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With those words, Emmanuel Adebayor summed up his season and gave his reasons for retiring from playing for his national team. Essentially, the now former captain of the Togo national team is saying he was so traumatised by the unfortunate gun attack on the Togo team bus that preceded this year’s African Cup of Nations, that he has come to the ‘very difficult decision’ to quit international football.

Adebayor’s track record

Permit my cynicism but he has had a fairly chequered history with his national side: tangles with coaches, being dropped and then re-selected, and joining the team for a narrowly-avoided boycott at the 2006 World Cup over unpaid bonuses. Now let’s talk about the distress caused by the gun attack in Angola. No doubt it was a terrible experience. His employers at Manchester City clearly recognised this and gave him compassionate leave. He has since returned again to fine form for his club and one wonders at his decision to leave the international stage.

Again, the cynicism: He is twenty-six years (or football years) old. Unless the Court of Arbitration for Sports overturns the CAF ruling that suspends Togo from next two editions of the competition, that would make him a football veteran of thirty-two at the 2016 Nations Cup, and most probably not the first choice striker for the national team. As for the World Cup, Togo is not famous for outstanding performances and continuing qualification.

They are a relatively small nation, working hard to make a mark in world football. Therefore, World Cup 2014 is most certainly not assured. Another point is that African men just don’t ‘do’ trauma.’ (I’d like to extend my sincere apologies to our men for the sweeping generalisation.) Adebayor is also an ex African footballer of the Year, so there really isn’t that much more for him to achieve with the national team.

What could have been?

Here’s what an honest press release might have sounded like: “Having given my very best to the national team over the years, playing at our first World Cup and captaining the team, I feel it’s now time to concentrate on my club career. After all, you will agree with me that footballers have a short shelf life; at this point, I would like to restate that I am truly the age that I declare and while I am at the peak of my career, I would like to earn and save as much as possible to cushion the return to my beloved homeland after the end of my club career. Things are looking very good right now, I’m scoring goals and we should be in the Champions League next season. On the other hand, Togo might not get any international football for a decade despite all my best efforts. It’s a good time to leave.”

Did anyone tune in to watch El Clasico at Real Madrid’s home ground?

Anticipation, fuelled by media hype, had reached fever pitch in many homes including mine.

Moneybags Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo locking horns with Barcelona’s ‘Atomic Flea’ Lionel Messi. With the two teams separated on the league table by goal difference and Barcelona’s attacking football, one expected ninety minutes of soccer dreamland. It turned out to be a disappointment with the kind of stop-start football that makes one want to jump into the television screen and give the players a good shake.

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona broke the deadlock in the first half with their leonine, Messi. A second half goal effectively put an end to the contest, giving the Spanish Champions a three-point lead. We’re not sure if this will put paid to the debate about who the better player is between Ronaldo and Messi but sincerely hope the next El Clasico lives up to the hype.

Last week was not
the best football wise. You see we have a challenge in my home. We all
like football from the youngest (10 year old) to the oldest but we
belong to different camps – I am a die hard Arsenal fan whilst my
better half is Man U for life. Using my veto power, I have managed to
convert everyone else in the family to a Gunner. Of course you can
imagine the situation the day the two teams are playing against each
other.

But, as the saying goes love conquers all. This past week was however not a good one for the entire household.

Arsenal’s humiliation

First was Arsenal’s
loss to Barcelona. I was consoled and taunted a bit but I held my cool.
Come Wednesday, I was the one doing the consoling. I managed to
restrain myself from making statements such as “the rich also cry” or
“how are the mighty fallen”. Since both our teams have now been ejected
from the UEFA championship, we obviously needed to adopt another team
to support (albeit temporarily). In spite of the pain inflicted on
Arsenal, I really do not have a choice but to adopt Barcelona. Inter
Milan would have been preferable but the posturing of Jose Morinho are
a bit too much for my Oyo-girl sensibilities! We have also decided to
step down somewhat and begin to follow more closely the UEFA Europa
championship. Liverpool having advanced to the last four is
representing the English premiership in that tournament. That’s
football for you; the much touted teams – Man U and Arsenal are out of
the UEFA champions league whilst Liverpool struggling to attain a top
four position in the premiership league gets to advance to the last
four of the UEFA Europa championship. Though not as prestigious as the
UEFA champions league it is still Europe and winning the cup would give
silverware to Liverpool this season unlike Arsenal which is looking
like having nothing to hold aloft again this season. From all
indications, Arsene Wenger should now be looking to dump the ‘catch
them young and grow them’ policy and just splash some cash on
experience.

The day after

The hullabaloo that
followed Arsenal’s loss seemed to me not to be as great as the coverage
of Man U’s loss to Bayern Munich. Or was it the goals scored that made
the difference? After all many pundits had written Arsenal off this
season and did not expect the team to advance this far. I am not a
conspiracy theorist under any guise and based on my professional
background would typically focus on facts but the uproar was in my
opinion unprecedented. I console myself with this thought though that
at least we succeeded in temporarily taking the heat off Man U
following its 2-1 loss to Chelsea! Last week also brought home the fact
that some players are like good luck charms for their teams. Using the
word ‘key’ for these set of players is an understatement. Man U without
Wayne Rooney is like Arsenal without Cesc Fabregas. Liverpool without
Steven Gerrard is like Barcelona without Lionel Messi. I also know this
for sure; Nigeria is finished if he continues in this form in the World
cup. There is no way (unless there is divine intervention) that the
tired legs in the Nigerian team’s defence can cope with a rampant
Messi. So all this talk of the super Eagles (I cringe using the word
‘super’ hence the small ‘s’) attaining semi-final position in the
oncoming FIFA World cup is rather bewildering to me. Are these people
from Mars or is this the usual Nigerian talk ourselves into feeling
good situation without actually doing anything to implement factor?

New minister, old solution

Which leads me to
the issue of the new sports minister – if as it is claimed the country
needs to create 24 million jobs over the next 10 years to reduce its
unemployment rate and majority of our 140m plus population are youths,
it’s a no brainer that sports should be one of the areas we should
focus on. This is not just about football but the other sports –
athletics, tennis, boxing all sports that Nigeria used to excel in
internationally but no more.

I pray this week will be better for us all whether you are a Man U
or Arsenal supporter. To paraphrase Richard Quest of CNN’s ‘Quest means
Business’ may this week be profitable for us all football wise!

Ibrahim Bio, the
new sports minister, like his governor, Bukola Saraki of Kwara State,
is a diehard supporter of North London football club Arsenal. In
popular parlance, he is a Gunner for life. That Bio was appointed
Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission the day
Lionel Messi led Barcelona to humiliate Arsenal is a sign that life at
his new abode will not be a bed of roses, it’s either he minds the gap,
or he gets consumed like others before him.

In the next few
days, Bio will be an household name. In a World Cup year, the head of
sports and the Super Eagles coach become important, if not more
important than the president.

Between Transport and Sports

The transport
ministry, where Bio is coming from, is a key sector of the economy.
Many are concerned that transportation is not working, but are not
talking about it because there are alternatives. There are night and
day buses to all nook and crannies of the country, so rail roads can go
to hell. Those that are rich make private arrangements to travel by
air, sea or land.

But in a nation
where about 99 per cent of the adult eat, drink and sleep football, and
where they cannot have an alternative Super Eagles or send an
alternative team to the Commonwealth Games, they are bound to have
opinions on every aspect of Sports, especially, football. Ask your
predecessor, the sports seat is a very hot one. As minister of
transport, you rarely get mentioned in the press, but as the minister
of sports you will not only get daily mention, the daily word you utter
is news.

Becoming a
successful sports minister that you hope to be is easy if you do the
right things and mind the gap between success and failure.

Mind civil servants

The first set of
people you need to watch out for are the civil servants. They are yes
men who will push to do the wrong things as long as they are
benefitting. Ask your immediate predecessor Sani Ndanusa, while he kept
doing the wrong things, the civil servants urged him on. Infact, a
director in the commission told sports editors at Nigerlink Hotel a few
months ago, that his loyalty to Ndanusa is so deep that if the man is
removed as Sports Minister, he will resign the next day. Weeks after
Ndanusa was removed, the director is still in the commission, infact he
was one of the directors that received you on arrival at the Federal
secretariat.

So you need to mind
this gap. If in doubt, call the ministers before you like Abdurrahman
Gimba, Sunmaila Sambawa and Musa Muhammad. These are guys that were
used and dumped by civil servants.

Between football and other sports

Bio, do not be
deluded. There are just two sports in Nigeria, football and other
sports. The idea of giving football and other sports equal treatment is
untenable.

I am an athletics
reporter, but I know that when Nigeria fails in athletics and other
sports, majority are not bothered, but when our football team fail,
even the market women call for the sack of the minister, the NFF and
the head coach. It is just like a minister in India or Pakistan saying
he will give Cricket and football equal attention. The citizens are
likely to forgive him if he fails to deliver in football, but woe
betide him if the cricket team fails.

It is the same
thing in Nigeria, medal is not medal, a gold medal in football is of
more importance to Nigerians than another other sports.

Bio should be more
concerned about Super Eagles’ performances in South Africa. The first
step is to direct the NFF to get a befitting accommodation for the
Super Eagles in South Africa. The Hampshire Hotel they plan to
accommodate the Eagles is not even good enough for the Eaglets.

Bio will write his
name in gold if he can expose the faces behind the scandals that has
rocked football in recent times, most especially the allegation levied
against members of the panel that interviewed Glen Hoddle and Lars
Lagerback and the allegation that Hoddle was dropped because he refused
to give them kickback and while Lagerback was employed because he
cooperated.

What is the outcome of the probe panel that investigated the missing money in NFF set up by the former minister Ndanusa?

Ndanusa’s legacy and Commonwealth Games

Bio, my kinsman and
the former speaker of my state House of Assembly, has pledged to build
on the legacies left by his predecessors, with the support of all
sports stakeholders. This is either a political statement or one
written by press secretary.

Ndanusa left a
legacy of failure; he was so consumed with his ambition to become the
president of an NGO that he neglected sports. At a time athletes were
crying for training grants for the Commonwealth Games, Ndanusa wasted
about two hundred and fifty million naira hosting Africa Sports
Ministers.

With the Commonwealth Games just a few months away, nothing has been done about preparation.

For Nigeria to put a reasonable show in New Delhi, I advise Bio to
set up Ministerial Task Force on the preparation of athletes,
independence of Civil Servants. Bio should also endeavour to pay all
debt owned the athletes and officials so that the Abuja Grand Prix will
not boycotted by athletes next month. Lastly, Bio should not only steer
clear of NOC politics, but should instruct associations and federations
heads to concentrate on revival of all death sports instead of sports
politics. Bio, the way of your predecessors were rough, but yours will
be smooth, if you mind the gap.

Nigeria midfielder Mikel Obi looks set
to miss Chelsea’s English Premier League encounter against Stoke City
at Stamford Bridge after aggravating a knee injury against Tottenham
Hotspurs last weekend.

Mikel hobbled off the pitch after
33minutes in the Blues’ 2-1 loss and will now be expected to be out for
10 days as his club hopes to win their last three games in the race to
win the title.

The Super Eagles star has played a key
role in the club’s league campaign this season, particularly in the
absence of Michael Essien, who has also been another influential figure
in the team’s midfield.

Chelsea expects Essien to be back for
the Stoke clash, after being out of action since injuring his knee in
January while featuring for the Black Stars of Ghana at the African
Nations Cup in Angola, but their defeat at the White Hart Lane last
Saturday further underlined the impact of their Nigeria international.
The Tottenham loss was the Blues’ sixth league defeat this season, and
it was only in the 2-1 defeat at Everton in February that Mikel
featured for more than 60minutes.

Mikel may lack the versatility and
attacking guile of Essien but the former Lyn Oslo star has proven to
been the secret behind Chelsea’s resilience in the defence this season
as the holding midfielder. The Blues midfield collapsed following his
substitution at Spurs and it was no surprise skipper John Terry had to
be sent off following two yellow cards. Mikel’s replacement, 33
year-old Ballack, could not match the pace of the Tottenham midfield
led by Croatian playmaker, Luka Modric and even Deco had to pay more
attention to support the defence rather than orchestrating Chelsea’s
attack.

Impact

Without their Nigerian enforcer to
shield the backline, the Stamford Bridge side have often struggle to
escape defeat. Chelsea’s first loss in the league was at Wigan last
year after Mikel was forced off at half time following a knee injury.
It left the club’s midfield in shambles and exposed their defence in a
game where Petr was sent off. The match ended 3-1 for the hosts as the
Lactics pounced on the Blues’ weakness in the middle. Even the presence
of Essien could not prevent the defeat.

Mikel was still out injured as the
Blues suffered their second loss against Aston Villa in October last
year despite having Essien for another 90minutes at the Villa Park.
Despite playing a key role in the 3-0 demolition of Arsenal in November
in a strong midfield that included Essien, Ancelotti decided to bench
Mikel in his team’s next league match at Manchester City and it
backfired. Chelsea were down 2-0 before the Italian manager called on
the Nigerian to replace Ballack on 64minutes but the match 2-1. The
pressure on the defence sprung up again as the centre back duo of Terry
and Ricardo Carvalho were cautioned before the introduction of the
Eagles star into the game.

Chelsea fourth defeat also suggested
Mikel’s cannot be ignored. Manchester City were leading 2-1 at Stamford
Bridge before Ancelotti removed the former Flying Eagles star for
Belletti on 60 minutes. Both Belletti and Ballack failed to rescue the
midfield and they both got their marching orders as City went on to win
4-2 in February this year.

Mikel, who celebrates his 23rd birthday tomorrow, however played for
76minutes before being replaced a minute after Louis Saha scored the
winner in the Blues’ 2-1 defeat to Everton at the Goodison Park. He has
been cautioned three times in 25 league appearances this season.

Bayern Munich
refused to discuss Franck Ribery’s involvement in a French police
investigation into a prostitution network ahead of Wednesday’s
Champions League semi-final first leg against Olympique Lyon.

Ribery was replaced
by defender Philipp Lahm at a news conference on Tuesday following the
playmaker’s appearance as a witness in the police probe.

“Our press chief said we will not talk about that,” said defender Daniel van Buyten when asked about Ribery.

“Franck … has
invested a lot in this season and wants to finish strongly as we are
still fighting for three titles.” Ribery was substituted in the second
half of Bayern’s 7-0 demolition of Hanover 96 on Saturday because of
muscular problems and did not train on Monday.

Just fine

“Franck looks fine and he completed full training today,” said Bayern assistant coach Andries Jonker.

“He looks to be at
a good level and it looks now that he can last the match tomorrow.”
Jonker stepped in for Dutch coach Louis van Gaal who travelled by car
to Amsterdam to attend a funeral. He is due to return to Munich later
on Tuesday or on Wednesday morning.

Bayern are chasing a German first — a Champions League, Bundesliga and domestic cup treble.

The Bavarians are
without captain Mark van Bommel and defender Holger Badstuber through
suspension but Lahm said appearing in his first Champions League
semi-final was enough motivation to overcome any absences.

“It does not happen
every year that you are in a Champions League semi-final and we have a
good chance to reach the final,” said the Germany full back.

“What we want to do is not to concede a goal. We would like 1-0 or
even 2-0 which would be a very good starting position for the return
leg.”

The Disciplinary
Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will, on Thursday,
meet in Abuja to decide on the statement of the Delta State Football
Association Chairman, Amaju Pinnick, which the federation considers
capable of putting the NFF and its leadership to ridicule.

The Committee
agreed last week to give Pinnick, who is also Chairman of the Delta
State Sports Commission, one last chance to appear before it after he
failed to turn up for the scheduled date of April 15 in Abeokuta.

In a letter signed
by the Assistant General Secretary (Competitions), Mohammed Sanusi,
also Secretary of the Committee, the NFF warned that it would be the
last opportunity for Pinnick to defend himself against the allegations
before it takes a decision.

“We wish to express
our disappointment on your inability to honour the invitation extended
to you. We have also observed that your letter did not indicate when
you will be available to be heard, neither did you attach your travel
plan for the committee to consider,” wrote Sanusi.

Pinnick had been
invited by the NFF Disciplinary Committee to make clarifications on
statements credited to him and published in some national dailies, in
which he accused the Federation of over-bearing in handling the issue
involving the management of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt.

Dr. Sanusi wrote further: “Thus, you are by this letter invited to
appear before the committee on the 22nd April, 2010 at the NFF
Conference Room, Abuja at 4pm. Please note that this is the last
opportunity for you to defend yourself, as the committee will take its
decision on 22nd April, 2010.”

Tireless Inter Milan produced a rip-roaring home performance to overpower Barcelona 3-1 and leave the holders in real trouble after an inspiring Champions League semi-final, first leg on Tuesday.

Goals from Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito, after Pedro had given Barca the lead, set up a fascinating second leg at the Nou Camp next Wednesday.

In one of the most electric atmospheres inside the San Siro for years, both sides stretched every last sinew to the limit as Europe’s top club competition again showed why fans the world over are so hooked.

Inter had the better of the early chances but first blood went to Barca, forced to make a 14-hour bus journey to reach the match because of the Icelandic volcano restricting flights.

Left back Maxwell, who quit Inter for the La Liga leaders last year, exposed his former team mates by reaching the byline unmarked and his pullback was slotted home by Spain World Cup hopeful Pedro after 19 minutes.

Forward Pedro was again preferred to Thierry Henry in Barca’s starting lineup and the diminutive livewire forward is fast looking a good bet to gatecrash Spain’s World Cup squad.

Inter, who were last European Cup winners in 1965 and playing in their first Champions League semi-final since 2003, then demonstrated the steel-plated resilience coach Jose Mourinho has instilled by hitting back on the half-hour.

BARNSTORMING BREAK

Argentine striker Milito, who missed two glorious chances from tight angles, turned his back on goal when picking up the ball in the box but cleverly played in former Real Madrid playmaker Sneijder and the unmarked Dutchman slammed home.

Goran Pandev did well early in the second half to release Milito in a barnstorming break and his cut-back was scuffed home by right back Maicon, who was later taken off on a stretcher.

Milito headed in the third after 61 minutes and for a moment feared he had again been flagged offside before running to celebrate with the ecstatic Inter fans, who have been spoilt by four straight Serie A titles but starved of European success.

Ex-Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, booed repeatedly by his former beloved crowd, had a few sniffs at goal while Lionel Messi only had one good effort after largely being kept under wraps by the sheer brute force of Inter’s defence.

Barca, who protested to the referee at the final whistle after a couple of penalty appeals were waved away, pushed hard for a way back late on but Inter held firm.

REUTERS

Ask sporting buffs, they will tell you for free the problems
facing Nigeria sports today: lack of equipment, facilities or planning, aged or
aging players, age falsification, a partisan sporting press, inept and ill
equipped coaches and others problems too numerous to mention.

But while the above no doubt are true, the biggest problem
facing sports was aptly captured by Anthony Kodjo Williams, the former chairman
of Nigeria Football Federation: self serving and half baked administrators on
and off the field.

Williams tagged them ‘Alamala administrators’, since then they
have also added voodoo and other ‘unscientific’ ways of managing sports to
their style And as long as they are around, our sports will never move forward.

They will do anything to resist change because, in the midst of
the confusion and disorganisation that reigns in sports, they amass millions
each year, while sports continue to die a slow and gradual death.

It’s all garbage

As new sports minister Ibrahim Isa Bio visits the National
Stadium today, he should gird his loins. About three decades ago, enchanted BBC
staff who came to cover the Lagos ’73 All Games told their local colleagues:
“This is not a Sport Stadium, but a Sport City.”

Today however, what Bio will see is Garbage City, where the only
activities that thrives there are the sale of alcohol and prostitution by
night, while officials of the NSC have turned the place into an events centre
where they rake in millions monthly from renting the various venues to
churches, mosques, wedding reception, musical shows, parking lots and other
forms of activities, and they never rendered account to the commission or used
the monies to repair the edifice.

Bio should think about ministers before him since the beginning
of this new republic in 1999 – Damishi Sango, Isaiah Aku, Steve Akiga, Musa
Muhammad, Simiala Sambawa, Bala Kao’je, Abdurrahman Gimba and the immediate
past minister Sanni Ndanusa, They all began their tenures by visiting the
National Stadium, Lagos. There, they always promised to do something; but they
all left without doing anything.

At the end of their tenures, the civil servants and sycophants
in the media, who praised them to high heavens while they were in office, would
be the first to castigate them the moment they are sacked.

I almost wept for my profession the Saturday Ndanusa was
removed, when I read venom being poured on the man by journalists who made
weekly trips to Abuja to wine and dine with him when he was minister, telling
him that he was the best thing that ever happened to sports.

These are guys who cheered Ndanusa on in his ambition to be
president of the Olympics Committee. And now that he is gone, they are telling
the world that his ambition to be NOC president was responsible for his lack of
focus.

Asking hard questions

Bio need to ask Sports Commission staff what the facilities
department in the commission is doing, if all the stadia in the country are in
such terrible shape.

The director of sports development needs to explain to Bio the
number of athletes they have developed in the last ten years. The minister
needs to ask why the commission’s main job has been reduced to preparing for
the Olympic Games, All African Games, Commonwealth Games, and other games and
championship, and its primary responsibility of discovering athletes has been
relegated to the background.

The federation chairmen should explain to the minister why the
only thing that occupies their time is the politics of who becomes the next
president of NOCs instead of developing their sports. They should explain why
many of them have not organised a single competition since the beginning of the
year.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria owes athletes, officials,
former athletes and other members of the athletics family millions of naira.
That is a question waiting to be asked.

The minister also needs to ask the head of AFN who authorised
him to take a loan of N25 million from a former athlete. What is the approval
limit of the director general of the commission? Why would a federation
chairman take a loan of N25 million without the approval of the commission of
the board of the AFN?

Civil servants as praise
singers

Back to the managers at NSC, and other arms of sports, they
will, like they did to those before him sing tunes that are pleasant to his
ears.

A majority of those scheming to come back into the Nigeria
Professional League board and the Nigeria Football Federation will sing all
sorts of tunes to the minister ears, but he should ask them one question: what
have they done since their tenure began to justify re-election?

Sanni Lulu will point to the U-17 and U-20, but the minister
should ask him why the players that won the U-17 in 2007 are not doing well in
their respective clubs or for the country. What have they done with the
allocation in the last few years?

With election a few months away, they are asking the minister to
steer clear of the elections; that it will be government interference. But they
have forgotten that Sambawa, Amos Adamu and others used government machinery to
impose Lulu as NFF president.

Nduka Irabor had organised the freest and the fairest election
in the history of Nigeria sport, which returned Ibrahim Galadima as president,
but the election was annulled by the government and Lulu was imposed on
everybody. And now the same Lulu and his board members are talking about
government interference? They may have short memories, but we do not.

As for the men of the NPL, a majority of those fighting to be
NPL leaders are self seekers, only wanting to feed on sports.

Bio revolution

The bottom line is that this new sports minister’s revolution
will amount to nothing, if the present hawks in sports administration in
Nigeria are not sent packing.

Bio, do what will etch your name in history forever. Send the alamala
administrators out.