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Nigeria’s second
and third opponents at the fast approaching World Cup, Greece and South
Korea have both unveiled their final 23-man squad list for the
tournament taking place in South Africa.

The lists were
released separately early Tuesday by the Korea Football Association and
their Greek counterparts to meet FIFA’s June 1 deadline.

Argentina were the first team in Group B to make public their World Cup list followed by the Super Eagles.

South Korean coach
Huh Jung-moo slimmed down the squad from his previous list of 26, with
midfielders Koo Ja-cheol of Jeju United and Pohang Steelers’ midfielder
Shin Hyung-min missing the trip to South Africa 2010, along with
Japan-based striker Lee Keun-ho of Jubilo Iwata.

Central defender
Kwak Tae-hwi who injured his left knee in last Sunday’s defeat to
Belarus and was subsequently ruled out of the World Cup was replaced
with fellow defender Kang Min-soo who had been previously excluded from
the squad.

Former Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-gook also made the final team despite not being fully recovered from a hamstring injury.

No Greek gift

There were however
no surprises in the final list released by the 71-year-old coach of the
Greek team Otto Rehhagel, who will be the oldest coach at the World
Cup, as he stuck with most of the players that featured in the World
Cup qualifiers such as Liverpool defender Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Celtic
striker Giorgos Samaras, as well as long serving captain Giorgos
Karagounis of Greek side Panathinaikos.

There was however no room for AEK Athens midfielder Grigoris Makos and Panionios defender Giorgos Tzavelas.

Rehhagel had
already cut his 30-man provisional squad to 25 but dropped the pair
from his chosen squad on Tuesday with the FIFA deadline looming large.

Christos
Patsatzoglou and Giorgos Seitaridis, who had been struggling with
injury, have been included despite concerns over the amount of game
time each had played with their domestic clubs.

Kaduna State team,
Kaduna Flickers, are currently treading on a tight rope as the team is
yet to record any win in the two matches played so far at the Savannah
Assembly of the ongoing IEI National Hockey League.

The team received
knocks from Coach Elisha Ahoun, who was bitter at the performance of
his wards as action got stiffer yesterday with teams slugging it out at
the ongoing Hockey League. Kaduna came back from a goal down to tie
yesterday’s match against Nagwamase from Niger State at the Ahmadu
Bello Hockey Pitch.

Speaking shortly
after the match, which ended 1-1, Ahoun said his boys, would have to
step up their game as they encounter Katsina Flickers today.

“We have to step up
our game otherwise we will not do well in this competition,” he said
“The League is a stiff one and you cannot say this team is weak and
that one is strong. So we just have to take all our chances as it come.
If we don’t we may have ourselves to blame in the end.”

Wasted opportunities

Kaduna Flickers
also drew their opening match against Bauchi and were lucky not to have
lost the three points at stake yesterday. Their saviour was Ahmed Aliyu
who scored a late equalizer after many missed opportunities.

Nagwamase for their
part lost a of chances with Ahmadu Aliyu squandering two begging
chances after Captain Saka Yahuza had scored the opener for his team.
Midway into the day’s fixture which has six and two matches in the male
and female events respectively, no team has gained a clear-cut
advantage over the other.

In the female event, Police Female Club and Plateau State are still
looking good after snatching victories from Kaduna State and Bauchi
respectively. Tournament Director, Walter Imoedemhe, said the league is
living up to billing and expects stiffer matches as the league grinds
to a halt. Six matches would be played today; four in the male event
and two in the female.

As news filtered in
that the Eagles were stranded in London en-route South Africa, good
news came that the Sports Minister, Isa Bio had saved the situation by
arranging with Arik Air to go to London and ferry the stranded members
of the Super Eagles delegation to South Africa.

The aircraft
chartered by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to fly the Super
Eagles from England to South Africa for the World Cup on Monday night
could not do the job because of a technical problem developed after it
had been cleared to lift off.

The Federation
hired the England-based airline, Luiz, despite a ministerial directive
that they should fly Arik, a Nigerian airline. After Bio learnt of the
mishap, and after contacting the players and the Nigerian High
Commissioners to South Africa and Great Britain, he arranged with Arik
Air to send a plane from Nigeria. The players were expected to fly the
players from Terminal four of Heathrow Airport to Durban, South Africa
at 10pm yesterday.

Nigerian not foreign

Earlier, the
minister had called the NFF President, Sani Lulu, to enquire of his
plans to fly the Eagles to South Africa, where he told him to contact
Arik Air for a plane painted in the green white green colour of Nigeria.

A government
insider, who spoke to NextSports on conditions of anonymity, said that
in a discussion with Lulu, the federal government had reiterated that
the team should not fly a commercial plane, but a Nigerian plane
painted in Nigerian colours.

Bio also gave Lulu
the telephone number of Arik chairman whom he called in the minister’s
presence. But because Lulu and the NFF probably had other plans, they
went ahead to hire a plane from a London-based airline. However, the
plan backfired as the plane could not take off due to alleged technical
problems related to lighting.

Following their
inability to travel on Monday as scheduled, the players and officials
were forced to spend the night at Radisson Hotel; about two minutes
drive from the airport.

Players disagree with NFF officials

There was a slight
disagreement between the players and officials of the NFF, who tried to
persuade the players that the company would make another arrangement
but the players who were already fed up with the shabby arrangement,
vowed not to travel with the airline.

The Nigeria High
Commissioner, Buba Marwa, and the Nigeria community had organized a
reception for the Eagles at Durban Airport, but when they did not
arrive as scheduled, Marwa contacted the minister. The minister then
made efforts to contact the team leader, Lulu, but he could not be
reached.

Bio eventually got
in touch with the Nigeria High Commissioner and the players, and
assured them that an Arik plane painted in Nigerian colours would pick
them up. The players are expected to arrive South Africa this morning.
The players most of whom also spoke on the conditions of anonymity
praised the minister for once again coming to the team’s rescue.

It will be recalled
that the minister had earlier come to the rescue of the team when the
NFF hired Hampshire Hotel, a motel on the highway, as the Eagles camp
in South Africa. The NFF inept planning has set the Eagles preparation
back by at least two days.

Change is widely
interpreted as different things to different people. Although change is
largely accepted as an inevitable part of developmental processes, the
concept is undesirable to a sizeable number of people for various
selfish or ignorant reasons. Usually change is expected to start from
the top and filter down to the rest of an organization or people but
really can start from anybody! This is evident by significant changes
that have taken place through the bold efforts of faceless individuals
and small groups of people (at the time the change was advocated) that
became famous through their selfless efforts.

Many Nigerians
looking forward to change in virtually every aspect of the
administration and growth of Nigerian sports over the years have either
given up hope, or decided to join the band-wagon effect of taking
advantage of whatever spoils accruable from the existing ineffectual
style of running things. However, as a new wave of optimism gradually
builds up in the country, whispers are growing into audible requests
for change.

After all, it is
said that only the insane can expect a change by continuously doing
things the same way! It is clear to me that change can only be truly
effected through a thorough Sports Structural Adjustment Programme
(SSAP) implemented from the top. I refer to a Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) that will take us forward in leaps in bounds without
regret.

Basically, for a
SSAP to be successful, the foundations holding up the visible structure
of our sports needs to be drastically reorganized. To this end I am
suggesting an immediately implementable basic four-pronged approach:

I. Change the
current criteria of selecting or electing sports administrators to a
process that will ensure the injection of new minds (especially from
the private sector) with an understanding, genuine desire and necessary
acumen to develop or even copy modern trends for the good of our sports
industry. The existing selective process more or less guarantees this
does not happen as the sports industry has now become more of a
political tool, or positions within it used as a reward system, other
than being taken for what is, a potentially profitable industry.

II. Privatise
sports i.e. treat it as a revenue generating and profitable industry.
Government should divest from sports. As food for thought, the
estimated value of the Asian sports industry as at 2009 is
US$17billion, while America’s sports industry is valued at
US$410.6billion (estimated @ 40% of the global sport industry value of
over $1 trillion). Yet, Nigeria/Africa is not listed as a significant
contributor because we typically do not generate revenue but rather
spend from allocated government budgets. Whereas proven sports
initiatives have succeeded in creating jobs and satisfying response to
local demands for sport equipment for example.

III. Make existing
administrators work to earn the right to remain in their current
portfolios. It is obvious most of the various associations are comatose
in light of the absence of proper leadership. Therefore, there’s
usually no planning, goal-setting and actualisation within stipulated
time-frames. These associations rarely have any developmental plans and
so do not execute any; neither are they creative nor generate revenues.
Instead, the trend is to unabashedly wait for government funding, or go
begging for funds from individuals or corporate bodies (who are now the
wiser) when dire needs arise. From now plans and strategies to
actualise those plans must be part of the requirements of office and
remaining in office must depend on achieving these goals.

IV. Provide
international standard facilities that are accessible to the general
public or at least renovate existing ones and efficiently manage them.
This becomes pertinent since those playgrounds and open spaces where
talents were spotted and developed in the past have been replaced by
property development. In the same vein, coaches should be made
available to identify talent and provide fundamental train potential
athletes; at least that gives many talented but redundant coaches work
to do.

Some things never change though…

The on-going French
Open is once again underlining the dominance of Rafael Nadal on clay
courts as he breezed through the first week without dropping a set.
Venus Williams further reinforced doubts as to whether she can win
another Grand Slam. Don’t write her off just yet, her tourney Wimbledon
is round the corner and her sister Serena is still flying the family
flag. Roger Federer is as usual more or less coasting through the
rounds … until he meets Nadal, most probably in the final. The stage
is now set for another epic final week, rains permitting.

“We are headed for
a new Lagos where children are healthy; a new Lagos, where children
won’t be child labourers to support their families; where love, smiles
and laughter reign. I can see that Lagos. I can feel it. I want to get
there quickly,” – Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola.

Well said. How I
would love to see Lagosians; especially parents, appreciate where you
are coming from with this vision, key into it and in one accord, run
with it. Because, simply put, I guess all you are saying is “listen to
me children, I want to see you succeed. I want to see you excel
morally, spiritually, physically and academically. I want to see you
become future leaders and successful citizens of Lagos State and by
extension, Nigeria.”

What needs to be done?

And one of the ways
this can effectively happen is by meeting you at your greatest point of
need and your greatest point of passion, right now. So, in order words,
it is safe for us to assume that you are telling millions of the
youngsters in Lagos State that henceforth, all the necessary structures
and infrastructures to create the enabling environment to ensure a
secured future for Lagos State children, will deo-volente, be of
international standards.

Can this ever
happen in Lagos State? The answer is simple. By their fruits, you shall
know them. BRF, your performance so far in your attempts to revive the
lost glory of this state is impressive and very obvious. Well done. But
I make bold to say there is the urgent need for you to turn your
search-light on issues concerning sports development, especially at the
grassroots.

We are told by the
UNESCO, UNICEF and even FIFA, that for the youth, anywhere in the world
today, to be meaningfully engaged, impacted, and eventually prepared
for future leadership roles, they must be met at their greatest point
of need, which is education and their greatest point of passion, which
is sports. A marriage of these two; education and sports, will speedily
bring about the Lagos State, of your dream. Yes, it is possible and we
know you can do it.

Grassroots sports development

Sports (especially
football) can help discourage youngsters from taking drugs, smoking,
and the consumption of alcohol. Grassroots sports conveys values;
hence, it is a school of life. Sports can enable children and teenagers
assume responsibilities and learn to show respect to others within the
various teams or individual sports they belong. Grassroots sports has
been and is still being used effectively in volatile areas, to
positively engaging children, teenagers, and young adults, in order to
discourage them from violent activities. Grassroots sports are also a
powerful tool to release tension and generate dialogue. Grassroots
sports enable cultural differences and political agendas dissolve on
every pitch or court as the case maybe.

Should such a
potent tool be trivialized? No! This is where the issue of having a
conducive structure, devoid of any form of acrimony, must be put in
place in Lagos State. Apart from the envisioned synergy between the
sports and education ministries – from the local government area
councils to the state levels, the existing organs administering sports
in the state should work together as a team.

Development, we are
made to believe, is the process of changing and becoming larger,
stronger or more impressive, successful or advanced, or causing
somebody or something to change positively and consistently. It may
therefore be appropriate, to imply that sports development is the
process of making sports, in all its ramifications, become larger,
stronger, more impressive, successful, advanced and of course, make it
go through the required positive changes, in a very consistent manner.
In other words, or maybe simply put, having the right structures and
infrastructure in place.

My own BRF, there
are millions of extra ordinarily talented athletes in Lagos state, who
for reasons beyond them, are not likely to do well academically. They
are in schools all over Lagos state right now. How does the present
system make them smile? As a matter of fact some of such young ones are
of the opinion that schooling is a waste of time and believe me
sincerely, some parents agree with their children. This is one of the
issues responsible for that heinous crime called age falsification.

Some exceptionally
good athletes, who are also academically okay, are denied the
opportunity of expressing themselves, or not allowed to even
participate fully in sports, by their parents, because there is no
clear-cut programme (a pyramid structure), that can guarantee a
sporting career for our young ones in Lagos State.

Eko o ni baje o, Amen.

South Korea, one of
Nigeria’s opponents at the fast approaching World Cup in South Africa,
have been dealt a cruel blow after defender Tae-hwi Kwak picked up an
injury in Sunday’s international friendly against Belarus.

The 28-year-old
central defender damaged the ligaments on his left knee following an
aerial contest in the 32nd minute of the match played in Austria, and
the prognosis is it will take at least four weeks for the injury to
heal completely, robbing him of the chance of playing at the World Cup,
which gets underway on June 11.

It was a painful
setback in many ways for South Korean manager, Jung-moo Huh, as the
Taeguk Warriors went on to lose the game 1-0 to the Belarusians who
grabbed the only goal of the tie eight minutes into the second half
through Sergey Kisliak.

Filling the gap

The Korean coach on
Monday, however said he will fill up the gap now created by Kwak’s exit
with either Suwon Bluewings defender, Kang Min-soo, or Hwang Jae-won of
Asian champions Pohang Steelers.

Kwak had only been back in the South Korean squad since last November after a lengthy spell out of action due to a knee problem.

In his first game
for the Taeguk Warriors against Cote d’Ivoire last March in London, he
scored his side’s second in the 2-0 win over the Elephants to bring his
goals at international level for South Korea to four.

South Korea complete their preparations against European champions
Spain on Thursday ahead of their opening game against Greece on June
12, the same day the Super Eagles get to play former world champions
Argentina. The Koreans, who co-hosted the World Cup with Japan in 2002,
and who made it all the way to the semi finals at that edition before
losing to eventual runners-up Germany, will after the game against the
Greeks tackle Argentina on June 17 before completing the group phase
against the Super Eagles five days later.

Segun Adeboye,
student – I don’t think Kanu should have made the list; for me he is
too old. The coach should have given younger players like Victor
Anichebe and Ike Uche a chance. We need a striker like Ike Uche in the
Super Eagles’ team; he is the type of striker that can torment the
Argentine defence, not the likes of Aiyegbeni that the coach has now
settled for.

Akin Akinyemi,
civil engineer – For me, Kanu’s inclusion is still okay, I believe that
we should use this World Cup to send him off after serving the country
very well in the past. I feel he still has a part to play. However, I
am not satisfied with the 23-man list because it is still the same with
Amodu’s. I wonder why the likes of Yobo and Aiyegbeni found their way
into that team. The team may just disappoint us like they did in Angola.

Lukman Abiodun,
estate agent – Kanu is a motivator and can change the course of any
game when he comes in. Although he is old, I think he would perform
well in South Africa because that might be his last national assignment
and he would want to retire on a high. However I don’t like the
inclusion of Aiyegbeni in the team, he looks more like a bank manager
than a footballer .His teammate, Anichebe, would have been a better
choice.

Nkiru Udenze,
student – Kanu has made name for himself already, I don’t think he has
anything to prove again. Younger players that are hungry for fame and
want new clubs should have been taken. He also married and I don’t
think he would have the kind of strength he used to have, let us see
how many games he would be able to play when the World Cup begins.

Nkem Nwolu, trader – The coach knows that he is a good player that is why he chose him.
Kanu is a kind of player that puts his all into the game when he is
playing for Nigeria, those are the kind of players we need. The list is
okay for me it is a mixture of experienced and young players.

Watching the Super
Eagles against Saudi Arabia last Tuesday was a most distressing
experience. The Eagles were not pretty to look at.

Seeing the players
as they struggled to contain the more mobile and compact Saudi side,
intimations of the Amodu Shuaibu era hit me; an era when the Eagles
were as listless as they were non-committal to the national cause.

Nigerians have not
been amused by the performance particularly after seeing the heroic
display of the Mexican national team in the two friendly matches they
played last week against England and the Netherlands. Even though they
lost both matches, Carlos Vela and his team mates have won over a few
Nigerians, myself included, with their exciting brand of football,
which is easy on the eyes. Already people are looking forward to an
explosive opening match when they face a much improved South African
side at the World Cup on June 11.

Doomsday scenarios

The dismal
performance of the Eagles has many Nigerians scared of what would
happen when they file out against Lionel Messi and his compatriots at
the Ellis Park Stadium on June 12.

Doomsday scenarios are already being spun with many expecting as much as a 5 to 6 nil rout of the Eagles.

Alongside this fear
has been sharp criticism of Lars Lagerback. On many Nigerian websites,
the Eagles coach has been savaged repeatedly with many holding him
responsible for the Eagles deplorable performance.

Such accusation is
not justified and they go beyond the anger of his critics at the sloppy
display of our boys against the Saudis. Many simply have not forgiven
him for taking, as some have put it, “Amodu’s job”. In this state of
mind, they have thrown fair play out the window and have closed their
minds against the Swede. Nothing he does is likely to please them.

The truth, however,
is that given all that we have witnessed in the last few months-the
Nigeria Football Federation’s foot dragging on the appointment of a new
coach after Amodu was fired, the Hampshire hotel saga, which had
Lagerback moving back and forth with first NFF officials and later, the
minister of sports; the NFF’s inability to organise friendly matches
until last Tuesday-made it difficult for Lagerback to get a feel of his
squad.

Expecting him to
meld the squad into a formidable strike force and defence rampart on
his first outing is certainly asking for too much. I dare say that even
the Special One; Jose Mourinho cannot achieve that feat.

No champagne football

Nigeria plays its
second friendly match against Colombia today. The match, if it finally
gets to hold given developments in the last few days, will afford
Lagerback another opportunity to assess his players as the World Cup
draws nearer. Nigerians should not expect our boys to play champagne
football. Anyhow, they will not get it for the simple reason that the
players, eager to impress the new coach and get on the train to South
Africa, will be battle with nerves.

As an experienced
coach, Lagerback knows what to look out for as the thirty players in
camp battle for the 23 places available. In a sense, his late
interaction with the players will work to Nigeria’s advantage. Having
met them late, he has not formed any personal relationships that will
impede his impartial assessment of them. So, it is very likely that the
final 23 players who will make it to the World Cup will be those who
merit places in the squad. That will be a welcome departure from the
practice of the past where cronyism became the benchmark for the
selection of national team players for national assignment.

Somehow, I believe
that Nigeria under Lagerback will not be disgraced in South Africa.
While the Eagles will not meet the NFF’s hare-brained semi-final
target, they will certainly not return home with a bagful of goals.

Nigerians have
every right to expect a massacre of the Eagles in South Africa. After
all, the Eagles despite qualifying for this World Cup were anything but
organised and co-ordinated. But that was a different era. This is a new
dispensation and while the point can be made that it is still largely
the same players that nearly gave Nigerians heart seizure, it is useful
to note that the man handling a squad often makes the difference.

When Capello
inherited the England squad from Steve McClaren, he wasted no time in
imposing his will on the players who had begun to see themselves as
cult heroes. Today, Capello rules. Lagerback can do the same with the
Eagles.

A tactical master
class in Madrid saw Jose Mourinho give Internazionale their first
European Cup since 1965. In two years at the San Siro, the charismatic
and controversial Portuguese coach built a team that relied on hard
work, discipline and resilience to become kings of the continent once
more.

I saw it coming.
Leading up to the semifinal tie against Barcelona, I wrote that Inter
would eliminate the defending champions and go on to win the title. My
opinion was formed after watching the Italian giants teach Chelsea a
footballing lesson that Carlo Ancelotti will not forget anytime soon.
So, indeed, they went on to contain the almighty Barca and then
prevailed against Bayern.

There are many
unsung heroes in Inter’s line-up. I have always been a big fan of
Esteban Cambiasso. The way he plays is so simple and he makes the
creative players around him shine. As we say in Portugal, he carries
the piano so other ones can play it.

It is astounding to
me that he has not been picked for Argentina’s World Cup squad. His
compatriot Walter Samuel will be in South Africa and during Inter’s
victorious campaign he lived up to his nickname of “The Wall.” The
ferocious tackler was simply insurmountable at the centre of Inter’s
defence.

Tactical genius

Back to Mourinho. I
know coaches do not score goals and they do not win games, but he was
highly influential throughout Inter’s victorious campaign. He spun a
defensive web that had the best teams in Europe trapped, dazed and
confused, unable to find a way out and unable to break them down.

His style has been
criticized for its disregard of entertaining football, but you have to
respect his managerial skills and ability to get the best out of his
players at all times.

So what now for
Jose? Another fascinating challenge as he takes the reins at Real
Madrid. It is a match made in football heaven, isn’t it?

Well, some may say
it is a combustible situation. A mix that would put world’s most
high-profile club, which has ruthlessly hired and fired ten coaches in
as many years in their pursuit of glory, in the hands of a coach who
likes to do things his own way and demands loyalty.

The explosive
potential could lead to disaster, however, we should all know better
than that by now. My understanding is that Mourinho has been offered a
four-year-deal worth a reputed $9 million per season – a contract that
should ensure some much-needed stability in direction for the club.

Even though Real
have not won the European Cup in eight years and have been knocked out
in the last 16 consistently, they will be a different proposition with
Mourinho.

He will surely
bring in some familiar faces (Maicon, Diego Milito) that are already
well-versed in his football philosophy, and then he will go out and get
a star player to complement his midfield.

Steven Gerrard,
Frank Lampard are possibilities. Whoever he gets and however he builds
his team, you can be sure of one thing. He will be successful.

CNN Sport
correspondent Pedro Pinto will anchor CNN International’s coverage of
the FIFA World Cup in South Africa www.cnn.com/worldcup

The final leg of
the Gulder Five-a-side began in full swing on Monday at the Gymnasium
Complex of the National Institute of Sports (NIS).

In the opening
match of the day, 410 Planners of Ajegunle edged a resilient FUTA of
Akure 3-2. Planners drew first blood in the 11 minute through Alozie
Agbayi. The Ajegunle lads held the lead till the end of the first half.
The situation changed in the opening minutes of the second when Tiamiyu
Oladipupo displaced Planners keeper, after collecting a pass from one
of his team mates.

Moments later,
Happy Akonoka restored lead for Planners, after careless defending by
the FUTA defence gave him an opening to exploit. The lead did not last
for long as Abbo Pius, displacing his marker just inside the Planners
eighteen, rifled home a shot, which left Planners keeper stranded.

Planners won the
game in the dying minutes of the game through Akonoka. In the second
match of the day, Talent Builders of Lagos Island beat a determined
Federal Medical Centre of Abeokuta 2-1. Idris Salami’s brace, scored in
the first half and closing moments of the game, secured victory for
Lagos while the Egba lads were left to rue their fate, despite hitting
target courtesy of Quadri Balogun in the second half.

Other matches were
being played at the time this report was filed. Meanwhile, Planners
face Talent Builders today to determine who will join other teams in
the round-robin stage, which will see the six teams that made it out of
the knock-out phase placed into two groups, with the top two teams from
each group making it to the semi-final.

The tournament, which began in March this year, will draw to a close
this Saturday with the winners getting N5 million and runners-up, N2
million.