Nigeria Content Online

The
last set of matches before the lucrative mini-league stage of the CAF
Champions League continues across Africa today and for Nigeria’s
representative, Enyimba FC, it is win or bust! The Peoples Elephant, as
they are fondly called by their fans, are gunning for a third Champions
League crown but face a stern test against one of Libya’s most
successful club sides; Al Ithihad at the Aba International Stadium
later today.

While Ithihad is
dictating the pace in the Libyan league, which they have won a record
16 times and currently occupy top spot, same is not for Enyimba who are
10th on the log in the Nigeria Premier League which has been on break
for a while.

That
notwithstanding, Enyimba’s captain, Chiedozie Johnson in an interview
with cafonline.com, said he is confident that his team will beat the
Libyan champions when both teams go head on in today’s winner takes all
fixture.

“We left Aba for Port Harcourt to train because we know how important this game is” he said.

“Everybody wants to
give his best because our fans have not sipped from the CAF cup for a
very long time. Let us say we are determined to secure victory.

“Over the past few
days we have undergone series of trainings just to be in shape. We
expect a good outing on Sunday. All of us like the Champions League
medal. We want to wear it, we want to drink from the cup. When you
bring all these together, you will agree with me that this is serious
business. Everybody is serious and determined to win.”

Enyimba enjoys a
slight advantage going into today’s game as the tie, which was meant to
be played on a home and away basis, was reduced to a one-legged affair
owing to the unrest in Libya.

Johnson though,
admitted that this not necessarily translate to an advantage but he was
however upbeat that his team can maintain their 100 percent winning
record at home

“We are going to use our excellent home record to full advantage” he said.

He continued “I
know that at this stage of competition, the venue may not matter so
much. I am sure that we have thousands of fans who would motivate us to
victory”.

“We will be careful
not to let ‘home advantage’ get into our heads. We will play the match
knowing full well that a winner must be decided on Sunday (today). Our
fans look up so much to us and we cannot afford to disappoint them in
their own home”

Ithihad has in its
fold some Nigerian players, top of whom is Izu Azuka. The team formerly
had Super Eagles star, Victor Ikpeba also on its payroll.

Johnson is however
indifferent about all that “It is a good thing that there are Nigerians
in their team. This will not be the first time we will play against a
team that has Nigerians playing for them. As a matter of fact, most
club sides in Africa have Nigerians playing for them. We are going to
play our game as a team against a team not as individuals or against
individuals. We will not let the presence of Nigerians distract us. We
are going to play against a Libyan club side not against Nigerians”.

Emordi’s thoughts

On his part, Okey
Emordi, the CAF Champions League-winning coach of Enyimba, insisted
that his side will not be looking at either their records or that of
their opponents Libya’s Ittihad FC in today’s game. Also speaking to
cafonline.com on the crucial encounter, Emordi said his wards are fired
up for victory.

“We are very
serious as we would not like to be knocked out at this stage. Football
is a dynamic game and for you to remain in reckoning, you must
constantly update your skills”.

This is the first time Enyimba will be playing against a Libyan side at any level and that for Emordi is no big deal.

“Football has only
one language, which is skill. Football does not understand any known
human language. So, the language we are going to speak in the match is
skill” he said.

He continued “The
pattern we are going to play is skill. So, it does not matter whether
we have never played a Libyan side. What they have is skill and tactics
and we are going to follow them in that direction.

“I also know we
have been playing against North African sides. Though it will not be
correct to say their patterns are not entirely similar, we know their
ways and can check them comfortably”.

Emordi said the pleasure of lifting the Champions League for the second time as a coach is important to him.

“It feels good to win and we cannot achieve that except we win on
Sunday to enable us advance to the mini league. I tell you the players
are anxious to go beyond the Sunday match. Individually and as a team,
we are eager to be victorious for our numerous fans, Nigerians,
management and for ourselves. We are motivated by the pleasure of
winning. Nigerians like winning and Aba is equally a community that
likes good football. When you win, you attract more followership. You
know football is a game of followership. God willing, we will win” he
concluded.

Lionel Messi will
one day be regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, said
Argentina coach Sergio Batista after watching his two-goal Champions
League display for Barcelona against Real Madrid.

The second goal by
Argentina’s little left-footed genius in Barca’s 2-0 semi-final first
leg win on Wednesday was reminiscent of the dribbling Diego Maradona’s
spectacular effort against England at the 1986 World Cup.

“We saw the Messi we all know and love. He’s on his way to becoming the best player in history,” said Batista.

“Given what we
already know and because he surpasses himself day by day, he’s already
the best in the world,” the coach told Argentine radio station La Red.

“I left the stadium
telling myself, ‘Thank God players like (Barca pair) Xavi and Messi
exist’. They give you goose bumps, they thrill anyone.”

Batista lavished
praise on Maradona, his captain in the team that won the 1986 World Cup
in Mexico, but said Messi was capable of surpassing him.

As coach of Argentina at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Maradona himself said “Messi has already surpassed me”.

Mario Kempes, top
scorer when Argentina won their first World Cup title in 1978, said of
the Barcelona player last year “all he needs is to put the cherry on
the cake which is the World Cup”.

Messi, 23, who has
notched 52 goals in all competitions this season, is admired around the
world and nowhere more than his home country where cafe chatter among
football followers is dominated by comparisons with the great Maradona.

Mission 2014

After the 4-0
thrashing of Maradona’s team by Germany in the 2010 quarter-finals,
Argentina’s fans are eyeing the 2014 finals in Brazil, hoping Messi
will cement his place among the all-time greats.

Barcelona’s flowing, attacking game suits Messi perfectly and Batista’s plan is for Argentina to play like the Spanish side.

Alfredo di Stefano,
instrumental to Real’s domination of the European Cup between 1956-60,
did not need a World Cup to be regarded as the first in the line of
true greats that contains Pele, Johan Cruyff and Maradona.

Di Stefano played first for Argentina, then Spain in an era of much less international football.

Messi may not get
away with just his exploits for Barcelona to enter the pantheon but
will go close if he goes on to claim a second Champions League winner’s
medal at Wembley next month.

He will also look to help Argentina win their first title in 18 years at the Copa America on home soil in July.

Perhaps Messi’s father, Jorge should be asked for a prediction after his forecast for Wednesday’s match proved spot on.

He told TyC Sports
in an interview on Thursday: “I told (Lionel) to go and enjoy the
match, which Barcelona would win 2-0 and he’d score both goals”.

REUTERS

A headed goal by midfielder Custodio
gave Braga’s “group of heroes” an enthralling 1-0 win over Benfica on
Thursday and a place in the first all-Portuguese Europa League final.

Outsiders Braga beat their more illustrious Portuguese compatriots on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw in the semi-final.

Braga will travel
to Dublin for their debut European final on May 18 to face Porto, who
swept past Villarreal 7-4 on aggregate thanks to their 5-1 triumph in
last week’s first leg.

Hosts Braga,
started sharply at their distinctive stadium, where a sheer wall of
rock forms one of the four sides, and went ahead on 19 minutes when
Custodio gave keeper Roberto no chance by towering above the defence to
score after a corner.

“I am not the hero,
we are a group of heroes. There are no words, there is an immense joy
in the air here,” Custodio said, as television images showed hundreds
of Braga fans celebrating in the centre of the northern city.

Pressing hard,
Braga gave Benfica scant room to deploy their flowing game, but the
visitors came close to levelling the match when Argentine forward
Javier Saviola sent a scuffed shot against the post five minutes before
the break.

Benfica continued
to struggle and their first chance in the second half came on the hour
mark when substitute winger Franco Jara sent a dipping shot wide from
the edge of the box.

They then missed
two chances in the 79th minute when Nicolas Gaitan forced keeper Artur
to touch away a fierce shot and Luisao sent a header wide from the
ensuing corner with Saviola arriving seconds too late at the far post.

Braga responded
with two chances of their own in the 84th minute, Custodio and Hugo
Viana both forcing Robert into reflex saves with powerful drives as
they held on to book a spot in the final.

“We deserve to be in the final, justice was done and this is very gratifying,” Braga coach Domingos Paciencia said.

“The final is there
for us to win, that is obvious. We have already shown we can do it,”
added the coach, who spent most of his playing career as a striker at
Porto.

His side dropped down to the Europa League from the Champions League
group stage and then knocked out Liverpool and Dynamo Kiev before
meeting compatriots Benfica.

REUTERS

Mark Webber
indicated on Thursday that he would see out his Formula One career at
Red Bull and revealed how close he came to quitting the sport a few
years ago.

The 34-year-old
Australian, whose contract with the world champions expires at the end
of the year, told reporters at the Turkish Grand Prix that he had three
options for 2012 and the choice would be his.

“Stay here, stop or drive somewhere else – which is probably unlikely,” he said.

“It’s obviously down a lot to how I feel about things and we’ll see how we feel later in the year,” he added.

“I could have
stopped two, three years ago but I didn’t, I kept going. The results
have been good in the last few years and are still being good now.”
While Webber joined Red Bull in 2007, finishing 12th and 11th overall
in his first two years with the team, the Australian was clearly
referring to his difficult years at Williams before then in 2005 and
2006.

“It’s old ground
isn’t it?,” he said when pressed on the subject. “We know the window in
my career where I was thinking about it (stopping). It didn’t happen, I
came to Red Bull and (we’ve) done some great things together.

“There’s still a lot of big boxes to tick hopefully and do some great things.” Title contender

Webber won four
races last season and was a title contender, if not favourite, going
into the final race in Abu Dhabi won by German team mate Sebastian
Vettel.

Vettel won the race and the title, becoming the youngest ever champion at 23 years old, and has gone from strength to strength.

The youngster has
been on pole position for all three races this season and won two of
them, finishing second in the other in China.

Webber’s third
place in China was his first podium finish since Brazil last November
and the rise of Vettel has led to speculation that the Australian could
look elsewhere next year or retire.

He said he was keeping things open, and the team were happy with that.

“We haven’t had too
many discussions yet but obviously in the next few months things will
start… it’s not really a big subject,” said Webber.

“We realise how
many good things we’ve done together and there’s a good chance of doing
some very good things again together in future. Whether it ends this
year or I go again next year, it doesn’t depend on results.

“(The) results will be fine. It depends on how I feel,” said the man who won in Monaco and at Silverstone last year.

“There’s a lot of
things that have happened in the last few years that have been big
highlights for me and sensational moments so I hope I can add to those
in the next few years and go from there.”

Webber had not won
a race before he joined Red Bull, a third place in Monaco in 2005 being
his best previous result, and he was 10th and 14th overall in an
uncompetitive car with former champions Williams.

“I just didn’t enjoy my time before I came here,” he recalled.

“At Williams, it was a tough fight for me. At that point I had to restart my career in a way and it worked out very well.

“So obviously I made the right decision there and since then I’ve
taken it step by step, which has been the right way for my mentality
towards the job and probably also suits Red Bull quite well.”

REUTERS

The three day
national workshop for coaches and fitness educators tagged ‘Personal
and Corporate Health Fitness Training’ which was held between Wednesday
and Friday, saw participants of the programme appreciative of the new
knowledge impacted. The seminar was aimed at sensitizing fitness
coaches and trainers on new techniques available to them. Also it was
an enlightening session to show that general fitness is a must for
everyone.

“Fitness is not for
athletes alone, it is for everybody and it is not supposed to be a
stressful thing and we want to encourage these trainers on what they
need to do to encourage more people to engage in physical fitness,”
says Wale Adeoye, who is administrative secretary of the Consult Centre.

“When you are okay in your body, it has a way of affecting your mind and emotions and your mental capacity,” he says.

The training, which began on the Wednesday saw participants coming from as far away as the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.

Held at a hall in
the National Institute for Sport building, the seminar began with
exposition on the components of physical fitness. Obaro Odion, a
fitness coach who resides in Lagos, explains that physical fitness is
in two phases:

“There is the
general fitness, which is the state of wellness that an individual
possesses. Some components of it include agility, muscle flexibility,
balance and stamina. Then there is specific fitness which is something
that sports athletes should have. That means there is a level of
fitness required in an athlete that an individual may not necessarily
possess.” Beyond exercise, Odion also explains that physical fitness
transcends beyond exercise. “Fitness should be an important part of our
lives and it is usually achieved through exercise, getting enough rest
from stress and eating a balanced diet. That means attaining physical
fitness is not complete without having all the three components in
place.”

Tosan Lawal, a
football coach at the Delta State University explains some of the
benefits of fitness, “It gives one the capacity to go through the day’s
activities with more vigour, it also helps to increase the mental and
physical stamina of the individual and it helps the body to function
effectively.”

He went ahead to
explain that as a coach he would tailor what he had learned at this
seminar to help his team in developing flexibility and agility.

Odion says that the
three-day event has been very enlightening. “For me that I come across
a myriad of people of different age, sizes with different physical
conditions, it will help me serve them in the best way that would suit
their physiology. There is a woman I work with who has problems with
her knees and with this seminar; I will be able to help her better as I
understand better.” Another coach, Dennis Owolabi who attended the
programme from Maiduguri, has however cautioned that exercise is not
the only characteristic that maintains physical fitness. “We should
also remember that good food is important to help the body regain lost
energy and there is need for our people to learn how to manage stress,
because if we eat good food and exercise but accumulate stress, it is
still bad for us. After a while stress begins to affect the body, so it
is important that we find ways to ease tension.”

Owolabi further
went to explain such ways, “exercise is a perfect way to ease stress
because it makes you more relaxed and you will be able to sleep well.
You can also ease tension by taking massages.”

Auwalu Ahmed, also
from Maiduguri, gave kudos to the organisers, “I am impressed by the
organisers and by the efforts they put into providing us with trained
personnel, some of them are actually professors in UNILAG (University
of Lagos). I have been able to learn new techniques and to see that
some techniques which we had been using before had become obsolete. I
am glad I came for this seminar.”

Adeoye expressed satisfaction at the outcome, “We are happy to be
able to serve our people this way and we are satisfied that they
(participants) are also satisfied. I envisage a situation where these
people who not only pass this knowledge to their clients but also to
their fellow mates who were not able to come here.”

The
home-based Super Eagles team will today begin their quest to retain the
West African Football Union (WAFU) title they won last year, when they
confront the Eagles of Mali in the first match of the annual regional
tournament.

The match, billed
for the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta is scheduled to begin by 2.00pm
local time and the Nigerian team will be hoping to do a double over the
Malians whose Under 20 team was recently defeated by Flying Eagles
en-route to been crowned Africa Champions in South Africa.

While many
Nigerians believe that the team led by Coach Samson Siasia should be
able to retain the trophy won by Daniel Amokachi and his lads last
year, the Beijing Olympic silver-winning coach was quick to say that
much should not be expected from his hurriedly-assembled team.

“These boys have
been on break for weeks now, without playing any football, because the
league is on break and we had only two days or less to get them ready
to play a football match” Siasia had told a sports website.

“That is not right. We should have been told on time, so we could have had more time to prepare these boys.

“I don’t know what
their conditioning is right now, and you can’t knock somebody who has
not been playing into shape in two days. But we’ll have to do our
best,” he added.

Point to prove

Siasia noted that
the local league could boast of good players and for him the WAFU
tournament is a stage for them to prove their worth:

“We have good players in our local league and we need to prove it on the pitch” he said.

“The boys will have to hit the ground running against Mali, as defending champions we are the team to beat” he said.

The second match of the day will see the other two teams in Group A,
Liberia and Niger take on to pitch as they both gun for a perfect start
to their campaign in the regional tournament.

Barcelona
and France defender Eric Abidal, who had surgery on a liver tumour in
March, is hoping to be back to full fitness for the Champions League
final at the end of this month.

Abidal drew by far
the biggest cheer of the night at the Nou Camp on Tuesday, when he came
on as a substitute in the closing minutes of the semifinal second leg
that Barca drew 1-1 with arch rivals Real Madrid, to advance 3-1 on
aggregate.

“I hope to be ready for the final,” the popular Abidal, who had been in superb form before the operation, told reporters.

“I have never
experienced this before,” he added, referring to the incredible
reception he was given by the nearly 100,000 fans thronging the vast
arena.

“I can sense that the people love me and I love them too and will try to do my best for them on the pitch, as always.

“I am feeling fine,
I didn’t do anything for three weeks and now I’m working hard. My dream
was to come back and help the team with so many injuries.”

Short in defence

Abidal’s absence,
along with injuries to centre-back Gabriel Milito and fullbacks Maxwell
and Adriano, left coach Pep Guardiola short in defence and he was
forced to deploy midfielder Javier Mascherano in the middle alongside
Spain international Gerard Pique.

Captain Carles
Puyol, who typically plays in the centre, took Abidal’s usual position
of left back as Barca successfully nullified Real’s formidable forward
line including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and substitute
Emmanuel Adebayor.

“I am happy for the
group and the fans,” Abidal said after Barca, the 2009 winners,
qualified for their second final in three seasons and a meeting with
English Premier League leaders Manchester United.

They will return to
London’s Wembley stadium on May 28, the scene of their first triumph in
Europe’s elite club competition in 1992, which Guardiola took part in
as a player.

“Let’s see if we can complete the cycle,” Abidal added.

“I remember how they won in 1992 and I’d like to do it again. But
there is a lot of training and matches in between, we have to take this
game step by step.

If Manchester United are to avenge their defeat to Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final when they meet again at Wembley on May 28, the words Alex Ferguson spoke that night will have to ring true.

Barcelona outplayed United 2-0 in Rome with goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi, as United, after a bright start, were totally overwhelmed by the Catalan giants.

After the dust had settled on one of United’s worst performances of the season, Ferguson said: “In adversity you always move forward quicker. We’re still a young team and we can improve on that. In fairness, we were beaten by the better side. I know what went wrong and it will not happen again.”

Ferguson has never explained exactly what he thought did go wrong, but whether United are a better team now than they were in 2009 is a subject that will be debated every day until the final is over.

One thing is certain, they will have to improve on the way they played that night at Rome’s Olympic Stadium to lift the European Cup for a fourth time.

To do that against the best club side in the world, they will have to demonstrate the kind of assured authority and confidence they displayed on Wednesday against one of the worst semi-finalists the Champions League has produced.

United sealed their place in this year’s final by destroying Schalke 04, 4-1 at Old Trafford for a 6-1 aggregate semi-final victory and were never seriously troubled at any time over the two legs.

The team that secured their place at Wembley showed nine changes from the side that won the first leg, and for the final, Ferguson could chose 10 of the eleven men who faced Barca in 2009 with only Cristiano Ronaldo of the starting line-up no longer at the club.

There is little that Ferguson or Barca coach, Pep Guardiola do not know about each other’s teams and while the game is still more than three weeks away with domestic issues still to be settled, the key area, as it was in 2009, will be in midfield.

Then, Barca’s Xavi and Andres Iniesta totally dominated Anderson, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs and laid the foundation for Barca’s success. Ferguson will not want that to happen again.

Perfect setting

Wembley is in many ways the perfect setting for this year’s final. Both Manchester United, in 1968 and Barcelona, in 1992, won their first European Cups there and Ferguson believes United will go into the game far better prepared than in any of the previous finals he has lead them into.

Asked if there was a sense of destiny after United won the European Cup for the first time at Wembley in 1968, Ferguson added: “Let’s hope so.” “I think it will be a fantastic final. It is some weeks ahead and I hope we have everyone ready,” he Sky Sports.

“The big advantage this time, as opposed to two of our previous finals, is that we have no players missing. In ‘99 we missed Roy Keane and Paul Scholes and in 2009 we missed Darren Fletcher.

“We’ve got everyone available this time and that does make a difference.

“This is the best competition in the world, all the best teams are there. To get to the final is an achievement itself, but to win it is the ultimate.”

Even better

Barcelona are, if anything, an even better and more rounded team than the one that beat United in Rome to complete an unprecedented treble of Champions League, Spanish league and cup in Pep Guardiola’s debut campaign as coach.

Striker Eto’o was offloaded and won Europe’s elite club competition with Inter Milan the following season, while the brief experiment with Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended when Barca moved him on to AC Milan and bought David Villa at the end of last season.

While Villa, one of eight Barca players who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, has been going through a barren patch in recent weeks, his work rate is an important component of Barca’s play and he has formed a highly effective frontline alongside World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi and Pedro.

Argentina forward, Messi has gone from strength to strength since the 2009 triumph in Rome and is top scorer in this season’s edition with 11 goals, including two in the semi-final first leg at arch rivals Real Madrid.

Xavi and Andres Iniesta provide the creative spark in midfield, backed up by the mobile and tough-tackling Sergio Busquets, while Gerard Pique, who spent several seasons at United between 2004 and 2008, has been immense at centre back.

The stage is set for a classic.

Nigeria’s under-20 men’s team, the Flying Eagles, on Thursday defeated their hosts South Korea 1-0, in the opening match of the Suwon U-20 invitational tournament.

Central defender, Gbenga Arokoyo scored the only game of the match 15 minutes from time, when he nodded home from a corner kick inside the Suwon World Cup Stadium.

And try as much as they did, the hosts could not find a way back into the game thanks to some brilliant goalkeeping by Danjuma Paul, who did not show any signs of jet lag.

After arriving in Lagos from South Africa on Monday afternoon, the Flying Eagles, who won the African Youth Championship (AYC) last Sunday, had to travel to South Korea aboard Emirates Airlines the following day, but without three members of the AYC-winning team.

Missing trio

Striker, Stanley Okoro had to head back to Spain to join his club, Almeria, same as defender Terna Suswam who jetted off to Portugal where he plays for Vitoria Setubal.

The father of defender Chima Oluocha died on the day the Flying Eagles were handing out a 3-2 defeat to Cameroun in the final match of the AYC and the defender was released to go home to attend to his late father’s funeral rites.

But all that did not prevent John Obuh’s side from emerging victorious in their opening game of the tournament, which is taking place in South Korea’s second largest city, after Seoul.

Four countries that have already qualified for this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, which gets underway in July, are in attendance. They are Nigeria, South Korea, New Zealand and Uruguay.

In Thursday’s other game, New Zealand lost by a lone goal to Uruguay.

Nigeria will next play against Uruguay on Sunday at the same venue before wrapping up the tournament with a game against New Zealand next Tuesday.

Akpo Sodje aims to extend his impressive scoring form tomorrow when Hibernian take on Hamilton in the Scottish Premier League.

The encounter comes up at Hamilton’s New Douglas Park home ground and Sodje aims to leave his mark on the game by grabbing his fifth goal in as many games for the Hibees.

The Nigerian who began the season at English side, Charlton Athletic, before joining Hibernian on the last day of the January transfer window, has six goals in his kitty but four of them have come in his side’s last four games against Aberdeen (1-0), Hamilton (1-2), St Mirren (1-1) and St Johnstone (1-2).

“It will be nice to score against Hamilton on Saturday,” said Sodje. “I scored against them recently and I’ll love to do that again,” said Sodje, recalling their April 17 2-1 loss to the Accies.

Sodje’s arrival from England coincided with a turnaround in fortunes for Hibernian who appeared doomed for relegation at the end of December.

The Hibees have only lost three of the 12 games the Nigerian has appeared in and Sodje, who is the youngest of the Sodje football dynasty – his elder brother Sam plays for League 1 outfit Notts County, while Efe, plays for Bury in League 2 – hopes the trend continues till the end of the campaign.

“I have scored six goals from 11 games, and made a handful of others,” continued Sodje. “This has played a big part in turning around our fortunes this season.

Hopefully we shall build on this and by next season we shall be in a position to fight for honours in Scotland.

“It’s a thing of joy to score goals at the highest level like I am doing now. The Scottish Premier League is a very competitive league and being able to cut it here as easily as I have speaks volumes of my ability.

“In all modesty, I am ready for any challenge ahead and I believe coming to Hibernian was a wonderful move and helping the club to greater things is my immediate ambition right now.”

Eagles dream

Unlike his older siblings, Sam and Efe, who have appeared in the colours of Nigeria, Sodje is yet to earn a call-up to the Super Eagles. But he still dreams of achieving that honour even though he is 30.

“I joined Hibernian on my 30th birthday, and I knew it was a good omen. So far I have enjoyed it here and yet I know my best is yet to come,” he said.

“At 30 I am not too old to play international football. I am sure that my performances at the top level with my club will attract the attention of my FA and if this happens, I will gladly accept any call-up to serve my nation.”