Tunde Folawiyo

Eagles supporters such as Tunde Folawiyo will probably be relieved to learn that the NFF (Nigerian Football Federation) is now close to establishing the terms of a new contract with Stephen Keshi, which will result in the coach returning to his former role as the Super Eagles coach. Keshi was appointed to this position in late 2011; since then, he has helped the team to achieve some outstanding results at both CHAN and AFCON.

However, after guiding the Eagles to the final 16 at the 2014 World Cup, his contract with the NFF was allowed to expire, and it seemed as though he would be forced to bid farewell to the team which he had been coaching for close to three years. Both the Sports Ministry and the NFF were initially reluctant to renew his contract, perhaps due in part to Keshi’s insistence on better terms. However, recent reports indicate that the coach and the NFF have been able to compromise and reach an agreement which suits both parties.

Despite the fact that the salary offered is less than what the coach had originally asked for, he is believed to be willing to accept it, and stay with the team for at least another three years. In a press conference, Keshi explained that overall, he was pleased with the improvements to his contract, adding that he is now ‘ready to serve’, and is looking forward to finishing what he started.

With this matter now settled, Eagles’ fans like Tunde Folawiyo are no doubt eager to see the team begin their preparations for AFCON. Tijani Babangida, a former winger for Nigeria, has advised Keshi and the players to concentrate all of their efforts on readying themselves for this tournament. With less than a month to go until they meet Rwanda for the qualifying match, the pressure is on.

Babangida has said that whilst the Super Eagles are unarguably a strong team, and have the ability to defeat their opponents in upcoming games, they will not do so unless they train intensively over the next few weeks. He noted that the first match of any major tournament is always important, and cautioned the Eagles against taking their game against Rwanda too lightly.

Whilst Folawiyo takes an interest in the world of football, he also has many other passions; for instance, he is fascinated by the lives of important, inspirational figures. To find out more about his thoughts on this subject, read the influential icons blog of Tunde Folawiyo.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Nigeria would be facing Sudan and South Africa in the Group A matches of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. This announcement was welcomed by many Eagles supporters, as neither of these opponents are considered to be stronger than the Eagles, and as such, it should be relatively easy for Nigeria to qualify. The Group winner, along with the first runner up, will be joining Morocco – the host team – for the final tournament.

It’s safe to say that many fans, including Tunde Folawiyo, are probably quite anxious to see Nigeria retain the title, following their extraordinary performance last year. Whilst some may doubt their ability to win again, two Eagles defenders – namely, Juwon Oshaniwa and Kenneth Omeruo – are sure that Nigeria are capable of achieving this. Oshaniwa, who was a member of the squad at AFCON last year, contends that the Leagues will serve as the ideal form of preparation for the tournament, and will ensure that the entire team is fit and active when the time comes. He finished by saying that he himself is looking forward to defending the title in Morocco.

Omeruo seemed equally confident; in an interview, he stated that with the support of coaches, the Eagles will have no difficulty in holding on to the trophy. The defender, who also plays for Middlesbrough, explained that the team have an extremely skilled coaching crew, who will not only be able to guide them in their training, but who will also be able to select the most suitable players for the squad. It will probably come as a relief to Tunde Folawiyo, and other Eagles supporters, to hear that the team members are so certain that they will do well.

For others, their concerns lie not with the team’s ability to succeed at the event, but with whether or not they will actually be permitted to participate. Christian Chukwu, a former coach of the Eagles, has called on the Nigerian Football Federation and the Sports Minister to find a way to resolve their differences, and thus end the FIFA suspension which has been placed on all Nigerian teams. Chukwu, who worked with the Eagles throughout most of the seventies and eighties, has said that only when the NFF board is reinstated and the suit withdrawn will the players be able to focus on preparing for AFCON.

As a supporter of the Eagles, Folawiyo may sometimes express his thoughts on the team via social media. Those interested in reading about such subjects can follow Tunde Folawiyo on Twitter.

Now that the Super Eagles’ World Cup venture has come to an end, the future of one of the team’s most beloved players remains uncertain. Peter Odemwingie has stated he is currently unsure of a future with Nigeria upon an early exit at this year’s World Cup. The forward secured the team’s only win with a goal against Bosnia-Herzegovina, demonstrating his great talents on the field. Tunde Folawiyo and millions of Super Eagles fans throughout Africa and beyond may be saddened to see the skilled player part ways with the Nigerian squad as his contributions have proved vastly significant in the recent success of the team.

Whilst the Nigerian squad indeed looked promising ahead of the World Cup in Brazil, advancing past the first round, the team sadly came up short –  Stephen Keshi’s team failed to triumph over France during the last16 knockout period, putting an end to Nigeria’s World Cup hopes. Whilst his future remains uncertain, ‘Osaze’ regards wearing the green jersey as one of the proudest accomplishments of his career. ‘Osaze’ made his Super Eagles debut during 2002, where he has since represented the team more than 60 times, twice at the World Cup and through four Cups of Nations included. He was also part of the team that went on to win a silver medal during the Olympics of 2008.

The Stoke City footballer was raised in both Nigeria and Russia, beginning his professional career in Nigeria’s Premiere League. The forward went on to play European football for La Louviere of Belgium, where he played three seasons ahead of a move to Lille. He scored an impressive 26 goals for the team, prompting Moscow’s Lokomotiv to extend an offer of £10 million in exchange for his services during July of 2007. Scoring 23 times for the team, during a three-and-a-half year period, ‘Osaze’ moved to West Bromwich Albion during August of 2010. Thirty Premiere League points later, he was awarded among the Premiere League’s Players of the Month three times. Later, he was acquired by Cardiff City during August of 2013 before ultimately joining the Stoke City team in exchange for Kenwyne Jones during January of 2014.

As one of Africa’s most popular soccer stars, Odemwingie’s fate will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation for Super Eagles fans across Africa and beyond. His contributions to Stoke City and the Nigerian national team alike may continue to regard him as an inspiration to African citizens like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others around the world.

As the Super Eagles of Nigeria recover from a short-lived World Cup venture, rumours of Coach Stephen Keshi’s fate with the team continue to swirl. Nigeria’s head coach has announced South Africa as one of the countries who have approached him to manage their teams upon the conclusion of the Super Eagles World Cup trek. Now that that time has come, fans of the Super Eagles may await news of the coach’s future with breath that is baited. Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others with a passion for Nigerian football may find the coming months to prove significant to the club’s future.

South Africa is seeking new leadership upon its national team’s failure to qualify for participation in the 2014 World Cup. With Gordon Igesund’s contract set to expire in July, the head coach position is up for grabs, prompting the interest in Keshi. Whilst South Africa carries the largest league revenue of any team in the continent, Bafana Bafana has won Africa’s CON only once, also failing to regularly qualify for World Cup treks.

Dubbed “Big Boss” by fans, Keshi has captained the Super Eagles for over a decade. Throughout his playing career, he lent his talents to Nigeria, Belgium, Ivory Coast and France. During 2002, he served as assistant coach for the national team, the same year the team was a World Cup qualifier. He later serves as coach for Togolese’s national team, assisting them to qualify before being let go just before their World Cup venture began. He went on to manage Mali’s team before taking over as head coach for the Super Eagles during 2012. He led them to a Cup of Nations victory last year.

South Africa’s Football Association recently stated that no coach had yet been appointed, also mentioning a July decision. Spokesman Dominic Chimhavi declined to further comment.

According to a list provided by the spokesman, a number of prominent coaches are interested in South Africa’s vacancy. The list includes Manchester United’s recently sacked coach David Moyes and Iran’s current coach, Carlos Queiroz, along with Keshi. France’s former captain Marcel Desailly sits on the list, as well, as do Chelsea’s Jimmy Hasselbaink and former Chelsea coach Avram Grant. French Coach Herve Renard, Italy’s Giovanni Trapattoni and the Netherlands’ Patrick Kluivert are all other names competing for the coveted title of South Africa’s head coach. Tunde Folawiyo and millions of devoted Nigeria fans may wish to hold on to Keshi, given the Super Eagles’ great success in recent seasons. Regardless of South Africa’s decision, Keshi’s contributions to Nigeria are undisputable.

Super Eagles’ Coach Stephen Keshi has resigned, prompting speculation of a move to South Africa where Coach Gordon Igesund is nearing a contract expiration. It has recently been reported that Keshi leads a short list of prospective replacements. Whilst the seasoned coach has led the Super Eagles to success since his start with the club in 2011, South Africa’s poor recent history may benefit from an experienced manager with a reputation like that of Keshi’s. Given the Nigerian team’s triumphs in recent seasons, loyal Super Eagles fans like Tunde Folawiyo and others throughout Africa and beyond may be saddened to see the coach depart Nigeria.

Keshi’s decision came after the beloved Super Eagles’ failure to advance past the first round in the World Cup, following a disappointing 2-0 loss to France. In spite of the rumours, the NFF has chosen to remain tight-lipped about the departure. As a new free agent, Keshi has been quoted referencing his family and fresh challenges awaiting him. Dennis Mumble, South Africa’s CEO, has been unavailable for comment regarding the Keshi resignation.

Since his start with the team in 2011, Keshi has led Nigeria to a Cup of Nations championship and a World Cup qualification, demonstrating his coaching capabilities. First reports of a South African switch emerged during World Cup stage matches. Whilst it was rumored that Keshi would agree to a two-year period with Safa, the team dismissed these rumors in a statement, announcing club leaders would have reached a decision by mid-July.

Keshi was appointed Nigeria’s coach during 2011, kicking off a successful leadership of one of Africa’s most popular sports teams. He led the team to victory at Africa’s national Cup last year, also helping the Super Eagles secure a World Cup qualification. Whilst the group stage match portion of the World Cup was riddled with rumors of a two-year agreement with Safa, the team later issued a statement dismissing any such deal with Nigeria’s coach. A long list of popular coaches are said to stand under consideration to replace Igesund upon his contract expiration, with Dick Advocaat, Frank Rijkaard and Carlos Queiroz most prominent amongst them. European coaches Bernd Schuster and Juande Ramos are also rumored to be considered as Ramos has chosen against renewing his current contract with Ukraine’s Dnipro. Super Eagles fans like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others throughout Africa and beyond may eagerly await news of a Keshi move to Safa.

Nigeria have been eliminated from the World Cup, following their defeat at the hands of France. This news has no doubt disappointed many fans, including Tunde Folawiyo. The Super Eagles got off to a good start, managing to defend themselves with ease up until the interval; however, during the second half of the match, their opponents suddenly came back to life, taking the lead at 79 minutes, when Vincent Enyeama failed to block a header by Paul Pogba. Shortly after this, Nigeria’s fate was sealed by their own captain, Joseph Yobo, who accidentally scored an own goal.

The match was somewhat controversial, as commentators noted that the referee made a number of errors in judgement. Some argued that he should have sent off Blaise Matuidi, after his unnecessarily aggressive challenge on the midfielder Ogenyi Onazi led to the player being carried off the field in a stretcher. It was also pointed out that Olivier Giroud should have received a harsher punishment for having intentionally elbowed John Obi Mikel. Keshi criticised the referee, and even went so far as to accuse him of being biased. He explained that whilst mistakes were bound to happen, the referee’s decisions were ‘questionable’.

In addition to delivering a scathing review of the referee, Keshi was also said to have announced that he would be stepping down as manager of the team. However, just two days after the media reported that he had resigned, Keshi released a statement denying this. He explained that he whilst he would probably be leaving, he was not choosing to do so, and was only moving on because his contract had not been renewed by the NFF.

The aforementioned Joseph Yobo also released a statement, announcing his retirement from international football. This should come as no surprise to Tunde Folawiyo or other Eagles’ fans, given Yobo’s unfortunate own goal. However, with the exception of his most recent match, Yobo has served the team well over the years, and will be remembered best for having been the first ever Eagles player to participate in 100 matches internationally. Yobo described his decision to leave as ‘bittersweet’, noting that whilst he will be sad to say goodbye, he is looking forward to focusing more on his family.

Supporters of the Super Eagles, like Tunde Folawiyo, were no doubt relieved and delighted by  their victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. Peter Odemwingie was responsible for the goal which ended the team’s nine year spell of World Cup matches in which they failed to win. The game finished with a score of 1-0, which led to Bosnia being eliminated from the tournament.

Nigeria were given other opportunities to score, but their efforts proved fruitless, with a free kick taken seven minutes into the match failing to reach the net, and Onazi’s long-range attempts continually saved by Begovic. Commentators noted that, following Nigeria’s draw with Iran, Bosnia possibly made the mistake of underestimating the Eagles’ abilities. Their lacklustre performance during this first match, coupled with the absence of some of their star players, such as Sunday Mba, may have led their opponents to conclude that Nigeria simply weren’t up to the task – an error in judgement which  could very well have been the cause of Bosnia’s defeat.

After the match, Odemwingie spoke of his team’s success, noting that the result is likely to have silenced their detractors. He added that it had been difficult for the Eagles to earn their three points, but that they were thrilled to have made such a comeback, following their somewhat disappointing performance against Iran.  Nigeria’s coach, Keshi, also spoke of the victory, saying that he was thrilled with the ‘fighting spirit’ which his team had demonstrated, but was not surprised by how well they had done, as he had always been confident that they would reach the round of 16.

However, regardless of how far the Eagles go in this tournament, Keshi will be leaving them after it ends. Fans of the Eagles, like Tunde Folawiyo, are doubtless saddened by this news. It has been reported that Keshi will be transferring to the South Africa Soccer Federation immediately after the World Cup finishes, in order to manage Bafana Bafana for the next two years. This development follows the news that South Africa fired the team’s previous coach, Gordon Igesund, after they drew in the match against Australia last month. According to recent news reports, the South African club has been impressed by how Keshi has managed the Eagles, and are hoping he will be able to improve Bafana Bafana.

After losing their match against France, the Super Eagles were eliminated from the World Cup; this development has no doubt disappointed fans of the team, such as Tunde Folawiyo. It has also given rise to some criticism of the players’ performances, and there have been suggestions that there needs to be a complete overhaul of the current squad. However, Christian Chukwu, who once served as the coach of the Eagles, has said that such drastic measures are unnecessary.

In an interview with the press, he argued that the team had actually done quite well at the tournament, and that it was simply bad fortune, rather than a lack of skill, which led to their defeat. He did however, admit that some of the players’ needed further training.  Ejike Asiegbu, the Nigerian actor, also had his say regarding the Eagles’ elimination; he described it as a ‘wake-up call’, but added that Keshi could create a stronger team, if given the opportunity to do so.

He went on to say that the Nigerian Football Association should extend the coach’s contract, as Keshi’s management of the team has already resulted in a vast improvement in its skill level. Whether or not the NFA will heed Asiegbu’s advice remains to be seen. Keshi himself has publically stated that he would be quite happy to remain in his current role, if the NFA wanted him too. Speaking to a journalist in Abuja, he explained that he believed the Super Eagles could become an incredible team over the next couple of years, if provided with the right guidance.

Despite Keshi’s obvious attachment to the Eagles, it looks as though he will be moving on. This will no doubt sadden Eagles’ supporters like Tunde Folawiyo. Although news of his possible departure only broke a few days ago, reports indicate that there are several people already vying for his position. Rumour has it that the Argentine coach Rodolfo Zapata may be a potential candidate.

Many spectators noticed Nigeria’s lack of technical finesse during the World Cup, and this is something which Zapata has been encouraging the team to work on for several months now. His astute observations of the player’s weaknesses suggest that he may be a wise choice. An NFA official refused to comment on whether or not they were considering Zapata for the position, explaining that they could not disclose this information before Keshi officially resigns.

As the Super Eagles embark on yet another World Cup venture, team spirit remains high. Adding fuel to the fire, Nigeria received a boost as it’s been announced Kenneth Omeruo has returned to training full-time with the Super Eagles. The Chelsea defender has sat out since being injured after a collision with player Victor Moses during training. Coach Stephen Keshi and fans like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others throughout Nigeria may be thrilled at the star player’s return.

After having missed the team’s last friendly against team USA, Omeruo had been working with a physiotherapist in hopes of a quick recovery. He will return to the field alongside defensive player Godfrey Oboabona as they prepare to battle for World Cup glory, beginning with a June 16 match against Iran. In May of 2014, the young player renewed his contract with Chelsea for an additional three years.

Born in 1993, Nigerian Kenneth Omeruo plays for the Middlesbrough team whilst on loan by Chelsea. The player began his early career with bouts at both Anderlecht and Sunshine Stars before later signing with Standard Liege. Signed with Chelsea in January of 2012, he was loaned to ADO Den Haag. The 18-month deal would see him remain with the club up until the 2012-2013 season’s end. During April of 2012, the player scored his very first goal for the club in a game against the club FC Groningen. Today, he remains the only Dutch league player to kick a goal, earn a red card and make an own goal during one match.

At the young age of 19, Omeruo was called to the Nigerian team upon his great displays of talent. His role as centre back for the Nigerian team led to his great popularity amongst fans. Today, an international regular, Omeruo has proved a great source of power for Nigeria, representing the team during the Cup of Nations in 2013 and in Brazil’s Confederations Cup in 2013. He later secured a starting line-up place at the Cup of Nations. The Super Eagles displayed tremendous play, adding to Omeruo’s popularity. Super Eagles fans are eager for Omeruo’s arrival as the team anticipates a successful World Cup trek. Tunde Folawiyo and others throughout Africa may regard the young player as a valuable tool in the team’s hopes for World Cup victory. If the young player’s efforts prove successful, fans and coaching staff alike may find themselves wanting more of Omeruo.

Nigerian footballer Obafemi Martins has been mentioned in the Turkish media once more, in light of a possible transfer toward Turkish team Konyaspor. The Seattle Sounders player has played an impressive season whilst in the U.S., having scored eight goals for the team. Now, as Konyaspor is said to be eyeing Martins, it remains to be seen whether the player will join the 11^th place team in the Turkish SuperLig. Three other Turkish teams, Rizespor, Genclerbirligi and Galatasaray have all previously expressed interest in the 29-year-old. Tunde Folawiyo and other football fans throughout Nigeria may be inspired by the rise of Obafemi Martins as he remains a powerful tool in the Nigerian team’s quest for victory.

Martins is also a valued member of Nigeria’s national team. Known for his great speed, he has played for several top-division clubs throughout Europe. Upon leaving his home country for Italy at the age of 16, he kicked off his veteran career during 2002 for Inter Milan of Italian Serie A before transferring to Newcastle, a Premier League English club during 2006. He then moved to Wolfsburg, Germany’s Bundesliga club during 2009. After joining Rubin Kazan, a Premier League in Russia during July of 2010, he was loaned to Birmingham City during January of 2011.

In regards to club football, the player won the Serie A title, a Super Cup and an Italian Cup, all whilst with Inter. He scored a winning goal with Birmingham during 2011’s League Cup Final. His European football career saw bouts with Inter, Wolfsburg and Newcastle, where he won the Intertoto Cup. During the 2004-2005 Serie A season, he had his highest scoring season with 11 goals and 17 during the 2006-2007 English Premier League’s. Internationally, Martin has played for Nigeria’s squad during Africa’s Nations Cup during 2006 and 2008, as well as 2010. He also played in FIFA’s World Cup during 2010.

Martins comes from a family of footballers as two of his brothers played professionally. Oladipupo Martins, his older brother, played for Partizan, Reggiana, and Innsbruck. He retired in 2009.

As the Nigerian National Team battles for the World Cup title once more, Nigerian football fans are surely anticipating the fate of its valued players. Obafemi Martins continues to serve Nigeria as a gifted footballer of immense talent. Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others throughout Nigerian and the remainder of Africa may regard the player as one of the most talented in the continent.