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After
a lot of suspense and intrigue, the new board of the Nigeria Football
Federation chose Samson Siasia ahead of Stephen Keshi on Thursday as
the new coach of the senior national team, the Super Eagles.

Firstly, the new
board has to be commended at the speed with which they laid down their
plans and the also the speed of execution. Lars Lagerback went AWOL
after the 2-2 draw with South Korea in Durban on June 22 and since
then, Augustine Eguavoen has been interim handler with a record of two
losses and one win but the team now have a new coach and the 14th local
handler of the national team.

The board had to choose between the former U-20 and Olympic coach and Stephen Keshi, a former captain and coach of the team.

Before the
interview, football fans, former players and even past coaches had been
divided over who was best suited for the job. While the likes of Tijani
Babangida and David Ngodigha chose Keshi because of his experience in
helping Togo qualify for the 2006 World Cup and leading Mali to the
last Nations Cup in Angola, fans were more in tune with a Siasia –
because of his antecedents with junior players. That may be linked with
the clamour for an infusion of younger players into the national team.

After the appointment

Samson Siasia was quick to state the criteria that will be used to make up the national team.

“We can’t change
the team overnight, but we have to make sure that there is competition
for places,” he said. “I will undertake a scouting trip very soon, and
only players who are playing regularly for their clubs will be part of
the national team.

“Any player, who is
not doing so, will have to show exceptional reason for not playing, and
we will see if we can help to resolve those issues.”

Siasia also promised that the Super Eagles will be re-constructed to play more offensively.

“The manner of team
you will see on the field of play would be offensive minded, free
flowing football. There will be a difference.”

But all this will be on the back of gradual changes to the personnel in the squad.

“During my
interview with the NFF Technical Committee, I told them my short and
long term visions for the Super Eagles as well as the 2012 Africa
Nations Cup.

“I also told them
that we have to look at the areas we have to inject new players. We
don’t want to say we are going to ask all the old players to leave. But
we have to look at the areas we think we have to inject new players.

“We all know the
nature of the team right now. The team is not in a very good shape. The
next friendly we have on November 17 against Iran will help us assess
the team we have right now.”

Siasia is expected
to follow the team to Iran on November 17, when interim coach,
Augustine Eguavoen will handle the team for the last time.

“That will be when
I watch their matches again and also go around scouting for other
players that I think I have to put in there.”

The way forward

Germany was in a
similar dilemma in 2004 after a woeful European Championship in
Portugal. They did not win a single match and the German football
federation had to take drastic actions. They did so and boldly, by
appointing a relative coaching novice in former national team striker,
Jurgen Klinnsman, a man living in the USA and involved in grassroots
soccer development (a story akin to Siasia’s own). The first thing he
did was to try and foist a new identity – an attack-minded one – on the
team.

Germany has since
recovered from the 2004 slump with a final appearance at Euro 2008 and
two third placed finishes in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Football pundit,
Sola Aiyepeku said, Siasia needs all the help he can get; both form the
administrators and the coaches of clubs in the NPL. He continued with
the example of Klinnsman.

“Klinnsman sought
the help of every Bundesliga coach through the DFB’s backing to
influence and imbibe the attacking playing style,” he said.

“I advocate the
same for Nigeria based on our history, strength, skills and physique.
That decision is reaping great benefits today from greatly increased
Bundesliga television rights value and stadium attendances because fans
attend matches expecting to see attacking football and goals; they are
not disappointed and the Bundesliga is again popular on television. If
this success can be repeated here, it will contribute a great deal to
the NFF’s financial independence from government.

“Siasia must show
great character, savvy, pedigree, desire for attacking football and
experience to implement the task and take the Super Eagles out of the
doldrums the team currently resides in.

“Siasia has the
right mix of these qualities never mind his recent club management
experience which I think he has learnt valuable lessons from and will
be a popular choice. We wait and see in expectation of a significant
positive change in Nigeria football.”

Popular choice

On a lot of radio
programmes monitored in Lagos and a lot of responses on websites show
that Siasia is being seen as the messiah of the game in Nigeria maybe
because of his exploits with the U-20 team in 2005, where he led the
team to the finals and they were only defeated by the Lionel Messi-led
Argentine team.

He also coached the U-23 team to the final of the 2008 Olympic football tournament, where his team was also beaten by Argentina.

Former Super Eagles
technical adviser, Johannes Bonfrere said Samson Siasia deserved to be
named as the Eagles’ coach even before the interviews were conducted on
Thursday.

“If the Nigeria
Football Federation has decided to go for a local coach and have indeed
shortlisted the duo of Siasia and Keshi for the job, then I think they
should not waste much time in giving Siasia the job.

“Siasia is a better choice. The NFF should never give it to Keshi because he is not what people think he is.”

Frank Ilaboya,
former president of the Sport Writers Association of Nigeria, Lagos
chapter, said: “It is clear today that Siasia is the people’s choice.
Because football is a game of the people, why not go with the people
and give the job to Siasia. After all it is said, the voice of the
people is the voice of God.

Earnestly between
Siasia and Keshi, there is nothing one can point to that makes Keshi a
superior candidate to Siasia. Siasia has the good will of the people”.

The process

Majority of the
countries that did badly at the 2010 World Cup already have new
helms-men and the surprise in the Nigerian case was that it had to take
such a long time to choose a new coach. Argentina, France, South Korea,
etc have all had a change of coach.

The Nigeria
Football Federation called both Samson Siasia and Stephen Keshi to be
interviewed for the vacant post and also said that the new coach will
be unveiled on November 8, 2010.

Meanwhile Keshi has
come out to express his dismay over not getting the job. He spoke to
reporters in Abuja shortly after the announcement of Siasia as the new
coach.

“Honestly, the
result was surprising to me and it’s a shame that this has happened.
Siasia still remains my brother and friend no matter what but one
question I would like the Technical Committee to answer is, ‘what
criteria did they used for his selection?’” he asked.

The head of the
technical committee, Chris Green had said: “The interview process will
be recorded and it is strictly meant for reference purposes. We have
made a pledge to be transparent but the tape will only be made
available on account of contention by any aggrieved party.”

After the
interviews and the choice of Siasia made known, Green said: “The
decision to choose Siasia is in the best interest of Nigerian
football.”

But Keshi insisted that his interview ‘went well’.

“I must admit again
that it’s still shocking to me but this is Nigeria for you, anything
can happen. I would move on from this. This issue would make me rethink
on so many issues I must confess to you but there’s no problem. I will
move on from this,” the Big Boss said.

Siasia is expected
to work with two assistant coaches and one goalkeeper trainer. In the
terms of the contract, he is allowed to choose the first assistant
coach.

One NFF official gave the details of the contract.

“We agreed at the
interview that he will select the first assistant coach, while the NFF
will pick the second assistant and the goalkeeper trainer. The NFF also
approved the addition of a specialist physical trainer for the Super
Eagles squad.

“We have noticed
that a lot of players lack physical fitness when they come to the
national team. We need to address that, and we will be appointing a
physical trainer for the team in due course.”

Samson Siasia, will sign a four-year contract and is expected to earn N5 million as his monthly wage.

Chilean
miner Edison Pena plans to run the New York City Marathon on Sunday,
less than a month after he was rescued from a collapsed mine that
trapped him and 32 companions for 69 days.

Pena was the 12th
miner brought 2,050 feet to the surface in a tight-fitting metal
capsule on October 13 as part of the stunning rescue in Chile’s far
northern desert that was watched live on television around the world.

Running to stay alive

Pena ran 6 miles
daily through the mine’s tunnels to beat the anxiety, wearing cut-down
boots until rescuers sent him a pair of sneakers through a narrow bore
hole that served as the miners’ umbilical cord to the surface.

“When I ran in the
darkness, I was running for life,” Pena, speaking through a translator,
told a news conference in New York. “I was running to show that I
wasn’t just waiting around. I also wanted God to see that I really
wanted to live.”

The New York Road
Runners, which organises the marathon, had invited Pena to be a guest
at Sunday’s race, but he said last week he did not want to watch – he
wanted to run.

“I was very eager
to take on this huge challenge,” he said. “I wanted to show the world I
could run it.” Pena, 34, who ran in the mine wearing a head lamp, said
he hoped to run the 26.2-mile (42-km) race in about six hours. “I have
a knee injury from being in the mine, but I am eager to cross the
finish line,” he said.

Pena will be among
about 43,000 people competing in the marathon. Last year, Meb
Keflezighi won the men’s marathon in two hours, nine minutes and 15
seconds.

An Elvis Presley
fan who asked rescuers to send the singer’s music down into the mine,
Pena broke into song at the news conference with the Presley hit
“Return to Sender.” The miners were discovered alive on August 22 – 17
days after the mine collapsed – but it took two months for rescuers to
bore a hole big enough to bring them out.

“People say that we were heroes, but I don’t think we are,” Pena said. “It’s just what destiny had in store for us.”

Flight of the Bearded Vulture (a really rare occurrence)

“Oh look!” Stephen yells. We look in different directions
wondering what has caused his excitement. In a few seconds, a huge majestic
bird with a wingspan of almost 3 metres swoops low over us, and glides off into
the distance.

As we rise from our instinctive ducking motion, he explains that
the bearded vulture (a protected species) is almost extinct, and to see one in
actual free flight is a very rare occurrence. As if it hears Stephen’s
comments, the beautiful bird makes a return flight looking down at us, and
finally disappears down a steep ravine.

Very interesting! It all happens so fast I can only manage one
camera shot. The memory of it is firmly etched in my mind’s eye.

We say our goodbyes to our host family, and head out to Sani Top
Chalet (the highest restaurant/pub on the African continent at 2,900 metres
above sea level). There we have lunch consisting of potatoes and boerewors
(sausage), washed down with piping hot (that’s right, piping hot) sweet red
wine called “gluwhein” which warms every part of our innards. As we finish off
lunch, the weather decides to change tack. From a very sunny, breezy
disposition, the clouds begin to roll over the mountain plain thick and fast,
until, we are enveloped and forced to drive with our head lights on full beam,
and even then find it difficult to make out the road on the way back down. You
can actually reach out and scoop up cloud with your hands, we are that high up.
Something strange begins to happen.

My travel mates and I find it difficult to keep our eyes open as
we drop off into extended moments of dozing against our will. Only Stephen
stays alert, he’s used to the phenomenon. It has something to do with the low
levels of oxygen on the mountains, and our bodies having to adjust by partly
shutting down.

We eventually arrive at Underberg, where Ken asks “Sooo, how did
it go?” with a smirk on his face.

We look at each other and admit reluctantly that it is not a
trip you want to make regularly. He sympathises, and reminds us he took his
decision a while ago.

I get back to my hotel at 9:30pm, after dropping off my
co-travelers. After dinner, as I start to doze in front of the TV, I think I
hear someone yelling down the corridor of my floor “Pepe, Pepe!”. I stick my
head out the door in curiosity and at the same time consider asking whoever it
is to be quiet. My eyes are met by Ronaldo’s as he strides briskly by trying to
catch up with his team mate Pepe down the corridor. He gives me a brief nod of
his head as if to say sorry. I am caught between my initial intentions and being
briefly star struck (I must admit), after all he’s to be one of the stars of
the next day’s match; Portugal v. Brazil. I can’t wait.

Shopping Delights –
Durban’s Malls

Ahead of the evening’s matches I will watch on the two large LCD
screens in my suite, I decide to explore Durban’s shopping delights.

Before leaving the hotel I pop downstairs to the restaurant for
some breakfast. I spot a very familiar looking face at the table opposite mine.
He takes me back years to when I was at Igbobi College in the late 60s/early
70s, watching him on TV, terrorising defences at will while playing for
Portugal. This opportunity is mine to miss. I get up from my table and walk
over, introduce myself and ask to take a picture with him. He smiles and
instructs one of his companions to do my bidding. It’s a good picture, actually
a gem. However, I am a little displeased with how pudgy my face looks, maybe
because I had already started to fill it with a darn good breakfast. Vanity! I
have opened the floodgates. Eusebio does not get another morsel to his mouth,
as a line of admirers begins to build.

I visit both the Pavilion and the Gateway Theatre of Shopping.

They are super! Our Palms Shopping Mall in Lekki seems to
represent only the entrances to these behemoths laid out on several floors,
with chances you would get lost not a few times without a guide. What don’t you
get, high profile fashion outlets, art bazaars, sports equipment shops with the
ubiquitous vuvuzelas serving as props, flower holders, flag bearers, you name it
– WOZA 2010 is commercially alive and well, simply a bee hive of activity with
the ever present vuvuzela providing the appropriate bee swarm background noise.
Soccer fans all over.

I pick up a few things on the trot, and quickly head back to the
hotel for a nap, and recuperation from the previous day’s visit to the southern
Drakensberg mountians (Lesotho). My limbs still report an ache or two here and
there.

Here’s Cape Town

I arrive at the Cape after an almost 2 hour flight from Durban,
to unusually sunny and warm weather. Cape Town is beautiful, sophisticated and
charming. This perfect picture is blighted however by ghetto scenes below as we
descend into Cape Town International Airport (CTI). These are scenes
reminiscent of Alexandra (in Johannesburg). I had visited the sprawling
wasteland (ghetto) in the late 1980s when as Country Manager for Reuters
Nigeria and Ghana, I had visited the Reuters Africa Head Office. An adventurous
Reuters journalist (black South African) took me,

against management’s advice, to Alexandra on a day the police
were carrying out a violent raid. For going with him without complaint, he
labeled me a true African. To be true, my heart was in my mouth during the
whole unforgettable episode which included gunshots fired and teargas.

As we swoop in to land at CTI, fabled Table Mountain looks
glorious in the brilliant sunshine as the University of Cape Town cradles at
its feet. I take so many shots of it from the air, and a fair number on the way
to my hotel – Southern Sun Cape.

Nice hotel, grand lobby, friendly staff, and situated right in
the city centre about 6 kilometres from Green Point Stadium. I’m told my room
is on the 30th floor. A bellboy sees me up to my room; I stagger back a step
when he pulls the blinds; there sit Table Mountain and Lion’s Head, in my face,
up close and personal! For the next four days the view from my hotel window
presents me with the different faces of Table Mountain – reflections in dawn’s
early light, reflections in bronze sunsets, reflections in night’s spot beams,
reflections in thick cloud cover and rain and wait for it, reflections under a
rainbow. Awesome! My camera doesn’t know what to do with itself!! Below my
window at ground level the CocaCola FIFA FANFEST grounds lie sprawling. On
match days the place quickly fills up with soccer fans unable to make the Green
Point Stadium.

They are entertained with the live match, watched on huge
screens. Post match entertainment includes live bands and DJs burning all kinds
of music, some from well known Nigerian artists including D’Banj, Asa and
P-Square. Sometimes the music keeps me up late at night all part of the WOZA
2010 raison d’etre.

Irresistible Table
Mountain

My business in Cape Town is to watch Match 56 (Spain v.
Portugal), but the day before the already sold out match, I push it to the back
of my mind, and obey nature’s call and Table Mountain’s irresistible
invitation. I bundle up in warm clothing despite the deceptively warm weather
at ground level, and armed with my trusted camera which is yet to cool from the
previous day’s shot taking, and its constant companion – a set of binoculars, I
take a car out to the cable car station at the foot of the mountain.

The waiting line is unusually short today. We clamber on board
the circular cable car, receive last minute instructions to stand clear of the
windows. The car floor rotates 3600 on its trip up and down, giving everyone
the same views all round (very thoughtful). The 10 minute ride up is filled
with banter about the fear of heights, and the various treatment s for
overcoming it; everyone’s entitled to a shot at making easy money. Midway, the
twin car on the other set of cables is making its way past us on its downward
journey. We wave at each other briefly.

1,085 metres high, we arrive at the top. It is indeed relatively
flat and easy to walk around. The more interesting parts are the precipices
where the voids simply fall away from you. You see the city laid out beneath,
major landmarks like Green Point Stadium and the railway/bus terminals are easily
picked out. Off the Western Cape Coast lies Robben Island, where Madiba was for
the greater part of his time in prison under the apartheid government. What a
pity I don’t have enough time to get out there this visit. I must do so the
next time.

The views all around are magnificent, all you hear is the wind
in your ear, sometimes rising to a howl as it gets trapped by the mountain
face, buffeting you and encouraging you to get a firm foot grip as you step
closer to the edge. A young 18 year old German lad (Hans) gives some of us a
fright as he steps away from the railed (protected) walk area onto a precipice
from which is a sheer drop to the bottom of the mountain.

Hans is taking camera shots of Lion’s Head. He reminds me of the
kind of courage that the European voyagers must have shown, to get on wooden
ships and spend many a month at sea “discovering and conquering” distant lands
such as this, relying on nothing but the wind, yes, the wind.

He beckons to some of us to come over. No way! I holler back
that I’ll meet him halfway along the precipice. We strike a deal. I have
fleeting thoughts of the family I have left back at home. Nothing ventured,
nothing gained. He offers to take some shots of me with my camera when we meet
in the middle, everyone else looking on in dismay at the two clowns, one young,
the other old, well fairly so.

On the way back to catch the cable car down, I stumble on two
plaques set in cement. They say all a man needs to consider when in the
presence of such a wonder of nature.

With my afternoon free I decide to visit Canal Walk, one of Cape
Town’s newest shopping mall’s.

It certainly doesn’t look like a mall from the outside. Again,
it’s another sprawling shopping paradise set on several acres and floors
complete with fast food arcades etc. South Africa’s investment in shopping
malls must be huge, and they always seem to be crowded and busy.

Cape Town’s Mercurial
Weather

Sunny Cape Town suddenly turns wet, cold, windy and dank, as the
Cape of Good Hope sends wicked dark clouds northwards. Lion’s Head and Table
Mountain disappear into the heavy clouds in that order, and FANFEST Cape Town
empties in double quick time. The event makes the evening news, and the
organisers have to give reassurances on fans’ safety.

I take one look at the weather and decide that investing in a raincoat
before the match would not be a bad idea. I take the opportunity to visit the
Clock Tower at the V & A Waterfront Shopping Centre and besides a few gifts
and some art by James Yates (one of South Artists world renowned painters) I
buy a lightweight plastic raincoat which remains in its wrappings till this day
– the weather sorts itself out later on in the day.

Liverpool’s fall from grace has been so extreme in the past year that it seems almost inconceivable that as recently as 2009 they and Chelsea were battling for Champions League supremacy on an annual basis.
Since a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2009 in the quarter-finals the clubs have veered off in different orbits to such an extent that when they meet at Anfield on Sunday, Chelsea will boast a five-point lead in the Premier League while Liverpool are just glad to be out of the bottom three.

Scratchy wins at home to Blackburn Rovers and away to Bolton Wanderers represent a step forward for Roy Hodgson but Liverpool’s wily manager will know more about his side’s current health after the visit of Carlo Ancelotti’s rampant side.
Likewise new owner John Henry will also get a first hand look at how much work, and investment, his new project needs before Liverpool can
return to challenge for the title as they did two seasons ago under Rafael Benitez.

The problem for Hodgson is that, whatever Benitez claimed during a midweek rant, the squad he inherited was mediocre and he has so far had little financial muscle in the transfer market. That may change in January but until then he must hope that Fernando Torres rediscovers some form and that Joe Cole, who is ruled out of Sunday’s clash, begins to resemble the player he was at Chelsea.
Maxi can be Liverpool’s joker With Dirk Kuyt injured, it was left to Maxi Rodriguez, a Benitez signing, to snatch the points at Bolton and Hodgson hopes that the Argentine will benefit from a run in the team.
“Maxi is a quiet man and his English isn’t as good as some of the players, so it’s not easy to have a long conversation with him,” Hodgson told Liverpool’s website. “But he’s picked up very quickly on what we want him to do and how we want him to play. In the games he’s played
recently he’s been very good.”
Chelsea will be buoyed by a 4-1 victory over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday that guaranteed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
John Terry and Michael Essien will be fresh for the trip to Merseyside having being rested against Spartak, although in-form Florent Malouda is out with an ankle knock.

Tightly bunched

Such is the small spread of points below the top three that were Liverpool to pull off a surprise win on Sunday they could suddenly find themselves on the fringes of the top four.
Manchester City are fourth behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United but suddenly look vulnerable after successive defeats – most worryingly a 2-1 reverse against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.
City face sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion on Sunday when another defeat would leave their hopes of a serious title tilt in tatters and Roberto Mancini’s future as coach in jeopardy.
Talk of dressing room unrest and player squabbles have helped create a sense of growing crisis at Eastlands and West Brom, who almost
earned a point at Blackpool on Monday despite having two players sent off, will be keen to add to it.
Manchester United can close Chelsea’s gap to two points when they host Wolves on Saturday although they will be hampered by injuries to Darren Fletcher and Nani.
“We’ve a couple of injuries. Nani has hurt his groin and will definitely be out for Saturday. Darren will also be out,” manager Alex Ferguson said after United’s 3-0 win against Turkish side Bursaspor in the Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur’s man
of the moment Gareth Bale will be in action on Saturday against Bolton as the London side hope to avoid any hangover after their pulsating 3-1 victory over Champions League winners Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Arsenal, whose 100 percent record in the Champions League was ended by defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, face in-form Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday when Cesc Fabregas should return after missing the trip to Ukraine.

At
the Mainz 05 Stadium on Friday, October 30, 2010, there was an air of
expectation as four Nigerian journalists, Adekunle Salami, Tony
Nezianya, Christian Okpara and this reporter strolled into the
conference room of the Bundesliga Club.

The journalists,
who were in Germany courtesy of SuperSport and at the invitation of the
DFL, organisers of the Bundesliga, the German football league, arrived
the conference late. But it didn’t really matter to them.

As they listened to
Thomas Tuchel, Mainz coach, talk in German about the match they had in
two days time against former champions, Borrusia Dortmund, their mind
was on the diminutive fellow, they had really come to see.

Once the briefing
ended, they turned to Katja Beck and Kay Langendorff, the two
Bundesliga officials, who had led them to the stadium. Langendorff
disappears and moments later returns with the object of the
journalists’ interest. Haruna Babangida, younger brother of Tijani
Babangida, the former Super Eagles winger stood smiling at the
journalists. “You guys are from Nigeria?” he asked and added: “It’s
nice to see people from home.

At 28 years old, Babangida has traversed Europe playing in leagues such as the La Liga, Greek, Ukranian,

Cypriot and Dutch
Eredevise where he played for top clubs like Ajax and Barcelona before
moving to the Bundesliga in June this year. It had come as something of
a surprise to see the former Barcelona FC of Spain player popping up in
the Bundesliga for the apple cart upsetting Mainz.

So, how has it been at Mainz? “Everything is okay,” he says.

“Things are very
easy here because in Mainz we have more foreigners than Germans in the
team. If you take a good look at the team you will find that most of
the players are foreigners.

You have South
Americans who speak Spanish and I communicate with them because I can
speak Spanish. As for the other players in the squad, they speak
English and so I can communicate with them.

Even though he is
having a good time in Mainz, Babangida, who was a member of Nigeria’s
1999 U-20 World Cup team, is not altogether fulfilled.

The reason for that
is not difficult to fathom. Since joining the wave-making Bundesliga
club in June he has played just once and then succumbed to injury,
which sidelined him for months. He is back to fitness now but has yet
to start enjoying playing time, a development he finds uncomfortable.

“It’s not easy even
when the team is not winning for a player not to be playing. For a
player like me, I have gotten used to playing all the time. In all the
teams I have played for, I always played. But here I am not playing
now; of course as a football player you’ll be happy when your team is
winning but what I want, and the reason I came to Mainz is to try to
play.

“Now, I am fit and
I am training with the team but it is the trainer who decides every
week who plays. For me, the thing is to keep working hard. I have
between now and December …Anyway, I can’t really say anything about
my future. All I know is that I am working hard and for now, I am still
a Mainz player, he said.”

Losing respect

One of the reasons
he is eager to break into the first team is his desire to play for the
Super Eagles. After being capped in 2003 in a friendly match against
Japan, the door of the national team has been closed to him.

“I am a Nigerian
and as long as I continue to play football, I will always look forward
to playing for the Super Eagles. That is the ambition of every Nigerian
player.”

Even though he
harbours the hope of starring for his country someday, Babangida
believes that things are not okay with the team, which he says used to
strike fear into its opponents in the past.

“We don’t have the
respect we used to have. In those days when my brother was playing, if
they wanted to play a team like Guinea for instance, he’ll tell me that
they (the Eagles) will win by 6-0. At the end of the day, they may end
up winning 8-0. Then they had a good team and they selected the right
players but now, it’s totally different. We still have good players but
selection and interest from some quarters create problems for us.

“We have players
playing in Europe and even in Nigeria. We just need direction. There
are too many interests involved-the government, the NFA and others.

That’s why things are not going well,” he said.

For the moment, he is content to work hard to succeed in the
Bundesliga, which he says thrives on a combination of power and skill.

Hoping
for a flawless run towards regaining the Africa title they relinquished
last time out, the Super Falcons will today try to consolidate on their
fine form at the ongoing Africa Women’s Championships in South Africa
when they confront the Twiga Stars of Tanzania in their last group game.

The match is billed
for the Makhulong Stadium and kick-off time is 2.30pm (local time)
While the Nigerian ladies have a semi-final ticket already in their
hands all thanks to the two victories recorded in their previous games,
the Twiga Stars only have a return ticket home after failing to get any
point from their last two matches.

Though this is a
debut appearance for the Twigs, many had expected a better performance
from the team which had embarked on a two week “intensive” training in
the United States before heading to South Africa for the biannual women
championships.

With a place
already secured in the semi final, Nigeria’s coach, Eucharia Uche, is
expected to try out some of the untested legs in the Super Falcons team
which many has described as a fine blend of youthfulness and experience.

The coach, who has continually said that her goal is to win the trophy back for Nigeria, said the team is on course.

“We will take it
easy against Tanzania, but the three points will be for us, I remain
confident in my team and their ability to win here in South Africa,”
Uche said.

A victory for
Nigeria will see her topping Group A. That will mean a tie with the
runners-up in Group B which has the likes of Ghana, Cameroun and
Equatorial Guinea; all seeking qualification from the group regarded as
the group of death.

Perpetua target

Meanwhile, Super
Falcons prolific striker, Perpetua Nkwocha is expected to continue her
chase for a record 15 goals at the championship.

Nkwocha had told reporters in Johannesburg that the 15-goal mark was set for her by friends.

“My friends told me before I came for the tournament that I have to score 15 goals,” said the Sweden-based player.

She admitted that she will work hard to meet the target as she was determined not to disappoint her friends.

“I have started it in our first game so I believe I can continue. I believe I will do it again, that is my prayer,” she said.

“Let’s see what will happen at the end of the day but I believe I can do it.”

Nwokocha is
currently leading the goal scorers chart with five goals after scoring
the two goals for the Falcons in their last match against South Africa
and needs to score ten more to meet her set target.

On her own part,
captain of the Super Falcons, Precious Dede, has also maintained that
no team in the ongoing African Women’s Championship (AWC) can stop her
team from winning the competition.

“I believe we are
on our way to the final of the competition and no team can stop us from
winning this trophy this time. Neither Cameroun nor Ghana can stop us.

I am not boasting
but we believe in ourselves that we can emerge the African champions
again with this victory over Banyana Banyana on their back yard,” Dede
said.

Other match

In the other match of the day, host South Africa will be up against Mali in a game with higher stakes.

While the South
Africans have their hearts in their mouth, Mali go into today’s match
in high spirits after defeating minnows Tanzania 3-2 in their last
Group A match.

Banyana Banyana
coach, Augustine Makalakalane, is aware that his girls must avoid
defeat if they hope to progress in the championships.

According to
Makalakalane, the performance against Nigeria in the last match was not
too bad while hoping for a better display today.

“The Banyana
Banyana girls did not disgrace themselves or their country against
Nigeria and I am so very proud of the determination and commitment that
they showed on the field,” said Makalakalane.

“These Banyana
Banyana players can go far in football based on their approach to the
game and I know they will take the positive aspects out of today’s
(Thursday) performance and look to get the all-important win when the
team plays against Mali on Sunday.”

For South Africa Striker, Noko Matlou, her team will be going all out from the blast of the whistle to get the desired result.

“We are going for the kill against Mali; we cannot afford to disappoint the country.

We are the hosts and we must win this tournament,” she said.

The top two teams out of the two groups of four teams each will
progress to the semi-final stage – with the prize awaiting the
finalists being the chance to represent Africa at the 2011 FIFA women’s
World Cup in Germany next year.

If
Formula One world champion Jenson Button has to help McLaren team mate
Lewis Hamilton’s title challenge in Brazil this weekend, it will be his
own decision.

The Briton, who won
the crown with Brawn GP at Interlagos last year, must win Sunday’s race
to have any chance of retaining it this year.

Button is fifth overall, 42 points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and 21 adrift of Hamilton with two races remaining.

“I have a chance to
still win the world championship, it’s a very small chance, but because
it’s a small chance I’ve got to go hell for leather, give it all I can
and enjoy it,” he told Reuters.

“I’ve got to finish
first. You can’t finish second. It’s not like I’m racing one other guy,
I’m racing four other guys and if one has a bad race, maybe the others
won’t.” Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber is second overall, 11 behind
Alonso, with his German team mate Sebastian Vettel 25 points off the
lead.

Button made clear
that, should he be out of the title reckoning and also in a position to
help his team mate, he would do so. But there would be no question of
surreptitious — and banned — ‘team orders’.

“I want to win the championship. I don’t want anyone else to win the championship,” said the 30-year-old.

“But if I suddenly
were to find myself in a position where I can’t win it, you are a team
and you do what you think is right…I will never be ordered to do
anything, but I will do what I think is right.

“I would not be
ordered. (team principal) Martin (Whitmarsh) knows I’m intelligent
enough to make my own decision, and the right decision.”

Webber situation

Button’s attitude contrasted to that of the Red Bull pairing, whose relationship has become increasingly strained.

Webber said on
Thursday that he felt the team favoured Vettel emotionally and
described his own title tilt as “inconvenient.” Button, far more
relaxed than this time last year and enjoying being out of the main
spotlight with all the burden of expectation, expressed sympathy for
the Australian.

“I think we’ve all
found ourselves in a situation where we don’t feel happy within a team,
where you don’t feel that you’re really wanted within that team,” said
the Briton, who was dropped by Renault in 2002 to make way for Alonso.

So yeah, it must be tough (for Webber).

“At my previous
team, for me it was so important to be involved with that team, and to
feel part of the team, and for the mechanics and engineers to actually
want you to be a part of that team, and be very sad to see you go,” he
said of Brawn.

“That is important to me, to know you are wanted.

“I had that there,
and I was worried that, moving teams, I wouldn’t have that, but I found
it very quickly and I feel very at home here,” continued Button.

“But not having
that must be tough, and I’m only going on what I read and hear what
Mark says, but he doesn’t look like he’s very loved there and that must
be tough and a difficult position to be in.” Pull Quote: I’m racing
four other guys and if one has a bad race, maybe the others won’t.

When Segun Fayose, Head of Corporate Communications of
Multichoice, Nigeria, informed me that SuperSport, cable television channel,
which some weeks ago signed on the German Bundesliga, was taking some Nigerian
journalists to Germany to see how the Bundesliga worked, I looked forward to
the trip with excitement.

Having watched German football from a distance for decades, I
was thrilled that I was finally going to get a first hand feel of the game and
how it is organised. It was a one week trip but there was so much packed into
it that it appeared much longer.

The first thing that struck me about the Bundesliga when we
visited its headquarters in Frankfurt was the sheer youthfulness of its
officials. The men and women administering the league had age on their side.

As we listened to, Katja Beck, Events & Promotions Manager;
Kay Langendorff, its press officer; Kay Dammholz, Vice President Sales &
Audiovisual Rights; and Patrick Stuber, Manager Sales & Audiovisual Rights,
talk about the organisations, goals and landmarks achieved by the Bundesliga
over the last few years, it was clear we were listening to people who knew
their business.

That knowledge has seen the league move from an obsession with
what Mainz FC’s Haruna Babangida describes a power football to a more fluid,
easy on the eyes game that has clubs like Bayern Munich, Dortmund and Mainz,
winning over foreign football fans.

One thing that struck my colleagues and I about the Bundesliga
was the passion of the football fans. It was quite simply electrifying the way
they chanted support for their teams. On Saturday, October 30, 2010 when our
hosts took us to the Fritz Walter Stadion in Kaiserslautern to watch the match
involving FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Monchengladbach, the stadium was
filled to overflowing with as many as 16000 fans standing to watch the
encounter.

I couldn’t help thinking about our senior national football
team, which plays to near empty stadiums whenever it takes to the field in
grade A international matches.

Another impressive thing about the trip to Kaiserslautern was
the large number of the aged who had come to watch the game. Put
conservatively, the percentage of fans over 50 years old who turned out for the
match should hover between 30-40 per cent. There was also a sizeable number of
children under 18 years of age coming with their parents to watch the match.
With both old and young turning out in the colours of their club, it was quite
a spectacle.

Electrifying atmosphere

Throw in the fact that day was the birthday of Fritz Walter,
Germany’s 1954 World Cup squad winning captain, who happens to be the most
respected player to star for Kaiserslautern, then you had an explosive
situation, one that inspired the players to trounce hapless Borrusia
Monchengladbach 3-0.

After watching that match, my colleagues and I looked forward to
an exciting time at Mainz the following day when the home club, perched atop
the table squared off against second placed Borrusia Dortmund. As we toured the
Mainz Stadium that Sunday, our guide assured us, just like our Bundesliga hosts
had done two days earlier, that the atmosphere in the Stadium was going to be
quite literarily, explosive. Pointing to one end of the stadium, he said:

“That is the West end of the stadium. It is here that you have
the most fanatical supporters. In that corner, you have 17 thousand fans
chanting non-stop. Whether the stadium is full or not, the west end is full,”
he said.

Indeed, before the game commenced, that end of the stadium was already
filled up with fans waving flags and mufflers of their darling club. When in
the end Mainz was beaten 2-0 by the more experienced Dortmund, the fans were
crestfallen. Such is the bond existing between the club and its fans that it
took a long time for most of the fans to straggle out of the stadium. Most of
them hung around the club house drowning their sorrow in the many litres of
beer provided by club management.

As the D-day for
the much-awaited election into the executive board of the Nigerian Polo
Federation (NPF) draws ever so near, polo clubs across the country have
for the past months become a battle field of sorts with high class and
expensive “polotickings”.

From every
indication this election promises to be the most closely fought polls
in the over a century old history of Nigerian polo. As you are reading
this, all the affiliated clubs have submitted their nominations and
forwarded their list of delegates to the NPF secretariat.

Though the national
body has refused to disclose the names of nominees and delegates, our
findings reveal an interesting mix of candidates jostling for the five
elective positions.

While the post of
the Executive Secretary may not be up for contest as the polo
fraternity is comfortable with the incumbent, Mohammed Baba Kyari, who
has been unopposed for three years running, the posts of President,
Vice President, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Legal Adviser and
Assistant Secretary will be decided at the polls.

One post that has
hotly dominated the various campaigns ever since, is that of the
all-powerful President. This is one strategic post that has truncated
two election attempts. Great polo administrators like Abubakar Umar,
Lawal Kaita, and Umaru Shinkafi have all been pointed to as possible
candidates, but none of them seem to be interested.

Our investigation
revealed that the race is likely to be a two horse race between the
former Lagos polo captain, Francis Ogboro, and former Kaduna polo vice
president, Alhassan Dantata.

While Dantata has
been on the project for the past three years now, Ogboro whose campaign
is catching on like wild fire came on board early this year. It will
take the 120 voting delegates to separate these titans who believe they
have what it takes to give polo a new face.

The post with the
longest list of contenders would be that of the first and second Vice
Presidents, where more than eight candidates are lined up. Our sources
reveal that big guys like Hadi Sirika, Kenneth Edet, Suleiman Abubakar,
Tajudeen Dantata, Alaba Alakija and Bashir Yar’Adua are on the list.

Another post that
is too close to call, is that of Treasurer, where Abubakar Kari is
likely to face opposition from Femi Oladele, Ibrahim Kontagora, Salmanu
Tilde and Abdullahi Ibrahim from Lagos.

Eddie Onah who has
been holding forth as acting Legal Adviser, will have a tough duel in
his hands as the President of Lagos Polo Club, Dolapo Akinrele (SAN) is
believed to have joined the race.

It was also
gathered that the Assistant Secretary post will be a hot race pitting
Hassan Gashash, Aliyu Sambo and Adeoye Ajibade from the Ibadan Polo
Club.

Bad blood

Dawule Baba, Musa
Yahaya and Prince Umar Kabir are favoured as Ex Officio members of the
NPF. At the height of campaigns leading to the polls billed for this
week at the Ahmadu Yakubu Club House in Kaduna, some contestants have
resorted to mudslinging and pure blackmail. This is in spite of the
fact that they are all friends, bonded by the noble game.

According to
election guidelines released last August in Katsina, delegates are to
be drawn from the ten functioning polo clubs that have been classified
into three categories.

The Category A
clubs, which includes Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Port Harcourt,
will provide fifteen delegates each. Ibadan, Bauchi, Jos and Yola,
which make up Category B clubs, will elect ten delegates each, while
Minna, which is the only Category C club, has five delegates. Zaria
Polo Club, Sokoto Polo Club, Nigerian Army and Police polo associations
that are associate members of the NPF are not allowed to participate in
the polls.

In offering to lead
the renaissance, Ogboro and Dantata looked very much sincere and
committed to the crusade, each citing the need to promote the noble
game and return polo to its past glory as their major concern.

Both are great
administrators with records that speak volumes. Ogboro who held forth
as captain for a decade, has the laudable achievement of transforming
Lagos Polo Club. He almost single-handedly turned the foremost club
into a million naira outfit, while Dantata restored order in Kaduna and
donated a viewing pavilion to the club.

The major
responsibility before the delegates now is to carefully study the
manifestoes of these leading candidates, ask the hard questions on how
each of them intends to turn things around, before taking a proper
position.

Finally, in voting, delegates should listen to their conscience.
They should not vote the interest of an individual or group. Rather,
they should vote in such a way that Polo the king of sport will emerge
the ultimate winner, bearing in mind that posterity will judge everyone
according to his decision.

Arguably
one of the most successful clubs in the country, Enyimba International
of Aba will today begin their quest for a record seventh League title
as the 2010/11 Nigeria Premier League (NPL) season finally gets
underway.

The Peoples’
Elephant will be up against Ocean Boys of Yenegoa in one of today’s
interesting fixtures and for Coach Okey Emordi, his team cannot afford
to start on a wrong footing.

“First and
foremost, I must say I am very glad that the league has finally begun
after suffering series of postponement. For us every match is important
and that is why we will be taking today’s match very serious. We have a
target of doing well in all the competitions that we will be playing in
this season and we are ready to meet that target,” he said.

Emordi is one of
the coaches who have won several laurels for Enyimba with the peak
performance being a CAF Champions League crown in 2004, which in turn
fetched him the continent’s best coach award.

Gunning for the treble

Enyimba will be
campaigning on three fronts; the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), the
Federations’ Cup and the CAF Champions’ League, this season.

Already the club
has shown signs of what to expect this season after adding the 2010
Charity Cup title to its growing list of honours recently. Enyimba
defeated Federation Cup Champions, Kaduna United, 4-2 on penalties, to
lift the season’s opening trophy.

Aware of the
daunting task ahead, the head, media and publicity of Enyimba, Tonnex
Chukwu, said the team has beefed up its squad with both young and
experienced players to continue the tradition of winning trophies.

“Enyimba has a
tradition of getting the best legs in the country. At the end of each
season, we beef up the squad and make the necessary changes in the
perceived areas of weakness and this season was no different.

“We have made a
number of signings who will help us continue our tradition of winning
titles and trophies. The season is a long one and we know we need a
very solid squad to effectively challenge for honours in the coming
season,” he said.

A better finish

Ocean Boys on their
part will be attempting to better their 14th place finish last season
in the league. Their last visit to Aba ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Already, one of the
clubs’ new signing, Andrew Michael has been picked as one of the ten
players to look out for in the new season. Michael, 19, is strong and
speedy on and off the ball and can also shoot with both feet. League
experts have predicted that he could finally break the duck at Ocean
Boys this season.

South West Derby

In other matches,
the ancient city of Ibadan will be aglow with action as local rivals,
Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Sunshine Stars of Akure go head to head in
the South West derby at the Liberty Stadium.

Already, both teams
have a score to settle as the Akure based team edged out 3SC 1-0 in a
pre-season tournament held last week in Ijebu Ode and the Sunshine Boys
went on to lift the trophy at stake.

While 3SC coach,
Fatai Amoo has played down the defeat in Ijebu Ode, he said his boys
have learned from their mistakes and will be all out for the three
points today. 3SC defeated Sunshine 2-0 in the corresponding fixture
last season.

Hence, Amoo
reaffirmed his confidence in the ability of the Oluyole Warriors not
only to repeat the feat but to also clinch at least a continental
ticket at the end of this season.

“The club’s
preparation for the season have been thorough and painstaking, the
frequent postponements of the league have also helped us to play many
grade ‘A’ friendly matches like the South West tourney that just ended,
which gave us the ample opportunity to test new players during the
screening exercise. I can assure our fans that Shooting will favourably
compete with all top teams in the Premier League and come out with good
results,” the former assistant Super Eagles coach said.

Last time out in
the league, it was contrasting fortunes for both teams; while the going
was good for Sunshine Stars who finished third in the league, earning
their first continental ticket to the Confederations Cup competition,
Shooting Stars were battling relegation for the better part of the
season with Amoo coming in to finally rescue the team.

This time around the chairman of the club, Joseph Ladipo, has promised the teeming fans of the club a good outing.

Ladipo commended
the efforts and cooperation of the Oyo State Governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala, towards the club, describing him as number one supporter of
Shooting Stars.

League newcomers

In other fixtures,
Premier League newcomers, Bukola Babes of Kwara, Crown FC of Ogbomoso
and JUTH FC will be hoping to get their campaign in the top flight off
to fine starts.

Of the lot, only
Bukola Babes will be playing at home as they host Zamfara United at the
newly approved Offa Township Stadium. Bukola Babes have revealed that
they will get their Nigerian Premier League debut underway with 29
players.

“We are aware that
the NPL rules guarantees each team a maximum of 35 players but we just
want to be modest and careful about it all.” the Manager of the newly
promoted side, Alloy Chukwuemeka, said.

“That is why we
want to start off with 29 players whose registration formalities we
have completed. We will make up the required number as the season goes
on, and by the time the tear and wear sets in.”

Not just making up numbers

The Bukola Babes
team manager added that the club is not in the top flight to make the
numbers. “That we are new in the Premier League does not make us
inferior or less ambitious.

“We are not here
just to make up the number. We really mean business as the only
privately owned and sponsored club in the Premier League,” he said.

Other matches

In the other games,
JUTH FC will be away to Port-Harcourt to face Sharks FC, The Plateau
State-based team is returning to the top-flight division in Nigeria
after they were relegated two seasons ago. The team has retained 21
players from the squad that helped it gain promotion last season. It
signed twelve more players to beef up the squad.

The last of the
newly promoted sides; Crown of Ogbomosho will travel to Minna to face,
Niger Tornadoes in another newly approved stadium; Bako Kotangora
Stadium in Minna.

Though the league
is starting out without a title sponsor, the new NPL board has promised
that tremendous improvements will be seen in the league this year. The
board said it will not condone any act of hooliganisms while reassuring
players that their welfare will be adequately protected.

According to the fixtures released by the NPL, the season is meant to be concluded on June 12, 2011.