Ola Aina Played AFCON 2023 Final with Injury, Nottingham Forest Coach Says

[Dammy]

As it’s done in cybersecurity, we need to move on and document root causes, lessons learned and corrective actions. AFCON is a tough energy sapping tournament and there are no easy matches. Every game Nigeria played was tough and hopefully the manager will have learned how to rotate his squad in the next edition.
Some of our players returned with injuries from AFCON like Lookman, Aina, Ekong, Zaidu, Onuachu and Osimhen. Anyone watching Osimhen will know he’s not fully fit and Napoli’s manager has confirmed that.
The exertion of the players under the extreme weather in CIV has taken it’s toll on the boys, and I hope they all get back to full fitness soon

[Cellular]

As it’s done in cybersecurity, we need to move on and document root causes, lessons learned and corrective actions. AFCON is a tough energy sapping tournament and there are no easy matches. Every game Nigeria played was tough and hopefully the manager will have learned how to rotate his squad in the next edition.
Some of our players returned with injuries from AFCON like Lookman, Aina, Ekong, Zaidu, Onuachu and Osimhen. Anyone watching Osimhen will know he’s not fully fit and Napoli’s manager has confirmed that.
The exertion of the players under the extreme weather in CIV has taken it’s toll on the boys, and I hope they all get back to full fitness soon

Thank you, Chief Dammy.

The 3rd game when we already had 4 points in the bag was a clear case of coaching malpractice. In playing a player like Osimhen for 90 minutes. Why?

This is not like we are doing After The Fact Analysis. We stated as much during and after the game.

It goes back to squad selection and maximizing the number of call-ups.

Our starting players played the most minutes in the tournament. Shouldn't have been the case.

[olu]

It's beginning to feel like Peseiro ran Ekong, Osimhen, and Aina into the ground. I still wonder why the likes of Bruno and Awazeim didn't get any minutes, or why Moffi and Osayi-Samuel didn't get more minutes. Peseiro's team selections also limited his ability to make substitutions. We didn't have enough cover for Simon and Lookman with Chuwkueze being off-form and Musa just being there for motivational purposes.

[airwolex]

As it’s done in cybersecurity, we need to move on and document root causes, lessons learned and corrective actions. AFCON is a tough energy sapping tournament and there are no easy matches. Every game Nigeria played was tough and hopefully the manager will have learned how to rotate his squad in the next edition.
Some of our players returned with injuries from AFCON like Lookman, Aina, Ekong, Zaidu, Onuachu and Osimhen. Anyone watching Osimhen will know he’s not fully fit and Napoli’s manager has confirmed that.
The exertion of the players under the extreme weather in CIV has taken it’s toll on the boys, and I hope they all get back to full fitness soon

Smh some of us have been saying this since the get go. Abegi

[Cellular]

It's beginning to feel like Peseiro ran Ekong, Osimhen, and Aina into the ground. I still wonder why the likes of Bruno and Awazeim didn't get any minutes, or why Moffi and Osayi-Samuel didn't get more minutes. Peseiro's team selections also limited his ability to make substitutions. We didn't have enough cover for Simon and Lookman with Chuwkueze being off-form and Musa just being there for motivational purposes.

When fans scrutinize the squad selection they claim we are not well informed. Peseiro had members of his staff who were veterans of the tournament. But none of them have played or experienced this expanded AFCON tournament. We said going in it would be a tournament of attrition.

We talked about not carrying the required 27 they said it was his choice to go with 25.

Of the 25 he had 2 players who were just making up numbers... the Team Captain, Ahmed Musa and the 3rd Goalie, Ojo. Na beg we beg make dem invite Alhassan as a replacement even though he should have been part of the original squad.

Senior Man Keles was begging to get playing time. Moffi should have gotten more minutes.
Both fullbacks gave you everything and then some. You have unused subs and players... but you prefer to use players until the wheels come off.

I fault his assistants and the NFF sha. They know better. Massa is not always right.

[nzeogwu]

Troost, Aina, Osimhen, Zaidu and Lookman are all patriots in my book. They sacrificed for this country.

We can blame the squad depth etc but my focus is on the character of these guys.

Troost played with a torn muscle in his thigh. Now he is out for the season!!!

[Dammy]

Troost ruled out for the rest of the season by his club POAK Salonika due to injuries sustained at AFCON

[Cmoke]

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

[Damunk]

Oga Cmoke, you are absolutely right.
It’s easy for us all to be wise after the fact, and to proffer armchair advice before, during and after.
None of us really has a full grasp of the full range of factors that informed those decisions and there really is no point ‘acting like we know’.

The same decision that had Ekong playing 4 games through pain and injury to become our top goal scorer and Player of the Tournament also got Aina and Osimhen playing below par. It goes either way and the margins are narrow.

Moreover, people need to remember that all said and done, medicine is not a precise science and there’s a lot of subjectivity involved. Not everything shows up on testing and you rely heavily on what the patient (player) tells you about his experience.

Let’s just move on and applaud the players’ commitment. Otherwise we’ll be running down that rabbit hole, blaming coach and even players.

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

[aruako1]

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

[Damunk]

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

So would you say Ekong too was “let down” by the Manager in the final?
He’s out for the season but has won an accolade he will treasure for the rest of his life and is probably his greatest ever professional honour. Pride of place award.

My point is, it’s easy for us to judge from afar.
As a lawyer, you are very familiar how what appears to people like me to be straight up ‘black and white’ has a completely different hue from a legal perspective that will genuinely baffle us from what we see as a commonsensical pov.

If you apply the same insight to medicine, then you will get how these things can happen, especially in pressured environments like we are analysing.

Let’s consider that for a moment.
There’s no point blaming anybody and I’m pretty sure few doctors will. Or even those that routinely work in such environments.

These things probably happen every day.

[Cmoke]

Araoko,

You obviously missed the part about available replacements. You comot Aina, then what?

Aina had a subpar game no thanks to that Adingra boy who played like man possessed . That happens in football, bro.

Cmoke

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

[maceo4]

Araoko,

You obviously missed the part about available replacements. You comot Aina, then what?

Aina had a subpar game no thanks to that Adingra boy who played like man possessed . That happens in football, bro.

Cmoke

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

Bright is better than a half fit Aina and already had minutes deputizing in that position so you can’t tell me there’s no options there. Adingra kept smoking Aina because he kept giving him the outside but couldn’t match his speed. There was nothing special he was doing other than push and run around him…I’ve watched that game over 5 times and it’s so infuriating that he kept getting beat the same way time and time again and zero adjustments were made…at least tell Aina to force him inside where he has help…

[Cellular]

Araoko,

You obviously missed the part about available replacements. You comot Aina, then what?

Aina had a subpar game no thanks to that Adingra boy who played like man possessed . That happens in football, bro.

Cmoke

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

Oga, my point which Aruako1 reiterated was that the coach saw that Aina was hurt. Fans saw it too. The opposing team saw it as well. An injured and labored Aina is not better than someone like Bassey being deployed as an emergency fullback since Bruno was soooooo bad that they preferred to play an unfit Aina.

[Tobi17]

Pisseiro and his enablers should be tried in the football Hague (if there was ever something like that) for approving a team with no adequate depth even for a tournament that allowed for an expanded list, for running those boys to the ground by failing to rotate and use his subs when necessary, and for playing half-fit players in the finals...I mean what's the focking use of the physios in that team if they couldn’t properly assess the fitness levels of some players? the same brainless nonsense Rohr did in the last AFCON when he ran the likes of Etebo and Ndidi into the ground by over-playing them until they inevitably ran out of steam against Algeria in the Semi-final was what Pisseiro did with Onyeka and Iwobi...Onyedika literally got no single minute all tournament and Yusuf played in patches in a midfield that was criminally undermanned from the onset.

Honestly when are we fans ever going to enjoy a
stress-frew tournament without NFF and their daft employees repeating the same retarded gaffes all the time? Honestly Kudos to those boys for even making it as far as they did on sheer determination and brazen patriotism.

[Damunk]

Moreover, people need to remember that all said and done, medicine is not a precise science and there’s a lot of subjectivity involved. Not everything shows up on testing and you rely heavily on what the patient (player) tells you about his experience.

This is exactly what I was suggesting.

“It turned out to be more serious than first thought.”
“Every player has played with pain at some point in their career to fight for club or country.
It's part of the game.”

It’s turned out to be even more serious than Aina’s, yet Ekong was able to keep playing almost unhindered.
Unravelling the mysteries of the human body takes more than just observational logic.

Can we just acknowledge that and stop looking for scape goats?

[felarey]

The issue is simple. Did Aina hide his injury or not? Nobody here should be surprised by Ekong’s injury. We discussed it here and he was a doubt for the next games but we were glad he made it, just like Nwabali. Ekong didn’t hide anything and it’s a given in football that players play on with injuries. Some even do it terminally counting down the clock on their careers.
It wasn’t reported anywhere Aina was injured, not by him or anyone around the team. He goes back to his club and boom it’s landed he played with injury in the biggest game for Nigerians in a decade.
If he hid it from the medics and coaching staff he needs to be dropped or face some consequence. We should not move on. The fact that no one has come out to say they knew is very problematic.

[aruako1]

Araoko,

You obviously missed the part about available replacements. You comot Aina, then what?

Aina had a subpar game no thanks to that Adingra boy who played like man possessed . That happens in football, bro.

Cmoke

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

Dear C-Omokri

I didn't miss any point. Do you know any Bright Osayi-Samuel?

[Damunk]

The issue is simple. Did Aina hide his injury or not? Nobody here should be surprised by Ekong’s injury. We discussed it here and he was a doubt for the next games but we were glad he made it, just like Nwabali. Ekong didn’t hide anything and it’s a given in football that players play on with injuries. Some even do it terminally counting down the clock on their careers.
It wasn’t reported anywhere Aina was injured, not by him or anyone around the team. He goes back to his club and boom it’s landed he played with injury in the biggest game for Nigerians in a decade.
If he hid it from the medics and coaching staff he needs to be dropped or face some consequence. We should not move on. The fact that no one has come out to say they knew is very problematic.

Okay nah, siddon there dey look for scapegoat.
You will be left behind.

Meanwhile you “moved on” pretty quickly from the Jan 6th insurrection, I remember.
So it’s not as if you are unrollable.

[packerland]

Araoko,

You obviously missed the part about available replacements. You comot Aina, then what?

Aina had a subpar game no thanks to that Adingra boy who played like man possessed . That happens in football, bro.

Cmoke

My Oga,

I beg to disagree. Footballers play hurt all the time. It is a matter of degree.

Ekong - our best player during the final game, and the tournament MVP played hurt.

Players will die than to miss playing in the finals. Do you remember a San Francisco 49ers player that elected to have his fingers cut off so that he can play in a final game?

I met with Aina after our 0-0 game with E. Guinea. I told him to take heart and that I will return to CIV to see him in the final game. He beamed and said "Amen sir!" A well trained yound man.

A few days later, Larry put a call through to his dad who was chilling in Naija. His dad told us he will come to CIV if Naija makes the finals.

So under those circumstances, the young man will play through pains. They all do it. No pain no gain!

Cmoke

P.S.

Our team was not deep. We saw that when Zaidu was unavailable and Aina moved to left back. Suddenly, people yabbling Zaidu where begging him to come back.

Bright was subpar when given the chance to play right back. The coaches probably figured he is better than their alternatives even if he was not 100 percent.

Yall are missing the point. Shows how committed and dedicated these boys are towards our Country. Well done and get well soon Ola

BS!

It shows incompetence on the part of the coach. AKA Coaching Malpractice.

If he is not confident of his bench who should he blame? Did we assemble his bench? I actually thought the fullback position was one we had credible and competent options.

During the game and after the game we kept talking about how some of our players looked a step off.

The coach is employed to make tough decisions. To save the player from themselves. I have never met a competitor who didn't feel that he was better playing for the team than making way for a healthier player. That is the nature of being a competitor.

It is the job of the coach to sit a player down when he is not at his optimum best.

Ola Aina had a great tournament and was at a point one of the best if not the best player on the team. His display in that final game wasn't up to his usual standards. The coach ought to have known that as it was obvious in the first half. The same thing/issues the Ivorien coach saw and took advantage of.

We missed a great opportunity because of a coach who refused to rotate his squad adequately and played fatigued players in the finals. A finals we are not sure the next time we will smell...

No issues with the player starting. But why did he continue in the second half when it was clear that he wasn't his usual self? That is on the manager. Not one single player failed us at the AFCON. They were let down by the manager in the final.

Oga, my point which Aruako1 reiterated was that the coach saw that Aina was hurt. Fans saw it too. The opposing team saw it as well. An injured and labored Aina is not better than someone like Bassey being deployed as an emergency fullback since Bruno was soooooo bad that they preferred to play an unfit Aina.

Are you sure the coaches knew he was injured? If Bruno was that bad in training that they couldn’t count on him if they knew Aina was injured, then they should never invite him again. Same with Onyedika. What’s the point of inviting players you don’t trust.

[Sleaky72]

It’s an occupational hazard of competing in sports at any level.
Now most coach’s won’t mind a player participating through
the pain barrier but not while carrying a serious injury.
Sometimes athletes will hide the severity of an injury and attempt
to play through for reasons best known to them.
It could be cuz of fear of losing their place to their replacement or
simply their dedication to the cause.
Let’s just stop the scapegoating agenda here.
Some folks simply derive joy from being negative …

[felarey]

The issue is simple. Did Aina hide his injury or not? Nobody here should be surprised by Ekong’s injury. We discussed it here and he was a doubt for the next games but we were glad he made it, just like Nwabali. Ekong didn’t hide anything and it’s a given in football that players play on with injuries. Some even do it terminally counting down the clock on their careers.
It wasn’t reported anywhere Aina was injured, not by him or anyone around the team. He goes back to his club and boom it’s landed he played with injury in the biggest game for Nigerians in a decade.
If he hid it from the medics and coaching staff he needs to be dropped or face some consequence. We should not move on. The fact that no one has come out to say they knew is very problematic.

Okay nah, siddon there dey look for scapegoat.
You will be left behind.

Meanwhile you “moved on” pretty quickly from the Jan 6th insurrection, I remember.
So it’s not as if you are unrollable.

Not looking for scapegoat, looking for accountability, without which breeds failure such as losing when you had the capacity to win. Jan 6 is a tangential point, nobody believes it was an insurrection. Let’s not conflate politics with sports where truth matters.

[Cellular]

The issue is simple. Did Aina hide his injury or not? Nobody here should be surprised by Ekong’s injury. We discussed it here and he was a doubt for the next games but we were glad he made it, just like Nwabali. Ekong didn’t hide anything and it’s a given in football that players play on with injuries. Some even do it terminally counting down the clock on their careers.
It wasn’t reported anywhere Aina was injured, not by him or anyone around the team. He goes back to his club and boom it’s landed he played with injury in the biggest game for Nigerians in a decade.
If he hid it from the medics and coaching staff he needs to be dropped or face some consequence. We should not move on. The fact that no one has come out to say they knew is very problematic.

Okay nah, siddon there dey look for scapegoat.
You will be left behind.

Meanwhile you “moved on” pretty quickly from the Jan 6th insurrection, I remember.
So it’s not as if you are unrollable.

Not looking for scapegoat, looking for accountability, without which breeds failure such as losing when you had the capacity to win. Jan 6 is a tangential point, nobody believes it was an insurrection. Let’s not conflate politics with sports where truth matters.

Thank you! It is about accountability.
When picking your squad you have to select players who might be asked to play.
If the tournament calls for 27 players, take 27 players.
If the environment will be challenging, condition in a place that has similar conditions.
Monitor the minutes the players play... like a commercial driver, they shut them down to rest and recover adequately knowing that the body needs adequate rest (yes, even for a conditioned professional athlete).

In 2018, we had Argentina on the ropes. We had subs to sitting on the bench but the coach decided too late to provide reinforcements.

People think that it is easy to get to the finals. Who knows the next time the opportunity will present itself. 8 quarterfinalists didn't make it to this year's quarterfinal.

When competing, try to give yourself the best chance to win. Don't selfsabotage yourself.