Tag: Emenike

Fenerbahce striker, Emmanuel Emenike may face disciplinary action after the Nigerian international appeared to have headbutted Besiktas captain, Tomas Sivok during their 3-3 home draw in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday.

Emenike’s incident brings to mind the infamous head butt that French football legend Zinedine Zidane landed on Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest during the 2006 World Cup final.

The Super Eagles forward, who continued his impressive form for the Yellow Canaries by getting on the score sheet for his fifth league goal of the season, is expected to be handed a lengthy ban and (or) possibly fine when the Turkish Football Federation meet this week to deliberate on the incident and other issues recorded during last weekend’s round of matches.

Selçuk Sahan broke the deadlock in the ninth minute to put the visitors in front but a swift response by Fenerbahce through Emenike restored parity three minutes later.

Mousa Sow struck inside the 37th minute to put the home side in front but a sloppy defending in the closing stages of the second half by Fenerbahce saw Besiktas netting an equaliser and eventually taking the lead just before the half time whistle as Hugo Almeida struck twice within three minutes to hand the away team a 3-2 lead at half time.

With Fernerbahce searching for the all important equaliser, Emenike’s call for penalty was dismissed by the centre referee, Cuneyt Cakir, who saw nothing wrong on the tackle from Besiktas’ Tomas Sivok’s in the box.

Emenike then appeared to headbutt Sivok as he squared up with the defender to press home his point. But while Zidane was sent off for head butting Materazzi in the chest in the 2006 World Cup final, the Nigerian was lucky to still remain on the pitch as the referee only issued him a yellow card for the offense.

Fenerbahce’s pressure and persistency eventually paid off inside the remaining seven minutes of the tie as Dutch international Dirk Kuyt got the much needed equaliser.

The bad-tempered contest match saw both sides reduced to 10 men with Fernerbahce’s Raul Meireles receiving a straight red card in the 30th minute while Necip Uysal was dismissed for a second booking in the 69th minute.

Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike has explained how Guinness ambassadorial honour will impact positively on his career and his standpoint on the society.

The Eagles striker, who was recently named Guinness Brand Ambassador by Super Eagles elite supporter, Guinness Nigeria Plc, told Taiwo Alimi that his mother was especially proud of him.

THE Fenerbahce of Turkey player revealed that his mum, who had been one of his biggest supporters, believed the ambassadorial honour will make him a better player and personality.

“When I was coming up as a player, I dreamt of so many things, but to make it real, my mother played an influential role for me to live up to this greatness,” Emenike explained.

“Back then at the 1994 World Cup, she was eager for me to be a player everybody would be giving a standing ovation, not because of anything but because she loves the Super Eagles team and she dedicated her time to making me a great footballer. When I told her about the Guinness honour, she said, ‘it is the kind of thing that makes one a better person’ and that is the way l see it too.”

“It’s great to be an ambassador, I have accepted it and I promise to be more focussed in my career. It has also changed my perspective of life. It’s not just to be recognised as ambassador but also to set my eyes on bigger things in the future. I believe Guinness has been a good brand to Nigerian football, so to be associated with the brand is a great thing. I think more is expected from me now than before and I will be glad to keep my focus alive. Not just as a great player but a great personality too. As a face of Guinness, which is an international brand, I have to be exceptional in conduct on and off the field of play.”

Prodded on the secret of his success, Emenike said it was down to hard-work and self determination. “There are no any other words I can use to qualify the achievement than hard-work. It’s a result of remaining focused even when things are not working out. I am a fighter and that is what Guinness has seen in me.”

According to Guinness PLC marketing director, Austin Ufomba, during the colourful unveiling of Emenike at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Calabar, the Fernebahce striker fits the bill to be the face of the brand as preparations for the World Cup kicks off in earnest.

“Emmanuel Emenike is exactly the kind of player we need to be the face to drive our World Cup campaign and that is why we brought him on board.” he added.

The marketing director also revealed that they are planning to bring a Grade A friendly for the Super Eagles in Nigeria to help prepare the Super Eagles towards the World Cup in Brazil next year.

“We have, as part of our plans, a move to bring in a top class team to engage the Eagles here in Nigeria.

“Guinness brought Argentina to Abuja in 2011, and we hope to do it again. We will work in tandem with the coach to get a good team that will truly test the Eagles,” Ufomba reiterated.

Emmanuel Emenike, who sat alongside Coach Stephen Keshi as he was unveiled, said he is grateful to Guinness for the opportunity and will try his best to project the brand and the Super Eagles as a whole.

Guinness Nigeria PLC have unveiled Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike as their new brand ambassador as they unfolded plans to make Brazil 2014 a favourable one for the national team and Nigerians in general.

The unveiling ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Calabar, was a colorful event as former internationals Kanu Nwankwo and Victor Ikpeba were present at the event.

Guinness PLC marketing director Austin Ufomba, was ecstatic as he spoke glowingly about Emmanuel Emenike and feels the Fernebache striker fits the bill to be the face of the brand as preparations for the World Cup kicks off in earnest.

“Guinness as a brand has always been in the forefront when it comes to supporting the Super Eagles and Brazil 2014 wont be any different,” he told a packed press conference in Calabar. “We were there when others didn’t want to touch the Eagles with a long pole. I urged them to go win the 2013 African Cup of Nations and it came to pass even though many didn’t believe it would be possible.

“Emmanuel Emenike is exactly the kind of player we need to be the face to drive our World Cup campaign and that is why we brought him on board,” he added.

The marketing director also revealed that they are planning to bring a grade A friendly for the Super Eagles in Nigeria to help prepare the Super Eagles towards the World Cup in Brazil next year.

“We have as part of our plans a move to bring in a top-class team to engage the Eagles here in Nigeria.

“Guinness brought Argentina to Abuja in 2011, and we hope to do it again. We will work in tandem with the coach to get a good team that will truly test the Eagles,” Ufomba reiterated.

Emmanuel Emenike, who sat alongside coach Stephen Keshi as he was unveiled, said he is grateful to Guinness for the opportunity and will try his best to project the brand and the Super Eagles as a whole.

The Fenerbache striker also gave credit for his resurgence to Keshi, who he said gave him another shot to prove himself in the national team.

“I want to thank Guinness for the chance to be part of their team as we look forward to playing at the World Cup in Brazil. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without Coach Keshi who brought me back to the team even as I was part of the team that failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012. But he still believed in me and gave me another shot at the team and the fact that we are all here today is a testament to it.”

Nigeria qualified for the FIFA 2014 World Cup with a laboured 2-0 victory over Ethiopia at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, to give the Super Eagles a 4-1 aggregate win over the Walya Antelopes.

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike has revealed that Fenerbache are top of the table in Turkey because of their fighting spirit.

Fenerbache consolidated their leadership of the Turkish league on Saturday when they won 3-2 at Bursaspor.

They have 25 points from 10 matches.

“There is something special about this team, that is the fighting spirit and the never-say-die attitude. Whenever I put on my jersey, I am always prepared to fight on the pitch because the result is very important and that is the case with everyone here,” Emenike told MTNFootball.com.

“Every game is tough. I have not played any easy game, but I think hard work and focus have worked well for us.

“Bursaspor are too strong and good. They played a good game but we fought hard to the end.”

The former Karabukspor striker said that Fenerbahce will keep fighting to win the league.

“We are not the only contenders for the league, there are other good teams in the league with the same target and it will be a gamble to start feeling like we are champions at this stage, but I believe so much in hard work for success,” he said.

The Nigeria striker has fired four goals thus far and promised even more.

“As long as I am on the right lane, the goals will keep coming,” Emenike said.

Nigeria international striker Emmanuel Emenike has revealed his ambition to play in the Italian Serie A during the course of his career.

Emenike told Eurosport.com that he fancies a move to Italian Serie A team when asked about his career goal.

“To win every trophy with Fenerbahce. I want to play for a team in Italian Serie A, one of Italy’s top-level teams,” Emenike said.

He also acknowledged Joseph Yobo’s big brother role at Fenerbache as well as the support he received from Bruno Alves and Kuyt.

“Best player here? I would say Joseph Yobo because he is like my brother. When we talk about friendship, that is Bruno Alves, he has been supportive since I got here. Kuyt too,” Emenike told Eurosport.com.

The 26-year-old Emenike has played in Russia and South Africa. He has been widely linked with a move to the popular English Premier League.