I Need 3 Years To Rebuild Eagles -siasia

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

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

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

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

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