Nigerian Super Eagles Team of the Decade (2010 - 2019 )

In this decade, the Super Eagles missed out of 2 editions of the Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

In 2013, the late Stephen Keshi led Nigeria to win the AFCON title in South Africa against all hurdles.

And recently in Egypt 2019 AFCON tournament, the Super Eagles marked their return to the biennial tournament with a third place finish ( bronze medal).

Here is the shortlist of Super Eagles players according to their contribution in the 2010s.

Vincent Enyeama 

He was part of the national team from 2002 to October 2015, serving as captain from 2013 until his retirement.

He had 101 caps, 3 FIFA World Cup appearances, and 1 AFCON title.

William Troost Ekong

He made his debut in 2015 (AFCON qualifier vs Chad). He formed a brilliant defensive partnership with Leon Balogun at some point for the Super Eagles.

He won bronze at Afcon 2019 in Egypt, and he also participated at the 2018 FIFA world cup in Russia.

Kenneth Omeruo 

On 9th of January 2013 at the age of 19, he made his Super Eagles debut in a goalless draw vs Cape Verde.

He played in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups in Brazil and Russia respectively.

He won AFCON 2013 title and AFCON 2019 bronze medal.

He also played in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Efe Ambrose

He was formerly a central defender, he played a key role when Nigeria won the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

He was also involved in 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Elderson Echiejile

He won AFCON title in 2013, and featured in 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

He was never on the losing side in 18 world cup qualifiers  matches with the Super Eagles with a record 13 wins and 5 draws.

John Obi Mikel

In his 14 years of international career which began in 2005 after starring at the U-20 World Cup in that same year, and was brought to a glittering end in 2019, he played 88 times and scored 6 goals only.

The Ex-Super Eagles captain won the AFCON title in 2013 and a bronze medal in AFCON 2019. He also played in two different editions of the FIFA World Cup (2014 and 2018).

Ogenyi Onazi

He made his debut for the national team in 2012 having represented the nation at U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria in 2009.

Injuries and inconsistency shortlive his time with the Super Eagles.

Whenever he is fit, he was a regular starter for the Super Eagles until 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where he was an unused substitute.

Victor Moses 

He was one of  the super Eagles best players in 2013 Afcon winning Squad and he was named in  Caf's Best X1 of the tournament.

He played in 2014 and 2018 FIFA world cups .

He had 38 appearances for the National team and he scored just 12 goals.

Ahmed Musa

Our current captain is a veteran of two world cups and two AFCON editions respectively.

He has scored 4 world cup goals, 1 AFCON title and 1 bronze title. He is the super Eagles unofficial go-to-guy at FIFA world cups in this decade.

Emmanuel Emenike

He played from 2011 - 2014.

He was the 2013 Afcon topscorer, and he had one Afcon title.

He formed a good striking force with Brown Ideye for Super Eagles.

He retired on 20th of October, 2015.

Odion Ighalo 

He played for our darling national team from 2015 to 2019. He was 2019 Afcon topscorer for the qualifiers and tournament proper with 

7 goals and 5 goals respectively.

After his poor scoring performance, at the 2018 FIFA world cup in Russia, he faces a lot of criticism from football fans.

He called it a day with the super Eagles after winning bronze medal in Egypt 2019 Afcon championship.

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst

The Most expensive football transfers of the last decade

The evolution of football from just a sport to a commercial juggernaut has been fascinating and interesting to fans.

Once upon a time, when footballers played the game of soccer, they usually do have a regular day job.

Presently however, footballers are among the richest sportsperson in the world, and a look at how the transfer fees have escalated over the years is amazing.

Even so, four of the ten most expensive signings in the last one decade involved the purchase or sales of English Premier League players.

Spanish La liga clubs have spent the most on top talents, signing six of the top 10 most expensive players of the last decade.

In 2017/18 season, the league secured a record revenue of 4.48 billion pounds.

Here are the shortlist of Players that made it into this list;

10. Cristiano Ronaldo 

The superstar joined Real madrid from Manchester United for the then world-record fee of 80 million pounds in July 2009.

He became a legend at the Bernabeu with over 450 goals scored, alongside winning numerous titles and awards in his glittering career.

In July 2018, he joined Juventus from Real madrid for a fee of 88.3 million pounds at the age of 33 years.

So far in Turin, he has scored 46 goals in 70 games till date and has won a scuddetto title to add to his many laurels.

9. Paul Pogba 

He returned to his boyhood club, after leaving as a free agent in his teenage years.

Manchester United had to coughed out 89.3 million pounds to Juventus in August 2016 to signed Pogba.

The fee paid for him remains the highest fee paid by an English club for a player.

He has 168 appearances with 31 goals so far, and he has won the league cup and the Europa league with the red side of Manchester. 

8. Eden Hazard 

The Belgian playmaker cost more than double of what was paid for the 10th priciest footballer signed between year 2000 and 2009 - Ronaldo Nazario cost 40.5 million pounds then.

Despite having just a year left on his contract, Real Madrid paid a fee of 90 million pounds to Chelsea in 2019 to obtain the service of Hazard.

So far, he has played 21 games with 2 goals and 

2 assists to show for it.

7. Gareth Bale

The Welshman's transfer to the galaticos from Tottenham cost a fee of 90.9 million pounds back in 2014.

In Real Madrid, he has made 245 appearances scoring 104 goals and contributing 67 assists. A league title and 4 champions league titles are the laurels he has won so far with the team.

6. Ousmane Dembele 

He was signed from Borussia Dortmund to replace Neymar in Barcelona for a record fee of 105 million pounds, plus a reported 40 million pounds add- ons on August 25, 2017.

With his buy-out clause set at 400 million pounds.

Despite not shining the light as expected yet, the former Rennes forward has played 81 games for the catalonia side, scoring 20 goals and making 14 assists.

5. Antoine Griezmann 

The 208 World  Cup winner was signed by Barcelona on a fee of 107.6 million pounds from Atletico Madrid in July 2019.

Since joining in the summer, the French jewel has made 26 appearances with 10 goals and 4 assists as his contribution.

4. Joao Felix 

Atletico Madrid 's massive outlay of 126 million pounds in July 2019 for Benfica wizkid Felix is the second most expensive fee paid for a teenager after Mbappe in history.

He is regarded as one of the best talents in world football at the moment but has so far played 13 games and scored just 3 goals.

3. Philippe Coutinho 

The Brazilian playmaker moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for 130.5 million pounds in January 2018.

He played 54 games and scored only 11 goals for the catalans before joining Bayern Munich on a loan deal for 2 years in the summer of 2019.

2. Kylian Mbappe 

He is the most expensive teenager ever after joining Paris Saint-Germain on a loan deal from rival club Monaco in 2017. PSG later paid 165 million pounds to complete the deal.

So far with the Paris based club, the teenage World Cup star has played 114 games and has scored 82 goals.

1. Neymar Jr 

At the moment, he is the most expensive player ever at 199.5 million pounds.

His 2017 transfer from Barcelona to Paris  Saint-Germain cost 236% of Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid fee.

So far, he has been a decent player for the French giants, scoring 55 goals in 63 games.

His career in France though has been marred by controversies and injuries, which might be interpreted by some in certain quarters as being a wrong signing by PSG.

Which players will break the transfer record in the coming years?

Let's have your comments below.

Fabiyi Ridwan

Sports Writer and Analyst

The Greatest Superstars of all-time

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are arguably the best footballers of this century.

They have scored a combined 704 league goals during the 2010s - the exact same number Arsenal FC scored in the English Premier League this past decade.

They've shattered countless records in the footballing scenery for years, a combined total of 11 Ballon D'or awards between them isn't enough to sum it all up.

Italian Serie A's best players of the last decade

Juventus has won 8 straight scudetto titles in the last one decade.

The Old Lady of Turin also won 4 consecutive domestic doubles between 2015 to 2018 under 

Massimiliano Allegri - the only coach to achieved this feat in the top 5 European leagues till date.

We look at some of the best players that has graced the pitch of Serie A in the last decade (2010 - 2019)

Andrea Pirlo

He lived a golden era when he played at AC Milan during the  2000s. Pirlo is the epitome of coolness and gracefulness in football.

He hoovered up 4 Scudettos with the Old Lady and made four Serie A team of the year appearances. Also winning three Serie A footballer of the year awards in that circle.

The Change of Fortune and Turnaround in the Pensioners history

In July 2003, British businessman Ken Bates sold Chelsea FC to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for 140 million pounds.

Since 2003, Abramovich has spent a whooping 92.9 million pounds on managerial compensations.