Nigeria Content Online

Monday Odigie is
ready to change the course of history as he seeks to produce the next
Golden Eaglets that will truly form the nucleus of a future Super
Eagles.

The Eaglets boasts
an impressive pedigree of three World Cup titles and three silver
medals in the FIFA U-17 competition, the 13th edition which was held in
Nigeria last month, but our efforts have been overshadowed by perennial
tales of deceits and cheat.

Allegations of age
falsification or the use of beyond the stipulated age limit have often
trailed our U-17 team, such that a lot of soccer fans in the country
have found it difficult to celebrate the Eaglets’ success with
suspicions that the feat might have been achieved through foul play
rather than in the spirit of fair play.

Nigeria has paraded
a total of 162 players in the nine editions the country has featured in
the competition, but only eight of those players have been able to play
at the

senior World Cup level. Famous among them are Nwankwo Kanu, Celestine Babayaro, Victor Ikpeba and Wilson Oruma.

But following his
experience after working as assistant coach in the 2009 Eaglets squad,
the new U-17 handler, Odigie claims he is ready to right the wrongs and
build a strong legacy that will turn around the future of our football.
He agrees the age issue has been a challenge that is depriving Nigerian
football of its true development and that he is not afraid to fail with
his experiment.

Change

“How many times
have we actually won the competition? I tell you something; the fact
that you have the best 18 players does not guarantee you are going to
win a competition. So one needs to be bold to take your decision and be
ready to face the consequences in honesty to the ethics of the job. As
long as the authorities see the team is in the right direction, I’m
sure they will give me their support”, says Odigie in an interview with
NEXT.

“What is important
is bringing together a credible team, instilling the discipline and the
right tactics on the players. That’s how you get your results, not by
size or age. It is also important to put a programme in place that will
get the young players exposed to supposedly bigger opponents. “They
could get defeated in those games but they will learn from it and you
carry on with the players with the hope of expecting them to improve.
You don’t have to fear, you are not going to deliver because fear is
even a phenomenon in life and no matter how high you go in your
endeavour, it will always be there. So you just have to do your job”,
Odigie said of his aspirations.

Stars fail to shine

The last time
Nigeria won the U-17 World Cup was 2007 in South Korea, but none of the
glory boys have come of age. Talented playmaker Rabiu Ibrahim is yet to
make senior grade at Sporting Club of Portugal while the tournament’s
golden shoe and silver ball winner, Macauley Chrisantus has had to be
loaned from his Bundesliga side, Hamburg, to Karlsruhe in the lower
division. By contrast, Mexico are relying on the nucleus of their 2005
U-17 world champions including Arsenal’s Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos
Santos to prosecute their 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In fact the
young boys have been branded the “Golden Generation” by the Mexican
media to underline their admiration for their development in the game.

“Three years down
the line the boys have not even been able to make any impact in terms
of development. So that’s part of the problem. If you get a truly young
side, you will be able to see some positives in terms of development
because they keep growing. Everyone has an opportunity, and people will
make reference to what you achieve”, Odigie lamented on how our U-17
champions have faded away.

Toughest

The former Bendel
Insurance of Benin defender who guided Bayelsa United to the Nigeria
Premier League title last season regards the Eaglets job as the
toughest portfolio of all the national teams’ coaching jobs.

“I think it is the
most challenging job of all the national teams because the essence is
to bring these boys together in their raw state, give them the right
orientation on how to play such that they will be able to translate the
knowledge into winning games in championship because winning gives them
the opportunity of a good future. This stage is supposed to be the
foundation of the future of national team, so it is no doubt the most
challenging of them all.

“The way we are looking at it is to involve people who are truly
involved in bringing up young talents such as credible academies and
explore school competitions like the Principals’ Cup to get the kind of
talents that can fit into our plans,” he said.

The Super Eagles team B yesterday won the maiden edition of the West African Football Union (WAFU) Championship, defeating their Senegalese counterparts by two goals to none.

Massive support

The finals played at the 35,000 seater capacity Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta was full to the brim by spectators who came to watch their home based team.

Super Eagles’ first goal was recorded by shirt number 14, Reuben Gabriel following a free kick from the left flank of the field by Bartholomew Ibenegbu which he headed into the net in the 62nd minute, leaving the Senegalese goalkeeper, Khadinj Ndiaye wondering.

The second and final goal which sealed the Super Eagles victory was scored in the 86th minute of the encounter by captain, Solomon Okpako.

The spectators which included the Flamingoes (women’s U-17 national team), were in a joyous mood due to the Super Eagles victory.

Winning all the way

It will be recalled that the Nigerian team played four matches against Benin, Guinea, Senegal and Burkina Faso, which they won before getting to the finals of the competition.

Several number of spectators who spoke with NEXT after the match expressed satisfaction over the performance of the national team.

Meanwhile, the third place match which was played earlier was won by Ghana, defeating their Burkina Faso counterparts by one goal.

Super Eagles coach,
Lars Lagerback has called up a total of 44 players ahead of the
national team’s scheduled pre-World Cup training camp scheduled to come
up at a yet to be disclosed location in the United Kinigdom between
April 27 and 28.

There were really
no surprises in the list made public by the Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) on Sunday as the Swede kept faith with the core of the players
that have appeared for the national team over the past couple of years.
There was however a recall to the Super Eagles for Portsmouth’s John
Utaka who was left out of the national team by the team’s erstwhile
handler Shaibu Amodu.

There was also a
recall to the Super Eagles for the duo of Rabiu Afolabi and Onyekachi
Okonkwo who haven’t featured for the side since 2008.

Unheralded Nigerian
defender Michael Odibe, who is on loan at Italian side Siena, France
based Brown Ideye, as well as Denmark based Peter Utaka were also
considered worthy of staking a claim for a World Cup shirt by the
Swedish born coach of the Super Eagles.

Return of the home boys

Lagerback, in line
with calls from Nigerians for the inclusion of players from the
domestic league in the Super Eagles, also invited as many as six
players from the Nigerian top flight division to the UK camp which will
also serve as an avenue for him to hold discussions with Super Eagles
players and intimate them of his plans for the national team ahead of
the World Cup.

They are goalkeeper
Bassey Akpan of Bayelsa United, Terna Suswan of Lobi Stars, Gabriel
Reuben of Enyimba, Heartland’s Bartholomew Ibenegbu, Solomon Okpako of
Kano Pillars, and his club mate and leading scorer in the Nigerian
Premier League Ahmed Musa.

There was however no place in the team for Heartland’s Thankgod Ike
who many rate as the best central defender in the domestic league.
There was also no place in the team for promising midfielder Rabiu
Ibrahim, although his situation is understandable considering his lack
of top flight action. His former Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles
buddy, Lukman Haruna however made the list and he will be hoping to do
enough to impress the Super Eagles handler and accomplish his dream of
featuring at the World Cup.

England

Aiyegbeni Yakubu
(Everton): He definitely knows how to hit the spotlight as that was
exactly what he did in a 12-minute substitute appearance last Saturday
at Ewood where the Super Eagles striker scored one against Blackburn
and set up Tim Cahill’s last-minute winner.

Mikel Arteta’s
fourth-minute penalty had been cancelled out by a spectacular 30-yard
drive midway through the second half by Steven Nzonzi’s before the
introduction of the Nigeria international in the 78th minute marked a
turnaround for the Toffees.

Yakubu put Everton
2-1 up with his first touch seconds after coming on and although Jason
Roberts lashed home an equaliser two minutes late,r Cahill converted
Yakubu’s cross from close range late on to hand the Liverpool based
side a deserved victory.

The win also kept
Everton in with a chance of a late bid for a European place, moving
them to within two points of sixth-placed Liverpool, who play West Ham
later today.

Saturday’s game was
the 33rd game of the season for the former Middlesbrough striker and
his 79th minute strike marked his sixth goal of the campaign.

The game also
marked a return to first team action for Yakubu’s compatriot Victor
Anichebe who had been out of the spotlight since he picked up a knock
on March 20 in his side’s 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. Anichebe came
in as a second half substitute and it was the 8th game of the season
for the 21 year old (he will be 22 on April 22).

Also in action for
Everton, albeit for just a minute, was Super Eagles vice-captain Joseph
Yobo who made a 90th minute substitute appearance in place of Louis
Saha. It was also the case for Yobo three days earlier in Everton’s 2-2
draw against Aston Villa.

Dickson Etuhu
(Fulham): Combative Nigerian midfielder Etuhu was on for the entire
duration of the game as Fulham were forced to a goalless draw by
visiting Wolverhampton Wanderers at Craven Cottage. It was the 33rd
game of the season for the former Manchester City academy player in a
campaign that has seen him score twice for the Whites, the last of
which arrived on March 11 in the London based side’s 3-1 loss to
Juventus in the Europa League.

Nwankwo Kanu &
John Utaka (Portsmouth): Super Eagles captain Kanu last weekend made a
rare starting appearance for Portsmouth in their 2-1 home defeat to
Aston Villa at Fratton Park. Starting roles have been few and far in
between for the highly decorated Nigerian forward, but he will need
much more to impress potential suitors as Portsmouth gets set for life
in the English lower division next season following their relegation
from the Premier League. And with just a few games left until the end
of the season, Kanu’s chance to impress his would-be employers may
likely come at the World Cup; that is if he gets to make the Super
Eagles’ 23-man final squad list to South Africa 2010.

Equally in dire
need of playing time to impress potential suitors is Kanu’s compatriot
Utaka who featured from start to finish in the loss to Aston Villa. It
was Utaka’s 24th appearance of the campaign for Pompey but most of it
has been as a substitute. And his return of three goals won’t help the
cause of the Nigerian striker who reportedly earns around £80,000
weekly at the troubled English club.

John Obi Mikel
(Chelsea): Mikel made his 35th appearance of the season for Chelsea on
Saturday but it was a day the Nigerian midfielder would want to forget
in a hurry as he succumbed to a knock while his side slumped to a
potentially destructive defeat at the hands of city rivals Tottenham at
White Hart Lane. Mikel, along with his Chelsea buddies, started the
game with much hope but at the end of proceedings, they were defeated.
And with Manchester United right behind them on the league standings,
and with only three games to the end of the league season, any further
slip on the part of the Blues will see the title returning to Old
Trafford.

France

Taye Taiwo
(Olmpique Marseille): Taiwo shooting is a handful for opposing
goalkeepers from as far out as 30 yards. From 12 yards out, it is a
nightmare for goal minders, and that was exactly the case on Saturday
when the Lagos born defender scored from the penalty spot to hand
Marseille a 2-1 win over Boulogne as the former French champions
continued their impressive march to their first Ligue 1 title in over
16 years.

The Nigerian left
back came into the fray as a 69th minute replacement for Mammadou Niang
and went on to restore Marseille’s lead on the dot of 90 minutes to
maintain his side’s lead at the top of Ligue 1.

Mathieu Valbuena
gave Marseille the lead shortly before half-time, only for Jeremy
Blayac to equalise for the home side nine minutes from time. However,
the visitors snatched the win in the dying seconds of injury time when
Taiwo blasted home a penalty given against Yoann Lachor for handball.

Boulogne’s Nigerian
defender Olubayo Adefemi was nowhere to be found in the clash as he was
not fielded by the relegation-threatened outfit.

Germany

Chinedu Obasi
(Hoffenheim): Skillful Nigerian forward, Obasi was in action from the
start of his side’s Bundesliga tie against Borussia Dortmund but was
replaced midway through the second half as both sides settled for a 1-1
draw in the exciting tie.

It was the 19th
game of the season for Obasi who has found the back of the net five
times for the modest German club side. The last of his goals however
came in November in Hoffenheim’s 4-0 thumping of Cologne.

Obafemi Martins
(Wolfsburg): It is not for any ordinary reason that Edin Dzeko and
Grafite are the first choice strikers at Wolfsburg, and the deadly duo
proved it yet again last weekend when they each found the back of the
net for the German champions. But their goals weren’t enough to prevent
Wolfsburg from slumping to their 11th league defeat of the season.

Not even the introduction of Martins 20 minutes from the end could
prevent a home defeat for the Wolves. The game in itself was only the
15th league game of the season for Martins who has only scored six
times since his summer switch from Newcastle United.

Arsenal’s faint
hopes of winning the Premier League title, rekindled after Chelsea lost
on Saturday, were finally killed off when they conceded three late
goals to lose 3-2 at Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

Arsenal, with goals
from Theo Walcott and Mikael Silvestre, were coasting towards a 2-0
victory with 10 minutes left but crashed to a stunning defeat as goals
from Ben Watson, Titus Bramble and Charles N’Zogbia gave Wigan their
first league victory over Arsene Wenger’s side.

The result moved
Wigan on to 35 points, seven clear of Hull City, and virtually
guaranteed their Premier League survival for another season.

Arsenal, who would
have moved to within three points of leaders Chelsea with a win,
remained third on 71 points, six behind Chelsea and five behind
Manchester United with just three matches to play.

REUTERS

Espanyol’s battling
0-0 draw at home to La Liga leaders Barcelona will have made
interesting watching for Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho on Saturday.

The Italians host
the European Cup holders in a Champions League semi-final first leg on
Tuesday, volcanic ash permitting, and were able to witness a rare sight
as Barca found themselves harried, hurried and ultimately held by their
super-motivated city rivals.

The visitors lost
defender Daniel Alves to a red card after 62 minutes and Espanyol, who
hit the woodwork in the first half, were perhaps unlucky not to come
away with more from a game in which Barca were uncharacteristically
defensive in outlook.

The champions moved
on to 84 points from 33 games, but chasing Real Madrid could close to
within one point if they can beat third-placed Valencia at the Bernabeu
on Sunday.

“It’s a point worth
its weight in gold, because we played a long time with a man less,”
Barca president Joan Laporta told Spanish media.

“We are in the last stages of the league and there is more pressure because everyone has something to play for.”

Espanyol’s fans
gave Barca a typically hostile reception, with a banner in the stands
reading: “You aren’t a rival, you are the enemy.”

Roared on by their
own, Espanyol gave Barca very little space, while a succession of fouls
disrupted the rhythm of the game, players rapidly crowding round the
referee to exert maximum pressure at every stoppage.

Valdes save

Barca did not have
one decent shot on target and were lucky to go in at the break level
after a quick Espanyol counter-attack ended with Pablo Osvaldo’s effort
being pushed on to a post by Victor Valdes.

Matters got worse
for Pep Guardiola when Alves picked up his second yellow card but he
still opted for attack throwing on Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic
to join Lionel Messi in the second half.

Espanyol have not
conceded a goal at home in 2010 and looked secure at the back despite
Barca continuing to dominate proceedings, and they were a constant
worry for their neighbours on the counter.

Earlier, Frederic
Kanoute and Luis Fabiano were on target to help Sevilla beat Sporting
Gijon 3-0 at home, moving them up to fourth with 54 points.

Mali striker
Kanoute scored following a free kick in the eighth minute and
Sporting’s chances of getting back into the game were hindered when
forward Mate Bilic picked up his second yellow card in the 32nd.

Brazil striker Luis
Fabiano guided a majestic header past Juan Pablo in the 53rd, and
Sporting picked up a second red card when defender Jose Angel walked in
the 83rd.

Juan Cala wrapped
up the points with a close-range header to keep up Sevilla’s push for a
return to Champions League action next season.

In the late game,
Europa League semi-finalists Atletico Madrid, set to host Liverpool
next week, suffered their third successive defeat, going down 2-1 at
Villarreal.

Diego Godin and Giuseppe Rossi scored to put Villarreal sixth with 49 points. Sergio Aguero pulled one back for the visitors.

Reuters

This week’s
Champions League semi-finals between Inter Milan and Barcelona and
Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyon will go ahead despite the disruption
to European air travel caused by the volcanic ash cloud, UEFA said.
UEFA told Reuters
on Sunday that their travel department and other officials had been in
close contact with all four clubs and that there was no problems with
the travelling teams reaching their destinations.
Inter Milan are at home to European champions Barcelona on Tuesday with Bayern Munich at home against Lyon on Wednesday.
“Barcelona are
travelling to Milan by bus and Lyon are also planning to go to Germany
by road as well,” said UEFA’s director of communications Rob Faulkner.
He added the
situation regarding Thursday’s Europa League semis between Atletico
Madrid and Liverpool in Spain and SV Hamburg and Fulham in Germany
would be reviewed on Monday.
“We have been in touch with those clubs as well and the situation is being closely monitored.
“The Champions
League games will definitely go ahead as planned. The only issue is
that some match delegates might have to be changed, but a decision can
be made on that later. Tuesday’s refereeing team is not being changed
but a back-up team have been alerted in case.”
Champions travel by road
Barcelona left by bus for Milan on Sunday, the European Cup holders said.
The La Liga leaders
will travel in two buses the 634 kilometres to Cannes on Sunday and
stay overnight before covering the last 351 kilometres to Milan on
Monday, the club said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com).
Both Barcelona and Milan airports were closed on Sunday.
After Saturday’s
0-0 draw at city rivals Espanyol, Guardiola had played down the
significance of a possible road trip to northern Italy.
“It wouldn’t be the best but there are teams from the lower leagues that travel 17 hours by bus,” he told reporters.
“A semi-final is enough to help anyone get over any tiredness.”

Reuters

As expected, there
has been so much brouhaha over the shameful defeat Nigeria suffered
recently, when Niger – a nation with a population of about 8.5 million
people, taught us some “home” lessons, on how and how – not to play,
manage and organise football. And, yes, for the second consecutive time,
Nigeria, represented by our home – based professional footballers, has
been eliminated from the CHAN 2011 fiesta. Twice beaten, twice
eliminated, so what next?

The Chairman of the
Nigerian Premier league, Gius Oyuiki Obaseki, who declared not too long
ago, that Nigeria has the best football league in Africa, said after the
Kano disgrace that “the problem with the team was that they have not
blended, they don’t know what to do with the ball. But I believe that
with time, they will improve. The only option left for us is to go back
to the drawing board, by correcting the wrongs “.

Well, too bad there
is no time for them to improve Chairman Gius, they have been knocked out
– cold. As regards the “only” option you referred to, the “only”
drawing board available and which Nigerians are interested in right now,
has been taken over by the lagging Lars Laggerback, albeit temporarily.
I have said this with all due respects to our High Chief.

Please permit me to
repeat my reaction to Shuaibu Amodu’s comment on the home – based
players, a few months ago. I did say then and wish to repeat that the
problem with the Nigerian football league is not all about our football
players. A malnourished child cannot be held responsible for his / her
condition. The parents must be held responsible. And, anyway, the
parents – especially the father, can only give what he has. No one gives
what they do not possess.

This is the sad
situation with football in Nigeria. Our local coaches can only give what
they have to the football players. That is why I agree, almost
absolutely, that most of our home-based football players do not know
what to do with the ball, most of the time, on the pitch. The ball is
one of the most obedient objects on this planet. It responds – without
any form of resistance, to the signal it receives.

Kick it well – it
responds, knock it, chip it, drive it, nod it, throw it, roll it, do
whatever pleases you with the ball and I can assure you of its absolute
obedience. With all due respects to our coaches, especially my revered
seniors / elders, I wish to reiterate the statement made a few months
ago in this column, that most of our coaches do not or have not mastered
or understood the basic scientific methodology of teaching our football
players, the primary techniques of releasing the ball, receiving the
ball and retaining the ball.

Is it possible to
teach adult football players these techniques and teach them
scientifically? To some extent, yes, but with a lot of difficulties.
Attempt making a bent and dry fish straight and you will discover what I
am trying to say. This is so, because many of the players in our local
leagues did not have the opportunity of being effectively or properly
trained or taught the rudiments of playing the ball in their formative
years. Here lies the tragedy of this generation of Nigeria’s home-based
footballers.

Must the coaches
take all the blame? No!!! What do we expect from a Country without one
single state-of-the art institution, capable of producing well-groomed
coaches? Please forget about that place idiotically referred to as the
National Institute of Sports. It is an insult to this great nation. That
so-called institute should be used for something more meaningful.

Where does the next generation of coaches, trainers, match officials,
managers, administrators, agents, sports scientists and footballers
come from?

What has changed
for Nedum Onuoha the Manchester City defender between November 2009 and
today? Nothing expect that reality has dawn on him that his dream of
playing for England, the country he played at the junior level, will
never be a reality at the senior level.

With doors shut by England coach Fabio Capello, Onuoha who told the world in November that,

“I would love to
play for England. But I also get a certain feeling when I see Nigeria
play. If you play for England that is fine. However, if I choose to
play for Nigeria there would be a lot of politics involved and a lot of
administrative issues.” Now that he has been rejected by England,
Onuoha remember his plan B, to return and play for the country of his
birth, where he spent the first seven years of his life.

Suddenly, all the
administrative and politics that are killing the game in Nigeria are
gone. Onuoha now wants to play for his fatherland after England has
shut the door, it was even reported that he is desperate to play for
Nigeria at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “I’d like to play in the
remaining six games for City. If I did that, maybe the chance would be
there to play for Nigeria. But if I am not playing week in, week out, I
wouldn’t expect to receive a call from anyone, because it wouldn’t be
right. Everyone wants to play in the World Cup, but things have to be
right and you have to be selected. A lot of people are talking about it
as though it is an option, but I have never been called up, so it’s not
something I can really talk about,” Onuoha told Manchester Evening
News.”

Onuoha lied

In his desperation
to play at the World Cup, Onuoha lied that he has never been invited
before. But he was not only invited by Berti Vogts in 2007 for a match
against Uganda, he also acknowledged the invitation. “No one has spoken
to me since the former manager Berti Vogts made an informal approach a
couple of years ago,” Onuoha told an English newspaper.

So if Onuoha
shunned Nigeria when he was invited to be part of qualifier for the
Nations Cup by Vogts, and he did not deem it fit to play for Nigeria
during the qualification for South Africa 2010 World Cup, it is only
when Nigeria has qualified that he remembered that he is a Nigerian.
Has he shared a thought for the players that played the qualifier? How
would he feel if he had played the qualification for England and
Capello dropped him on the eve of the World Cup for a British player
born and bred in Nigeria but who chose to play for England after he has
been rejected by Nigeria.

A lot has been said
about Onuoha and the quality he possesses, but this guy is not
exceptional, he is just an average player like other defenders in the
Eagles like Taiye Taiwo, Adebayo Olufemi, Elderson Echijille and others.

Any keen fan of the
English Premier League will notice that Onuoha is not sharp, slow to
response, cannot dribble, his anticipation is bad and a poor marker.
This probably accounts for the reason Man City coach, Roberto Mancini
is shopping for wing back and why Capello did not deem him fit for the
England team and why does he need the lobbying of Orji Uzor Kalu,
former governor of Abia State, for his inclusion in the World Cup team
as it is being insinuated.

Anichebe example

Onuoha ought to
have emulated Victor Anichebe, the Everton striker who was invited by
Vogts alongside Onuoha in March 2007. Anichebe, unlike Onuoha, turned
his back on England and told the world he will play for Nigeria. “I got
called up by England but I don’t really want to play for them, I want
to play for Nigeria. Stuart Pearce had a chat with me and gave me his
opinion. I took it on board but I feel Nigeria is better for me. I
would want to represent Nigeria because that is where I’m from. I go
back every year for Christmas and have a lot of family there. We moved
to England when I was just one year old, but I still feel Nigerian,”
Anichebe told the media then.

It is not too late for Onuoha, he can be part our team for the 2014
World Cup in Brazil, starting with the qualifiers. To call up Onuoha
now is setting a bad precedent, it might disturb the team spirit in
camp and derail our World Cup plan.

Argentina arguably
boast of the best strike force among the 32 countries that will grace
this year’s World Cup in South Africa. This is perhaps, the biggest
challenge our Super Eagles will face when they come up against the
South Americans at the Ellis Park in Johannesburg on June 12.

Lionel Messi,
Gonzalo Higuain, and Sergio Aguero are regarded as three of the best
forwards in the Spanish La Liga, while Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez
is a terror to the defenders in England. Their striking potentials are
no secret.

Yet, the impressive
form of Argentina’s strikers has taken the spotlight away from their
defenders, who will come up against our strikers at the Mundial. If
there is anything the new Super Eagles coach will need to pay attention
to, as he prepares to lead the Eagles past the first round of the World
Cup, it would be to understand the qualities and weakness of his
opponents. That will help him to select the right mix of players that
can produce the desired results to achieve his set World Cup targets.

Key men

The Indomitable
Lions of Cameroun were no match for Argentina at the 1990 World Cup in
Italy, yet they shocked them in the opening game with a 1-0 victory and
frustrated their danger men, including Captain Diego Maradona. Perhaps,
Lagerback can spring such a surprise with the Eagles. After all, he led
Sweden to top the group that included Argentina, England and Nigeria at
the 2002 edition. However, the argument would surely be on how much
time he has to achieve such a feat, this time around.

Martin Demichelis
is one player the current Argentina coach, Diego Maradona, would be
banking on to stop our forward line, which will perhaps include Obafemi
Martins.

Demichelis did a
terrific job to help Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Manchester
United in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg
at the Allianz Arena. After allowing Wayne Rooney to prod home an early
strike, Demichelis recovered to give a solid performance against the
United and England top striker throughout the rest of the encounter.

Argentina’s medical
team feared Bayern had rushed him back too quickly from a fractured
cheek bone, with the World cup in mind. But the utility player, who can
also function as a defensive midfielder, put up a brave attitude
against United. Our Eagles must be ready to do much better to get past
the 29 years old defender who has 25 caps for his country.

If there is any big
test Walter Samuel could face against an African striker, it can’t be
bigger than he had against Chelsea’s Didier Drogba in the round of 16
of the UEFA Champions League. The veteran Argentine defender stopped
the in-form Blues ace over two legs and with 54 appearances, including
the 1-0 win over our Eagles in the 2002 World Cup group clash, Samuel
would play an important role in South Africa.

‘The Wall’, as
Samuel is called, has won two league titles with Inter Milan and one
with his former club, Roma, and he hopes Jose Mourinho can propel them
to Champions League success this season. He had an unsuccessful spell
at Real Madrid, though.

Familiar enemies

Another experienced
defender that Maradona will rely on is Gabriel Heinze. After winning
domestic league titles at Manchester United and Real Madrid, the
31-year old is currently playing alongside our own Taye Taiwo, albeit
now playing as a central defender. Other defenders who are pushing for
a place in the Argentina squad are Roma’s Nicolas Burdisso, Clemente
Rodriguez and Nicolas Otamendi, who are both playing in the Argentine
league.

Meanwhile, Inter
Milan captain, Javier Zanetti, hopes he can get another chance to
represent Argentina as they look forward to open their World Cup
campaign with the clash against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Inter’s utility
man, Zanetti, is hoping to be part of the global football showpiece,
eight years after playing in the Argentine squad that defeated the
Eagles at the 2002 World Cup. Since making his debut for the Italian
top club in August 1995, Zanetti has made 674 appearances for the
Nerrazuri.

After expressing
his delight to have seen Maradona in the stands at Stamford Bridge,
where Jose Mourinho helped Inter to edge out Chelsea of the UEFA
competition, Zanetti, who can play as defender and midfielder, is
hoping he would be handed a recall to help the Argentina national team
to a successful World Cup campaign.

“It’s not easy to
stay at the top in a country like Argentina, where new talents are
coming through all the time,” Zanetti told FIFA.com. “Maradona knows
what I can bring to the national team, both on and off the pitch. The
national team is very important to me. I won’t lose hope because
football has taught me that you have to believe right up to the end.”

Zanetti remains the most-capped Argentine player of all time with 136 appearances under his belt.