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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cFinidi Ball\u201d can be fascinating, frustrating, or downright intriguing, depending on who you are and why you\u2019re watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember taking a group of sports journalists to Omoku during Finidi George\u2019s first pre-season camp as a coach at Enyimba. At Krisdera Hotel Stadium, he explained what his football philosophy would look like, and we saw glimpses of it in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Rivers United, that philosophy has evolved. When the pitch is good, the team plays beautifully: slow, deliberate build-ups from the back, patient passing, and sudden strikes when opportunity appears. That\u2019s Finidi Ball, no rush, no panic, just calm, methodical football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for the average Nigerian fan, it can be nerve-racking, especially when the team needs a goal. The instinct is to shout, \u201cPlay long balls!\u201d But Finidi stays seated, trusting the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the match in Uyo, after Wasiu Falolu and Maclyn Biokpo put Rivers United 2- 0 ahead, it looked like a done deal until Moctar Diallo\u2019s goal for Black Bullets made it 2\u20131. With Bullets ahead on away goals, tension rose. Yet Finidi didn\u2019t flinch. No touchline theatrics, no shouting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fans were angry. \u201cWhy is he not yelling instructions? Why are we not attacking?\u201d But Rivers United just kept playing their way. Finidi Ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the match, Finidi simply said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBlack Bullets were not a better team than us. I was never under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calm. Classic. Finidi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full House at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The atmosphere was electric, with football royalty everywhere. The NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau, and NPFL Chief of Operations, Davidson Owumi, were in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t get to speak with Owumi (the league\u2019s top scorer in 1985), but I did share a quick word with Gusau. My parting words to him were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI like what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He laughed, slapped me on the shoulder, and we moved on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just weeks earlier, I\u2019d told him he needed to be more visible. As the face of Nigerian football he should speak often and directly. And to his credit, days later he did just that: videos, interviews, statements too. He listened. That\u2019s why I meant it when I said I liked what he was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CAF Champions League Group Stage: A Long Time Coming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1998, Eagle Cement FC, coached by David Egbiri, became the first Nigerian club to reach the CAF Champions League group stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, Rivers United, under Finidi George, became the first in seven years to do it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love him or loathe him, Finidi has achieved something symbolic, a reminder that progress comes in small steps. Critics may scoff, asking why Nigerians celebrate mere group-stage qualification while others win the trophy. But progress deserves recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations to Finidi George, Rivers United, and Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goodbye, Pikin of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n On my way back to Port Harcourt, the news hit me- Promise Uwaeme, popularly known as Pikin of God, was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m still in shock. All I can pray is, \u201cMay your soul rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I met Pikin of God in Omoku around 2017, and we became friends instantly. Whenever he came to Port Harcourt, he\u2019d call two days ahead, and we\u2019d always find time to hang out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2020, just before the COVID lockdown, I was in Abuja and he visited my hotel, promising to design the cover of my first book for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, when I travelled to Abuja to film a documentary on Nigeria\u2019s AFCON-winning players, he was right there helping with interviews of Brown Ideye, Ogenyi Onazi, and Fegor Ogude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A cheerful soul. A true professional. A friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goodbye, Pikin of God. You were a gentleman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By China Acheru When Taiwo whipped that freekick into the box and it was headed out to the feet of Stephen Manyo, the fans at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium probably feared it would be another wasted Rivers United attack. But Manyo\u2019s pass found Timothy Zechariah, who controlled the ball neatly with his right foot, turned, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-new-featured-sports-stories"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17.jpeg",1000,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17-278x300.jpeg",278,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17-768x829.jpeg",640,691,true],"large":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17-948x1024.jpeg",640,691,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17.jpeg",1000,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.17.jpeg",1000,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"china","author_link":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/author\/china\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By China Acheru When Taiwo whipped that freekick into the box and it was headed out to the feet of Stephen Manyo, the fans at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium probably feared it would be another wasted Rivers United attack. But Manyo\u2019s pass found Timothy Zechariah, who controlled the ball neatly with his right foot, turned,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"WhatsApp](\"https:\/\/chinaacheru.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-11-18-at-13.42.16-1024x680.jpeg\" "\\"ANOTHER")
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