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With the U.S. Open
trophy tucked safely under his arms and the world of tennis at his
feet, Rafa Nadal answered the one question everybody was asking with a
shy grin.

“I think talking about if I am better or worse than Roger (Federer) is stupid,” he protested.

“Because the titles
say he’s much better than me, so that’s true at that moment. I think
that will be true all my life.” Federer, 29, has a record 16 grand slam
championships, but the 24-year-old Nadal made his ninth grand slam
triumph something extra special.

The 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2
victory over Novak Djokovic of Serbia for his first Flushing Meadows
win made Nadal the seventh man to claim all four of the sport’s grand
slam titles, and the first since Rod Laver 41 years ago to close a
season with wins at the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S.
championship.

The question, however, still remained.

Almost from the
moment he stepped onto the court as a teenager raised on dusty red
Spanish clay courts, Nadal has been answering the same question: Was he
going to be the greatest player of all time?

Nadal’s New York performance made a huge statement.

Amazing feeling

After piling up
five French Opens, two Wimbledons and an Australian Open the
hard-hitting left-hander had set his sights firmly on the final jewel
in the grand slam crown.

He improved his
serve, honed his volley and nurtured his fitness to triumph at a
Federer stronghold where the Swiss had won five titles and reached six
successive finals.

“It was an amazing
feeling,” beamed Nadal. “I played my best match in the U.S. Open at the
most important moment, so I am very, very happy for that, for sure.

“To win in here in
the U.S. Open I think is the more difficult tournament for me to play,
more difficult conditions to adapt, to adjust my game on this court,
for the balls, for the court, for everything.”

With Nadal sweeping through the slams, it is easy to forget the turnaround the Spaniard has made.

A new man

Last year his
chronic knee problems were so bad it kept him from defending his
Wimbledon title. An abdominal problem weakened him at the U.S. Open,
and his physical woes were so bad he quit his quarter-final at the
Australian Open in January.

“Life changes
sometimes, no?” said a philosophical Nadal. “Ten months ago (it) seemed
like I was never gonna be the same. Now, seems I’m gonna be one of the
greatest…

“When you come back, you are ready to value how difficult it is win titles and how difficult is to be there all the time.”

Nadal understands
how quickly things can change in tennis and in life, but he served his
rivals a dire warning in addressing the state of his game.

“For me the most
important thing is try to keep serving like I did during this
tournament,” said Nadal, who lost only one set in the championship.

“If I can do it, it
is gonna be a big change for me and my tennis career, because if I have
those free points that I had during all this tournament, (it’s) gonna
be different for me.

“I can play more aggressive. I can play with more calm when I am returning.

“After that, I can
improve everything: volley, keep improving the volley, keep improving
the position on court, being more inside the court.

“I improved a lot
since last year, but never is enough. I am not a perfect player, so
everybody can improve.” Even with improvement, Nadal was loathe to
speculate on catching Federer.

“We will see what happens in the future. I am not a genius.”

Plans of naming a
substantive coach for the Super Eagles on or before an earlier set
deadline of October 1, 2010 is no longer feasible, the acting head of
the Nigeria Football Federation Musa Ahmadu has said.

“In all honesty, I
do not see us having a coach that will be contracted on a long term
basis before the earlier set target of October 1st 2010 giving the
circumstances surrounding the elections; the decision taken by the
court to annul it and all that,” he said.

Ahmadu, who is
currently in charge of affairs at the NFF however revealed that the
football house will be relying on stand-in coach, Augustine Eguaveon to
lead the Eagles when they take on the Syli Stars of Guinea on October
10 – in their second game of the ongoing Africa Nations Cup qualifiers
in Conakry.

“The problems
notwithstanding, the preparation for the second game against Guinea in
Conakry will go on as we will be talking to the interim coach to see if
the previous arrangement that we have on ground can still go on and I
am sure as a matured person he would look at it and oblige us,” he said.

Orphaned Eagles

The Super Eagles
have been without a coach since the departure of Swede, Lars Lagerback
who did not return to his duty post after the disappointing outing at
the South Africa 2010 World Cup.

The previous board
of the NFF had earlier held negotiations with Heartland Coach Samson
Siasia and looked set to name the Beijing Olympics Silver winning coach
as manager of the Eagles before disagreements over wages put the deal
on hold.

While Siasia
requested for a $100,000 monthly salary and a signing-on fee, the NFF
offered him a monthly salary of $20,000. The situation however took
another dimension as the now suspended board announced that will
advertise the Super Eagles coaching post rather than stick with Siasia.

Lawal’s advice

Meanwhile, former
Super Eagles player Garba Lawal has advised that the NFF should be
proactive in resolving the appointment of a coach for the team .
According to Lawal, a prompt decision will go a long way in keeping the
team focused as they seek qualification for the 2012 Nations Cup to be
jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

“Sincerely I am not
happy when we waste so much time in naming coaches for our teams, it
was the same attitude that affected our game at the World Cup where we
only named a coach just three four months to the World cup. I just hope
they can make up their mind to pick someone on time,” he said.

Nigeria is currently behind Guinea in the standings as it only
managed a 2-0 victory over Madagascar while Guinea secured a 4-1
victory over Ethiopia in Addis Ababa

There are over 250
athletes representing 19 countries at the 2010 Senior African Swimming
Championships holding in Morocco. But after the first day of
competitions, the South African team is head and shoulders above the
rest. Team South Africa snagged 11 medals and set four tournament
records at the end of day one.

Karin Prinsloo
began the medals haul for South Africa in the Monday morning heats when
she broke Lauren Roets’ six-year-old record in the 100m freestyle with
a time of 56:48s. She then took 800th of a second off that morning
record in the evening finals clocking 56:40s. Compatriot, Leone Vorster
took the silver medal in 57:50s.

In the men’s 100m
breaststroke event, William Diering, who posted the fastest time in the
morning heats, finished second in 1:03:13s in a hard fought race with
Algeria’s Nabil Kebbab. Nabil has a South African connection as he is
being coached by former South African coach Karoly Torros, who
currently heads Algeria’s swimming.

The South African
show continued when Kathryn Meaklim finished the 400m individual medley
and set a new Championships Record time of 4:45:76s, improving on her
previous morning heat record of 4:53:72s. Bianca Meyer claimed bronze
in 4:52.69.

There was another
gold and silver haul for South Africa in the women’s 50m backstroke.
Chanelle van Wyk set a new Championship Record clocking 29:31s while
Jessica Ashley-Cooper claimed silver in 29:90s.

In the men’s 50m
backstroke, youngster Darren Murray swam his way to the top of the
podium in a time of 26.56, with Garth Tune coming in a close second in
27.03.

The women’s 4 x
200m freestyle relay promised to be an exciting final, following
Tunisia and Algeria’s quick times earlier in the day. The race lived up
to the expectations as the crowd rose to their feet in a nail-biting
final sprint which saw Team South Africa break the 2006 Championship
Record in 8:27.61, with Tunisia and Algeria completing the remaining
medal placings.

Medal rankings
after day 1 Wednesday’s event Day 3 15 September 2010 15 400m Freestyle
Women 16 100m Freestyle Men 17 100m Backstroke Women 18 200m Backstroke
Men 19 50m Backstroke Women 20 50m Butterfly Men 21 4X100m Free Relay
Women 22 4X200m Free Relay Men

As many as fifty
professional golfers from across the country are expected to take part
in the fast approaching Nigeria Cup 2010 National Day Golf Tournament.

The tournament
which is now in its 14th year at the Ikoyi Club, Lagos, following its
inaugural edition back in 1997, is part of activities by the club to
commemorate Nigeria’s national day, and this year’s edition will see
some of the country’s top golfers competing alongside their amateur
counterparts for honours.

Frank Gboneme the
vice captain of the host club’s golf section disclosed this in Lagos on
Tuesday at a press briefing to herald this year’s tournament. Gboneme
also revealed the other programmes lined up by the event’s organisers
to mark Nigeria’s golden jubilee anniversary.

The qualifiers for
the Nigeria Cup took place last on Saturday at the Ikoyi Club but the
main draw doesn’t take place until September 28 when the professional
players will vie for the two million cash prize that is up for grabs
with their amateur counterparts in the Pro-Am tournament.

This event will
however be preceded by a golf tournament for children, as well as a
children’s creative class on September 25 and 26. The latter is in
conjunction with the African Art Resource Centre which will be
providing over 20 renowned artists to tutor the children.

A day later, on the September 27, the caddies will take to the course, while the ladies will have their turn on September 30.

Four-Club competition

On October 1, an
innovative event, tagged the Four-Club competition, will be held at the
venue. It will allow each competitor take to the golf course – not with
their complete range of golf clubs, but with their favourite four clubs.

“In a normal
tournament, a golfer can take to the course with as much as 14 clubs
but this competition will see the golfers limiting themselves to just
four clubs,” Gboneme said. “So it becomes tricky at some stage.”

The Four-Club
competition won’t be the only event planned for Nigeria’s national day
as there will also be a cultural night with fireworks to precede the
Gentleman’s Final which comes up the following day.

Gboneme also used Tuesday’s press briefing to thank the various
corporate bodies that have contributed to the success story of the
Nigeria Cup National Day Golf Tournament. They include UBA, Diamond
Bank, Oando Petroleum and Nigeria Breweries, makers of Heineken in
Nigeria.

Today, a lot of
teams with history on their side will be trying to take new strides in
the 2010 version of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid, with a new
coach and lots of young players will resume a quest for a 10th title.
Five-time champions Bayern Munich, who fell at the last hurdle in the
2009 finals will be hoping to better their last performance. Ajax come
into their match against the Bavarians with their own share of European
glory combined with the deadly aim of Luis Suarez and are gunning for a
fifth title. The Uruguayan striker has scored nine goals in the last 11
matches.

The elusive 10th title

Real Madrid had
great expectations last season when the final match was scheduled for
the Santiago Bernebeu – what a way to actualise a tenth title than in
your home stadium before adoring fans…

But it remained a
mirage as the European giants were sent packing in the 2nd round by
French club, Olympique Lyon. That made it the fifth year consecutively
that Madrid had not made it beyond the round of 16.

Enter Jose Mourinho
– the self styled ‘Special One’. After winning the competition with
Inter Milan, the Portuguese tactician’s main brief is to win the
Champions League; as well as the small matter of dethroning Barcelona
as Spain’s best team.

“This is the
competition of competitions,” he said on UEFA.com. “Not only the most
important but the grandest competition in football. Only a few coaches
have won it with two different clubs, so my great ambition is to become
the first to do so with three different clubs.” Though Mourinho is
known for his ability to build winning sides, whether he will achieve
that in his first year at Madrid is another mather. He will start the
campaign against four-time winners, Ajax. The Dutch coach of the
Amsterdamers, Martin Jol also spoke to UEFA.com on the history and the
will to replicate the past.

“At Ajax, the first
thing they do is invite you to the museum to see all of the cups; there
aren’t many clubs with more trophies,” Jol said, but the last time they
won was 16 years ago with the Nigerian duo of Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi
George.

“We won our last
UEFA Champions League in 1995 and it’s probably impossible to win it
again. But because of our history, it’s very important to us. The home
games are already sold out, which shows what it means to our fans.
Hopefully we can bring the old times back”.

Chelsea in need of relevance

Carlo Ancelotti has
been telling anyone who cares to hear that Chelsea’s benefactor, Roman
Abramovitch has not put the team under undue pressure to win a first
Champions League trophy. But last season’s loss to Inter Milan in the
quarter-finals under Jose Mourinho must have hurt a bit. There is also
the added incentive of playing the finals in England, which could help
or mar the club.

“For Chelsea,
winning the UEFA Champions League is as important as winning the
Premier League. Last season, we won domestically and it would be nice
to be crowned European champions in London,” Ancelotti said on uefa.com.

Club stalwarts like
John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba will want to ride into the
sunset of their careers basking in the knowledge of helping the club to
the highest club honour ever. Terry will still be having nightmares of
the penalty loss to Manchester United in the 2008 finals; maybe he will
have the chance to remedy that history come May 2011.

Milan needs to find right combination

No club in Europe or the world can currently boast of the forwards that AC Milan possess.

Zlatan Ibrahimović
and Robinho have joined Ronaldinho, Pato and Fillipo Inzaghi. The
challenge is how to place these parts to make an effective unit. The
2-0 loss to Cesena at the weekend showed obvious frailties and European
matches can be very cruel in exposing these flaws.

Newly installed
coach, Massimiliano Allegri is not oblivious to the enormity of the
task before him. It will be a battle for the Rossoneri to progress from
a group that has other European heavyweights but younger squads.

“These are
fascinating matches,” the former Cagliari Calcio coach told UEFA.com.
“Such ties immediately give you the right focus for the UEFA Champions
League. It’s my third year in Serie A and to coach Milan in this
prestigious competition is fantastic.”

Arsene Wenger confident of his side

Maybe, just maybe,
Arsenal are about ready to win a maiden European Cup. Manager Arsene
Wenger, who has spent four years at the club, believes that these set
of players have both the experience and the youth needed to win the
only trophy missing in Wenger’s collection.

Wenger believes his side are stronger and better equipped to overcome mental hurdles.

“We have to show
that last year was an accident. Unfortunately we went out against
Barcelona who were better than us over two legs.

“We have to come back and show we can compete with them. Overall I think it was an accident but we will see.”

On the added
incentive of the final being played at Wembley, Wenger said, “It is
only six miles, but unfortunately it is a long way,” Wenger concluded.

Arsenal’s
Portuguese opponents SC Braga are also known as Minho’s Arsenalistas
after the Portuguese club took Arsenal’s colours in 1921. And Nigerian
left-back, Uwa Echiejile is expected to make an appearance for the team
against the Gunners.

Abou Diaby has an
ankle problem suffered in last weekend’s league win over Bolton while
Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out with an Achilles injury. They join
Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey, all
ruled out with various injuries.

UEFA largesse

There is a cash
bonanza for teams that have qualified for the UEFA Champions League
group stage this season as they will receive about €7.2m according to
the revenue distribution system in place for the 2010/11 campaign.

Each of the 32
clubs taking part in the UEFA Champions League group stage will receive
a participation bonus of €3.9m, plus a match bonus of €550,000 per
group game played. On top of that, the following performance bonuses
will be paid: €800,000 for every win, and €400,000 for every draw in
the group stage.

There will be
additional payments made to the teams that progress in the competition
with €3m the reward for advancing to the round of 16, €3.3m for
reaching the quarter-finals and €4.2m for a semi-final place. The
winners of the final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May will collect a
further €9m, with €5.6m going to the runners-up.

The teams are also
entitled to a share of the commercial value of their domestic
television market, the number of UEFA Champions League matches they
play this season and their final position in the domestic league table
last term. They will also keep their UEFA Champions League gate
receipts.

Each of the 20 teams that contested the play-offs received €2.1m.

How does anyone explain the shame experienced by millions of
sports loving Nigerians between Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th 2010?

Samuel Peter was given a battering I am sure, he never expected.
Samson Siasia’s Heartland football team was kicked out of the CAF Champions
league by Ahly of Egypt and Congo DR made sure that our U-17 men – oh, so
sorry, boys – will not be in Rwanda in 2011.

The implications are varied and several. For instance, while
Wladimir Klitschko, his trainers and fans are basking in the euphoria of a well
deserved victory, what we are experiencing here in Nigeria is a horrible
nightmare.

While there is celebration in Egypt, the opposite is happening
here in Nigeria, especially amongst those, who are either mischievously or
ignorantly advocating for the installation of Siasia as the Super Eagles’
technical adviser or coach.

As regards the U-17 football match, I am absolutely unperturbed.
As long as we refuse to establish a culture of excellent football development –
with integrity, as the foundation, the systemic evolution of genuine age-grade
footballers, will never be actualised in this massively blessed nation, endowed
with the potentials to rule the world of football. It is as simple but as
serious as that.

Add the above to the disgraceful situation our football
administrators have put us in the global setting and then ask why this should
be happening.

Various perspectives

Remember the case of three blind men who were told that an
elephant has been killed? They requested to be given an opportunity to touch
the dead elephant, in order to ascertain the veracity of the story. Their
request was granted. The first man touched the ear of the elephant and said it felt
so smooth like the cocoa yam leaf. The second touched one of the legs and said
it was like the mahogany tree, while the third touch the elephant’s tusk and
exclaimed that it was an iron. Check our newspapers, listen to the radio, watch
the TV, and you will be amazed at the various perspectives from which current
football issues are being discussed.

One angle that is of paramount interest to me is the issue of
divine intervention and the call on Nigerians to pray. I agree absolutely. I am
however aware of the sensitive nature of my position and approach to the
quagmire in which our football has been enmeshed, but make bold to declare
unreservedly, that this is the “drawing board” we must return to, in order to
have God-fearing people manage and administer football in this nation.

Courage is often something which others recognise rather than
behaviour that anyone ever deliberately sets out to display. I am also aware of
the fact that an idea, such as this issue of restitution, has to go through
three clear stages: the stages of it being ridiculed, aggressively opposed and
of course being finally accepted as self-evident.

The power of prayers Restitution, we are made to believe is the
act of, returning something to its rightful owner, or compensation for a loss,
damage or injury, or the return of something to the condition it was in before
it was changed.

Let me remind fellow Nigerians of the price paid by some God-fearing South
Africans between the years 2000 and 2002. I was not told. I participated in it
and was officially mandated to organise such programmes here in Nigeria, in
order to stand in the gap for our South African brethren. What was the price?

Thousands of football administrators, stake holders, footballers,
supporters/friends of football, would gather at various stadiums all around
South Africa, to confess the atrocities going on in South African sports,
especially football. Not only that, they set some days aside during which all
they did was to fast and pray to God for forgiveness. Did it work? Yes. The
2010 FIFA World Cup finals is a testimony. Can we pay the price to bring about
the desired changes Nigerians are clamouring for? Yes, we can!

The good news however is that whether we are ready or not the One who
created sports for His own pleasure, is already at work. Nigeria is blessed
with people, who pursue their dreams, regardless of the threats, dangers and
what is said or thought; and people, who have made sacrifices and displayed
incredible persistence – in short, people who are M.A.D. (making a difference).

One of such is our own Olajide Fashiku. Happy birthday, Jide. As you
celebrate today, we pray that your ideas to ensure that sports returns to its
rightful place in Nigeria do not run dry. Your efforts and sacrifice will not
be in vain. FIFA, CAF and the NFA may not recognise you, but on behalf of
millions of sports loving Nigerians, we say thank you. It will be well with
you. We love you Baba JID.

As I learned of
France’s home defeat against Belarus, I wondered if this was the lowest
ever point for French football, and more importantly, how are they
going to turn their fortunes around?

The loss was Les
Bleus’ fourth in a row and there seems to be no light at the end of the
tunnel for a team that lacks confidence, personality and experience. I
was in South Africa when France’s players decided to strike in protest
of the French Football Federation’s (FFF) decision to send Nicolas
Anelka home following an altercation with Raymond Domenech. I couldn’t
believe that professional athletes would actually refuse to work during
a tournament which should represent one of the highlights of their
careers. It would have to take a lot of anger and frustration for a
group of players to take such a decision. Some of those feelings are
surely still present now in the French squad even if some World Cup
squad members are no longer part of the national team set-up.

Healing the wounds

So how is Laurent
Blanc going to heal these wounds and create the team spirit and unity
necessary to get results? Well to be fair, he already tried a bold
motivational approach, inviting his friend and fellow 1998 World Cup
champion Zinedine Zidane to a training session in a bid to inspire the
squad. He also handed out sheets of paper containing the words to La
Marseillaise to players, encouraging them to sing the national anthem
before the game. I guess the Belarus result showed both of those
tactics didn’t work and it will take a lot more work on the training
pitch and in the dressing room to raise the morale of these players. We
should also remember this is a very young team that doesn’t really have
many role models on the pitch. There is not a Zidane, a (Patrick)
Vieira or a (Didier) Deschamps, who can lead by example. Still, it’s my
belief that this team will improve quickly under the guidance of Blanc
and qualify for Euro 2012. The talent is there with young players such
as Lamine Sakho, Yoann Gourcuff and Karim Benzema and the spirit will
eventually return.

Of course France is not the only national team with an identity
crisis. Italy is clearly in a transitional period with a new coach and
new set of players. They struggled to beat Estonia and will also take a
while to gel with Cesare Prandelli and without the leadership skills of
the retired Fabio Cannavaro and injured Gigi Buffon. Last but not
least, I have to admit that I am very worried about my beloved
Portugal. With coach Carlos Queiroz suspended for six months by the
national football federation for his role in disrupting an anti-doping
test, and with Cristiano Ronaldo injured, they could struggle to make
the European Championship.

The players looked lost, especially in
defence, during a 4-4 draw with Cyprus on Friday. There was no
leadership, no direction, no clear game plan. By the time Queiroz comes
back, the qualifying campaign could be in tatters. As with any identity
crisis, each of the three sides need some urgent self-analysis and
rehabilitation, if they are to regain the team psyche that saw each
side compete for top honours in recent times.