I felt all the other threads were far to specific. So here is one to just talk. Transfers, rumors, interesting articles etc. I begin with this very interesting piece in the Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/educati...-soccer-keep-young-africans-in-school/531279/
Nice to see Bertrand Traore move to Lyon. What does an young African guy have to do to deserve a shot at the first team in the EPL? Traore or Iheanacho obviously deserved more of a chance. Think Traore will be an instant star in France and it'll be 'Lacazette? Who needs him!'.
Well defense in France is a joke. According to an Ajax fan Traore is a bit of a flat track bully, a LA Memphis Depay. I just think because of the league and the CoN schedule no one wants to lose a key player at the height of the congested fixture every two years. Remember every other League had a winter break but the EPL
I think there is more to him than that. Technically he's amongst the best in the world, his dribbling was second to none in Holland, his passing range and capabilities is elite and in the second half of a season a lot of Ajax fans warmed up to him. By the end of the season he was widely held as Ajax's best player and key dangerman. If he works on his finishing and improves his decision-making he could be a mix of Henry and de Bruyne. Fact also is that the top leagues in the world love French talent, France is on the up.
As for France check out this list (which doesn't list Giroud The depth of this French squad is frightening. 🇫🇷🔥 pic.twitter.com/WX9ExQ1dAc— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) June 13, 2017 They are stacked to make a dominant run from 2020 to 2030. 2018 maybe too soon. What does hurt as an African is the number of Francophones on that list. They African countries would be real powerhouses if some of them represented their parents homeland.
Remember that he is an outsider as a loanee. He got a lot of hate at the beginning of the season. Afterwards a lot of Ajax fans lambasted him despite being their most influential attacker in the second half of the season. Not all the fans rated him, but a lot really warmed up to him and found him Ajax's best player in the second half of the season. Still one bad game and Ajax fans are back on him again. Very unfair to him, wasn't given a chance to adjust. Thankfully Bosz stuck with him and he came good. Their best player in the Europa League. "He's OK and thats about it." Well, no. Noone really can argue that he wasn't the best dribbler in the Eredivisie last season. So he is not just OK. Some google-assisted translations from the Ajax forum: "Too bad that this brave genius footballer has tasted life in London. With more confidence and even better training and willpower could become a top man in Ajax. Pity. Delightful to watch and to be amazed with." "He's been absolutely worth it..." "But he will be missed. Was our best attacker this season. Especially in the big games." He obviously needs to improve his finishing and pass more (his passing range is world class level though).
They have to qualify for 2018 first. The game against a recently rejuvenated Netherlands team at the end of August could put them third in the table with three games to go and no more matches against their direct opposition: Sweden and the Netherlands (ergo their fate will be totally out of their hands). Furthermore the last game is Sweden vs Netherlands which could very well be such a situation that a draw eliminates France. Not convinced by this French side. It sees disjointed as a team and the coach has yet to find an effective mix, while players like Pogba, Martial, Matuidi, etc. are massively overstated.
that is because as usual the French manager is clueless. They need a top class international manager, to change things. Maybe Arsene after Arsenal let him go.
l also hope that the overreliance on European players ends. It was refreshing to watch a Cameroonian side thats essentially built much like the great Cameroonian side of the 1980s-early 1990s. Nice to see that Cameroonian spirit return to the Indominatable Lions. Could use a striker that can finish though... How the hell Cameroon didn't win vs Australia is beyond me... BTW The rumours about Bahebeck jumping ship to Cameroon seem to have dissapeared.
Not quite sure how this pans out but Yann Karamoh would be a great win by Wilmots (Cote d'Ivoire). Next best thing to a Mbappe... https://www.francefootball.fr/news/...e-par-la-cote-d-ivoire-et-marc-wilmots/801279 Not also entirely sure how the hell Karamoh plays for the French national side even at youth level, given he moved to France 3 years ago. Was one of his parents a French national? BTW This is one occasion where the French are actually stealing Ivorian homegrown talent. He was born and raised in Abidjan. Starting playing for France after developing in Cote d'Ivoire.
I don't mind the reliance on European players, it is more the blatant users that hurt. Zaha good, Kevin Prince Boateng bad.
If the parent or grandparent were French citizens because it was it was still a French colony, he can become a French Citizen quickly.
How can you hail this Cameroon side? They are f*cking terrible. If they represent African football, we are going to be set behind for a long time. Even adding people like Onyongo wouldn't have changed things. If you want better representation for Africa, we need to be actually beating teams and getting results, playing better defensively, understanding when to foul and when not to foul, making better decisions, because I failed to see Cameroon do any of that at all. Also their coach is a f*cking idiot on top of that. Cameroon just look like a typical Cameroon team at an international tournament, they focus on physicality and not on proper gamesmanship. Those small things that help close out a game. Also Bassagog is an idiot for going to the Chinese Super League rather than honing his skills in Europe.
It's because most of the defenders in the NPFL are terrible currently, recent results at CHAN and the CAF Champions League shows us this.
I agreements regarding defenders. The higher level the better. Maybe the occasional FB. I have theory that European demands are part of why African football is struggling. In the 80s, 90s and early 00s the want was for attackers at forward and midfield so we saw the rise of Abedi Pele, George Weah and Okocha. Since then the demand has been for defenders and defensive midfielders so now the likes of Essien, Ketou, the Toures are what Europe wants most. So the African clubs and Academies are pushing those through so they can quickly sell them. My theory anyway.
Oyongo would have made a world of difference. Mabouka was culpable for losing a penalty, getting a red card and for one goal vs Chile. I don't know how they could have coped with him but it's reasonable to say they would have at least beat Australia. The problem with this side or with the Nigeria side of 2014 is one of the bench. There were two changes to Cameroon vs the AFCON winning side - Mabouka for Oyongo and Aboubakar for Toko Ekambi. Both of them ended up being by far Cameroons worst players. Much like Reuben replacing Onazi caused a massive drop in quality vs France. Essentially Cameroon for the most part were a quality left back and a efficient striker away from being a totally different side. Cameroon were not terrible. They played great vs Australia minus Aboubakars finishing and Mabouka's stupid foul. They had a great half vs Germany limiting them to one chance. They again folded after the red card. I'm not hailing this Cameroon side. I'm saying it's nice to see attempts to build a side from inside.
I'm not saying Nigeria should be based on Nigerian league defenders. But while Rohr is busy hiring players like Aina, Ebeuhi we have players like Musa Muhammad not been given a real chance, Omeruo has been dropped while Otigba is yet to win a cap.
How do you guys feel African performances will be at the next World Cup? I hope that there is improvement. As for our fullbacks at the National team, Musa Muhammad, plays in Bosnia and the coach has assessed him, that's why he didn't get a look in recently.
And I think he only played like five matches. Club expected a lot of him, got literally nothing in return.
Player for player if you look at the teams (DRCongo, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Egypt the likely candidates and I'll give a leap of faith and say Senegal make it): 1. DRCongo 2018 (Bakambu, Mulumbu, Kakuta, Bolasie) < Cameroon 2014 (Nkoulou, Song, Eto'o, Matip, Makoun, Choupo-Moting, Mbia) That said I doubt there has ever been such a bunch of chokers as Cameroon in the past 15 or so years). A team with such a set of players should never have played so badly. Meanwhile DRCongo really seem to enjoy playing together with each other. So despite having worse players, they could actually have a much better team. They do seem a bit gra-gra though... 2. Nigeria 2018 (Iheanacho, Mikel, Moses, Ndidi, Onyekuru, Onazi) >>>> Nigeria 2014 (Musa, Onazi, Mikel, Odemqingie, Enyeama) Enough said that most of Nigeria's first XI in 2014 would not be deemed good enough to play on the team of 2018, while stars like Onazi and Musa really must worry about their position on the team. The entire Nigerian bench of 2014 would be nowhere near this Nigerian side. The two strengths Nigeria 2014 have over 2018 is Enyeama in goal and Keshi, who despite his terrible (corrupt?) team selection really got the best out of his team. 3. Cote d'Ivoire 2018 (Seri, Bailly, Aurier, Zaha, Kessie, Gervinho?) < Cote d'Ivoire 2014 (Tiote, Gervinho, Drogba, Toure, Aurier) As far as elite players are concerned Cote d'Ivoire surprisingly seems to have bounced back. Their attack doesn't look threatening now, but they have great defenders and midfielders. Cote d'Ivoire 2014 were legendary chokers, while Cote d'Ivoire 2017 really is playing poorly, much worse than the set of players should be (how does a team with Aurier, Kanon, Kessie, Bailly and so on let in five goals vs Holland? This is Cameroon level underperformance). They obviously don't have anyone on the level of Toure or Drogba and nothing suggest they'll be any less unreliable than at the 2014 World Cup. Very low expectations for this team. 4. Senegal 2018 (Coulibaly, Gueye, Sane, Souare, Keita Balde, Mane, Kouyate) > Algeria 2014 (Ghoulam, Feghouli, Brahimi, Slimani, Taider, Mahrez) Both teams with a phenomenal set of players, but I give Senegal the upper hand. That said the team plan hasn't been up to the expected level. If they qualify they could be a massive success. Still not certain though, but in theory they have a very balanced team (but so did Cameroon in 2014). 5. Egypt 2018 (El Neny, Salah, Fathy, Hegazi) = Ghana 2014 (Gyan, Asamoah, A Ayew, Muntari) Ghana had the better players, but defensively Egypt is in its own league. Both great teams, but unlike Ghana, Egypt won't be distracted by money issues and we know their competition preparation will be second to none. Egypt really could be Africa's Mexico.
For RB I think everyone is waiting for Nura Abdullahi to fight past his injury issues. Hopefully his career isn't over before it begins.
Cote d'Ivoire fell to 56th in the FIFA Rankings, which is their worst ranking since they were 58th in August 2004.
Nations Cup to be expanded to 24 teams, played in summer http://www.insidethegames.biz/artic...f-nations-high-on-agenda-at-key-caf-symposium http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40645125 Also, they mention changes in club competitions. OK, there are great distances, we might see AFC-like split into North and South, but what is with this second paragraph - clubs travel via Europe?