Friday, January 27, 2023
Soccernet.ng
  • Home
  • Leagues
    • EPL
    • NPFL
    • La Liga
    • Seria A
    • Ligue 1
  • Live Scores
  • App
  • Videos
  • Lifestyle
  • Betting
No Result
View All Result
Soccernet.ng
No Result
View All Result

“He is not a smart striker” – Japanese defender lashes at Nigeria’s most prolific forward in Europe over the last three years

Imhons Erons by Imhons Erons
1 day ago
in News, NewsNow, Nigeria, This Week, Top, Transfers
3
“He is not a smart striker” – Japanese defender lashes at Nigeria’s most prolific forward in Europe over the last three years
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Japanese centre-back has only spent a year in Belgium, facing the Super Eagles forward twice

KV Kortrijk defender Tsuyoshi Watanabe has taken a huge swipe at Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu, suggesting that the KRC Genk star is not as smart as his goal record suggests.

A close observation of Onuachu’s goal account reveals that the forward is the most prolific Nigerian attacker in any of Europe’s first leagues since the start of the 2020/2021 season.

Onuachu, using his height advantage, intelligent movement, and finishing nous, has scored 62 league goals for Genk over the last two and a half seasons, more than any of his countrymen.

Tsuyoshi Watanabe, who arrived in Belgium in December 2021, is one of the defenders who has been on the receiving end of Onuachu’s penalty box prowess.

Three months after the Japanese defender joined Kortrijk, he was not named in the team’s squad that lost to an Onuachu-inspired Genk at the Cegeka Arena.

Onuachu scored the first and assisted the second in a straightforward 2-0 win for the Smurfs last February.

Paul Onuachu and Tsuyoshi Watanabe’s first face-off, however, came in October with the Nigerian claiming the bragging rights at the final whistle.

The KRC Genk striker scored both goals to hand his side a 2-1 home victory in a matchday 11 fixture.

Watanabe edged the most recent meeting between the two, though, keeping Onuachu quiet for 68 minutes before the striker was replaced. Uruguayan forward Felipe Avenatti scored the only goal of the encounter as Kortrijk ran out 1-0 winners at the Guldensporenstadion in December.

And despite his engaging duel with Onuachu, Watanabe believes the striker is not as smart as his Kortrijk teammate, Avennatti, who has six league goals, eight fewer than Onuachu’s haul.

What has been said? 

In an interview with Nieuwsblad, Watanabe was asked to compare the Japanese and Belgian leagues, and in his response, the 25-year-old launched his unprovoked attack against Onuachu.

“(The Japanese league) has smarter and more technical players than the Belgian,” Watanabe said.

“Many duels are fought here between big boys. Take the match against Genk now. I faced Onuachu. A good player, but not a smart striker. He only uses his body and I managed to win many headers from him.

“Avenatti was the best striker I ever had to defend against. Last year in the duel against Beerschot, he made it quite difficult for us and scored once. Avenatti is big, but he has a lot of technique and that makes it difficult for a defender.”

Southampton-linked Onuachu has 14 league goals this term, with his contribution helping Genk to establish a six-point lead at the top of the Jupiler Pro League.

Tags: GenkKortrijkPaul OnuachuSuper Eagles
Share6Tweet4

Imhons Erons

Imhons Erons

Comments 3

  1. TAIMTN says:
    1 day ago

    I agree with the Japanese. Onuachu is not a good player. We have seen him play for Eagles. He should never be invited to camp. It appears he has benefactors in NFF to be called to camp always

    Reply
  2. Emeka igbokwe says:
    4 hours ago

    Auttaring nonsense smarter or not most importantly is scoring goals is the main thing here

    Reply
  3. Chris Ogige says:
    11 mins ago

    Football is all about goal scoring, you can’t win if you don’t score goals. I think this is just pure jealousy.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

U-20 AFCON: Mphande reveals Zambia’s “readiness” to lock horns with the Flying Eagles

Extent of Ejuke’s injury revealed

Former Napoli attacker says keeping Victor Osimhen will be “difficult”

Onome Ebi: Super Falcons captain breaks silence after being axed by Levante Las Planas

Bassey’s boss at Ajax gets sacked

Soccernet.ng

Copyright © 2022 Soccernet Media Limited.

Navigate Site

  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy policy
  • Contact us
  • App

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Leagues
    • EPL
    • NPFL
    • La Liga
    • Seria A
    • Ligue 1
  • Live Scores
  • App
  • Videos
  • Lifestyle
  • Betting

Copyright © 2022 Soccernet Media Limited.