Solomon-Otabor Handed Late Call-Up To Nigeria Squad Ahead...

[iworo]

CSKA Sofia Dazzler Handed Late Call-Up To Nigeria Squad Ahead Of Brazil Friendly
Published: October 06, 2019


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CSKA Sofia Dazzler Handed Late Call-Up To Nigeria Squad Ahead Of Brazil Friendly
Allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report that CSKA Sofia dazzler Viv Solomon-Otabor has been handed a late call-up to the Super Eagles squad for their friendly against Brazil.

The former Birmingham City Young Player of the Year trained with the Dream Team before the 2016 Olympic Games, and this is the first time in his career he has been summoned to the senior national team.

Solomon-Otabor was available at short notice because he was already placed on a standby list not made public by the Nigeria Football Federation when the roster for the friendly against the South Americans was announced last month.

Gernot Rohr has invited him as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the fitness of Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu.

Kalu is nursing a slight injury and was not in the matchday 18 when Bordeaux played Toulouse on Saturday.

Born in London 23 years ago, Solomon-Otabor has pledged his international allegiance to Nigeria over his country of birth, England.

This season, the skillful winger has appeared in seven efbet Liga matches for CSKA Sofia and was involved in the Europa League third round qualifier against Zorya Luhansk.

https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_n ... ?nid=33917

[iworo]

ENGLISHMEN ABROAD Meet the Englishman following in the footsteps of Dimitar Berbatov & Hristo Stoichkov
By James Robinson
4th September 2019, 12:11 pm

Got passport, will travel. This series profiles Englishmen playing their football abroad. Episode 1 profiles Viv Solomon-Otabor, 23, who left Birmingham to join Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia in the summer.

The city of Sofia proved to be the launchpad for Bulgaria’s two best footballing talents.

Hristo Stoichkov won his first major honours with CSKA Sofia- lifting three successive league titles, four Bulgarian Cups and a Bulgarian Super Cup- before joining Barcelona and becoming a Ballon d’Or and European Cup winner.

Stoichkov was winding down his career in Japan by the time Dimitar Berbatov graduated through CSKA’s academy to play for the first team, winning the 1999 Bulgarian Cup during his debut campaign.

Viv Solomon-Otabor was too young to remember either Stoichkov or Berbatov’s achievements in Bulgaria although, as a Man United fan growing up, he has fond recent memories of the latter.

But he’s now walking in Stoichkov and Berbatov’s footsteps, having traded Birmingham City for Sofia in the summer.

At the age of 23, the London-born winger has jumped on the increasingly-popular bandwagon and traded English football for a shot at glory abroad.

“I was in the last year of my contract at Birmingham and they offered me a new deal,” Solomon-Otabor explains.

“There were quite a few options floating around, but then CSKA made their interest known and came in with a good offer.

“They tried hard to get me, which opened my eyes to the possibility of moving out there. I spoke to my family for weeks and then we all came to the decision that I should sign for Sofia.

“I had always thought about playing abroad at some point during my career and if the opportunity came up I was always going to be open to it.”


Solomon-Otabor hasn’t been afraid to travel during a career which has already seen him named Birmingham’s Young Player of the Season in 2016.

He spent time at Hampton & Richmond and Crystal Palace before taking up a scholarship at Birmingham.

Loan spells at Oxford City, Bolton, Blackpool and Portsmouth then punctuated his time at St Andrew’s, while he trained with Nigeria ahead of their preparations for the Olympic Games in Rio.

It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that Solomon-Otabor has taken the move to Bulgaria in his stride.

“There aren’t too many differences on the pitch. Off the pitch it’s the same. I live in a nice house, the only major differences are the language and the fact they all drive on the left-hand side,” he laughs.

Sofia’s haul of 31 league trophies is a Bulgarian record, although they are currently on an 11-year drought, with a dominant Ludogorets claiming the last eight titles.

More recent success has come in the Bulgarian Cup, which Sofia are again record recipients of, with the club last victorious in 2016.

Despite the barren run in the league, Sofia boast a squad containing full internationals from six different countries, as well as Geferson, who was called up to Brazil’s 2015 Copa America squad, and Evandro, a former Brazil Under-20 forward who came through with AC Milan’s Lucas Paqueta and Real Madrid’s Eder Militao.

The cosmopolitan nature of CSKA’s squad is something Solomon-Otabor touches on when he says: “A lot of the players have stood out since I’ve joined.

“I’m not the only foreign player, we’ve also got players from Brazil, Portugal, Spain and Africa who are very good.”

Solomon-Otabor has already made his full debut for CSKA, starting for the first time against Arda Kardzhali and then playing the full 90 minutes of the 2-2 Sofia Derby against draw against arch-rivals Levski.


It’s an indication of manager Ljupko Petrovic’s faith in Solomon-Otabor that he was willing to trust the youngster in such a big game, and an early reward for the bravery the 23-year-old displayed in leaving England.

For Solomon-Otabor, playing regularly should be a factor in any English footballer considering a move abroad.

“If there’s an opportunity to play football week in, week out then I would encourage players to take it. You’ll improve as a footballer and learn more about your game,” he explains.

As for the future, Solomon-Otabor says: “My plan is to play at the highest level for both club and country.”

Helping CSKA to a first league title in 11 years would be a strong step in the right direction.

https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-goss ... ska-sofia/

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Big, strong, fast and skillful. Our wing positions are stacked for the next 8 years but he still has Chukwueze, Simon ,kalu, Onyeakuru and Chidera ahead of him. He is a London boy but i like the fact that he was confident enough to chase his dream all the way to Bulgaria to get a chance. This boy is a real Nigerian and deserves the call. Good Luck to him.

[Sir V]

Solomon papa , Victor "Barnes" na my friend. I am happy for the family.

[JACKAL]

Again, not eagles material. He is tough and head strong.. comfortable with the ball at his feet, but he only has one gear and one move...will make a good 12th man for a club side who will come in in the 2nd half when the score is 0-0 to shake thinks up with his pace and grit. But definitely not eagles material.

I am still puzzled about why Sadiq Umar is not invited.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Again, not eagles material. He is tough and head strong.. comfortable with the ball at his feet, but he only has one gear and one move...will make a good 12th man for a club side who will come in in the 2nd half when the score is 0-0 to shake thinks up with his pace and grit. But definitely not eagles material.

I am still puzzled about why Sadiq Umar is not invited.

You should be used to being puzzled by now. Your threads and posts are so puzzling that I’m sure you eat alphabet cereal for breakfast everyday.

[Otitokoro]

So, with Samuel Kalu out and looking at the following Winger/Striker options who have been performing well over the past several weeks, namely:
1. Babajide Akintola - Rosenborg (Norway)- currently playing in the Europa League
2. Bright Osayi-Samuel - QPR (English Championship)
3. Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen, HOL) - (Dutch Eer divisie)
The best that Rohr, in his infinite wisdom can come up with is this fellow, Viv Solomon-Otabor (CSKA Sofia, BUL).

Considering his body of work vs. the aforementioned options, why is he more deserving of an invite? He hasn't lite up the Bulgarian league and my understanding is yet to score in 7 apprearances this season.
Its both funny and strange that he only just 'officially' decleared he was open to a Nigeria invite last week, stating the late Tommy Oliha was his uncle and then days later, recieves a seemingly undersereved invite.

[bret- hart]

Man I tire for NFF and ****. Of all the wingers and strikers scoring for their clubs this week alone, its this England reject that they chose to call for a big game vs Brazil? Ok o.

[maceo4]

See this is what I’m afraid of, they favor these guys that switch over the pure Naija ones.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

So, with Samuel Kalu out and looking at the following Winger/Striker options who have been performing well over the past several weeks, namely:
1. Babajide Akintola - Rosenborg (Norway)- currently playing in the Europa League
2. Bright Osayi-Samuel - QPR (English Championship)
3. Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen, HOL) - (Dutch Eer divisie)
The best that Rohr, in his infinite wisdom can come up with is this fellow, Viv Solomon-Otabor (CSKA Sofia, BUL).

Considering his body of work vs. the aforementioned options, why is he more deserving of an invite? He hasn't lite up the Bulgarian league and my understanding is yet to score in 7 apprearances this season.
Its both funny and strange that he only just 'officially' decleared he was open to a Nigeria invite last week, stating the late Tommy Oliha was his uncle and then days later, recieves a seemingly undersereved invite.

Dear Mugu,

The coaching staff is at liberty to invite any player they have scouted. He’s not invited to beat help defeat Brazil , he’s actually unlikely to play v Brazil.

[olu]

I would have probabaly invited Onyekuru or Ejuke to replace Kalu, but we'll see what Otabor can do.

[mystic]

So, with Samuel Kalu out and looking at the following Winger/Striker options who have been performing well over the past several weeks, namely:
1. Babajide Akintola - Rosenborg (Norway)- currently playing in the Europa League
2. Bright Osayi-Samuel - QPR (English Championship)
3. Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen, HOL) - (Dutch Eer divisie)
The best that Rohr, in his infinite wisdom can come up with is this fellow, Viv Solomon-Otabor (CSKA Sofia, BUL).

Considering his body of work vs. the aforementioned options, why is he more deserving of an invite? He hasn't lite up the Bulgarian league and my understanding is yet to score in 7 apprearances this season.
Its both funny and strange that he only just 'officially' decleared he was open to a Nigeria invite last week, stating the late Tommy Oliha was his uncle and then days later, recieves a seemingly undersereved invite.

He trained with Samson Siasia's U23s, so he's actually been committed to Nigeria for awhile.

[mystic]

I would have probabaly invited Onyekuru or Ejuke to replace Kalu, but we'll see what Otabor can do.

Onyekuru is out of sorts right now at Monaco and should return when he's settled down. Ejike is a very interesting talent, and I think that he would add value to the Super Eagles. Not sure what Otabor brings to the table. I've only followed him through highlights and reports and I don't like to comment extensively on players if I haven't watched them play (highlights never tell the full story). Hopefully Rohr and his scouts will be proved right in their rating of the player.

[Zelex]

It's definitely an unexpected call-up. I remember a few seasons back when he was invited to the u-23s, he seemed to show some promise whilst at Birmingham. His career has regressed since (not necessarily a direct reflection of his ability) however the last I heard of him, he was struggling to make an impact in the English 3rd division. I had no idea till a report last week that he had moved to Bulgaria. It seems the NFF have been impressed with how the likes of Aribo & Semi Ajayi have contributed to the SE, both who were most likely scouted whilst also playing in the 3rd division. The only difference is that Otabor was quite average whilst playing at that level IMO. It's possible he has transitioned this season playing in Bulgaria. Good luck to him.

[fabio]

It's definitely an unexpected call-up. I remember a few seasons back when he was invited to the u-23s, he seemed to show some promise whilst at Birmingham. His career has regressed since (not necessarily a direct reflection of his ability) however the last I heard of him, he was struggling to make an impact in the English 3rd division. I had no idea till a report last week that he had moved to Bulgaria. It seems the NFF have been impressed with how the likes of Aribo & Semi Ajayi have contributed to the SE, both who were most likely scouted whilst also playing in the 3rd division. The only difference is that Otabor was quite average whilst playing at that level IMO. It's possible he has transitioned this season playing in Bulgaria. Good luck to him.

That is how new level, 3rd division. Scout all 3rd divisions in Europe. Forget about the HB players....

[1naija]

Solomon papa , Victor "Barnes" na my friend. I am happy for the family.

Uncle, dem drop?

[chief nfachairman]

this invitation is very very queer. It smells funny.

[maceo4]

this invitation is very very queer. It smells funny.

Who you tellin...

[Bigpokey24]

See this is what I’m afraid of, they favor these guys that switch over the pure Naija ones.

gbosa, it took you a while to notice this...these are moves of Agents ....we have one parading as the national team coach of the SE... some bloke playing in a pathetic Bulgarian league..smh

[Sir V]

Solomon papa , Victor "Barnes" na my friend. I am happy for the family.

Uncle, dem drop?

Who you think say be coach?

[vancity eagle]

Yes this one stinks of brown envelope, there is no denying it.

Owngoal carried a story that Rohr wanted to invite Ejuke, but caved into pressure from some at the NFF.

Is this a sign that they are preparing for life post Rohr which will be rife with unworthy call ups ? I hope not , but that may be the case.

Frankly I am not happy with how many of the call ups for such a high profile friendly have been handled.


First off the invitation of Anderson Esiti is just absolutely disgusting, when we could have called the likes of Azuibikwe, Kingsley, Mikel Agu,

Olayinkas callup is just not deserved as the same with Solomon Otobor who is playing in Bulgaria.


I mean Okereke, Ejuke, Bright Samuel, heck even Nwakaeme would all have been better options than either of those two.

Omeruo gets injured and is replaced by a right back. I mean come on. This would have been a perfect chance to recall Balogun. We need that kind of experience vs Brazil.

This Brazil friendly has just not been handled well. I hope no more injuries or we will be in big trouble. I don't expect Rohr to play many subs with all these scrubs called up. I mean he doesn't even sub much when we have good players on the bench.

[Lolly]

So, with Samuel Kalu out and looking at the following Winger/Striker options who have been performing well over the past several weeks, namely:
1. Babajide Akintola - Rosenborg (Norway)- currently playing in the Europa League
2. Bright Osayi-Samuel - QPR (English Championship)
3. Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen, HOL) - (Dutch Eer divisie)
The best that Rohr, in his infinite wisdom can come up with is this fellow, Viv Solomon-Otabor (CSKA Sofia, BUL).

Considering his body of work vs. the aforementioned options, why is he more deserving of an invite? He hasn't lite up the Bulgarian league and my understanding is yet to score in 7 apprearances this season.
Its both funny and strange that he only just 'officially' decleared he was open to a Nigeria invite last week, stating the late Tommy Oliha was his uncle and then days later, recieves a seemingly undersereved invite.

Very similar reasons why Aribo's call up was initially queried. And guess what happened? The selection was not a foolish one after all.

[maceo4]

So, with Samuel Kalu out and looking at the following Winger/Striker options who have been performing well over the past several weeks, namely:
1. Babajide Akintola - Rosenborg (Norway)- currently playing in the Europa League
2. Bright Osayi-Samuel - QPR (English Championship)
3. Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen, HOL) - (Dutch Eer divisie)
The best that Rohr, in his infinite wisdom can come up with is this fellow, Viv Solomon-Otabor (CSKA Sofia, BUL).

Considering his body of work vs. the aforementioned options, why is he more deserving of an invite? He hasn't lite up the Bulgarian league and my understanding is yet to score in 7 apprearances this season.
Its both funny and strange that he only just 'officially' decleared he was open to a Nigeria invite last week, stating the late Tommy Oliha was his uncle and then days later, recieves a seemingly undersereved invite.

Very similar reasons why Aribo's call up was initially queried. And guess what happened? The selection was not a foolish one after all.

Queried by who? Ohenhen? Is that now your standard for querying? First of all, unlike winger we are short in CM talent, 2nd Aribo is playing at a very decent level and doing well in Europa. This is nothing like inviting some unknown player from Bulgaria, haba let’s stop with the false equivalency.