When Okocha & Seedorf Made Magic

[Rawlings]

[danfo driver]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

[danfo driver]

What Seedorf did to Babayaro in this match, was it worse than what Lauren Etame Mayer did to him?

[Tobi17]

Chei! We really did have some really brainless defenders back then, I guess some things just never change

[Scipio Africanus]

Seedorf should have been fined for what he did to Garba Lawal @ 1:29

[jungle-jawara]

Hmm, watching this highlights and listening to remarks from here reminds you of how young some of us here are. For starters, Garba Lawal was not like Ahmed Musa, but rather he was a utility player. A player who could play every open field position and was ready to get his hands dirty. Secondly, Babayaro was far from being schooled in defense, but rather the right full back. Rewatch te highlights to ascertain what I just said. Babayaro was just very active so it made him more noticed.

[Scipio Africanus]

They destroyed us from the wings. We had quite a few decent chances, but they all came through the middle and V.d. Sar had time to prepare himself or get a defender to set himself properly to block the shot.

[Scipio Africanus]

Hmm, watching this highlights and listening to remarks from here reminds you of how young some of us here are. For starters, Garba Lawal was not like Ahmed Musa, but rather he was a utility player. A player who could play every open field position and was ready to get his hands dirty. Secondly, Babayaro was far from being schooled in defense, but rather the right full back. Rewatch te highlights to ascertain what I just said. Babayaro was just very active so it made him more noticed.

Shakpoke. He did not have a good game at all.

[ANC]

did not watch the whole thing, saw enough and checked out. Okocha is the greatest SE player ever, yeah right

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

[Tobi17]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

Yeah I never got to appreciate the versatility and brutal effectiveness of Lawal from the understanding of my younger years as I always found it annoying why he was always selected when he had no skill and finesse like the likes of JJ, Kanu etc...when I got older and my understanding of the game became more mature, I really appreciated how vastly underrated Lawals contribution to that team was. In today's modern game a player like Garba Lawal will be considered one of the best utility players to have in your team.

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

Yeah I never got to appreciate the versatility and brutal effectiveness of Lawal from the understanding of my younger years as I always found it annoying why he was always selected when he had no skill and finesse like the likes of JJ, Kanu etc...when I got older and my understanding of the game became more mature, I really appreciated how vastly underrated Lawals contribution to that team was. In today's modern game a player like Garba Lawal will be considered one of the best utility players to have in your team.

Garba was not there to score or stop the opponents, his primary duty was to help the team play better as a unit. Go ask Guardiola how effective Garba was when we beat Spain in 2002. Garba, Mutiu, Oliseh,Oruma, Mikel and even Sani Kaita will never be disrespected on CE. They put in work in MF whenever called upon.

[deanotito]

For the life of me, I’ve never been able to figure that 98 team out.

A team full of stars; so talented; and yet underperformed so badly

Look how Okpara and Lawal - 2 passable fullbacks in their own right - just keep getting exposed time after time. It was embarrassing to relive that

Even the centerbacks - Uche and West - top 5 Nigerian defenders of all time - just getting torn apart by the Dutch.

The attacking core couldn’t muster anything good. Talent everywhere. You give me a team with Kanu, Okocha, Amokachi, Ikpeba, Babangida…and they can’t even fashion a decent chance??? That team played like they were cursed

Forget about Spain….that year was just disastrous.

[deanotito]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Lol. Let me give you some advice. Too many Nigerian fans use Garba Lawal to tell the rest of us that they sabi ball pass us. Them no go gree you.

I don’t blame them. It was Troussier and Bonfrere that popularized that theory. And since then, them no go let us hear word.

Lawal was a hard worker but essentially a negative offensively. I will never accept that he brought more than he subtracted. I know what my eyes saw…and we could have done much better

[danfo driver]

Hmm, watching this highlights and listening to remarks from here reminds you of how young some of us here are. For starters, Garba Lawal was not like Ahmed Musa, but rather he was a utility player. A player who could play every open field position and was ready to get his hands dirty. Secondly, Babayaro was far from being schooled in defense, but rather the right full back. Rewatch te highlights to ascertain what I just said. Babayaro was just very active so it made him more noticed.

I dont think you are very good in the English language, nor in "comparison" or "situational analogies."

[danfo driver]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

[Tobi17]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

Kai see finishing

[danfo driver]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Lol. Let me give you some advice. Too many Nigerian fans use Garba Lawal to tell the rest of us that they sabi ball pass us. Them no go gree you.

I don’t blame them. It was Troussier and Bonfrere that popularized that theory. And since then, them no go let us hear word.

Lawal was a hard worker but essentially a negative offensively. I will never accept that he brought more than he subtracted. I know what my eyes saw…and we could have done much better

Bro, I know Lawal very well and I know what "they" believe he brought to the team. I wont be lectured by "my massa said so." That is their problem. I hated the crap out of his presence in the national team. It was so bad that when the coaches accepted that he was a worthless person taking space on our left wing, they moved him into the middle every single squad list, I cursed him and couldnt believe I had to watch the eyesore that he was. Tufia! Truth is that he got into the national team NOT because of talent or because we couldnt find better. He got in because he had a godfather! That has been proven years ago!

Like their Musa, they thought he will play for ever! well well well.. thats not how life works. He had to retire one day and we never have to see that eyesore ever again. Musa turn dey reach. Doesnt matter how well he greets, how much he bribes or who he sleeps with, one day, he too will have to retire. He cant play forever!

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

You gloat, bluff and shout but never offer any substance but emotional diatribe about your imaginary standard that nobody knows. How da feck do you hate Garba Lawal in 2023? What kind of a story azz moron will have such an opinion of a player that just did his part 15yrs ago? They say nothing convinces a man faster than his own voice, you need to shut up because your voice has made you delusional.

[Tobi17]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

You gloat, bluff and shout but never offer any substance but emotional diatribe about your imaginary standard that nobody knows. How da feck do you hate Garba Lawal in 2023? What kind of a story azz moron will have such an opinion of a player that just did his part 15yrs ago? They say nothing convinces a man faster than his own voice, you need to shut up because your voice has made you delusional.

see comeback!

[Dammy]

I was at the Amsterdam Arena on that day to eat the match and these were my thoughts reading through the comments:
1. Babayaro did not play in that match
2. Jero Shakpoke kept a tight leash on Overmars and the Dutch were only able to get through the SE defence when Jero was injured and replaced by a clearly unfit Eguavoen, who had a bandage on his knee and could hardly move
3. Shakpoke’s injury cost us dearly at the WC because Mobi Oparaku was recalled and he was not up to the standard, being at fault for both of Spain’s goals in our first match. This forced Bora to move our best midfielder, Mutiu to RB leaving a void in midfield that was exploited by Denmark in the Round of 16 match
4. The squad was divided and the spat between Amokachi and Ikpeba over a 2nd half substitution revealed how deeply fragmented the squad was. Ikpeba gave an interview after Abacus’s death that they were now all equal in the squad, this was a dig at Amokachi because of his closeness to the dictator
5. Recalling the veterans, Yekini, Eguavoen, Okafor, Iroha and Rufai, with benefit of hindsight was a mistake as they were all over the hill by then.
6. Injuries to key players like Amunike, Shorounmu, Shakpoke and Dosu before the WC affected the quality of the squad and injuries to Amokachi and Kanu during the WC further affected the squad
7. The decision to drop in-form players like Akpoborie and Chris Ohenhen also affected the quality of the squad

[danfo driver]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

You gloat, bluff and shout but never offer any substance but emotional diatribe about your imaginary standard that nobody knows. How da feck do you hate Garba Lawal in 2023? What kind of a story azz moron will have such an opinion of a player that just did his part 15yrs ago? They say nothing convinces a man faster than his own voice, you need to shut up because your voice has made you delusional.

I give up

I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now

MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras

BRAIN DEAD D-U-N-C-E

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Phew! Watching this and I remember how much Garba Lawal was the Ahmed Musa of his time. Dude was perpetually getting invited and forced into the starting line-up. I "hated" him and it seemed like he would NEVER stop getting invited. Well well well... he had to retire one day, abi? Same with Musa. One day, one day, e go commot. And he will be replaced with another person who will cause us frustration. No be naija?

Comparing Lawal to Musa just shows how little you know about football. Lawal was the ultimate Swiss Army knife for SE, he played LB, CM,LW,DM, LWB, literally anywhere but goalie and No 9. He was effective and played to instructions, it’s why ALL SE coaches in his time invited him. Based on what we had available at the time he was a must on the team sheet. Trying to undermine his contributions 15yrs after retirement just shows how petty a person you are. Lawal was a real person , not an internet character that claims to know it all.

You have always been very dense as a person. I wanted to ignore you, but I'll be doing you a disservice.

My comparison of Musa and Lawal is called a situational analogy. I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now. IN MY OPINION, they both did not deserve to be in the Eagles. I waited and waited for the day Lawal left and I am waiting for the day Musa will leave.

I dont give a didily dammnnnnn whether Lawal won the Balon D'or or whether he was your boyfriend, that is your problem. The issue -- and sole issue-- is MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras.

You gloat, bluff and shout but never offer any substance but emotional diatribe about your imaginary standard that nobody knows. How da feck do you hate Garba Lawal in 2023? What kind of a story azz moron will have such an opinion of a player that just did his part 15yrs ago? They say nothing convinces a man faster than his own voice, you need to shut up because your voice has made you delusional.

I give up

I hated the hell out of Lawal then, and I hate the hell out of Musa now

MY OWN comparison of how i felt about two players in two different eras

BRAIN DEAD D-U-N-C-E

You should give up.Drowning in fake laughter to cover your ignorance and hatred doesn’t work. You were a hater when Lawal played and you’re still a hater. Feel free to take a long walk on a short -lank moron.