NIGERIA BRAND OF FOOTBALL: 'Yori- Yori' Plays to the Gallery and Keep Fans Cheering

You may win all the matches! You may even qualify the country for FIFA world cup, but if the team doesn’t play the Nigerian way, then you’re toasted as a coach. Nigeria fans, media and indeed NFF officials will be on your neck until they strangle you out of the natonal team.

Description

There’s a way Nigerian teams love to play their football and keep the fans cheering. Afree flowing style, toasting the ball front and back at the midfield, making creative dribbles as if playing to the gallery. But pulling the opponent team out of the rear and then sending a long pass that connects the striker or any of the wingers, which may eventually result to a goal

Nigerian teams can be very combatant at midfield and defense, especially when the team loses the ball. But usually starts attack from the wings and country is blessed with very fast and vicious attackers. This brand of football is called Yori-yori!

Origin

Yori-yori is a blend of African physical style of play, flavored with Brazilian samba and the Dutch free flowing football. You may trace the origin of Yori-yori to some of the Brazilian and Dutch foreign coaches who were in charge of Nigeria national teams in the past.

Joe Erico, popularly known as ‘Jorgo Bonito exponent,’ a renowned coach both at the national team and club sides in Nigeria, Said: “Otto Gloria was the author of long pass in Nigeria, which he introduced to take advantage of some fast attackers in the national team then.” “We all know that Otto Glory is the Brazilian tactician that first won African Nations Cup for Nigeria in 1980.”

“We also had Father Tico, a great teacher of Brazilian samba and then, the Dutch duo, Clemence Westerhof and Johannes Bobfere that also infused some of the Dutch style into the national team.” Erico further explained.

Features

Yori-yori is perhaps the most entertaining brand of football in the world that fans easily connect with. No wonder Nigeria won the most entertaining team at the 1994 FIFA World cup in USA.

·         First, Nigeria teams are perhaps one of the few teams that observe the spiritual side of the game. The team usually performs ritual prayer, where the players gather in circle to pray before the start of a game, at half time, and after the game is won. This is one feature of Yori-yori.

·         Goal celebration is another feature of Yori-yori brand of football, Nigerian players have some unique ways of celebrating goals – flip back acrobatics, some typical African dance such as Suo, Galala, Alanta, Azonto…, Some even make motion that characterize some great animals such as spreading their hands like an eagle’s wings…

·         Nigeria football supporters club play a vital role in the display of Yori-yori brand. Thousands of its members clad in green-white-green uniforms and some in comic disguises, drum support for the team throughout match duration.

·         Nigeria fans have some peculiar Yori-yori chants that fire up the team: “ea, ea, ea, oh, oh oh!” or “All we are saying give us more goals!” these chants seem to motivate the team to play more to the gallery.

Philosophy

Some football philosopher say Nigerian brand of football doesn’t follow any recognizable pattern, but has some stint of mystic ravels. Yori-yori defile all text book theories and analsis of football science. It is usually difficult for European and Asian teams to fathom how to contain this style of play.

Sometimes, the Nigerian team seems to lose concentration and its competitiveness may pile low for most of the time. Don’t think the team has lost the match. Nigeria teams have had the most incredible and dramatic come backs in football history.