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Olympique
Marseille’s Nigerian defender, Taye Taiwo, has once again been linked
with a switch to English Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspurs.

The left-back was,
prior to the start of the current campaign, linked with a move to the
London-based Premier League outfit, who along with a host of other top
European club sides such as Atletico Madrid of Spain and fellow Premier
League side Liverpool, were keen on bolstering their squads with the
Nigerian. However, nothing concrete emerged out of the speculation as
the former Lobi Stars player remained put in the club side based in the
south of France which he joined straight from the Makurdi-based
Nigerian Premier League outfit back in December 2004. His performance
of late for Marseille, especially in last Wednesday’s UEFA Champions
League 1-0 victory over Chelsea at the Stade Velodrome, where he had a
hand in the game’s only goal, has brought him back into the attention
of a Tottenham side looking to challenge for the title in England.

Dream move

Chelsea were also
linked with the 25-year-old Taiwo, who back in September, prior to
Marseille’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge,
in an interview with Ligue1.com, revealed his desire to join Chelsea at
the end of the season, especially if Ashley Cole moved on to another
club. “I’ve been waiting so long for this opportunity to play at
Stamford Bridge,” he said. “So long for this opportunity to play
against Chelsea and show them what I can do, and maybe at the end of
the season if Ashley Cole is leaving, then they’ll be thinking of who
can replace him and hopefully they’ll think of me.”

A move to Stamford Bridge is however now doubtful as Chelsea appears
to have opted to keep faith in youngster Patrick van Aanholt. The
situation leaves Tottenham with little competition for Taiwo’s
signature even though Marseille don’t look likely to accept anything
less than £10m for their prized Nigerian. With Gareth Bale now more
accustomed to an attacking role, Tottenham boss, Harry Redknapp, is not
convinced by Cameroonian, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, and wants to put
pressure on his first-choice left back just as he goes about fulfilling
his ambition of having two quality players for every position. Any
switch will however not be during the January transfer window as
Marseille are still involved in the Champions League, just as Tottenham
have to ensure that they qualify for next season’s tournament if they
wish to have the Nigerian in their fold.

Osaze
Odemwingie will lead his side to Villa Park in search of more points to
add to the 22 points already garnered. The Nigerian international,
named Barclays Player for October, resumed his good form with two well
taken goals against Newcastle. Odemwingie has now scored six goals from
eight games, and he puts the success down to his happiness at the
Hawthorns. “I look forward to training,” he said. “The players, the
manager, everything is okay and we are doing well getting good results.
This makes me happy here.”

Meanwhile new Aston
Villa coach, Gerrard Houllier, has derided comments made after the 3-0
defeat at Anfield. “I understand the fans’ feelings of hurt and
disappointment at the moment,” he said. “I am hurting as much as
anybody, believe me – and I say emphatically that we will battle
through. Building lasting success at Aston Villa is my focus and my
commitment to this challenge is resolute.” The Villains have to start
that against a Baggies side that have Odemwingie and Cameroonian
midfielder, Somen Tchoyi, in great scoring form. West Brom, after a
horrid November, has won two on the trot with Villa looking uneasily at
relegation. The Baggies have scored seven goals in their last two
matches, while Villa are just two points above the relegation zone on
the back of three successive league defeats.

West Brom’s James
Morrison is confident but not over confident. He said a derby does not
normally follow the form book; it is the side that desires victory more
on the day that normally wins. “We’re on a decent run and they haven’t
been at their best, but they’ve got some decent players and we’ll have
to be wary of them,” he said. “They’ll be looking to bounce back after
defeats. It’ll be a tough game. But we’re on a high, so it will be
interesting.” Houllier is banking on the return of Emile Heskey to add
some battling qualities that have been sorely missed especially against
Liverpool. “It’s not down to me, it’s down to other people to analyse
the minutes we’ve played with Emile – the goals he’s made, the goals
he’s scored, the ones he was involved in and you would see the
difference. Emile works hard for the team and we’ve missed him. But
Odemwingie added, “We are getting good results and we hope to finish
well at the end of the season.”

Obinna magic needed again

Some pundits have
suggested that City have the chance to mount a serious challenge for
top spot with their clutch of holiday fixtures. Today, against a
desperate West Ham, who prop up the table, they have to get the points
without inspirational captain and top scorer, Carlos Tevez. But Obinna
Nsofor has been showing good form over the last three matches, and
Avram Grant will be looking to the Nigerian international to provide
the goals and assists to help the Hammers move off the bottom of the
table in this home fixture. Nsofor provided three assists in the 4-0
hammering of Manchester United in the Carling Cup, and also provided an
assist and a goal in the 3-1 win over Wigan in their last league
victory. But time may totally run out for Grant if City beat his team
on Saturday.

Liverpool must consolidate against Newcastle

Following a very
comfortable 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday, the reds continue their
resurgence with a visit to St. James’ Park to visit a rudder-less
Newcastle, who have blown hot and cold this season. With rumours of a
player revolt against the management of the Magpies by senior players,
Roy Hodgson has the chance to snag another three points in pursuance of
the goal of finishing in one of the four Champions League places. Much
derided Brazilian midfielder, Lucas and new buy, Raul Meireles, have
the looking of a decent midfield partnership and Hodgson has come
openly to praise his Portuguese midfielder. “With Meireles it was
always just a question of time,” Hodgson said in a press conference.
“He came from a different league but I never doubted his quality as a
player. I’m sure we’ll get even more out of him now, with the more
games he plays as he settles more and more into life in England.”
Liverpool are just seven points from Manchester City in fourth, and
Hodgson believes it is possible to get into the top four by the end of
the season. “We’d like to think so,” he said on Liverpool’s ambition of
getting a Champions League place.

Bayern need to find some consistency

It has been a
season to forget for the Bavarian millionaires as they stumble from
high to low in a topsy turvy season. There have been calls to change
the manager from even within the club hierarchy. Louis Van Gaal has
been criticised for poor man management of players like Martin
Demichelis and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.

Warri
Wolves have not lost a game since the start of the season, but Dolphins
have set their sights on bringing to an end the unbeaten run of the
league leaders when both sides meet in the star game of this weekend’s
round of matches of the Nigerian Premier League.

Paul Aigbogun’s
side have won three and drawn two of their opening five games of the
2010/2011 Premier League season, and are on top of the league’s log
with 11 points, one point ahead of Gombe United, and a further point
ahead of the quintet of Rangers, Dolphins, Sunshine Stars, Sharks and
defending champions Enyimba. So a win on Saturday for Stanley Eguma’s
Dolphins will see them overtake Wolves on the Premier League table and
shoot them to the top of the standings, at least until the conclusion
of Sunday’s big game in Ijebu Ode between Gombe United and Sunshine
Stars. But it won’t be an easy task for the Port Harcourt side as Warri
Wolves are the league’s in-form side and are one of the few sides to
have notched up an away win in the five-week old season. However,
Dolphins, still smarting from last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Niger
Tornadoes in Minna, believe they can use Saturday’s game to get back to
the top of the table; a position they had previously occupied prior to
the loss in Minna.

Can these Wolves be drowned?

“Warri are a strong
side and they are difficult opponents anytime they play,” said Eguma,
whose side played out a draw with Warri Wolves last time out in Port
Harcourt. “But we are also difficult opponents and we are playing at
home so we want to win. The loss in Minna was very unfortunate but we
will not let that bother us now since that is gone and we must look
ahead so it’s too bad for Warri that they will face our wrath on
Saturday.”

Former Dolphins
star, Sunday Mba, will likely be in the Warri Wolves line-up come
Saturday but Dolphins’ goalkeeper, Sunday Rotimi, who has been one of
the major reasons behind the Port Harcourt side’s stingy defence line
this season (they have conceded just two goals) insists they won’t be
paying too much attention on the skilful attacking midfielder. “Mbah
was our player last season and he did very well with us but it does not
mean that we will now have to focus on him rather than the team,” said
Rotimi. “It is not in the character of Dolphins to do that. We are
playing against Warri Wolves, a strong side who are one of the
favourites to win the League and games against them are very difficult
so we must be focussed on the task at hand rather than looking at
individual players.”

In other matches billed for Saturday, JUTH, who have drawn four of
their opening five games of the season, will welcome Kwara United to
the Rwang Pam Stadium in Jos; while the other team from Jos, Plateau
United, will be away to Shooting Stars in Ibadan. The last game of the
day will come up at Minna’s Bako Kontagora Stadium where Bukola Babes
will play hosts to Enugu Rangers who have scored more goals than any
other side this season – 13 goals. The game will be the first to be
played at the Minna stadium by Bukola Babes after the NPL ordered them
to move out of the Offa Township Stadium.

Nigerian football can be made to yield vast returns on investment, organisers of the game in the country have been told.

Speakers at the
Nigerian International Football Expo, which held on Thursday, at the
Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Lagos, have canvassed for the running of
the game as business in order to maximise the full benefits accruable
from investing in it. The event, the first of its kind to hold in the
country, was jointly organised by two sports marketing companies, Fair
Play and Vantgarde. It drew attendance from the football and business
communities in Nigeria.

No free lunch

Usen Udoh, a senior
Director with Accenture, who presented a paper titled: ‘Remodelling the
football industry through public private partnerships (Infrastructure,
Management and Marketing)’, said if managers of football in Nigeria
want to attract sponsorship and money to the game from the private
sector, then they must talk about returns on investment. “There is no
free lunch,” he said. “Businesses exist to make profit, and in so far
as companies want to be in involved in CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility), their primary aim is to make profit. So, if managers
of football want to attract sponsorship to the game, they must let the
companies know what is in it for them. They must talk about a plan,
balance sheet and they must talk about P and L (Profit and Loss).”

Need for branding

Alex Goma, the
Managing Director, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, who delivered a paper titled
‘Marketing Football in Nigeria: Media, Sponsorship, Events,
Merchandising and Endorsements’, spoke on the need for branding, noting
that the image of the game will determine whether players in the
private sector would be attracted. “In attracting the private sector,
branding plays a key role,” he said. “Organisations are mindful of the
kinds of bodies they go into partnership with. No company will go into
partnership with a body to sponsor an event that will erode their
brand. So, if football managers want to get sponsorship, they must up
their brand.”

Getting the right people and laws

In his paper,
‘Restructuring the regulatory framework for football business in
Nigeria’, Mumini Alao, the Managing Director of Complete
Communications, publishers of Complete Sports, expressed dismay with
the absence of a regulatory framework for football business in the
country. He advocated the need for such a framework, noting that the
present laws that regulate football constitute obstacles to effective
running of football as viable business.

Earlier in a keynote address, Patrick Ekeji, the Director General of
the National Sports Commission, said government is taking steps to
ensure that football and other sports thrive in the country, pointing
out that a starting point for those who insist that sports be properly
run is for them to ensure that only the right people get into the
various sports federations. “People need to appeal to governments
across the country to encourage their sons and daughters of quality to
get into sports associations so that we can begin to have some
professionalism,” he said.

The Nigeria Premier
League (NPL) has moved all Week 8 matches of the Nigerian top flight
division, originally scheduled for December 25 and 26, to Wednesday,
January 5, 2011.

According to a
statement issued on Wednesday by the acting Executive Secretary of the
NPL, Tunji Babalola, the matches were moved to the first Wednesday of
2011 in order to make room for the Christmas and Boxing Day festivities.

Top of the bill of
matches that would have taken place during the period is the Eastern
derby between league champions, Enyimba and Rangers scheduled for
Boxing Day at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba.

New homes for Kwara and Bukola Babe

Meanwhile, Kwara
United and Bukola Babes have secured new venues for their home matches
after the NPL ordered them away from the Offa Township Stadium.

Both clubs
previously shared the stadium but the facility, especially the playing
surface, is incapable of withstanding the pressure that comes from the
rigours of hosting Premier League matches week in, week out.

The NPL, following
last Saturday’s encounter between Kwara United and Heartland, issued a
72 hour ultimatum to both clubs to provide alternative venues to host
their home games.

As a result, Kwara
United will now play their home matches at the Gateway International
Stadium in Ogun State, while Bukola Babes will play their home matches
at the Bako Kotangora Stadium, Minna, home ground of Niger Tornadoes.

There is however
the possibility that both sides will return to their home state of
Kwara, especially if rehabilitation work at the Ilorin International
Sports Complex is completed at some point during the course of the
season.

Both sides have had mixed fortunes in the five-week-old season with
Kwara United perched on the 11th spot while Bukola Babes, playing in
the Premier League for the first time, are one spot away from the
bottom of the table.

Super Eagles
goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama’s days with Hapoel Tel Aviv are definitely
numbered following his performance for the Israeli side in the UEFA
Champions League.

This was the
opinion of former Nigerian goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala, who can’t just
see a reason why the former Enyimba and Heartland shot stopper
continues to be ignored by Europe’s top club sides despite proving
himself overtime at the top level.

Enyeama emerged as
one of the stars of the last World Cup in South Africa where he saved
the Super Eagles from embarrassing losses, especially against Argentina.

But despite being linked with a host of club sides both during and after the World Cup,

Enyeama remained stuck with the Israeli league champions.

“At the World Cup he was outstanding,” said Okala, who is regarded as one of the best Nigerian goalkeepers of all-time.

“He made some
wonderful saves and displayed maturity that is not so common with
goalkeepers of today, so it came as a surprise to me that he is still
playing in Israel even after all he did at the World Cup.”

From World Cup to Champions League

Enyeama has since
followed up on his World Cup heroics with even more splendid displays
in the UEFA Champions League where his modest Israeli side came up
against the likes of French side Lyon and former European champions,
Portuguese side Benfica.

This past Tuesday,
the 28-year-old had a night to remember as he kept out the French
side’s lauded attack time and again in a game in a game that ended in a
two-all draw.

“He was very good
in that match,” continued the Rangers legend. “He single-handedly
prevented their opponents from winning that match.

“And with that kind of performance, along with his performance in
other matches, I see him leaving Israel as early as January,” added
Okala referring to the transfer window which reopens in January.

With Barcelona already through to the Champions League last 16 as Group D winners, Pep Guardiola gave several young players from the club’s academy a chance against Rubin Kazan on Tuesday and they did not disappoint.
Andreu Fontas (21) and Victor Vazquez (23) scored in a 2-0 success at the Nou Camp, and fine performances from fellow B team players Thiago Alcantara (19), Marc Bartra (19) and Jonathan dos Santos (20) also caught the eye.
Barca’s Ballon d’Or nominees Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi honed their skills at the club’s “La Masia” academy, known in Spanish as the “cantera”, or “quarry”, and Tuesday was further proof that it continues to churn out exciting talent.
“As an outsider I see things differently but Barca’s cantera is historic,” Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano, who joined from Liverpool in the close season, told reporters.
Defender Fontas struck in the 51st minute when his left-foot shot was deflected into the net and forward Vazquez, who had replaced the injured Jeffren, added a second with a fine curled effort in the 83rd.
Vazquez came through the academy at the same time as Messi, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, who captained the side for the first time on Tuesday, but has been held back by a number of injuries.
“I played with Pique and Messi a while ago and I was very excited to be with them tonight,” Vazquez said.
“I was only thinking about playing well during the match and above all I am pleased with the goal.
“Guardiola said he was very happy for me and that I was very good on the pitch.”
New responsibility
Pique added: “It’s a pleasure to see Victor in the first team as we have been playing in the same side since we were very little and he deserves this chance.” Ten players from the youth academy featured against Rubin and the success of the club’s policy contrasts that of their great rivals Real Madrid.
Goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas is the only representative of their youth school in Jose Mourinho’s first-choice starting 11, the club opting instead to buy in most of its talent at massive cost.
Josep Maria Bartomeu, a Barca vice president, said the fact that all three players on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or were products of “La Masia” was recognition of the work that had been done there over the years.
“We have a new responsibility,” he said. “We have to work harder to improve the Masia.”

The Annual General
Assembly of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) earlier scheduled for
December 14-15 in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital has been postponed.
The General Assembly will now start on December 27 and end the
following day in the same city.

The Acting General
Secretary of the NFF, Musa Amadu yesterday said, “A number of factors
have compelled the change of date, but the event will still hold in
Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom State.

“We had talks with
top officials of the Akwa Ibom State government and it was resolved
that the December 27-28 will be best for the programme.”

The General
Assembly is convening again because during the last General Assembly in
Abuja, back in August, only one item on the agenda was treated, which
was the election of Members of the Executive Committee of the NFF.

Representatives of
the various Leagues – the National League, the Women’s League and the
Amateur League – will be elected into the Aminu Maigari led NFF
Executive Committee at the meeting in Uyo. Guidelines for the election
are expected to be made public today with the screening of candidates
due at the weekend.

Other issues to be
discussed at the upcoming General Assembly in Uyo include presentation
of the consolidated and revised balance sheet of the NFF, as well as
the profit and loss statement.

The approval of the NFF’s financial statements, the 2010/2011
budget, votes on amendments to the statutes of the NFF will also be
discussed at the General Assembly.

The Miami Heat are
starting to look more like the elite team many envisioned in the
off-season as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 88-78 on Monday for
their fifth straight win.

Dwyane Wade had a
team-high 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds while LeBron James
added 17 points as the Heat continued to play inspired defense in
achieving their longest winning streak of the season.

Miami (14-8) had a
rough start to the campaign and fell well short of the expectations
created when James and Chris Bosh signed with the Heat to join fellow
All-Star Wade, but have found their rhythm since a players-only meeting
a week ago.

In the opener of a four-game road trip, the Heat never trailed and held the Bucks to 34 percent shooting from the field.

“That’s what it’s about and that (defence) is the identity of the team,” Wade told reporters.

“Offensively we
can’t control if the ball is going to go in or not. We still have to
get the stops.” Corey Maggette had 20 points off the bench to lead
Milwaukee, which fell to 7-13 on the season.

The Heat led by 13
points late in the third but the Bucks trimmed it down to 74-71 midway
through the fourth. Miami answered with three straight baskets from
James, Wade and Bosh, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“There was a mental
toughness to this win for us that I’m not sure we would have been able
to pull this out earlier in the year,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Australian center
Andrew Bogut had 11 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back for
the Bucks after missing five contests with back problems.

England’s bid to
host the 2018 World Cup was compromised by media allegations of
corruption against FIFA executive committee members, according to
Japanese soccer chief Junji Ogura.

Ogura, the head of
Japan’s failed bid to land the 2022 World Cup and a member of FIFA’s
executive committee, said on Tuesday that allegations by the Sunday
Times newspaper and BBC had left members “furious” and threatening to
sue.

England’s bid to
stage the World Cup for the first time in more than half a century
ended in a humiliating first-round defeat when they collected just two
votes from the 22-man FIFA executive committee.

One of those votes
was from England’s representative Geoff Thompson, the other is believed
to have come from Ogura. Russia was awarded hosting rights for the 2018
soccer showpiece.

“The African
members of the executive committee were furious over the Sunday Times
report,” Ogura said at the Japan Football Association headquarters.

“They even suggested suing the paper at the executive committee meeting,” Kyodo News quoted him as saying.

The JFA president was bewildered at the timing of the stories in the English media.

“If the reports are
true then that would be sad. But until they can present the evidence,
then it’s hard for any of us to definitively say anything.

“But what I can say is that the reports definitely had an impact on the England bid. There’s no mistake about that.

“I have a hard time understanding why a network as prestigious as
the BBC would go with a story like that at that particular time.” Ogura
did not reveal which of the 2018 bids he voted for but said the four
“Asian” bidders (Japan, South Korea, Australia and Qatar) backed Qatar
in the last round for 2022 as had been agreed.