Tag: Emenike

Fenerbahce head coach, Ismail Kartal, has heaped praise on Emmanuel Emenike, following the striker’s performance against Rizespor.

Fenerbahce secured their spot in the last 16 of the Turkish Cup with a 4-1 victory on Thursday evening.

The Super Eagles ace has bagged only three goals in all competitions this season for Kartal’s side but the manager insists he is not worried whether Emenike scores or not as long as he continues to perform like he did on Wednesday evening.

“If Emenike keeps playing like this, I do not mind if he scores or not because he really does work hard for the team,” Kartal was quoted as saying by Sporx.

“Emenike was brilliant, I want to congratulate him and the team,”

The Yellow Canaries are currently second in the Turkish Super Lig, one point behind leaders, Besiktas.

Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike has angrily denied media reports he performed a Turkish spiritual cleansing ritual to lift a  curse that was placed on him before he could end his goals’ drought.

Emenike, who ended his goal’s drought last weekend by scoring the match winner as Fenerbahce defeated his former club Karabukspor 2-1, told AfricanFootball.com that he never did such a thing as he is a Christian, who does not believe in rituals.

A story last week went viral that the AFCON 2013 top scorer complained that his energy was not as it ought to be because he was cursed in Nigeria not to score goals.

“What did they mean by ritual to lift a curse? I take exception of such reports. I am a Christian, a proud Catholic, I never believed in rituals, I never do it and I was not involved in such as they claim,” Emenike told AfricanFootball.com.

“Strikers always have off and on periods when it comes to goal scoring. I have had mine, it is in the past. I have returned to my best and nobody can stop me.

“I don’t believe in juju or whatever name they call it, my rosary is my companion and my parents never taught me to be fetish. My almighty God will do what those people behind such fake claim about me deserve.”

“Since I was born, I have never had such experience and as a matter of fact, I never believe anybody can harm me. I grew up to believe in my name, I found the meaning of my name and I know God is with me, so whoever came up with such news will end up regretting it because I don’t know anything about it.”

He added: “When I was not scoring goals, I was criticised, now I have started scoring, they came up with rituals wahala. I think it’s another way of distraction, I’m not ready for that trash.”

Super Eagles forward Emmanuel Emenike is currently experiencing the worst goal drought of his professional career after firing a blank for Fenerbache in their 2-1 win over Altinordu in a Turkish cup game played on Tuesday.

Emenike was on for 83 minutes but despite being on the pitch when Fenerbache scored both goals he failed to add to his tally of two goals from 16 games this season.

He last found the back of the net for Fenerbache in their tie against Besiktas on November 2, 2014 and since then he has failed to score in the nine games he has played stretching his goal drought to over three months without a goal.

His lack of goals has lead to speculations that he will be sold by the team before the end of the January transfer window but so far according to club president Aziz Yildirim they have turned down a bid of 10 million Euros for him from a foreign club but refuse to disclose the name of the team.

Yildirim insists Emenike will get back to his goal scoring ways soon but the club will be forced to do business with any side that can match their valuation of 20 million Euros for the 28-year-old whose goal drought also extends to the Nigeria senior National team as he is without a goal since scoring against Ethiopia in a World Cup qualifier on October 13, 2013.

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike was involved in a training ground row with Fenerbahce team-mate Bruno Alves.

According to Fanatik, the pair clashed during a training session of  The Yellow Canaries’ on Wednesday.

Some sources at the club played down the clash, saying it was the kind of incident that happens throughout the course of a season.

SL10 understands there was a row and it took the intervention of team manager Ismail Kartal for peace to reign. The two internationals had to be separated into different training groups. The pair have not been punished by the club.

The Nigeria international has been constantly linked with a move to the English Premier League in recent years, with Chelsea and Liverpool both tracking his progress.

The 27-year-old spent two successful seasons at Spartak Moscow from 2011 to 2013, where he scored 24 goals in all competitions.

Despite interest coming from the English Premier League, he returned to Fenerbahce but since has failed to hit form due to a number of injuries.

According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is hoping to finally bring Emenike to England’s top flight.

Spurs have reportedly tabled an £8m move for Emenike and could announce his arrival as early as next week.

Emmanuel Emenike has again displayed his generosity by giving away $50,000 (about N8.5million) worth of rice to widows and orphans in local governments across Imo and Anambra states for Christmas.

The former Spartak Moscow striker, who spent close to $60,000 last year while giving out to widows, orphans and the less privileged in the eastern zone of Nigeria, has mandated his family to distribute over 900 bags of rice to some local government areas in Imo and Anambra states as part of his annual charity work.

Apart from the donation, a football match will be played in Anambra State to honour the Super Eagles star.

According to a source close to Emenike’s older brother, Ebuka, 550 bags of rice have been taken to Imo State, while Otuocha (in Anambra State) will have 300 bags with other undisclosed items.

“This is what Emenike has been doing since he moved to Europe, people enjoy this period with him, he gives back to the society.  He organises football match for the grassroots players with big prizes involved,” the source disclosed to AfricanFootball.com.

“Right now, he’s in Turkey but preparations to distribute the items are ongoing, and on his return he will visit the motherless home and other charity organisations in Lagos and Abuja.”

The Fenerbahce of Turkey striker has been consistent in giving out to the less priviledged and widows in Eastern Nigeria, distributing bags of rice, exercise books and textile materials as well as cash.

The Otuocha-born goal poacher, who visited some motherless homes in Lagos last year, still hopes to expand his charity to other states in the country.