Nigerian Football
IGHALO BECOMES CULT HERO AT MANCHESTER UNITED!
According to the Daily Mail of UK, Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo was meant to be a temporary fix, but he is quickly becoming a cult hero at Manchester United and could extend his stay beyond the current season.
ODION IGHALO AT MANCHESTER UNITED
Games: 6
Starts: 2
Shots: 14
Shots on target: 8
Goals: 3
The deadline day signing has already scored three goals in two starts and is making a mockery of those who doubted him.
The
Nigerian is grasping his dream with both hands and giving United a decision to
make as to whether they give their boyhood fan an extended stay at Old
Trafford.
The 30-year-old joined in January on a loan deal until the end of the season after the club failed to land Josh King from Bournemouth.
Ighalo
was seen a rushed, panic signing as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desperately looked to
add another attacking option to his squad.
The former Watford man was hardly on the radar of other Premier League clubs, plying his trade for Shanghai Shenhua in China, and few expected he would be the answer to United’s problems.
Speaking to The Guardian at the start of February, Rio Ferdinand questioned whether the forward could live up to Old Trafford expectations.
‘Ighalo has played in the English Premier League before, but one thing I am concerned about is that he is coming from China… they are trying to build a league there, but the standard is not up to the Premier League.’
Paul Scholes was another former United player to suggest Ighalo would struggle to meet the level expected of him.
‘I don’t think he’s a signing for the long term,’ he told Robbie Savage’s Premier League Breakfast on BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘I think his scoring record in China is very good but is it that credible? I don’t know.’
But a goal in his first start in the Europa League against Club Brugge and two more in the FA Cup against Derby has forced both to make a u-turn.
Scholes admitted the striker looked sharp against the Belgian side and predicted him to get more chances while Ferdinand said the forward offers the team a reference point and gives other players opportunities to run off him with his hold-up play.
What United have been lacking this season is a box striker, someone who can play with his back to goal but also get himself in the right position to finish off chances.
All three of the striker’s goals have been scored inside the penalty area with two being one-touch finishes.
As well as his two starts in cup matches he has also had three brief cameo appearances off the bench in the Premier League and his manager praised his shooting accuracy.
‘He had chances against Watford, he had a very good save against Everton – there have been good saves, he doesn’t miss the target very often.’
Four of Ighalo’s five shots against Derby hit the target and his record in China was also good with a shooting accuracy of 57.3 per cent in 2018. In comparison, Marcus Rashford’s was 48.2 and 31.7 in previous campaigns.
But it’s not just what he brings to the team on the pitch that United fans appreciate.
The forward’s love for the club and willingness to give everything is something that has been lacking in recent squads.
His signing even sparked street parties in his homeland as he became the first Nigerian to pull on the famous shirt.
After scoring his first United goal Ighalo told the club’s website he would ‘give his blood’ to get more opportunities.
‘This is what I dream of and what I dreamt of when I was a kid. Now it is in my hands so I have to fight for it. I will give my blood to get it.
The striker is also not afraid of wearing his heart on his sleeve and has promised to dedicate every goal he scores to his late sister who was also a United fan.
There are still question marks over whether Rashord and Anthony Martial are strikers or wingers but there’s no uncertainty with Ighalo.
The loan deal for the striker does not include an option to buy but Solskjaer has already admitted he could extend his stay beyond the summer.
And with all domestic fixtures in China currently postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, a permanent move away from the Super League could suit Ighalo.
The Nigerian was meant to be a temporary fix but it looks like he could have a big role to play for the remainder of this season and beyond.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON6 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON1 week ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON6 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
AFCON2 days ago
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!