Russia 2018: Nigeria Goes For Gold

Nigeria’s head coach, Gernot Rohr has mentioned that the Super Eagles have their eyes set on winning the world cup title come June 2018 in Russia. No African team has ever won the cup nor has any team ever made it to the semi-finals in world cup history. However, when the FIFA World Cup Trophy arrived in Lagos for the tour, the German was bold to send a statement to the other 31 finalists.

“Every team going to the World Cup in Russia has a dream of winning it, but to be realistic, we believe in our dream and we are working so hard to achieve it." - Gernot Rohr

February Awards: Victor Wanyama and Jordan Ayew Star

Kenyan international, Victor Wanyama’s goal grabbed the Premier League goal of the month award while Swansea’s Jordan Ayew was named the Welsh club’s player of the month. Wanyama came off the bench, scored a stunner from 40 yards against for Tottenham Hotspur and helped the North Londoners force a draw against Liverpool at Anfield. It was also the night of great goals, in which Salah mesmerized on-lookers by getting the better of two Spurs defenders and finishing off in emphatic style.

"The ball was bouncing and I didn’t want to think too much so I just let it fly. It was a good goal and I’m happy to win Goal of the Month.” - Victor Wanyama

Though he was red-carded this weekend for a rash challenge on Huddersfield man, Jordan Ayew is enjoying glory days at Swansea. He has been phenomenal in their recent revival, raising the club’s EPL survival hopes and progressing in the English FA Cup. It’s only fair to give him such an accolade. We might actually enjoy more of the Ayew brothers as Jordan was recently united with his brother Andre at the Swans.

Internationals: Didier Drogba closing up his football career

The Ivorian footballing legend has announced that he will hang up his boots at the end of the season. Didier celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday and has admitted that it is time out. Arizona State’s Phoenix Rising will be his last stop after an illustrious career that saw him help Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League success and win many titles in different colors across different regions of the world in countries such as China, USA, France, Turkey, and France. Drogba is also relishing the prospect of joining hands with American businessman, Frank McCourt to take Olympique Marseille to the next level though, nothing is set in stone. Furthermore, his eldest son, Isaac joined French Ligue 1 side Guingamp in February and presents a lucrative prospect for keeping the Drogba torch alight.

Internationals: Choupo-Moting and Kameni in Cameroon’s squad for Kuwait friendly

Stoke City forward, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper, Carlos Kameni are among the 23 man squad of familiar faces that have been called up by caretaker coach, Alexandre Belinga. Choupo-Moting previously refused to honor the call to represent the Indomitable Lions at the AFCON finals in Gabon 2017 after announcing retirement from international football. The duo will join the likes of Porto’s Vincent Aboubakar and captain Benjamin Moukandjo for the Kuwait friendly on the 25th of  March, which is a step towards preparation for the AFCON 2019 qualifiers against Malawi, Comoros and Morocco though they have automatically qualified by the virtue of being hosts. On the other hand, Liverpool defender, Joel Matip remains defiant on rejoining Cameroon after snubbing them in last year’s finals.

At Home: Itumeleng Khune

The South African veteran goalkeeper has described his trade as similar to wine, good wine. At 30 years of age, he has already appeared 300 times for Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs and is a certainty on the Bafana Bafana team sheet. Khune has become an influential figure in the South African football, well known for his vocal abilities in goal, out of this world shot stops and seamless ball distribution. The South African nation will are definitely delighted to know that he still has a few more years of service and will just get better. This is what he had to say to the Amakhosi (Kaizer Chiefs) website:

"With age, my body strength is slowly regressing, but I am able to read situations much faster and, as a result, close down situations before they become dangerous.

Goalkeeping is like good wine, the older the better. I am still hungry for more success and want to win more trophies,"

EPL Roundup Matchday 30

Gabonese striker, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang continues to lead the charge in the revitalised Arsenal side which had been lacking confidence recently. He scored away against Brighton in the Gunners’ 2-1 loss and added to his tally yesterday in emphatic style. The Batman, quickly latched on to Mkhitaryan’s silky pass and rounded the goalkeeper before finding the back of the net, capping off with an acrobatic celebration. He later on assisted the Armenian for Arsenal’s third goal. Elsewhere, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez did what he does best for Leicester - assist and score goals. The Manchester City transfer saga seems to be behind him now. Riyad and Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored his first EPL goal for the Foxes, were both on the scoresheet as Leicester embarrassed bottom of the table West Bromwich Albion, 4-1. Serge Aurier also grabbed a goal in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth together fellow Ivorian, Eric Bailly who returned to Man United’s starting line up. Bailly stopped Salah from scoring a goal for the first time in eight starts for Liverpool but couldn’t help but finish off Sadio Mane’s cross into his own net.

The midfielder confirms when he will hang his boots

One of Fergie’s servants has finally come to terms with reality and has decided to hang his boots at the end of the current campaign. Michael Carrick has been a midfield enforcer in the Manchester United team under five different managers including Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. He is well known and respect for his basic play that slows down the pace of the team and allows them to dominate possession with his quick short passes and rare long balls to the wing. The 36 year-old would have probably wanted to continue playing but has been given little opportunities ever since Mourinho took over and the chances of him playing this season were shuttered by the emergence of McTominay who is younger and fresher than the experienced defensive midfielder. A health problem also contributed to that decision as he has undergone a procedure to correct his heart rhythm. This problem started in the Burton game and also happened in training. We wish him all the best in his last year and hopefully he can lift one more trophy before he retires.

SkySports pundit suspended for unacceptable reaction

Former Liverpool captain and current SkySports pundit Jamie Carragher, pictured on the left, has been suspended after a video surfaced on the internet after Liverpool lost 2-1 to Manchester United. He was recorded spitting out from his car at a young girl who was driving with her father. The two were caught off guard as the former player rolled down the window of his car and spat in the direction of the fans. This behavior is unacceptable coming from a player who used to be a leader in his team and is a TV Personality that people look up to. He has since apologized to the family and has been suspended from his duties at SkySports who denounced his actions. Do you think a suspension is too harsh a punishment for the pundit who was goaded by many fans several times before this incident? Let us know your thoughts below in the comment section.

Mourinho hits back at Frank De Boer

Manchester United boss has hit back at Former Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer about his recent comments on how Jose Mourinho has been handling Marcus Rashford. De Boer praised the young forward’s impact in the Liverpool match as he scored a brace in a tough match. He went on to say that it is a ‘pity’ that Rashford is playing under Mourinho presumably because he is not allowing the player to progress by playing a lot of games. This might be due to the fact there are many players in front of him in the pecking order including the January signing Alexis Sanchez. However, de Boer’s comments brought about a fiery comment from Mourinho who is quoted to having said that Frank is the worst Premier League manager in history. He managed only 7 matches in the EPL with all of them defeats and scoring none in the process before facing the sack. Mourinho turned the conversation from the player to his record and ambition for winning. He stipulated that Rashford would be a failure if he was coached by the former Palace boss because that is what Frank knows how to do. Do you think Mourinho’s reaction is justifiable? Drop your comments below.

The cycle continues at Southampton

Mauricio Pellegrino is the latest Premier League manager to face the sack after a chain of disappointing results. It is recorded that the average Premier League manager does not last longer than 1 year and 3 months. The Southampton manager has been let go after a run of one win in the last 17 games. He confirmed on Saturday that his players looked like they had given up when they lost 3-0 to newly promoted Newcastle. The club have now decided that new management is the solution for the team that has been playing some entertaining football in the past few years. Assistant manager Carlos Compagnucci and first-team coach Xavier Tamarit have also parted company with the club. Do you think that this culture of sacking managers in the Premier League is the only way to guarantee success?

Per Mertesacker: The effects of football on a professional player

Current Arsenal captain Per Metersacker opened up on the challenges faced by professional players before the game. The 33-year-old centre-back revealed that he suffers from anxiety attacks and sometimes feels like vomiting if he turns his stomach. The player goes to extremes of chocking himself violently in order to avoid that from happening. Imagine what everyone else goes through if the captain of the team struggles like this. No wonder the Arsenal team often shows lack of fight and bravery when it matters the most. The soon-to-retire player also reflected on the match between Germany and Italy which was played in 2006 when he was still 21 years old. He talked about how he could not wait for the match to end because it was a burden both physically and mentally. It seems that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the matches start. Let us wait to hear other confessions of players when they are about to retire.

Dortmund Snatched a Late Win Over Frankfurt

Chelsea loanee Michy Batshuayi has stepped in to fill Aubameyang’s shoes and has not disappointed. The striker has been on fine goalscoring form since his move as he has registered 7 goals and 1 assist in just 8 appearances in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League. 2 of those goals came in today’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt which his team won 3-2. Typical rollercoaster it was as Reus’ own goal was canceled out by Jovic in the 75th minute. Batshuayi then scored two minutes later and gave the advantage to Dortmund. When Blum scored in the 91st minute, everyone thought that they had rescued a point for their team only for Batshuayi to go behind the Frankfurt defense and score the 94th-minute winner past Lukas Hradecky. This means that Borrusia Dortmund (3rd place) are only just a point behind Schalke 04 in the league. The race for UEFA Champions League qualification continues.

Allegri: Madrid Are the Team to Beat

Juventus coach Allegri believes that Real Madrid are once again the title favorites after eliminating PSG. The Spanish club had been struggling in form this season as they are currently sitting in 3rd place with just a point ahead of Valencia in fourth. Allegri feels that Madrid are the team to beat and he is keen to avoid them in the quarterfinal round. “This is because their focus is solely on that competition and also that there is nobody else that deals with games in this competition like they do,” said Allegri. He said the same about Barcelona who are hungry for the title which has eluded them in the past two seasons when Real Madrid were dominating. Barcelona host Chelsea on Wednesday for the final clash between the two. Many celebrations will come from the qualifying teams if another big club in Barcelona falls at this early round. Let us wait and see who gets to pack their bags this round because this tournament never disappoints.

Arsenal Win 3-0 Against Watford

Arsenal are seemingly beginning to bounce back after a long difficult spell. Arsene Wenger’s side dispatched Watford by 3 goals to nil in the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. This is their first win in after losing 3 games straight before this match. Mustafi scored the opener from a Mesut Ozil cross before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored the second thanks to a Mkhitaryan assist on 59 minutes. It was a delight to see the striker celebrate with his traditional summersault which is very familiar to those that followed him during his days in Germany. The pair combined once again like they did in Dortmund as this time the striker turned provider to Mkhitaryan’s goal in the 77th minute. It is also worth mentioning that Petr Cech saved Troy Deeney’s penalty and went on to secure his record 200th clean sheet in the Premier League. The keeper got the man of the match award after making some fine saves in the match. Mesut Ozil’s assist makes him the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League assists in 141 matches. What a day to remember for the record-breaking duo!

Is Ligue 1 Enough Of A Challenge For Neymar?

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague of SkySports gave his views on the rumors surrounding Neymar after his team was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid. It is said that the Brazilian star is disappointed by his team’s lack of hunger to be competitive in the tournament which he hoped to win again in different colors to those of Barcelona. The player was in red hot form before his latest injury as he had scored 29 goals and provided 19 assists in just 30 matches across all competitions. It is believed that someone close to the player is the one who is being used as a spokesman to attract the attention of Real Madrid who have already tried to sign the player three times in the past. If that is to happen, Madrid would have to fork out something around €400m to lure him from PSG. Whether the club would actually allow him to leave is another story. What is to expect is an increase in the number of articles published between now and the end of season about Neymar and his possible transfer to different clubs in Europe.

Sanchez's Manchester United Career Off to a Mixed Start

Alexis Sanchez switched from Arsenal to Manchester United in a swap deal that involved Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way. The player was frustrated by the lack of ambition that is surrounding the Emirates Stadium. What he probably did not expect was that his move to the Red Devils would not yield instant results like he did at Arsenal. Most recently, his coach Jose Mourinho admitted that the team is not getting the best out of the forward. This is because he came in as a big profile signing that was expected to bring back the attacking aura to the second placed team but had little time to gel with the philosophy of the coach and the chemistry of the team. That is still yet to happen. In his defense, Mourinho is a defensive minded coach and his tactics are mostly centered on counter-attacking the opposition which does not suit the winger who always demands the ball and wants to have a go at defenders. Time is running out for the winger before critics start calling him a flop because his current return of 1 goal in 441 minutes in the Premier League is quite shocking for a player with his abilities. After turning in his best performance to date in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford, he will be looking to build some momentum both in the league and Manchester United's upcoming 2nd leg against Sevilla in the Champions League. 

Race For EPL Top Goalscorer

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is on par with Harry Kane as the English Premier League top goal scorer with 24 already to his name this season. The Egyptian winger is the talk of the moment and was interviewed by former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher on Friday. The player reflected on the fact that he has managed to score against all the other top 6 teams except for Manchester United and he feels he still has some unfinished business. He recalls the missed chances in the game played at Anfield and has been studying De Gea’s weaknesses because he is planning on scoring past the goalkeeper who is in the form of his career as well. The player says he looks for a goal in each game and wants to continue with his impressive form and go on to win the golden boot ahead of the best strikers in England. Do you think the Egyptian has what it takes to outscore Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and the rest? Drop your comments below.

Domestic Leagues: WWE star meets with Amabhakabhaka (Orlando Pirates)

It has been a great week for the Soweto giants. Apart from winning bragging rights in the derby over the weekend against bitter rivals, Kaizer Chiefs and participating in the #noexcuse campaign against gender based violence, they got to chill with Titus O’Neil in South Africa. The WWE wrestler, commonly associated with the brand name, Titus Worldwide in the WWE, got to share some lessons with the Buccaneers. The play together and pray together!