Jose Peseiro has explained why Gift Orban and Victor Boniface did make the Super Eagles 23-man squad for the 2023 AFCON qualifier against Sierra Leone on Sunday.
Both Orban and Boniface were remarkable for Gent and Union Saint Gilloise in the Belgian last season respectively.
Orban netted 15 goals, made two assists in 16 appearances despite joining Gent in January 2023.
As for Boniface, he bagged seven goals, got seven assists in 31 games for his side.
Despite their impressive form, both were not invited for the match-day five game billed for Monrovia, Liberia.
Speaking to journalists after the Super Eagles first training session on Monday inside the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, LagosPeseiro said both players are still in his plans.
“I believe in Orban and Boniface, I spent my own money to visit them and if I should call them it means I will have to take some of the ones currently in camp out.
“I called 19 foreign players and if I had the chance to call more of course Orban and Boniface will be called but I understand the situation at the NFF and I need to help so I called 19. And for a decisive match it’s better I call the players I know better.
“So for Orban, Boniface and others they still have time I understand that despite playing well they didn’t get invitation but remember the likes of Osimhen, Awoniyi all did well last season.
“Also I cannot choose five strikers because if I do I will ignore other positions but I believe in them and they have opportunities to play for the national team.”
Peseiro spoke about the importance of making sure his forward players in the Super Eagles click together in order to get the best out of them.
“We have amazing players and right now Nigerian players have more value but no one play alone, you must play together.
“We have star players like Osimhen, Chukwueze and others, they did fantastic job but you can only get the best from your forward through training, practice and they can only play well if the organisation is good.”
On the just concluded Nigeria Premier League Super Six playoffs and why he chose the home-based quartet of Ojo Olorunleke, Divine Nwachukwu, Victor Sochima and Ebube Duru.
“For me the Super Six was good I had the chance to see the best six teams of course there are other good players in other teams.
“But it’s good for me because I was able to concentrate on the teams but again it was not easy due to the fact that the players had to play for nine days which was not easy for them.
“From this teams that took part in the Super Six I chose four players not because they are the best but I had to choose the four for specific positions.“
21 Comments
Pereira cannot invite Orban and Boniface but has space for Musa. Very stupid coach.
This coach is very very very very dangerous for the growth of our football…he is now fully dancing the tune of corrupt nff..
According to some sports sites, Peseiro actually invited Orban, Boniface and Moffi but NFF forced him to remove them for the sake of reducing flight ticket costs. NFF capped the invitation of foreign based players to 20 maximum.
Who do us like this?
Can you imagine? A country that wants to win Afcon and go far at the next world cup is turning back talents in form just because of flight ticket costs! If we are playing Morocco or Senegal tomorrow, how can Naija fans in good conscience expect a good result, when the NFF is not ready to take the steps to make our team as competitive as possible?
No problem na. Let us continue. Na here all of us dey!
For the sake of reducing which tickets?
Yet, they paid full fare for useless bench-warming players like Musa, Ndidi, Moses and Aribo?
Well, they must really believe Naija fans are really dumb and uninformed to believe this BS.
Lol.. you guys haven’t seen anything yet. By the time NFF is done with your football, sao tome will be spanking Nigeria 5-0. These dim wits are just clueless , are they setting policies just for the fun of it. The whole objective of this home based policy is to raise a strong vibrant team capable of challenging for titles but where the home based players are not as good as their foreign counterparts then selection based on quality must prevail.
Eguavoen led technical led group would eventually bring our football to its knees . There is no pattern or plan to raising a solid team, the goal keeping dept has been a problem for years but nothing has been done about it, the midfield is a mess, aribo can not make a Southampton team that finished bottom but yet he is invited, Ndidi struggled to make the team sheet of a relegated Leicester team and would ply his trade in the championship next season . Only Iwobi and Onyeka can hold their head up a bit. It appears there are no standards for the Nigerian national team anymore. Yet these deluded clowns are talking up storm , boasting that they will win the afcon next year. AN Embarrassment of epic proportion and failure awaits, we will be here to remind them.
Hopefully from the fuel subsidy NFF will get some money to pay the coach’s salary and players’ flight tickets
Can you believe this nonesense coming from this useless coach. So the ineffective aribo should be in instead of orban. This can only happen in Nigeria.
There is no hope for the super eagles. They have killed the super eagles. If we lose orban to Togo, this pesero and nff will not know peace.
But we don’t have brave journalist again. So no one was able to tell him how stupid he was with that excuse for not inviting two of the most promising talents Nigeria had last season. This is strange
“From this teams that took part in the Super Six I chose four players not because they are the best but I had to choose the four for specific positions.“
WOW JUST WOW!! This above comment from Peseiro shows that Our football is in Big Trouble. No comment just gobsmacked I really cannot believe what I have just read and this comment is supposed to be coming from an international and Professional coach??. There is nothing Professional about this. this is very disgusting. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST WOW!!!. I am shocked!
Ugo spot on I thought nobody read that line until I read your post. The last time they didn’t invite Benjamin Fredricks but they invited the yum fc player Bameyi they also used this terms that a better player was dropped because his colleague can play multiple positions even though he plays avergely those positions. Nigeria is recycling average players from the times of Rohr till date.
Chaii…
Akpom- Passport issue
Urban dropped for Nwachukwu
Boniface dropped for Musa
Ebuehi /Aina dropped for Duru.
Osigwe ignored for Olorunleke
Uzoho’s ineligibility an opportunity for Sochima
All players presently on break yet NFF insisted on 19 players. Very soon, Uzoho wil be dropped for another home based keeper.
Their target is 5-7 Nigerian based players.
Watch the end of these players they are forcing on us, their biggest move will be Morocco or Egyptian leagues or may be Latvia, Vietnam, Turkey, Norway, etc we’ve heard their stories before we’ll still hear it again. Where are all those that played against Mexico and Equador under paseiro in US last year?
Where is Gabriel Reuben, where is Uzoenyi, Osagona ughodaro? Salami, Papa Idros, Oshaniwa? even Mba? Las las, na one academy boy go progress to big club like Daga.6
I really cannot get my head around Gift Orban’s Exclusion it is so painfull to me really,. if that boy chooses Togo somebody will Die in that NFF. I swear it.
Even more head scratching reason Orban is the only eligible free kick specialist Nigeria has today. He beats the likes of moses simon on every aspect especially that department. If this coach hands are tied on aboki Musa surely Simon must be dropped for Gift Orban for that reason. Free kicks are so important especially as this team labours to victory. Any good coach should know this. Well enough said
He can also play from the wings as his stature and pace allows him to
I feel for Tyronne Ebuehi he accepted to change nationalities for this shit?. His form would have guaranteed him a place had he chose to represent his mothers country. My heart goes out to him. I am sure he feels played. This is sad. He deserved a place in this team. Now look how Nigeria treats him. I have bo doubt he regrets choosing to represent Nigeria. And will only give an honest advice to any talented dual Nigerian friends he may have who Re in a dilema of who to represent
COACH PASEIRO IS ONLY GIVING EXCUSES. WHY ARIBO WAS INVITED. HE SHOULD HAVE DROP FOR EITHER URBAN OR BONIFACE.
EVEN MOFFI IS BETTER THAN AWONIYI
This Orban wey una dey NAK HEAD for WALL for, WE go INVITE am very soon make WE REST! Shebi na so una disturb us for DENNIS Mata…oh! DENNIS is the REPLICA of C RONALDO! Oh I can’t BELIEVE HE is a full blooded Nigerian but plays like Britain…oh He uses both feet bla bla bla now where DENNIS dey? LMFAO….
Yes, just the way we clamored for Iwobi, Victor Moses, Chukwueze back then and we are enjoying them now. I’m sure u still remembered some V Moses flashes. Lookman, Moffi and co are not yet there but are better than some players that will just come to camp just to come and sit on the bench.
This one HEAD KNACKING pass that one ooo.. haba the COACH don come out EXPLAIN, una still no GREE… Abi make him DROP one of him ASSISTANT COACH carry UBER oh! Sorry ORBAN??? LMFAO!!!!!
Make we ask u na… abi no be you dey see vision?. As you don dey predict Orban’s performance without even kick a ball in green and white shirt.
I hear say all naija assistant coaches no dey camp. We no mind if u fit go carry Orban come
But wait o @SEAN what did you say u are ENJOYING about CHUCKWUEZE? His AIMELESS DRIBBLES? What about IWOBI that CARELESS n NEEDLESS TACKLE that gave us RED CARD n CONTRIBUTED in our R16 AFCON EXIT against a COVID 19 TUNISIAN B TEAM??? LMFAO…
Oga if it is only Victor Moses that “we” I will understand
@Monkey Post, in fact, no Super Eagles player dey perform well, even Osimhen?May be we should stick to the old ones and continue adding NPFL players. I just hope High BP no dey your body.