Team List: Lagerback's 40 Thieves+4

Again Kanu Nwankwo made the 44-man list of the new coach, at a time every football fan in Nigeria thinks he should call it quits. Utaka resurfaces following his last minute flashes these season and as promised 6 home based players join the party.

Portsmouth's John Utaka, FC Zurich's Onyekachi Okonkwo and Salzburg's Rabiu Afolabi have been handed Nigeria recalls by Technical Adviser Lars Lagerback.

Outside of that, there were no surprises in Lagerback's list of 44, released by the NFF on Sunday, with only three players getting first time call ups.

Those who advocates for more players from the domestic league would be placated after the Swede included six players from the Nigeria Premier League,and this was led by top scorer Ahmed Musa who plays for Kano Pillars.Whether Musa can replicate his league for m for the national team is a topic for the future, especially as Nigeria Premier League strikers are not known to stay consistent.

Chibuzor Okonkwo, seems to be the major casualty as he was upstaged in the home-based Super Eagles team by the impressive Terna Suswan of Lobi Stars. This could be good for competition.

Rising midfielder Rabiu Ibrahim's lack of club action also counted against him, as he was not included. But Haruna Lukman, who has locked down a place in the Monaco midfield, gets a chance to impress the new coach in camp.

The players are to report to camp in the United Kingdom from April 27 and 28. Well Lagerback and the 40 thieves plus 4. Just how well he can make a good team from this lot is yet to be seen. For now, let's just wish them well.

FULL LIST:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva, Israel), Greg Etafia (Moroka Swallows, South Africa) and Bassey Akpan (Bayelsa United, Nigeria)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille, France), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes, France), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Onyekachi Apam (OG Nice, France), Olubayo Adefemi (US Boulogne, France), Joseph Yobo (Everton, England), Daniel Shittu (Bolton Wanderers, England), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands), Michael Odibe (Siena, Italy), Sam Sodje (Charlton Athletic, England), Rabiu Afolabi (SV Salzburg, Austria) and Terna Suswan (Lobi Stars, Nigeria)

Midfielders/Forwards: Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Victor Anichebe (Everton, England), Chinedu Obasi (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany), Nwankwo Kanu, John Utaka (Portsmouth, England), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg, Germany), Brown Ideye (FC Sochaux, France), Femi Ajilore (Groningen, Netherlands), Joseph Akpala (FC Brugge, Belgium), Peter Utaka (Odense Boldklub, Denmark), Michael Eneramo (Esperance, Tunisia), Ikechukwu Uche (Real Zaragoza, Spain), Obinna Nsofor (Malaga, Spain), Kalu Uche (Almeria, Spain), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham, England), Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Sani Kaita (Alaniya, Russia), Haruna Lukman (AS Monaco, France), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev, Ukraine), Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia), Seyi Olofinjana (Hull City, England), Onyekachi Okonkwo (FC Zurich, Switzerland), Omatsone Aluko (Aberdeen, Scotland), Gabriel Reuben (Enyimba, Nigeria), Ahmed Musa, Solomon Okpako (Kano Pillars, Nigeria), Bartholomew Ibenegbu (Heartland FC).

Lars Lagerback: Profile

Lars Lagerbäck

Lars Edvin "Lasse" Lagerbäck (born 16 July 1948 in Katrineholm, Sweden) is a Swedish football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Nigerian Super Eagles.

He is best known as the former manager of the Sweden National Team. ^[1] He managed the Swedish National Team from 1998 until 2009 leading Sweden in five consecutive championships. He resigned as manager in 2009 after Sweden's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Contents:
1. Career
2. Managing Career
3. References
4. External links

Lasse Lagerbäck

Personal information
Full name	Lars Edvin Lagerbäck
Date of birth	16 July 1948 (age 61)
Place of birth	Katrineholm, Sweden
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1960-1969	Alby FF
1970-1974	Gimonäs CK
Teams managed
1977-1982	Kilafors IF
1983-1985	Arbrå BK
1987-1989	Hudiksvalls ABK
1990-1995	Sweden U21
1996-1997	Sweden B
1998-1999	Sweden (assistant)
2000-2009	Sweden
2010-	Nigeria
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

1. Career

As youth, Lagerbäck played for Alby FF. When he was 13 years-old, he began playing for their P16 team. In 1970, he left and moved to Gimonäs CK under the guidance of Calle Lindelöf. ^[2] He continued to play there until 1974. ^[3] In 1974, he attended Gynastik and Idrottshögskolan (GIH), where he was a classmate of current assistant coach Roland Andersson.

2. Managing Career

2. 1. Club

In 1977, he was called up to the senior team. It was former teammate Kjell Pettersson that recommended him to Kilafors. He coached the Division IV team until 1982. In 1983, he moved to Arbrå IK until 1985. In 1987, he takes over Hudiksvall ABK but leaves by 1989. ^[4]

2. 2. Sweden

In 1990, Lagerbäck takes a job with the Swedish Football Association. He began to coach the junior levels which included Fredrik Ljungberg. He helped Tommy Svensson and Tord Grip with Swedish National Team. ^[5]

In 1996, Lagerbäck takes over Sweden B national team, until 1997. In 1998, Tommy Söderberg takes him on as assistant coach for the Swedish National Team. In 2000, he is promoted to dual-coach, a responsibility he would share with Söderberg until 2004. ^[6] Under his guidance, the Swedish National Team qualified for the Euro 2000 but lost in the group stages.

In 2002, he led Sweden to the World Cup where Sweden was in 'group death'. Sweden lost against Senegal. In 2004, Sweden qualified for their third straight championship. In the Euro 2004, Sweden made it to the quarter-finals where they lost against Holland. ^[7] That same year, Tommy Söderberg left the Swedish National Team to coach the U21 Team.

After the departure of Söderberg, Lagerbäck appointed Roland Andersson as assistant coach. In 2006, Lagerback took Sweden to their fourth consecutive championship, the first time in Swedish history. He led Sweden to the 2006 World Cup, losing against Germany 2-0 in the knockout stage. ^[8] Under Lagerbäck, Sweden also qualified for UEFA Euro 2008, however they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 2-0 against Russia. The team's early dismissal from the tournament led sport columnists to ask Lagerbäck to be sacked.. ^[9] Despite this, he signed an extension, which would keep him until the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign. After Sweden's unsuccessful qualification campaign for this summer's World Cup in South Africa, Lagerbäck resigned. ^[10] .

2. 3. Nigeria

On 26 February, 2010, he signed a 5 month (renewable) contract that would see him lead Nigeria to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals in South Africa. ^[11]

Strengths: Lagerback earned a good reputation during his time in charge of Sweden, creating a well-drilled, hard-working team that was capable of securing results against sides with superior squads. It is understood that he was given the post after impressing the interview panel with his in-depth knowledge of Nigerian football, suggesting he is as well equipped to deal with the limited preparation time as could be hoped from a foreign candidate arriving a matter of months before the tournament.

Weaknesses: In 2007, Lagerback told the official FIFA website: "Certainly, I believe in continuity, and I think that national teams benefit from it every bit as much as clubs - if not more. After all, we don't work with our players every day like club coaches do, so it's vital to know those players inside-out, and it's only after some time you can achieve that." Although he has clearly done his research, Lagerback has very little time to get to know the players and he will struggle to experiment with tactics should his initial plans fail to succeed. The fact that his contract could well expire after the World Cup also does little to help promote a sense of stability about the side, plus in a country that expects a lot from its team, his conservative brand of football may fail to garner support.

Career high: Sweden were at their best under Lagerback during Euro 2004, when they thrashed Bulgaria 5-0 in their opening match before qualifying for the knockout stage at the expense of Italy, only exiting when they were beaten by Netherlands on penalties in the second round.

Career low: Having reached five successive tournaments in his time with Sweden, he will have been deeply disappointed at the failure to qualify for this year's World Cup, particularly as Scandinavian rivals Denmark topped the group.

Tactics: With Sweden, Lagerback favoured the 4-1-3-2 formation, with one defensive midfielder and three attacking midfielders, using the full backs to supply the width and he could well adopt a similar system in his new role. There is an issue with the lack of creative talent at present, but Lagerback made Sweden a very solid, hard-to-beat side and, given the constant changes and lack of discipline during Shaibu Amodu's recent spell, his approach should be of real benefit.

Quotes: "From what I have seen in Nigerian players, they have good individual skills and I know that the team needs to be organised - it needs to be disciplined - but, for me as a coach, I think the individual skills can do really well in the World Cup."

Trivia: Lagerback is often called 'Lasse', a common nickname for Swedes named Lars.

WC prediction: Lagerback has been set a target of reaching the semi-finals, but he is experienced enough to know that is very ambitious indeed. In a group with Argentina, Greece and South Korea, they have every chance of making it to the second round, but they will have to adapt to their new coach's methods quickly if they are to make any impression on the tournament.

World Cup 2010 Group Draws and Fixtures- Can Africa Win it?

World Cup 2010 Group Draws and Fixtures

With the world cup draws now out, what do you think? Is it now Africa’s time to win it. Granted that Pele is known to be perennially wrong with his predictions. Till date he is yet to get one right, but pundits believe this could be when Pele’s predictions finally come true.

For the first time, Africa is presenting her some of her best football nations and with the mundial taking place in Africa for the first time, they are now set to have the same advantage the south Americans and Europeans have been having over the years. Home advantage and crowd backing!

World Cup 2010 group draw and fixtures

Group A Group B Group C Group D

South Africa Argentina England Germany
Mexico Nigeria United States Australia
Uruguay South Korea Algeria Serbia
France Greece Slovenia Ghana

Group E Group F Group G Group H

Netherlands Italy Brazil Spain
Denmark Paraguay North Korea Switzerland
Japan New Zealand Ivory Coast Honduras
Cameroon Slovakia Portugal Chile


GROUP A FIXTURES

Friday, 11 June 2010
South Africa v Mexico, Gp A, 15:00
Uruguay v France, Gp A, 19:30
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
South Africa v Uruguay, Gp A, 19:30
Thursday, 17 June 2010
France v Mexico, Gp A, 12:30
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
France v South Africa, Gp A, 15:00
Mexico v Uruguay, Gp A, 15:00

GROUP B FIXTURES

Saturday, 12 June 2010
Argentina v Nigeria, Gp B, 12:30
South Korea v Greece, Gp B, 15:00
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Argentina v South Korea, Gp B, 19:30
Greece v Nigeria, Gp B, 15:00
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Greece v Argentina, Gp B, 19:30
Nigeria v South Korea, Gp B, 19:30

GROUP C FIXTURES
Saturday, 12 June 2010
England v USA, Gp C, 19:30
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Algeria v Slovenia, Gp C, 12:30
Friday, 18 June 2010
England v Algeria, Gp C, 19:30
Slovenia v USA, Gp C, 15:00
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Slovenia v England, Gp C, 15:00
USA v Algeria, Gp C, 15:00

GROUP D FIXTURES
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Germany v Australia, Gp D, 15:00
Serbia v Ghana, Gp D, 19:30
Friday, 18 June 2010
Germany v Serbia, Gp D, 12:30
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Ghana v Australia, Gp D, 12:30
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Australia v Serbia, Gp D, 19:30
Ghana v Germany, Gp D, 19:30

GROUP E FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
Japan v Cameroon, Gp E, 15:00
Netherlands v Denmark, Gp E, 12:30
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Cameroon v Denmark, Gp E, 19:30
Netherlands v Japan, Gp E, 15:00
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Cameroon v Netherlands, Gp E, 19:30
Denmark v Japan, Gp E, 19:30

GROUP F FIXTURES
Monday, 14 June 2010
Italy v Paraguay, Gp F, 19:30
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
New Zealand v Slovakia, Gp F, 12:30
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Italy v New Zealand, Gp F, 15:00
Paraguay v Slovakia, Gp F, 12:30
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Paraguay v New Zealand, Gp F, 15:00
Slovakia v Italy, Gp F, 15:00

GROUP G FIXTURES
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Brazil v North Korea, Gp G, 19:30
Ivory Coast v Portugal, Gp G, 15:00
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Brazil v Ivory Coast, Gp G, 19:30
Monday, 21 June 2010
Portugal v North Korea, Gp G, 12:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
North Korea v Ivory Coast, Gp G, 15:00
Portugal v Brazil, Gp G, 15:00

GROUP H FIXTURES
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Honduras v Chile, Gp H, 12:30
Spain v Switzerland, Gp H, 15:00
Monday, 21 June 2010
Chile v Switzerland, Gp H, 15:00
Spain v Honduras, Gp H, 19:30
Friday, 25 June 2010
Chile v Spain, Gp H, 19:30
Switzerland v Honduras, Gp H, 19:3

Germany keeper dies in 'suicide'

Germany and Hannover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke has died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, police have confirmed.

Enke, 32, was fatally injured at a level crossing north west of Hanover. The German football federation (DFB) said in a statement: "The German team has learned of the death of Robert Enke with great shock."

Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff added: "We are in a state of shock. It is beyond words." Enke's daughter Lara died in 2006 of a rare heart condition when she was just two.

He leaves behind his wife, Teresa, and an eight-month-old daughter the couple had adopted in May. German police released a statement saying: "The victim is apparently national team goalkeeper Robert Enke from Hannover 96.

The first police indications are that it was a suicide." Enke was struck by a regional train travelling between Norddeich and Hannover at a railway crossing in Neustadt am Rubenberge and died at the scene. Some reports gave the time of his death as "shortly before" 6pm local time (1700 GMT).

He played eight times for Germany and also for clubs Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenerbahce and Tenerife, before returning to the Bundesliga with Hannover in 2004. Enke made his international debut aged 29 and became Germany's number one keeper after Jens Lehmann retired from internationals at the end of Euro 2008. He had missed Germany's last four matches with a virus but returned for his club at the weekend. Germany coach Joachim Low had indicated that Enke was in pole position for the number one jersey at next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

Dr Theo Zwanziger, president of the DFB, said that the football community in Germany "are deeply distressed and in mourning", adding: "All our sympathy goes to the wife of Robert Enke and his family."

The Germany squad is currently in Bonn ahead of a friendly against Chile on Saturday, but Enke had not been called up, having only just returned to action for his club. Hundreds of fans flocked to Hanover's Niedersachsen Stadion on Tuesday night to lay flowers and light candles for the captain of their club.

Battle of African Legends: Amokachi Opts out.

Come July 25th 2009, several past African legends are slated to file out to showcase some of the skills that saw them achieve so much influence in the African game of football.
Some of the names expected to feature are:

Ghana's Anthony Yeboah, Tony Baffoe and Nii Lamptey;=
South Africa's Phil Masinga and Lucas Radebe;
Guinea's Titi Camara and Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia.

Others include,
Ivory Coast: Youssouf Fofana and Abdoulaye Troare
Cameroon's Roger Milla and Stephen Tawtaw.

These are the people who willdo battle with a Nigerian team made up of players who featured at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.

Nigeria:
Uche Okechukwu, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeba, Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha, Tijjani Babangida and many more yet to confirm participation.

This is not as. The organizaers will be parting with an appearance fee of $5,000 per player.

Meanwhile, Daniel Amokachi may not participate in the events as according to him, he has not been invited. No official invitation has been extended to him.
The former Everton and Anderlect star claims he might be in the stadium on that day but will not be playing as he is yet to hear any thing official about the said game.

“I have to be honest with you, I don’t know anything about this event,” confessed Amokachi in a telephone interview from his base in Kaduna.

“Yes, I have heard about it, and I have been called up by a lot of my former Super Eagles team mates but I don’t know anything more about it as I have not received a phone call or letter from the organisers.”

Many other Nigerian stars have already confirmed their participation.

Tunis-Super Eagles Last Chance Of Redemtion

Each time i come online to place a post about the super eagles, i can't help hating myself for having so much pessimism about our chances of qualification for the world cup. I know by now many who are frequent readers of my blog may have started hating me already especially for being "so unpatriotic".

You never know. You probably don't want the Super Eagles to have a good outing as much as i do.
From the beginning, my problem has been with the penchant of our NFF to set the bar so low when it should be high and so high when it should be low.

Till tomorrow, i will maintain that the decision to appoint Amodu as the Eagles coach was a blunder. I do not think the eagles should be worrying about qualifying for the world cup but rather, how far they will go at the world cup.
We have failed to plan once again, and now we hear trumpet blowers telling whoever cares to hear that everyone should rally round Amodu. While i have no problem with that, i maintain it wouldn't have been necessary especially at this stage we have done our home work and made the right decisions when we had time on our side.

Our dream should be surpassing our previous records at the world cup and if the NFF had that in mind, they should have known that the current technical crew headed by Amodu Shuaibu has not the technical-know-how to achieve that.
So for me it is painful and derogatory that we are once again at the mercy of another country as far as our world cup campaign is concerned. I am afraid! I don't just want to think it.

May we qualify i hope. At this moment for me, i am already thinking of the next world cup for i know that even if we manage to qualify, this team really has nothing to offer. Amodu dosen't have it. We should all hold the NFF responsible.

Agreed Super Eagles Beat France But ....................Amodu Ain't shit!

I have never supported the choice of Amodu as Super Eagles coach. Not that i have anything against Amodu as a person or as a coach.
My poblem is with Amodu being the Super Eagles coach.
I have watched Amodu as super Eagles coach and have never been confinced is technical know-how or technical-not-know how is for super Eagles stuff.

Just one game, though we ca't take it away from them, is not enough.
Many times i have seen Amodu totally lost and bereft of Ideas when it matters most.
What does he want to do now, that he failed to do in his previous spells?

For now, let's see how we can just scrample out a qualification ticket for 2010.
I have told myself i won't watch the Super Eagles if we qualify for the world cup and Amodu gets to take us there.

DON'T NEED A HEART BREAK!