Skip to main content

Oboabona would’ve failed Arsenal trial – Chukwu

Oboabona

Oboabona

Former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu has backed  the decision by Godfrey Oboabona to refuse  to undergo a trial with Arsenal before signing him. Chukwu believes the Eagles defender would have failed the test.

Oboabona on Sunday fired a broadside at the Premier League giants, accusing the Gunners of disrespecting Nigerian clubs, after he was offered a trial at the club.

“Arsenal’s management told me to come for a trial when I won the Africa Cup of Nations,” The Sun quoted  the 22-year-old centre-back  as saying.

“I think I should be above such requests. It is high time some of these clubs started respecting Nigeria.”

Sunshine Stars General Manager Mike Idoko stoked the fire on Wednesday when he accused  Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger  of attempting to undervalue the player.

Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone during the week, Chukwu said Oboabona would have been rejected by Arsenal  because big European clubs don’t believe in African defenders.

The former Nigeria captain and coach said the situation would be different if the London outfit had offered the player  a contract.

“Oboabona is a good defender and I’m surprised that Arsenal invited him for a trial before joining them,” the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner said.

“I don’t think he needs any trial to sign for a big club because everybody knows he’s a quality defender.

“He made the right decision (to reject Arsenal’s offer) because he wouldn’t have succeeded in the trial.

“The majority of the top  European clubs focus their attention on signing midfielders and strikers outside Europe  because they  are the players who win matches.

“They have good defenders and only sign outsiders if they are exceptional.”

The former Enugu Rangers captain  said Oboabona must resist being rushed into signing  for  “just any club”.

“He’s a good player and I believe one of the big  European clubs will sign him but he must continue his development  in the domestic league before moving abroad,” Chukwu said.

The ex-Kenya coach said Nigerian players must work harder to attract the interest of the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Barcelona.

He said, “They still have a long way to go. Mikel Obi and Victor Moses are playing for Chelsea because they are quality players. Emmanuel Emenike can attract interest from a top European club if he works harder.

“The problem of our players is that they are not consistent. Top European clubs only go for players who deliver consistent performances. But sadly, our players allow little success to go to their heads.”

He urged the country to focus on developing football at the  grass-roots level, saying it would help  Nigerian players  develop like their European and South America counterparts.

“Our players don’t develop fast and that’s why we mustn’t use overage players at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels,” Chukwu added.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A MASON IN NIGERIA

 After all i have said about this fraternity if you are still interested in becoming a mason there are just simply ways in which you can do that, but inspite of my post i am neither encouraging nor discouraging you all i am doing is just to let you know more about this frat and there's more to come about those who have joined, the so called stars like jay-z, kanye west etc i guess its just 7 simple ways to join and off you go  Are there things you want to accomplish in your life? Are there ways you want to enrich yourself? Do you enjoy being with people you like and respect? As a Freemason, you’ll find friendship and fraternity. You’ll develop life skills like self-confidence, leadership, and effective communication. You’ll learn to work as part of a team  and to better yourself as you help others. Think about taking the first step into becoming a Mason. It is widely thought that one must be invited to become a Freemason or that Freemasonry is so exclusive as to be beyond the

13 Places You Should Visit In before the end of 2013

  Wikimedia Commons It's more than halfway through 2013 and even though the summer is winding down, there's still plenty of time to book a trip to a great destination. We looked at major developments, cultural trends, and global festivals to find the hottest places to travel around the world in 2013. There are vast untouched landscapes that offer incredible outdoor experiences, cities that are experiencing a cultural rebirth, and up-and-coming destinations that offer great deals and few tourists. London, England Since Kate Middleton gave birth to Prince George Alexander Louis last week , England has been in the national spotlight, and is expecting a tourism boost. But that's not the only reason to visit the UK right now. The 2012 Summer Olympics in London came and went, but many of the buildings, restaurants, hotels and venues that sprouted up to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of visitors who came for the Olympics still stand. Several new building

Samsung reportedly close to releasing Glass competitor — and Google’s involved

This one is definitely a rumor, but its source is reliable enough to warrant a little speculation. Analyst and blogger  Eldar Murtazin  tweeted a rather definite message this week that Samsung is “developing [its] own version of Google Glass. We will see it (probably) around April – May under Gear Glass brand.” Given that Google’s own version of Glass is not expected to hit the mass market until early 2014, Samsung’s Glass competitor could very well race Google’s to market. That might seem like a nightmare for Google, which has invested heavily in Glass and is no doubt planning for a strong event launch, but as was pointed out in a CNet article, the use of the word “Glass” implies an official partnership. Samsung is known for its aggressive branding and Google would likely raise legal concerns regardless, so it’s unlikely the brand Gear Glass would be used without a partnership. Does Google even want to sell Glass, or does it just want you wearing face-screens? If Goog