A look back over the season that was for the trio of Nigerian players in the French top flight over the 2014-15 campaign
The Ligue 1 campaign came to an end this weekend, with the division’s Nigerian players all ending the season inside the top half.
Elderson Echiejile and AS Monaco will look back on a fine year which, despite an inauspicious start, ended on a high note.
The Monegasques underwent something of a face lift last summer.
Deciding that the big-spending approach wasn’t the way to go, the club’s president Dmitry Rybolovlev opted to employ a different, more modest method in order to reach the top of the French game.
His decision means that Monaco’s rise will certainly be a longer-build, rather than the instant impact they had originally intended, but there has been a suggestion this season that the new direction will bear fruit down the road.
Last summer, erstwhile Galacticos Radamel Falcao, Emmanuel Riviere and James Rodriguez were cast off—the first to Manchester United on a lucrative loan deal, the French forward to Newcastle United and the playmaker sold to Real Madrid on the back of a fine World Cup for €80 million.
In their place came the likes of former Stade Rennais man Tiemoue Bakayoko and, later, Bernardo Silva.
While it’s intriguing to imagine where Monaco might have finished had they kept hold of James, Falcao’s struggles at Old Trafford suggest that his temporary departure was a wise move by the Club of the Principality.
There is great reason for optimism; after a slow start Monaco demonstrated impressive consistency and magnificent defensive resiliency to return to the Champions League places, even overcoming defeat to Olympique de Marseille in May to hold on to third spot.
In the major European continental competition this term, their excellent resolve at the back served them well. They topped Group C after only conceding one goal, before seeing off Arsenal in the Last 16 after a terrific 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
They ultimately fell to eventual-finalists Juventus in the quarter-finals, but can look back with pride after only conceding one goal—an Arturo Vidal penalty—in an aggregate defeat.
As was the case last term, Elderson has been a regular substitute due to the impressive form and attacking prowess of first-choice left-back Layvin Kurzawa.
The French international has enjoyed another fine terrific campaign, limiting the Nigerian to only 12 appearances in Ligue 1.
Echeijile has played his part, however, and played the full 90 minutes in the first-leg triumph over Arsenal. He has similarly delivered fine displays against Stade Malherbe Caen, Stade Rennais and Bayer Leverkusen, and would be an able replacement for Kurzawa should the 22-year-old depart this summer.
For Enyeama, the campaign has been much more modest, although he too has delivered his fair share of outstanding performances.
Lille remain a club in transition, with too many of the side’s key men from the 2011 title-winning campaign having departed for pastures new. Another key man, Divock Origi, signed for Liverpool last summer, and while he was loaned back to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy for this campaign, there has been a clear decline in his performances.
Les Dogues endured major disappointment early in the campaign when they missed out on the Champions League group stage following a playoff defeat to FC Porto.
The draw was tough and elimination was understandable, although the side’s subsequent failings in the Europa League—they came bottom of their group, amassing only four points and not winning a single game—were much less forgivable.
In Ligue 1, they conceded 42 goals. It’s the joint-seventh best defensive record in the division, but is considerably worse than the 26 they conceded last term.
Admittedly, there have been injuries—notably to Franck Beria—while Pape Souare moved to Crystal Palace, but Enyeama must take some of the blame. He was notably haphazard against AS Saint-Etienne in a defeat in March, making the kind of blunder that would just have never occurred a season or two ago.
Over at Bordeaux, on-loan Liverpool defender Tiago Ilori has been the main beneficiary from Lamine Sane’s injury concerns and Afcon absence. The centre-back is only 22, and still has a lot to learn, but there was a concerning lack of improvement over certain aspects of his game—his positioning and his decision-making—as the season wore on. Admittedly, he has struggled with injuries.
Similarly, for such a tall player, Ilori and his teammates have also suffered when dealing with aerial balls and more physical opposing strikers—I remember, in particular, him having a tough time against Enyeama’s teammate Nolan Roux in April.
The former Sporting Lisbon man has certainly not demonstrated this campaign that he is ready to step up to Premier League action with Liverpool when his loan deal ends.
Mikel, Emenike dropped as Keshi invites 15 foreign-based players for Chad
The Chelsea midfielder and Fenerbache forward were omitted from the list of overseas-based players for the Super Eagles' Afcon qualifier against the Sao
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has dropped John Mikel Obi and Emmanuel Emenike from his list of 15 foreign-based players for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Chad on June 8.
Mikel, who won the English Premier League with Chelsea, was overlooked following alleged communication gap by the Keshi, while Fenerbache striker Emenike was dropped due to his poor form.
Among the invited players are goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, Odion Ighalo, Aaron Samuel and Kenneth Omeruo for the match billed for Kaduna.
Others are Leon Balogun, John Ogu, Steven Ukoh, Godfrey Oboabona, Babatunde Michael and Rabiu Ibrahim.
New invitees are Netherlands-based defender William Troost-Ekong, Kingsley Madu of Slovakia's AS Trencin and Portugal–based Anderson Esiti completed the list of 14.
The invited professionals are expected to report to camp latest on June 3.
Meanwhile, 27 home-based players without ill Enyimba forward Mfon Udoh are in camp in Kastina as they face second tier club Sportlight FC in a friendly match scheduled to commission the new Karkanda Stadium on Tuesday.
The NPFL players in camp are Chibuzor Okonkwo, Rabiu Ali, Nelson Ogbonnaya, Ezekiel Mbah, Gabriel Okechukwu, Azeez Shobowale, Moses Ebong, Chima Akas, Nathaniel Joseph, Chinedu Udoji, Chidiebere Eze, Olabisi Samuel, Esosa Igbinoba, Joe Omale, Onyedikachi Bright and Idris Aloma.
Others are Charles Henlong, Ibrahim Shuaibu, Kunle Odunlami, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Tunde Adeniji, Onoriode Odah, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Gbolahan Salami, Stanley Dimgba, Daniel Akpeyi, Michael Egbeta and Solomon Kwambe.
Full List of Invited Foreign-Based Players
Goalkeeper: Vincent Enyeama (Lille OSC, France)
Defenders: Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough FC, England); Leon Balogun (Darmstadt 98, Germany); William Troost-Ekong (FC Dordrecht, The Netherlands); Kingsley Madu (AS Trencin, Slovakia)
Midfielders: Ogenyi Onazi (SS Lazio, Italy); John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva); Babatunde Michael (Volyn Lutsk, Ukraine); Rabiu Ibrahim (AS Trencin, Slovakia); Anderson Esiti (Estoril FC, Portugal); Steven Ukoh (Biel-Bienne FC, Switzerland)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Aaron Samuel (Guangzhou R & F, China); Odion Ighalo (Watford FC, England)
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