factor that contributed to that loss was the lack of focus caused by the administrative tug of war about staging that final at Enugu or Lagos...

That is a strong possibility. The talk was that the boys were demoralized by the decision--people said they did not like to play in Lagos because their otumokpo was not buried there. Seriously, that's what people were saying. I don't know if you heard that before the Mehalla game, all the dibias in Igboland descended on the old Enugu Sports Stadium, chanting, and burying stuff. Laugh all you want, but the result speaks for itself.

Make I laugh small...
Oga Ohsee, don't tell me you didn't know about Oghe...Rangers juju location

Back in the early days of Rangers, my mom (a devout Catholic) used to query my late uncle about the veracity of 'Oghe', and whether he was involved in that satanic rubbish...
My uncle, impish as ever, would laugh away my mom's worries without offering any response...

Later, my mates would mock me about my uncle: "Oghe is about real players; not 3rd eleven pretenders.." (my uncle never made Rangers main squad, though he never missed a day of training at Enugu)

Rangers seeming 'invincibility' sold the Oghe myth to me until the Hafia debacle ...

FATHER TIKO, there were many stories. Did you hear the one about all the Rangers smoking Igbo before every important game? And that is why they were so fearless? Chief, the jazz story I heard is that their home stadium was the source of their invincibility--the jazz they put there in strategic locations guaranteed it. Till today, I (half) believe that they would have won against Hafia if the NFA had allowed the game to be played in Enugu.