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Nigeria’s Sport
Minister, Ibrahim Isa Bio, has sounded a note of warning to Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) officials to focus on seeing the Super Eagles
soar in South Africa and not using the World Cup for re-election
campaigns.

In a letter to the
Federation, Bio said, “Our focus is to ensure that our darling team,
Super Eagles do well in South Africa and not to be concentrating on
election issues.

“The paramount
objective of the federation should be to ensure that Eagles perform
well in South Africa, while election matter should not come up during
the campaign for now,” he said.

The tenure of the
current NFF board led by Sani Lulu ends after the World Cup and Lulu
has already indicated his willingness to remain at the helm of affairs
in Nigeria football administration. The election into the board will
hold in August.

The incumbent board
has already been accused of taking all chairmen of state federations to
South Africa in order to secure their votes when they return. This move
have been criticised by aspirants to the NFF board and has informed
calls that the government should help monitor the election in order to
ensure transparency

Since assuming office in April, Bio has twice intervened in the affairs of NFF yielding positive results both times.

It would be recalled that is was the minister’s intervention that
ensured the substandard hotel initially booked for the Eagles in South
Africa was changed before the Mundial. He was also instrumental in the
provision of airlines to the team after the earlier arrangement made by
the federation failed.

With one match
already played at the ongoing World Cup, the Super Eagles know that
Thursday’s match against Greece is one they need to win to remain on
course to realise the semi-final target handed to their coach, Lars
Lagerback, by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Nigeria and Greece
are meeting for the second time at the World Cup. Their first clash
came sixteen years ago in Boston during the 1994 World Cup in the USA.
Nigeria ran away 2-0 winners courtesy of goals from Finidi George and
Daniel Amokachi.

That was almost two
decades ago. Today’s Eagles lack the talent and daring of the 1994
squad. Unlike their 1994 counterparts, who went into that year’s
tournament on a high after their triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations
in Tunisia, the present Eagles almost did not make it to the
tournament. They have Tunisia, which slipped up at the last minute, to
thank for their presence in South Africa.

That said, the
present Eagles are not lacking in firepower. Upfront, they have enough
arsenal to cause any defence sleepless nights. In Obafemi Martins and
Yakubu Aiyegbeni, they have two strikers who, under the right
conditions, can wreck a team. Indeed, the Eagles’ qualification for
this mundial was sealed courtesy of Martins’ brace against Kenya at the
Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

In South Africa,
the Eagles have a point to prove. Their last outing at the World Cup
was eight years ago at the Korea/Japan edition where they failed to
qualify for the second round. This time round, their aim is to better
that record; and having being handed a semi-final target by the NFF,
they know that to have a chance of achieving that target.

The present Greece
squad like Nigeria’s, lack the robustness of their 2004 squad. Again,
like the Super Eagles, their qualification came at the last minute. The
team, coached by Otto Rehhagel, nicked qualification after a
hard-fought battle in Donetsk where they beat hosts Ukraine 1-0.

Cracking a hard nut

The team under
Rehhagel’s tutelage has become noted for their stinginess at the back.
A compact defensive unit, they can frustrate even the most attacking
side like they did at Euro 2004. What this means that Super Eagles
attackers may have their work clearly cut out. That said, it must be
noted that, with the improvements witnessed under Lagerback, the Eagles
may not allow themselves to be fazed by the Greeks’ resolute defending.

But it is not only
the defence of the Greeks that the Eagles should be worried about. In
Theofanis Gekas, they have a lethal weapon. The striker, who notched up
ten goals during the teams qualifying campaigns for the World Cup, may
be the Eagles undoing if not properly monitored.

Eagles coach,
Lagerback will have to instruct his defenders to pay close attention to
the diminutive forward if his World Cup plans are not to thrown into
disarray.

Every footballer
aspires to feature at the World Cup. For these footballers, it is the
zenith of their respective careers regardless of how successful or
otherwise it is, after all, there are numerous examples of great
players who never got the chance to strut their stuff on football’s
biggest stage.

So it is so
disappointing when after giving their best in ensuring that their
country’s flag gets to be hoisted at the World Cup, these players end
up not going to the tournament for one reason or another, ranging from
a dip in form, change in coaching personnel resulting in the player in
question not found suitable by the team’s new handler, or in the worst
case scenario, as a result of an injury.

Such was the case
of players like England’s David Beckham, the Three Lions’ most capped
outfield player who ruptured his Achilles tendon playing for his loan
club AC Milan in March, as well as Nigeria’s Ikechukwu Uche, who
suffered a ligament injury that kept him out for six months before
staging a return a few weeks to the end of the season by which time it
was already too late to impress new Super Eagles handler, Lars
Lagerback, of his readiness to feature in South Africa.

For some players
however, their injury status isn’t enough to rule them out of the
tournament but will they recover on time to make some sort of
contribution to their side’s World Cup aspirations?

Bounced from the party

Michael Ballack:

The influential
German captain would have been making his third World Cup appearance
but for the unfortunate ankle injury he picked up while playing for his
erstwhile club Chelsea in last month’s FA Cup final win over
Portsmouth. And with age no longer on his side, the last may have been
seen of the German midfield general on the international stage.

Nani:

The Portuguese
winger was ruled out of the tournament on as recently as last Tuesday,
after hurting his collarbone while attempting to do the spectacular in
training in Lisbon. His disappointment was, however, a blessing for
Benfica’s Ruben Amorim who subsequently took the place of the
Manchester United star in Portugal’s World Cup squad.

Rio Ferdinand:

The England
captain’s dream of becoming the first Englishman since Bobby Moore to
lead the Three Lions to World Cup glory was brought to an abrupt end
right there in South Africa after an innocuous challenge from teammate
Emile Heskey in his country’s first major training session penultimate
Friday resulted in a knee injury for the Manchester United star whose
place was subsequently taken by Tottenham’s Michael Dawson, and who
doesn’t look likely to ever get to feature at another World Cup
tournament.

John Obi Mikel:

So much was
expected of Mikel at the World Cup but his inability to recover fully
from an injury he picked up quite a while ago on club duty for Chelsea
means he will have to wait another four years before gracing the World
Cup. But he’s young and can look forward to enjoying a holiday that
will most likely see him having anxious moments in front of his TV set
wondering how things would have gone for the Super Eagles had he not
voluntarily withdrawn himself from the squad.

Michael Essien:

Another Chelsea
player who will be missing at the World Cup is Essien whose absence is
sure to leave a huge vacuum in the Black Stars who are seeking to
emulate their performance from four years ago when they made it to the
second round of the tournament before losing to Brazil. The workaholic
midfielder picked up a knee injury at the African Nations Cup in
January and has failed to recover in time.

Lassana Diarra:

South Africa 2010
was going to be Diarra’s opportunity to confirm his credentials as one
of France’s best players but he won’t be featuring at the World Cup
after being told he needed a prolonged rest, no thanks to intestinal
problems which began while scaling a glacier with his teammates during
France’s week-long training camp in the French Alps last month.

Miroslav Karhan:

Karhan is
Slovakia’s most capped player but a hamstring injury meant he won’t be
playing any part in his country’s debut World Cup appearance in South
Africa.

Gate crashers

Arjen Robben:

Robben sustained a
thigh injury in last Saturday’s 6-1 drubbing of Hungary in Amsterdam
and looked set to miss the World Cup until news emerged that he will be
okay for the tournament but not in time for tomorrow’s opener against
Denmark. Looks set to miss his team’s opening World Cup match against
Denmark due to a hamstring injury.

Didier Drogba:

The next World Cup
in Brazil is too far off for Drogba so he planned on making South
Africa 2010 a memorable tournament for himself and his nation.

Fans of the
Elephants must have thought they will be prosecuting the tournament
without their talismanic captain after he broke a bone in his forearm,
but the fearsome striker underwent a successful surgery and may only
get to miss Cote d’Ivoire’s opening game against Portugal.

Fernando Torres:

The Spanish striker
missed a considerable amount of last season’s campaign as a result of
injuries and underwent a knee operation in April which appeared to put
his participation at the World Cup in doubt. But the Liverpool striker
came on as a substitute in Spain’s recent 6-0 thrashing of Poland in
Murcia and looks set to play a key role, as the Spaniards seek to
finally secure a first ever World Cup title.

Andrea Pirlo:

The influential
midfielder was initially expected to miss the entire tournament after
hurting his calf in penultimate Thursday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of
Mexico. But the latest news is that he will only get to miss Italy’s
opening game against Paraguay and should be available for the defending
champions’ remaining fixtures.

Harry Kewell:

Kewell has hardly
played since December because of a troublesome groin injury but the
injury-prone winger has been training with the rest of the Australian
team in South Africa and, barring any unforeseen injury, should play a
key part in Australia’s quest to go one better than the second round
appearance they achieved four years ago in Germany.

The week-long MTN
International Polo Tournament, which comes to a climax this weekend in
Kano, has thrown up some interesting winners who have distinguished
themselves in the over fifty teams that vied for honours.

One such team which
proved bookmakers right in the event was Kaduna El-Amin which won all
matches on their way to claiming the event’s biggest prize, the Emir of
Katsina Cup.

To write their name
in gold, El-Amin players, displaying their traditional attacking polo
and that special cohesion that has been their hallmark for over a
decade, defeated Lagos Rubicon and Katsina Hajara Farms to win the
crown.

Parading the trio
of Bello Buba, Ibrahim Mohammed, Ali Hassan and their South African
import, Sbu Duma, the Kaduna-based champions, who were playing without
their patron, Mohammed Babangida, were clinical in their approach as
they came from behind to defeat both Rubicon and Hajara Farms after
giving out a whopping eight handicap goals.

“EL-Amin is the
team of the moment having won every major title at stake around the
country in the last four years. This is our seventh title in Kano and
with our growing popularity with the polo enthusiasts here, it will
take more than a team to beat us in Kano,” EL-Amin’s team manager, Ayo
Majekodunmi, enthused.

With Emir of
Katsina crown, which is their seventh such title from Kano in recent
history, El-Amin look set to maintain their Kano supremacy for a long
time.

The Nigerian polo power house had earlier emerged champions in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

Other winners

With the Emir of
Katsina crown safely in the kitty, El-Amin spiced their impressive
outing in Kano with a second title, beating a strong field of selected
high-goalers to win the Muhammadu Sanusi Cup, one of the highly revered
polo titles in Kano played in memory of the late Emir of Kano.

Another top winner
at the tournament was Katsina MAX Air who defeated six teams to claim
the event’s second most wanted prize, the Dantata Cup. Former winners,
Kano Meridian, who won the prize three years ago, came from behind to
finish runners-up ahead of Trappco Ranch.

Katsina’s polo
contingent to the tournament emerged the best performing club, adding
the Dangote Cup to their haul, thanks to the top performances of
Huseini and Umar Kabir Usman, both from the Katsina royal family.

Finally, the most
important week in the history of African football is here. The whistle
was blown on Friday to mark the official kick-off of the first World
Cup on African soil.

It had to have been
an emotional moment for every African in the world and it is my prayer
that one day, Nigeria will successfully host the world better than
South Africa have done so far.

Despite the long
time grudge between Nigeria and South Africa, I can’t help but commend
them. I don’t know who else in Africa would have handled the assignment
of hosting the World Cup better than them. I was privileged to have
attended the draws in Cape Town and I left there confident that South
Africa will do us proud despite all the negative reports from
journalists in the western world.

Anyway, coming into
the tournament, the Super Eagles of Nigeria were not given a chance and
sadly, by the majority of Nigerians. Despite the lackluster performance
we have witnessed from them in recent times, the boys need our support
and not just in prayers. And really maybe it’s about time we stopped
depending on faith. Are we the most religious and morally upright
people on earth? Maybe the most religious, but our country is not
devoid of moral vices like corruption, ritual killings, kidnapping,
armed robbery etc. Now, do we really expect God to favour us over more
responsible countries?

Whatever the case,
I still believe strongly that for the fact that our national flag is
flying in South Africa, the boys need all the support they can get,
which brings me to the topic of the “flag culture” that has been
adopted in some parts of the world especially in England.

All about
patriotism It’s a practice that makes you appreciate the magnitude of
the most important event in the world. And I think it is the height of
patriotism.

I have never thought that Nigerians appreciate what the national flag is and stands for.

In South Africa,
June 9 was declared Bafana Bafana day and all South Africans were
encouraged to go out waving national flags and wearing colours in
support of their boys all through the day. Surely, it has increased the
level of confidence in the squad. That is exactly what the Super Eagles
need right now. Something to boost their confidence. Imagine all
Nigerians adopting the “culture” by walking and driving around with the
green white green flag. In England, it cuts across all nations. You
tend to see cars with flags of different nations, a true spirit of the
World Cup. Even in Ghana, World Cup or no World Cup, it is the usual
practice to see motorists hanging their nations’ flags on their cars.

Sure, it is just a
rectangular piece of cloth but it goes beyond that. Apart from being
very colourful and flying from a pole or mast, it is used to symbolize
a country.

Though some nations
express religious symbolism via colour, such as green often used in
Arabic/Islamic countries, the green stripes of the Nigerian flag
connote that the land is full of lush green vegetation and the white
symbolizes sanctity and a sense of togetherness and solidarity (peace).
Based on this, I urge Nigerians to adopt the flag culture to help boost
Super Eagles chances at the World Cup.

Yesterday’s match
is gone, as we look forward to our next two matches, let’s go out there
in millions hoisting, waving, carrying, wrapping and lifting the
Nigerian national flag. It doesn’t matter what part of the world you
are in. The key word here is solidarity. You never know we may just
push the boys into the semi-finals.

Once again, good luck to the Super Eagles as they take on South Korea and Greece.

Cameroon’s
Indomitable Lions will hope to reproduce the feat of their African
brothers, Ghana, when they take on Japan in the only fixture involving
an African team at the World Cup today.

The Indomitable
Lions are the most experienced African side at the World Cup with six
appearances under their belt. They are looking to improve on their best
outing at the World Cup – a quarterfinal finish at the 1990 edition in
Italy. At the Free State Stadium; venue of the game, both teams will
hoping for the best start possible in a preliminary round in which
their other opponents include Denmark and group favourites, the
Netherlands.

The 2010 South
Africa World Cup marks Japan’s fourth straight appearance at the
Mundial, but that achievement has recently been overshadowed with a dip
in form seeing Japan losing to Serbia, South Korea, England and Cote‘d
Ivoire in four straight World Cup warm-up friendlies and then battling
to an uninspiring 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in a their last training match
on June 3. The Japanese have failed to win a World Cup match on foreign
soil and are desperate to find their scoring touch.

In a surprise move,
Cameroon Coach Paul Le Guen has already hinted that regular goalkeeper
Carlos Kameni may be left on the bench. Samuel Eto’o is the Indomitable
Lion’s top striker. The Inter Milan and three-time Africa Footballer of
the Year will be looking to improve on his current 44 goal mark for
Cameroun. He will defintely be out to prove legend, Roger Milla, wrong
after the Italia 90 star accused him of doing nothing for the team; a
statement which initially made Eto’o threaten to quit the team.

Italy begin defence

Reigning champions,
Italy begin the defence of their World Cup crown against Paraguay
today. The Azzurris took the title four years ago in Germany and are
not likely relinquish their grip on the trophy without a struggle.
Italy’s preparations have done little to inspire confidence, with an
ageing squad looking alarmingly off the pace at times. Their back four,
which is marshalled by 36-year-old skipper Fabio Cannavaro, can
struggle to handle pace, which could prove to be their undoing.

Paraguay will
certainly be looking to give them an early examination, with the South
Americans heading into the tournament in buoyant mood. Victories over
Brazil and Argentina in qualifying underlined their quality and they
should not be underestimated this summer. Italy’s preparations have
been hampered by an untimely injury to Andrea Pirlo, which initially
cast his participation into doubt. The AC Milan midfielder has since
been given the all clear to push on with his rehabilitation, but he is
still likely to sit out the Azzurri’s first two games.

Holland facing Danish test

The Dutch team is
one of the seven teams that qualified for the World Cup without any
defeat even though some argue that the Orange boys were placed in an
easy group. Termed as favourites at every tournament, the team begins
its campaign against Denmark at the Johannesburg City Stadium today.

Denmark relies on
good organisation and a very strong defence. These qualities helped
them through qualifying in which they topped their group ahead of the
likes of Hungary, Sweden and Portugal.

Robben Blow Arjen
Robben has been ruled out of the World Cup opener due to a hamstring
injury after limping off in Holland’s June 5 friendly against Hungary.

Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk said that it was too risky to play
the Bayern Munich winger on Monday, but he said that he is hopeful of
Robben returning to the lineup in time to face Japan in the team’s
second match on June 19.

I am not old enough
to remember the magical days of Clockwork Oranje, when the Dutch
national side dazzled planet football with their awesome combination of
skillful passing and dynamic movement. It was dubbed “total football”
for good reason. The Netherlands lost back-to-back World Cup finals in
1974 and 1978, and that heartbreak has not been forgotten by a nation
who has constantly flattered to deceive in FIFA’s showpiece event. Now,
however, they have all the ingredients necessary to come out on top.

In my opinion, this
is an extremely balanced side. Arjen Robben’s impact has been keenly
anticipated, and even though the Bayern Munich winger’s chances of
beating injury to take part now look slim, there are so many weapons in
his team’s arsenal. Robin van Persie should be raring to go following a
season where he rarely played for Arsenal. Wesley Sneijder must be on
cloud nine following a historic treble with Inter for whom he was
instrumental. And let us not forget the influential Mark van Bommel who
sets the tone in the centre of the park. Defensively, they have plenty
of talent as well. John Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen have formed a
solid partnership in the centre of defence.

One final word
about the coach. Bert van Marwijk has been able to nurse some big egos
in the squad and convince his players to work hard for each other. Do
not forget the Netherlands have not lost since September of 2008 and
that momentum will help them immensely in South Africa.

Overachievers – Serbia and Uruguay

Not many people
have talked about either of these sides leading up to the World Cup,
but I believe they will turn some heads and can both make the
quarterfinals. Let’s start with Serbia. They have the right mix of
experience and youth in a squad which offers veteran coach Radomir
Antic plenty of options. Their defence is led by tough tackler Nemanja
Vidic, and their midfield is marshalled by Champions League winner
Dejan Stankovic. Add giant striker Nikola Zigic, and speedy winger
Milos Krasic to the mix, and you have a very dangerous team.

Uruguay will also
surprise a lot of football fans. They have enough quality to navigate
pass an unpredictable first round group and can reach the last eight of
the competition. With experienced coach Oscar Tabarez calling the
shots, and Diego Forlan firing in the goals, this is a team that cannot
be underestimated. La Celeste’s defence will be tough to beat. Diego
Lugano is a lion back there, and their wing-backs Diego Godin and Jorge
Fucile are extremely versatile.

Underachievers – Germany and Italy

They have seven
World Cup titles between them, but both Germany and Italy will be going
home early in 2010. Without Michael Ballack, Joachim Low’s side will
struggle to assert themselves in the competition and won’t get past the
quarterfinals. All of their strikers had poor seasons, and I just don’t
see too many exciting players in their line-up. As always, they will be
solid in defence, but will find it difficult to hit the back of the net.

As far as the
defending champions are concerned, the Italians could be heading home
after the round of 16. They are old, slow and predictable. With
midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo struggling for fitness, the Azzuri will
miss a playmaker who can make a difference. Defender Fabio Cannavaro is
past his best, and the same can be said for most of the players in
their starting line-up.

Other notables – Argentina, Spain and England

Argentina will lose
in the final to the Netherlands after beating Spain in the semifinals.
The defending Euro 2008 champions could still win it all but they have
had too many injury problems leading up to the World Cup. I can’t see
their top players staying in top shape and top form throughout the
tournament. As far as England are concerned, they will lose to the
Netherlands in the semifinals, which would still be a good result for
Fabio Capello’s men.

Player of the tournament – Lionel Messi

After scoring a
whopping 47 goals in 53 games in all competitions for Barcelona, Messi
will light the tournament on fire. He has been criticized for his poor
scoring record with Argentina (only four goals in qualifying) but that
will change in South Africa. Diego Maradona will use him in a more
central role, and little Leo will shine like never before in his
nation’s legendary number 10 shirt.

Top scorer – David Villa

One of the
deadliest strikers in the game today, Villa will benefit from playing
with assist master Xavi and he will score at least six goals in the
competition. With Fernando Torres struggling for fitness, the new
Barcelona signing will lead the Spain attack and celebrate plenty of
goals in South Africa.

Former Nigerian
goalkeeper, Amusa Adisa, has joined the growing list of Vincent
Enyeama’s praise singers. He hopes the Israel-based star can follow up
on his world-class performance against Argentina in last Saturday’s 1-0
loss with yet another commanding display against the Greeks on Thursday.

Enyeama prevented
the Argentines from wrecking havoc on the Super Eagles by limiting them
to just one goal, winning plaudits from none other than current World
and European player of the year, Lionel Messi, who described him as
phenomenal after the Nigerian goalie prevented him from scoring on
several occasions.

Up next for Enyeama
and the Super Eagles is a date against the Greeks on Thursday and
Adisa, who worked with Enyeama for over four years and at two African
Nations Cup tournaments during his time as the national team’s
goalkeepers’ trainer, expects his former ward not to rest on his oars.

“We all saw how
fantastic he was against Argentina and I am really happy for him,” said
Adisa. “He promised before the match that Messi will not score him and
that was how it was. It was just unfortunate they scored from a
set-piece, otherwise he would have kept a clean sheet. He deserved
that.”

In the spotlight

Enyeama didn’t keep
a clean sheet, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed as he deservedly
picked up the Man of the Match award. And with a lot of European clubs
now aware of his ability to perform at the highest level, he will be
under pressure to continuously churn out more top of the bill
performances beginning with Thursday’s match against Greece.

Adisa, however,
believes the former Enyimba of Aba skipper will not be overwhelmed by
the attention he has brought upon himself and will produce much more
top saves when called upon to do so against the Greeks and the South
Koreans, as well as in subsequent matches; that is if the Super Eagles
advance to the knockout rounds.

“He deserved the
award and that should spur him to do even better because now is not the
time for him to relax. That he has done well in one match doesn’t mean
that something bad cannot happen in the next match,” cautioned Adisa.

“But the Enyeama I
know will not relax. He will continue to work hard to prove to the
world that he is one of the best,” he added.