Yobo Wants More Foreign Pros In Eagles Defence

Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo yesterday made a passionate appeal for more foreign based Eagles defenders to be drafted into the team for greater understanding and strength.

Yobo who addressed the press at the NFF secretariat in Abuja where he had gone to pay the leadership of the football federation a courtesy call said he enjoyed playing with the home based players in the defence but there is need for more experienced foreign based defenders to come in and lend a helping hand.

He said the home based defenders are good but being the only foreign based player in the defence puts him under serious pressure due to lack of enough understanding.

The Eagles captain maintained that in the match against the Lone Star of Liberia, he was paired with three home based defenders and that made things really difficult for him because it was not easy for to adjust to playing with the home boys.

Yobo therefore said if at least two more foreign based players are brought in to help man the defence, it would help reduce the pressure on him just as he said it would also help bring stability in the very important area.

He maintained that the home-based Eagles have shown promises but they need to play along with their more experienced colleagues because playing in the defence requires experience which he said cannot be bought in the market.

His words: They are good players who are still developing. When you play in certain positions, the more you play with some regular players, the more you understand them and the more you blend with them.

"But been the only foreign based player in the Eagles defence gives me pressure now. We are playing abroad and they are here, sometimes you find it difficult to adjust. This is very obvious. The players I paired with are good players, no doubt, but it can be difficult, playing with players you are not familiar with.

"You can see I paired with three local based players in the defence, They have shown that they can hold their own and match the foreign based. But it is difficult playing with people that you not familiar with. If you ask my opinion, I will want at least two home based and two foreign based to man the defence, may be that will give me a little bit of balance and this key area need a lot of understanding among the players.

"I say this because I know that you cannot buy experience in the defence position. The language is a little bit different. But they are doing great and I am very happy with all of them".