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Tag: Samuel Kalu

  • Koscielny joins Samuel Kalu in Bordeaux ahead new season

     

    Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny will team up with Nigeria international Samuel kalu at Bordeaux after agreeing a deal with the Ligue 1 side on Tuesday.

    The French defender, 33, made clear his desire for a move last month when he refused to travel on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States.

    His standoff with the club reportedly came after the Gunners rejected his request to be released from the final year of his contract.

    “The club is delighted to be able to count on a player with such experience at the highest level,” Bordeaux said in a statement.

    Koscielny played 353 games for Arsenal, winning the FA Cup three times, and was named club captain at the start of last season following the retirement of Per Mertesacker.

    “We thank Laurent for his contribution to the club and wish him all the best for the future,” Arsenal said in a statement.

    Koscielny made over 51 appearances for the Les Blues. Prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia Koscielny announced that he would retire from international football after the competition. He was however not included in the squad after an

    Achilles tendon injury ruled him out of contention. The France team went ahead to clinch the world cup title after beating Croatia 4-2 in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

    While Koscielny sealed a three year contract that will see him remain at the French club till 2021, his Nigerian would be teammate Samuel Kalu sealed a five year contract with the club in 2018 from Gent.

    Kalu who has made over 21 appearances for the side will be hoping for a better outing when the new season kicks off on Friday, close to a month after he returned from the Nations cup in Egypt.

    Koscielny and Kalu all things being equal will file out on Saturday when Bordeaux kicks off the season away against Angers SCO.

  • Samuel Kalu to wait till Sunday for real Afcon action

     

    Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu will have to wait till Sunday to test real action in the ongoing Nations cup in Egypt.

    The 21 year old who suffered a near heart attack and has to be placed on observation by medics was declared fit to play and put on the bench against Guinea on Wednesday.

    He eventually got the nod to step in as replacement for Moses Simon in the

    4th minute of extra time but could not into get into real action before  referee Helder Martins de Carvalho ended the match with the Eagles running away with a lone goal win thanks to Keneth Omeruo.

    The former Gent winger will be hoping to get another chance on Sunday not only to enjoy some action but also prove to his fans that he has indeed bounced back into super form after the setback.

    Wednesday’s victory has handed Eagles a ticket to the round of 16 with a match to spare. Most Nigerians who reacted after the match expressed relief that the Eagles breezed into the round of 16 without taking them through the usual permutations.

    Although some were not happy with wasted chances especially in the early minutes of the match, they nonetheless expressed satisfaction that the team was able to earn the needed three points to progress.

     

     

  • Eagles’ camp agog after Kalu is declared fit

    THE camp of the Super Eagles of Nigeria bubbled on Monday night after news came that France –based forward Samuel Kalu had been declared fit to future at the ongoing 32nd Africa Cup of Nations, after another test in Cairo.

    Team Administrator Dayo Enebi Achor told thenff.com that team Doctor Ibrahim Gyaran travelled to the Egyptian capital with Kalu to conduct the test alongside a CAF medical officer.

    “Kalu has been declared fit to play as from now. He would feature in Wednesday’s match against Guinea, however, this would depend on whether he is selected by the technical crew led by Coach Gernot Rohr,” Achor said from the team’s Helnan Palestine Hotel in Alexandria.

    Read Also: Egypt 2019: Iheanacho could replace ‘sick’ Samuel Kalu

    The pacy Girondins Bordeaux of France ace, who also performed creditably as a wing back in the AFCON 2019 ticket –winning 1-1 draw with South Africa in Johannesburg in November 2018, had fallen while about to take a corner kick during training in Alexandria on Friday night. He was quickly stabilised but taken to hospital for a round of tests, where he was said to be dehydrated and needed to take more fluids.

    The scare knocked him out of reckoning for selection for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat of Burundi in Nigeria’s first match of the 2019 AFCON at the Alexandria Stadium.

  • Samuel Kalu not sure of starting

    Girondins-Bordeaux of France winger, Samuel Kalu may not start against AS Monaco today, as his coach, Eric Bedouet fears he may not have recovered from his mother’s recent kidnap.

    Footballlive.ng can report that Bedouet is ready to play Kalu in the 8pm kick-off away fixture, but says he will not pressure the lad to play.

    Bedouet added that Kalu should be excused if he fails to click, as the lad had sleepless nights following the kidnap of his mother on February 27, and only came out of his shell when he got news of her release in the early hours of Monday, but it became public knowledge on Tuesday.

    The coach, though, is thinking big for the youngster and says he will not give Kalu a second straight match. He has played 29 matches for Bordeaux in all competitions so far this season, with four goals to show for his endeavour.

    Kalu had been left out of the squad that faced Montpellier in midweek, because he was not in the right frame of mind, but Bedouet said the former KAA Gent of Belgium lad will be in the team to Monaco.

    Bedouet affirmed: “Samuel Kalu is coming back, he is happy. But watch out, he spent nights not sleeping, with the phone next to him.

    “It’s complicated, but he come back to the group and we are happy that the outcome is favorable.”

  • Samuel Kalu relieved as mother regains freedom

     

    Super Eagles and Bordeaux of France Winger Samuel Kalu can now concentrate on national team assignment after his kidnapped mother Madam Ozuruonye Juliet Kalu was released Tuesday according to Abia State Police command.  Madam Kalu according to the Police was released close to midnight of Monday.

    The Punch quoted Abia state Police spokesman Godfrey Ogbona, as confirming the release in a chat with AFP.

    “She was released around midnight (2300 GMT) of Monday and she has been reunited with her people,” he said.

    “Circumstances surrounding her release have not been disclosed to me for now.

    “But we are still investigating the incident in a bid towards ensuring that those who carried out the act are arrested and brought to book.”

    Samule Kalu who broke into the senior national team in October last year, shortly after joining French Ligue 1 side Bordeaux from Belgian outfit Gent made the 23-man list released by Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr on Monday ahead of the

    AFCON qualifiers against Seychelles and friendly match against Egypt respectively. The Kidnap of his mother reportedly shocked the coach who joined in prayers for her release.

    With the cheery news of her release the 21 year old can sing Hosanna in the Highest and concentrate on training ahead of Eagles double header.

    It will be recalled that Super Eagles Captain John Obi Mikel who is missing in the 23-man list dished out by Rohr, equally had the same experience during the World cup in Russia when his father Pa Michael Obi was kidnapped from his Jos home with the kidnappers asking for and zooming away with N10million before releasing him.

  • Ighalo on fire, as Nigeria beat Libya 4-0

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    The Super Eagles of Nigeria has set their race to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on a steady movement after defeating the Medettarian Knights of Libya 4-0 at the Godswill Akpabio Sadium, Uyo.

    Odion Ighalo wrote his name in gold after scoring three goals , his first hat-trick in the Nigerian colours, before Samuel Kalu scored a beautiful goal to wrap up the game.

    The match began straightaway in favour of the Super Eagle as Libyan goalkeeper Mohamed Abdaula fouled Ighalo, who was making his way to scoring, two minutes into the match. The FC Changchun Yatai striker stepped up to convert the awarded penalty, giving Nigeria a very early lead.

    Ighalo sought for another penalty in the ninth minute when he fell inside the penalty area of the Libyans after a slight contact with the goalkeeper, but referee Jean-Jacques Ndala waves aside all appeals.

    Read Also: Nigeria vs. Seychelles: Why I invited Ighalo – Rohr

    The Nigerians missed many goal scoring chances, leading to the end of the first, and waited for thirteen minutes in the second, before getting their second goal. Alex Iwobi delivered a pass to Ighalo who maintained his composure to dibble the goalkeeper and score his second goal for Nigeria.

    Ighalo completed his hat trick ten minutes later after connecting to a cross from Ahmed Musa, found scrabbled the ball past the Libyan defenders and the goalkeeper.

    With two minutes to the end of the match, Samuel Kalu got a pass from Henry Onyekuru who had just missed an opportunity to score, and he curled a shot outside the 18-yard box past Mohamed Abdaula.

    Libya, whose coach, Adel Amrouche suddenly resigned leading to the battle against Nigeria, leaving Omar Al-Marime to take over, will host Nigeria on Tuesday in Sfax, Tunisia. They now sit third in the group with four points, as against Nigeria in second place with six points after three matches.