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Tag: Enyeama

  • Ejide, Enyeama, others dropped

    Ejide, Enyeama, others dropped

    • NFF shuts out over 30-year old players; insists on code of conduct
    • Akpeyi, Afelokhai, Gabros’ goalkeepers listed
    • Stars with poor disciplinary records ousted too

    Any player who is above the age of 30-years should forget about playing for the Super Eagles under the new dispensation, Sportinglife can reveal exclusively today.

    Sportinglife gathered further that goalkeepers such as Austin Ejide, Vincent Enyeama et al have been quietly excluded from the the Eagles’ subsequent international friendlies to allow the coaches field the home-based goalkeepers with special focus on all the country’s age-grade teams’ goalkeepers, Akpeyi, Afelokhai and the goal tender of Gabros FC.

    Interestingly, those players with poor disciplinary records during the last dispensation will be dropped for much hungrier ones eager to do the country proud.

    Indeed, the NFF eggheads will quietly inform the next Super Eagles chief coach, who is likely to be Stephen Keshi, to expose only those below the age of 30, largely because the new dispensation wants to use the international friendlies to increase the pool of talents from where players would be picked for the country’s  2018 World Cup qualifiers which begin later in June.

     

  • ‘Injured’ Enyeama stars in Lille win

    ‘Injured’ Enyeama stars in Lille win

    Vincent Enyeama, who claimed to be nursing a back injury and so withdrew from international duty with Nigeria, played all 90 minutes as his French club Lille beat Reims 3-1 on Saturday.

    Enyeama won his 100th cap when Uganda upstaged Nigeria at home in a friendly in Uyo last week.

    But the goalkeeper opted out of a second friendly against South Africa in Nelspruit after officials said he has suffered a back injury.

    Surprisingly though, Enyeama was fit to play for Lille days later in a French Ligue 1 match.

    The home win ensured Lille remain in eighth place on the Ligue 1 table with 44 points from 31 matches.

    The goalkeeper, an international since 2001, has hinted on bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career that has seen him feature in three World Cups and win the AFCON in 2013.

    He has alerted the country to start grooming another goalkeeper to take over from him.

  • Akpeyi: I’m still learning under Enyeama

    Akpeyi: I’m still learning under Enyeama

    Warri Wolves’  goalkeeper, Daniel  Akpeyi has said that he is still working on his mistakes and cannot consider himself in the same light with Super Eagles’ first choice, Vincent Enyeama after his remarkable performance against South Africa last Sunday.

    Akpeyi enjoyed rave reviews from the local and international media after his series of important saves denied the Bafana Bafana from beating the Eagles in a friendly match played in Nelspruit but he has decided to be cautious with his remarks in the media.

    He told SportingLife that he still has a long way to go in the game and won’t be too carried away with his performance in South Africa.

    Akpeyi told SportingLife: “I am happy with my performance but I am still learning from great goalkeepers including Vincent Enyeama and I cannot consider myself as being best yet. I still have a long way to go in my career and won’t allow the performance of just a match to make my head gets swollen.

    He added:”I am grateful to coach Dan Amokachi and other Eagles coaches for giving me a chance and I will always be ready to represent Nigeria whenever called upon.”

    Akpeyi saved a penalty kick in the 65th minute of the tie besides the numerous saves he made to dent South Africa’s ambition of beating the Eagles.

  • Enyeama returns to France to begin rehab

    Enyeama returns to France to begin rehab

    Nigeria skipper Vincent Enyeama has returned to France to begin his rehabilitation after sustaining an injury in the Super Eagles clash with Uganda.

    Thenff.com says the Lille shot – stopper was unhappy with the loss to the East Africans on a day marking his 100th appearance for the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions.

    The Federation has also reported on its official webpage that he visited  the Uyo office of Globacom on Thursday to give out N5,000 recharge cards to 100 subscribers of the telecommunications company.

    The telecoms giants presented him with an i-Phone 6 on which he will be able to make calls for free for the next one year.

    Enyeama is the second Nigerian player to reach 100 caps, following in the footsteps of ex skipper Joseph Yobo.

     

  • Liverpool eye swoop for Enyeama

    Liverpool eye swoop for Enyeama

    NIGERIA international Vincent  Enyeama is the latest goalkeeper to be linked with a move to Liverpool.

    Kop boss Brendan Rodgers is understood to be in the market for a new No.1 after axing Simon Mignolet earlier in the season.

    Mignolet was dEnyeamaropped for the 3-0 defeat at rivals Manchester United in December after a series of blunders. He’s since returned to the starting XI following injury to his replacement Brad Jones.

    But Rodgers’ lack of faith in Mignolet has seen a host of goalkeepers linked with the club, including Fiorentina’s Neto and Australian Mat Ryan. And now reports from Europe have linked the Reds with a move for Nigeriainternational Enyeama.

    The 32-year-old is currently at French side Lille, and has featured for his country at three World Cup finals.

    Transfermarkt.de reports that Liverpool are scouting the goalkeeper, who is tied to Lille until June 2017.

    Enyeama is understood to be valued at around £3m.

  • PSG knock Enyeama’s Lille out

    Vincent Enyeama’s Lille were knocked out of the French League Cup by holders, Paris Saint-Germain via a first-half goal from defender Maxwell that gave them a 1-0 semi-final victory at Lille on Tuesday.

    The French champions dominated affairs with the bulk of possession and scored the only goal of the match on 27 minutes when Brazilian full back Maxwell blasted a fierce shot into the corner giving Enyeama no chance.

    The victory keeps PSG on track for a quartet of trophies with a Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea on February 17 and a last-16 French Cup fixture against Nantes lying ahead.

  • 120 Most expensive footballers: Mikel, Enyeama not listed

    120 Most expensive footballers: Mikel, Enyeama not listed

    TheInternational Centre for Sports Studies, CIES, has published the 120 most expensive footballers in the world based on their current market values.

    In order to qualify to make the list, the footballer must be plying his trade in one of the top five leagues in Europe, that is Spain, England, France, Germany and Italy.

    Regrettably, no Nigerian player was mentioned by the Switzerland-based organisation, though the likes of Mikel, Onazi, Ujah, Enyeama and Ikechukwu Uche display their wares in the prestigious championships.

    The only consolation is that Bayern Munich’s Austria international David Alaba, who has Nigerian blood flowing in his veins, is ranked in the 56th position while England midfielder Ross Barkley is among the players in the top 40.

    Five of Mikel’s teammates at Chelsea – Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Francesc Fàbregas, Oscar and Thibaut Courtois – were named in the top 20.

    As expected Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is the most valuable player in the world followed by Real Madrid poster boy Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Top Ten Most Expensive Footballers:

    Lionel Messi (Barcelona) : €220 million

    Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) : €133 million

    Eden Hazard (Chelsea) : €99 million

    Diego Costa (Chelsea) : €84 million

    Paul Pogba (Juventus) : €72 million

    Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) : €65 million

    Raheem Sterling (Liverpool) : €63 million

    Francesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) : €62 million

    Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) : €61 million

    Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) : €60 million

  • Enyeama congratulates Toure on CAF award

    Enyeama congratulates Toure on CAF award

    Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama, has congratulated Manchester City star, Yaya Toure, for winning the 2014 CAF African Player of the Year Award.

    The event, which took place in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday night, saw Toure beat Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Enyeama in that order to the award, but the 32-year old goalkeeper has hailed the Ivoirian for winning the award.

    “Congratulations to Yaya Toure for being the 2014 African footballer of the year. #bravo Yaya,” sl10.ng quoted the Lille shot stopper as saying on his Instagram page.

    Thursday’s success made it four consecutive wins for the Ivoirian – equaling Samuel Eto’s record of four wins, but also becoming the first player to win it four times consecutively.

    Enyeama, who finished third in the polls behind Aubameyang and Toure, also had some praise for his family, fans, and the media, thanking them for their support.

    “A very big thank you to my #SUPER GOD or bringing me this far, without HIM, I wouldn’t have been here. Thank you to my sweet wife and my diamond. Thanks to all my family members, friends and loved ones.

    “Big thanks to my coaches and teammates, my fans and supporters, media men and women. I love you all. You guys rock. You guys are great. Thank you for all the support,” he added.

  • CAF awards: Enyeama better than Toure, Aubameyang – Agu

    CAF awards: Enyeama better than Toure, Aubameyang – Agu

    Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Alloy Agu, has said Vincent Enyeama deserves to be crowned Africa’s best player for 2014, ahead of current holder Yaya Toure, and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

    The former Super Eagles shot stopper said Enyeama had a better 2014 when compared to his adversaries, and as a result, he is more deserving of the award.

    “If you check the calendar year of 2014, you will see that Vincent (Enyeama) did better that both Yaya Toure and the other guy (Aubameyang).

    “He was one of the reasons why we qualified to the World Cup and his performances at the World Cup was better than Yaya Toure’s and the other guy (Aubameyang) didn’t even make it to the World Cup.

    “And for their clubs, Enyeama kept so many clean sheets and even went several games without conceding and that says a lot,” Agu told sl10.ng.

    But despite the air of optimism about Enyeama’s chances, Agu however admitted that being a goalkeeper could play against the Nigerian captain.

    “Unfortunately they always favour outfield players and we must say Yaya Toure has done well too. But I think it should be about the whole team, and not just where you play because if it goes this way, it may be a disadvantage for Vincent (Enyeama),” he added.

  • Shorunmu doubts Enyeama’s chances

    Shorunmu doubts Enyeama’s chances

    Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu has  expressed doubts over the possibility of Super Eagles captain, Vincent Enyeama to be crowned the 2014 CAF African player of the year.

    Enyeama, alongside Gabon’s Pierre Emerrick-Aubameyang and current holder Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast are the three finalists for the 2014 edition of the awards which will hold in Lagos, Nigeria, on January 8.

    But Shorunmu, Enyeama’s former Super Eagles teammate and current coach in the national team, said he wants the Lille of France goalkeeper to win it, but admits it will be difficult with Yaya Toure in the picture.

    “Of course I want Vincent (Enyeama) to win it but it’s going to be difficult, especially with Yaya Toure in there too. He is the current holder of the award and it will be difficult to beat him to it because he has done well for his club and country.

    “But that is not to say Vincent (Enyeama) hasn’t done well, because he has and it will be great if he wins it,” Shorunmu stated on Hot FM.

    Yaya Toure is strongly tipped to win the award again, having won it in 2013 but it is believed in some quarters that Enyeama had a better calendar year for both club and country in 2014.

    The 32-year old Nigerian was recently named the best goalkeeper in France for 2014. But it is also believed that being a goalkeeper may play to Enyeama’s advantage.