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The Vice chairman
of Kwara United football club, Abdulrasaq Owolabi Wopa, had reiterated
the stance of the club at meeting their target of getting a continental
ticket, particularly a Champions League slot, tomorrow at the Ilorin
Township Stadium when they take on Kaduna United on Saturday.

Justin Tenger is
right now under a load of pressure, the title chasing Ilorin team has
lost three of it last five matches, a situation that doesn’t show how
serious they are to mount a challenge, though they are just three
points behind second place Kano Pillars who are on 45 points.

Perhaps they can
count on Kano slipping up in Kaduna tomorrow the way they did against
Heartland at the midweek, when they lost 2-0. Kwara will be level on
point if Pillars losses tomorrow.

A must-win for Pillars

On the other hand
Pillars will put out all the stop to make sure they came out with a
result from Kaduna, baring fatigue. When they take up Ranchers in
Kaduna on Saturday, it will be their third match in seven days, and two
consecutive away matches on the trot.

The 2-0 in the
rescheduled match against Heartland in Owerri dealt just a slight blow
to their ambition. Enyimba; the table topper is still at touching
distance- two points away.

Last Saturday
Pillars had the honour of being the first team Lars Lagerback watched,
when they defeated Gombe United 2-1 in an entertaining match,
characterized by missed chances.

After the duel the stand-in captain Abdulwasiu Showemimo said the team is focused on the Kaduna trip .

“We now have one
difficult away match with Ranchers Bees. We need to get a result from
this match to stay in contention for the league title”.

But his assertion
now hold new significance, having lost to Heartland, a slip at Kaduna
might see Kwara United playing at home, catch up with them.

Kaduna have made
their stead a fortress sort of, they have only dropped points in three
matches; all their ten victories are from there. But would this count
for a Kano Pillars team that went goal wire there last season
pummelling them 3-0, plus from the 12 away matches the Kano based team
have played, they have gone undefeated in six of them- winning one and
drawing six.

Gombe is difficult terrain

Playing in Gombe is
always a very difficult task, any club that has ever visited the Col.
Abubarkar Umar stadium knows it is almost impossible to win there. It
will also be very difficult to draw there. This is what Dolphin will
have to contend with on Saturday.

This is a clash of
two neighbours on the table, both are tied at 34 point, but Dolphin
lead on goals difference. The Port-Harcourt team is 11th, while Gombe
follows closely at 12th, so this is a really tie breaker.

Key players return

The Dolphins team
will be boosted by the return of certain key players who were either
away on national assignment or out with injuries.

Emma Nwachi, Mutui
Adegoke and John Huan have all returned from the Super Eagles B camp
and would have played the game against Sharks last week if not for
their late arrival to Port Harcourt.

Injured players like Jonah Abutu and Sunday Mbah have also resumed training and may be fit enough to make the trip to Gombe.

Abutu and Mbah had missed the game against Sharks due to injuries sustained in the previous home match against Zamfara United.

Apart from the returnee, the team has vowed to take the game to Gombe and put up a real fight.

China Acheru, the Port-Harcourt side’s spokesperson, said all they
ask for is for the match to be played in the spirit of fair play, “we
hope they won’t score with penalty conjure up by the referee like they
did against us in 2004, or score against us with a ball that did not
cross the line like they did in 2005.”

Will United keep
Chelsea at bay without Rooney? The point difference is just one but
Wayne Rooney will miss this match with a sprained ankle. All those that
have been saying that the Red Devils is a one-man team will get the
chance to be proven right or wrong.

After the loss in
Munich to Bayern, United need to get back on track quickly and that
means that players like Dimitar Berbatov must start to deliver.

Chelsea, on the
other hand, do not have the distraction of the Champions League, but
United welcome Bayern to Old Trafford next Wednesday, so there is no
let-off. The Blues have scored 12 goals in their last two outings and
will believe this is as good as any time to be playing Alex Ferguson’s
men.

No further injury
concerns for Carlo Ancelotti means that he can field the same team that
destroyed Aston Villa 7-1 but herein lays the challenge: Didier Drogba,
with 24 goals in the league, was left on the bench for the duration of
the match. Chelsea may be without Didier Drogba has he sat out the last
two days of Chelsea training after picking up a knock. If he is
available, it will inevitably lead to questions about the compatibility
of playing him and Nicolas Anelka. But like they say in football, you
do not change a winning team. Point to note is that during the Africa
Cup of Nations Cup with Drogba absent, Chelsea recorded all wins. So if
he stays injured, that will save Ancelotti having to make a decision on
who to field. That means the showdown between the two highest goal
scorers would not be on show.

Alex Ferguson has
to rally his troops as they performed below par in Munich. Apart from
Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney, all the other players had an off day.
He also has to look at the failings of Rio Ferdinand, who is still not
back to his commanding best after a series of niggling back injuries.

Chelsea last won at
Old Trafford in 2005 when the Red Devils formed a guard of honour for
Mourinho’s team. If they get a win tomorrow, expect Chelsea to honour
their players. Let no one be fooled, the result of tomorrow’s match
will still not determine who will win the Premiership. The drama will
continue until the last match of the season.

Arsenal vs. Wolves

The Gunners were
taught a footballing lesson by Barcelona on Wednesday but they got away
with a 2-2 draw, quite commendable. If this is the new Arsenal, then
kudos to Arsene Wenger for his training this set of players. They have
shown a fighting spirit, which was ruled out before the season began;
they were hammered by Chelsea and Manchester United and then the injury
to Robin Van Persie. But every time, they have risen like the
proverbial phoenix. Their comeback against Barcelona showed that there
is still life left in their season.

There are fears
that Andrei Arshavin, William Gallas, and Captain Cesc Fabregas may not
be available for upwards of four weeks. Arshavin has been ruled out for
three weeks, while Gallas, who rushed back to action, might even miss
the World Cup.

Cesc Fabregas is
facing a scan to determine the extent of damage on his shin. He
suffered the injury firing home the 85th minute penalty against
Barcelona on Wednesday.

Scans taken are not
decisive yet but the Arsenal captain said on his team’s website: ‘I am
not good. I fear the worst, which is that I broke something but we will
have to wait. I hope I will be able to wear the Arsenal shirt again
this season”. Arsenal’s season may just peter out with all these
injuries, but do not rule out the Gunners.

Wolves are on a
good run themselves and everybody seems to have conveniently forgotten
Mick McCarthy’s decision to rest his first team against Manchester
United some weeks ago. His team have not lost in the last five and drew
their home game against Everton the last time out. At the Emirates,
they will have to show the same steely discipline that has seen them
clear the relegation waters with five points. Anything positive they
get tomorrow will be a bonus in a season which has seen them skirting
the basement places for a large part of the season.

With 70 days to the

beginning of the World Cup, the Eagles have fallen to 22 after being

ranked 21 in the last ranking. World Cup opponents, Argentina did not

move from their 9th ranking even after defeating Germany in a friendly

last month while Greece fell a slot but are still 11 places better than

the Eagles. South Korea remain on the 49th position.

Ranking is all theory

Ajibade Babalade, a

former Super Eagles defender believes the rankings are theoretical: “It

doesn’t matter what the ranking is now. During the period in review we

did not play any match. Let us wait until April when we play the

Colombians, and see how it will reflect on us then. We should not

forget that the FIFA ranking is just a measurement on paper, the game

is played on the pitch within 90 minutes.

“Just like

Argentina is ranked above us, it is not just today, even when we were

No. 5 in the world in 1994, I am sure they must have ranked above us,

and Greece is a former European champion which am sure is still rubbing

off. But all these are theoretical we should just prepare very well to

play them at South Africa. While Argentina might turn out to be a tough

nut, I think we should be able to take on Greece, and not overlook the

Koreans.”

According to Nduka

Ugbade, a defender in the famed 1994 Eagles squad, “The Super Eagles

should put the FIFA ranking aside and concentrate on their World Cup

preparation.

“Well, it’s all

about the quality of friendly games you play during the international

free days and we could all remember that we just managed to make a late

arrangement for our Team B to play Congo DR. Though we won the game, we

all know the quality of the opposition and normally you don’t really

expect that game to help us move up in the FIFA ranking.”

Concentrate on South Africa

“We can’t do

anything about that now and we should just forget about it and

concentrate on our preparation for the World Cup. Regardless of our

ranking, that may not necessarily determine how we are going to perform

but we can only use the ranking as an indicator that could give us some

hints about how our opponents are performing. We need to prepare well

if we are to do well at the world Cup. That is the most important

thing. There are criteria set for the rankings and Nigeria might not

have fulfilled these,” says Rabiu Yusuf, Zamfara United coach.

“I believe there are criteria used by FIFA in the rankings, so the

ranking is mainly a reflection of how well the country has fulfilled

those criteria. For instance, a lower ranked country is likely to jump

upward on the FIFA ranking table if they play and defeat a higher

ranked country.

“To me, the ranking is just a guide aimed at making

each country do better. Nigeria’s fall to 22 does not mean the country

does not have the talents or the players to execute international

matches. Greece and Argentina leading Nigeria doesn’t mean we can’t

beat them even today. All we got to do is assemble our talents and with

the right technical crew, the best will come out of them. FIFA’s

ranking shouldn’t be our headache now. Bringing the best of out of the

Super Eagles should. The proof of the current ranking will be put to

practical test when the World Cup kicks off in South Africa come June

11, then all theory must be set aside.”

Argentina arguably
boast of the best strike force among the 32 countries that will grace
this year’s World Cup in South Africa. This is perhaps, the biggest
challenge our Super Eagles will face when they come up against the
South Americans at the Ellis Park in Johannesburg on June 12.

Lionel Messi,
Gonzalo Higuain, and Sergio Aguero are regarded as three of the best
forwards in the Spanish La Liga, while Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez
is a terror to the defenders in England. Their striking potentials are
no secret.

Yet, the impressive
form of Argentina’s strikers has taken the spotlight away from their
defenders, who will come up against our strikers at the Mundial. If
there is anything the new Super Eagles coach will need to pay attention
to, as he prepares to lead the Eagles past the first round of the World
Cup, it would be to understand the qualities and weakness of his
opponents. That will help him to select the right mix of players that
can produce the desired results to achieve his set World Cup targets.

Key men

The Indomitable
Lions of Cameroun were no match for Argentina at the 1990 World Cup in
Italy, yet they shocked them in the opening game with a 1-0 victory and
frustrated their danger men, including Captain Diego Maradona. Perhaps,
Lagerback can spring such a surprise with the Eagles. After all, he led
Sweden to top the group that included Argentina, England and Nigeria at
the 2002 edition. However, the argument would surely be on how much
time he has to achieve such a feat, this time around.

Martin Demichelis
is one player the current Argentina coach, Diego Maradona, would be
banking on to stop our forward line, which will perhaps include Obafemi
Martins.

Demichelis did a
terrific job to help Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Manchester
United in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg
at the Allianz Arena. After allowing Wayne Rooney to prod home an early
strike, Demichelis recovered to give a solid performance against the
United and England top striker throughout the rest of the encounter.

Argentina’s medical
team feared Bayern had rushed him back too quickly from a fractured
cheek bone, with the World cup in mind. But the utility player, who can
also function as a defensive midfielder, put up a brave attitude
against United. Our Eagles must be ready to do much better to get past
the 29 years old defender who has 25 caps for his country.

If there is any big
test Walter Samuel could face against an African striker, it can’t be
bigger than he had against Chelsea’s Didier Drogba in the round of 16
of the UEFA Champions League. The veteran Argentine defender stopped
the in-form Blues ace over two legs and with 54 appearances, including
the 1-0 win over our Eagles in the 2002 World Cup group clash, Samuel
would play an important role in South Africa.

‘The Wall’, as
Samuel is called, has won two league titles with Inter Milan and one
with his former club, Roma, and he hopes Jose Mourinho can propel them
to Champions League success this season. He had an unsuccessful spell
at Real Madrid, though.

Familiar enemies

Another experienced
defender that Maradona will rely on is Gabriel Heinze. After winning
domestic league titles at Manchester United and Real Madrid, the
31-year old is currently playing alongside our own Taye Taiwo, albeit
now playing as a central defender. Other defenders who are pushing for
a place in the Argentina squad are Roma’s Nicolas Burdisso, Clemente
Rodriguez and Nicolas Otamendi, who are both playing in the Argentine
league.

Meanwhile, Inter
Milan captain, Javier Zanetti, hopes he can get another chance to
represent Argentina as they look forward to open their World Cup
campaign with the clash against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

Inter’s utility
man, Zanetti, is hoping to be part of the global football showpiece,
eight years after playing in the Argentine squad that defeated the
Eagles at the 2002 World Cup. Since making his debut for the Italian
top club in August 1995, Zanetti has made 674 appearances for the
Nerrazuri.

After expressing
his delight to have seen Maradona in the stands at Stamford Bridge,
where Jose Mourinho helped Inter to edge out Chelsea of the UEFA
competition, Zanetti, who can play as defender and midfielder, is
hoping he would be handed a recall to help the Argentina national team
to a successful World Cup campaign.

“It’s not easy to
stay at the top in a country like Argentina, where new talents are
coming through all the time,” Zanetti told FIFA.com. “Maradona knows
what I can bring to the national team, both on and off the pitch. The
national team is very important to me. I won’t lose hope because
football has taught me that you have to believe right up to the end.”

Zanetti remains the most-capped Argentine player of all time with 136 appearances under his belt.

Wayne Rooney could
be back in action in two to four weeks after initial indications
suggested he suffered a sprained ankle rather than a break during
Manchester United’s defeat by Bayern Munich.

The England striker
will not know the full extent of damage until undergoing scans on his
return to Manchester, but the 24-year-old left Germany with positive
reports that his injury might not be as bad as first feared.

Rooney stayed in
Munich overnight with the rest of the United side that lost 2-1 in the
Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday and arrived at
Munich airport on Wednesday afternoon wearing a protective boot,
limping across the tarmac with the aid of crutches.

If reports by Sky
Sports News prove to be correct, the Barclays Premier League champions
will be without their top scorer for crucial matches at the business
end of the season, but at least Rooney should be in shape to make the
World Cup finals.

England boss Fabio
Capello voiced his concerns after seeing his talisman land awkwardly in
a challenge with Mario Gomez at the end of the match in Germany.

Capello intends to
speak to the former Everton striker later on Wednesday or on Thursday
morning, once a clearer picture has emerged.

If the results show
ankle-ligament damage, Rooney could face longer on the sidelines and
leave Capello’s plans for South Africa 2010 in tatters.

Alex Ferguson is also facing the dilemma of how to face Chelsea in Saturday’s pivotal Barclays Premier League title clash.

A statement on the
United website read: ‘Rooney did not travel back on the team bus from
the Allianz Arena, instead departing separately with security staff.
His right foot was encased in a protective boot.’

To add to Rooney’s
woe, he was selected by UEFA for a random drug test after the match,
meaning United’s medical team were unable to attend to his injury as
quickly as they would like.

Reuters