Seems That Enyimba Is Now The Team To Play For

wiseone · Post by **wiseone** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:51 pm

...see how all the other players are trying to jump onto the Enyimba bandwagon!

Emordi resumes with Enyimba

As club prepares for Charity Cup
By Christian Okpara
COACH of Rangers International Football Club of Enugu to the semi-finals of the 2003 Confederation of African Football Cup (CAF Cup), Okey Emordi has fully resumed duties with Enyimba Football Club of Aba.

Emordi, who led Rangers to a third place finish in the Premier League last season, was seen in the company of Enyimba's new technical adviser, Miroslav Urukalo, directing affairs at the team's training session in Aba last Monday.

According to a source close to the Aba-based team, Emordi has been contracted by Enyimba to beef up the technical crew of the 2003 CAF Champions League winners, and is expected to fill the gap, which the absence of team's chief coach, Kadiri Ikhana, would create if Ikhana eventually dumps the team.

One of the immediate assignments Emordi and Uruakalo has been saddled with it is trimming the size of Enyimba to a manageable proportion as a lot of players from other clubs have invaded the Globacom League champions' camp, looking for contracts.

The coaches are also expected to lead the team to the Charity Cup match involving Enyimba and Football Association (FA) Cup kings, Lobi Stars of Makurdi, which holds in Owerri this weekend.

However, the Aba-based team may prosecute the Charity Cup match without some of the players.

Notable among such expected absentees are Vincent Enyeama, Ekenne Ezenwa, Romanus Orjinta and Abubakar Musa, who are in Faro, Portugal, preparing for the Nations Cup with the Super Eagles.

Others include Dele Aiyenugba, David Tyakase, Ogbonnaya Okemiri and Ali Musa, who just returned to the country from Senegal, where they played for the U-23 team in the 3-4 loss to the Senegalese U-23 team, while some of the big stars who have travelled to Europe for trials will also miss the match.

In Enyimba's training last Monday were some of the new players jostling for positions in the team including Damian Ude and Onyebuchi Okoye from Gabros International of Nnewi, three Ghanaian players, who our sources could not readily come up with their names and two Julius Berger of Lagos players who pleaded that their names should not be published until they finalised arrangements with the Aba team.

Meanwhile, Urukalo has expressed his happiness with the condition of the players in camp, saying that he couldn't wait to make is debate with the team.

According to Urukalo, "the players available are ready to prove that they are as good as those who won the Champion League and they have been very serious with the training sessions I have had with them," adding that the players having seen what the Champions League victory did to their colleagues' popularity, want to toe that line.

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KoC · Post by **KoC** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:54 pm

Enyimba has ben the team to play for for the p[ast three seasons.

Post by **juventuss** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:56 pm

is this miroslav guy naija ?

wiseone · Post by **wiseone** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:58 pm

KickOff Chief wrote:Enyimba has ben the team to play for for the p[ast three seasons.

they've been champs for the past 3 seasons but this is getting ridiculous! I mean can you imagine players from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool turning up at Man U's pre-season training just because Man U are the champs?!

Thought · Post by **Thought** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:58 pm

juventuss wrote:is this miroslav guy naija ?

I wonder myself, and the surname come be like naija name.

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 12:59 pm

He's Australian

Post by **juventuss** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:01 pm

Autralian or Austrian ? Becus that Miroslav sounds like austrian to me.

oh well.

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:08 pm

wiseone wrote:
KickOff Chief wrote:Enyimba has ben the team to play for for the p[ast three seasons.
they've been champs for the past 3 seasons but this is getting ridiculous! I mean can you imagine players from Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool turning up at Man U's pre-season training just because Man U are the champs?!

Wiseone, that means you have prolly not been following Naija footy for a while.

These days, unlike in the past, there is precious little club loyalty with players. And the system encourages it. Players sign one year contracts and become free agents at the end of the season, unless they choose to remain with the current club.

At the start of every season, clubs publish a list of retained players. The rest have to find their way. Then they start "screening", where every retained player has to prove himself all over again, and potential new players are looked over.

Players move to the highest bidder. Only very few players have any sense of loyalty. Two that readily come to my mind are Ahmed Abdul, the Dolphins skipper who has been there for nearly twelve seasons and Ambrose Duru, skipper of Julius Berger. Most of the others are journey men who move for the money.

But there are also some players who may move to other clubs, but asre still associated with a former club because of theuir attachment. Victor Ezeji, despite playing for Enyimba last season, is Sharks through and through.

But the bottomline is that loyalty to a club is something that Nigerian lplayers do not understand. Even the fans dont care, as long as they get a replacement.

ikwerreman · Post by **ikwerreman** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:12 pm

juventuss wrote:Autralian or Austrian ? Becus that Miroslav sounds like austrian to me. oh well.

He is Australian

wiseone · Post by **wiseone** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:18 pm

Kickoff Chief....players don't have loyalty to their clubs in ANY country - not just in Naija! Although Ishola Shuaibu has been at Berger for many years now.

But if you read the article carefully, you will notice (esp the two Berger players who "begged not to be named") that many of the players turning up at Enyimba's training are NOT free agents. They are still under contract.

Would you take the same view if Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Michael Owen showed up at Man U's training ground? Its ok for free agents to try nd find a club - of course. But for under contract players to turn up to the training of their rivals.......

KoC · Post by **KoC** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 1:24 pm

No Nigerian player signs more than a one year contract. All contracts are for one season. But it is generally assumed that unless you have not been "retained" for the coming season, you still belong to the club.

Strictly speaking, because of the terms of their contracts, after one season, they are free agents. It is one of the issues i shall be putting across at the NFA AGM this weekend.

I cannot speak there, but I shall make damn sure somebody says something about it.

Gotti · Post by **Gotti** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:19 pm

juventuss wrote:Autralian or Austrian ? Becus that Miroslav sounds like austrian to me. oh well.

He is Serbo-Australian; that is, Australian by nationality, but Serbian-Montenegoran by birth.

His qualifications to take over from the CAF CL cup-winning Kadiri Ikhana includes failing to win promotion to the Nigerian Premier League over the last few seasons with JC Raiders.

wiseone · Post by **wiseone** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:21 pm

...but he is Oyinbo so that automatically makes him a better coach than Ikhana, Amodu and CCC put together.

Post by **SylverEagles** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:26 pm

wiseone wrote:...but he is Oyinbo so that automatically makes him a better coach than Ikhana, Amodu and CCC put together.

I really hope u're being sarcastic....

:x

Chief Ogbunigwe · Post by **Chief Ogbunigwe** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:42 pm

Gotti wrote:
juventuss wrote:Autralian or Austrian ? Becus that Miroslav sounds like austrian to me. oh well.
He is Serbo-Australian; that is, Australian by nationality, but Serbian-Montenegoran by birth.

His qualifications to take over from the CAF CL cup-winning Kadiri Ikhana includes failing to win promotion to the Nigerian Premier League over the last few seasons with JC Raiders.

Gotti is right...Miroslav is eastern european...common name among the Serbs. During the Yugoslavia war, many serbs went to Australia. ..I remember during one particular international youth soccer tournaments....about half of the Australian players were Serbian-born

wiseone · Post by **wiseone** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 4:46 pm

SylverEagles wrote:
wiseone wrote:...but he is Oyinbo so that automatically makes him a better coach than Ikhana, Amodu and CCC put together.
I really hope u're being sarcastic.... :x

....of course! Wasn't it obvious. Just my own reference to the manner in which many on this forum and elsewhere applaud the appointment of any second rate yeye Oyinbo coach with no credentials in replacement of a talented IC with championship calibre.