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BRAND MATTERS: Celebrities and brand endorsement

I have over the
years taken pains to read more about our so called celebrities in the
entertainment and showbiz world. Whenever I read a piece on such
celebrities, I find their portrayal in the pieces of information about
them shocking. Only last week, I read about an actress who said she
flaunts her breasts as the only way to express gratitude to God. Others
are divorced, while some are involved in questionable deals.

Who are
celebrities? It is saddening that in Nigeria, the word ‘celebrity’ is
only limited to people in showbiz, entertainment, music, fashion etc.
However, to me, celebrities are people who have made their marks in
their chosen fields of human endeavour without necessarily having their
private lives splashed on the pages of newspapers. They even make more
impact in promoting brand values and influencing consumers.

A good case in
point is the Intern Reality Show sponsored by Bank PHB where a leading
Advertising practitioner and towering role model, Biodun Sobanjo, was
the moderator. Mr. Sobanjo’s personality rubbed off positively on the
brand and its initiative due to his inimitable clout within the
industry. Several people indicated interest in the programme when he
was announced as the anchor person. This is one man who has proved his
mettle in his chosen field.

Celebrity
endorsement remains a popular tool for marketers; its relevance is
increasing over the years as marketers acknowledge the power of
celebrities in influencing purchase decisions of consumers. This can
bestow special attributes upon a brand. A celebrity can indeed be a
powerful tool in promoting a brand, as s/he brings distinct identity
and added value to it.

However, there
should be a link between the brand and the celebrity. In the case of
Sobanjo, his personality clearly matched the brand, as young men were
tutored on how to make boardroom and business decisions. His own skills
in these were key parameters which qualified him for the task.

It is important to
reiterate that the popularity rating of Bank PHB Intern Show increased
considerably with the presence of Sobanjo, who is synonymous with a
great deal of business acumen and professional expertise. Companies
should see this as a good way to make use of celebrities in enhancing
brand image. There was a higher degree of recall for the intern show
and it equally enjoyed mass appeal while it lasted.

These and many more
are the advantages of celebrity endorsements that are done the right
way. It was also a good public relations campaign for Bank PHB, as the
bank cannot be rated amongst the leading banks. The programme sustained
the visibility ratings of the bank and promoted favourable perception.

There is another
instance of a juice brand that made use of a popular actor, which to me
is not a match for the brand. This is because the celebrity was
situated within the context of fun, entertainment, and excitement for
children. The personality of the celebrity has never been synonymous
with relating with children, even though the area of fun in home video
is noted. Such a brand needs a celebrity that has consistently
associated with children, to influence young ones to connect to the
brand.

Despite all the
enormous benefits of celebrity endorsements, brand managers should be
wary of some celebrities. The fact is that while companies need
celebrities to promote their brands, there is the need to exercise a
great deal of caution. Some celebrities may derogate after endorsing
the brand. There can also be inconsistencies in their professional
ratings. They are human too, and can also create image problems for the
brand.

When the right celebrity is sourced for the brand, it leads to
instant brand awareness, as celebrities define and refresh brand image.

Money

Ivorien cocoa growers protest against sanctions

Ivorien cocoa growers protest against sanctions

Several hundred of
cocoa growers chanting anti-European slogans marched to the European
Union (EU) offices in Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday and burned a pile of
cocoa sacks to protest against sanctions crippling the industry.

A pile of several
60-kg sacks of beans were set ablaze as planters carried banners
reading ‘Shame on the EU’ and ‘No to economic slavery’, and gathered
outside the European Union’s Abidjan headquarters in the late morning.

There were no reports of violence. The cocoa industry in the country
is grinding to a halt, partly because of the EU sanctions on incumbent
leader, Laurent Gbagbo, and his supporters after his refusal to quit
power.

Money

Egypt’s developer takes cautious stance for 2011

Egypt’s developer takes cautious stance for 2011

SODIC, Egypt’s
third-biggest listed developer, said it is assuming zero sales for 2011
after three weeks of political unrest had unnerved investors.

The high-end real
estate firm, which does not fully recognise revenue until it delivers
units, has a strong cash position, limited outstanding debt and land
debt, as well as strong cash flows, its chief executive said.

“To be totally
conservative in working out cash flows, is our objective – to make sure
our cash flows are more than sufficient to tide us through – we are
assuming zero sales for 2011,” Maher Maksoud told Reuters, adding that
he remained optimistic about the long-term outlook.

Money

OIL POLITICS: The price of a vote

OIL POLITICS: The price of a vote

Whether the voters’
registration exercise has ended or not is not the issue many Nigerians
are talking about these days. The concerns about that exercise are
largely about the huge sums spent on its execution compared to the
number of voters actually registered.

The electoral
commission informed us that about 60 million Nigerians have been
registered to vote in the April 2010 elections. That is not too bad
considering that they had a target of about 70 million. What may sour
the statistics would be if the cases of multiple registrations were
identified, weeded out, and the total number is big enough to reduce
the overall number of voters substantially.

Some analysts claim
that the electoral commission spent N1, 500 per voter if they
registered 60 million. If this number gets whittled down, it would mean
that the cost of registering one voter might actually be higher than
this estimate.

Some preliminary
questions that come to mind are with regard to the actual value of a
voter’s card. Is it worth N1, 500 or more? Can the value be enhanced by
certain factors or is it plain crazy trying to price the card at all?
If voting is a right, can you price your right?

The second layers
of questions are to do with the reasons why some people engaged in
multiple registrations with one person getting caught with as many as
four cards! One can only imagine how many times they had their finger
prints captured and how they must have laughed at the high tech system
that was not networked and thus could be fooled at will. The electoral
commission says they will weed out multiple registrations when all
captured data are downloaded into their central system. We shall see.

What will happen to
those who are still in possession of multiple cards and are far from
getting caught? When will they know that they have been weeded out? It
is possible that some may even get through to the voting period without
being caught at any time. If that happens, what will be the value of
their stock of cards? Will they choose to sell the cards or would they
vote for all candidates and so stand a chance of claiming that they
voted for whosoever won?

It is not likely
that a voter who risked all to obtain multiple cards would want to use
them for fun. It is reasonable to assume that the intention is to make
merchandise of the cards and sell to the highest bidder, who would
probably not pay the owner to carry out the multiple voting but would
simply purchase the cards and find some ways of using them in more
reliable ways that would eliminate the treachery that could occur in
the voting booth away from watchful eyes.

Although vote
buying may be entrenched in Nigeria, it is not a peculiarly Nigerian
phenomenon or invention. When one looks back into history, there are
several cases where vote buying was entrenched and was openly
advertised. Such cases can be found in the history of the United States
of America and in several other places.

In 1812 Britain, a
certain noble man, George Venables-Vernon, left his son-in-law, “one
sum not exceeding £5,000 towards the purchase of a seat in Parliament.”
Office purchases and related practices were eventually halted through a
1883 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act.

In the
nineteen-century USA, the price of votes were often quoted, even in
newspapers. One paper, The Elizabethtown Post, reportedly quoted the
price of a vote in Ulster County as being $25.

Whereas vote
selling and buying has transformed into other phenomena in the Western
world, such as campaign donations and lobbying, it is still possible to
see it in many countries in Africa. In fact, in some African countries,
where vote buying does not suffice, an incumbent loser can simply
refuse to vacate office. After much haggling, they may decide to share
offices with presumed winners and carry on as if nothing happened. Or
you may end up with two presidents.

Analysts have seen
that the price of a vote could vary even within the same country and
the office for which the politician is seeking. For example, where the
national legislature is more powerful in terms of determining the
direction of the state and the office of the president is merely
ceremonial, then the vote for a legislator becomes more costly.

The average cost of
a vote for those seeking election to the national assembly in Sao Tome
and Principe in their 2006 election was said to be about $7.10,
although in the capital this was five times more costly. The price of a
vote for the presidency was slightly more than half of that for the
national assembly because the president wields power mainly on issues
of foreign affairs and defence. With oil revenue’s floodgates opening
up, those who have more influence over the economy pay more to garner
the needed votes to sit over the pie.

In Nigeria, the
votes can easily be arranged in a hierarchy of prices starting from the
vote for a local government councillor to that for the president. What
may be a bit tricky to rank would be the price differential between the
vote for a senator and that for a governor. The confusion comes from
the fact that many former governors forget that they had governed whole
states and often angle to represent a third of their states as senators.

However, in terms
of which office is more lucrative (via corruption), that of the
governor takes the cake, no matter how much salaries and perks the
senators legislate for themselves. If people got elected to provide
selfless service, vote buying, ballot box snatching (a form of
wholesale purchase of votes), and electoral violence would not be the
norm.

What is the price of your vote?

Money

Adamu’s appeal denies Galadima CAF seat

Adamu’s appeal denies Galadima CAF seat

This week in Sudan, Nigeria’s representative Ibrahim Galadima
will be seeking to secure a seat on FIFA’s executive board but his aspiration
for a seat on the Confederation of Africa Football has been blocked by Amos
Adamu’s appeal at the Court Arbitration for Sports.

This was revealed to Nigeria Minister of Sports, Taoheed
Adedoja, in Sudan on Friday by Confederation of African Football President,
Issa Hayatou. Hayatou told the head of the Nigerian delegation that since
Adamu’s case is on appeal, his seat in the confederation cannot be said to be
vacant. Adamu’s term in CAF does not expire until 2013, but his tenure in FIFA
has run its course which is why Galadima will be contesting for that position.

Adamu had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports after
the FIFA Appeals Committee upheld sanctions placed on him by FIFA’s Ethics
Committee for breaching the code of ethics of the world’s football governing
body. The Ethics Committee had in December 2010 banned Adamu from all football
related issues for three years for his role in the cash-for-vote scandal during
the World Cup bid process.

His first appeal was thrown out in January before he turned to
his last resort, the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

Frantic moves were made to persuade him to drop the appeal for
Nigeria’s gain but to no avail, a move that football watchers have said will be
detrimental to Galadima’s bid come Wednesday.

The FIFA seat

Galadima is locked in a six-way battle for one of two FIFA seats
made available to CAF, which is headed by Cameroonian, Issa Hayatou. Hayatou,
who has been at the head of CAF for 24 years, is automatically guaranteed a
seat on FIFA’s executive committee.

The first seat was initially occupied by Adamu, while the second
became vacant because the term of Cote d’Ivoires’s Jacques Anouma has come to
an end.

Galadima will be up against Zambia’s Kalusha Bwalya, Suketu
Patel of the Seychelles, Mohamed Raouraoua of Algeria, Danny Jordaan of South
Africa and Jacques Bernard Anouma of Cote d’Ivoire, who is seeking re-election.

Weak support

Some Nigerians say Galadima’s chances and indeed Nigeria’s of
retaining the FIFA seat is slim even though the country’s delegation to Sudan
includes the Minister of Sports, Taoheed Adedoja, Patrick Ekeji and Aminu
Maigari.

“The entire process has been mismanaged, mishandled and over
politicised by all those that are involved. It is a national project in which
the President, Vice President and the entire federal executive council should
have taken seriously,” Ahmed Gara Gombe said, adding that Galadima’s chances
are slim.

“The dual nomination for a seat has presented Nigeria as lacking
in foresight and direction. Adedoja should have realised that Adamu’s suspension
left no caveat for him to fall on. As a minister of the Federal Republic, he
should have concentrated efforts on ensuring that Nigeria’s real candidate
enjoys the backing of the federal government instead devoting resources on
beating a dead horse,” Gombe added, referring to Adamu’s first appeal, which
was eventually thrown out by FIFA’s Appeals Committee.

For his part, Galadima has said it is not a do or die affair.
“I’m not desperate for the position and never lobbied to be nominated,” he
said. “No one was born a CAF/FIFA executive member and no one will so die.”

Jordaan favoured

The 33rd CAF Ordinary Assembly will be attended by
representatives of the 53-affiliated National Associations, to review the
activities of the previous year, approve financial statements, elect members on
the Executive Committee and discuss issues relating to the development of the
game on the continent. It is the third time Sudan is hosting the General
Assembly, having held it in 1970 and 2007.

Danny Jordaan, who was the chairman of the Local Organising
Committee of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, said he is pulling out of the
CAF Executive Committee election to seek the FIFA seat.

“I am standing for election to the FIFA executive because I feel
I can make a contribution towards the development of football across the
continent and the world. I think the experience I gained working on various
FIFA organs for the past 20 years has given me the background to what’s needed
to make a difference,” said Jordaan, who is considered a favourite for the FIFA
seat.

Whoever gets to be elected will be expected to help Africa develop the game
domestically and improve its lot in international competitions.

Sports

FIFA to decide World Cup slots next month

FIFA to decide World Cup slots next month

FIFA
will decide next month on the prickly question of how many places each
continent will be allocated at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a member
of the executive committee was reported as saying on Sunday.

Junji Ogura said
the matter would be debated and decided at the next FIFA executive
committee meeting in Zurich on March 2 and 3, Japan’s Kyodo news agency
said.

A FIFA spokesman
told Reuters the meeting had been scheduled and said the agenda would
be confirmed in the next two or three days.

The draw for the 2014 qualifying competition is due to be made in Rio de Janeiro on July 30.

Asia Football
Confederation president Mohammad Bin Hammam said last month that Asia
would not agree to anything less than the four-and-a-half places it has
in Brazil.

Australia, North
Korea, South Korea and Japan represented Asian in 2010 while Bahrain
lost in a playoff to New Zealand, winners of the Oceania qualifying
tournament.

Jack Warner,
president of the CONCACAF federation representing North and Central
America and the Caribbean, has already said that his region want their
quota increased to four direct places.

CONCACAF had three guaranteed spots in South Africa last year while Costa Rica lost to Uruguay in a playoff for another place.

South America,
which had four-and-a-half places in South Africa, is hopeful of
maintaining its quota with Brazil, who qualify automatically as hosts,
being an additional team for the continent.

Africa had six
teams at the 2010 World Cup including South Africa as hosts, although
only one Ghana made it past the first round.

Europe had 13 teams at the 2010 World Cup, of which seven were
eliminated in the group stage and three made it to the semi-finals.

Sports

Bassey, Gbolahan miss trip to America

Bassey, Gbolahan miss trip to America

The Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, has selected 20 players
to represent Nigeria at the United States President’s Holiday Celebration
Soccer Tournament, otherwise known as the Green Bowl Soccer Tournament, which
takes place in Dallas, Texas this weekend.

The Super Eagles will participate in the tourney alongside Costa
Rica, Mexico and Panama.

On Thursday, the United States Embassy in Nigeria issued entry
visas to 22 players and eight officials of the Nigeria team for the competition
meant for domestic League players of the countries involved.

But notably missing are two players who are serving suspensions
for misconduct in Nigeria Premier League games. The players are Bassey Akpan, a
goalkeeper, who was the second choice for the Eagles for the last friendly
match against Sierra Leone and Shooting Stars striker, Gbolahan Salami.

Both players were recently slammed with one-year bans by the
Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation ‘for indiscipline and
appalling lack of self-control’.

Salami, leading scorer for Shooting Stars with four goals, had
to be restrained by several officials as he attempted to attack a referee,
Michael Oshei, after the official awarded a stoppage time penalty kick to Crown
FC, which enabled the Ogbomosho side secure a 1-1 draw.

Heartland goalkeeper, Akpan was fined N100, 000 and suspended
for pushing the referee during a game between Sunshine Stars and Heartland.

The squad

Super Eagles defender, Chibuzor Okonkwo, who impressed in last
week’s friendly against Sierra Leone in Lagos is one of the 20 players who made
the trip. Okonkwo had won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. Others
include, strikers Ejike Uzoenyi, Gambo Mohammed, Victor Ezeji, Joseph Thompson,
and Ekigho Ehiosun, who scored on his debut against Sierra Leone.

The players, along with the coaching crew will depart for the U.S. from the
Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Wednesday, February 23.

Sports

Leyton Orient strike late to earn Cup replay at Arsenal

Leyton Orient strike late to earn Cup replay at Arsenal

Feisty Leyton Orient held Arsenal to a memorable 1-1 draw in their FA Cup
fifth-round tie at Brisbane Road on Sunday when a powerful 89th-minute strike
from substitute Jonathan Tehoue stunned the Premier League side.

Manchester City crushed League One Notts
County 5-0 in a fourth-round replay and Bolton Wanderers won 1-0 at Fulham in
an all Premier League fifth-round tie.

The result in east London left Orient fans
celebrating as if they had won the game and dreaming of finishing the job in
the replay at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to earn a quarter-final meeting with
Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Tehoue, a pacy but erratic 26-year-old French
striker who is often used as a late substitute, squeezed past defenders Kieran
Gibbs and teenage debutant Ignasi Miguel on the edge of the penalty area and
smashed the ball through the legs of Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Until then Arsenal, who made 10 changes from
the side that beat Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, looked
comfortable after taking the lead through a 53rd-minute Tomas Rosicky header.

Orient had been largely outplayed and
outpassed as Arsenal appeared to be coasting to victory and a clash with United
in the last eight.

But Tehoue’s goal means they will replay at
the Emirates on March 2 with the money raised set to provide a financial
lifeline for the League One (third tier) club, 53 places below Arsenal in the
ladder.

Vegas
trip

Orient chairman Barry Hearn promised his
squad a trip to Las Vegas if they avoided defeat and laughed afterwards that
his manager Russell Slade had out-thought Arsenal’s astute boss Arsene Wenger
by leaving it late to bring on Tehoue.

“The best thing for us was that it was
1-0 with only a couple of minutes to play because Arsene is not going to put on
any of his main line from the bench, because he is trying to nick it, get away
with a 1-0 win,” Hearn said.

“If we’d have equalised in the 70th
minute, on would have come (Cesc) Fabregas and all the rest of them, and we’d
have been in trouble.

“But Arsene got a little bit complacent
and our Frenchman put the boot in,” he joked.

Wenger told ESPN that Tehoue had made a
difference.

“He scored a great goal but we had the
right attitude, we were focussed and they took advantage of one of our few
mistakes,” Wenger said.

“It was difficult for us to create more
chances and credit to them for they defended well.”

City through

Manchester City won in style against Notts
County with Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards scoring late goals to
add to two Patrick Vieira headers.

City, transformed by the money of Abu Dhabi
billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour and seeking their first major trophy in 35
years, face Aston Villa in the fifth round.

Bolton maintained their hopes of a first FA
Cup final appearance since they last won the competition in 1958 by ending
Fulham’s interest at Craven Cottage.

Ivan Klasnic scored the only goal after 19
minutes, and the highlight of the day for the home side was the return of Bobby
Zamora as a substitute for his first appearance since breaking a leg in
September.

REUTERS

Sports

A goal scoring phenomenon retires

A goal scoring phenomenon retires

“I love to score
goals after passing all the defenders as well as the keeper. This is
not my speciality, but my habit,” Ronaldo Luis Nazário De Lima said in
1997 and all through his career, he achieved this goal and more.

How do you describe
a footballer, who holds the record of being the highest goal scorer in
FIFA World Cup history, 15 goals, a feat that was achieved in 2006, and
is still the youngest man to have won the FIFA Player of the Year
award, aged 20?

There are so many enduring images of Ronaldo, the Brazilian superstar, who retired from the game on Monday, February 14, 2011.

To some football
fans, Ronaldo had retired a long time ago – Monday’s press conference
was just a confirmation of what was already public knowledge since
2008, when he signed for Corinthians looking seriously overweight.

The beginning

Ronaldo started his
professional football career with Brazilian minor league side, Social
Ramos in 1990 and went on to play for Sao Cristovao and Cruzeiro.

His talent was
spotted on the streets of Bento Ribeiro, by Brazilian legend Jairzinho,
who was at the time coaching Sao Cristovao. The 16-year-old signed his
first professional contract with Cruzeiro and in his debut season he
smashed an astonishing 44 goals in as many games, announcing his
arrival on the crowded Brazilian scene.

His decision to play football was not approved by his mother, who wanted him to become a doctor.

“In Brazil every
kid starts playing street football very early. It’s in our blood. Every
time I went away I was deceiving my mum. I’d tell her I was going to
school but I’d be out on the street playing football. I always had a
ball on my feet,” he said when asked about his spellbinding talent at
that time.

His signature from
that early stage was blistering pace, close control of the ball and
shooting technique that stood him out and led to comparisons with the
legendary Pele. This is a burden that almost every exceptional player
has to face since Pele emerged as the star of the 1958 World Cup in
Sweden, aged 16.

Playing at the highest level

In 1994, after he
made his international debut and was part of the Brazilian squad that
won the World Cup, though he did not get to play actually, he joined
PSV Eindhoven in Holland on the advice of Romario.

Wherever he went,
he scored many goals. When he moved to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, he
scored an amazing 57 goals in just 54 games. At the 1996 Olympics,
Ronaldo was the signature player along with Bebeto, Rivaldo and Dida.

Nigeria, however,
contrived to stop the Brazilian team in golden extra time but the world
was now aware of another burgeoning talent from Samba land.

Ronaldo moved to
Spanish club, FC Barcelona for $17 million in 1996 and went on to break
almost all the scoring records that had existed before his arrival. The
Nou Camp side were being coached at that time by the late Bobby Robson
and the Englishman acknowledged that Ronaldo was the best player he had
ever coached. Robson had coached players like Bryan Robson, Paul
Gascoigne, Romario, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy
and Luis Figo.

“The best player I ever worked with? Tough competition, but it has to be Brazil’s Ronaldo,” Robson said in 2007.

During the 1996/97
season the Brazilian scored 47 goals in 49 games and led the Catalan
side to the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup triumph and he scored the winning
goal in the cup final itself and also won a Copa Del Rey trophy.

Youngest FIFA Player of the Year

He was rewarded for
his goals by becoming at 20 years old, the youngest player to win the
FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1996. He was also named the
runner-up to Matthias Sammer of Germany for the Ballon d’Or title.

At the time,
Ronaldo was scoring goals of the highest level; the type of goals not
seen since Dutch striker Marco Van Basten’s verve started waning.

Barcelona’s match
against Compostela in the La Liga on October 12, 1996, showed the whole
world that they were witnessing a real football phenomenon! On that
day, he scored, arguably one of the greatest goals ever. Describing the
goal will never do it justice, it can only be enjoyed when watched
(YouTube still has this goal in their archives).

Ronaldo picked up
the ball just after the half way line and proceeded to dribble five
defenders before scoring, even though he was being pulled and tugged.

At the end of the
1996/97 season, contract talks broke down between Barcelona and
Ronaldo’s agents and with the striker now a very beautiful bride,
sought and wanted by all the biggest clubs in the world, it was just a
matter of time before he moved.

Barcelona had to
accept a then world record bid of £18 million from Inter Milan for
their striker. He moved to Italy to face the Catennacio challenge, and
his career would never be the same again.

1+8

In his first season
at Inter, he scored 34 more goals but that season will be remembered
for an incident involving Ivan Zamarano. The bona-fide owner of the
No.9 jersey before Ronaldo’s capture, he was ‘urged’ to give up the
number to the new striker. Zamarano then chose the No.18 jersey, but on
match days, the 18 on the back of his jersey appeared as 1+8, the
Chilean added the plus sign in-between the 1 and 8.

In 1998, Ronaldo
became the first player to ever win the FIFA World Player of the Year
award back to back, and he went a notch higher by snagging the Ballon
D’or he lost to Sammer the previous season.

The World Cup in
France in 1998 was therefore supposed to be the crowning place for
Ronaldo as the greatest player in the world but a convulsive fit on the
eve of the final match against France scuppered that dream. Whatever
happened the night before the match, Ronaldo said after the tournament,
“We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life.”

When Brazil and
France submitted their team sheets before the World Cup final match on
July 12, 1998, there was a noticeable absentee from the Selecao side,
Ronaldo.

But when the
referee for the match went to confirm the official team selection,
Ronaldo’s name reappeared. That final is a match the Selecao will love
to wipe from memory they and their goalscoring sensation, Ronaldo did
not play like they had done throughout the tournament. Afterwards the
Brazilian team doctor Lidio Toledo revealed that Ronaldo had been
rushed to a hospital after suffering a convulsion in his sleep the
night before the final. “I don’t remember what happened but I went to
sleep and, like the doctor said, it seems I had a fit for about 30 or
40 seconds,” Ronaldo admitted after the finals.

Italian tragedy

He returned to
Milan and continued banging the goals until November 21, 1999, when
tragedy struck – and one his career never actually recovered.

Ronaldo ruptured a
tendon in his knee during a game against Lecce and his game which was
built on an exceptional ability to change direction, speed and
ferocious shots had to change from then on.

After surgery and
five months of rehabilitation, he made his return in the Coppa Italia
final against Lazio, but he suffered a relapse on the same right knee
after just seven minutes on the pitch.

He was then
sidelined till about the end of the 2001/2002 season. Ronaldo came back
just in time to grab a spot in the Brazilian national team to the World
Cup in Korea and Japan.

He unveiled a new
hair cut and guided Felipe Scolari’s side to the final to face Germany.
In the 2002 World Cup final, Ronaldo exorcised the demons of the 1998
final and scored two goals to give Brazil victory over a German side
that had not conceded a goal up till the final.

Added to the six, Ronaldo had scored in the knock-out rounds, he ended the tournament as top scorer with 8 goals.

The Galactico

His return to form
aided another transfer – a world record transfer, for a fee of €39
million saw Ronaldo leave Inter Milan to join a growing list of
Galacticos at Real Madrid. Another 30 goals followed even though he was
sidelined with injury for two months. Real Madrid won La Liga and he
scored 104 goals in 184 games over a period of five years at the
Spanish club.

The injuries, an
erratic love life and controversial living were now in overdrive in the
media. Ronaldo was selected for Brazil’s 2006 World Cup squad and
scored three goals to lead his country to the quarter finals where they
lost to France 1-0. Nevertheless, he broke Gerd Muller’s record of 14
career goals in the World Cup by scoring his 15th in Brazil’s 3-0 win
over Ghana on June 27, 2002.

The beginning of the end

After the World
Cup, he fell out with new Madrid boss, Fabio Capello and returned to
Italy to sign for AC Milan on January 27, 2007. At Milan, he set
another record, becoming the first player to ever score for the two
Milan sides – Inter and AC Milan in the Milan derby, having previously
scored in the fixture for Inter in the 1998/1999 season.

Tragedy however
struck again on an Italian pitch on February 13, 2008, when Ronaldo
suffered a ruptured kneecap ligament following an attempt to win the
ball in a league match against Livorno. After that injury, Ronaldo
said, “My life has always been a series of challenges and I’m
psychologically prepared, but this is the biggest challenge of my
life.” It was one injury too many for the body of the Brazilian star.
His deal at the Italian club was not renewed and he had to return to
his homeland – Brazil.

Free fall

On December 9,
2008, Ronaldo signed a one-year deal with Corinthians to take up
another challenge but it was more like a resignation to fate – the
career of the great man was in free fall.

Ronaldo scored his
first goal for Corinthians on March 8, 2009 in a Campeonato Paulista
match against Palmeiras and went on to help helped Corinthians win the
tournament with 10 goals in 14 games.

On February 2010,
he signed an extension that was supposed to keep him with the club
until the end of 2011, which he declared as his retirement date. But
things did not go as planned. In February 2011, after Corinthians were
eliminated from the Copa Libertadores tournament which was to have been
his swan song, Ronaldo announced his retirement from football.

“It’s very hard to
leave something that made me so happy. Mentally I wanted to continue
but I have to acknowledge that I lost to my body,” he said in a press
conference on Valentine’s day. “I will celebrate, but I know new goals
and objectives will come and I am ready to take them.”

Whatever goals are
in the future for El-Fenomeno, as he became known in Italy, one thing
he can’t do any more is father children.

Ronaldo had a vasectomy after fathering five children with three mothers. He explained that five children were enough for him.

Football fans, players and coaches will always love Ronaldo – for
the goals he scored, for the trophies he won but much more, for the
exuberance and joy that he espoused on the football pitch. That is his
greatest goal.

Sports

Reliving the glory years

Reliving the glory years

The
women league in Nigeria has come a long way, but the longevity does not
mean it is better, Pepsie Adiukwu, a pioneer broadcaster in the women’s
league has said. Football among women was introduced in the late 1970s
but it was not until around 1985 that the formation of clubs began when
the likes Jegede Babes and Simbiat babes came on the scene to become
the pioneer clubs. The first league season was inaugurated in 1991 and
Ufuoma Babes of Warri had the honour of being the first club to win the
league title.

“The late Emeka
Omeruah, one time Nigerian Football Association Chairman got interested
in the women’s game and sought for a way to develop it like men’s
football. Omeruah consulted Iain Nelson, a consultant with Pepsi, who
is the brain behind the Pepsi Football Academy to help take football to
greater heights,” Adiukwu said.

Up till that time Nelson was ignorant about women football.

“At the time
Omeruah invited me to head a developmental committee for female
football in the NFA, I did not even know that there was a Female
League,” Nelson said.

“We were the
sponsors of the men’s league, the Pepsi Professional League but when
this challenge of changing a moribund, non-existent league into a brand
that would be attractive and viable enough to get people watching, I
took it up.”

The peak

Being a marketer,
Nelson saw the raw talent of the ladies playing football as a product
that should not be hidden and he made effort to help give them exposure
them.

“What we (Pepsi)
first did was to endorse some of the women who were already in the
Falcons – the national team. The likes of Patience Avre, Mercy Akide,
Florence Omagbemi, Stella Mbachu and Perpetua Nkwocha were given such
an endorsement,” Nelson said.

Why did Pepsi endorse these ladies?

“I observed that
most people may not really go to watch a team play, they want to see
Wayne Rooney in Manchester United or Lionel Messi in Barcelona. So we
wanted to make these ladies heroes like their male counterparts.”

The show

The developmental programme also gave birth to a television show – Female Soccer with Pepsie.

According to
Adiukwu, who was the pioneer anchor, “The programme was used to feature
the girls; what they were doing outside the football pitch, which one
was having a baby, who was getting married and who was attending what…

“The essence of the programme was to give them a lot of publicity and exposure to the public; to show them to the world.”

Nelson said apart
from giving the ladies in the Falcons exposure, they also extended
their reach into the league, “The Pepsi brand got in to sponsor the
league. At that time Super Falcons were rated higher than the Eagles.
These were people who the only thing they had working for them was
their talent and the passion they had for the game.

“They came from nowhere quite frankly and changed things.”

The league

So the name of the league was changed to the Pepsi Female National League.

“Then we also made
certain they were prizes for the challenge Cup, gave cash prizes to the
most valuable player every month,” Adiukwu added.

“Media
participation was also encouraged by instituting prizes to the reporter
of the month. I won that award twice and there was also the challenge
cup, the endorsed players, it was a whole total package for them.”

The high point for Nelson was when he got the wife of the head of state involved.

“We were able to
persuade Mariam Abacha, wife of the then president to sponsor a
football tournament. In 1998 we were able to host the African Women
Championship. It was held in Abeokuta and Kaduna.”

Nelson who saw it as an another big opportunity for exposure recounted his feelings prior to the start of the tournament.

“I remember sitting
in the Kaduna Stadium before the first match begun and the whole place
was empty and I started wondering if I had done the right thing.”

All things however went well and Nigeria emerged as winners.

The decline

Things started to go downhill in the league in 2002. By then, the Pepsi sponsorship contract had run through.

“I got discouraged
because it seemed the momentum was lost and we could not get it back. I
stopped my programme in 2003 when it seemed as if I was always
repeating myself and nobody was listening,” Adiukwu said.

Some of the players
who played in the glorious days of the sponsored league and who are
still playing now said they were disappointed at the way things turned
out.

Precious Nnodim currently plays for Ibom Angels in Akwa Ibom and she has decried the state of the current league.

“It is so
deplorable now because you don’t know what is going to happen next.
When Pepsi was still sponsoring the league, you knew your allowances
were coming as at when due. Also there were a lot of tournaments, like
the Super Six which was meant for the teams that finished in the top
six but now even when you finish at the top six, you don’t get to play
in the tournament,” Nnodim said.

“Around 2004 we just saw that things started to change. Then I was still with Delta Queens when all these crises started.”

Bunmi Kayode who currently plays for Delta Queens also gave an account of the glory days.

“Then you were
always certain that games will be played. There were no walkovers like
are the case now. Also we had our medicals attended to but now you will
be wondering and praying when things would get better.”

Nnodim attested to the fact that walkovers have become common.

“Just recently we could not play the game we were supposed to because Nasarawa Amazons could not come over to Akwa Ibom.”

The quest

To bring the women
football league back to life and to sustain it some administrators have
advocated for a separate association for women football.

“I think there
should be a separate football development department for women filled
with committed people within the NFA because most times when the heat
gets on, they will concentrate on the men to the detriment of other
aspect of the sport,” Adiukwu said.

Nelson explained
that, “You do not run your own show with a secretary; you need to have
a form of autonomy to function effectively. That is not to say that
they would not still be affiliated to the Federation. The NFF (Nigeria
Football Federation) already has a baggage but if they can leave a
little of the baggage to some other people, why not?”

The Super Falcon’s coach, Joy Etim, also wants a separate
association for women football. “In the event that problems come up
they will always be there like big brothers. Maybe if they allow those
directly involved to run things, they would see thing differently and
would be able to proffer more concrete solutions.”