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Five members of the
Super Eagles team last week made the cut with their respective club
sides to feature in the 2010/2011 group phase of the UEFA Champions
League competition. They are goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel
Tel-Aviv) defenders; Elderson Echiejile (SC Braga) and Taiye Taiwo
(Marseille), Obafemi Martins(Rubin Kazan) and Mikel Obi (Chelsea).

This is somewhat an
improvement as only two Super Eagles – Mikel Obi of Chelsea and Taye
Taiwo of Marseille, players made it to this stage of the tournament
last time out.

For this lucky
five, enacting the feat so far achieved by only two Nigerians – Kanu
Nwankwo and Finidi George – which is a Champions League crown, will be
the ultimate goal.

Of the lot, Chelsea
midfielder, Mikel Obi is the closest to joining the league of African
players that have lifted the coveted trophy as his team lost narrowly
in finals of the 2008/09 season and only got knocked out in the quarter
finals last season. His team nevertheless remains one of the strongest
favourites in this year’s race.

While the likes of
Mikel, Taiwo and Martins have featured previously at this stage of the
competition, it is a debut appearance for the duo of Enyeama and
Echeijle who only recently moved from the French League to Portugal to
join Sporting Braga.

For Enyeama making
it thus far is a dream come true; “it is a ‘fulfilled dream’ to have
the chance to play in the UEFA Champions’ League group phase” he said.

The number one shot
stopper for the country not only proved to a safe pair of hands but
went further to score a goal in his team’s 4-3 over Red Bull Salzburg
of Austria to boost his team’s qualification quest.

“It has always been
my dream to play in the UEFA Champions League and this was an
opportunity I did not want to miss,” Enyeama told UEFA.com after his
team’s qualification.

“I have played in
every competition and this was the only one left. It is good to get a
chance to play against the best players in the world.” he added.

Indeed, the history
of the UEFA Champions League is incomplete without the mention of
Nigeria as the competition’s first goal in its present format was
scored by Nigeria’s Daniel Amokachi while he was with Belgian outfit FC
Brugge.

Expectedly, that
moment is one of the most cherished in the illustrious career of the
ex-international who was also a former assistant coach in the country’s
national team.

Real are in the group of death

Thursday’s draws
has set the stage to determine which team takes over the reign of
European football from Inter Milan which emerged champions after forty
eight years of fruitless efforts.

Inter, under their
new boss Rafa Benitez, will face Werder Bremen and Champions League
debutants Tottenham Hotspur and Twente Enschede of the Netherlands in
Group A,

Spurs are one of three London sides in the competition and familiar foes to Benitez from his time with Liverpool.

Group G has to be
the most difficult group to call with Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho,
the 9-time winners, 7-time champions AC Milan, Ajax who are also former
champions, and French outfit, Auxerre. But as Marseille and Bordeaux
showed in the last competition, French clubs seem to understand the
European terrain a little bit better.

Barcelona, European
champions in 2009, will face Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen and Rubin
Kazan of Russia in Group D, looking to avenge the shock home defeat to
the Russians who beat them 2-1 at the Nou Camp in the group stage last
season.

Manchester United,
winners in 2008 face Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor of Turkey with the
Rangers match especially poignant for United boss Alex Ferguson, who
once played for Rangers and still has close links with his home city of
Glasgow.

United are among
the quartet of English clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs who
all have extra incentive to lift the European Cup this season with the
final at Wembley in May.

Arsenal’s chief
executive Ivan Gazidis was already eying a place there after his club
were drawn against Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk and Partizan Belgrade.

Steel and experience

“We have a real
incentive to win it this year with the final at Wembley. We have added
steel and experience to the side and we are one year older and more
experienced and are going for it,” Gazidis told reporters.

Chelsea, who are
familiar visitors to Wembley having won the last two FA Cups there,
return to Moscow where they lost the 2008 final to Manchester United,
with a match against Spartak.

Chelsea will also
face Zilina of Slovakia and Olympique Marseille, with their talismanic
striker Didier Drogba no doubt relishing the battle against his old
club.

Bayern Munich, who lost May’s final to Inter, will face AS Roma, Basel and CFR Cluj.

Real Madrid and
Milan’s rivalry goes back to the first season of European competition
in 1955-56 when Real beat Milan in the semi-finals and in all they have
played each other 13 times with Milan winning six times and Real five.

Ajax have also enjoyed memorable final showdowns with Milan, with the Italians triumphing in 1969 and the Dutch in 1995.

While Real, Milan
and Ajax will be looking to revive old glories, Inter will be seeking
to become the first club to retain the European Cup in the Champions
League era.

“It’s a tasty
group,” said Inter’s Ambassador Luis Figo. “Werder Bremen are very
physical, Spurs have a lot of pace but our aim is to play in the final
at Wembley.” The group phase begins on September 14/15 and concludes on
December 7/8. The final is at Wembley on May 28.

How time flies. It
is already a year since new mum Kim Clijsters proved her “come back
queen” status by winning the 2009 US open and Roger Federer, bidding
for sixth title in a row at flushing meadows, surrendered his crown to
Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.

Once again it is
the last grand slam of the year and as usual it promises to be
exciting, more on the men’s side than on the women’s. It is no longer
news that Serena Williams pulled out of the US open claiming injury.
Something tells me she may never play there again after she was treated
badly in her semi-final match against Clijsters last year. If you are
in doubt, ask the organisers of Indian wells where the sisters have not
played in over 7 years because of racial abuse.

Serena, the
greatest player of this generation, will be sorely missed. There’s just
something extra special the Williams sisters bring to every tournament
they enter.

Bad for Serena,
good for Caroline Wozniacki as she gets her first top seed in a grand
slam. A finalist at last year’s US open, she is one of the favourites
to lift the trophy at Queens in a fortnight. Why not? She is a hard
worker and full of confidence after topping the US open series. She
must be motivated by the fact that she goes away with £2.7m if she wins
the title. Wozniacki does have the determination and experience and
according to her “I feel I’ve definitely got more experience and I know
how it feels to be in a Grand Slam final.” As long as she doesn’t get
burned out from all the play before the Open she has a real shot
coupled with the fact that the American Grand Slam tournament will be
without two-time champion Justine Henin. Three other past U.S. Open
winners -Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters have been
injured recently.

By the way what are our expectations of American teenager Melanie Oudin after her great run to the quarter-final last year?

The men’s half

Over to the men’s
draw which proves to be more exciting. Top seeds are the usual
suspects. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
Further down are the likes of Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling, Nikolay
Davydenko, Tomas Berdych, Fernando Verdasco and Mardy Fish who took
Federer to the wire at last Sundays Cincinnati final. The Fedexpress
won his 63rd career title and tied Bjorn Borg for fifth place in the
Open Era.

Truth is, a diverse
new range of playing styles is emerging in the men’s game. We’ve long
been familiar with Roger Federer’s comprehensive brilliance, but
everything from the diversification of Rafael Nadal to the tactical
nuance of Andy Murray and Gilles Simon and the all-court prowess of Del
Potro, Tsonga and James Blake have brought excitement to ATP. But
Federer is always a force to reckon with especially when it comes to
grand slams. So as always, the 16 Grand Slams title winner is the
hottest favourite going into the US open. Andy Murray has been
brilliant in the US open series. He beat both Federer and Nadal to win
the Toronto masters, though he crashed out in the semi-final of the
Cincinnati masters. Question though is can he “do it” when it really
matters considering he’s come close to winning his maiden Grand Slam
and lost to the great Roger Federer in both finals.

Though Nadal has never made it past the semi-final here, in seeking to complete the career Grand Slam,

he will be the
top-seeded man when the U.S. Open starts today. Despite Nadal’s not too
impressive run to the US open, he will still be a force in any
tournament.

Unfortunately Del
Potro becomes the third U.S. Open men’s champion in the 42-year Open
era that will not defend his title. He pulled out because of tendinitis
in the wrist.

Alongside Del
Potro, two other men withdrew late Friday, No. 10-ranked Jo-Wilfred
Tsonga of France and three-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist Tommy Haas.

And by the way, one other man that excites me and should not be written off is David Nalbadian.

After been
side-lined for over a year, he recently gave us another example of how
talented he is. Will he emulate his compatriot and have another
Argentine shine for a second straight year? Only time will tell.

While we look
forward to watching good tennis, we also look forward to the fashion
statements to be made as we are now used to seeing in the game of
tennis. After all the Williams sisters, Sharapova, Federer and Nadal
have shown us that you don’t have to be a “plain-Jane” to win titles.

Pakistan’s top
crime investigative agency will send a team to Britain this week to
probe corruption allegations against some of the country’s cricket
players, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Investigations by
British police and the International Cricket Council (ICC) are already
underway into a newspaper report alleging three Pakistan players had
been bribed to fix incidents in last week’s fourth test against England.

London police have
confiscated the mobile phones of test captain Salman Butt as well as
pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and the trio – plus
wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal – have been questioned at the team’s hotel.

A senior official
at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Karachi told Reuters the
three-member team was likely to leave for London on Wednesday and
planned to meet British police and players.

President Asif Ali
Zardari, who is the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has
also sought reports from Pakistani officials in London, according to
his official spokesman.

“The President is
in touch with the High Commissioner in London and has asked for reports
on the issue,” Farhatullah Babar told Reuters.

The Pakistan team
arrived in Taunton in west England on Monday to play a warm-up game for
two Twenty20 internationals and a five-match one-day series against
England, which starts on Sunday.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said the players being investigated will not be suspended without proof of wrongdoing, however.

“There is a case going on over here with Scotland Yard,” Ijaz told website cricinfo.com.

Fans outraged

“This is only an allegation.

There is still no
charge or proof on that account. So at this stage there will be no
action taken.” The ICC’s anti-corruption unit has been asked to submit
a report on its investigation within the next three days, the world
governing body’s president Sharad Pawar said on Monday.

“We at the ICC are
waiting for definite information from the PCB and our own
anti-corruption unit. We hope to get something in the next two to three
days’ time and that information would lead to appropriate action, if
required,” he said.

Pawar has ruled out the possibility of Pakistan cutting short their tour of England.

On Monday, the
police said they had released on bail a 35-year-old man who had been
arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following the
report in Britain’s News of the World newspaper.

According to the report, Mazhar Majeed, an agent who claimed to represent 10 Pakistan players including Butt,

said Amir and Asif
had bowled three no-balls between them by pre-arrangement in the fourth
test against England which finished on Sunday.

The report also
cast doubt on the second test between Pakistan and Australia in Sydney
this year when the hosts staged a remarkable comeback to win by 36 runs
after overcoming a 206-run first-innings deficit.

The scandal has
outraged cricket fans in Pakistan and the country’s federal sports
minister, Mir Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani, said the players will be given
“maximum punishment” if allegations against them were proved.

“No one has the
right to play with the dignity, honour of the country,” he told
Reuters. “If the allegations are proved then there could be maximum
punishment.

“It could be lifetime ban, it could be anything, it depends on the allegations.”

For Nigeria’s U-17
women’s team, the Flamingoes to excel at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which
begins in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the ladies need to be
motivated.

Joy Etim, former assistant coach of the Super Falcons, said this is what guarantees a splendid performance.

“You know you
cannot expect people to do well if they are not encouraged in what they
do. Passion is good but motivation will encourage people to make a
better effort,” she said.

The newly elected
President of Nigeria Football Federation, Aminu Maigari, had said at
the weekend that the federation will give the Flamingoes enough
attention as they represent the future of Nigeria. But Etim is
sceptical about his promise.

“It is not enough that we make promises to the girls; we must also back it up with action,” she said.

“You know they have
heard a lot of these promises but you know this man (Maigari) is new,
we practically know next to nothing about him. Since he has promised to
do his best, let us wait and see. If at the end of the day he does not
do what he is supposed to do, then we can talk but now, I will like us
to wait and see before we react”.

More female coaches

The former Falcons assistant coach also called on the NFF to employ more female coaches for our national teams.

“It is a man that
is in charge of the present U-17 whereas we have trained women coaches
who are without work after they graduate from the National Institute
for Sports,” she explained.

The FIFA U-17 Women
World Cup started two years ago and Nigeria was the first African team
to qualify but they did not reach they knockout stage after losing to
England and recording a draw against Brazil.

In this year’s
edition, the Flamingoes were drawn in Group A with newcomers and host,
Trinidad and Tobago; Chile; and Korea DPR, who are currently the title
holders.

Team coach, Peter Dedevbo is hoping for a good start in the first match against Korea DPR on Sunday.

The Flamingoes, who travelled to Florida, USA last week for a
training tour before heading to Trinidad and Tobago for the tournament,
hope to better their performance in 2008. Ghana and South Africa,
Africa’s other representatives at the World Cup which will last from
September 5-25, were drawn in Groups D and B respectively.

Roger Federer, like
a father asked to rate his children, does not like playing favourites
when it comes to dissecting his most spectacular shots on the tennis
court.

The Swiss added
another gem to his extraordinary collection with a between-the-legs,
back-to-the-net winner that left opponent Brian Dabul dumbfounded and
delighted the centre court crowd in his first round victory at the U.S.
Open on Monday.

Last year, the
five-time U.S. Open winner uncorked a similar shot that whizzed by
Serbian Novak Djokovic standing at the net and gave Federer match point
in their semi-final.

“What do you
think?” Federer told reporters when asked whether Monday’s shot was
better than the 2009 missile that was dubbed ‘shot of the century’ by
scribes around the world.

ESPN TV, which was
broadcasting the match in the United States, promoted a snap poll of
viewers. Fifty-nine percent voted in favour of the new shot. Federer
was not so sure.

“You think this one
was better? I don’t know,” he said. “Obviously the importance of last
year’s was probably a little bit more important. So obviously that has
a little bit of an impact, too.

Big push

“In terms of
difficulty maybe this one was harder, because I had the feeling I had
to run a longer distance and I was further back somehow.

“I had to really
give the last big push at the end.” Federer said when he turned, he
could not tell that his shot found the mark.

“Obviously the
crowd gave me the answer, which was kind of good. The ovation was
fantastic. Crowds went wild. Yeah, you could see on my reaction I
couldn’t believe it.” Federer, winner of a record 16 grand slam events,
said that after 10 years on the professional circuit there were plenty
of shots on his highlight reel.

“I know on YouTube, there are guys that are putting together best shots of me,” he said.

On the question of
trick shots, Federer was asked about the stir created by footage taken
for a TV commercial that shows him knocking a can off someone’s head
that won a huge number of hits but has raised questions about its
authenticity.

“One thing I tell you, that the shots on centre court in front of
22,000 people is a bit more difficult than what I did at the…
commercial,” Federer added. “That was just having a bit more fun.”

Seven-times major
winner Venus Williams is choosing to accentuate the positives in her
return to competition at the U.S. Open after sitting out two months
with a left knee injury.

Thrilled to be back
on centre stage inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for her first test since the
Wimbledon quarter-finals, Williams dispatched Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-4
6-1 as the curtain went up on night action at the Open.

“This is the event
to come to, you know, New York, the opening night of the U.S. Open,”
the 30-year-old Williams told reporters. “It’s really an honour. I love
doing it. I’ve had the opportunity on a lot of occasions. Everyone’s
watching.” Williams treated the opening night crowd to some of her
trademark power, belting 10 aces, and a lacy black party dress with
fringe on the bottom that befit the occasion.

Rustiness

While her look was picture-perfect, Williams was not sure her preparation would prove first rate.

“Not having played
any matches wasn’t ideal,” she admitted. “Obviously, practice is so
much different from a match. I felt like I was hitting well in
practice, but to translate into a match is something completely
different.

“But I think I
handled it well and I’m just looking to build momentum going to the
next matches.” Williams tried to focus on the positives.

“I guess my only
advantage would be that I’m hopefully mentally a lot fresher and
physically, hopefully, a lot fresher than maybe my opponents who played
all summer,” she said.

“You know, I’ve got
to try to look at it in a positive way and bank on my experience. That
helps a lot because I’ve had a lot of winning experience,” the twice
U.S. champion said.

Williams said she
regretted the absence of her sister and doubles partner, world number
one Serena Williams, who had to skip the Open because of a foot injury.

She said she loves
to play doubles with her sister and would have been sorely tempted to
join forces with her in Flushing Meadows, especially after they came up
short together at Wimbledon, even though it would have been hard on her
knee.

Even that disappointment was turned into a positive. Asked if it
would be better for her knee that she is not playing doubles at the
Open, Williams replied with a smile: “Absolutely.”

The chances of the
Nigeria U-19 cricket team getting one of the two available tickets to
the U-19 World Cup grew slimmer yesterday as they were beaten by Zambia
with three wickets. Zambia scored 178 for nine in 50 overs and the
Nigerian reply was a mere 115 for 10 also in 50 overs. The Zambian team
had lost its two earlier matches.

The weakest link in
the Nigerian team was bowler Melvin Bwalya, who bowled out Rotimi
Adesanya and Oluwaseun Adeboro in successive innings for a total of 16
runs. James Chukwu came on to try and lift the team but his partnership
was again cut short by Bwalya who caught out Behani for just 10 runs.
At this point it was 81 for 6 with 15 overs left. Mumba Chanda caught
Olusola Anyia for nine balls and the Nigerian batsmen were falling like
ninepins. Chukwu was also caught by the deadly Chanda for 23 runs from
33 balls. With the top batsmen out of the crease at 99 for 8 with 10
overs remaining, Nigeria’s chances were gone.

The team will play Sierra Leone today, and only a win can keep it in the top division.

Uganda riding high

The Ugandan U-19
team, winners of the 2009 ICC Africa U19 CWCQ, continued winning in
this year’s qualifier with another assured victory over Sierra Leone,
who they restricted to a paltry 72 for 10.

The Uganda bowling
attack for the third day bowled their opposition out for under a
hundred. The prize bowler for Uganda was Faruk Ochimi with four Sierra
Leonean wickets for 17 runs.

The Sierra Leonean attack hardly troubled the Ugandans, who knocked their opponents off in 30 overs.

Monday matches

At the Wanderers Oval in Windhoek, the Namibian U-19 team had comprehensively beat neighbours Zambia.

Stephan Baard was
the pick of the Namibian bowlers with 4 for 35 in six overs as Zambia
made 158 all out. The run chase began in earnest with Namibia breaking
at lunch with 80 for 1. They passed the target score in the 32nd over
with seven wickets in hand, with Justin Baard making 45.

Cricket powerhouse, Kenya was given a run for their money but they
eventually overcame Sierra Leone by 20 runs and remain unbeaten in the
three matches played.

Japan’s new coach
Alberto Zaccheroni swept into Tokyo on Tuesday, asking to be called
‘Zac’ and promising a lasting legacy from his reign.

“First we have to
finish in the top three at (next year’s) Asian Cup,” the 57-year-old
Italian told reporters after being unveiled as Japan’s sixth foreign
manager.

“When my Japan
adventure comes to an end I want the fans to have great memories of
Zaccheroni’s samurai.” The former AC Milan and Juventus coach brought a
breathe of fresh air to his first news conference after taking over the
Blue Samurai from World Cup coach Takeshi Okada.

“You can call me
Zac,” said Zaccheroni. “But I am okay with any nicknames the Japanese
fans have for me.” Japan Football Association (JFA) president Junji
Ogura predicted the Italian would lead Japan to the quarter-finals of
the next World Cup in Brazil.

“I expect him to get the Blue Samurai to the last eight in 2014,” Ogura said in a statement.

“He has vast experience and is a real tactician of the game. I expect him to get Japan to play an attacking style of soccer.”

Zaccheroni’s Samurai

The JFA did not
reveal details of Zaccheroni’s contract but it is understood he has
signed a two-year deal with an option for another two years.

Zaccheroni, who led
AC Milan to the Serie A title in 1999, said: “I jumped at the
opportunity when the JFA came with their offer.” He praised the work of
predecessor Okada, who led Japan to the last 16 of the World Cup in
South Africa.

“Okada-san did a
fantastic job,” said Zaccheroni. “He left a great foundation in place.”
Zaccheroni will watch Saturday’s home friendly against Paraguay in
Yokohama from the stands as he is still waiting for a work permit.

“Coaching a
national team was the only challenge left for me,” said Zaccheroni,
whose first game in charge is expected to be the October 8 friendly
with Argentina in Saitama.

“Now I have the
opportunity.” JFA technical director Hiromi Hara said Zaccheroni’s lack
of experience outside of Japan would not be a factor.

“His motivation and passion will make up for that,” said Hara. “It’s a life’s ambition for him to coach a national team.”

Nduka Ugbade,
former Nigerian international and coach of the MFM Ikeja team of the
ongoing Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) Cup, is sure his players have
the ability to emerge champions at the end of the tournament.

Ugbade’s team
booked a semi-final ticket yesterday after defeating MFM Ojo 6-5 via
penalties after the game had ended 0-0 at full time.

“It was a tough
encounter but thank God we won in the end. I am happy with the
performance of my players and I believe that they are capable of
winning the tournament barring any unfortunate development,” Ugbade
said.

He praised Daniel
Olukoya, pastor in charge of MFM and sponsor of the tournament for
bankrolling the event, noting that it is good way of using football to
reposition African youth for God.

Other quarter-final
matches were played yesterday with defending champions, MFM
headquarters joining Ugbade’s team in the last four. They beat MFM Kano
3-0.

Fidelis Ilechukwu, coach of the team said the ability of his boys to listen to instructions gave them victory.

The other two
quarter- final, which involved MFM Kwara and MFM Ijaiye as well as the
one involving MFM Benin and MFM Ejigbo were still on as at the time of
writing. The Olukayo is in its fifth edition.

Kenya’s David
Rudisha lowered the 800 metres world record to 1 minute 41.01 at a
meeting in Rieti in Italy on Sunday, just a week after first breaking
the record.

The 21-year-old,
who broke the record that had stood for 13 years in Berlin last Sunday
when he ran 1:41.09, powered down the home straight at the IAAF World
Challenge meeting to easily better that mark.

Denmark’s Wilson
Kipketer set 1.41.11 in 1997 in Cologne, Germany but Rudisha has
suddenly ripped up the record books twice and told Reuters on Monday he
can go even quicker in his pursuit of world and Olympic gold.

Promise to return fulfilled

Last year at Rieti
he had told the crowd he would “return to do something great”. Rudisha,
who made a surprise semi-final exit at the Berlin world championships,
last year, is the son of Daniel Rudisha who was a member of the 4x400m
Olympics silver-winning relay team in Mexico City in 1968.

The small city of
Rieti near Rome, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its meet, has a
long heritage of records being broken at the quaint track and Jamaica’s
Nesta Carter also ran the joint-fastest 100 metres this year to win the
final.

He scorched down the track in 9.78, equalling Tyson Gay’s effort at the London Diamond League meeting earlier this month.

American Ryan
Bailey and Jamaican Mario Forsythe ran personal bests of 9.88 and 9.95
for second and third while France’s European champion Christophe
Lemaitre set a national record of 9.97 in fourth.

Olympic 110m
hurdles bronze medallist David Oliver of the United States, who has
been enjoying a stunning season, failed in his bid to break the world
record but set a meeting record of 13.01 despite hitting two hurdles.

Italy is again the focus for athletics on Tuesday when world 800m
champion Caster Semenya and 2004 100m Olympic champion Justin Gatlin
are in action in Rovereto.