Time for Rohr to show some courage and end this goalkeeping indecision once and for all

One look at this goalkeeping training video will answer all the questions Nigerian football fans have been asking about the goalkeeping situation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ryxgRi-D3g

(1) It shows you the extensive training major leagues put their goalkeepers through

(2) They practise everything including using plastic mats with water on them

(3) They even have dummies in place to deflect shots to test the keepers reflexes

(4) I remember when Vince Enyeama went for training at Bolton and Charlton after winning the African Champions League with Enyimba. He said he learnt more in those two weeks than he did in five years at Enyimba

(5) Goalkeeping is the most technical position on the pitch. Sheer talent will only get you so far

(6) Only an enemy of Nigeria would suggest going to the World Cup with an untrained goalkeeper

(7) Now, this is the kind of training Francis Uzoho will get at Deportivo La Coruna daily

(8) Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa are two classes below this with regards to the type of training they get

(9) How to line up your wall, how to position your hands for set pieces, how deep to get your defenders to sit, etc are all things that only the likes of Enyeama, Uzoho, Alampasu and maybe Aiyenugba would have been taught

(10) At some stage, we need to establish a goalkeeping academy in Nigeria, so the clubs can take it on from there. We cannot be a serious footballing nation without proper goalkeeping training

For me, this goalkeeping debate is redundant. I am not the national team coach but were I, this would be my final ruling on the matter:

[1] Francis Uzoho

He would be my number choice goalkeeper without a doubt. Uzoho gets exposed to the best training facilities at Deportivo la Coruna and despite his tender age, the team has seen it fit to feature him in la Liga games. Now, Deportivo La Coruna rotate their four goalkeepers, who incidentally include Romania's national team goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon and Przemyslaw Tyton, the Polish international. For Uzoho to be given a starting short despite being in the country of such experienced and illustrious keepers is testimony to his quality.

Given the fact that he will not get a full complement of games over the course of the season, I would actually love it if Uzoho went out o loan somewhere else in La Liga for the rest of the season so he can get regular and consistent playing time. Even if he does not, he is head and shoulders above any other Nigerian goalkeeper at the moment.

[2] Dele Aiyenugha

Despite not playing for the national team since 2011, Dele Aiyenugba has remained a top class goalkeeper by any standards. Currently playing with Hapoel Ashkelon of Israel, he sees action week-in-week-out and has remained fit and match-ready.

Aged 34, Dele has bags of experience under his belt and if we are looking for a safe pair of hands to be our number two in Russia, I would take Dele. He is not a long term option but at least he will suffice for the 2018 World Cup, after which we can return to looking at the younger goalkeepers on offer.

[3] Dele Alampasu

Voted the best goalkeeper at the 2013 U17 World Cup, Dele looked set to conquer the world but unfortunately, his career has not taken of as we all expected. Despite his inactivity for Portuguese side Feirense, Dele remains supremely talented and is exposed to some of the best training available in the game. he certainly gets a lot more exposure than the likes of Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa.

I take the view that Dele will still come good with time as talent will eventually shine through and given his tender age of 20, I can see him becoming a household name over the next four years. Nigeria should persevere with him and take him to the World Cup for exposure. He will learn a lot from the experience.

Ladies and gentlemen, for me this is where the matter ends and begins. I would not even give it another mention as it is now becoming an unnecessary distraction. Now, who would be my standby goalkeeper? Maybe Akpan Udoh, another young goalkeeper, who can also learn a lot from the experience.

In football, there is a sdaying that if you are good enough, you are old enough. look at some goalkeepers who went on to become greats after making their inrternational debuts asd teenagers.

Young Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy's senior team under Cesare Maldini on 29 October 1997, at the age of 19 years and nine months, as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during the first leg of the 1998 World Cup qualification play-off against Russia, in Moscow.

With this cap, Buffon became the youngest goalkeeper to feature for Italy post-World War II, however, his record was beaten by Gianluigi Donnarumma on 1 September 2016. Buffon came on in the 31st minute and made notable saves under snowy conditions in a 1–1 away draw, including an important stop from a Dmitri Alenichev shot, only being beaten by a Fabio Cannavaro own goal.

That result helped Italy to qualify for the upcoming World Cup 2–1 on aggregate. Buffon was a member of the squad for the 1998 World Cup finals, initially as the third choice goalkeeper but after an injury to starting goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, however, Buffon was promoted to second-choice goalkeeper behind Pagliuca, with Francesco Toldo being called up as third-choice.

Young Casillas

Iker Casillas debuted for the Spain national team in June 2000 at the age of 19. To date, he has made a national record 167 appearances, making him the joint sixth-most capped male footballer in history, alongside Vitālijs Astafjevs and the joint second-most capped European player of all time, behind only Gianluigi Buffon.

He became the nation's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 Fifa World Cup, at the age of just 21 and went on to play at Uefa Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.  Following his full international debut at the senior level on 3 June 2000 against Sweden (at 19 years and 14 days), Casillas was an unused substitute at Euro 2000.

He was part of the roster for the 2002 World Cup, initially as the understudy to Santiago Cañizares but became first-choice when Cañizares had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury from a freak accident. At 21, Casillas was one of the youngest first-choice goalkeepers in the tournament.