- Season’s best team to tour Spain
- By: Taofeek Babalola
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) chairman Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye yesterday inaugurated a nine-member NPFL Technical Committee for Team of the Month Selection headed by former Super Eagles forward, Daniel Amokachi.
The committee, include veteran journalists, Mitchell Obi, Deji Omotoyinbo and Segun Agbede.
Also, the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Austine Eguavoen, former Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba, Coach Godwin Uwa, Harrison Jallah and Davidson Adejuwon, are the other members of the committee.
Speaking at the inauguration held at the GTI office, Marina, Lagos, Elegbeleye said the Committee has been saddled with the responsibility of selecting the NPFL Team and Coach of the Month, which will produce an end of season Team, an All-Star squad that will spend two weeks in Spain and play friendly games with top LaLiga sides.
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The NPFL boss expressed confident that the Committee will produce the right squad each month.
“This is an agreement we have secured with a top LaLiga club to host our NPFL Select and arrange for them to play against some other top teams in Spain. This no doubt will be an enriching experience for the players as they will have the opportunity to train and play against some of the very best. It has the added edge of going to form the nucleus of a future CHAN Eagles team,” Elegbeleye said.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Amokachi assured that the he and his team will be fair to all in ensuring that the best squad is selected at the end of the season.
“By the special grace we will do well and at the end of the day the committee would help to produce the best team from the local scene. Our job is to select the best players in the Nigerian league and the best coach. The job is so made easy for us because we have Propel Sports who will be streaming live matches every weekend (eight games) and they have the data base for everybody. The fans would be involved; the media would be involved to select all the best players,” Amokachi said.
Revealing the criteria to be considered to pick the best players, Amokachi added: “first, it is the players that make up a team. You have to look at the statistics of the player, the composure of the player, his passes, his crosses, his tackles, his goals, his saves, the way he reads the games, how he stops attackers. Those are the statistics you put in place to pick the best player and that is just the way it is
Napoli coach compares Osimhen to Ronaldo
Napoli boss Rudi Garcia believes Victor Osimhen is a similar leader to Cristiano Ronaldo and sets the Partenopei’s target for 2023-24.
Defending champions Napoli make their Serie A debut this season in an away game at Frosinone on Saturday and their new boss Rudi Garcia released an interview with DAZN ahead of the start of 2023-24.
Napoli won their first Scudetto in 33 years last season seeing Osimhen become the league’s leading scorer.
“Osimhen is a leader, he always wants to win and drag the team,” said Garcia, as quoted by Corriere dello Sport. “He’s a bit like Cristiano Ronaldo. When he wins, he is super happy.
“ He calls his teammates to take pictures and I like him. He is one of the best in the world, he could only attack, but he also helps the team defensively, he presses opponents and it’s so good for the team. This is part of the group’s qualities.”
Garcia coached Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr last season before signing with Napoli.
“I was on good terms with Cristiano, I understood why he had such a career,” said the coach.
“He was the first to arrive for training sessions and the last to leave. He is an incredible leader. He feels the competition also during training sessions. When he won a penalty shootout he celebrated with his ‘Siuu’ like in the Champions League.”
Georgian star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also impressed in his first Serie A campaign last term and Garcia is looking forward to seeing him in action in competitive games.