The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pre season

  • Arsenal stars hit the hit weights in pre-season training

    Arsenal stars hit the hit weights in pre-season training

    Pre-season training is all about building up strength for the gruelling campaign ahead, and Arsenal have wasted no time in getting ship-shape.

    Gunners stars including Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla were all pumping the iron in strenous excercises at the Gunners‘ London Colney base.

    Arsene Wenger was on hand to put his side through their paces as the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky and Kieran Gibbs got ready for the new season.

    Arsenal kicked off their pre-season schedule with a 2-0 win at Boreham Wood on Sunday before Saturday sees them start their USA tour with a match against Gunners legend Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls.

    Ahead of their tour, Wenger said he can’t wait to play in a country where the World Cup was so widely embraced.

    ‘It is the first time since I [started to] go to World Cups that I’ve been stopped by so many American people,’ he told Arsenal’s official club website

    ‘I can tell you something I’m completely convinced of – before people didn’t know who you were, but now every American guy I met knows Arsenal, knows England and knows the Premier League.

    ‘The enthusiasm about soccer in the States is new but big. I expect us to have a good crowd there.

    ‘I hope that we can help to develop the interest in the game and that we can play a good match there to make people enjoy it.

    ‘It is the perfect time to go. I always wanted to go with Arsenal to the United States, so I’m personally very happy to do it.’

  • Ujah: Pre-season going well

    Ujah: Pre-season going well

    With his first stint in the German Bundesliga failing to tick the right boxes, Cologne’s Anthony Ujah has a lot to prove when he returns to the championship this term.

    Mainz paid silly money, in Norwegian currency, to acquire him from Lillestrom in the summer of 2011 for a transfer fee believed to be worth around 3 million Euros including performance related incentives.

    But due to his lack of first team chances at the Coface Arena, the following season, he was farmed out on loan to  Bundesliga club Cologne, where he got his groove back.

    ”Preseason is going good. We are on our second phase of training camp in Austria right now. I got a slight knock but I am back fully to training.

    ”My expectations are nothing than helping my club to stay in the league at the end of the season as this is the target of every promoted team.

    ”If we achieve this, then we can set bigger targets in the coming seasons but first one at a time,” Anthony Ujah told SL10.ng.

    Cologne have been active in the transfer market in the close season, signing Japan international striker Yuya Osako from 1860 Munich.

    The former Lillestrom sensation is aware that competition for a first team shirt will be intense when the league resumes, unlike the previous two seasons, where he averaged 27 starts in the second – tier.

    ”It’s normal to have strong competitions at higher level as we are now. It’s going to be a long season so competition is healthy for the team,” the 23-year-old added.

    Cologne will welcome Hamburg to the RheinEnergie Stadion on August 23 in their opening match of the 2014-2015 campaign.

  • pre-season Training Game: Kayode scores again

    Maccabi Netanya continued their preparations for the 2014 – 2015 season on Tuesday with another exhibition game against Kecskeméti TE at their training camp in Hungary.

    The Hungarian topflight team raced into a two – goal lead inside 50 minutes but the Diamonds fought back to level the scoreline, with Nigeria youth international Olarenwaju Kayode finding the back of the net in the 70th minute.

    Kayode has scored in each of the last five test games for the First Division champions,  as they remain unbeaten since the start of pre – season practice.

    In recent days, the 21 – year – old has been linked with Chievo Verona (Italy) and Samsunspor (Turkey).

    He renewed his vows with Maccabi Netanya in April by extending his contract for two more seasons.

  • Barkley returns in time for pre-season tour

    Barkley returns in time for pre-season tour

    Everton will welcome the return of England midfielder Ross Barkley ahead of their pre-season tour of Thailand today.

    The 20 year old was part of Roy Hodgson’s squad during a disappointing World Cup campaign, featuring in every group game, and has been linked with a move to a host of clubs including Manchester City.

    However, Irish full-back Seamus Coleman is set to miss the tour after withdrawing from Everton’s friendly against Tranmere Rovers as a precaution over a hamstring concern.

    Speaking to the club’s television channel evertontv, manager Roberto Martinez said: “He will miss the Thailand trip to give proper consideration to his injury, for proper treatment and to remove any chance of aggravating that feeling that he had.

    “We don’t really know the extent of the injury yet but it is sometimes a little bit of a setback that comes with pre-season preparation and getting a lot of volume into the bodies. Hopefully it is going to be just a minor setback.”

    Coleman, who made 36 league appearances last season, will be joined on the sidelines by long-term absentees Bryan Oviedo and Arouna Kone.

    Meanwhile, former Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson made his first appearance in nine months, appearing for 45 minutes against Tranmere.

    The 26 year old suffered serious cruciate knee ligament damage during Ireland’s victory over Kazakhstan last October.

    “Darron looks really strong,” Martinez added. “It’s been very frustrating for him to spend such a long time away from the football pitch. But when you see him using that technical ability he has and the quality he brings to the side, he is like a fresh player coming back to us.”

  • West Brom pre season training: Anichebe drilled in pre-season training

    West Brom pre season training: Anichebe drilled in pre-season training

    Nigeria international Victor Anichebe and other West Bromwich Albion players were put through their paces by head coach Alan Irvine as the squad’s first full day on pre-season tour in Sacramento got underway with a training session at the Cosumnes River College.

    The work-out started under a cloudless Californian sky at a relatively comfortable 19°C – but temperatures were set to soar through the 30°C for the other session.

    According to a report filed by SL10 on Thursday, Anichebe was on song for the Baggies as they managed a 2-1 friendly win over Shrewsbury Town at the Greenhous Meadow on Wednesday night.

    On September 2, 2013, Anichebe moved to West Bromwich Albion in a deal which could rise to £6 million. He thanked Everton and declared “I love Everton”, stating he will always be an Everton supporter.

    He was joined at the club by his Nigerian compatriot Brown Ideye, who moved from Dynamo Kiev for a club record transfer believed to be in the region of £10million.

    SL10 believes there are better days ahead for the English Premier League outfit as they have two good strikers (Anichebe and Ideye) on their books.

  • Alli shines in pre-season tour

    Alli shines in pre-season tour

    Dele Alli fired in a brace as  MK Dons thrashed St.  James’s Gate 6-0 in their first pre-season game of the 2014/2015 campaign on Monday.

    Alli, a player promoted from the Academy to the main team, opened the scoring when he latched on to Dean Bowditch’s sweet pass to fire a half volley past the St. James’s Gate keeper.

    He was decisive again as the Dons proved too strong for Gate – who were restricted for the large periods of the first half.

    The second goal arrived when Alli fired home from 20-yards after a quickly-taken free-kick on the right from the equally impressive Giorgio Rasulo.

    Alli still had enough to produce and he ran past the defenders with ease. He was a delight to watch from his midfield position.

    On the hour mark the Dons coach Karl Robinson introduced second-year scholar Ben Tilney in place of brace hero Alli and just a minute after that the Dons made it 3-0 with Hitchcock getting on the scoresheet with a neat close-range finish after a wonderful assist from Rasulo.

    Rasulo added the fourth with a neat finish, before Kabongo Tshimanga and Kyran Wiltshire completed the scoring.

    Meanwhile,The Dons ended their pre-season tour of Ireland with a 2-1 win over Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.

    The skillful Nigerian was introduced at the beginning of the second half and he troubled the Irish side with his direct play and mobility.

  • Pre-season Training: Man City drag Iheanacho, Nwakali to Scotland

    Pre-season Training: Man City drag Iheanacho, Nwakali to Scotland

    English Premiership side, Manchester City has included Nigerian duo of Chidiebere Nwakali and Kelechi Iheanacho for their pre-season training in Scotland.

    Nwakali and Iheanacho were recruited by the big spending side into their youth team following their superb performance with the Golden Eaglets’ gold medal-winning side at last year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

    But the duo have joined the rest of the first team for their pre-season ahead of the 2014/2015 season which would end in Scotland on the 18th before the team’s tour of the USA  on the 22nd.

    Speaking with Sportinglife, Nwakali said he was happy with the development which would invariably boost his career,adding he stands a chance of playing for the A team as soon as possible.

    ” I’m really happy that I was picked as one of the players for the pre season camp in Scotland and that means I would have to work very hard,” said Nwakali who is fondly called Guti by admirers.

    He added: ” Of course, I will do my best because right from my days with the Golden Eaglets, we have been taught how to be focussed and not get carried away.

    “This is good step for Kelechi and I; we shall do our best because this is a great opportunity for us.”

    Nwakali and Iheanacho has already signed a pre-contract deal with Man City which could translate to a professional contract when they clock 18 especially if they impress coach Manuel Pellegrini during the pre-season camp.

     

  • Iheanacho, Nwakali released for pre-season

    Iheanacho, Nwakali released for pre-season

    Nigeria Flying Eagles have released Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali for pre-season training with English Premier League club Manchester City.

    “Both Iheanacho and Nwakali have been excused to join Manchester City for their pre-season training this weekend.They will rejoin us a week to our AYC qualifier against Lesotho next month,” disclosed Flying Eagles secretary Aliyu Auwal Ibrahim.

    The youngsters were involved when the Nigeria U20s eliminated their Tanzanian counterparts in the second round of the African Youth Championship qualifying series.

    Both Iheanacho and Nwakali have signed a pre-contract with Manchester City after they shone at last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

    Iheanacho was named the MVP of the tournament, which Nigeria won in fine style for a record fourth time.

     

  • SPAIN PRE-SEASON: Rain stops Ideye, Haruna from training

    SPAIN PRE-SEASON: Rain stops Ideye, Haruna from training

    Nigeria’s Brown Ideye alongside compatriot Lukman Haruna and their Dynamo Kiev teammates could not taste football actions at Spain’s Marbella Football Center on Thursday, the first day of their second Pre-season training camp in Spain due to heavy down pour.

    Despite the rain, Ideye and the White-Blues squad members went about jogging in good mood as they settled down to serious work after three days off.

    After the warm-up, Brown and Haruna returned to the hotel as their One and a half week of intense week pre-season training is yet to swing into full action.

    On Saturday, February 8, Ideye and pals will play a friendly against Legia Warsaw. The following day, they will battle Swedish side, IF Elfsborg.

    The Oleh Blokhin’s men will also tackle La Liga campaigners, Malaga CF at Ciudad de Málaga Athletics Stadium on February 12.

  • Pre-season: Niger Tornadoes thump Boro Utd 2-0

    Pre-season: Niger Tornadoes thump Boro Utd 2-0

    Niger Tornadoes FC of Minna on Wednesday beat Boro United of Kaduna 2-0 in the ongoing pre-season tournament played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match was part of the ongoing pre-season tournament.

    Samson Adeleye of Niger Tornadoes opened scoring for the Tornadoes after a goal mouth scramble in the 41st minute. He added the second goal in the 73rd minute of the game with a shot from outside the eighteen-yard box.

    Speaking shortly after the match, Niger Tornadoes Head Coach, Godwin Kokouwua, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the game.

    “Boro United is an amateur team but they played very well and I hope they will get better,” he said.

    He added that Boro gave them a good fight but Tornadoes came out victorious.

    Also speaking, the coach of Boro United, Emmanuel Okpula, said it was good for his team to play with a big team. He said that they learnt a lot from the match and would use the experience to play against their opponents in the amateur league.