Nigeria Content Online

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.