The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Spanish

  • Spanish sides avoid groups of death

    Spanish sides avoid groups of death

    The Champions League draw was kind to the five Spanish teams: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid avoided the big guns in Pot 1 by being drawn against Napoli and Feyenoord, respectively; Barcelona were fortunate enough to avoid some of the toughest opponents and both Sevilla and Real Sociedad were placed in groups in which they have a chance of reaching the last 16.

    The group of death is undoubtedly the one which contains PSG, Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle in Group F, so Luis Enrique will have a tough road to get through to the next round. Nobody wanted Newcastle in Pot 4 and the bombshell was PSG, who also find themselves up against Milan in Pot 3. The road ahead for Barcelona looks simple. The objective of getting out of the first round after two seasons of failure seems more than possible given their opponents: Porto, Shakhtar and Antwerp. The Belgians are making their Champions League debut, the Ukrainians will have to play in exile in Hamburg and Porto do not look as strong as they have been in recent years.

    Read Also: Chelsea interested in signing Man City forward Palmer

    Real Madrid were in Pot 2 and feared City, PSG and Bayern. The good fortune of meeting Napoli means that they will have to face three teams with little Champions League experience. The Italian champions, Napoli, will once again cross Madrid’s path and they will also face Portuguese side Braga and Union Berlin, who are making their debut in the top continental competition.

    Atletico were drawn with the weakest opponent from Pot 1 in Feyenoord. Celtic are an opponent that are far from the level of Diego Simeone’s team and only Lazio seem to be the team that can compete with the red and white team in Group E.

  • Ifeanyi Ubah to buy Spanish, Israeli club – official

    Ifeanyi Ubah to buy Spanish, Israeli club – official

    Business mogul and oil magnate, Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah has opened talks to buy an unnamed Spanish or Israeli club, his top aide has disclosed.

    The owner of FC Ifeanyiubah, a Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) side, Scorenigeria.com.ng gathered, is mulling owning a club in either Israel or Spain and has begun his quest by opening buy-over talks with the clubs.

    If and when the deal eventually sees the light of success, the European club would serve as destination for young football talents from Nigeria, especially from his much cherished ‘One Family, One Footballer’ project.

    Ifeanyi Ubah, who doubles as chairman of Anambra State Football Association and whose club, FC Ifeanyiubah, have struck a partnership deal with Premier League side, West Ham United, has said football is his second love and would stop at nothing in seeing his football dream through.

    Ikechukwu Emeka Onyia, Special Assistant to Ifeanyi Ubah on Media, confirmed this in Onitsha during an ABS television sports programme, Sports In The Mix.

    “Dr Ifeanyiubah is trying to buy a club in Israel or Spain”, Onyia said.

    “Of course, when the deal eventually gets through, some of the young players who will be discovered from the ‘one family, one footballer’ programme will have somewhere in Europe to horne their career.

    “We all know the fact and extent to which sports can drive the economy and this has been the vision of Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah”, Onyia stressed.

    Ifeanyiubah’s club, FC Ifeanyiubah, became the first club from Anambra State to win the Federation Cup since the state was created in 1991 when they won the 2016 Federation Cup at the expense of Nasarawa United.

  • The Spanish example

    Tonight in Milan, Italy marks another watershed for the beautiful game when either Real Madrid or Atletico lifts the UEFA Champions League diadem inside the San Siro Stadium. This is the second time San Siro Stadium will be hosting the UEFA Champions League final. The first time was in 2001 when FC Bayern beat Valencia 5-4 on penalties after a pulsating 1-1 draw in a game that went into an extra time.

    This all-Spanish final underlines where the best of soccer artistry resides today, because Sevilla FC of Spain annexed the Europa Cup silverware, for the third consecutive time, penultimate Wednesday and for the fifth time in the competition. In fact, pundits have cynically tagged the competition as Europa ‘Sevilla’ Cup and you won’t blame them, given the uncanny manner in which the Spanish side drops from the prestigious UEFA Champions League competition every season only to lift the trophy with aplomb. The pundits can stew in their childishness while the Spaniards celebrate another historical feat, despite their country’s troubled economy.

    The two European trophies for clubs have been in Spain since the 2013/2014 soccer season. This has been the trend in the last three years. This is the ripple effect of Spain winning the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. The Spaniards came to Africa in 2010 as the European Nations Cup winners and annexed both world titles for national teams. Spain retained their European Cup title in 2012 but lost the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 – no thanks to the scandalous 5-1 loss to Netherlands in the opening game. With these national team feats, it should not come as a surprise the dominance of the European game at club level.

    Not a few remember Spain as a buoyant country than from the prism of soccer, arising from the incredible exploits that Real Madrid and Barcelona have recorded in global soccer tournaments. The impact of these two teams in European football has given rise to two new entities ready to upset the applecart every season. The new boys in the chain for glory from Spain are Sunday’s UEFA Champions League opponents Atletico Madrid and the 2016 Europa Cup champions, Sevilla. No doubt football is the best commodity in Spain; forget about the media blitz associated with the Barclays English Premier League thanks to the robust packaging by the English press.

    The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is so fierce that the Galaticos’ fans protested against the Spain FA’s initial decision to play the finals of the Copa De Rey at the Bernabeu Stadium. The fans couldn’t stand watching Barcelona players winning a trophy inside their stadium.

    The Spanish example underscores the fact that Nigeria could record, if not surpass the feats of the Spaniards, who have ruled Europe. We have the talents. But our problem has been the insistence of the government at all levels not to hands of supporting football and encourage knowledgeable people to run the game. If the government stops funding football, for instance, the game won’t die. What will happen is that big players across the globe will key into a bilateral relationships with our domestic clubs. These clubs’ personnel would come with their templates and identify, train and retrain those that they want to man the chain in the clubs’ organograms. It is the absence of an organogram in our clubs that has made the administration of the game incapable of generating cash like we see in other climes. European clubs’ organograms are such that eliminate overlaps. These overlaps are what corrupt officials exploit to enrich themselves, pauperise players and discourage businessmen from investing in soccer.

    No entrepreneur would read about Arsenal FC of England’s £100, 952,257 earning from only television rights and won’t talk with their management, if it knocks on his doors. The corporate world would be encouraged to do football business in England, given the television outlay prize of £1.636 billion shared by the 20 clubs which participated in the 2015/2016 Barclays English Premier League. The outlay made public by the organisers of the competition showed that Arsenal earned more from television rights than the eventual winners Leicester. Leicester’s management won’t bat any eyelid because the details are self explanatory.

    Leicester topped Arsenal on that table in the section on merit money as winners, with £1,242,405 difference. This level of transparency is what the big business players need to lure them to commit their goods and services to the English game. Winners of the European leagues don’t visit governors or heads of their country’s governments for winning international honours. There are existing templates for such rewards in those leagues which predates this time. The figures are only increased to be in sync with what operates globally. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla are not owned by the Spanish government but private people. For Barca, they are the Catalans.  Besides, those who run these clubs emerge from elections. During their campaigns, they make promises which they keep. It is the reason these clubs have big stars who generate cash for themselves and the clubs. This novelty has been extended to the coaches. Mourinho is today locked in an image rights wahala with Chelsea. Manchester United has accepted to buy the Special One’s image rights with Chelsea, knowing that they would recoup what they spent on merchandising, using the Special One’s image. I digress!

    Followers of the game in England are wondering why Manchester United have signed Jose Mourinho, given the fact that Louis Van Gaal won for the Red Devils its 12th  English FA Cup, the most prestigious trophy in England, in terms of tradition. But for the managers of Manchester United, the fans are sacrosanct. They are the ones who oil the club’s business with their patronage. It follows therefore that when they are dissatisfied, the managers of the business must respond otherwise; it would amount to a failure of leadership if their rivals beat them to the biggest European title – the UEFA Champions League – next season.

    Van Gaal lost his job because Manchester United’s management knows that Pep Guardiola is a performer, if given the materials to excel. And with the owners of Manchester City feeling strongly that the Citizens could conquer Europe next season. Guardiola just fits the bill to actualise that corporate dream, having lost out in the semi-finals this season to Real Madrid. I cannot wait to witness the two matches of the Manchester derby next season because the crowd turnout would be captivating. No matter what Manchester United’s management would spend on Mourinho and his armada of stars, the figures from the turnstiles during United’s games and volume of sales from merchandising of the products associated with the Special One and his stars would be awesome.

    Recall that Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich was impressed with the fact that Claudio Raineri guided the Blues to a second position in 2004. But he wanted Chelsea to join the big league teams that have lifted the UEFA Champions League diadem, hence he laid off Raineri for Jose Mourinho. This Chelsea analogy is necessary for us to know that Van Gaal’s sack was informed by the need to get Manchester United to be on the same page with their “noisy neighbours” in terms of the clout of their managers and their pedigree in European competitions. Mourinho’s feats and Guardiola’s in European competitions are the same, I dare say. So, beginning from the bench, Manchester United’s owners want to match their rivals in personnel.

    Indeed, when Abramovich grabbed Mourinho, the tilt of power among London clubs went in Chelsea’s favour, with Mourinho winning more of the games against Arsenal than Arsene Wenger. Wenger, in my view, is the most successful manager. He hasn’t guided Arsenal to win the UEFA Champions League diadem, but the Gunners are easily the most exciting team to watch when in their element. Perhaps, if Wenger can shop big for the 2016/2017 season, Arsenal will fit the next UEFA Champions League title. Arsenal’s defence is horrible. Wenger hasn’t been able to replace Patrick Vieira in the midfield. The closest to replacing Vieria has been Caziola. Unfortunately, Caziola was injured at the time when he was needed most this last season. Caziola’s injury is the reason why Gunners are not the Barclays English Premier League champions this season. I don’t intend to undermine what Raineri has done with Leicester City – the Foxes too are another fairytale story in the English game. Leicester won the title with 10 points difference, not a small feat, given the competitive nature of the league in England.

    I was glad that Raineri was given the honour denied him by Chelsea in 2004, when the Blues mounted a guard of honour for the Italian as champions of the Barclays English Premier League. Take a bow Abramovich for being present to give a plaque to a manager he seemingly humiliated in 2004. It takes men of honour to perform such an act. All hail Abramovich!

  • Basketball: D’Tigress Ogoke dazzles in Spanish League

    Basketball: D’Tigress Ogoke dazzles in Spanish League

    After a slow start to her career at Celta Baloncesta Femenino of Spain, D’Tigress point guard, Sarah Ogoke made 27 points and nine rebounds as her team lost to Ensino Lugo 63-71 on Saturday.

    The 25-year-old Nigerian international, who joined the team after a grueling time at the African Games in Congo Brazzaville and the Afrobasket where Nigeria finished second and third respectively, was unable to save her team from defeat.

    Ogoke told Sportinglife that she is the oldest in the team and that most of the players were mostly U-18.

    “My team is very young with just 10 players. One is currently injured and five of the remaining 9 are under the age of 18. I am the oldest at age 25. The next oldest person is 21, which shows that the team is work in progress and will return to winning way soon. The season has just started, so, all I can do is lead by example and encourage the youngsters,” she added.

    According to Ogoke, winning the next game would be good for team spirit and instill confidence in the young team.

    “I am sure we’ll win the next game. We are improving and the only way for us is to move forward because that is how we can measure our progress. I started off a bit slow with my new team because of the stress from the travel from Afrobasket to Spain, but I am ready to take my rightful place and move the team forward.”

    She also thanked her teammates for helping her use to life in Spain. “My teammates are very kind. Although Spanish is their native language, they all try their best to speak English with me. And I’m also learning Spanish as well.

    “We spend a lot of time together on the court and we also go out to eat dinner together and such I am bonding with the team as fast as I can. The coaching staff is also very supportive and I will continue to learn as I take my game to the top,” she added.

    Ogoke was snapped up by Primerio D’Agosto of Angola last season after doing so well with First Bank Basketball Club at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women in Tunisia in 2014.

  • Nigerian causes Ebola scare in Spanish town

    Nigerian causes Ebola scare in Spanish town

    A Nigerian man was yesterday at the centre of an Ebola health scare on the Spanish Costas, which contains an estimated British population of more than 82,000.

    The immigrant was tested for the deadly virus after going to a hospital in Alicante with the tell-tale signs of the disease. The result came out negative.

    Bosses at San Juan Hospital suspected he might have Ebola and said he was being kept in isolation until the results of the tests were known.

    The unnamed man, who is in his thirties and has been in Nigeria recently, was admitted after seeking medical attention on Saturday night accompanied by his sister.

    Hospital bosses activated the Ebola protocol after he complained of the flu-like symptoms associated with the onset of the virus and was seen by doctors.

    Paramedics wearing protective suits and masks transferred him from Alicante General Hospital to nearby San Juan.

    Speaking before the result turned out negative, a spokesman for the local health authority confirmed: “At the moment there is a suspicion he may have contacted Ebola and that’s why the the protocol against the virus has been activated.

    “We have to wait now for the results of the tests to know whether we are dealing with a confirmed case or not.”

    The tests were carried out at Madrid’s Carlos III Hospital where Spanish priest Miguel Pajares lost his fight against the disease.

    Missionary worker Mr Pajares, 75, had been flown back to Spain and given experimental drug ZMapp after catching Ebola at a hospital in Liberia, west Africa, where he was working.

    He was the first person in Europe to die from the deadly virus, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says has now claimed 1,145 lives.

    The current epidemic began in Guinea in February and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

    Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has said it believes the outbreak will take at least six months to bring under control.

    Meanwhile, UK universities have been warned of the dangers posed by Ebola as they gear up to welcome thousands of students from West Africa.

  • Spanish, Italian clubs scramble for Raheem Lawal

    Spanish, Italian clubs scramble for Raheem Lawal

    Super Eagles’ midfielder, Raheem Lawal is not short of offers from clubs in Spain and Italy, SportingLife has been told by his agent, Segun Ogunbayo.

    Lawal was mooted to be teaming up with Tottenham in the English Premier League but the deal  has been proclaimed dead by Ogunbayo who disclosed that Lawal’s lack of sufficient games for the Super Eagles had nullified that.

    He revealed that some clubs in Spain and Italy have come with very serious offers that they are presently studying and that very soon Lawal would be able to get a club he would lace his boots for ahead of the new season.

    “Lawal is not short of offers. He has offers from Italy and Spain that we are presently studying. He was supposed to hold talks with Tottenham but it didn’t materialise because of the number of games he played for the Super Eagles. We are currently studying all proposals brought from those clubs before deciding which one will be best for him,” Ogunbayo told SportingLife.

    Lawal was in the Samson Siasia’s U-20 squad to Egypt 2009 which crashed out in the second round of that competition to Germany and he played a couple of matches for the Super Eagles under Stephen Keshi. He was however considered not good enough for the just ended Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup.

  • World Cup: Marketers subtitle Spanish adverts in English

    TO appeal to bilingual consumers, marketers are airing  Spanish adverts with English-subtitles in the ongoing World Cup.

    Marketers have been tiptoeing into this space with Spanish phrases or slogans included in adverts, said David Wellisch, founder and managing partner of Latinum Network. But running an advert entirely in Spanish on an English network is novel.

    Mr. Wellisch said: “It’s very innovative. Companies are exploring and experimenting across the board. It’s all driven by the growing influence of this consumer segment.”

    J.C. Penney scooped up advert time for its Spanish-language spot, “Pulse,” on NBC, ABC and Fox, after the advert performed well on Univision. A promotional offer added to the spot will have an English voiceover. The spot is part of a push meant to position J.C. Penney as the department-store destination for Hispanics.

    “Hearing the Spanish language with subtitles will be a compelling disruption that should cause the commercial to disrupt better than if it was translated. It’s also a great way to cast a wider net and capture the more acculturated, bilingual millennials that may be tuning into other networks outside of Univision during the World Cup.”

    Dish Network is embracing the approach with its campaign, El Juego Bonito, or “The Beautiful Game.” An ad featuring a scantily clad dancer promotes the ability to watch multiple views of a soccer game with Dish’s Hopper set-top box — with multiple views of said dancer. The ad aired on late night shows, including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report.”

    Hyundai has also been airing a subtitled ad as part of its “Because Futbol” campaign that features a baby boom nine months after the World Cup.

    As recently as the Super Bowl, Coca-Cola was the subject of a consumer backlash for airing an ad that featured a variety of languages. As such, Mr. Wellisch said there’s certainly a possibility marketers airing Spanish-language ads on English networks could upset some consumers. But generally, he added, World Cup audiences are more “progressive, urban, and more culturally open and engaged.”

    “You have to place some bets and take some risks,” Mr. Wellisch said. “If you’re a Latina mom, watching in the office on an English network, and [J.C. Penney] is speaking to you, you will remember.

  • Onyewu looking to rebuild career in Spanish Sun

    Onyewu looking to rebuild career in Spanish Sun

    Oguchi Onyewu has had more than his fair share of bad luck with injuries and disruptive changes to coaching staff but the peripatetic American feels a loan move to Malaga has given him the perfect chance to get his career back on track.

    The 30-year-old defender’s stint at AC Milan, whom Malaga host in Champions League Group C on Wednesday, was at first wrecked by a serious knee injury.

    Then when coach Massimiliano Allegri took charge, Onyewu found himself surplus to requirements despite signing a one-year contract extension which would have seen him play for free.

    After a loan move to Dutch side Twente Enschede, he signed for Sporting of Portugal in June last year before he was sidelined by another knee problem and it again became clear he was not part of the club’s plans.

    Malaga came calling and Onyewu, who has also played in France, Belgium and England, decided Spain’s southern coast was the right place to be despite the Qatar-owned club’s apparent institutional instability.

    “If my services are not wanted and appreciated in one place I’m going to look where they are,” Onyewu said in an interview with Reuters in the stands of Malaga’s sun-drenched Rosaleda stadium on Tuesday.

    “I was excited to have this challenge and opportunity in a new country and a new team,” added the Washington D.C.-born player, whose parents are Nigerian.

    “I find myself in a good place back with a top team that’s playing Champions League.

    “I’m very happy with the way my path has propelled me to this point right now.”

    Onyewu, who says he is open to making the move to Malaga permanent, has yet to make his debut for his new team and faces stiff competition for a place in central defence from established pair Martin Demichelis and Weligton.

    UNLUCKY RUNS

    Now that he is back to full fitness, he says he is focusing on working hard to win over Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini.

    “I consider myself an established centre back as well,” he told Reuters as he adjusted the back-to-front baseball cap covering his close-cropped hair.

    “I’ve played in a variety of countries, I have a fair number of national team caps and World Cups under my belt as well.

    “I feel as though my opportunity is just around the corner and when it comes up it’s for me to take or let it go.

    “Fortunately my health at this moment is not in question. It’s good to say because I’ve had a couple of unlucky runs of injuries so I’m happy to feel and to say that I’m healthy right now.”

    Onyewu was left out of Juergen Klinsmann’s latest U.S. squad but is confident of adding to his 66 caps and six goals once he has made his mark in La Liga.

    “Right now I’m not in the mix and rightfully so,” he said.

    “I think you need to take things in their proper order and my main focus is Malaga and concentrating here on getting the playing time I’m working for.

    “Once that all comes to realisation everything else should fall into place.

    “He (Klinsmann) expressed his delight in terms of me putting myself in a good position despite everything that went down in Lisbon.

    “I’m not too worried about it but first things first. I have to take care of business here.”

    First up on Wednesday are his former club Milan, who are in something of a downward spiral after selling a host of top players in the close season.

    Onyewu said he harbours no ill feeling towards the Italians but will not be doing his former team mates any favours.

    “As much as I am looking forward to seeing some of the old faces I used to play with I’m also looking forward to getting the three points against them,” he said.

    “I’m going to laugh with them after the game but during those 90 minutes they are my enemies as much as anybody else.”

    CLUB LEGENDS

    After what he called “a period of transition”, Milan are sure to put their troubles behind them and return to winning ways, he said.

    “It’s going to be very difficult for any team to change a lump sum of players all at one time,” he remarked of the seven-times European champions.

    “They let a lot of important players, not just for the team but for the club, leave. Legends for the club.

    “Right now they have a younger group and they’re looking to rebuild that legacy. Obviously it’s going to take some time and lot of commitment from the players.”

    Malaga’s preparations for the season were disrupted by speculation – that initially went unanswered – that owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nassar Al Thani was planning to sell up after only two years.

    The internal problems did not seem to affect the players too seriously, despite delays in wage payments, and they are third in La Liga and top of their Champions League group after two matches on their debut in Europe’s elite club competition.

    “Right now to me being inside, it feels and it seems as though the club is completely stable,” Onyewu said.

    “There hasn’t been any indication of the financial issues that were a question prior to my arrival.

    “You never know what happens in the future but at the moment it hasn’t affected me and it hasn‘t been an issue. Hopefully that will continue and we’ll have smooth sailing for everyone.”