The Nation Newspaper

Category: Ade Ojeikere

  • Mourinho is impossible

    Sometimes I feel that Jose Mourinho is in the wrong trade. His theatrics defy human comprehension. He remains an unresolved puzzle, which confound many. The industry love to hate him. He is the man for all seasons, especially during matches which involve big clubs. Why people find pleasure in taunting Mourinho in high profile games remains a mystery. But one must congratulate Chelsea FC’s manager Maurizio Sarri for not aggravating the situation on Saturday, by getting his second assistant , Marco Ianni, to apologise to the Special One.

    Mourinho raises the stakes with witty mind games, which he uses to distract gullible managers and players. In fact, he is reported to have alleged that his team list against Chelsea on Saturday was leaked by a suspected mole in his team. Mourinho, was searching for a mole after being stripped naked by the disclosure of the list even before the previous game against Newcastle. Pray, who doesn’t know how Mourinho sets up his team in big games? I digress!

    English FA chieftains gave the insolent backroom staff till Thursday to respond to his inappropriate conduct. Ianni chose the wrong moment to step on the tail of the python. Mourinho told the world that he wasn’t going to celebrate if Manchester United beat Chelsea at home. That was a pointer to the fact that he had dug deep into his bag of tricks to outwit Sarri on the pitch.

    Most followers of the game could bet their last dime on Mourinho not creating a scene at the stadium. Doubters must be shocked that the assault didn’t come from the Special One, which shows that he can be trusted to keep his word. What the backroom staff did by celebrating in front of the manager after Chelsea equalised in the 96th minute would have annoyed anyone. In fact, Mourinho was slow to act because the technical staff was doing it for the second time. This incident turned out to be the highpoint of the game instead of the six extra minutes awarded by the centre referee.

    Ianni had watched the match from the upper tier of the East Stand. He came down to the team’s bench about 15 minutes before full time – something he is entitled to do in his role as the team’s analyst. Why he chose to taunt Mourinho is one issue the English FA chiefs should investigate, knowing that there are marked zones on the sidelines, which the opposition’s technical staff shouldn’t step over. One hopes that the referee captured this aspect for punishment. Making Mourinho the fall guy of this ugly incident will be a travesty of justice.

    Indeed, England women manager Garry Neville said on NBC Sports: ‘’Whoever that staff member is of Chelsea has just been an absolute disgrace. No class, no humility. He’s gone straight into the face of Jose Mourinho, Michael Carrick and the Manchester United bench and just celebrated in their face. Absolutely disgraceful. He’s [Mourinho] the innocent one in all this. The guy on the Chelsea bench has run straight past him, celebrated in his face.

    ‘’Sarri celebrates. Then it’s this guy here who goes in front of Jose Mourinho. The first one he clenches his fist, and then as he goes back he celebrates again right in front of him. Disgraceful. If I was Maurizio Sarri I’d send that guy in and sack him from the club.’’

    Do you agree with Neville’s recommendation, especially as Chelsea’s management condemned the second assistant’s misdemeanour?

    ‘’I want to thank Sarri for his honesty,’’ Mourinho said. ‘’I want to thank Chelsea for its honesty too. But I’m not happy that it’s going too far with the young boy. I don’t think he deserves more than what he got.

    ‘’He apologised to me, I accept his apologies. I think he deserves a second chance. I don’t think he deserves to be sacked. I don’t think he deserves anything more than the fact that his club was strong with him and he went through a situation that in the end he recognises that he was wrong.

    ‘’So, I  hope everybody does the same as I did, which is not to disturb the career of a young guy, which is probably a great guy, probably is a coach with great potential. And I’m not happy at all with more than that. End of story. With me, it’s the end of the story in the minute he apologised to me.’’

    Happily, the governing body said in a statement: ‘’Chelsea coach Marco Ianni has been charged following the game against Manchester United on Saturday. It is alleged that his behaviour in the 96th minute constituted improper conduct. He has until 6pm on Thursday 25 October 2018 to respond to the charge.

    ‘’In relation to this incident, Jose Mourinho has been formally reminded of his responsibilities whilst both clubs have received similar official reminders in terms of the behaviour expected of their staff and players at all times whilst in the technical area.’’

    Mourinho isn’t one to leave any venue without throwing darts. Saturday’s game wasn’t going to be an exception, with the Special One writing after the game that; ‘’ Naturally it was disappointing and frustrating not to take three points from Saturday’s visit to Stamford Bridge.

    ‘’We played so, so well that it was hard to take that we only got a draw. The boys were brilliant, we had control of the game. I am pleased that it was a good team performance and I am also pleased with the spirit of the team after going behind. We were very unlucky not to win but that’s football and we have to accept that.’’

    Mourinho will continue to be the centre of controversies since it appears that such acts propel him to give his best. He did his best during the Saturday game until that melee. It gives pundits so much hope that Mourinho could change on the pitch. How about his conduct with the media or with match officials (post-match comments)? Mourinho’s foul-mouthed jibes haunt him like his pedigree in the game.

    The Chelsea manager’s maturity is commendable. Sarri urged his assistant to prove his maturity, adding that: ‘’Everybody has to learn from mistakes. Now as a man, I am better than when I was 35. Otherwise, I would be a stupid man if I cannot learn from mistakes. I made one hundred mistakes (when I was younger).’’

    ‘’I want to give him another opportunity. I know the man and I know very well that he was really sorry. He realised the mistake. Everyone can make a mistake but you need to learn from the mistake. He will be able to do it. As for the FA, We were wrong so we have to accept the consequences,’’ Sarri said.

    Was it out of place for Mourinho to ignore Ianni’s taunts even if he did for 100 times? Given the way in which Sarri has handled this matter, he certainly would have ignored Ianni, if he did what he did to the Chelsea manager. Mourinho should control his temper. He is the leader of the Manchester United side and much is expected of him in terms of discipline and his conduct on and off the pitch influences the players’ demeanour.

    Ianni will be punished because Chelsea’s management won’t appeal the query, knowing the assistant coach misbehaved. But it would have been applause for Mourinho if he had pretended not to have seen Ianni.

     

    Between Alex Iwobi and Mikel Obi

     

    I’m excited that we won’t wait forever to replace John Mikel Obi in the Super Eagles’ holding midfield position as it appears Alex Iwobi fits the bill perfectly. Iwobi has been awesome for Nigeria and Arsenal. The good thing is that Gernot Rohr is thinking in this direction by stating that Iwobi is faster than Mikel and equally talented. Surprised? Don’t be. Iwobi is Okocha’s nephew, so it runs in the family.

    Replacing star performers in the Eagles has been a nightmare, so much so that we still talk about the exploits of the late Rashidi Yekini anytime our national team’s strikers fritter away goal scoring chances. Football teams had special plans to stop Rashidi but he surmounted the oppositions’ traps and banged goals with aplomb. Fans stood up, hands raised to salute Yekini’s goals.

    So many players have been tried in the creative midfield position to see if they could replicate some of Austin Okocha’s enchanting dribbling skills, but they have failed. We have been through three World Cup competitions since Okocha stopped playing and we still miss him so much so that when he plays in novelty games, the talk everywhere is for him to return to the Eagles, even if it means playing as a substitute.

    Let me not waste space talking about how much we missed Nwankwo Kanu, aka Papilo. We have thrown up our hands in the search for Kanu’s replacement because Papilo’s sublime skills were out of this world. He looked frail but did incredible things with the ball.

    Our search for good replacements for our stars rests not in the outfield position. There is still the debate over who will replace Peter Dodo Mayana Rufai in the goalpost. Vincent Enyeama distinguished himself, but he has retired. Carl Ikeme did well. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed of cancer of the blood before the Russia 2018 World Cup. Uzoho did well in Russia, amid talks of having Ikechukwu Ezenwa.

    The interesting development is that Ikeme has been tasked with discovering good goalkeepers. Uzoho has done well so far, but was average against Libya in Sfax, even as his defenders were not enterprising enough to ward off the Libyans’ onslaught after leading by two goals. Nigeria eventually beat Libya 3-2.

    We hope that Iwobi’s emergence will not make Mikel feel bad, if he eventually sits on the bench. This is the NFF’s best chance to make Mikel a player cum coach. It also will excite followers of the game, if Mikel is encouraged to become a coach, with the Nigeria soccer body footing all his bills. Mikel as the Super Eagles’ chief coach will be a welcome development because he has seen it all in the game.

  • Athletes bigger than administrators

    I won’t join the motley crowd pushing for Sports Minister Solomon Dalung’s exit. The Sports ministry should work with the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) because both groups owe it as a duty to ensure that Nigeria becomes Africa’s Mecca for soccer. We have the talents. Without the athletes there can’t be administrators. Indeed, sportsmen and women are bigger than administrators in terms of what they have to offer. What we need is the enabling environment for soccer to thrive, not an environment that is perpetually troubled by allegations of fraud, with the minister and the ministry doing the jobs of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Football is a money spinner because of its immense followership. Much of this claim can be understood, if we examine how the hosting of the 2018 World Cup from June 15 to July 16, boosted the Russian economy. The Mundial added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, about one per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, the tournament organisers stated on Tuesday in Doha. Indeed, what countries, such as Russia, do is to appoint business-oriented people to run such projects, knowing that their pedigree in the business world is enormous to convince the big players that their cash won’t be wasted.

    Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of Russia’s World Cup Organising Committee said: ‘’The figure the report comes with is quite surprising.’’

    Sorokin told the football conference held in Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup that his country calculated the impact the World Cup had on Russia’s GDP between 2013 and 2018 to be 952 billion roubles ($14.5 billion, 12.5 billion Euros), which was the equivalent of one per cent of the GDP.

    Sorokin went on: ‘’The tournament created up to 315,000 jobs per year and would still have an impact on the economy over the next five years.’’

    Honourable minister, this isn’t rocket science, if one considers the fact that Nigeria hosted the second biggest soccer competition organised by FIFA. The reason we haven’t hosted the Mundial rests largely with the bickering between the ministry and the NFF. Whereas, other federations do their businesses with insignificant interference from the ministry, NFF appears to be the territory most ministers must conquer to show supremacy – to the detriment of other sports. Ministers must rise beyond the NFF to compete with their counterparts in other climes. There wasn’t any conflict between the Russia sports minister, the World Cup CEO or the Russian FA boss during the Mundial. They worked seamlessly. There was mutual respect, not suspicion that one was corruptly enriching himself.

    Back to Nigeria. Dalung has the right to supervise the soccer federation as part of his job, but there are limits, which must not be exceeded, so as not to destroy the collective goal of making the beautiful game the number one sport that should bring Nigerians out of their homes to match venues. Soccer is the opium of the people, ‘’a vote catcher,’’ a unifier, a phenomenon devoid of creed or race and an employment generator (a topic for another day).

    Federations have the sole right to fund their operations. But when such ventures lead to representing Nigeria in international competitions, it is the ministry’s duty to get the government to fund the athletes’ participation.

    It is Nigeria’s anthem that is sung when the sportsmen and women mount the podium to receive their medals. It is the country’s flag that is hoisted behind them during the medals’ presentation; the pictures and visuals appear in the media. On the medals’ table and such platforms of identification is Nigeria, not NFF or Musa Kida or Solomon Ogba, for instance. Our sports ambassadors go through a lot to represent us. It is only appropriate that their entitlements should be done with dispatch, not made an issue to settle scores among administrators.

    Most of them lose their places in their teams when they come home for our matches. They are forced to work harder to win back their shirts, yet the stipends which we promise are not paid simply because someone wants to show that he is the boss. We need to remind this boss that when the players come here, their relations are hopeful that some of their needs will be met. And the players will easily settle such family requirements as bread winners, if the $5,000 is paid after the games that are won, and $2,500 for drawn ones.

    Our athletes shouldn’t be made to rely on philanthropists and sports loving governors when they require funds to prepare themselves for national assignments. Other countries have several avenues to source for funds, such as the Sports Lottery Schemes and fund-raisers where the President sits at dinner with the corporate world to show the level of commitment towards such an exercise. Blue-chip firms are given tax incentives for what they pay into the projects’ coffers. The president’s speech will spur others not at the ceremony to join the queue.

    This writer isn’t happy that corrupt people are not being made to face the wrath of the law. One’s angst is hinged on the way the minister is not interested in working with the new order at the NFF, so much so that he was absent at the last game against Libya in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. It sends the wrong message to those entrepreneurs sitting on the fence, watching if things have normalised. We can only talk of a new dawn in sports marketing when there is a synergy among the federations, not just the NFF or the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) or the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and the ministry headed by the minister.

    It is shameful reading media reports on Nigeria not being able to pay players’ estacodes and entitlements. It gives the impression that the government doesn’t care about sports. We know that government budgets money every fiscal year for sports. And most of the federations source for cash to run their affairs from the corporate world. The ministry should ensure the prompt release of funds for our ambassadors, even if it means informing President Muhammadu Buhari about the importance of such competitions.

    Honourable Minister sir, Aruna Quadri is a sure gold medal bet at the All Africa Games. Yet, he has not enjoyed any form of financial support from the government, even when his feats are tied to the country. Is it fair? I know that the ministry will be listing Quadri as one of her medals’ hopefuls. The minister is the first to congratulate Quadri after every achievement. What if he decides not to represent the country, when a simple task of getting him a coach has remained unattended for long.

    It is not enough to have chairmen who have the clout to convince the corporate world to fund sports. It is the government’s duty to sponsor teams representing us at major competitions. Money sourced internally by federations should be used for their operations. Our basketball girls qualified for the quarter-finals of the Women World Cup, with the minister in attendance. What that presupposes is that the government supports the sport. Is it by the minister’s presence? The men’s team are poised to attend the men’s version of the World Cup. The body’s president is expected to finance it.

    Howzat Ambode… not out!

    A friend in government is lost because his retinue changes. You can’t access him like in the past. Since Akinwunmi Ambode became the governor of Lagos State, our paths have not crossed and it is understandable. I knew it would someday and I expected him to tease me. Ambode aka Ambods, enjoys doing that. Don’t ask, please, if he takes jibes back.

    And so when former The Guardian Sports Editor Olukayode Thomas asked me to join a group at the Lagos State Government House, I planned to sneak in and out of the place. I knew there would be introductions at some point in the interactive session. I could handle it by quickly standing up for recognition but sit down faster than I got up. Deep inside me, I knew that Ambode won’t fall for the trick. He didn’t. He spotted me before the individual acknowledgement as he looked through the gathering. Good friend, Ambode will always be for me.

    The governor isn’t one who does not find a way of interacting with ‘lost’ friends. The moment Ambode walked round to greet his visitors, I knew he would throw jibes at me. All kinds of thoughts ran through my mind about what to say. Of course, the schoolboy days were gone – some 39 years ago.

    ‘’Hmmm, Ade you don dey old o; how you dey? You dey? Good to see you again,’’ Ambode whispered. I smiled. He must have been surprised I didn’t tease him. Ambode was his warm self.

    Several years ago, I saw him walking on other side of the road from his office. I remember he told me he was the Accountant-General.

    Once I recognised him, I called his cricket alias to be sure it was Ambode; he stood curious, and when he spotted me, he shouted: ‘’Ade Ojeikere!’’ He crossed over to embrace me. How did I know it was Ambode? He kept rolling the sleeves of his white shirt, typical of Ambode while walking down the street. His measured steps flashed back reminiscent of how he walked onto his crease in a cricket game in 1979.

    Thank you, Ambods and best wishes.

  • Change of attitude, please

    Sometimes,  I feel that some of our players think the country owes them  debts for wearing our jerseys during matches. What one cannot understand is why those who feel too big to play for Nigeria don’t quit the stage honourably instead of reporting late for key matches. Will they change their nationalities? With many of them using the national soccer teams’ platforms to gain international acclaim, one is left with no other option but to join the school of thought canvassing for us to develop the game only.

    It is important to plead with our players for a change of attitude. They should stop insulting our sensibilities by telling us they missed their flights out of England. Asking them to report early to camp is for blending. If they had reported to camp early, they would have gained five days training session before today’s game. One can understand why China and Russia based players reported late, not those in Europe.

    Perhaps the players have forgotten that the next game is next Tuesday. In between Saturday night and Tuesday, they won’t have another opportunity to train again, except they do so on Sunday night and Monday morning before travelling. They have lost one day or two. It won’t surprise anybody if they wobble in today’s game (God forbid). Our players should be more professional.

    Nigeria needs to use sports as one of her biggest Public Relations (PR) tools to change people’s perception of our dear country. I won’t forget how Chioma Ajunwa ran towards a young American kid sitting at the stands to collect the Nigeria green-white-green flag for the traditional lap of honour after winning the women’s long jump gold medal at the Atlanta’96 Olympic Games. The next day, America’s top newspapers found space for Ajunwa’s celebration on their front pages, largely because the long jump had been their forte. Need I remind you that Nigeria was a pariah to other nations because of the better-forgotten Sani Abacha junta? I digress.

    This writer’s adrenalin pumps highest when the Super Eagles are converging in camp ahead of crucial matches. Whereas our boys saunter into the camp like kings, when most of them are second-string players in their European clubs, their club mates in other countries make a ceremony of their return to national team assignments on the internet and the social media. Hitherto, we thought our players behaved this way because the coaches were scared of talking to them. But with German Gernot Rohr in charge, nothing has changed, although most pundits feel that he spoilt it by giving concessions to Victor Moses and others to report late to camp in the past. Rohr, the ball is in your court to wield the big stick.

    What excites me is the captivating manner in which other nationals hurry back to play for their fatherland even when they depart from different countries at different times. They manage to make their passage through the immigration at the airports, one in which the media celebrate them. In fact, many of them are so excited that they start posting their movement back home, once they are boarded for the homeward trip. It is easy for the coaches and the fans to raise their hope of victory.

    The arrival halls are a beehive of activities, with everyone struggling to come up with one fashion style that would beat others’. Whilst watching these pictures online, one is forced to hiss at our players’ attitude towards Nigeria’s matches. The argument that European players’ mentality towards their countries is different is bunkum, if one considers how the Senegalese, Ghanaians, Ivoriens et al report to camp early to prepare for matches. One is awed watching others wear wristbands of their countries while playing for their clubs; this is missing among our players.

    The flipside suggestion that we use and dump our athletes as the reason for their seeming non-challance amounts to standing truth on its head because only recently, Cameroon’s football icon Samuel Eto’O Fils rescued a former Indomitable Lions’ captain Norbert Owona, who is homeless and whose plight was highlighted in a documentary. Eto O Fils promised to build a house for him. He gave 500,000 CFA francs (£686) to Owana, according to another former player, Joseph Kamga. Owona had written to some government ministers about his state of health and his appeal for help.

    He complained of “living like an animal” and said it was “unfair to receive such treatment from his country”. Owona said it was difficult to get medical help because he had no money or home, having spent all his savings to pay for the cancer care of his wife and children. The Cameroonian government and indeed the Football Association (FECAFOOT) looked the other way.

    Let me not waste space with George Opong Weah’s contributions towards  making Li beria a football nation. What did Cameroon do for Eto’O Fils that Nigeria hasn’t done better for our sportsmen and women? The Liberians rewarded Weah with their votes, rightly so, not the government.

    The Super Eagles are the biggest marketing brand to reshape sports development in this country, only if the players can emulate their colleagues when it comes to honouring assignments. Nigeria was not at the last two Africa Cup of Nations (2015, 2017), after winning the 2013 edition in South Africa. A number of factors contributed to this sad development, including reporting to camp as if they were coming for a picnic. The present NFF corrected the flaws as attested to by the players at the Russia 2018 World Cup.

    Our players should understand the damage they do to the fans’ psyche anytime they perform poorly. For instance, since Monday, commercial activities in Uyo and its environs have improved. People are making brisk business marketing various wares – sweets, ice-cream, pure water, minerals and food stuff, not forgetting the astronomical rise in prices in the town. This will go on until next week Monday, when the Libyans and the Eagles depart Akwa Ibom State. Fans are now forced to reside in neighbouring states, such as Cross River, Abia and Port Harcourt, where they will depart as early as 5am today to watch the game.

    Ingenious Nigerians have made almanacs, tee-shirts, mufflers, Nigerian flags, flutes for the fans to motivate the players and other items having their favourite players’ faces. Restaurants and viewing centres have built collapsible tents, with big screens for fans who cannot enter the stadium to watch the game. This scenario is replicated in many other states across the country.  The streets will be empty from the kickoff time. Wild celebration will herald Eagles’ victory till the wee hours. That is how much Nigerians love the Eagles. Our players must beat Libya today to appease the fans.

    Eagles are the nexus for sports marketing, if they do excel in matches because sponsors will fall over themselves to fund their activities. Those firms who can’t get Eagles’ sponsorship package will gladly fund basketball, where Nigeria’s male and female teams qualified for the World Cup, although the sport is enjoying sponsorship from food beverage giant Milo. Several windows can be created for sponsorship when the big firms are available.

    I’ve refused to do any analysis on the game because Libya is a country in turmoil. They play their home matches in Tunisia, not Tripoli. If Eagles cannot beat the Libyans groggy with goals, they have themselves to blame. The Libyans are mentally unprepared for the game. They are in Uyo to fulfil all righteousness. They also don’t want to incur CAF’s wrath by pulling out of the competition. They have good reasons to do so. But they know the devastating impact pulling out of the competition will do to their game. They are honouring the Uyo fixture for the good of the game.

    I feel strongly that Gernot Rohr should deliver on this competition by winning it, like the late Stephen Keshi, to justify the huge pay.  I’m however encouraged by his pre-match talks when he said: “On Saturday, the team has to give everything, come to the fore. When we do not hesitate we become more recognisable. If we speculate we become a vulgar team.

    “If Libya are relaxed for the game, I will be happy. We cannot disappoint the fans. We go all out because we need it, and also even if we do not need it. It has nothing to do with either motivation or the sporting level, but the essence of the team. We cannot speculate. We respect them, but we want to make our presence felt,” Rohr added.

    Alex Iwobi’s comments on Thursday typifies what Nigerians expect from the Eagles. He said: “Libya played a draw against South Africa, so it shows they are a good side. I’m sure the coaches and officials are putting everything in place to ensure victory on Saturday. The team is preparing hard and they are not taking them for granted.’’

  • Going, going …

    Like him or hate him, Jose Mourinho knows his job as a soccer coach. He doesn’t fail to tell his foes what he has achieved when his teams are tottering. He believes in his tactics. He likes to win the big games to always be in reckoning. But, why does Mourinho like to fish in troubled waters? Why can’t he take his eyes off controversies and allow his tactical savvy count in his teams’ matches? Why does Mourinho insist on having his way when pitched against big stars or key personnel in his teams’ operations?

    Or is it that Mourinho talks too much? How could Mourinho be so insensitive to the players’ contributions to the team’s previous matches, irrespective of the fact that a resurging West Ham beat Manchester United at home last weekend with what he told them in Monday’s training session?

    “I see sad people. I see people who don’t look like they lost the game. I see so-so. You can be with a very sad face, and you can be a fantastic actor and inside of you, you are very happy. So sometimes what you see is not what you get,” Mourinho said.

    Nonsense. Who picked the players for the game, Mourinho? What did you do when things were going awry? Mourinho should stop passing the buck now that the team is tottering in the same way he gets all the accolades when the team shines in matches.

    What is clear in Mourinho’s coaching notebook with his European sides is the fact that his third year with them is always troublesome. Mourinho’s list of ‘enemies’ in the third year would have been long enough to consume the Special One. The question to ask is if Mourinho hasn’t noticed this third year hoodoo to cast and bind it out of his resume?

    What was Manchester United’s management expecting from Mourinho, whose sojourn is marked with controversies? Why the Old Trafford folk chose Mourinho over  Mauricio Pochettino remains a misery, especially as the Argentine had distinguished himself with Tottenham. Safe for the Special One’s pedigree and feats achieved,  Pochettino was the Red Devils’ best choice, since the team is strictly conservative in outlook, with incredible feats. The club missed it by recruiting Mourinho in 2016 to replace an achieving Louis van Gaal, 48 hours after winning the English FA Cup. Retributive justice? No way; Mourinho won the only trophy not on Manchester United’s boardroom’s shelf – the Europa Cup – two years ago.

    Mourinho spends big in the transfer market. He likes the big stars but has failed to tolerate their nuances. Mourinho latches on any opportunity to show that he is the boss. He dislikes legends in clubs like we saw when he confronted Iker Casillas at Real Madrid and Wayne Rooney at Manchester United. He went for Tito Vilanova’s jugular in one memorable touchline altercation. Of course, who has forgotten how Mounrinho’s sideline brush with Eva Carneiro for tending to Eden Hazard at Chelsea, which landed the Special One in hot water in the courts? Or is Mourinho paying the prize of lampooning Manchester United’s “football heritage”  immediately the team was beaten home and away by Sevilla last season in the UEFA Champions League?

    Mourinho likes direct football style. No flair until the game is safe with goals inside the opponents’ nets. Mourinho’s game plan isn’t fancied by those who want to be thrilled during matches, which is what Manchester United’s fans are used to. So, recruiting Mourinho meant tampering with the fan’s patience. Gone is Sir Alex Ferguson’s fascinated display, even though he could also play the Mourinho style.

    Old Trafford was the slaughter slab for teams. Today, it has lost that fear factor as teams inflict devastating defeats on the Red Devils to the consternation of the fans. Where did Mourinho get it wrong? Could it be that his counter-attacking option has caught up with him? What does he say to his players at half-time? Mourinho used to make fantastic changes he makes to correct flaws in his

    teams’ play? Where has the Midas touch that changed the tempo of games gone?

    Could this period be Manchester United’s bad patch which most teams will go through every season? Mourinho complained about the team’s recruitment pattern in the summer. He identified Liverpool FC’s recruitment as one that will keep other title contenders on their toes, even though the Anfield giants have not won the English Premier League (EPL) trophy since the competition began. Who approved the recruitment of players?

    Why didn’t Mourinho emulate his Liverpool counterpart, Jurgen Klopp, who sold more players than what he had bought to balance the books? Paul Pogba’s truancy didn’t start today. Mourinho ought to have shipped him out this season, knowing that his market value is high, having won the Russia 2018 World Cup with France. In December, Pogba would have gone for close to £250 million, enough cash to buy eight players who will give their all at £240 million. The eight new players would have improved the team’s quality of play since no one would be sure of his shirt.

    Will Pogba send Mourinho out of Manchester United or will the team’s management trade off Pogba in January for peace to reign? As a short term measure on Wednesday, the club’s directors placed a media ban on Pogba, who confirmed this after Tuesday’s pulsating barren draw against Valencia at Old Trafford. ‘‘You want me dead? I’ve been told I’m not allowed.’’ 

    With his right to speak inhibited, Pogba took to the social media to reassure fans after Tuesday night’s game. He wrote: ‘‘Let’s keep fighting United. ’’

    Mourinho admitted at Tuesday night’s pre-match press conference that: ‘‘The crest on the chest is more important than the name on the back of the shirt.’’ He also told MUTV before kick-off: ‘‘From the supporters I cannot ask any more. I cannot ask for more than they are giving at home. Away, with bad results, I cannot ask for more. I think it’s time for the people on the pitch to show them that they love the club as much as the fans.’’

    Having been accused by Scholes of being “out of control’’ with regard to his news conference quotes, Mourinho showed impressive restraint when he faced the media: ‘‘I don’t need to know what he said. He can say what he wants to say. I’m not interested. Freedom of speech. It’s a free country, he can say what he wants. Freedom of speech. Especially Manchester United fans. I respect them 100 per cent. ’’

    Will Mourinho survive this onslaught from critics? Looking very unlikely, if one visits Manchester United’s fans’ website where 70 per cent of the voters want the Special One out? Many of them wish that Newcastle upsets Manchester United at home this weekend. It wouldn’t happen because the Magpies are at the bottom of the league table. It would be tragic for the Red Devils, if Mourinho leaves now. Will the players allow Mourinho lose his job? Again, not likely as represented with some of their comments since Thursday.

    Asked whose idea it was to form a huddle before kick-off, Fellaini said: ‘Everybody. I think everybody is behind the manager. We have to do our best and do our job. We showed it today but we have to do better (against Newcastle) on Saturday.

    ‘Everyone is going in the same direction to try to improve and to do better. I think we wanted to show that we are together. I think it was a bad day against West Ham. We were all bad. Today, I think we showed improvement and we have to keep going.

    ‘It was much better than West Ham. We put in energy and effort, we ran forward, we tried to score the goal. Okay, we didn’t but we have to keep going.’

    Fellaini acknowledged the importance of United’s game with Newcastle at Old Trafford this weekend after Mourinho failed to win at home four games in a row for the first time in his career. Mourinho should get over this third year jinx.

    Thankfully, Zinedine Zidane called him to dissociate himself from the talk of replacing Mourinho at Old Trafford, stressing that the rumour was at the realm of his managers and that he had told them he wasn’t interested. Interestingly, Zindane seems to prefer a return to Juventus ahead of Manchester United or any other club.

    It will be sad if Mourinho exits Manchester United because of a players power game, having been a victim of this disturbing development in club football as Chelsea FC of London’s manager. Pundits have suggested that Mourinho lost the dressing room at Real Madrid to the players’ power, hence he was eased out.

    Of course, we haven’t read the last of likely replacements for Mourinho, going by the new story that former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is now being pencilled down for the job. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a deal to scale through, even though United fans will want Conte. Conte is enmeshed in a law suit with Chelsea’s management over alleged wrongful dismissal.

    Will this be Mourinho’s last encounter with controversies? Mourinho thrives in controversies. He likes being heard and enjoys tackling his foes frontally. Take controversies out of Mourinho, then you have ‘killed’ him.

  • As NFF faces the future

    The coast is clear now that there is a new order in the administration of the beautiful game in the country, with the return of Amaju Pinnick and his board to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following the successful elections held in Katsina, despite the dissenting views of those who believe that nothing good can come out of the Glasshouse, except they are in charge.

    Interestingly, the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) sent representatives to witness the elections. This is part of the criteria to validate the election. Besides, the Congress decided those who scaled the hurdle, not faceless people like we saw in the past that led to a stalemate. What this indicates is that we followed FIFA’s statutes to decide those who won.

    Indeed, the cordial manner in which those who lost the ultimate prize – NFF President -embraced the winner suggested that they were satisfied with the process. This is the clincher, which thankfully the winner described as a no victor, no loser scenario, meaning he is ready to work with everyone. It simply means victory for the beautiful game.

    Today, we have a football federation where majority of members partook in the country’s preparations for the Russia 2018 World Cup. And the board’s biggest niche was the ability to convince the private sector to key into its programmes in a bid to be financially solvent. Today, key members of the federation have been integrated into core committees in FIFA and CAF. They have transferred what they learned to the operations in the Glasshouse, so much so they clashed with the Sports ministry. No surprises because football is a money-spinner for those who know how to utilise its marketing windows.

    It is to the credit of the past board that Nigeria prosecuted the Mundial in Russia with little funding from the government. In fact, government cash got to the federation four days after the competition began. Surprised? Don’t be since the bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with governance would have contributed to the late release of the funds. The past board’s foresight in getting the private sector to handle problematic areas of the  World Cup campaign ensured that coaches’ and officials’ wages were paid promptly; players’ entitlements were paid upfront and this created the enabling environment for the team to prepare for the competition. It didn’t come as a surprise when the players raised their hands up to accept that they didn’t live up to expectation in the games against Croatia and Argentina, even though they beat Iceland, which isn’t in Nigeria’s class in terms of World Cup pedigree, with due respect.

    Preparatory to the Mundial in Russia, Nigeria played some of the best friendly games against renowned countries, such as England (June 2), Serbia (March 27), Argentina (November 14), Poland (March 23), Czech Republic etc. These games helped sharpen the players’ skills and showed other countries that we have the players to give them a good game anywhere in the world. Such markers are the difference between serious football nations and jokers. It won’t be surprising if in 2021 Nigeria approaches England or Serbia or even Argentina for the second time to come to our country for an international friendly game. It won’t be out of place if France, Brazil, Croatia, Belgium etc accept to play the Eagles to prepare for the Mundial in 2022.

    This writer has been thrilled by the synergy existing between the federation’s president and his first and second vice chairmen. The trio have struck a bond, especially now that some all-knowing members have been replaced. The exit of these members should bring peace to the board. It will also help the board to regain the confidence of the private sector.

    It was soul-lifting to see billionaires, such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola, rubbing minds with FIFA  and CAF presidents at the FIFA The Best Awards held in England on September 24. Amaju Pinnick has opened  a new vista for the board with this noble initiative because both men are big stage players and won’t let the opportunity of doing business with global brands, such as FIFA and CAF’s slip off.

    Indeed, it will be easier for Pinnick and his members to convince Dangote and Otedola that they can be trusted, based on the cordial relationship the president and his members have with FIFA and CAF. For such wealthy and successful businessmen, what counts for them is the international platform where these football ventures play. Associating their brands with FIFA and CAF in big sporting events, such as the World Cup, across all the cadres, Confederations Cup, Olympic Games’ soccer events and the Africa Cup of Nations, is one of the biggest forms of networking which both men would happily exploit.

    A notable football lover, Dangote is reportedly worth over $15 billion. Interestingly, he has not hidden his desire to buy over Barclays English Premier League side, Arsenal FC of London. A business relationship with FIFA and CAF and their business associates would enhance his chances of convincing Gunners’ fans that he has the wherewithal to take the team to greater heights.

    Convincing Dangote and Otedola to rub minds with international soccer buffs offers NFF the opportunity to talk to the billionaires. Little wonder Pinnick told the international media in London: “Alhaji Dangote is perhaps the biggest business brand in Africa, and one of Nigeria’s leading Ambassadors. I am very happy to be in a position to invite himself and Mr. Otedola to such an event of global stature and essence.

    “As a nation, it is important that we continue to showcase our best brands in all fields. Doing this enhances the stock of our country globally. Alhaji Dangote and Mr. Otedola were happy to meet the world’s top governors of football and the football governors were also happy to meet them.

    “Our objective as a Football Federation is to attain financial autonomy so that the Government can channel resources otherwise taken up by football into other critical sectors, and we believe that if we have persons like Dangote and Otedola partnering with Nigerian Football, we will get there faster,” said Pinnick, who is also the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of African Football.

    “The NFF has invited Alhaji Dangote to a couple of matches previously, including the friendly match with England in London before the FIFA World Cup in Russia, but he was unable to attend. Now, we are discussing with him on a relationship with Nigerian Football and he is showing immense interest.”

    “Football has tremendous capacity to be self –sustaining and even contribute significantly to the national GDP. That is the station we are targeting at the moment. I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate our other sponsors and partners, Coca Cola, Zenith Bank, Nigeria Breweries PLC, NIKE, Cadbury PLC, WAPIC Insurance, Emzor Pharmaceuticals, TGI, 1XBET, Peak Milk, Payporte for making us to attain the present 65 per cent private sector –funding status,” said Pinnick.

    Good talk, Pinnick. NFF should exploit the marketing windows in the sport to get funds to run our football seamlessly. It is the government’s responsibility to create the enabling environment for sports to thrive, build facilities and fund contingents to international competitions like other countries do.

    Getting into sensitive federations, such as the NFF should not be a platform for the boys to celebrate mediocrity, knowing that Nigeria has been at the biggest football fiesta, World Cup six times (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018). No mean feat, especially with our players’ exploits in the European game till date. NFF shouldn’t be for people who want to go to the government cap in hand for funding. We should emulate the English FA, Brazil FA, Belgium FA, France FA, Germany FA and Argentina FA, to mention a few because our players outshine some of the talents from these civilised soccer nations in their European clubs. Our players have left the administrators in terms of development, hence, Pinnick’s and his members’ new templates for growth should be embraced wholesale. It is the way forward.

    Dangote is channelling all his energy in trying to buy Arsenal. But his chances of landing the Gunners’ looks almost impossible now, especially after Stan Kroenke, owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, completed his buyout of the North London club and is now the sole owner of shares in the club.

    The American billionaire agreed a £600million deal with Alisher Usmanov in August that took him beyond the 90 per cent ownership threshold after which he was obliged to buy all remaining shares.

    A statement from Arsenal Holdings PLC said: “Further to the announcement made by KSE, UK, Inc. on 28 August 2018 confirming the closing of its offer for Arsenal Holdings PLC, the compulsory acquisition by KSE of all of the Arsenal shares not assented to the offer completed on September 25 2018.

    “As stated in KSE’s announcement on 28 August, the trading in Arsenal shares on the NEX Exchange Growth Market will be withdrawn with effect from close of business today.”

    However, Dangote can be convinced by the Pinnick-led administration to help raise a football empire in Nigeria by investing locally. And to have Africa’s richest man involved in Nigerian football will be the a good deal.

     

  • Let’s save Moses’ career

    Victor Moses’ grass to grace story isn’t only interesting but puzzling. He lost his parents in the Kaduna crises, sneaked into London, where he declared himself a refugee and later landed on the football pitch playing for an English club as a rookie. Moses’ silky skills awed those who picked him for the clubs, culminating in his playing for some of England’s youth teams.

    Born in Lagos, Nigeria on December 12, 1990, Moses is the son of a Kaduna pastor. His mother was a housewife who, in her spare time, would assist with her husband’s work. The future star was just 11 years old, when his parents were killed during a religious riot in Kaduna in 2002.  Moses was not at home as he had gone to play football with friends. The family’s home was burnt with his parents in it.

    In fact, all major decisions in Moses’ life were his, with most of them beneficial to his future. He dumped England, which gave him a place to rest his frail nerves and a shoulder to rest his head from the trauma of losing his parents to play for his fatherland. A rare show of patriotism, which hit the headlines. Not many expected Moses to pick Nigeria ahead of England, but like they say, blood is thicker than water. He remains a Nigerian and it is good to say that Moses was the pivot to the country’s emergence as the first nation to qualify for the Russia 2018 World Cup in the African zone.

    Having won the gold medal and the ultimate prize with the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, Moses argued that participating in two consecutive World Cup tournaments in Brazil in 2014 and in Russia in 2018, he had done his best and would want to leave the stage for the younger ones. Good thinking, no doubt, but Moses should have known that at 27, he should be the next icon, like John Mikel Obi to guide the younger ones through the difficult times en route becoming stars.

    No football team parades all rookies at major tournaments, such as the Mundial. Some experienced ones in the team help to boost confidence in the younger ones. The Eagles, especially, needs a big stage player to galvanise the squad during competitions. Such stars form the fulcrum of all previews and reviews at big competitions, such as World Cup, Olympic Games, Africa Cup of Nations etc. Most countries pick their captains from the big stars’ group based on their experience and form.

    Nigeria is lucky that John Mikel Obi has not quit the Eagles and we have not played against a renowned football nation; otherwise, the impact of Moses’ decision to quit would have been apparent. Ahmed Musa held the forte for the big stars against Seychelles in Victoria early in September. But it would have been better, if Moses had made the trip in Mikel’s absence due to injury, even though Mikel doesn’t like playing on artificial pitches, such as the one on which Seychelles played against Nigeria.

    It is good that Moses is reconsidering playing for Nigeria again. He has seen his mistakes, now that Chelsea FC of London’s new manager Maurizio Sarri has confined him to watching the Blues from the stands. It simply means that Moses is closer to being placed on the transfer market, unless he forces himself into the first team before December. What Moses didn’t consider before quitting Nigeria’s international matches is that the nucleus of Chelsea’s players are  internationals in their countries.

    Moses is enjoying the European status because of his dual citizenship. But he needs a country’s platform to be tagged an international. Besides, international matches for the country bring opportunities for new clubs to come, if you are the poster player of the tournament like Austin Okocha was for Nigeria at the France ’98 World Cup. Need I remind Moses of what Nwankwo Kanu became after the Atlanta’96 Olympic Games’ feat? Moses can be another Okocha but he must exhibit the desire and com mitment Okocha put into Nigeria’s matches. Okocha, like Kanu won several matches for Nigeria, playing for big European clubs, which is what Moses hasn’t actually done. 

    A return to the Eagles offers Moses the best chance, beginning with the October 10 and 14 fixtures against Libya, first in Kaduna and in Tunisia, where the North Africans play their matches. Moses will write his name in gold if he leads Eagles to beat Libya on a neutral ground, which is what Tunis is to them.

    Moses’ loan deals with English clubs have been legendary. He won’t want to go through that road again, especially as he isn’t growing younger. But he has a chance to redeem himself from this seeming self-destruct when chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the team’s manager, Gernot Rohr attend FIFA’s The Best awards in London on September 24.

    The Nigerian delegation plans to urge Moses to change his mind on the shocking retirement from international matches. Rohr still has Moses in his plans. He wants him to be the pivot of Eagles’ quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations diadem. The Chelsea benchwarmer (what an appellation for a talented player) should swallow his pride and return. We all make mistakes. He will not be treated as a prodigal son, since Rohr and NFF initiated the move for a change of heart. Moses is being benched because of the  change of roles by the new helmsman Sarri, unlike when Conte was in charge of the Blues.

    FIFA 19 rating which was leaked by Futwiz stated that he is the team’s worst attacker based on recent researches.

    Said Futwiz : ‘’Of the 33 players rated in the Blues squad, the Nigerian finished in the 21st position with an overall rating of 78. Moses was the lowest ranked offensive player in the Chelsea team, behind Eden Hazard, Willian, Morata, Pedro and Olivier Giroud, and it is not surprising that in reality, these five players have kept him out of the match day squad in the last three Premier League games.

    ‘’Attack-minded duo Charly Musonda and Tammy Abraham who ranked lower than Moses have been farmed out on loan to Vitesse and Aston Villa respectively, while the 17-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi (68 overall) is technically not a first-teamer.

    ‘’Moses’ attributes are: 78 pace, 70 shooting, 74 passing, 73 defending, 71 physically and 81 dribbling. FIFA 19 is due to be released by Electronic Arts on September 28, 2018,’’ Futwiz wrote on Tuesday. These figures are high with an average score of 74.5. A performance by any rating. Purists are wondering what others scored to tower over Moses. After all the Nigerian earned these points playing as a wing back under Conte, not a striker.

    This is the problem with the western press, with such warped analysis targeted at foreigners in their leagues. They rundown players who rejected their national teams. Moses should shame them by returning to the Eagles, win laurels for Nigeria and secure his future with better clubs on his terms – not loans initiated by Chelsea’s management. Such loans stop him from playing against Chelsea to prove his mettle.

    Indeed, it has been a while a Nigerian was adjudged the African Footballer of the Year. Moses was shortlisted last year, but dropped out when the best three players were listed – Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez. Salah got the diadem based on his performances for Egypt and Liverpool last season.

    Mane looks like the odds-on-favourite to win the award this season, with Salah still tottering. Pundits are beginning to insinuate that the Egyptian is a one-season sensation. It appears no Nigerian will make the top three cut, now that our best Eagle, Ahmed Musa, is playing in Saudi Arabia, scoring goals with aplomb – Musa scored a hat-trick on Wednesday but such feats won’t rival goals scored in the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions league.

    Only Moses has what it takes to mount the rostrum for the African Footballer of the Year diadem. The outside bet could be Alex Iwobi, but his cameo appearances for Arsenal and the team’s indictable style of play won’t count in his favour when the chips are down. Hopes of Moses playing for Chelsea went up in flames in Thursday’s Europa Cup game against PAOK in Greece, when coach Sarri left the Nigerian to sit on the bench, watching his mates beat the hosts, even with the absence of key Blues’ players, such as Eden Hazard, Mateo Kovacic and Luiz in Thessaloniki.

    With such a weakened Chelsea side, many assumed that Moses will in the least be introduced in the second half as a substitute against PAOK in Greece. It never happened, fuelling speculations that the Nigerian will soon be shown the door, except he braces to the challenge. With Chelsea winning matches, it will be very difficult for Moses to force his way into the team.

    Come on, Moses, return to Eagles and show the world what Chelsea is missing.

     

    FROM MY MAIL BOX

    Dear Ade,

    I’m happy to note that Barrister Godwin Dudu-Orumen has been appointed as Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission.

    I have no doubt in my mind that he will serve with distinction so that Edo State can regain its lost glory in sports development.

    There’s so much work to be done and I salute Governor Godwin Obaseki for the bold step he has taken by appointing Dudu-Orumen, a lawyer, erudite sports analyst, promoter and administrator to head the Commission.

    I also commend the role you played by writing Governor Obaseki a very timely letter last week on what had become a disturbing pattern of poor outcomes in the sports sector in Edo State.

    That intervention, in my view, was patriotic and it may well have started bearing fruits already. Well done Ade!

    Ehi Braimah, Lagos

  • I stand with Griezmann

    The week has been filled with interesting stories on trends in football, with the biggest poser coming from Antoine Griezmann, one of the French players who did well for both his club Atletico Madrid and country France, questioning the absence of Frenchmen from FIFA’s The Best awards scheduled to hold in England on September 24.

    Griezmann submitted his resume for last season, which includes winning the Europa League and the Super Cup with Atletico Madrid of Spain and helping France seal their second World Cup triumph in Russia. If FIFA’s point scoring indices are anything to go by, it will be difficult to explain why  Griezmann didn’t make the three-man list in a World Cup year. Such feats don’t happen all the time. Tears for Griezmann.

    No World Cup winner in FIFA’s The Best’s award in a Mundial year leaves much to be desired. It would have been understandable if no player merited it. But in Griezmann is a World Cup champion and a winner of two of UEFA’s best competitions (Europa Cup and Super Cup).

    FIFA’s biggest competition is the World Cup and Griezmann played crucial roles in France’s feat, scoring goals that mattered, aside being the pivot of the team’s attacking onslaughts. Besides, UEFA’s second biggest competition behind the Champions League is the Europa Cup, which Griezmann and his Atletico  Madrid mates won. What has made Griezmann’s protest more significant is that Atletico beat Real Madrid in the Super Cup, a one match game between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa. Simply put, that Super Cup victory earned Griezmann and his mates the best team and best set of players in Europe for last season. It explains why Griezmann should be listed in FIFA’s The Best’s top three, going by players’.

    FIFA’s The Best three nominees are Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah. In terms of achievements for their clubs, Ronaldo towers high, besides sharing the glory of winning the Champions League diadem with Modric, which is the only trophy the Portuguese won last year. Ronaldo was outstanding in goal-scoring but the goals came from the midfield ingenuity of Modric, Kroos et al. In a World Cup year, I won’t give the best footballer of the year to Ronaldo, even if goals make the game beautiful and exciting to watch.

    I won’t pick Salah. He didn’t win a trophy for his club and country. Looking at what FIFA has thrown up through votes from coaches, managers, captains of national teams and other technical men, I will give the diadem to Modric, who won the Champions League trophy like Ronaldo and played at the finals of the Russia 2018 World Cup.

    But this is where Greizmann’s protest is important. He won the World Cup, which Ronaldo, Modric and Salah didn’t; he won the Europa Cup, although both Ronaldo and Modirc won the bigger trophy in UEFA’s calendar. But winning the Super Cup, ahead of Modric would have been the clincher for Griezmann, having done well for both club and country, winning trophies in both categories.

    ‘’It’s weird and a pity,’’ Griezmann told L’Equipe. ‘’This is a trophy that’s awarded by FIFA, right? We won the World Cup and On Tuesday, Atletico gave a brilliant response to Griezmann’s snub. The Spanish side posted a photo of their star striker inside an empty Wanda Metropolitano surrounded by the World Cup trophy, UEFA Europa League title and the UEFA Super Cup. ”No words necessary,” was their short-but-sweet verdict.

    Griezmann did make the shortlist in 2016, only to finish third behind Ronaldo and Messi, due to defeats in both the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals. Griezmann argued that his successful year should merit his inclusion this time round. He told L’Equipe: ”That year, I lost two finals, this year I’ve won three, so normally…”

    Is Griezmann asking for too much? Please, let me have your comments on this topic, dear reader.

     

    Mourinho, the enigma

    I love Jose Mourinho. He is a fighter. He knows when the stakes are high and delivers. When the job is done, he takes on critics, reminding them of his qualities, which are unassailable. But he learned a new lesson now warming himself up with the players lest he capitulates like he did at Chelsea. The setting with the Blues is, however, different- only Ambrahmovic calls the shot at Chelsea. His word is irreversible, unlike at Manchester United, which has a board. Otherwise, what the fans did on the manager’s behalf translates to mutiny. But the big question is, will Mourinho survive the third season syndrome?

    Mourinho is a serial winner. He operates best under pressure. He flows with the supporters who he calls the 12th man in the field. He makes them happy with victories when the team has the right calibre of players and team balance. When management puts obstacles to his quest for new players, he cries out when things go awry; the fans know why.

    Little wonder the fans hoisted a banner calling for the sack of Manchester United’s Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward, thus putting him on the spot. The world awaits the chairman’s reaction to the club’s transfers in January but he knows that he has a bad customer in Mourinho who doesn’t stoop to conquer.

    The story broke on Tuesday that Mourinho accepted a one-year prison sentence as part of a plea bargain deal with prosecutors accusing him of a £2.9million (€3.3m) tax fraud. He also accepted a six-month jail sentence for each of the two financial crimes he was accused of accepting wrongdoing as part of the agreement with prosecutors, respected Spanish newspaper El Mundo said on Tuesday.

    El Mundo reported the 55-year-old, whose future at United has been called into question after a disappointing start to the season, had also agreed to pay a fine totalling £1.78m (€1.98m) representing 60 per cent of the amount defrauded. First-time offenders in Spain do not normally serve jail sentences of two years or less – meaning the one-year jail term Mourinho has reportedly accepted for two counts of tax fraud will almost certainly be suspended at a later date after the investigating court has been officially informed of the situation.

    These are indeed difficult times for Mourinho but his lawyers have shown their mastery of the situation, giving the iconic manager enough time to concentrate on the profession that brought him fame and wealth. The Spaniards need the cash. The only businesses that thrive in Spain are the two teams- Real Madrid and Barcelona. Both teams spend so much to get the big boys into their squads, which translates to megabucks for the country’s tax offices. The backlash will be that big players will stop looking in the direction of Spain, learning from what happened to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and now Mourinho. Others who have fallen into the trap are Javier Mascherano, Angel di Maria, Samuel Eto’o, Radamel Falcao and Jorge Mendes.

    But why do the stars fall prey to the tax laws? I don’t think so. After all, celebrities, such as David Beckham, played in Spain with all his marketing franchises without qualms. Why did Beckham escape these laws? In 2005, a special law was passed for foreigners coming to work in Spain on an employment contract with a Spanish company. According to this law, a person is taxed at 24% of his/her income. This law was dubbed “Beckham’s Law” after David Beckham became one of the first beneficiaries. This law has been further modified, and had come under major scrutiny in 2009.

    So, what has stopped Mourinho, Ronaldo, Messi, Mascherano, Angel di Maria, Eto’o, Radamel Falcao, to mention a few, from enjoying this Beckham law?

    According to Spanish tax laws, a person is classified as a resident of Spain if he/she has stayed in Spain for the last six months or so. Further, if a person has income above 60,000 EUR, he/she is liable to pay around 45–47% of his/her income.

    The questions are how come such big brands find it difficult to pay their taxes, given the volume of money associated with their celebrated transfers to these clubs? Could it be that the clubs collude with the players’ agents to hide vital information, knowing that the tax offices have mechanisms to discover underhand deals?

    ”However, in an ironic twist, professional footballers were excluded from this scheme in 2015. This led to footballers having offshore accounts in a bid to hoodwink the authorities into believing that their income was not derived on Spanish soil. This is the major reason why you’ll find that all the tax evasion scandals that come up in the newspapers are in the timeline of 2009–2014. This is because, during that period, there was a lot of confusion regarding the prevalent law, which has led to footballers being accused of fraud,” an online report revealed.

  • Stuck in the mud

    Manchester United are stuck in the mud. The team needs a new direction out of the woods to justify its high ranking in international football. Ironically, the Red Devils have the right man at the helm to navigate the club out of what I have chosen to call the troubled times, without necessarily pressing the panic destruct button.

    Will Mourinho get a big club to secure his services, if the Red Devils swing the big axe? The fans are behind the manager and it could be the only reason why the Special One’s bluff won’t be called. If the fans were not behind the manager, his days at Old Trafford would have been numbered. Or is the manager talking too much? Could it also be that there is a hidden players’ revolt to warn the manager that they deserve some respect, especially with the way he has treated some of them? These are posers which Mourinho must think through in his quiet moments lest he presses the panic destruct button.

    Mourinho is spending his first season in the dugout without his No 2 Rui Faria beside him. Could this be the reason for United’s wobbly displays in the last three matches? Faria spent close to 20 glorious years at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. But feelers from the Faria camp suggest that both men may have to part ways in the no distant future following Faria’s ambition to lead another European club’s technical crew. Could it be that Faria’s exit has depleted Mourinho’s bags of tricks? The impact is clear. Mourinho looks lost, isolated and nervy without his mate.

    Close watchers of the Mourinho cum Faria coaching tag-team have seen them as being compatible, with the latter having the ability to intervene when his boss goes off the track, especially on the sidelines. Faria knew when to step in for Mourinho, if he didn’t want to lampoon the match officials. If Mourinho was unable to deliver his sulky, sarcastic one-liners at press conferences, Faria filled in the gap. If his boss was banned or sent to the stands during a game, he stood in.

    Manchester United are struggling under Mourinho’s haphazard management but all is not lost yet because the Special One is renowned for doing the unexpected. Indeed, he operates best under immense pressure. But will the Red Devils’ management give Mourinho the room to rant as he did after his team was roundly beaten by Tottenham at Old Trafford Stadium on Monday night?

    Mourinho told the press in a post-match conference: “Do you know what was the result? 3-0. But what this [three fingers] also means? ‘It also means three Premier Leagues and I won more alone than the other 19 managers together. ‘Me three, them two. So respect, respect, respect.” Vintage Mourinho, but he needs to come down from his high horse and face the task of returning the Red Devils to winning ways.

    But will United’s management say Mourinho didn’t warn them about the dire consequences of not strengthening the squad ahead of the new season? He did. He even mentioned clubs, such as Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea etc, giving their squads depth with recruitment of quality players.

    A few purists have argued that Mourinho’s warning to the management was his defence mechanism to undermine the third year jinx in clubs he has coached. But top commentator Adam Crafton told Dailmail.co.uk that: ”We are three games into a 38-match Premier League season plus three cup competitions. Manchester United took only two points from their first three games 11 years ago and went on to win the Premier League and Champions League.

    ”So this situation need not be fatal but it does feel like the end. Ander Herrera at centre back? His signings Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof dropped? Marouane Fellaini thrown on as Mourinho appears to have lost all faith in creative talents Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial? Mourinho has lost a sense of control and direction for this team. He must regain it quickly but one suspects things might instead worsen.”

    Will Mourinho be sacked? Or what would it cost Manchester United to dispense with the Special One’s services? Would it be worth the trouble since the season is just three weeks old? And with a seeming cheap fixture this weekend against Burnley, it would be foolhardy to continue the talk of a likely sack for Mourinho, with his replacement being Zinedine Zidane.

    ‘They are saying Jose will be gone soon,’ a source told Sportsmail on Tuesday night. ‘Some think he’ll be out if they lose at Burnley. Others can’t see him lasting beyond September. We’ve seen this before and it just feels the same. The club will say it’s supporting Jose but we all saw what happened with Louis. The players are already talking about the possibility of Zidane coming in.’ Hmmm, coaches’ sack begins with statements like this around the club and within the players with no one tough enough to air his views for fear of Mourinho’s axe when things normalise like it would soon for the iconic manager. Those rooting for Mourinho’s sack are being mischievous, not after what he has achieved with the Red Devils, which can only be matched by Sir Alex Ferguson, but over a longer period.

    Mourinho has learned lessons from players’ mutiny against him twice at Chelsea and at Real Madrid. It was evident in the way he walked up to the players to console them after the defeat. He also walked with studied steps, claps and waving at the fans to forget what they saw and look up to better days at the Theatre of Dreams. No prize for guessing that the English press were waiting to slay the enigmatic coach at the post-match conference. and he gave it to them in full dose. If Mourinho didn’t do what he did with the media it wouldn’t have been Jose.

    Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan said in the fallout of the Mourinho press war: “I do not know a journalist that has ever bought a football club, that has ever managed a football club, ever sold a player, ever bought a player, ever picked a team, or ever been first hand in any experience which gives that the opportunity to be able to put certain parts of football to the sword.

    “A journalist’s job to my view is to give an objective opinion, not to write what they think is a fact and to represent it as fact and to create news rather than to report news.

    “I look at some of those journalists and I listened to Henry Winter (on the Jim White show on Tuesday) and at no point did not I think I was ever going to ask a journalist about how Jose Mourinho should manage his football club, in no more order than I would expect Jose Mourinho to tell Henry Winter how to write  a book or to write an article.”

    Should Mourinho always confront the media when things go awry? Former coach Goran Eriksson feels strongly that the Special One should allow his work do the talking. What do you think?

    Asked whether Mourinho  deserves more respect, Eriksson told Skysports News: “Maybe. Maybe not. But l don’t think he should say it, l think that should be automatic. It’s always like that, when you are criticised as a coach and l’ve seen it many times in England, outside England, and wherever. It’s better to keep quiet.

    “Don’t try to defend yourself because the results defend you.  It’s only by result you can defend it and that’s in the paper. Read it, don’t talk about it.  Especially when you start to argue with the press. You will never win. You will always lose because if you are the journalist, you have the journalist, you have the last word; you write it.

    “So keep quiet, put your head down and go on working and show people in the next game we will play good football and we will win.  I don’t want to start the only way to answer now l’m talking about me and how l was. Don’t start to talk about showing me respect.”

    “Respect is what everyone knows in football. What l have done.  I know what l have done.  I know what I have done. I know what I’m good at and what l’m not good at and every manager is the same.  So when you’re criticised swallow it.”

    Mourinho replaced Dutchman Louis van Gaal as manager of Manchester United ahead of the 2016-17 season. He is tasked with the revival of the Red Devils.

    Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, the club has endured a difficult period but restored a bit of pride with three pieces of silverware:  the Community Shield, the League Cup and the Europa League. And has qualified for consecutive UEFA Champions League.

     

     

  • Remove NFF from sports ministry

    The Presidency made an hitherto hydraheaded problem orchestrated by the Sports Ministry look so simple with the decision to abide by the tenets of FIFA’s statutes, which we willingly adopted in inaugurating the Sani Lulu-led NFF via an election in 2006. The election was witnessed by FIFA observers as part of the conditions for authenticating the process.

    It became the norm for the 2010 edition, although corrupted by the diabolical intervention of the Sports ministry, with promptings from the Presidential Task Force (PTF), culminating in the detention of the body’s President Lulu, Vice President Amanze Uchegbulam, Secretary-General Bolaji Ojo-Oba and chairman of chairmen Taiwo Ogunjobi. The quartet spent the 2010 Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in Kuje prison. They were charged to court, where they were acquitted in 2017 and 2018, but the 2010 elections were held without them. The reason for this hounding was to prevent Lulu from having a second term. That has been the trend after every World Cup competition.

    In 2006, FIFA further got the Federal Government’s words (like it has happened this time) that domesticating the electoral process would form part of the laws governing the game, according to international best practices. In fact, the election which produced Lulu officially knocked off the practice of having government nominees on the NFF board from where the President is picked. The election eliminated Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Police etc from being members of the NFF board.

    The ease in which the FIFA crisis was resolved gives one the impetus to also suggest placing the NFF under the Vice President’s office, with a permanent secretary superintending. That way Sports ministers will have more time to develop other sports, which are in decadence due to neglect from the Ministry. Between 1989 and 1994, when Clemence Westerhoof reigned as the Super Eagles chief coach, he had unfettered access to the Vice President Augustus Aikhomu (of blessed memory). The VP’s office not only provided all that Westerhof needed, he also had the VP’s office’s backing. The result of this was that Nigeria climbed to fifth best football nation in FIFA ranking. . Nigeria qualified for her first World Cup in 1994.  Those were the glorious years of our football. Shouldn’t we go back to the past since we have cantankerous ministers in our midst?

    FIFA statutes are binding on over 211 countries. Any contravention is punished decisively, irrespective of the stature of such FAs. Only on Monday, FIFA clamped down on Uruguay, which has been in a crisis since July 30, after the organisation was plunged into chaos following the sudden resignation of President Wilmar Valdez last month.

    A letter from FIFA, reported in the local media, said the body had set up a “regularisation committee” aimed at restoring order to the AUF (the Uruguay Football Federation). The FIFA committee will be responsible for managing the affairs of the FA till February 28, 2019. It will revise the organisation’s statues and conduct new elections.

    The Uruguayan government had its reservations, but it has abided by FIFA’s decisions since the country is neck deep in campaigns with Argentina and Paraguay to host the 2030 World Cup. Thank God the Nigerian government has told FIFA who they will support, irrespective of the tantrums from the few grumblers. The Uruguayan authorities or ministers are not citing the supremacy of their Constitution the way our sports ministers do. They have accepted FIFA’s decisions, more so as CONMEBOL, the main South American soccer body, says there is “a lack of assurances” in AUF’s electoral process. The authentic players’ union and referees’ body in Uruguay are in support of FIFA’s decision, with Marcelo de Leon, the President of Uruguay’s Referee Association, informing Radio Sport that the intervention was requested by his colleagues, professional footballers and players of the national team.

    Several Uruguay players used their social media channels to share a letter in support of FIFA’s decision, saying it will bring “transparency, democracy and plurality to AUF.” They asked for a corruption probe to examine decisions made by the AUF in the last 20 years, according to the reports on FIFA’s and Uruguay’s FA’s websites.

    It is instructive to note that FIFA isn’t issuing deadlines, threatening Uruguay with sanctions or bans. All the parties are on the same page – respect for the tenets of FIFA’s statutes. They should never be in conflict with the country’s Constitution, which is sacrosanct.

    What brought us to our knees until the Presidency rescued the game was the lack of political will by Sports ministers to complete the process of legalising the NFF Bill, for the simple fact that they want to enjoy the caveat, which gives ministers the powers to ‘intervene’ in the running of the federation. These ministers hide under the guise of getting the federation to account for government money, as if there are no agencies assigned with the task of getting government bodies to account for money.

    If these ministers expended the type of energy and show of force in which they hound the NFF board members around in fast-tracking the NFF bill, which we are told is at the last stage of being given to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent, our game would have grown past its kindergarten stage.  These ministers lay the landmines for our failure at the World Cup by insisting on dishing out government cash themselves rather than paying into NFF’s coffers. This disturbing trend makes Nigeria a laughing stock at the Mundial, whenever it is reported that ministers pay players and officials their entitlement or sit in the room to witness the payment.

    A video, which went viral recently, has a top sports ministry chief sitting like a palace chief while the girls of one of the national teams are kneeling down, one after the other, to collect cash, which was said to be a gift from the top shot. The questions raised by those appalled by our style are – couldn’t such cash be transferred into the players’ domiciliary accounts, especially as most of them work in Europe? Can’t those who don’t have domiciliary accounts have the cash or its equivalent in naira paid into their domestic bank accounts? Doesn’t the government have accountants to do the physical disbursement of cash instead of the ministers? Is this the way other countries pay their players and officials? Is it appropriate for the head of the ministry to leave his busy schedules at home to accompany Nigerian delegations outside the country for weeks? Can’t the minister delegate functions?  I digress.

    Most times, Sports ministry buffs start to meddle into the NFF affairs whenever FIFA’s $8 million cash is being expected, so much so that they are prepared to allow the country to be banned than give the outgoing NFF board a chance to account for what it got. Till date, no person at the NFF has been jailed for corruption, yet they are the most vilified with allegations of sharp practices in handling government cash.

    It appears the government needs to consider moving the NFF under the Office of the Vice President since it is taking forever to repeal Decree 101, the instrument being used to outmuscle NFF chiefs anytime the government releases cash to the parastatal.

    For instance, we heard of the case of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) mistakenly paying $150,000 into the AFN’s accounts instead of $15,000, which the Nigerian federation acknowledged it received. A probe panel was inaugurated to find out what happened to the balance. Till date, nothing has been heard about the panel’s report. Instead, we are being told that Nigeria has agreed to refund the balance in bits. If such a thing happens in NFF, ministry officials will take them to the EFCC, which is the right thing to do. But the double standard here is the refusal of the ministry chiefs to report those likely to be fingered at the AFN to the EFCC.

    The Buhari administration has done well in keeping the head of the Sports ministry for three years. Sadly, this longest reign has brought untold hardship to several sports, so much that basketball has two leaders. One of the basketball federation’s groups has gone to its international body, FIBA, for an interpretation of its laws. In this confused setting, our female basketball players were reported to have fought themselves, leading to the removal of the team’s captain. No sanctions so far. Perhaps, those in charge of basketball want to handle it internally, which ought to be the case. Had it been in football, the musclemen in the ministry would have come out with all guns blazing, calling for the removal of the NFF leadership.

  • Before FIFA bans Nigeria

    Nigeria appears to be the only country where thunder strikes on one spot severally. We don’t learn from history. Otherwise, how can we be contending with any likely FIFA ban, having suffered such punishment in the past – precisely in 1996, when the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime stopped the Super Eagles from defending their Africa Cup of Nations title, which they won in Tunisia in 1994. They beat Zambia, which was returning to the game after the air crash in which their entire soccer team died. Also in 2010, Nigeria was punished when former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was advised wrongly to call FIFA’s bluff by an irritant Presidential  Task Force (PTF) committee. Now, we have an August 20 FIFA deadline to put our house in order.

    What has made the deadline interesting is that the world soccer ruling body spared the country’s U-20 girls by stating: “The Nigerian team currently competing in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018 will still be allowed to continue to participate in the tournament on an exceptional basis, given that the tournament is underway.”

    A ban will stop our teams from featuring in any international competition, including the 2019 AFCON qualifier against Seychelles and the U-17 AFCON Zonal qualifiers in Niger. Both are taking place next month.

    FIFA’s compassionate exception to the U-20 girls is what those pushing for Nigeria’s ban have not considered. Sadly, the girls were edged out of the competition 2-1 by Spain. They must have been traumatised by the needless wrangling at the Glasshouse, which is being orchestrated by the Sports Ministry. And it showed in the way they behaved after the loss, quite unlike in the past when they would be weeping and showing so much emotion over their ouster from the competition by a country they beat 2-1 two years ago in the same competition.

    If FIFA bans Nigeria, the kids of the poor would be grossly affected. They are the ones who form the nucleus of our national teams. No elite’s child plays football. They are the ones in ivy schools across the globe. Besides, those canvassing the ban for self interests won’t be relevant if there are no players to play the game.

    Most of them were unknown until they played for Nigeria. Playing for Nigeria provided the window for them to acquire fame and wealth, which rubbed off on their families. Today, the Kanus, the Odegbamis, Mikel Obis, Atuegbus (Andrew and Alloysius, both of blessed memory), Okalas, Iheanachos, Olisehs, Okochas, Georges (Finidi and his late brother, Igeniwari who was shot at the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan in a fracas after the Challenge Cup match between Enugu Rangers and Stationery Stores FC of Lagos), Nwakalis et al are grateful to their kids for the new dawn in their families.

    In the case of the Okosiemes, their father Cyril was a national team invitee and was a goalkeeper with Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City. CY’s ( like he was called) son, Ndubuisi, played for the Flying Eagles and the Green Eagles. His daughter Nkiru played for the Super Falcons. That is the power of the beautiful game where families embrace it. CY Okosieme died a few years ago a happy man.

    In both instances, the government of the day couldn’t understand why FIFA’s or CAF’s rules should be superior to our Constitution, forgetting that we  voluntarily accepted to abide by both bodies’ rules and regulations, irrespective of what our Constitution provides for. FIFA’s laws are not ambiguous. Part of the body’s rules forbids taking soccer matters to court. There are several levels of seeking redress in the event of infringement on FIFA rules by member nations.

    Nigeria isn’t a first-timer with FIFA. We are tagged the next generation of world beaters, if we play to our potential. It is the meddlesomeness of some of our policy makers that has kept us oscillating on one spot. Otherwise, having won several U-17 World Cup editions, coupled with  and a supersonic performance at our debut World Cup appearance in 1994, where we ranked the fifth best country at the Mundial, we shouldn’t be caught in the web of FIFA sanctions but be seen as a country grooming a likely FIFA president. Therefore, such matters as interpreting FIFA’s rules should come to our administrators as second nature except they want to be mischievous as in this instance.

    “In line with art. 16 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes, the Bureau of the FIFA Council decided that if by Monday, 20 August 2018, at 12:00 (CET), the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) offices are not handed back to the legitimate NFF executive committee under President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who was duly elected on 30 September 2014, the NFF will be suspended with immediate effect for contravening art. 14 par. 1 i) and art. 19, as well as art. 14 par. 1 a) of the FIFA Statutes,” the FIFA statement said.

    “The suspension would be lifted only once the NFF, under President Amaju Melvin Pinnick and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, confirms that it has been given back effective control of the NFF and its offices.”

    “Furthermore, the Bureau decided that if the suspension of the NFF takes effect, the Nigerian team currently competing in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018 will still be allowed to continue to participate in the tournament on an exceptional basis given that the tournament is underway. “

    Are these laws new to our administrators? No. If they didn’t understand what they provide for, why didn’t they seek legal advice instead of pouring odium on the country, with this fresh warning from FIFA?

    Such levels of seeking redress by the aggrieved starts from the country’s available platforms, not civil courts. If the complainant isn’t satisfied, he or she can head for the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), which is the designated body for such matters. CAS’s verdicts are final, like our Supreme Court’s pronouncements. A former Nigeria international, Sylvanus Okpala, got CAS’ verdict, which compelled the NFF to pay him his outstanding allowances. This writer wasn’t surprised that Okpala sought redress at CAS, having played professional football in Portugal until he retired.

    The NFF four-man delegation met with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Aso Rock Villa on Wednesday morning. The Glasshouse chieftains did a presentation of all that transpired and why there is a logjam that has been taken to the civil courts by one of the aggrieved parties, contrary to the tenets of FIFA’s statutes. It is expected that the government will resolve this impasse before the August 20 deadline set by FIFA in the interest of the teeming  fans, who watch the game, especially matches involving Nigeria men and women.

    Nigeria’s population  is said to be close to 200 million. Football and its allied services provide jobs for many. They include stadium attendants, doctors, coaches, physiotherapists, grounds men, players, nurses, ambulance drivers etc, who will become destitute, if Nigeria becomes a pariah nation in FIFA’s calendar.

    Shouldn’t the existing system be allowed to entrench the process of self – financing and accountability that saved us the shame of reading about our players boycotting training in Russia, like it happened in 2014? In the past, we bore the shame of having foreign coaches we hired sue us in the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) and FIFA, seeking payment of their entitlements. That has changed. Plans for the next competition, the Africa Cup of Nations, slated to hold in Cameroon, like it is done in other climes.

    The first fallout of the likely FIFA ban is Victor Moses’ surprising retirement from playing international matches for Nigeria. Moses citied leaving the stage for younger ones to blossom, forgetting that these younger players need the experience of the stars to graduate onto the big stage.

    Moses said he had been to two World Cups in 2014 and 2018 just as he cherished winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations diadem for Nigeria in South Africa. Moses has a right to quit the game. But his reasons are farfetched as he may have been disillusioned with the administration of soccer in the country, which currently enmeshed in needless controversies.

    We have seen big players pull out of international assignments like Moses but later changed their minds. I believe strongly that if Nigeria escapes the FIFA hammer, Moses will rescind his decision, especially with subtle pressure by his team mates, NFF chieftains and Nigerians who are close to him. I feel that the talented player has some issues bothering his mind like it happened to Lionel Messi in the past for Argentina, where the Argentine President had to persuade him to return to the national team after meeting with the star.

    But if Moses insists that he has seen his best days with the team, then a proper send forth game should be played for him, where he will play for both sides and have the opportunity to say thank you to all his admirers. Such tapes further encourage the players to give their best to the country, knowing that they would also enjoy such ceremonies which can be shown to their grandkids. It is about time we honoured players of Moses’ stature when they quit the national team. It should be part of our culture. This isn’t for footballers only. All sportsmen and women who have distinguished themselves deserve a worthy pull out and, possibly, national honours. That is the way it is done in countries where sports is a way of life.