The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sports

  • Cooreman, best I’ve seen – Yarma

    Cooreman, best I’ve seen – Yarma

    Gombe State Sports Commission boss, Farouk Yarma has admitted that Maurice Cooreman is the best coach he has seen in the Nigeria Premier League.

    Speaking in a chat with SportingLife, the sports administrator hinted that: “From his training programme I have seen since his arrival, I’m quite satisfied that Gombe United has signed one of the best technical advisers in the country’s domestic football.

    “This a coach who didn’t bring any player like most coaches do, rather he chose to work with the ones on ground and then invited some from other clubsides for trials. Cooreman even went as far as bearing the travel cost of a few players who didn’t meet his expectations.”

    Yarma also cleared the air on Coach Bernard Ogbe after he said the soft-spoken tactian was not axed by the Desert Scorpions.

    “He had a year’s contract with the club and after it expired last season, the management then saw it fit not to renew his contract than to scout for a new technical adviser.

    “Ogbe was indeed a disciplinary coach, the players of course, I believe learnt a lot from him, and I hope some time in the near future the club will once again need his services.”

  • NO HOUSE, NO CAR SITUATION: NFF pleads with Keshi

    NO HOUSE, NO CAR SITUATION: NFF pleads with Keshi

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has pleaded with the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi to exercise a little patience as the Glass House is working hard to ensure that they provide him with his car and a decent accommodation in Abuja. The Federation also appealed for the understanding of all Nigerians saying that the non-provision is not deliberate but due to circumstances beyond their control.

    Making this plea in Abuja at the weekend, the scribe of the Federation, Musa Amadu said: “The federation really appreciates the efforts of the Head Coach and his patience. The Federation despite all our challenges is making everything possible to make him comfortable. Our inability to provide him with his accommodation and car is not deliberate.

    “We are committed to the contract we signed with him, we want to assure all Nigerians and the Coach that within the shortest possible time all these things would be provided.”

    Continuing, the General Secretary said: “Like Keshi has told you, this is not the most important thing he is looking out for now. He has always gotten each and everything he asked for; I think he is focused on grooming a team for Nigeria that will do the country proud at next year’s edition of the Africa Nations Cup holding in South Africa.”

    Amadu spoke at the practise pitch of the Abuja National stadium on Saturday where he was the guest of honour at the friendly football match between the SWAN team (Pen Strikers) and the Fidelity Bank football team. The match ended in favour of the latter.

  • Enyeama: Maccabi can win league

    Enyeama: Maccabi can win league

    Despite been booed by his former fans during last weekend’s Tel Aviv derby, Super Eagles goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama is optimistic that Maccabi Tel Aviv still have the chance to win the Israeli Ligat Ha’al title.

    The Nigerian while giving his analysis on the game said: “We are happy with our performance; we tried as we played with just nine players. On the other hand, Hapoel did not pose any real threats to us beyond the penalty kick they got the winner from. Despite the score, we have a long way to go, there are many more games to play for before the season ends, but we have to get back into shape after this one.”

    Recall that Enyeama’s club tops the Ligat Ha’al table with 21pts from nine matches played this season.

    The derby proved its billing as the ref awarded two penalty kicks and two red cards. Eliran Atar missed from the spot for Maccabi while Omer Damari converted his to give Hapoel its 6th victory of the season.

  • Musa nets 9th goal

    Musa nets 9th goal

    Super Eagles and CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa was on target in his club’s 3-0 demolition of visiting Amkar Perm in the Russian league Sunday.

    The former Kano Pillars and VVV Venlo ace found the net in the 73nd minute of the match. Teammate and Swedish import Rasmus Elm had earlier shot the homers into the lead thanks to a penalty in the 25th minute.

    Musa also provided an assist for Lavia national Aleksandrs Cauna to convert and increase the tally to 3-0 just before final whistle.

    Cauna incidentally had come in as a last-minute replacement for Liberia international Sekou Oliseh who was inspirational in the Lone Star’s battle against the Super Eagles in the last match of the Nations Cup qualifier recently in Calabar.

    Musa joined CSKA from Venlo for Five million Euros early this year.

  • No sweat over Eagles’ defense — NFF

    No sweat over Eagles’ defense — NFF

    General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu has allayed fears over the seemingly jittery defense line of the Super Eagles as it reflected in the matches played so far under handler and Coach Stephen Keshi.

    Amadu believes the Eagles’ defense, which looks like the weak link of the team presently, as well as other parts of the team would have been knocked into proper shape before the start of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations holding in South Africa.

    “I am sure that the coaches are working seriously on this (the defense). They have been trying quite a number of players before they are able to get it right. I am sure there are also one or two other players that are still going to be called to camp by Keshi. I am sure that by the time the final squad of the Nigerian team would be announced in Portugal we should be able to have taken care of all the departments of the team, be it defense, the midfield or the attack of the team

    “I am confident that the team we will present in South Africa will do Nigeria proud”, Amadu disclosed.

    Amadu, however, couldn’t confirm Queens Park Rangers defender Nedum Onuoha for the Eagles’ final preparations for the 2013 AFCON. He was of the opinion that the player should firstly show interest in playing for his fatherland, after which the Coach will then invite him to the team. The utility defender has not done so till the present moment.

    “It is not for me to invite Nedum Onuoha. If the Coach invites him and if the player is willing to play for the country then we will do all the processing that is needed. It is, of course, for the player to signify his interest to play for Nigeria; if he is not interested we cannot force him”, he summed up.

  • Victory over Venezuela, a boost for Eagles—NFF

    Victory over Venezuela, a boost for Eagles—NFF

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Secretary-General, Musa Amadu has lauded the Super Eagles for putting up a superlative performance in Nigeria’s 3-1 victory over Venezuela in Miami, Florida in the United States of America on Wednesday.

    The NFF Scribe was convinced that with the closed camping of the team early January in Faro, Portugal where the team would have close to weeks of camping while also playing tune up matches there, the Eagles would be ready to take on the rest of Africa.

    “It was a very good game form the Super Eagles for us (Nigeria) to go to Florida (in USA) to play Venezuela and beat them 3-1 more or less in their (Venezuela’s) backyard where they had more supporters in the Marlin Stadium than the Nigerian team. It was a very good outing for Nigeria”, Amadu told SportingLife while watching Fidelity Bank spank FCT Sports Writers Association 2-0 in a friendly match to kick-start the SWAN Week decided at the training pitch of the Abuja National Stadium on Saturday.

    He also showered encomiums on newcomer and striker Shola Ameobi of Newcastle United, England and SS Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi for putting up heart-warming performances in the match.

    “I also think it was a very good opportunity for the Coach (Stephen Keshi) to look at some players that have not been able to play for Nigeria, particularly players like Shola Ameobi and Ogenyi Onazi that was playing his second game for Nigeria

    “One could see that returnee Obafemi Martins was trying to do everything possible to ger a recall to the team and also make the team for the Africa Cup of Nations. On the whole, it was a morale-boosting result for the Super Eagles in the very last game in the year before the commencement of the camping for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    “I must commend the team for having been able to put up a commendable performance against a very good (North) American side that ranked higher than us (Nigeria). I think we can only get better before the Cup of Nations.”

    Amadu also allayed fears on the availability of funds for Nigeria’s preparations for the 2013 AFCON holding in South Africa.

    “I need to say that all efforts are being made to get money released as early as possible and I know that the Federal Government is very concerned about successfully carrying out this project. I am confident that before the team goes for its camping at the end of the year in Faro, Portugal, we will get these monies out. I don’t envisage any problem as regards funding of the team for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations”, the NFF Scribe assured Nigerians.

  • Eaglets fly over Mali 2-0

    Eaglets fly over Mali 2-0

    The Nigeria U17 national team will still have a mountain to climb in Bamako despite holding a 2-0 cushion in the first leg of the final round of the African Cadet Championship qualifier against the Aiglonets of Mali in a match played at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

    The duo of Wifred Ndidi and Alhassan Ibrahim in the 23rd and 82nd minutes gave the day to the Nigerians in front of top Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials led by its President, Aminu Maigair, top Cross River government functionaries and other football stakeholders in the country.

    The Eaglets got the opening goal in the 23rd minute of play through an impressive Wilfred who nodded into an empty net a corner kick taken by Kelechi Iheanacho to the delight of the handful of spectators who rallied support for the team.

    The Nigerian boys doubled their lead in the 82nd minute with a stroke of luck through Alhassan. A routine long thrust from the Eaglets was controlled by Success Isaac and thereafter moved forward for what would have been an aimlessly shot, but Malian goalkeeper, Sory Ibrahim Traore, inexplicably let the ball slip through his hands for Alhassan to jab the ball home into an empty net.

    There could have been two more goals from the Nigerians before half time but a catalogue of misses from gilt-edge chances in the 33rd and 39th minutes by Iheanacho, whose stylish header was inches wide and Ifeanyi Matthew, who couldn’t convert a 25-yard free kick off an infringement, left the score at 2-0.

    The Aiglonets of Mali also had a few chance to make hay, the obvious being the 30th minute opportunity thrown away by Saliou Guindo. The Malian attacker failed to round up the Eaglets’ goalie, Adewale Adeyinka for the easiest of goals.

    They also forced a fine save off Eaglets’ goaltender, Adeyinka in the 70th minute when a rising shot from a free kick more than 25 yards away was tipped over the bar for a corner kick.

    The return leg holds in a fortnight in Bamako with the winner on aggregate assured of a place at the U17 Championship next year in Morocco.

  • NFF hails Ikhana for resigning

    NFF hails Ikhana for resigning

    The General Secretary of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Musa Amadu has described the resignation of Kadiri Ikhana from the senior women’s national team (Super Falcons) as the most honourable thing for him to do at that point.

    The scribe said: ‘I want to say that I was not not surprised, because the performance of the team was dismal in Equatorial Guinea. It was the most honourable thing for him to do.

    “I must commend Coach Kadiri Ikhana for resigning; he has shown that he is a man of honour. We know that it is not only Ikhana that failed, we are going to restructure the whole technical crew, and those players that have passed their peak, and start rebuilding immediately.

    “We are a stronghold in the game in the world, and we must make good use of our potential,’ he concluded.

    Ikhana led the Super Falcons to their worst performance in the African Women’s Championship since it was instituted in 1998. Nigeria returned from the tournament with no medal whatsoever.

  • Moses eyes Champions League trophy

    Moses eyes Champions League trophy

    VICTOR Moses stayed in the background as Chelsea players had their official picture taken with the Champions League trophy.

    But he got a sneaky touch of the trophy when nobody was looking and now wants to create history as part of the first team to retain the cup.

    Moses said: “Everyone was having their picture taken but not me. I just walked away, although I did touch it. I thought to myself, ‘Hopefully, we will win it again this year’.” Moses leapt into the pages of Chelsea folklore when he came off the bench to score a 94th-minute winner against Shakhtar Donetsk in the previous round of matches.

    Chelsea can now virtually seal their passage to the last 16 if they beat Juventus in Turin on Wednesday.

    It’s a huge challenge but Moses, 21, knows all about fighting the odds after fleeing to England aged 11 when his parents were killed in religious riots in Kaduna, Nigeria.

    His father, Austin, was a Christian pastor, and his mother, Josephine, helped with his work but were killed during the riots between Muslims and Christians.

    Moses said: “Wherever my parents are, they should be looking down being proud of me.

    “It has been a long journey and I just want to keep strong.”

     

  • NFF doubts Malians’ ages

    NFF doubts Malians’ ages

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has written a strongly-worded protest letter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on the appropriate ages of players in the Malian U17 national team, Aiglonets which the Golden Eaglets beat 2-0 in an African qualifier in Calabar.

    Speaking with journalists shortly after the match, the NFF’s chairman of the Technical Sub-Committee, Barrister Christopher Green said that the Federation has more than enough evidence to prove that most of the Malians were above the age limit.

    Amongst other things, Green stated that the NFF would appeal to CAF to conduct another round of Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) tests on the players and that the Glass House would even be willing to provide necessary funds to ensure compliance.

    “I thank God that we have been trying to work without talking and people can see that we are working quietly without talking.

    “You see the kind of players we paraded today. They have been together for almost one year for about eight months and we started them from the U13 and then U15 before they got to this stage. We conducted an MRI Scan on them and they all passed excellently.

    “From what we saw today the physical attributes of the Malians showed they were above the age limit. Physically, they were very big and bulky. Our boys were like kids before them.

    “What we have done now is to protest to CAF and we are going to pursue this protest with the last ounce of our strength to making sure that we unravel whether these players are actually U17 or are above it. Right now it is an allegation but we are willing and ready to pay to CAF what it will cost for these players to go through MRI Scans again and if they go through the MRI Scans and it comes out to be that they are within the age bracket, we will take it in our strides and may also begin to find out what made them to be that bulky.

    “If we find out they are above 17 years, it is now left for CAF to do their work,” Green noted.