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World Cup
authorities are doing tests on Thursday to check whether the
ear-splitting din from South Africa’s vuvuzela fan trumpets could pose
a security risk during the tournament.

Foreign fans and
players complained about the noise of the plastic trumpets, which sound
like a herd of charging elephants, during last year’s Confederations
Cup — a dress rehearsal for the soccer spectacular which starts on
June 11.

But FIFA President
Sepp Blatter said they were as characteristic of South African football
as bongo drums or singing in other countries and would not be banned.

Asked about the
vuvuzelas again on Thursday, chief local organiser Danny Jordaan said
the noise levels would be checked when South Africa play Colombia in a
friendly World Cup warm up on Thursday night at the 90,000-capacity
Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, when noise levels are likely to
reach their peak.

“I think the
stadium operations require sometimes the attention of the people in the
stadium… for example, if there is an order to evacuate that stadium
and an announcement is made, you have to ask yourself, will everyone in
that stadium hear that evacuation order?” he said.

National anthems

Jordaan said the playing of national anthems would also require respect to be shown.

“We will look
tonight where, for the first time we’ll have a full stadium at Soccer
City, and then we’ll see whether or not levels of noise impact on the
efficiency of the operation,” Jordaan added at Johannesburg’s Ellis
Park stadium, one of the tournament’s 10 venues.

He said stadium
security and management would assess the impact of vuvuzelas after the
match and indicated fans may be asked to pipe down for emergency
announcements, without giving details.

“Can we have a
conversation, can there be instructions, is there difficulty because of
these noise levels? Then we will talk to the people,” Jordaan said.

Thailand manager
Bryan Robson complained earlier this month that he could not
communicate with his players during a 4-0 friendly drubbing by South
Africa at the new Nelspruit stadium, when around 40,000 fans were
present to blow the horns.

The former England
captain suggested the trumpets could give South Africa an advantage in
the World Cup, both by lifting their morale and deafening the
opposition, and said managers would have to find new ways to give
instructions to players.

But South Africa’s Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said they should take advantage of the din.

“We want it louder and louder,” he said.

South African scientists have warned fans to take ear plugs to World Cup matches to avoid damaging their hearing.

Now the football season has ended in Europe and other parts of the world, next stop is South-Africa.

All eyes should be
focused on the World Cup now but mine and many others are still focused
on one man- Jose Mourinho, popularly known as the “special one”, and
the “chosen one” in more recent times.

Call him cocky,
proud, arrogant, loud mouthed, and you’ll probably not be wrong. Some
even say he is aloof and obnoxious especially judging from the things
he said about Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez, Claudio Ranieri,
journalists, Italian Football Federation and even players.

He picks fights
with anyone and everyone. He plays defensive football that isn’t very
pleasing to the eye, but he’s won 3 trophies this year! You’ve got to
give him credit for that and the truth remains that he has proven
himself over and over again. Besides, I always say being cocky with
results is good.

Relishing challenge

Mourinho is a man
who has caused me a lot of pain-Manchester United’s loss to Porto in
2004 in the Champions League, during his time in the English
Premiership; yet, I have secretly admired him. His looks, his
arrogance, his bluntness, his achievements and even the way he
dresses… How I wish he will one day coach Manchester United! You have
to admit Mourinho is a super manager-a coach who did not lose at home
for so long, (both at Stamford Bridge and the San Siro) it’s amazing.

It really is difficult to lose at home when the coach is an absolute defensive genius.

He’s also a smart
man, knowing that, 30 years or more down the road, people will only
remember statistics (and his is excellent), instead of words like “his
teams aren’t nice to watch but are ruthlessly efficient”.

For a man who is
always looking for new challenges, he certainly has one now. After two
years in charge of Inter Milan where he won the Serie A title and the
most sought after treble, he is off to the Bernabeu.

Perhaps this is the end of poor performances by Real Madrid?

Technically
speaking, he won the champions league for Inter Milan after 45 years,
surely Madrid’s nine-year wait for a champions league title is nearly
over.

I have always
thought that Sir Alex Ferguson was the best club coach of all time.
Mourinho though has brought a new dimension to that title and is
definitely in contention. The difference between the two men is that
Ferguson achieved all his successes with one club, while Mourinho is
moving around winning with different clubs. It really is a big
challenge and that makes him the best at the moment.

It’s nice to know
also that it has nothing to do with money, but for Samuel Eto, there
were no major stars on his winning team whereas a lot of managers have
spent thousands and nothing in return.

On the issue of
people complaining about Mourinho’s teams playing “unattractive”
football, wouldn’t you rather be a Mourinho follower than an Arsene
Wenger follower? In all honesty I didn’t think that this year’s UEFA
Champions League final was a fantastic final, but then it is not all
about winning.

Titles are more important

Agreed, Man Utd and
Barcelona won playing a more attractive brand of football, but
personally, I don’t care how my team plays as long as they win.

A boring victory is more attractive to a team’s fan base than an entertaining loss. Ask any Arsenal fan.

The beauty is in
the winning and winning in style. And while doing so he defeated the
best team in England, Chelsea, a team that broke all kinds of records
and won a double. He also beat the best team in Spain and defending
champions, Barcelona and then finally put to the sword, the best club
in the German Bundesliga.

His move to Real
Madrid will surely add a lot of spice to the rivalry between Barcelona
and Real especially as Barca fans have not forgiven him for his
pre-match comments that Barcelona would be undone by their “obsession”
with winning back-to-back Champions League titles.

In winning the
champions league with Inter, he joins the likes of Ottmar Hitzfeld
(Borussia Dortmund 1997, Bayern Munich 2001) and Ernst Happel
(Feyenoord 1970, Hamburg 1983) as managers to have raised the European
Cup with different clubs and he has vowed to become the first man to
win the title with 3 different clubs.

It is easy to write
negative things about Nigeria. Smart writers think they only need to
use the word corruption in two or three places in their first paragraph
and readers would buy into their argument.

On May 20, Jamie
Trecker, senior soccer writer for American television channel Fox
Soccer Channel, used this low method in his ‘32 Teams in 32 Days’, a
series of analysis on teams participating in the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa. Surprisingly, he failed. This is despite opening his
piece with: “Nigeria is a kleptocracy (rule by thieves) that milks the
most populous African nation. Oil wealth has made this massive African
nation one of the most dangerous, most corrupt, most impoverished and
straight-out saddest countries on earth. Despite billions and billions
of dollars in annual oil revenue, virtually none of it reaches the
general population, instead lining the pockets of one “big man” after
another”.

Hatchet job

Like other foreign
views critical of Nigeria, Trecker’s analysis of the Super Eagles’
preparation for the World Cup was greeted with an uproar by Nigerians.
However, unlike other cases when Nigerians protest such analysis
largely out of patriotic fervour, the criticism of Trecker is due to
his atrocious research before writing on our national football team.
Were he a rookie, he might have been ignored, maybe even forgiven, but
he is an American sports journalist with 25 years experience who failed
to get his facts right; a cardinal sin in journalism.

Trecker’s ignorance
of Nigeria is apparent throughout the piece. In one paragraph he claims
there is a “North-South split in the nation along religious lines:
Christians to the North, Muslims to the South”, and that, “War is a
regular occurrence in Nigeria, and drug and arms smuggling have made it
an almost-failed state”. For Trecker’s education, Muslims are dominant
in the north and Christians in the South of Nigeria, not the other way
round. Also, depending on one’s definition of war, it can be argued
that the pockets of violent clashes Nigeria experiences do not amount
to war being a regular occurrence in the country.

One may be tempted
to explain these blunders on Nigeria as the failings of a sports
journalist who attempts to blend the country’s politics with football
but it is not only the political realities in Nigeria that Trecker
goofed about. He made unpardonable assumptions about the current state
of football in the country.

He claims that “the
team (the Super Eagles) tends to dissolve into pointless squabbles over
the usual, venal matters. Bonuses aren’t paid, roster choices are
always suspect and being a coach in Nigeria requires a hefty cash
deposit up front, because you’re not likely to see any more”.

Wide off the mark

Anyone familiar
with football administration in Nigeria today knows that Trecker’s
submission is yards away from the truth. One of the major achievements
of the Sani Lulu-led Nigeria Football Federation, since his election as
the federation’s president four years ago, is the prompt payment of
match bonuses to players and the technical crew of teams. In fact,
Trecker would have been correct had he followed the steps of Nigerian
journalists who now criticise the federation for paying players before
games. It is public knowledge, except to Trecker, that during the 2008
Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, the federation and the team agreed on
all bonuses and payment was made promptly. It was the same during the
World Cup qualifiers, and Angola 2010. For four years now, not only
have our players been paid regularly, they have enjoyed frequent
increment in their earnings. In 2009, for instance, the Presidential
Task Force for the World Cup approved the doubling of players’ bonuses
from $5000 to $10,000. What then are the “usual, venal matters” Trecker
would like the world to believe plague our team? It was just impossible
for him to remain reasonable in the article.

No age restrictions

Rather than say how
the Super Eagles are preparing for South Africa 2010, the man who Fox
Sports prides as covering “the Champions League, European soccer and
the world game for FoxSoccer.com”, argued that “African and some Asian
players (note where some is placed) have routinely lied about their
true ages in order to play in the age-eligible competitions, and until
FIFA began cracking down on it, Nigeria was known as one of the worst
offenders”.

Considering that
there is no limit on players’ age for the World Cup, it is difficult to
understand how issues concerning age-grade football tournaments affect
our senior team’s preparation for South Africa. Of course we are
concerned when a coach fields players who may be too old to play but
how does the argument that “Kanu, allegedly 33, is still playing in
England for Portsmouth. Despite the fact that he may actually be closer
to 42, he’s going to play” make sense? Does Trecker know Kanu was
instrumental in Portsmouth’s success in the English FA Cup in 2008,
where he scored the only goal and they won? This year too, Kanu was
part of the Portsmouth side that played in the final of the league cup
against Chelsea. How then is he too old to be part of his national team?

But let’s agree
that Trecker is right in faulting Coach Lars Lagerback’s selection of
Kanu, one would then expect him to analyse Lagerback’s competence or
otherwise in leading the Super Eagles in South Africa. Instead of this,
Trecker launches an attack on Nigeria claiming:

“If he (Lagerback)
actually makes it to the Cup, it’ll be something of a miracle as he’s
already had one run-in over non-payment, and Nigeria has a habit of
firing their foreign coaches on the eve of a major tournament to reward
some politically connected local hack”.

This is all Trecker
had to say about the coach and his chances at the World Cup! It will
take a better fox than Trecker to convince any observer of Nigerian
football that Lagerback has had a run-in with our football authorities
over non-payment. Only last Thursday, Patrick Ekeji, the Secretary of
the Presidential Task Force on the World Cup, told journalists that the
“PTF has always moved fast in paying Lagerback all entitlements due him
up till May 31, 2010, contrary to what had been reported in the media
recently. The remittances are made into his nominated bank account. We
want to assure all Nigerians that his other entitlements for the months
of June and July will be paid to him promptly”.

Lagerback himself has not at anytime said he is owed money.

In concluding his
piece, Trecker tells his readers that, “First off, see if a coach
actually shows up. Next, see if the players take the field. After that,
see if the guys talk to one another. If you get all three, this team
has a good shot”.

If a coach showing
up, players taking the field and talking to one another is all a sports
analyst of Trecker’s position at Fox Sports thinks our team needs to
succeed at the World Cup, then President Goodluck Jonathan should go
ahead and sign the cheque he promised the boys would get upon victory
in South Africa. That is if anyone can take such a foxy analysis
seriously.

For Trecker’s article go to www.234next.com

While
acknowledging that the friendly match against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
did not send one’s pulse racing, Lagerback can be excused the fact that
this was his first outing. But as the Eagles play Colombia at the
Milton Keynes Stadium in England today, the Swede must make sure that
whatever team he puts out does not cast depression on the majority of
their fans.

When Sweden
qualified for the 2002 World Cup under Lars Lagerback, they instituted
an inquiry and found that they had the least efficient squad in their
World Cup group containing favourites Argentina, England, and Nigeria,
in that order.

They therefore made
a plan – that to qualify for the second round, which was their main
objective – they would take points off Argentina and England, and had
to beat Nigeria to get a total of five points. At the end of the first
round, they achieved the aim, even coming first in the group, ahead of
England, while Argentina and Nigeria crashed out.

These same set of
conclusions must be drawn up, or made better, if Nigeria is to make it
out of Group D and get as far as possible with the present Eagles squad.

What result against Argentina?

As the opening
match, the importance of the result cannot be overestimated. It may
make or mar Nigeria’s participation in South Africa. The Eagles have to
make sure that they are not beaten; how they will achieve that result,
or make it better, is left to Lars Lagerback and his players.

One experiences a
solid fear that refuses to just go away at the thought of Nigeria’s
first match against Argentina, and the reason for the fear is none
other than the presence of the 2009 World Player of the Year, Lionel
Messi; with his compatriots – Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Sergio
Aguerro, and Gonzalo Higuain – who between them scored 118 goals in
their respective leagues. Nigerians will remember the new Madrid
recruit, Angel Di Maria, who scored the lone goal against Samson
Siasia’s team at the finals of the 2008 Olympics football final.

Lagerback, though,
is not fazed about meeting such a world class field. He told a Nigerian
sports daily, last weekend, in London:

“The first match of
a tournament can condition the rest. Argentina have fantastic
individuals, but I’m not fearful or intimidated by the thought of
facing Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Aguero and all the others.”

The reason for the
optimism may be based on the fact that in the over one hundred games
that Sweden played under him as coach, Lagerback recorded an impressive
75% unbeaten record. What this statistic tells us is that the Swede
knows how to set up his teams so that they won’t be beaten. He will not
have stage fright, having drawn with a star studded Argentine team in
2002. He continued:

“I think I know how
to stifle Argentina. Sweden did it at the 2002 World Cup. You couldn’t
say we had the better players, but we still drew 1-1 with them. Messi
is extraordinary, but Argentina are not Barcelona.”

If the Super Eagles
get anything from that opening match against the Messi-inspired team,
it will go a long way in lifting the spirits of Nigerians who will be
glued to their television sets.

Going for a win against Greece

On the Greek national team, Nigeria’s next opponents after Argentina, Lagerback noted:

“I have a lot of
respect for the work of Otto Rehhagel with Greece. They play tight, are
spirited, and are not in the habit of selling themselves short.”

There will gasps of
delight from fans as the Greek players knuckle down to get their
desired results, but you can be sure they will be very hard to break
down. After watching Greece draw 2-2 against North Korea on Tuesday,
the Eagles must make sure that there are no mistakes against this wily
team. They are a reactive team and always wait for the opponent to
‘beat’ itself. Yes, they will apply pressure from set plays from all
parts of the pitch, but they will not go out of their way to out-play
the opponent. This is one match that the Eagles must concentrate on,
and probably win. They have the better players and more importantly,
the faster players.

Avoiding defeat by South Korea

“South Korea’s strength is their energy and total commitment. You have to match them there,” Lagerback said in an interview.

South Korea have
shown in their eight World Cup tune-up matches to date, the most recent
being the 2-0 over fellow World Cup team, Japan, that they are a very
well organised and highly efficient side. They are very fit, and the
Eagles have to stand toe to toe with the Asian champions to get a
result. The worst result from this match should be a draw.

Lagerback believes in the qualities of the present Eagles team to get that desired result, and said in an interview:

“I see a team with
a great deal of physical presence and individual skill. I’d go as far
as to say that, man for man, Nigeria have more pure technical talent
than most. I don’t think we need to worry about a lack of flair and
match-winning ability.”

Growing pessimism

Many Nigerians will
like to believe the above statement, but performances by the team and
the lack of playing time for majority of the players is a continuous
cause for concern. But Lagerback is trying his entire psychological
prowess to lift the spirit of a dispirited nation.

“I wonder why
people are pessimistic when they hear talk of semi-final target. Every
country that goes to a major championship wants to do well, and I
believe Nigeria have the players to do well at this World Cup.

“Several people
have asked me whether a semi-final place is not a dream, but I tell
them that we can achieve it if we all work together: the players, the
coaches, the administrators, and the fans.”

The final squad list will be drawn today and the 23 warriors will be
known. We hope that they will do the country proud in South Africa and
the least we can ask of them is to be 100% committed to the cause, when
the World Cup starts for them on June 12 with their opening match
against Argentina.

A
week in the scenic French Alps seems to have done wonders for France,
who now have a healthy Williams Gallas and a vastly improved mood in
the team.

France leave their
picturesque base on Tuesday with their 23-man squad for the June
11-July 11 finals in South Africa finalised and in a relaxed and
confident mood after a number of concerns were overcome.

Coach Raymond
Domenech, who has been under fire since his side’s Euro 2008 flop,
organised several strange group activities in search of harmony such as
a hike up a glacier, an introduction to biathlon and even a dune buggy
race.

The players loved
it, even Gallas, who survived a fright when his buggy rolled over, and
all the players said they could feel a genuine team spirit blooming.

The man France fans
love to hate, Domenech even cracked a few smiles and did not lose his
cool when midfielder Lassana Diarra was ruled out of the World Cup by
illness on Saturday.

The coach
eventually decided late on Monday that Diarra would not be replaced
after seeing defender Gallas, who had been doubtful because of a sore
left calf, train without any problems.

The coach, who had
brought 24 players to Tignes because of concerns about Gallas, found
himself with 23 after Diarra left and decided those would travel to
South Africa after Gallas was ruled fit to play.

Surprising mood “It’s complicated to take somebody out and we’ve had Lassana Diarra who’s had a real problem,” Domenech said.

“Then we found
ourselves with 23 players so we no longer needed to make a choice
because that group here keep showing us that we can trust them. Those
23 players will take us all the way.” Saying France, who needed an
infamous Thierry Henry handball to qualify through a playoff at the
expense of Ireland, will win the World Cup may seem a little premature.

The mood in the ski
village, surrounded by rugged snow-capped peaks and almost like a ghost
town in the spring, however, has surprised many observers.

All the France
players have been saying that they were having fun together and were
determined to soon prove their worth on the pitch.

Such statements
were hardly ever heard before Euro 2008, where a miserable atmosphere
and a rift between the younger players in the squad and the more
experienced ones marred a campaign that ended with a group-stage exit.

Domenech, who will
be replaced by Laurent Blanc after the World Cup, may feel he has no
pressure, with French fans and media generally feeling the team has no
chance to make an impact on the pitches of South Africa.

The coach even made
a bold move in the penultimate training session in Tignes, fielding a
4-3-3 formation instead of his preferred, more defensive 4-2-3-1 system.

The fans watching
the session applauded, hoping the cautious tactics that have frustrated
them for years might soon make way for a more exciting brand of
football.

France will play
Costa Rica on Wednesday in Lens in the first of three warm-up games for
the World Cup, where they will face hosts South Africa, Mexico and
Uruguay in Group A.

Last weekend,
disgruntled fans of Premier League club, Kano Pillars attacked players
and officials of Dolphins FC as well as the presiding referee and his
assistants following the conclusion of a league encounter decided at
the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano.

While players and
officials from Dolphins were pelted with missiles on the pitch, the
centre referee Gabriel Adigwe and his assistants were attacked by the
displeased Kano Pillars fans right inside the tunnel as they headed for
the changing room.

The reason behind
the fans’ discontentment was down to their team’s inability to secure a
win over the visitors from Port Harcourt which would have extended
their lead on the league standings over closest rivals, Enyimba who
many are now tipping to end the season as league champions for a record
setting sixth time.

Kano revisited

“I think the fans
were mad that we weren’t able to win the match,” said a Kano Pillars
player who wishes to be anonymous because he was afraid of, as he put
it, being “victimized”.

“I think the referee did his best to be fair to both sides so I don’t think it was fair what happened to him,” he added.

The game itself
witnessed a lengthy stoppage induced by fans’ encroachment on the pitch
midway through the second half which led to referee Adigwe justifiably
extending the game well beyond the stipulated 90 minutes, and it wasn’t
until well into stoppage time before the home side finally cancelled
Dolphins one goal lead courtesy of a penalty kick conversion from the
league’s leading scorer, Ahmed Musa.

Whether the spot
kick awarded to Kano Pillars was justified or whether the referee took
that course of action in order to restore parity in what was obviously
a charged atmosphere is an entirely different issue as the game was not
broadcast live on television. Even at that, there have been claims from
Dolphins that their cameraman was assaulted and his camera destroyed by
the irate fans but there has been no independent confirmation of this.

Stiffer penalties needed

Nevertheless,
league organisers, the Nigeria Premier League, following the report
from the game’s Match Commissioner, swung into action by slamming a
fine of one million naira on Kano Pillars while also ordering them to
pay the sum of two hundred thousand naira each to referee Adigwe, his
two assistants and the match commissioner. In addition to that, the NPL
also ordered Kano Pillars to prosecute their remaining home games in
Calabar with a strict order to effect the payments on or before June 5,
as well as identifying the perpetrators of the ugly incident.

It’s a routine that
has been used on more than a handful of occasions by the NPL in a
season that has routinely been plagued by violence on the part of
football fans.

Clubs like Rangers,
Wikki Tourists and Niger Tornadoes have had to pay similar fines this
season while Ranchers Bees, in addition to the fines, also had five
players and officials receiving a year-long ban from football
activities.

But regardless of
the number of clubs that have been hit with sanctions, it appears clubs
are not doing enough to prevent acts of violence from being perpetrated
by fans at their matches, and if the situation doesn’t abate there’s
every reason to believe that we are yet to hear the last of such
incidents this season especially with the end of the campaign just a
few weeks away as clubs seek every avenue to secure the points needed
to either secure the title or stave off relegation.

One can only hope
that if another incident will occur before the end of the season, it
won’t involve referee Adigwe who was also at the centre back in March
when Niger Tornadoes were forced to a goalless draw in Minna by
visiting Bayelsa United.

“The fans said they
have to beat me up to teach me a lesson because I don’t help them in
their home games. They say that every time I come to their home games,
they always play a draw. I am seriously damaged psychologically and I
don’t know if I can do any match after this without the fear of being
beaten again,” said the Lagos based referee two months ago in an
interview with an online sports magazine.

Adigwe couldn’t be
reached for his own side of the story this time around but his boss at
the Lagos State Referees Council, Tade Azeez feels much more needs to
be done with regards to sanctions on defaulting clubs if the situation
is to be nipped in the bud.

Trouble spots

Azeez who noted
that both Kano and Minna have earned the unenviable reputation of been
“trouble spots for referees” said: “Even if they are told to pay five
million naira in fines it won’t serve as a deterrent for these clubs
because they are all sponsored by their respective state governments
and won’t have any problems paying such amount.”

Azeez also
advocated heavy points deduction for erring clubs as that in his
opinion will be a much stiffer punishment than outright banishment away
from their home stadium.

He added: “I think
deduction of points will work better because if these fans know that
their club will suffer as much as a nine-point deduction for their
actions, which may even lead to eventual relegation, they will learn to
behave.” Points deductions, in this case, a six points deduction, was
also suggested by China Acheru the long-serving media officer of
Dolphins who also advocated for erring clubs to play out not just a few
home games but the rest of the season away from home.

Regarding the fine
imposed by the NPL. Acheru wants a situation where clubs would be fined
a whooping 10 million naira with half of the sum going to the visiting
team while the other half is handed out to the assaulted match
officials.

More police

He also wants increased security at match venues.

“The fine has to
be much more than is obtainable at the moment while the rule stating
that clubs must provide 50 policemen at match venues should be scrapped
for a more realistic figure,” said Acheru in a telephone chat.

The idea of 50
policemen providing adequate security at match venues is incredulous
when compared to the average of 184 officers allocated by the police
for matches in England along with an average of 350 stewards provided
by the home side. For high priority matches, such as the Carling Cup
tie that took place this past season between West Ham and fierce rivals
Milwall, 700 officers and 410 stewards were on ground to provide
security.

“I think they
should be relegated or suffer points deductions but I’m not surprised
we still have acts of hooliganism back home because the security
presence at match venues is grossly inadequate,” said former Nigeria
international Chukwuma Akuneto, who is now a coach based in England.

“If 50 policemen
see about 500 hooligans charging onto the pitch to lay their hands on
say the referee I don’t think they will be able to stop them from
harming the referee. They will probably allow the hooligans to do
whatever they feel like to the referee and hope the referee doesn’t die
from the attack,” he added.

In addition to
having more officers at match venues, Akuneto also advised the league
to make it mandatory for clubs to install close circuit cameras at
match venues while also enlisting the services of safety officers who
will have the responsibility of recruiting stewards from within the
local population to control spectators during matches.

For its part, the
premier legal will be looking at ways to finally eliminate the ugly
trend from the Nigerian league by imposing stiffer sanctions ahead of
the next football season. Although an official of the league body who
spoke to NEXTSports on the condition of anonymity refused to disclose
exactly what these sanctions will be, he did reveal that erring clubs
stand the risk of suffering points deductions or even outright
relegation.

While
using the match played against Saudi Arabia as yard stick for pruning
the team down to 23 players may not be realistic, given the
circumstances we have found ourselves in, we will attempt a projection
of which players Lagerback is likely to drop from the 30 players
currently in camp.

Out of the starting line-up against Saudi Arabia
on Tuesday, only Lukman Haruna, Terna Suswan, and Victor Anichebe
impressed sufficiently to be able to hope of places in the final 23.
The goal keeper, Austin Ejide had a commendable 90 minute performance;
and may have proven that he is fit for South Africa.

The keeper that will be dropped will be decided
today if Bassey Akpan keeps the goal against Colombia, if not the
Bayelsa United keeper will be dropped.

Defenders for the chop

Lagerback showed against Saudi Arabia that he was
looking for a back-up right back when he deployed Sani Kaita in that
position in the second half. While Chidi Odiah will be the automatic
choice for the Eagles in South Africa if he stays fit, Suswan showed he
is one for the future. Rennes defender, Elderson Echiejile did not
impress with his showing against the Saudis, and Lagerback may be
having doubts about taking him to the World Cup.

Joseph Yobo is not looking comfortable, and as the
most experienced player in that defence, you will expect him to make
it. Danny Shittu has been commended severally for his enthusiasm, and
may just make it to help the dressing room. So from the nine defenders
in camp right now, it is likely that two of Terna Suswan, Elderson
Echiejile or Onyekachi Apam (because of his injury) will be dropped.

Midfielders that have lost the plot

If Mikel Obi is fully recovered, then the Chelsea
man and Fulham’s Dickson Etuhu will be the automatic choice for the two
defensive positions in midfield. But who will be the back-up? Sani
Kaita will get the nod here because of his versatility. Yussuf Ayila
then finds himself in a position of vying with Haruna Lukman. Based on
their performances in the Tuesday match, Lukman may get the nod. There
are six berths in that midfield so one of them will be dropped and Kalu
Uche added to the list.

The ones to get the goals

Captain of the side, Nwankwo Kanu, will only make
this team on his legendary status and what he can bring to games late
on. Chinedu Obasi on the other hand has to prove the hype all over
again. There is no doubt he is a very talented player, but he needs to
prove it on the biggest stage, the World Cup.

Victor Anichebe showed in the game against the
Saudi Arabia team that he is on the plane to South Africa. His power,
pace and aggression will prove invaluable in South Africa. Brown Ideye,
John Utaka, who showed he is no more useful to the national side with a
shameful half hour action against the Saudis and his brother, will
likely have to wait for another opportunity to represent Nigeria. Most
probably, this will be the last that will be heard of the elder Utaka.

After a long wait
for Michael Essien, the Ghana Football Authority (GFA) stated on
Wednesday that the Ghanaian captain will not be fit in time for the
World Cup which starts in a fortnight.

The statement on
the GFA site read in part: “An evaluation by a combined team of medical
experts from the Ghana Football Association and Chelsea Football Club
revealed that Essien will not make full recovery until the end of July.
The Ghana Football Association wishes him full recovery and a quick
return to football action.”

Unending rehabilitation

The 27-year-old
Chelsea midfielder has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury
during the African Cup of Nations in January.

It had been thought
that Essien would return before the end of the season alongside Ashley
Cole for Chelsea. Cole fractured his left ankle on February 10 2010
against Everton. The 28-year-old England international though returned
in time to help the Blues grab the double, scoring the last goal in the
8-0 rout of Wigan on the last day.

What next for the Black Stars

This will further
heap a lot of pressure on recuperating Stephen Appiah, who has not
played club football for a year and Sulley Muntari, as both are not as
dynamic as Essien.

Essien played in 10
of Ghana’s 11 qualification matches, clocking more than 800 minutes of
game time, as Ghana finished at the top of their group, and
automatically sealed a spot at the World Cup. The Ghana coach had said
last week that Essien’s presence was invaluable to the Black Stars.

“Essien is an
important player, not only for Ghana but for the World Cup. He is one
of the best players in the world and the World Cup is an assembly of
the best,” said Coach Milovan Rajevac.

The coach must now tinker with the favoured 4-4-2 formation to
accommodate Udinese’s Kwadwo Asamoah alongside Sulley Muntari and
Appiah. Although Ghana won’t lack for presence in the centre of the
park, there will be something missing; and that will be Michael Essien,
who would make the line-up for any of the nations at the 2010 World Cup
a better team.

The twelve teams
which include four qualifiers from Lagos namely: 401 Planners FC of
Ajegunle, Talent Builders of Island, Ikeja All Stars of Ipaja and Kush
FC of Mainland are set to hit Lagos to compete for honours at the
maiden Gulder Ultimate Five-A-Side soccer tournament which hits the
home stretch this weekend.

After the rigours
of qualification from city to the regional and classification round of
matches concluded last weekend, matches will resume again on Monday
with the opening match between FUTA FC of Akure against high riding 401
Planners of Ajegunle.

The teams will do
battle at the first ever competitive Indoor mobile turf which has been
laid at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium in Lagos.

The overall winner
of the competition will go home with N5 million while the first runner
up will receive N2 million for the effort and the third place team will
collect N1 million.

The registration and participation for the competition which began
in March was open to all who can access the 24 cities that have the
distinct privilege of hosting the games which was played in enclosed
venues with Astro turf endorsed by FIFA.