Nigeria Content Online

Chelsea yesterday
showed that they have re-discovered the art of winning ugly by beating
Manchester City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Brazilians –
David Luiz and Ramires. Chelsea are now third in the league standings
going into the international break.

The match, watched
by Chelsea’s benefactor, Roman Abramovich, was a cagey affair – made
more so by the absence of Carlos Tevez from the City Line-up.

The Argentine had to be replaced with Mario Balotelli after he injured himself during the warm-up.

The first half
started with Chelsea probing but the City defence made up of Vincent
Kompany – stand-in captain, Joleen Lescott, Micah Richards and
Aleksandar Kolarov, making up the back four. This defence were backed
up by three defensive midfielders in Nigel De Jong, Yaya Toure and
Gareth Barry. The front line had David Silva and Edin Dzeko, supported
by James Milner, who played as a pseudo midfielder tracking the runs of
Ashley Cole, Chelsea’s left-back. The match did not produce its first
corner kick until the 29th minute and at that point Chelsea were a bit
in the ascendancy.

The first half
ended with little goal-mouth action but all that was to change in the
second half. The first goal did not arrive until the 79th minute.
Before the goal, £50 million striker, Fernando Torres had been replaced
by Didier Drogba in the 71st minute and it was almost an instant impact
by the Ivorien.

David Luiz, the
Brazilian defender who scored a wonderful goal against Manchester
United two weeks ago popped up on the left side of midfield and teased
a free kick from Micah Richards. Drogba delivered a perfect ball into
the box unto the head of Luiz who dispatched his header to the left of
Joe Hart in goal for City. It was a fine goal by the Brazilian bought
during the transfer window from Benfica. That made it two goals in four
matches for Chelsea.

Roberto Mancini,
Manchester City manager responded by bringing on two forwards – Adam
Johnson and Mario Balotelli for two midfielders, Toure and James
Milner. City caused some anxious moments in the 90th minute but Luiz
cleared to safety after the ball was ricocheting across the Chelsea box

The changes
completely threw City’s formation off balance and Chelsea capitalised
on this in the dying moments of the match with the killer second goal
by Ramires and what a goal it was.

The Brazilian World Cup midfielder skipped past Lescott and then
Kolarov before picking his spot and smashed the ball into the net, it
was conclusively game over. Both Abramovich and Carlo Ancelotti will
have been pleased with the result. It was Ancelotti’s first win over
City in four meetings and the Chelsea owner could gloat over his recent
signings.

Asian Football
Confederation chief, Mohamed Bin Hammam, has rejected claims his
candidacy for FIFA president could split soccer’s governing body and
said, on Saturday, he expected a clean fight with Sepp Blatter.

The 61-year-old
Qatari was responding to comments by German World Cup winner and
outgoing FIFA executive committee member, Franz Beckenbauer, that his
bid to unseat Blatter was “dangerous” and put the ruling body’s unity
at risk. Bin Hammam, who is credited with reforming the fledgling Asian
game and helping to secure the 2022 World Cup for Qatar, threw his hat
into the ring Friday, saying it was time for changes at FIFA after 13
unbroken years under Blatter, 75.

“I am a huge fan of
Franz Beckenbauer,” he said. “He is a football legend, one of my
favourite people in life. But why should FIFA split if two candidates
are running for the president? I always respect my competitors.
President Blatter is a colleague and friend. I won’t create or
encourage any environment that will divide the football family.”

Bin Hammam was
speaking in Bangkok where a workshop involving executives of the major
Asian leagues was being held. A restructuring of FIFA’s executive
committee, more transparency, increased funding for national
federations and introduction of goal-line technology are among his
plans if he wins the presidential vote at the FIFA Congress on June 1.

Focus on fans

Bin Hammam said he
had sufficient time to rally federations behind his campaign and his
proposals were as much about improving the game for the fans as they
were about winning votes. “It’s not about us, it’s about football and
the fans, we direct football on their behalf,” he said. “This is our
focus, they are important to us. Public opinion about how we are
working and conducting our business is very important.” Bin Hammam said
his campaign would be his last project in soccer before retiring.

Blatter and Bin
Hammam were once close friends and the influential Qatari was a major
boon for the Swiss veteran’s earlier presidential campaigns but their
relationship has soured in recent years. Despite his soft tone, urbane
demeanour and abundant charisma, Bin Hammam is a political battler and
will expect a fierce fight with Blatter. The Asian soccer boss has been
there before. He narrowly survived a move to unseat him in 2008 by a
barely known Bahraini royal, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa.

The campaign was acrimonious and fraught with mud-slinging and
jibes, hidden behind smiles and pledges of fair play and respect. Bin
Hammam said he was confident his FIFA campaign would be different. “I
pray we can conduct a fair competition, from all the aspects, if the
competition runs fairly,” he said. “A fair decision will satisfy me and
it will satisfy Mr Blatter.”

After his £1
million move from Lokomotiv Moscow in August 2010, the Russian fans
drew the ire of the footballing world by resorting to racist taunts
against Osaze Odemwingie, but the Nigerian striker has showed with his
goals that it was a good thing that he left the cold of Russia for the
English league.

Lokomotiv Moscow
fans had celebrated Odemwingie’s sale with a racist banner, which
included the image of a banana and read “Thanks West Brom”. On 20th
August 2010, Odemwingie signed a three-year contract and was given the
number 24 shirt. He scored on his debut against Sunderland, which gave
the Baggies a 1-0 win, thereby making himself an instant hero. West
Brom fans then unfurled a banner to counter the Lokomotiv one and it
read “Thanks Lokomotiv” with a picture of Odemwingie celebrating his
winner on his debut against Sunderland.

Though Odemwingie’s
goal against Arsenal could be said to be fortuitous, no one has ever
won a lottery without buying a ticket. The Nigerian striker thus added
to his strike at the Emirates in September when West Brom stunned the
Gunners with a 3-2 win.

In Saturday’s match
against the Gunners, Odemwingie’s goal could only get a 2-2 draw.
Albion were 2-0 up just before the hour mark when Odemwingie
capitalised on a mix-up between Manuel Almunia and Sebastien Squillaci
to add to Steven Reid’s early header.

Odemwingie is expected at the Eagles camp that open in Abuja today
for the crucial match against the Ethiopian national football team, and
fans will be expecting him to bring his scoring boots along for the
must-win tie.

Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, is to set the ball rolling as he begins to perfect strategies for the must win match against Ethiopia on Sunday. The camping exercise for the invited players for the testy tie gets underway in Abuja later today as the Eagles camp officially opens for business.

The Eagles gaffer has given till tomorrow (Tuesday) as deadline for all invited players to hit camp or forget about playing any part in the African Nations Cup qualifying game which will be coming up on March 27 at the Abuja National Stadium. The Ethiopian game is the first real test for Siasia who was handed the Eagles job last December following the departure of Swede Lars Lagerback, and the for the Beijing 2008 silver winning coach, only a convincing victory in the game is acceptable.

“We have no choice than to beat Ethiopia and get our qualification back on track,” he said in a recent interview. The Super Eagles are in second place behind Guinea in Group 4, with three points, while the Guineans have six points with only the group leaders assured the automatic ticket to the biannual football championship to be co-hosted this time by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon

Kalika’s take on tactics

Siasia’s assistant, Simon Kalika told MTNFootball.com that they plan to put Ethiopia on the back foot as early as possible when the two teams clash on Sunday. “I don’t have any doubts that we will win,” he said. “But we need to score goals. My bigger joy would be if we can play the way we want the team to play. This means that our players should ensure that they are far away from our own goal area as they mount pressure throughout the game on Ethiopia. When we are in possession, we will open up the pitch by playing down the wings with a high ball circulation, we would try to bring out our crosses and score goals.

We want to play with a lot of movement, with a lot of speed coupled with a lot of runs on the wings. This is how we want to play not only against the Ethiopians but even if we play against world champions Spain. This time around we don’t want to fall back. We don’t want to play defensive football as well as counter football. We want to put high pressure in our play to shock our opponents. The moment the other team is building, our defenders are building too. That is chasing the ball already.”

Twenty five players, five of which are home based players, have been invited for the game. Nigeria beat Ethiopia 4-0 in a 1994 World Cup qualifying match in Lagos the last time both countries clashed at full international level.

Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, is to set the ball rolling as he begins to perfect strategies for the must win match against Ethiopia on Sunday. The camping exercise for the invited players for the testy tie gets underway in Abuja later today as the Eagles camp officially opens for business.

The Eagles gaffer has given till tomorrow (Tuesday) as deadline for all invited players to hit camp or forget about playing any part in the African Nations Cup qualifying game which will be coming up on March 27 at the Abuja National Stadium. The Ethiopian game is the first real test for Siasia who was handed the Eagles job last December following the departure of Swede Lars Lagerback, and the for the Beijing 2008 silver winning coach, only a convincing victory in the game is acceptable.

“We have no choice than to beat Ethiopia and get our qualification back on track,” he said in a recent interview. The Super Eagles are in second place behind Guinea in Group 4, with three points, while the Guineans have six points with only the group leaders assured the automatic ticket to the biannual football championship to be co-hosted this time by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon

The Super Eagles last night had their first training session ahead of this weekend’s 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia.

The training session, which came up under floodlights at the National Stadium in Abuja, venue of Sunday’s match against the East Africans, had 20 players in attendance.

While goalkeepers Bamidele Aiyenugba and Sunday Rotimi who worked out with the team’s goalkeepers’ trainer, former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu, the rest of the players worked out under the guidance of head coach Samson Siasia and his assistant, Simon Kalika.

Olympique Marseille of France defender, Taye Taiwo who arrived at the national team’s Transcorp Hilton Hotel base only minutes before the team was due to depart for the training session, later joined the rest of the squad at the National Stadium, Abuja.

The only players on the list of invited players who did not feature in last night’s training session were midfielder Fengor Ogude and striker Solomon Okoronkwo. Both internationals who play in the Norwegian top division were expected at the Transcorp Hilton hotel last night.

A crucial tie

Sunday’s game is very important for the Nigerians as anything other than a win will practically end the team’s chances of securing automatic qualification for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The Super Eagles currently trail Guinea by three points in Group B after two rounds of matches and they need to win their remaining four games, including the return leg fixture in October against the Guineans, who last October inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Super Eagles.

The Super Eagles will also need to score a lot of goals to make up on the significant advantage the Guineans already have by virtue of their 4-1 win over the Ethiopians in Addis Ababa last September.

It was probably because of this that Siasia invited as many as nine attackers for the game against the Walya Antelopes, including a recall for Ikechukwu Uche who only just returned from a lengthy injury spell.

“We just want to encourage [him]. He is back after a year, so it’s not like if he comes here, we are going to start him. We want to see if he can actually fit in,” Siasia said in a report published in Fifa.com.

“If he does, maybe he would come in [later in the game]. He missed the World Cup, and I think it is a good thing to encourage the young ones like that and that is why we invited him.”

Meanwhile, preparations have reached an advanced stage for Saturday’s Olympic Games qualifier between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea with all invited 15 overseas-based players arriving Benin-city for the game.

Though the team coach, Augustine Eguavoen, originally invited 12 players, Obiora Nwankwo and Nnamdi Oduamadi were released by Siasia to join the side while Terna Suswam from Portuguese club, Vitoria Setubal completed the list.

Suswan was a regular fixture in the Nigeria ‘B’ team that won the WAFU Cup of Nations in Abeokuta last year.

Nigerian striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu is enjoying a new lease of life at Leicester City and is keen on making his loan move from Everton a permanent deal at the end of the season, especially if they secure promotion to the Premier League.

The 28-year-old Nigerian international joined the Foxes in January and has played a key role in helping the side push for one the Championship play-off places.

Leicester are currently 11th on the log standings but only the top-two sides will secure automatic promotion to the Premier League with the third promotion berth going to the eventual winner of the play-off involving the third to sixth placed sides on the table.

“I would love to stay. I hope we get promoted. I want to be here and I know the club want to be in the Premier League,” Yakubu told the BBC yesterday.

“It was a big decision to leave Everton but I love to be on the pitch.”

Eriksson factor

Yakubu was utilised as a bit-part player at Everton before Leicester boss Sven-Goran Eriksson offered him a lifeline by bringing him over to the Walkers Stadium.

“It was really, really frustrating sitting on the bench and playing 10 to 20 minutes, so I had to look for somewhere else,” he continued.

“I had some offers abroad but I have enjoyed my stay here in England. I have been here for like seven to eight years, and I feel at home here.

“The football here is good, the passion here is good and to get the opportunity to come to Leicester, to be here with a great manager who knows how to talk to his players and make them believe in themselves,” Yakubu said, with reference to the Swedish-born former England manager.

“He never puts you under pressure. He just wants you to get on the pitch and feel free to do what you want to do. That’s why I made the decision to come to Leicester and I’m enjoying it.”

Five points separate Leicester from sixth-placed Nottingham Forest but there are still nine games to go until the end of the season and Yakubu believes the Foxes can gain some ground on the teams ahead of them on the log.

“At the moment, I’m not thinking of a top-two finish. We’re thinking about being in the play-off position,” he said.

“We have to believe. I believe in myself and I believe we’re going to be there especially if we keep working hard like we did last week.”

Yakubu has made 12 appearances for the Foxes and has found the back of the net four times but he hasn’t scored in his last four appearances.

He is however not bothered about the temporary setback.

“I’m not under pressure,” he said. “That’s football for you but you have to live with the pressure.

“I’m used to it so it doesn’t bother me. I know I will start scoring and we have nine games to go.”

Kaduna
United and Sunshine Stars will be making debut appearances at
continental club championships today as they begin their CAF
Confederation Cup campaign against Chadian and Cameroonian oppositions
respectively.

For both teams
winning the trophy which no Nigerian team has won, since it became
Confederation Cup following the merging of the CAF Cup and Cup Winners
Cup is their target.

While Kaduna United
will be hosting Foullah Edifice at the Township stadium in Kaduna,
Sunshine Stars will be trading tackles with Tiko United at the Ijebu
Ode Stadium; a place that has become a fortress for the second placed
Nigerian team in the local league as they have won every match played
at the venue this season.

Harvest of goals

Gbenga Odubote,
Sunshine coach, who admits not knowing much about his opponents,
remains confident of victory in today’s game. According to him his
players are motivated to excel in today’s game.

“We are very much
ready for the game. The players know what is at stake and they have no
choice than to give in their best. Since it is a two -legged affair we
need to score as much goals as we can on Sunday so as to make the 2nd
leg a mere formality,” he said.

With Sunshine Stars
already targeting a harvest of goals against their opponent, the team
and league’s top scorer, Ajani Ibrahim has promised to wreck Tiko
United with goals.

“I am very
confident that I will score against Tiko United but I cannot say how
many goals they will be” he boasted. I am determined to take all the
chances that will come in my way,” said Ajani who currently top the
scorers chart in the local league with 10 league goals.

“Though this our
first time in the continent we are not afraid of any team. We want to
make our fans, management and the whole country proud by winning very
well on Sunday.”

Call for support

Sunshine Stars captain, Sunday Abe on his part called on fans to throng the Ijebu Ode stadium to support the team.

“I am using this
opportunity to call on football fans to come and support us in our
match. We are representing Nigeria in this championship and we promise
to do our very best,” he said.

Sadly for Sunshine
stars who are hoping for a sound victory, Ukeyima Akombo one of the
team’s top strikers has been ruled out of this tie due to illness.

Tiko United forced a 1-1 draw against Heartland in Owerri the last time they visited to play a Nigerian club.

Kaduna ready

In Kaduna also,
Federation Cup champions, Kaduna United are set for their tie with
current Chad league leaders, Foullah Edifice. The Chadian team are
currently enjoying the best of seasons as they are not just unbeaten so
far but have also won all their matches this season in the league.

Abdulrahman Tonga,
Media Officer of Kaduna United, said the team will not in any way
underrate the Chadians as they are actually aware of their exploits.

“Many may want to
believe that Foullah will be an easy task for us because they are from
Chad but we are not going to underrate them in anyway. We are well
prepared for them like a team from Egypt or Morocco,” he said.

Tonga also revealed that the state government and club management had moved to motivate players to excel.

“The government has
fully paid two months’ salary to the players from the backlog they are
being owed, other bonuses and allowances have also being paid. Already
they have been promised some mouth-watering gifts if they do well
also,” he said.

“There have been
jingles on radio and television; banners have been in strategic places
informing everybody about the match and I am confident that the stadium
will be filled to capacity. It’s the first time that we are having this
kind of match so all the people will want to be part of it,” he said.

Enyimba was Nigeria’s the last representative in the Confederation
Cup, but the former African champions were eliminated in the
preliminary stage of the competition by Zanaco of Zambia on goals
aggregate.

I
avoid controversies as much as possible. But once in a while, one gets
entangled in it. I must confess, however, that I expected a couple of
reactions after the first part of my write-up about the Dove Golden Belt
boxing tournament was published last week.

It was a few minutes
before the European Champions league match started when my phone rang.
The caller did not even respond to my ‘Yes, who is this?’ before he
threw his punches. “You see how you people behave…? What has Segun
Odegbami got to do with boxing? Is boxing the same as football? You also
mentioned one Herbert Orji. Who is he and what has he got to do with
boxing? Instead of inviting people like…(names withheld) to talk about
boxing, and you say you are trying to save Nigerian sports.” I tried to
respond, but the punches kept coming. “And what sort of standard are you
talking about, when such a championship did not take place in Lagos,
Abuja or other major city?”

After about four
minutes, he paused and asked if I was still with him. It was at this
point that I was able to ask his identity and all he said was ‘Duke’. I
asked if I could respond to some of the issues raised but he was not
going to have any of that, and the conversation stopped, abruptly, just
like it started.

I felt slightly
uncomfortable, but took consolation in the fact that I had received
numerous text messages and a couple of phone calls, congratulating me on
the success of the tournament. Of particular interest is the e-mail I
received from a Nigerian ex-boxer, now residing in Jamaica. But I
realised there may be several ‘Dukes’ to be dealt with. According to the
American essayist and psychologist, Og Mandino, I will love the light
because it shows me the way, yet, I will endure the darkness, because it
shows me the stars. This is why I will never be easily upset by certain
incidents any more.

I called Duke the
following day for a conversation and am glad to mention that we are now
very good friends. I explained to him that Segun Odegbami and Herbert
Orji were two of the four speakers invited to deliver papers at the
pre-tournament summit, which took place a day before the boxing
tournament proper. Duke’s answer was positive when I asked if he
believes in God and I told him the title of Odegbami’s paper is ‘God is a
sportsman’ and that if only Nigerians – especially our so-called sports
administrators, retired/active sports persons, sports writers,
supporters, etc, would adhere to the rules of sports as stipulated by
God Almighty, Nigeria would dominate the world of sports. Odegbami’s
paper was a classic.

Herbert Orji started
boxing in 1962 at the age of 10. He reached the finals of the Steve
Jaffta Cup boxing competition in 1965, in Enugu. He was a light and
welterweight champion, who successfully, like Odegbami, combined sports
with education, and today is a professor. His paper was titled ‘A Sharp
Mind in a Quick Body’. A very juicy paper recommended for every Nigerian
athlete and coach.

I also explained to
Duke that four luxury buses were deployed to convey participants –
especially grassroots boxers, coaches and boxing club owners – from
Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode and Lagos, to and from the Redemption Camp, free of
charge, for two days. That the boxers who fought during the tournament
and their coaches were accommodated (free of charge) in guest houses on
the Redemption Camp for four days and given a feeding allowance of a
thousand naira daily. Apart from the fact that all the boxers were
issued with branded kits, including gowns, for the first time in the
history of grassroots amateur boxing in Nigeria, all the participating
boxers smiled home with cash awards. Those who did not win their bouts
were given N15, 000 each. Four of the winners received N25, 000 each,
while the most outstanding boxers went home with N250, 000, N350, 000
and N450, 000 cash awards. All the boxers, coaches, officials and media
organisations that participated in the programme were issued with
certificates of active participation.

I told Duke that Obisia Nwankpa, ‘Golden Gloves’, could not hide his
feelings when he entered the fully air-conditioned, well-lit Youth
Centre of the Redemption Camp, venue of the tournament. He said,
‘Wonderful, I feel like I am in Europe or the USA.’ I also remember very
vividly that as I ushered Segun Odegbami into the hall, he stopped and
exclaimed, ‘What are you people trying to do?’ and I quipped, ‘Trying to
prove that God is a sportsman.’ He looked around, apparently saw the
boxing ring in the centre of the hall, heard the superb quality of the
sound emanating from the loud speakers, also saw the two giant viewing
screens and said, ‘Wonderful’, to which I jokingly retorted,
‘twoderful’.

As
the national junior tennis team continues to prepare for the 34th
African Junior Tennis Championships (AJC) in Botswana, coach of the
team, Mohammed Ubale says he is happy that the preparation has coincided
with the 12th edition of the NNPC/Chevron Junior Masters Tennis
competition.

The Chevron tourney
currently on at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, will run till March 27, the
date of the team’s departure to Botswana.

“There is nothing
like being in competitive mode when you are going for a tournament like
the AJC. The players will be training and playing at the same time – and
the Chevron Masters is a good way to keep the players in top shape,”
Ubale said.

He added that his players will be training and playing matches until the day of their departure to Gaborone.

“It is good for the
players and the coaches because we are able to witness their
temperaments in competition mode and make corrections.”

Nigeria secured five
berths in the Botswana tourney courtesy of its strong performance in
Ghana in January, where Team Nigeria overwhelmed Ghana to place first
while Samuel Omoile who will be competing in the 18 and Under category
qualified on account of his ITF ranking.

The qualifiers for Botswana are selected from the best 25 players in each of the categories.

Umoru Balami, who
will be competing in the 16 and Under, lost the final match in Winneba,
Ghana to Senegalese, Seydou Diallo while Sarah Adegoke also lost the
female 14 and Under final but won the ITF Satellite competition in Togo
in February.

The other players
who will be representing Nigeria in Botswana are Folarin Akosile in the
16 and under female category, Joseph Imeh – who came second in Ghana in
the male 14 and under category.

The Confederation of
African Tennis (CAT), picked between March 28 and April 9, 2011 as the
new date for the Africa Junior Tennis Tournament in Gaborone, Botswana,
after taking the hosting rights away from Egypt because of internal
problems.

The team began their training yesterday (Monday) in Lagos and are expected to depart for Gaborone on March 27, 2011.

American golfer Eldrick “Tiger” Woods is considered ‘the
greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time.’ Tiger
achieved a 12-shot
victory in the 1997 U.S. Masters and has won
fourteen professional major golf championships. In 2010, Woods ‘topped
Golf Digest magazine’s annual list of biggest earners with overall earnings
of $74.2 million’.

Since a serious
car accident in November 2009 that exposed his marital
infidelity, superstar golfer Tiger Woods has had a difficult time in golf
and in love. Although Woods admitted that “I
have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart”
he was unable
to save his marriage, and got divorced in 2010. Tiger’s ex-wife,
Swedish former-model Elin
Nordegren told People magazine that she has been through ‘hell.‘ Tiger went
through hell too, as he ‘struggled
through a winless 2010 campaign while undergoing the fourth
swing change of his career’.

The
Huffington Post reports that Woods has a new girlfriend: 22-year-old
student Alyse Lahti Johnston from Cleveland, Ohio, Reportedly, Alyse Johnston
attends the West Palm Beach, Florida campus of Ohio-based Northwood University.