king of sport

Ike Uche In Tears After Scoring

2011-03-04T03:31:00.001-08:00

Zaragoza striker Ikechukwu Uche was reduced to tears on Wednesday after scoring his first goal since returning from a serious knee injury to give his team a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.

The Nigeria striker raced free into Athletic Bilbao’s area before beating goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz with a curling shot inside the near post for the winner in the 55th minute.

After being mobbed by teammates, Uche picked himself up off the ground with tears streaming down his face after his first goal since May 2009.

It was Uche’s first start – and third appearance – since undergoing an operation in August. Uche tore ligaments in the same left knee he had previously injured which forced him to miss most of the previous season, including the World Cup.

A Referee Set A Soccer Record - By Flashing 36 Red Cards In One Game

2011-03-04T03:29:00.001-08:00

A REFEREE set a soccer record - by flashing 36 red cards in one game.

Fuming official Damian Rubino sent off all 22 players PLUS their substitutes and technical staff as a mass brawl erupted.

Last night the shaken boss of one of the teams told how he begged police to lock raging opposition players in their dressing room.
Rival Argentinian team Claypole - who beat his side Victoriano Arenas 2-0 - accused the referee of overreacting to the bust-up in Buenos Aires.

Manager Sergio Micieli said: "Most players were trying to separate people. The ref was confused."

The world record was previously held by a 1993 game in Paraguay that saw 20 players sent off.

source - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3445465/Referee-shows-36-red-cards-in-a-game.html

5 Africa’s Next Generation Of Super Strikers !

2011-02-26T03:35:00.001-08:00

African football has taken huge leaps in terms of prominence in the past few years. The progress made so far saw soccer legend, Pele of Brazil tipping an African country to win the World Cup.

That may not have happened when Africa hosted her first ever Mundial last year in South Africa, but a country like Ghana showed class and were robbed of a semi final ticket by Uruguay, whose defender resorted to cheating. Ghana it is recalled won the Under-20 World Cup for Africa in Egypt in 2009. Nigeria has equally has done well at the Under-17 level, winning the Under-17 World Cup thrice.

Today, an avalanche of young African players are lighting up Europe. Just look at Lacina Traore (Cote DIvoire) and Dominic Adiyiah (Ghana). They’re two talented young African footballers who are some of Europe’s top prospects and could very well become Africa’s next great strikers. Many clubs send scouts to watch African football leagues more often. Let’s take a look at five young footballers in Africa who have everything it takes to be among the continent’s next great strikers.

1.Kermit Erasmus (South Africa) : Kermit Erasmus currently plays for Supersport United in South Africa and has been widely considered South Africa’s next great striker, even drawing comparisons to the likes of Pele and Wayne Rooney. The young striker has represented South Africa at the youth levels and scored an impressive 10 goals in 15 appearances, earning him his call-up to the senior squad.

Erasmus also had a short stint in Europe with Dutch club Feyenoord, where he was loaned out to second division Excelsior. There he had considerable success, scoring 11 times in 30 matches, but the 20-year-old failed to impress and returned to the South African Premier League, where he will look to boost his reputation.

2.Ange Dnagbo (Cote d’Ivoire): Very few know Ange Dnagbo, but those who do have touted him as Cote d’Ivoire’s next great striker, after Didier Drogba, of course. Just 19 years of age, he plays for the prestigious Ivorian club, ASEC Mimosas, though he was a youth product of Sewe Sports.
He has been scouted by Birmingham City, Portsmouth, Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur, but was unable to secure a work permit, thus halting his move to Europe.

3. Osas Idehen (Nigeria): Osas Idehen is currently playing for Vicem Hai Phong in
Vietnam, but just a few months ago, he was in Africa playing for Nigeria’s Enyimba FC.
At that club, he scored an amazing 25 goals in 30 appearances, earning him his Nigerian call-up, in which he scored a brace against Congo DR. The talented young striker has immense pace and a brilliant eye for goal, but after an unsuccessful trial with Danish club, Brondby he was offloaded back to Africa. Now, he is playing in Vietnam, an unarguably smaller stage, even though he has everything it takes to ply his trade in Europe.

4. Knowledge Musona (Zimbabwe): Although Zimbabwe isn’t one of Africa’s larger footballing nations, their future is looking very bright given the talented young player they have in Knowledge Musona. The Kaizer Chiefs striker is only 20 years old but has been very effective this season for the South African club, notching an impressive 10 goals in 17 appearances. Though somewhat small in stature, he possesses a deadly eye for goal and it is reported he is being sought after by some of Europe’s top clubs.

5.Sani Emmanuel (Nigeria): Undoubtedly the biggest African prospect at the moment, it’s a wonder than Sani Emmanuel isn’t playing in Europe yet. He had a short stint with Bodens BK in Sweden, where he was very impressive, and has earn a call-up to Nigeria’s youth squads.

Emmanuel put up an extremely impressive performance at the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, in which he scored five games in as many matches. He has had trials at Chelsea, Tottenham, Panathinaikos and a few other European clubs. His trials at Chelsea and Tottenham were successful, but he could not reach a deal due to work permit issues. He has since return to My People FC in Nigeria, but it shouldn’t be long before he is at one of the world’s top clubs

Babayaro Declared Bankrupt •chased By Creditors In Uk

2011-02-26T03:30:00.001-08:00

FORMER Toon player, Celestine Babayaro is being chased by creditors after being declared bankrupt. The ex-Nigerian international, who was reported to earn £25,000-a-week at one stage, has been listed alongside a dinner lady and glass cutter in an announcement printed in the London Gazette.

The player, who won the gold with Nigeria at Atlanta '96 Olympic, has been living at an address on Laleham Road, in Shepperton, Middlesex, according to the order. Neighbours said they feared the former full-back, now 32, had fallen on hard times because the upkeep of his £475,000 property had slipped.

It is understood the player who started 66 times for the Magpies, had bought the house for family members to be near him when he signed for Chelsea, in 1997. The house is also next door to the home where his younger brother, Kennedy was understood to have lived until he died of tuberculosis in 2007.

A neighbour, who lives on the same street as Babayaro said: “You can tell money’s difficult because the home used to be maintained really nicely, but now it’s a bit of a mess. “You can see where the conservatory is starting to fall down and the garden is completely overgrown. They came and asked to borrow my lawnmower but I had to say no because the grass was too long and would have broken it.”

The bankruptcy order was first entered at a court in Croydon, London, last year, before being confirmed last month. It is understood Babayaro has recently been living abroad. The financial meltdown is the latest in a string of disappoint-ments for the U-17 World Cup winner in 1993.

After an injury-plagued spell at St James’s Park, Babayaro’s career stalled when he moved to the US in the hope of starring alongside David Beckham at LA Galaxy. But he was released by the club, and his hopes of a comeback with Portsmouth were dogged by a bout of malaria. Babayaro is understood to have racked up debt despite having the rest of his contract paid by Newcastle he was released in 2007.

He was signed for United for £1m by Graeme Souness, in 2005, and famously chose to play for the team just hours after his brother’s death

Dan Shittu Felt Nervous About Qpr Return!

2011-02-26T03:26:00.001-08:00

Dan Shittu has admitted he felt nervous about making his first appearance since returning to QPR.
The defender was given a starting place for Rangers' home win against Ipswich.
"I knew it was an important game for me, playing at home in front of those fans who have supported me all these years," said Shittu.
"I was a bit nervous before the game because I knew those fans were expecting me to do what I usually do. I didn't want to let them down."
Shittu, 30, made 182 appearances for QPR between 2001 and 2006, establishing himself as a crowd favourite at Loftus Road.

The manager put a lot of trust in me. It was a big game for us and I'm happy I was able to repay him
Dan Shittu
He was sold to Watford for £1.6m and later played for Bolton and Millwall before rejoining the west London club in January on a six-month deal.
After impressing in recent reserve matches, the Nigeria international was drafted in for Tuesday's game along with fellow centre-back Fitz Hall.
It meant Matt Connolly and Kaspars Gorkss missed out, despite the Championship leaders boasting the division's best defensive record.
Rangers had conceded only 20 league goals this season and had kept an unrivalled 18 clean sheets prior to Tuesday's 2-0 victory.
Shittu added: "The manager put a lot of trust in me. It was a big game for us and I'm happy I was able to repay him

Portsmouth Coach Hails 'magician' Kanu!

2011-02-26T03:24:00.001-08:00

Nwankwo Kanu came on over the weekend and scored the winner in Portsmouth's 1-0 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park on Saturday and first-team coach Ian Woan has tagged the former Nigeria captain Nwankwo Kanu as a magician.

"There were a few raised eyebrows from the fans (when we brought him on), but you want your subs to make an impact. He's an absolute magician. You see him day in, day out on the training pitch and some of the things he does with the ball are phenomenal. He's a top, top professional given where he has played and the enthusiasm he gives us every week in training," the coach said.

Woan added: "His legs can't carry him for 90 minutes sometimes now. But in a game that is crying out for someone to get hold of it, you throw the big fella on and he is a magician.

"You can't get the ball off him. People get to the stage where they don't want to go and challenge him. He embarrasses you. The whole stand starts cheering, he does the step-overs - you know they're coming but you can't do anything about it. We just didn't have that and he was perfect for the situation," Woan stated.

On picking up a second straight clean sheet, Woan added: "I think it's a major plus for us. We have struggled to keep clean sheets.

"The back-line in the last two games has been the same. That has made a big difference. We've done a lot of work with them on the training field. Continuity is a big thing with the back four. You need to know what everyone is doing. When you pick the same back four, it makes a big difference to them."

I Need 3 Years To Rebuild Eagles -siasia

2010-11-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

Nigeria’s new coach, Samson Siasia, has said he will need, at least three years, to rebuild the Super Eagles into a formidable force. Siasia will take over the Eagles on December 1 on a four-year contract and with the perennial underachievers yet to win a major honour since 1994, the former international striker has admitted he had his work cut.

“It is going to take two, three years for us to assemble a formidable team,” Siasia said.
“It should be a gradual process, trying to build a new team with the old and the new players. Gradually, we will mix them up until we find the ones who we need, actually the ones who would play the way we want them to play. That time, I would come out and say publicly we have a team.

“But right now, we just want to focus on how to rebuild the team. Yes, the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) could set targets, but if we want to be realistic, targets won’t be realistic, if you don’t have a good team. “As a coach, we need time to build a very good team. If we are looking at where we are coming from, then we have to work on how to rebuild this team.”

Siasia would, therefore, call on the fans to be patient with him as he goes about rebuilding the national team ranked 33rd in the world. “The fans must come out in large numbers to watch us play. They must exercise patience too. What we lack here is patience. We want results immediately.

“Nigerians want to see us getting to the finals like Argentina and Germany. We cannot say because we want to build a new team, we should forget about the players who are there now in the Super Eagles. That is the team we have right now.“ The Eagles’ new handler further said he was ready for the daunting challenges ahead.

“I have been waiting for this job for almost three years now and that was before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was to be the coach of the Super Eagles after the interview conducted for the job. But that time, I said no, I wasn’t ready. Now that I am ready, I am not intimidated at all. I am ready for this job”. he declared matter-of-factly.

FIBA Africa Zone-3 Qualifiers: Royal Hoopers, Kano Pillars, ABC dominates

2010-11-12T04:48:00.000-08:00

The trio of Royal Hoopers basketball club and Kano Pillars basketball club of Nigeria and Abidjan Basket Club of Cote dIvoire have continue to dominate their opponent at the 2010 FIBA Africa Champions Club for Men Zone-3 elimination holding at the SKD Sports Complex gymnasium, Monrovia, Liberia posting good results.

Royal Hoopers Nigeria DStv League runner-up who is making its debut at the biggest Africa club competition handed down a 73-61 defeat of Liberia former league champion, NPA Pythons basketball club in Day-2 of the qualifiers completing its superiority over Liberian teams having defeated Liberia reigning champion UHURU Kings on Monday by 66-55 points.

The Coach Ogoh Odaudu tutored Hoopers opened a wide margin in the first quarter with a 22-06 points win but allowed the Pythons to bite back in the second quarter losing the quarter by 16-19 points for half-time score-line of 38-25 points in favour of the Hoopers.

The Hoopers also lost the third quarter by 15-20 but rose to the challenges to earn victory in the last quarter by 20-16 points for a cumulative score-line of 73-61 points.

In the other two games of Day-2 Kano Pillars defeated Swallows of Togo by 64-50 points while ABC had the better of UHURU Kings by 59-49 points.

Action continue today as the competition enter Day-3 with Royal Hoopers taking to the floor againsy ABC at 15H00; Swallows and NPA Pythons searches for their first win at 17H00 while Kano Pillars go up against UHURU Kings at 19H00.

FIBA Africa Zone-3 Qualifiers: Kano Pillars, ABC in fine start

2010-11-12T04:45:00.000-08:00

Defending champion of FIBA Africa Champions Club Zone-3, Kano Pillars basketball club of Nigeria Tuesday began its quest for a place in the final round of the continent biggest club competition with an 85-53 points win over NPA Pythons basketball club of Liberia.

The Nigeria DStv league champion won its opening Zone-3 elimination series against the Liberian side winning in all four quarters of 22-13; 24-15; 17-15 and 22-10.

With the big win over NPA Pythons Kano Pillars now lead other teams in the qualifiers and will take on Swallows basketball club of Togo Wednesday in Day-2 of the elimination series at the gymnasium of the SKD Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia at 17H00.

In the last Day-1 pairing Abidjan Basket Club of Cote dIvoire went past Swallows basketball club of Togo by 60-41.

The Abidjan-based side won the first quarter by 16-12 points but gave up the second quarter to the Togolese side who won the quarter by 14-10 points to even scores 26-26 at the end of the first half.

At the resumption of play in the third quarter, ABC showed the stuff it is made up of pilling up offense and defense on their opponent winning the third and fourth quarter by 17-10 and 17-05.

ABC will Wednesday confront Liberia champion and host of the qualifiers, UHURU Kings basketball club of Liberia at 19H00.

The first game of Day-2 will be between Liberia NPA Pythons and Nigeria Royal Hoopers at 15H00.

top 10 footballer likely to miss 2010 fifa world cup

2010-03-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

With The World Cup Now Barely Three Months Away, There Are Speculations About Top Stars From The Qualified Countries For The Party Who May Not Be There Afterall, For Various Reasons, Here Are The Top 10
10) Pepe (Portugal)
The powerhouse Real Madrid centre back, often used in an unorthodox defensive midfield position by Portugal in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, was expected to be a key player for the Selecção das Quinas in South Africa. But, in December, he ruptured his right knee’s anterior cruciate ligament against Valencia. Ruled out for at least six months, the odds are stacked firmly against the Brazilian-born star featuring in the Rainbow Nation.

9) Raul (Spain)
Spain’s all-time record national goalscorer with 44 goals from 102 caps, Raul has never really made his mark at a Euro or World Cup and he was not selected for his country’s Euro 2008 triumph. Now 32, and having not played for Spain since September 2006 it seems unlikely Vicente Del Bosque will call upon his services as a reserve to world class first choice strike pair Fernando Torres and David Villa.

Sebastien Frey (France)
The Frenchman is undoubtedly one of the top three goalkeepers in Serie A, and some have even gone as far as to say that an on-form he is as good if not sometimes better than Gianluigi Buffon and Julio Cesar. Despite this, he has been continually overlooked by France coach Raymond Domenech and, so fed-up, in August 2008 the 29-year-old announced his international retirement.

7) Ashley Cole (England)
One of the few world class left backs in circulation, it is currently touch-and-go whether Cole will be fit enough to play at the World Cup. The 29-year-old suffered a fractured ankle on February 10 that is due to keep him out for three months. Even if Cole returns before the start of the World Cup he will have next to no match fitness, and comebacks from these types of injuries are often delayed.

6) Antonio Cassano (Italy)
Will ultimately be remembered as the most wasted talent of his generation. Despite his genius, Cassano has only won 15 Italy caps since debuting in 2003. His fiery personality has led to numerous fallouts with coaches, and the 27-year-old has not earned a single call-up since Marcello Lippi returned to the Italy bench after Euro 2008. Having been frozen out by his club Sampdoria too, there will be no World Cup for ‘Talentino’.

5) Clarence Seedorf (Holland)
The 33-year-old has won the Champions League with three different clubs, but Seedorf and Holland’s national side has never been a match made in heaven. The influential midfielder has made well over 80 international appearances for Oranje, but he’s best remembered for missing two important spot kicks representing Holland. Seedorf hasn’t played for Oranje since May 2008 after which he dramatically refused to play at Euro 2008, and a comeback is unlikely to be on the horizon.

4) Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina)
Argentina were often hampered in qualifying due to a lack of creativity in the final third, and many called for the Boca Juniors playmaker to be included in the squad. Diego Maradona has not seen eye to eye with Riquelme for some time, however, due to the fact that the 31-year-old quit the national team. A recall has looked unlikely ever since, with Maradona’s stance on the issue hardening after Boca fans called him a “traitor” and labelling Riquelme as their idol.

3) Ronaldo (Brazil)
Brazil coach Dunga has frequently stated that the door is open for Ronaldo to return to the national team, but he has put together a tight-knit squad of players during the World Cup qualifiers and Confederations Cup and ‘O Fenomeno’ may never get the recall that he and so many others crave. Ronaldo has been in good form for Corinthians since recovering his fitness with the Brazilian giants, but an outstanding tournament in the Copa Libertadores now looks like the only way he could steal a place in Dunga’s squad for South Africa.

2) Alessandro Nesta (Italy)
One of the greatest defenders of all time, Nesta retired from international football shortly after winning the 2006 World Cup, citing that his body could no longer take the demands of both club and country. After missing all but 13 minutes of the 2008/09 campaign through injury, Nesta has returned as one of the best defenders in the world and there had been widespread calls for him to rejoin the Azzurri. The 33-year-old seemed to be edging towards a return, but coach Marcello Lippi announced yesterday that the stopper had rejected a recall.

1) Ronaldinho (Brazil)
The two-time World Player of the Year has been reborn this season, and has lit up Serie A with his skills and thrills for Milan. Ronaldinho has the most assists in Italy, and has also scored 12 goals this campaign. Despite playing at a world class level, Ronnie has not been picked by the Selecao for almost a year and after missing out on recent friendly against Ireland, experts believe Dunga won’t take him to South Africa

FIFA Worried About God

2010-02-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

Soccer is a sport of extremes, but this time, the most angelic of players could hazard the risk of running afoul of FIFA through their ardent evangelism - especially the kind displayed on their undershirt

FIFA is worried that God is going to show up at the World Cup Finals this year, and maybe even appear on the field.

Truth be told, it's happened before, in a sense. The Almighty's most visible involvement thus far was at the Finals in 1990 when one of his agents, the Pope, personally blessed the Irish national team in Rome during the tournament. But that Holy Water was not strong enough to see the Irish to glory.

God went back to being mysterious and doing what a divine being does best - blinding referees at the crucial moment. Ask the Irish about Thierry Henry, or the English about Maradona.

But now FIFA faces the prospect of God lifting the World Cup trophy. And with so many visions of Him flying about the world these days someone is likely to be offended.

So FIFA is perhaps praying that Brazil do not win the cup. Their captain Lucio is God’s defender, and Kaka is His thunderbolt striker. At last year’s Confederations Cup Final in South Africa, both players removed their team jerseys to reveal messages suggesting that God was the real winner of the tournament. And their faith may have been strengthened by the fact that Brazil came back from a two-goal deficit to beat the separation of church and soccer Americans.

FIFA is warning the national associations to make sure victory and goal celebrations remain human and not divine. The governing body of the sport has decreed that no religious diktat will be exposed from under a nation’s colors. The question is this: Will Kaka and other disciples - including South Africa’s Steven Pienaar, another stripper for the Lord – follow the Word of Blatter or the Word of the Most High?

FIFA’s boss, Sepp Blatter, is a formidable force in his own right and is likely to fire his version of a thunderbolt at anyone promoting the World Cup as a place of worship.

Let’s be intellectually objective for a second. Surely, the Finals are positively Darwinian. They represent the survival of the fittest, where evolving soccer nations this time round may be primed to snatch soccer’s Holy Grail from the hands of the World Cup’s chosen few – Brazil, Italy, Germany and Argentina.

If an avowed atheistic country like North Korea wins the World Cup, then God is dead?

What do fans think? Should God displays be allowed at the World Cup Finals?

Alan Black is the author of The Glorious World Cup – A Fanatic’s Guide (published May 4 by Penguin Books) www.thegloriousworldcup.com

FIFA Send Referee Jelili To Dubai

2009-10-15T03:45:00.000-07:00

One of the world’s top beach soccer referees, Nigeria’s Jelili Ogunmuyiwa has been appointed again by FIFA for the World Beach Soccer tournament scheduled for Dubai later this year.

The 30 year old who is presently running an HND programme in economics and cooperative management at the Federal Cooperative College, Eleyele Ibadan, became a FIFA beach soccer referee in January 2008.

It is to his credit that he officiated at the world beach soccer qualifier in Durban in March, 2008. He then moved over to the world tourney in Marseille same year. This year he was again at the world cup qualifier in Durban and did well enough to earn a call up for the world Cup in Dubai.

A premier league referee since 2006, Jelili has handled 20 top league matches including this year’s league opener in Aba between Enyimba and Lobi Stars that ended in a draw.

Nigeria was at the FIFA World Beach Soccer Tourney in 2006 aand2007, missed out in 2008 to Senegal and Cameroun, and have returned in 2009 as Africa champions.

NO HEAD-TO-HEAD RULE FOR EAGLES. November 14 Ties Are Winner Takes All Affair

2009-10-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

The dreaded head-to-head rule which ultimately denied Nigeria a place at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany will not apply in Nigeria’s hunt for a ticket to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There will be no complications in deciding which country between Nigeria and Tunisia qualifies for South Africa 2010, as all Shuaibu Amodu’s team need do is get a win over the Harambee stars of Kenya on November 14 while they hope Tunisia slips in their fixture against Mozambique, by either losing or getting a draw.

If the above scenario is achieved, that is Nigeria winning and Tunisia drawing, both countries will tie on 12 points with Nigeria scaling through on goals difference.

As it is now, both Nigeria and Tunisia have the same goal-difference and a win for Nigeria with Tunisia not winning will automatically lift Nigeria above the North Africans in goals difference which is the first option FIFA is considering in determining the group winners in case of tie as against the head-to-head rule used four years ago.

In the battle for Germany 2006 both Nigeria and Angola tied on points with the Eagles also having a better goals difference. But the almighty head-to-head rule, which was FIFA’s first option then handed the ticket to the Angolans.

The following are the options FIFA will apply in order of importance in case of a tie
1. The goal difference in all group matches
2. The greatest number of goals scored in all group matches
In case a tie still exists between two (2) or three(3) teams the following will be considered:
1. The greatest number of points obtained between the teams concerned
2. The goal difference between the teams concerned
3. The greatest number of goals scored between the teams concerned.

Furthermore, in the case of a tie still persisting a draw will be made by the Organising Committeee that could be replaced by a play-off match with possible extra time and penalty kicks.

The play-off is FIFA’s last resort to determine the team to qualify for the World Cup when other means are intricately locked.

Instructively, the regulations for determining the qualified countries for both the FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations are no identical.

The 2010 Nations Cup finalists will be decided by:
1. Greatest number of points during their direct encounters
2. Highest goal difference during their direct encounters
3. Greater number of goals scored during their direct encounters
4. Greater number of away goals scored in their direct encounters.

The overall goal difference for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations only applied when a perfect tie appears during the direct encounters or when more than two (2) teams possess the same number of points.

Cameroun, Gabon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Angola have confirmed their places at the Nations Cup while six more countries will join them when the qualifiers round off in November.

Obiora Nwankwo Is Hot Cake. Agents Battle Over F/Eagles Star

2009-10-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Despite the seeming poor run of the Flying Eagles at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt, midfield ace, Obiora Nwankwo looks to be catching the attention with a flurry of agents and European club scouts on his heels.

The interest in the light-skinned player has even led to a face-off between two Nigerian licensed agents.

Nwankwo, whose registration is owned by ECO Football Club of Lagos, but featured for Nigerian Premier League side, Wikki Tourist, in the 2008/2009 season in Nigeria on loan, had started out Egypt 2009 in central defence for the Eagles before coach Samson Siasia moved him into midfield in the same game against Venezuela.

Complete Sports now have it on good authority that not a few clubs in Europe have taken more than a passing interest in his silky ball-playing skills, so much so that Italy based Nigerian agent, Sam Udeagbulam, has been accused of trying to poach the boy.

Peter Ejiasi, another Nigerian agent, who is based in Spain told Complete Sports:

“I’m the official agent of Obiora Nwankwo and I want to tell you that any other person that claims to represent the boy is a blatant liar.

“I can’t discuss about clubs interested in a player in the middle of a competition but what I have to say is that it is absolutely wrong for an agent that says he is licensed to start talking to a player that he does not have a contract with after that player had told him that he has an agent.

“That is what this Sam guy did and for me, doing such on the eve of an important match for the team is bad because you are going to distract the player.

“If he or any other agent for that matter, has something for the boy he can come to me and we can discuss, but the player should not be distracted with talk about interest from clubs until after the competition.”

Udeagbulam, who was said to have been introduced to the player by one of the coaches of the team, could not be reached for his own side of the story as he did not pick when Complete Sports placed a call to his mobile phone.

MY F/EAGLES STARS ARE BARELY AVERAGE!

2009-10-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Flying Eagles coach Samson Siasia has declared that the players he paraded as the best Nigeria can offer at the U-20 level are barely average players who,as they are now cannot make it to the Super Eagles.

The coach said they need to do a lot of work before being able to challenge for places in the senior national team – even if they are struggling to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

“I think it’s going to be very difficult because you need players who are tactically very sound,” he said.
“If they’re asked to do things, they have to carry out instructions on the field of play and you can see from our play that we don’t do that.
“I think it’s going to be a long way for them to get into the Super Eagles.”

The coach is also at a loss how ‘his barely average players gave up the lead twice and eventually lost to Germany in a match they dominated both in terms of possession and chances created.

‘It’s hard. We scored twice for the first time in the tournament but it still wasn’t enough. At the end we were a man up but we were still having problems. When you lead twice, you need to preserve that lead, and we didn’t do that. My team were too disorganized to keep their shape’,said Siasia.

The Bayelsa state born tactician
insists the whole team must take responsibility for the loss to 10-man Germany which ensured their exit from the championships.
Siasia blasted his players for failing to follow instructions in the game.

“For the first time we scored two goals after playing four games, but now we’ve found out we can’t defend,” he said.
“All I did was to tell them to keep possession.
“You can’t keep kicking long balls when you only have one man up.
“But they didn’t even listen. You keep shouting all day – but if the players don’t listen to you, this is what actually happens.”
Siasia lead the Flying Eagles to second place in this event four years ago in the Netherlands, and accepted his share of the responsibility for what has been a disappointing performance in Egypt.

“I’m not going to blame players because I picked the players, so all the blame is on me, because if you have players who are not playing to instruction this is how you lose games,” he said.

He was also severely critical of the refereeing at the tournament – saying Germany’s winner in Suez sprang from a foul.
“The referee was five yards away [from the challenge] – and that was a foul, that was a foul,” he complained.
“They kicked him and took the ball and I don’t know why the referee allowed a chance like this – I think Fifa should do something about the referees too.
“Even though it’s the players fault, the referee has a lot to do about what actually happened too.”

Don’t Bank On Yak For Mozambique

2009-09-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Everton boss, David Moyes has indirectly told Super Eagles coach he would be making a big mistake if he expects Yakubu Aiyegbeni to rescue him and the Eagles in their remaining 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique in Abuja on October 11 and Kenya in Nairobi in November because the striker would need about six months to regain his goalscoring touch and sharpness as well as regaining full fitness from his serious Achilles injury.

The Nigerian returned to goalscoring form on Wednesday with the opener in Everton’s 4-0 Carling Cup victory at Hull City.
It was the striker’s first start since rupturing his Achilles at Tottenham Hotspur last November having previously made three substitute appearances after making his comeback to the first-team fold last month.

Yakubu was substituted at half-time in midweek after complaining of a slight thigh strain that kept him out the Toffees visit to Portsmouth last Saturday.
And Moyes believes it will take time for the Nigeria international to get back to peak condition after such a major injury.
“Yak is fit, but not back to the level where he was before the injury,” said the Everton manager. “When you have had a ruptured Achilles, a serious injury, the nine months out was the healing part of it.

“It might take five or six months for Yak to get back to his where he wants to be. If you’ve had a serious injury like he has, then it takes a lot longer to get over it.
“Is he back in and around the squad and bale to do bits of games? Yes, he is.
“If you can get the ball to Yak in the box we know his history of scoring goals. But maybe the team at the moment is not ready for that, we need a centre forward to contribute more in other ways.
“That’s why we need Yak to get more games and more playing time. But if there’s somebody you want the ball to fall to in the box, it’s Yak.”

STRIKERS CRISIS HITS FLYING EAGLES

2009-09-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Challenges keep mounting for the Flying Eagles at the FIFA U-20 World Cup as the team’s attacking personnel has been striped to its barest minimum.

Despite losing its second match in the tournament 0-2 to Spain on Monday, the Eagles still have an outside chance to make it into the second round as one of the four best third-place finishers from the competition’s six groups if they run up a cricket score victory over Tahiti on Thursday.

But prospects of that happening seem to be dimming after Complete Sports found out that there could just be only one striker available to the Eagles for the encounter.

Team captain, Odion Ighalo, who has led the front line for the Eagles since EGYPT 2009 got under way, talked himself out of contention against Tahiti when he bagged a second yellow card in successive matches for persistent harassment of the referee.

The Udinese of Italy marksman had got his name in the arbiter’s book for the same offence against Venezuela.

Gbolahan Salami, a winger who has played as a central striker for the Eagles in the past, is also forced out of the game after he was shown a straight red card against Spain.

The probable absence of the Nigerian junior national team’s other forward liners on Thursday is on medical grounds.

Romania-based Kehinde Fatai, who came into the tournament as the Eagles best goals prospect following his net-shaking exploits during the team’s preparation, went down to sickness even before the end of the Spain tie.

Fatai, it was revealed to Complete Sports, had complained of headache even before the match, which he started, and could not return for the second half after he started vomiting in the dressing room during the interval.

It remains to be seen how well he will recover in the next two days before the game against Tahiti as he is expected to sit out Tuesday morning’s training.

Stanley Ohawuchi, who took Fatai’s central attacking place on Monday, will himself not finish the game after he was elbowed in an off-the-ball incident in the 62nd minute.

The Bayelsa United forward, who finished the last season in Nigeria as one of the top scorers before his transfer to Atletico Baleares of Spain, would be taken to hospital and only joined the rest of the team at their hotel two and half hours after the game.

Despite being discharged from hospital, Ohawuchi was still not fully okay as he told Complete Sports that he could not stand straight and was also having problems walking, making him a big doubt for the October 1 match.

With the likely absence of four players in the Eagles attack, Nigeria could be going into their last Group B game with only one recognisable striker in Daniel Chima Uchechi.

Orelesi Goofs On Club Status

2009-09-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

The status of Flying Eagles left back, Nurudeen Orelesi, keeps been mired in comical controversy after another mix up has seen him identified as a player of a club he left two years ago.

Orelesi, who has been impressive for the team since Coach Samson Siasia converted him from his original midfield position, had been displeased after the official squad list of teams participating at the FIFA U-20 World Cup on the FIFA website indicated that he was without a club.

It was an error of omission as the player’s club was not written against his name when the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, sent the 30-man provisional squad list of the Nigerian team to the world football governing body even before the team left Nigeria on August 29.

Secretary of the Eagles, Abdullahi Magaji, had explained to Complete Sports on Monday after the anomaly was noticed on the FIFA website:

“It was a minor error which can be rectified because there is still going to be an accreditation of the whole members of the team tomorrow (Tuesday) by FIFA where the final data of everybody will be compiled.
“So, really there isn’t much for him to worry about.”

However, during the accreditation of the team there was another blunder, but this time it was by the player himself.
When asked by the FIFA officials the club he plays for Orelesi gave FC Bonifika, the Slovenian team he left two years ago.
After featuring for First Bank of Lagos , Orelesi moved to ECO F.C of Lagos from where he went on loan to Bonifika of the Slovenian second division. Following pay disputes, the enterprising left-footed ace ended his brief spell and returned to his last Nigerian club.

In finding out that he had goofed during the short interview by the FIFA accreditation team, Orelesi said he was confused by the question that he thought he was asked to give his last club in Europe .
How comical.

Eagles List

2009-09-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Enyeama Vincent
Dele Aiyenugba
Greg Etafia
Joseph Yobo
Apam Onyekachi
Yusuf Mohammed
Adefemi Olubayo
Taiye Taiwo
Elderson Echijile
Nwaneri Obinna
Adeleye Dele
Kaita Sanni
Ayila Yusuf
Nwakwo Kanu
Mikel Obi John
Ajilore Femi
Olofinjana Seyi
Eneramo Mike
Obafemi Martins
Obinna Nsofor
Obasi Chinedu
Odemwingie Osaze
Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Akpala Joseph
Peter Utaka
Danny Shittu
Etuhu Dickson
Sodje Sam
Chibuzor Okonkwo
Ekwosa James

AMODU UNVEILS 30-MAN LIST FOR MOZAMBIQUE

2009-09-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

FOOTBALL:
In what appears to be a sign of confusion or outright desperation, Super Eagles chief coach Shaibu Amodu on Wednesday released a 30-man list of players to prosecute the World Cup qualifier against Mozambique but which is peopled by players of questionable credentials.

Top on the list of such players is Switzerland based Yusuf Mohammed who is on the books of FC Sion but who has made only three starts for the club since making a move from Sudan.

Complete Sports’ checks also revealed that Mohammed’s teammate Obinna Nwaneri has made two starts and played another two as a substitute.

Sam Sodje who is said to be on the books of Charlton Athletic has not featured for the Addicks this season though he made seven appearances for Leeds United before moving away from Ellands Road.

France based Elderson Echiejile is not listed by Stade Rennes for the current season while Taiye Taiwo is just returning from injury.

This development leaves Dele Adeleye, Olufemi Olubayo and Joseph Yobo as well as Apam Oyekachi the only active Super Eagles defenders with their respective clubs.

It is unknown why Amodu chose to ignore other players who have been posting impressive results with their clubs. Chidi Odiah with CSKA Moscow was voted man-of-the-match and rated highly in his club’s last two matches but apparently he is not good enough to make Amodu’s Super Eagles defence.

The game against the Mambas of Mozambique is a must-win if Nigeria must harbour any hope of reaching South Africa 2010.