The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Granada

  • Pirates’ Ndah targets  good game  against Granada

    Pirates’ Ndah targets  good game  against Granada

    Super Eagles’ defender Olisah Ndah will hope to put in another good shift today when the  Buccaneers  slug it out with Granada in another preseason friendly game in Spain.

    Ndah, who is the son of former Nigeria’s Under 23 star, Ndubuisi put up a scoring performance in Orlando Pirates’ opening preseason game against Plymouth which ended in a 2-2 draw.

    He was also rock solid  in Orlando Pirates’ 2-0 victory over former Europa League champions, Sevilla of Spain.

    The second friendly for the South African side saw the presence of two Nigerians, Ndah and Sevilla’s new winger Chidera Ejuke, with both players showing the stuff they are made of at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios.

    Miguel Timm and Kabelo Dlamini scored in either half of the game to secure victory for Pirates.

    The win follows Friday’s 2-2 draw against English outfit Plymouth Argyle at Banús Football Centre in Marbella where Ndah was on target.

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    It was a historic occasion on Spain’s south coast where the two sides faced off for the first time ever in the all-too-crucial practice match.

    The opener came for the Buccaneers as Plymouth failed to make a clearance deep inside their territory, allowing Evidence Makgopa guide the ball home.

    The English side however hit back almost immediately, with teenage striker Freddie Issaka drawing them level in the 40th minute.

    Ndah restored the lead within three minutes as he capitalized on another defensive mix-up from the English side.

    In the 63rd  minute, the Pilgrims drew level via Callum Wright with an easy tap-in from Ibrahim Cissoko assist.

    The Buccaneers will now shift attention to today’s game against another Spanish side Granada.

  • Watford sign Success for record fee

    Watford sign Success for record fee

    English Premier League club Watford has signed Nigeria’s youth international, Isaac Success, for a club record 12.5 million pounds.

    The 20-year-old has signed a five-year contract from La Liga side Granada CF, according to SkySports.

    The former U-17 striker scored five goals in 40 appearances for Granada last season, africanFootball.com reports.

  • Success sends ‘goodbye’ letter to Granada

    Success sends ‘goodbye’ letter to Granada

    Watford-bound Nigeria striker, Isaac Success, has said he owes La Liga side, Granada “everything” in an emotional goodbye letter to the Spanish club.

    Success is expected to join Watford in the next few days, and has thanked Granada for a “wonderful journey together,” ahead of the move.

    “Today is a bitter-sweet day for me, because through this letter, I want to say goodbye to the best hobby that you can have, to my colleagues and all the workers in the club who have both supported me since I arrived in Granada, in addition to this city that has given me everything,” africanFootball.com quoted the ex-Nigeria U-17 striker as saying in the letter to the Spanish club.

    “Two years ago, I came to this amazing city with a dream. I have chased that dream since childhood. From my town in Benin City, it looked far to play in Europe, to be a star and become one of the greats. But thanks to the U-17 World Cup in 2013, I started to realize my dream.”

     

  • Watford boss tips Success to shine in England

    Watford boss tips Success to shine in England

    Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has tipped Granada forward, Isaac Success, to shine in the English Premier League after he admitted his admiration for the Nigeria U-20 striker.

    Success has been linked with a move to Watford, who like Granada is owned by the Pozzo family who also own Italian Serie A side, Udinese.

    “Success is a very good player, he has power, he has the physical characteristics to play in England, but he’s younger and we need to think about the future of this player, or if we have the possibility of this player in the future,” africanFootball.com quoted Flores as saying on the player.

    Fellow Nigerian star, Odion Ighalo, has already made a successful transition from Granada in La Liga to the EPL and many see the younger Success as a direct replacement should Ighalo leave Watford in the summer.

    However, the Watford manager said he remains positive his club could still hold on to Ighalo.

  • Watford, Udinese, track Eaglets duo

    Watford, Udinese, track Eaglets duo

    English Premier League side Watford, Serie A outfit Udinese and La Liga’s Granada are tracking David Enogela and Joel Osikel, who featured for Nigeria at last year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

    “Watford, Udinese and Granada are owned by the same Italian family and they are interested in David (Enogela) and Joel (Osikel),”a source told africanFootball.com.

    “The documentation they asked for has been finally sent to them and it is left for their officials to decide on what next.”

    The duo are midfielders with Enogela playing in all seven matches as Nigeria won a fifth U-17 World Cup November, while Osikel featured in two matches.

  • Granada stop Success from CAF U-23 championship

    Granada stop Success from CAF U-23 championship

    Ex-Flying Eagles striker, Isaac Success, will not be released by his Spanish side, Granada, for next month’s CAF U-23 championship in Senegal, his agent told allnigeriasoccer.com on Saturday.

    “Success will not come, he will not be released. It is a problem, he is one of their top strikers and the coaches should look for alternatives,” the agent said.

    “If the competition was held during the summer break, he would have had no problem honouring the call – up. He is doing well now.

    “We are praying for the club to release him, but it will be hard. We went through hell before he was released for the FIFA U- 20 World Cup.”

    Granada team manager, Javi Jimenez, added: “I don’t think he will be released, but I’ll let you know later.”

    Granada will play against Malaga, Leganés, Atlético Madrid and Levante around the same time the Nigeria Olympic Team will be competing at the CAF U-23 championship.

  • Granada rules out Success from U-23 camp

    Granada rules out Success from U-23 camp

    The Sporting Director of Granada, Juan Carlos Cordero, has informed said the club will stop Isaac Success from attending a training camp organized by the Nigeria Football Federation for the country’s Olympic squad.

    The Granada chief also dropped a big hint that the attacker will not feature in the African Youth Championship, which begins in three months time, sl10.ng reports.

    ”Isaac Success will remain with Granada until the holidays. Yes, he will not travel to Nigeria,” Juan Carlos Cordero told sl10.ng.

    ”He will not be allowed to attend the African Youth Championship since it’s outside the FIFA calender.”

    That said, Success’ Nigerian representative, Dominic Egbukwu, has claimed that his client will be available for the screening exercise if the NFF send a letter of invitation to the Andalusian outfit.

    ”Granada has not received any letter of invitation from the Nigeria Football Federation.

    ”Success will leave Spain for Nigeria on the 21st of December for the Christmas break.

    ”And he has only six days to spend in Nigeria before returning to Spain,” Egbukwu told sl10.ng.

    The ex-Golden Eaglets striker became the first Granada substitute to find the back of the net in La Liga this season after scoring in the 89th minute against Valencia on Sunday.

     

  • Flying Eagles’ Abdullahi gets Granada chance

    Flying Eagles’ Abdullahi gets Granada chance

    Flying Eagles left-back, Mustapha Abdullahi , has got a big chance to join Spanish La Liga side Granada CF, africanFootball.com reports.

    The Spotlight of Katsina defender flew out of Nigeria Thursday night to Spain, where he will undergo trials for a pro contract with Granada.

    “’Musty’ is already 18 and so he is at Granada to try out for a professional contract,” a source informed africanFootball.com

    “Granada needs a left-back immediately and if he impressed, he will get a contract.”

    Mustapha featured at last year’s African U-17 Championship in Morocco and has established himself at left back in the current Flying Eagles team coached by Manu Garba.

    He is fast, highly spirited and loves to drive forward to join the attack.

  • Success may make Granada debut against Barcelona

    Success may make Granada debut against Barcelona

    Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that Nigeria youth international Isaac Success is set to make his La Liga debut for Granada in the showdown with Barcelona today.

    Throughout this week, the 18 – year – old has been training with the first team of Granada and it is confirmed that he has been included by manager Lucas Alcara in the preliminary roster for the visit of Barcelona.

    While Isaac Success might be very popular in these parts, having won the golden boot at the last CAF Under 17 championship, this is a perfect opportunity for him to announce his arrival on the world stage if he gets some minutes against the Azulgranas.

    The highly rated starlet had been courted by Chelsea, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid after the tournament in Morocco but his advisers handpicked Udinese as his development is guaranteed at the Italian side.

    Isaac Success has recorded three appearances for the Reserve Team of Granada, netting on his debut three weeks ago against La Roda.