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The national stadium, Surulere was agog with fans and
well-wishers on Thursday as the body of the late Super Eagles and Skoda Xanthi
defender, Olubayo Adefemi was laid to rest.

On hand to pay their last respects were Super Eagles coach,
Samson Siasia; former Nigerian goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu; Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF) technical director Chris Green, family members, journalists,
and fans.

The day, which began with a lying-in-state at the national
stadium saw representatives from the NFF, sportswriters and fans pouring
encomiums on the late Adefemi.

Speaking on the loss, Siasia exclaimed that it was sad to lose a
player that young, stating that a promising career had been cut short by fate.

For his part, Yomi Opakunle, a journalist described the defender
as somebody who was God-fearing.

“He did not speak two sentences without acknowledging God,”
Opakunle said. “He was so humble and respectful.”

From the stadium to the
grave

From the national stadium, all roads led to the Atan Cemetery
where a brief ceremony was held.

Speaking at the graveside, Adesanya Adewara of the Celestial
Church of Christ, while delivering a sermon, admonished the crowd to examine
their lives.

“There is time for everything and I tell you, one day, each and
every one of us is going to answer the call, but the only thing that would
speak for us is the impact we have had on people,” he said.

He added: “Though Adefemi’s life was short, it was a life well
spent because of what we have heard about him.” He thereafter enjoined his well
wishers not to forget him and the legacies he was trying to leave behind.

Teammates speak

Some of his teammates also expressed sorrow at his demise. Yinka
Adedeji, Adefemi’s long-time friend, who also played alongside the late player
in the Flying Eagles, as well as in the Olympic team, explained that Adefemi’s
demise would leave a gap in his heart.

“The extent of love, which we have for each other as a team and
as individuals is great and we are going to miss him,” he said.

“To me, Olubayo was more than a friend, he is a brother. We have
been very close; we are just like five and six.

“I have so many memories of him and one thing is that he would
be remembered forever. His memory would forever linger in my heart,” Adedeji
concluded.

Goalkeeper for the team that won silver in the U-20 World Cup in
2005, Ambrose Vanzekin, explained that it still unbelievable to him that his
former teammate is no more.

“For me, he is a brother, he is a friend and we have been
together in the national team for a long time,” said Vanzekin.

“The first time I heard about it, I could not believe my ears
because it was like a dream. I could not go to train that morning. The way I am
now, I have not been myself since I heard the news.

“I have not been able to play games; I told my coach that I was
not psychologically fit. He was a brother to us, we started the whole thing and
it is so sad when you see one of your numbers gone. I pray God would help his
family to be able to bear the loss.”

Vanzekin also spoke about the one recurring memory he has of the
late defender.

“Every time he scored a goal, he had a special way of
celebrating it. He would act like he was riding a boat and this is what I
continue to see when I think about him and that is one memory I would never
forget of him.”

Adefemi is survived by an aged mother, sisters, brother, nephews and nieces.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will commence their defence of the WAFU
Cup of Nations with a game against the Eagles of Mali.

The draws ceremony on Thursday had the Super Eagles coming out
of the pot with the national teams of Niger and Liberia in Group A. Group B
consists of Senegal, Gambia, Togo and Ghana.

The ceremony took place under the supervision of the
secretary-general of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU), Aka Malan, in
Abeokuta and had in attendance football bigwigs, such as veteran Nigerian coach
Kashimawo Laloko and the sports commissioner of Ogun State, Bukola Olopade
amongst others.

The championship which will see eight countries competing for
the coveted trophy gets underway on May 5, 2011 at the 35,000 capacity Moshood
Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta with the Nigerians taking on the
Malians.

It would be recalled that the WAFU Championship, which was
introduced in 1975, became moribund thereafter for nineteen years, but was
resuscitated by the Ogun State Government last year.

Nigeria won last year’s tournament after defeating Senegal in
the final.

In a related development, official draws of the 26th Edition of
the Eyadema Cup was also conducted yesterday with twelve clubs across West
Africa participating in the tournament scheduled to hold in Togo in December
2011.

The clubs include, Atletic De Coleah (Guinee), Horoya AC (Guinee), ASC Niary
Tally (Senegal), ASC Hlm (Senegal), Mighty Barrolle (Liberia), Watanga
(Liberia), Akonana FC d’ Arit (Niger), Dan Ka FC de Maradi (Niger), Aduana
Stars (Ghana), Kwara United (Nigeria) and Rangers International (Nigeria).

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles are through to the final of the ongoing
African Youth Championship after a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the ‘Les
Aiglons’ of Mali at the Dobsonville Stadium, in Soweto yesterday.

Two-goal hero in the opening match against Ghana, Uche Nwofor,
put the Nigerians ahead in the 22nd minute of play before Stanley Okoro sealed
the win from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time.

Nigerian coach John Obuh made no changes to the side which ran
out 2-0 winners over Gambia in Nigeria’s last Group B game.

And with the pitch at the Dobsonville Stadium looking much
better than it had previously been after a break from the incessant rains that
had plagued Johannesburg and rendered the surface almost unplayable. Both sides
began the game cautiously with the Nigerians more comfortable moving the ball
on the ground while the much taller Malians opted for aerial balls.

The tempo of the game, however, moved up a gear in the eighth
minute when Chidi Osuchukwu rose above his marker to head the ball towards goal
only to be denied by Malian goalkeeper Cheick Sy.

The Nigerians kept up the pressure and deservedly shot into the
lead in the 22nd minute through Nwofor who stabbed the ball into the back of
the net after the Malian goalkeeper failed to properly deal with Osuchukwu’s
cross.

It was the third goal of the tournament for the Enugu Rangers
forward and he joined South African player, Lucky Nguzana, on three goals to
top the scorers chart.

The Malians reacted by throwing more men forward and came close
to grabbing an equaliser three minutes after the restart but Adama Toure’s
shot, after the Nigerian defence failed to deal with a corner kick, came off
Danjuma Paul’s right upright.

But the greatest undoing of Diallo Sekou’s Malian side remained
their overdependence on long balls which the Nigerians easily dealt with
through well-laid offside traps by the backline marshalled by the duo of Gbenga
Arokoyo and Gani Ogungbe.

But with the half drawing to a close, Nwofor thought he had
increased Nigeria’s lead when he got on the end of Abdul Ajagun’s cross only to
see his goal bound header stopped from hitting the back of the net by an
incredible reflex save by Sy.

Nigerian grit

The Malians started the second half determined to pull level.
And five minutes into the half Adama Toure beat the Nigerian offside trap, but
goalkeeper Paul was quick off his line to deny the Malian forward.

A minute later Ogungbe was booked by referee Mario Bangoura for
a rash challenge. It was the second yellow card of the tournament for the
Gateway FC defender and ruled him out of Sunday’s final.

Around the hour mark, and against the run of play, Nigeria
almost went 2-0 up through Nwofor who somehow failed to get his head onto a
delightful cross by Ajagun with the goal at his mercy.

Then came a period of complete Malian domination but Paul was on
hand to save the day for the Flying Eagles. And even when the Nasarawa United
goalkeeper was beaten, as was the case in the 74th minute when Ibrahimma Diarra
latched onto a header, the post denied the Malians.

Shortly after the match referee indicated that there will be
five minutes added time, Olanrewaju Kayode was brought down in the Malian area.

The Guinean referee wasted little time in pointing to the spot
and Stanley Okoro, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, calmly
slotted the ball into the net with Sy rooted to the spot.

The Flying Eagles will come up against Cameroon in the final
after the Young Pharaohs were defeated by Cameroon in the other semi-final
match on penalties.

It will be Nigeria’s eighth Africa Youth Championship final
appearance and they will be hoping to claim their sixth African title, while
the Cameroonians will be seeking a second title.

Both sides met earlier in the tournament with the Cameroonians running out
1-0 winners.

Jose Mourinho wrote off Real Madrid’s Champions League chances
and accused Barcelona of being favoured by the footballing authorities after
his 10-man side lost their semi-final first leg 2-0 on Wednesday.

Real had midfielder Pepe sent off after 62 minutes and Mourinho
was sent to the stands for his protests soon after, and Lionel Messi took full
advantage to score both goals in a stunned Bernabeu.

“Congratulations to a fantastic football team,” the Real coach
said in a rambling rant at the post-match news conference.

“But congratulations for all they have as well, it must be
difficult to get all this power. Where does this power come from? I don’t know
if it’s because they give UNICEF publicity (on their shirts)?”

Mourinho went on to list Barca’s semifinal victory over Chelsea
in 2009, the Inter Milan semifinal from last season and now “the scandal of the
Bernabeu”, as he suggested unfair red cards had been issued to rivals playing
the Catalan side. “This thing happens in each semifinal,” he said.

“I am here just to ask this question and I hope to get the
answer one day.

“I respect him (Barca coach, Pep Guardiola) a great deal as a
coach and a person…but I would like to see him win a Champions League without
scandals.

“Pep is a fantastic football coach and he has won one Champions
League. I would be ashamed to have won it after the scandal of Stamford Bridge
(when he said Chelsea should have had four penalties).

“I won two Champions Leagues with Porto and Inter and won both
on the pitch. We won with work, effort, sweat and fight.”

Mission impossible

The second of those European crowns came after a famous
rearguard action with 10 men at the Nou Camp last season, losing 1-0 after
having won the first leg 3-1.

However, Mourinho quickly ruled out any chance of another heroic
performance in next Tuesday’s second leg at Barca’s stadium.

“Obviously in the return leg it’s a very difficult mission,” he
added. “It’s not very difficult, it’s impossible.

“They will get to the final and that’s that”

Real have had a player sent off in each of the four ‘Clasicos’
they have played in La Liga, the King’s Cup final and the Champions League this
season, and now will be without the suspended Sergio Ramos and Pepe next week.

Mourinho, who said he was not supposed to be speaking to the
media after having been sent off, will have to watch from the stands.

When asked what he had said to receive the punishment from the
German referee, Wolfgang Stark, he replied: “I didn’t say anything, I just
applauded his decision with two thumbs.

“If I told UEFA and him what I thought and feel, I would end my career now.”
On television replays of the incident he could be seen to say “Well done, well
done” to the fourth official after Pepe was sent off for a high-footed
challenge on Barca fullback Dani Alves.

West
Bromwich Albion’s Nigerian forward, Osaze Odemwingie has declared his
readiness to snub any interest from Juventus and stick with the Baggies.

For that to happen
however, the Nigerian international is demanding that West Brom retain
their English Premier League status for another season, and that he be
offered a new contract at the Hawthorns.

Odemwingie has
enjoyed an impressive debut season in the English top flight division,
scoring an impressive 13 goals in 26 starts following his summer
transfer from Russia’s Lokomotiv Moscow.

His performances
for the modest Baggies have caught the attention of a host of top
clubs, both in England and elsewhere across Europe.

Tottenham manager,
Harry Redknapp is reportedly keen on bringing the Nigerian to White
Hart Lane in a bid to bolster his attack for next season’s campaign,
but Italian giants Juventus are most pundits’ favourites to secure the
signature of the former player of French club side, Lille.

West Brom are
however determined to keep the 29-year-old, and are ready to open
negotiations with him over a new deal – something Odemwingie is more
than happy to do, provided the Baggies remain in the Premier League
come the end of the season.

Happy to stay

“I’ve heard a lot
recently about Juventus being interested, but I try not to pay too much
attention to it,” Odemwingie said. “My intention is to continue playing
in England and if West Brom is not relegated I’m only too happy to stay.

West Brom are currently six points clear of relegation with four games remaining in the Premier League season.

“The 13 goals I
have scored in my first year in England is a decent result although I
am aiming for more. Ideally, I would like to finish with at least 15,”
he continued.

He added: “It’s likely that in the summer the management will offer me a new contract on better terms in the summer.”

Ticket
applications for next year’s London Olympics far exceeded supply with
more than half of the 650 sessions oversubscribed and going to a
ballot, organisers said on Wednesday.

The showcase
opening and closing ceremonies were among those events declared sold
out, with early indications showing that more than 20 million tickets
were applied for and only 6.6 million on offer.

Some 1.8 million
people, more than 95 percent of them British residents eager to be part
of a once-in-a-lifetime home Games, made requests in the six-week
window up to Tuesday’s midnight deadline.

Organisers, who
kept the ticketing website open for an extra hour after a late surge in
demand brought it to a standstill, said applications were received for
every session and every sport in every price range.

“We are thrilled
with the response right across the board, in all sports and all
sessions,” said LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe in a statement.

“Certain events
have seen massive demand–for example the opening ceremony, which is
more than 10 times oversubscribed–so there will understandably be
disappointment and we will find a way to go back to those people with
other tickets.”

Soldout events

Organisers said
track cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, triathlon, modern pentathlon,
equestrian (cross country) and the opening and closing ceremonies were
sell-out events.

All will go to ballot, as will most of the sessions for swimming and tennis.

LOCOG said they
would now check and de-duplicate applications before running the
ballots to determine who got tickets. Money will then be taken from
accounts from May 10 with customers receiving confirmation in June of
what events they have tickets for.

Unsuccessful applicants will be given further chances in June and July to buy unallocated tickets.

“What is most
encouraging is that the majority of applications are for multiple
tickets and for several sports, which shows that friends and family are
planning to go to the Games together,” said Coe.

Organisers hope to raise about 400 million pounds from ticket sales.

The
second edition of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) North-West
African Women’s Sevens rugby tournament was won by Tunisia over the
Easter weekend as the Nigerian team missed out from the event.

The Nigerian team
had earlier been billed to take part in the tournament. But, according
to Akin Akintola, a representative of the Nigerian Rugby Football
Federation (NRFF), logistics problems ensured that the Nigerian team
were unavailable for the meet.

“We could not get
flights out of the country to Senegal, which was why the ladies could
not make it to the tournament,” said Akintola in a telephone interview
with NEXT.

Tunisia’s women’s
rugby team won the second edition of the tournament at the Sports
College, some 60km from the Senegalese capital, Dakar, after defeating
the hosts 5-0 in a thrilling final. It was a second successive title
for the North Africans who also won the inaugural edition in 2009.

At the last
edition, the Nigerians returned home with a second place finish and
many expected them to go all the way this time around.

Flight arrangements

Expressing
disappointment at this development, Gifty Ann Myers, a representative
of CAR, stated that it should not have happened as Nigeria is looked to
for guidance in the region.

“Flight
arrangements should have been sorted out ahead of time because the NRFF
had almost four months notice to accept and prepare,” she told NEXT
from her base in Accra, Ghana. “We hope that Nigeria will improve on
her administrative structure to avoid such lapses in future.”

One of the
players, Adebimpe Johnson, who had been training for the Senegal
tournament expressed disappointment at the shoddy preparation.

“Sincerely, more
is expected from the NRFF. When I was called for national duty, I was
very happy to be involved, but they left us in confusion not explaining
what was going on. That was very sad,” she lamented.

“We have gone to
Senegal before during the Rugby World Cup African qualifiers, and we
managed to make the trip notwithstanding the challenges of lack of
funds by then,” added Ntiense Williams, a member of CAR’s technical
committee.

“It is not the way
to go especially when we are just returning to international rugby
after a two-years ban by the International Rugby Board,” added Williams
who is of the opinion that it could not have been travel arrangements
that stopped Nigeria from being in the tournament.

Meanwhile, reports
reaching NEXT claim that the inability of the team to feature in
Senegal was because the NRFF did not officially inform the National
Sports Commission (NSC). However, Tony Ohaeri, a spokesman of the NSC,
debunked the claims as rumours.

Seven countries participated at this year’s event. They were
winners Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroun, Egypt, Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Niger, who replaced war-torn Cote d’Ivoire, were disqualified after it
was discovered that they fielded underage players.

Schalke
04 are in need of a minor miracle if they are to have any hope of
advancing past Manchester United to the Champions League final after
slumping to a 2-0 home defeat without as much as a fight.

It is not so much
Tuesday’s 2-0 first leg loss that leaves them facing a mountain to
climb in Manchester’s “theatre of dreams” but the lack of belief they
can turn the tie around against a team that could have easily won by
five goals.

The fact that
Schalke had not lost any of their last nine Champions League matches
before Tuesday and won all of their five previous home games in the
competition makes their work in Manchester even more difficult.

“Our starting
position now certainly points to Manchester having the advantage but in
football you never know,” Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick said.

The German coach,
who took over five weeks ago from Felix Magath, said this short time
had not been enough to bind his players into a unit capable of
seriously challenging the three-time European champions.

“Manchester were on
a different level than Inter Milan (in the quarterfinals). We reached
our limits. We will certainly need a wonder to progress,” he said.

No real chance

Schalke, 10th in
the Bundesliga with no real chance of playing in the Champions League
next season, take on Bayern Munich on the weekend hoping a win could
restore some of their lost confidence after United ripped their defence
to shreds for over an hour in a one-sided game.

“We will not give
up in the second leg but the result is pretty clear,” said goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer, who prevented an embarrassingly high-score defeat with
half a dozen superb saves.

His performance was
the solitary Schalke highlight, prompting United coach Sir Alex
Ferguson to label it the best by any goalkeeper against United in his
years in charge.

To have any chance
in the return leg, Schalke need more than just an in-form Neuer. They
must beat United at home, with Manchester having yet to lose this
season in the entire competition, let alone at home.

“Why should we capitulate?” Rangnick asked.

“We need to make things differently and in football many things have
happened. We have shown we can score away from home and we will try to
get our chances in Manchester.”

Not
perturbed about the size of their opponent or lulled by their exploits
so far at the ongoing Africa Youth Championships (AYC), Nigeria’s
Flying Eagles have vowed to win today’s semi-final contest against
fellow West Africans, Mali.

The match, which is
the first of the two semi-final matches billed for today, comes up at
the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg at 11am Nigerian time.

Mali and Nigeria
have met four times at past AYC, with one being a match for third place
in 1995. Of the four matches, Nigeria won two while the other two ended
in draws. However the Malians have been superb in the present edition
of the AYC, scoring the most goals, so far, at the tournament – six.

With their sheer
size and athleticism, the Malians easily overcame their Group ‘A’
opponents, South Africa and Egypt. However, John Obuh, the coach of the
Nigerian team dismissed fears that the size of the Malians would put
them at an advantage over his team. According to Mr Obuh, there is more
to football than the physical size of players.

“Football is not
about size. The most important thing is your brain. After all, the best
player in the world (Argentina’s Lionel Messi) is not the biggest
player around,” he said.

He added: “By the time we clash with them, we will know which will come out tops – (body) size or the brain.”

New target

After achieving
their primary target of making it to the FIFA U-20 World Cup billed for
Colombia later this year, the Flying Eagles now hope to add another
feather to their cap by making it to the final of the AYC.

A win will see the
Flying Eagles make their first final appearance since losing in the
championship game of the 2007 tournament to hosts, Congo; the young
Nigerians are resolute that the goal is attainable.

Chima Uluocha, a
defender, is one of the home-based players in the Flying Eagles team;
he has promised an improved performance from him and his teammates.

“We will improve on
our performance against Gambia to beat Mali. They are a good side but
we are better and have been improving as the tournament progressed,” he
said.

Similarly, Terry
Envoh, a forward, affirmed: “We expect nothing short of victory. We
will be alert, fit, quick and stick to our style of play and game plan
so as to win on Thursday.”

To get to this
stage, Mali defeated hosts South Africa 4-2 in the opening match and
Egypt 1-0, before holding Lesotho to a 1-1 draw to top Group ‘A’.

Nigeria picked the
second spot in Group ‘B’ after beating world and African champions
Ghana 2-1; losing the second game 0-1 to Cameroon before beating Gambia
2-0.

Meanwhile, in today’s other semi-final match, Cameroon and Egypt will be doing battle for the other final ticket.

Both teams had clashed at friendly matches played in Egypt, leading
up to the AYC, with the young Pharaohs defeating their Cameroonian
counterparts on all three occasions.

Messi’s two goals settled a scrappy and tense
affair at the Bernabeu and gave Barcelona a huge advantage to take back
to the Nou Camp.

The Argentine met
Ibrahim Afellay’s low cross from the right to steer past Iker Casillas
from close range 14 minutes from time to break the deadlock.

Messi
then netted a wonderful second three minutes from time when he weaved
his way into the Real penalty area and slotted past Casillas to give
the Catalan side a two-goal cushion to take into Tuesday’s return back
in Barcelona.

Mourinho was sent
off for his protestations soon after midfielder Pepe was dismissed in
the 61st minute by referee Wolfgang Stark for a flying tackle on Daniel
Alves.

Tempers had already flared at halftime with players and officials involved in a melee near the tunnel.

Barcelona reserve goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto was sent off for his part in an unsightly fracas.

A
confrontation between Barca midfielder Seydou Keita and Real defender
Alvaro Arbeloa as they left the pitch appeared to spark the trouble,
which was quickly ended by security staff and police.

The
Real fans turned the giant arena into a sea of white flags before
kickoff, while several thousand Barca faithful waving Catalan banners
high up in the stands tried to make themselves heard above the din.

Real
tore into Barca and stopped them playing in the first half of last
week’s King’s Cup final but it was a different story on Wednesday as
the visitors dominated possession without showing too much ambition in
attack.

David Villa cut in from
the right wing in the 11th minute and sent a low drive whistling past
the post and Messi sent Xavi clear in the 25th but his effort was
straight at Casillas.

The home
side’s best effort of the first half came moments before the break when
Cristiano Ronaldo tested Victor Valdes with a swerving effort the Barca
keeper just managed to block.

The
second half was short on the kind of attacking football Real and Barca
normally produce as the visitors again controlled the ball without ever
really threatening the home goal until Messi broke the deadlock and
then gave Barca a huge boost for the return leg at the Nou Camp next
Tuesday with his second.</