IT'S OVER... THE WORLD CUP 2014

Let me start by saying a big congratulations to Germany for winning the World Cup 2014. What a great outing for the Germans.
So many unbelievable results. The defending Champions; Spain, went out in the first round. That was the first upset of the tournament. Giants like Italy, Portugal and England did not make it to the second round. 
Be honest, did you predict Spain, Italy and Portugal not making it to the second round?

Algeria and Nigeria did Africa proud. What an outing they both had.

Hmm, the biggest drama and upset will be the Semi Final between the host nation, Brazil and Germany! oh yes, the scoreline was so embarrassing for the host nation. 7 - 1 in favour of Germany. The Brazilian team looked shattered, their defence was a sorry sight. Neymar didn't play due to injury and the team became so ordinary. It will take a long time to forget. Lets not talk about the third place game against Holland. Another football humiliation for Brazil. Hopefully, they will sort whatever needs to be sorted in the team and regain their glory.

Another team I am really proud of is the Team USA... wow, how good was Tim Howard? With time, the USA will be a big contender in football tournaments.

THE VERDICT:
Lets talk about the World Cup 2014;

• What was your best memory of the World Cup 2014?
• Who was your outstanding player?
• Your best team in the tournament?
• Your best goalkeeper? I personally have 3 favorites.. Can you guess who they are?
• Best Goal of the tournament?

Lets have your verdict... Please leave a comment.

See you soon,
The Verdict 

The FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 IS HERE (BRASIL 2014)

Is anyone excited about the World Cup? I can hear people saying, of course we are; it is the biggest tournament in the world of sports. And Brazil is hosting, yes Brazil.
We all know football is the most popular sport in Brazil, and the Brazilian national team has won the FIFA World Cup five times. Not only that, Brazil is the only country that has succeeded in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held.
 Brazil gave us the likes of Pele, arguably the best footballer in the world and top scorer of all time in the sport. Garrincha, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo,Ronaldinho, and Kaka are all Brazilians.
Did you all see the stadium for the Opening Ceremony? What a great atmosphere. Truly, Brazil is the land of Football.
The opening game between Brazil and Croatia was exciting. I know some of us are still complaining about the ref and his decision to give the host country a penalty.
But Oscar sealed the victory with a beauty. Fantastic finish. For me, Oscar was my man of the match.
So in total, Brazil scored four goals in their opening game.
First goal of the tournament was an own goal, ouch... these things happen in football. Marcelo is a good player and a solid defender so we cant "crucify" him for that mistake.
Wow, the star of the moment, Neymar, 22yrs old, 50 Caps and 33 goals...what a statistic. This young man is destined for greatness. Hopefully he stays injury free.

THE VERDICT
It's finally here, the greatest tournament. It happens once every four years.
Who is your favorite to win this year's tournament?
What is your verdict on the opening game (Brazil vs Croatia)?
Who is/are your favorite player(s) in the competition?
What is your VERDICT?
Please leave a comment.

See you soon
The Verdict.

SUPER EAGLES: 23 PLAYERS... 2014 WORLD CUP

It is the biggest tournament in the world of football, all countries desire to participate in it and every player's dream is to represent his country. Each country picks their best 23 players to represent them.

A lot of preparations take place before the tournament. Most countries in the World (about 200) participate in the World Cup qualifiers where national teams are divided into groups in their continents. They play series of qualifying matches, at the end of the qualifiers, only 32 teams will participate in the World's greatest football event. To be a participant means you earned your spot and I must say a big congratulations to all 32 teams participating in this year's World Cup though a few missed out after all the hard work and efforts they put in.

I'm so proud of the Super Eagles of Nigeria for making it and I know with the right players we will go all the way in the tournament. How do we pick the right players? We need a team so strong, with a lot of drive to succeed. Do we have such a team? Absolutely YES, we have quality players in the team. Every player wants a spot in the team but not all players can make the list. There are a lot of heartbreaks when a player is dropped but the biggest heartbreak is a player picking up an injury just before the tournament, now that is really sad (prayers to the players that will miss the tournament because they got injured ) :(

 For years, we have heard of the "big boys" in the team, the ones that are unquestionable and can do as they please, knowing their positions are untouchable. We cannot deny there are indisciplined players in the team. I'm happy the coach says he will not tolerate any form of indiscipline in the team.
All players should be reminded it is a thing of pride to wear the national jersey, and for the love of football, you are not doing anyone a favour representing your country. It does not matter how much you earn or where you plight your trade, you are not bigger than your country. ;)

For the coach, here is your biggest test, how do you pick your players? What criteria does a coach use in selecting his players? Is it by merit? 'godfatherism'? Or bribes? Hmmm
Sometimes we are shocked when we see the team list. We ask questions; how did this player make the team? Why was that player dropped? But in the end, the coach has the final say and only he has the right to pick players. We are spectators, we love the game, we know the game, and we also want the best for our team. I have heard people talk about brown/White envelopes to make the team. I have also heard how some powerful godfathers impose the names of their wards on the coach. We can also not rule out coach's 'favourites' and 'coach's boys.

The above mentioned should not in any way be a criteria for selecting players. No, I'm not a coach but I know every player should earn a spot based on hard work, consistency, and most especially discipline. Overall, a player should make the team based on MERIT, yes, MERIT. The beginning of failure and discord in a team is when sentiment is used in selecting players. We already know, a lot of preparations lead up to the tournament and the performance of every player in different stages should be used in the selection process. White/brown envelopes should not be a way of making the team. It is unfair for a player to work hard and then be dropped for another player because the latter has a godfather or can afford to pay his way to make the team.

A 30man list just came out, some players were recalled to the team, I think they deserve to be there. Some were dropped... Ouch
What do you guys think about the list?
Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Austin Ejide, Chigozie Agbim, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Elderson Echiejile, Juwon Oshaniwa, Efe Ambrose, Godfrey Oboabona, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Kunle Odunlami
Midfielders: John Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, Ramon Azeez, Ejike Uzoenyi, Sunday Mba, Gabriel Reuben, Nosa Igiebor, Joel Obi, Michael Uchebo
Strikers: Ahmed Musa, Shola Ameobi, Victor Moses, Emmanuel Emenike, Osaze Odemwingie, Victor Nsofor, Babatunde Michael, Uche Nwafor, Nnamdi Oduamdi

THE VERDICT
There you go the 30 man list, 7 more will be dropped until we have the final 23 man list.
Were you shocked? Who should make the team? Who needs to be dropped?( Ouch). Who should be recalled or added?
Is this team good enough for the World Cup? Do you have your own list?
What is your Verdict?
See you soon,
The Verdict

SIX YEARS....THE VERDICT IS BACK

Now this is a very long break. Can't believe I have been away for 6yrs on this blog, yes SIX good years.
What have I been up to in the last 6yrs? a lot of things. Don't even know how to start explaining. The good thing is, I never stopped loving football, though I stopped writing.  I can say, my love for the beautiful game is SUPER, I keep falling in love over and over again.
While I have been busy working in different fields outside football, I'm happy to let you all know, I have being doing some work with some international footballers, yeah baby, I'm living my dream. I also have so many exciting projects I'm working on. All for the love of football, what can I say? I'm thankful for the exciting opportunities and I can't wait to share them with you all.
So happy The Verdict is back. Big year for football lovers, the FIFA World Cup 2014 is just around the corner. I can't wait to give my Verdict on this and I'm sure you all are ready to give your Verdicts. Yayyyy... Can we just start now please? Haha
Back to this baby of mine, "The Verdict"... how cool is the name?  I remember 6yrs ago when I decided to start blogging, I wanted a platform where I can express myself about this passion of mine and others can also contribute. I thought of different names for the blog and BOOM, I came up with "The Verdict"...
I'm a football lover, I enjoy watching the game, analyzing the game, and also getting off pitch news (gossip) hehe... We love that, don't even say NO!  Nothing beats watching a football game either on TV or watching it live in the stadium. Football is life!!!
This is a football blog, yes just football, we will talk everything football; football players, managers, different leagues, football tournaments, problems, solutions and some hot gossip. Are you getting excited already? ;)
You can post articles relating to football, give your verdicts and encourage the writer. I can not do it all alone, lets do this together. I promise you all a wonderful experience as I give my VERDICT on everything football.
The Verdict is special because you are so sure to get exclusive news about your players and behind the scenes...haha, players be warned, The Verdict is back!!
We all know there is only one language that brings the world together, and that language is FOOTBALL.
To the wonderful people who started this blog with me, I miss you all. I get your emails all the time, encouraging me to start writing again. I'm sorry I stayed away for so long, now I'm back. Lets make it better. And for the new lovers of The Verdict, I know it will be a great experience for us all and please read my old posts. I feel proud reading my old posts, and seeing everyday football is getting bigger and better. Yes, we can all do this.

See you soon.
What's your VERDICT?
The Verdict

So long......

Hey guys, I do not know where to start from. I am so sorry I was MIA. Yeah, so many things to do but I really do not have an excuse not to bring you all the juicy news and gossip in the world of football.
I hope you guys are doing great. Wow, in few days the year 2008 will be over. It was such a big year for us football lovers, players, clubs and even countries.
Some football Leagues are now on Christmas break and will be back in January. But the almighty Premier League is still very much active. I feel sorry for the Premier League players...no break for them to enjoy the Christmas celebration. But wait a minute, why do I feel sorry for them? these guys earn mega bucks, so keep playing..haha. I wish all the players a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Not forgetting the fans, believe me, without us there will be no hype in football, we make it more interesting, we have our different Clubs we support, we argue, we become friends and most especially we love the game.
On this note, I will like to say Congratulations to Osaze Odemwingie for winning the Best Player of the Year in Nigeria. He deserved it and I pray we see a better him in the coming year.
Also a big kudos to our very own Chinedu Obasi, his club Hoffenheim still sits at the top of the Bundesliga table. A lot of Big Clubs are out to get his signature. I hope he stays in the Club for now and wins the German Championship and Best player in the League. He is a big contender for the title. Well done Edu!
I must commend all our players in different Leagues, Obinna Nsofor; for breaking into the Inter Milan squad even with the big names. I can not mention all their names, but a big Well done to you all. And also our controversial Mikel Obi, a great job for the Blues this season and I hope he will become valuable to the Super Eagles.
I can go on and on about all the players but you all have done a good job so far.
To all the football lovers, especially those of you that love this site so much, thank you for all your support. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.
I promise this site will be better next year and there will be constant updates.

The Verdict...
So guys, what do you think about the players so far? Who has been outstanding? Who needs to step up their game? What do you want to see in the New Year from the players, Clubs, NFF?
Drop a line and good luck to you all.
See you soon.
The Verdict.

Black brothers on fire....

Wow, very good weekend in all the Leagues. For the love of football, I just wish I can watch different matches every day.
I must commend the Nigerian players in different Leagues for showing their class and making themselves relevant.
Last week I wrote an article on Chinedu Obasi's magnificent performance, the young lad did it again this past weekend, scoring another brace. I can see a contender for the Best Young African Player next year. Well done Edu. His Club Hoffenheim still sits at the top of the German Bundesliga table.

It was a good outing for Joseph Akpala in the Belgian League, he scored a brace for his side, Club Brugges. This is another great lad to watch out for, glad he is in the Super Eagles squad. Amodu, please give him a chance to play more.

Seyi Olofijana also registered his name in the scoring sheet this weekend, helping his side, Stoke City win against Arsenal (sorry Gunners). He scored the winning goal. We want to see more of that Seyi.

Another surprise came from our defender Taye Taiwo, he scored a goal for his Club, Olympic Marseille. I do love when defenders over lap and get a goal.

Obafemi Martins has done it again...It is a brace galore for our players. He scored a brace to help his side Newcastle win against Villa. Martins who just recovered from an injury, has put back his scoring boots. Good luck Oba goal.

The Verdict.....
Guys, our boys are getting the job done for their respective Clubs. We do have loads of talents in Nigeria and some are yet to be discovered.
With great performances every week from these lads, I guess we have nothing to fear and we must qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
What's your verdict on this? Drop a line.
Stay tuned and see you soon.
The Verdict

Friday brain teaser (How well do you know the EPL?)

Hey guys, just thought this would be interesting for Friday.
Can you answer the following questions correctly?

1. Oldest squad in the Premier League?
2. Player to have spent the most number of seasons at a Premier League club?
   
3. Player to have played for most number of clubs in Premier League?
   
4. Youngest squad in the Premier League?
5. Most common foreign nationality in Premier League?
6. Premier League club with most number of foreign players?
7. Premier League club with most home-based players?
8. Shortest player in Premier League?
9. Tallest player in Premier League?
10. Fattest player in Premier League?

Lets see how much you know about the Premier League players...
Good luck guys....
I will publish the answers next week, hopefully y'all would have answered the questions correctly.