The Nation Newspaper

Tag: plays

  • ‘Messi dazzles when he plays’

    ‘Messi dazzles when he plays’

    Lionel Messi’s is a “reflection of God’s perfection”, according to well-known nun and Barcelona supporter Sister Lucia Caram, who commented that Cristiano Ronaldo is not the devil despite his “cocky and unfriendly attitude”.

    Messi’s claim to be the best footballer in the world has taken a knock over the past two years as Ronaldo, his Real Madrid rival, has won back-to-back Ballons d’Or.

    Despite Barca underperforming in 2014, the forward elicited praise for captaining Argentina to the World Cup final and has scored an amazing 31 goals in 29 games for the Catalans this season.

    “For me the evidence for the existence of God is manifested in goodness and beauty, and when I see Messi play I see that,” Sister Lucia Caram, who is from Argentina but has been based in Spain for over two decades, told Sport.

    “One looks entranced, like by a beautiful painting or a sunset, when one faces Messi. I’m not saying he’s God, but he’s a reflection of God’s perfection. He dazzles everyone.”

    She was also critical of Ronaldo’s attitude and demeanour in comparison to Messi’s, but the nun stopped short of suggesting the Madrid forward has satanic motivations.

    “Is Messi an angel and Ronaldo the devil? Well Messi has the virtue of being a great player but he is also a good person,” he added. “He is humble.

    “Cristiano plays football very well, but he has a very cocky and unfriendly attitude. He’s not my greatest enemy, I think he plays very good football, but there is not harmony in him.”

    The Christianity follower took one final dig at Ronaldo – as well as Barca forward Luis Suarez and referencing Arda Turan’s recent infamous boot throw – in her criticism at the idolisation of footballers in modern society.

    “I worry that it’s a weakness for people to defend their idols against the indefensible,” Sister Lucia Caram continued.

    “You cannot defend Suarez’s bite or applaud the throwing of a shoe at a linesman, and the attitude of Cristiano Ronaldo recently [for his red card last month] was not good.”

  • Hull City 1-1 Stoke City: Osaze plays for 90 mins

    Hull City 1-1 Stoke City: Osaze plays for 90 mins

    Osaze Odemwingie, was the only Super Eagles player on show as Stoke City and Hull battled to a 1-1 draw in the second weekend of the English Premier League season.

    Stoke new loan signing, Victor Moses was not dressed for the game while new Super Eagles invitee Sone Aluko was an unused substitute for Hull City.

    Both sides struggled for opportunities in the opening stages of the contest, but the tide turned after 14 minutes when Hull centre-back James Chester was given his marching orders for bringing Glenn Whelan to the ground just outside the box.

    But it was the Tigers that went into a first-half lead when Nikica Jelavic tapped home from four yards after Asmir Begovic had palmed Tom Huddlestone’s low shot into his predatory path.

    Stoke City scored seven minutes from time when Stoke captain Shawcross forced the ball home from close range following a period of panic inside the Hull penalty area to secure a point in a 1-1 draw with Hull City at the KC Stadium on Sunday.

  • Cagliari 0 – 2 Lazio: Onazi plays for nine minutes

    Cagliari 0 – 2 Lazio: Onazi plays for nine minutes

    SUPER Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi played for nine minutes in SS Lazio’s 2-0 away victory against Cagliari.

    Lazio took the lead in Sardinia with a well-worked move, as Miroslav Klose flicked on for Senad Lulic to burst between the defenders and beat Vlada Avramov at the near post on one-on-one in the 19th minute.

    The Biancocelesti took the hint and immediately gave themselves a two-goal cushion, as Keita ran through the middle on a Klose slide-rule pass and kept his cool to blast past Avramov.

    Onazi was then introduced into the game in the 81st minute when he replaced Gonzalez.

     

  • Moses plays at last

    Moses plays at last

    • Introduced as 79th min sub

    After enduring weeks of sitting on the bench, Super Eagles’ star Victor Moses eventually tasted action for Liverpool as the Reds laboured to a 4-3 victory over Swansea City at the Anfield yesterday.

    It was indeed huge relief for the Nigerian midfielder who came in for two goals hero Daniel Sturridge in the 79th minute of the encounter which ended in a seven goal thriller.

    That Moses even played for that number of minutes was a gradual improvement for the former Wigan player whose inactivity at Liverpool has already sparked debates that he may seek to continue his career where he would be guaranteed regular playing time next summer.

    The 23-year-old winger has struggled to settle since joining Liverpool on a season-long loan from Chelsea and he has not started a league game since the 3-1 defeat at Hull City on December 1,2013.

    Moses’ form has dwindled so drastically that his days at Anfield looked numbered at the start of January after he was substituted at half-time in the 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.

    On January 25,2014,his goal in the 26th minute, his first since his debut last September, came at an important time for Liverpool, alleviating concerns about the way they were being outplayed by Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth.