Zimbabwe: Mighty Warriors put their game face on

The Southern African country’s first team has commenced preparations ahead of the Africa Women Cup of Nations in the capital, Harare. Team manager, Charity Munemo is delighted with players’ swift turn up for training. Only a handful players are still expected to join the Mighty Warriors camp, including star striker, Rutendo “Madzimai” Makore who is plying her trade at Spanish side, Sporting de Huelva.

"So far we have 27 players in camp and I can say the turnout was very good. It's quite impressive because sometimes we start camp without most of the players but this time around we had most of them on the first day.” - Charity Munemo

Coach, Sithethelelwe Sibanda otherwise known as “Kwinji15” for her heroics on the pitch has maintained the squad that won silver at last September’s COSAFA championships.

The Mighty warriors will have to overcome a tricky Namibia on April 5 and 8 in their first-round encounter to face either Tanzania or Zambia.

Chelsea Ladies knocks out Liverpool

The team cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win against Liverpool Ladies on Sunday. Drew Spence provided the spark in the game as she crossed for Jonna Andersson to tap home in the 21st minute. The captain Katie Chapman (pictured above) made it 2-0 right before the break when she headed home at the 45th minute. More coverage should be provided for women’s football because it is as entertaining as the men’s where teams score goals galore in a match. The second half of the match was the same as Chelsea continued to dominate and Alex Greenwood could not help but bring down Gemma Davison who was in a dangerous position. Liverpool Ladies conceded the third goal from the resulting penalty kick that was taken by Maren Mjelde on 58 minutes. Both teams made their 4 substitutes before the end of the game but none were ready to be an impact player and change the course of the game for Liverpool. What a shame. Next up, Chelsea Ladies will be at home and will host either Sunderland or Manchester City in the semi-final once a winner between the two has been confirmed on the 25th of March.   

Xavi shares some of his footballing genius

Xavi Hernandez has shared his secrets in football after being called a ‘Master of Football’ by fellow legend Diego Maradona. The 38 year old Al Sadd midfielder plans to retire at the end of this season after a stellar career predominantly played at Barcelona and the Spanish national team where he won all trophies that can be won by a player i.e. FIFA World Cup, Club World Cup, Euros, UEFA Champions Leagues, Domestic Leagues and Cups. He has lifted them all. His secret is using his strengths. He claims to be just a student of the Cruyff’s school and that he has found a way to compensate for his weakness in lacking speed. He was taught to use his brain and look 360 degrees every time he is on the ball so that he is aware of the options around him. He gave an example of Mbappe saying that the young forward can put the ball forward, run, and pass the player because he has the legs for it but Xavi’s strength was to find the next option and make a quick pass before the opponents close down the spaces. His brain was his mantra and his basic football made him one of the greats admired by many. Do you think that football is really that easy and that keeping it simple can make someone a ‘Master of Football’? Could it be that the Spaniard does not want to tell us his secrets on how to be a great player? Drop your comments below.

Unsettled Pogba wants to play with Neymar

Paul Pogba has shown that he is an individual that admires a lot of things in different players that play in his position. He looks at players like Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric for inspiration to improve his game. He also had time to mention a player who is also world class but does not play in his position or even for Manchester United. The unhappy player who has been benched by Mourinho in recent matches has admitted to being a big fan of Neymar and appreciates the fact that the player is always happy on the pitch. It is clear that the player is not enjoying his current form and situation which was also backed by his French national team coach Didier Deschamps. Pogba went on to say that he would like to play with Neymar someday. Could it be that the player is hinting at a move to Real Madrid where he could be a long-term replacement for Modric and be joined by Neymar if Florentino Perez bids the rumored €400 million? Surely, he is saying something when he is talking about playing with a player from another club.   

Ronaldo once again won the Portuguese player of the year award

In the wake of Real Madrid’s 6-2 win where Ronaldo scored 4 goals, the Portuguese forward has since been awarded the best Portuguese player again. He did not fail to mention the players who he owes much for the award after a record season with Madrid where he won 5 trophies in 2017 including his fifth Ballon d’Or and the second FIFA award. He was voted the best player by fans, coaches, and a jury that is led by former Portugal number 7, Luis Figo. This should probably the smallest accolade that he has won considering the caliber of the player and what he has achieved as an individual at club level. Nonetheless, it is something to add to his Resume and he could not make his agent Jorge Mendez anymore proud. Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva and Sporting goalkeeper, Rui Patricio came second and third respectively.

Former Borussia Dortmund boss opens up about the reasons behind leaving the club

Former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has publicly stated that he is no longer the man-in-charge thanks to the bomb attack that his team experienced during his time. Before the attacks, Tuchel had successfully managed to transition his team from Klopp’s old foe and tactics as he brought fresh players like Dembele and Pulisic who made his team’s attack very threatening. He won the DFB-Pokal in 2016/17 which was his only trophy before leaving the club at the end of the season. He admits that some of his former players are still traumatized by the bomb attack which happened so close to his team bus. This definitely had an effect on the team’s performances thereafter. There was also a major discrepancy claimed by Aki (Borrusia Dortmund Chairman) and Tuchel says that the essence of this discrepancy was that Tuchel was on the bus and the Chairman was not. This led to a fall out which resulted in Tuchel leaving. He is a talented manager and should be given a platform to express his abilities. Who do you think should hire Tuchel in the summer?  

Luke Shaw could be on his way out of Manchester United

The English left back moved to Manchester United from Southampton in 2014 as a promising teenager who looked capable of becoming one of the best players in the world under the right manager. He has since suffered from injuries that have hindered his progress at Old Trafford. Mourinho took over at United in 2016 and has showed that he does not trust the player’s abilities. Instead of looking after a fragile young player and boosting his confidence, Mourinho has criticized the 22-year old defender whenever he has set his feet on the pitch. He was once quoted as having said that, “Shaw had a good game because he was using his body and I was controlling his brain because I was telling him what he had to do with the ball.” Some analysts have since come up with theories to explain the pair’s relationship suggesting that the Portuguese manager might be bitter over the fact that Shaw chose United over Chelsea in 2014 when he was still at the helm of the West London club. It is clear that Mourinho will not prioritize the player so he should seriously consider his future in the summer.   

COSAFA Cup: Botswana steps down, South Africa steps up

Botswana has receded their right to host the 18th edition of the Council of Southern African Football Associations tournament. According to Botswana Football Association CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, South Africa who were last year’s hosts will come to the rescue.

"South Africa has provisionally agreed to step in and host the COSAFA cup and we are grateful for that," Mfolo told the media.

The COSAFA cup is for national team players based in their respective domestic leagues. Sixteen nations participant in the tournament and the Warriors of Zimbabwe is the most successful team with a record five titles, followed by Zambia with four.

CAF Club Competitions: Zamalek knocked out by debutants, Sundowns and Raja Casablanca advance

Five-time African champions, Zamalek, bowed out of the CAF confederation cup tournament in courtesy of a shock defeat by Ethiopia’s Welyta Dicha who are making their first appearance in the tournament. Both sides recorded 2-1 victories in their home countries forcing the tie to reach penalty shoot-out where Zamalek lost 4-3 in front of their Egyptian fans. Pressure is mounting on Zamalek to step up after their rivals Al Ahly won the Egyptian League title a week ago, with about six weeks to spare and are well on course to go further in the CAF Champions League.

Elsewhere, Masandawana(Mamelodi Sundowns) had to dig deep to go past a stubborn Rwandan outfit, Rayon Sports FC and reach the group stages of the CAF Champions League. Rayon Sports had held the Brazilians to a 0-0 draw in Rwanda only to lose 2-0 in South Africa this past weekend. There were no major surprises in an encounter between former champions, Raja Casablanca and Mauritania’s Nouadhibou where the former eased into the last 16 (group stages) with an aggregate win of 4-2.

CAF Champions League is the premier club competition on the continent, similar to Europe’s UEFA Champions League whilst CAF Confederation Cup is Africa’s version of the Europa League.

Abroad: Liverpool bound Naby Keita sinks Bayern Munich

Guinean ace, Naby Keita canceled out Sandro Wagner’s open and set up RB Leipzig’s second goal to snap Bayern Munich’s 18 match unbeaten run in the German League. RB Leipzig are in contention for a champions league spot currently sit sixth on the Bundesliga, two points adrift of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. They will most likely miss Naby next season who will join Klopp’s charges in a £51 million move this July. A possible African connection of Keita, Salah and Mane presents a tantalizing prospect for the Merseyside club and viewers all over the world.

Internationals: Yaya Toure is back again!

The 34-year-old midfielder has returned to international football after three years of absence. Yaya announced retirement in 2015 after captaining the Elephants to their first AFCON title since 1992. He reversed that decision in December 2017 and has now been included in Ivory Coast’s 24 man squad to face Togo and Moldova in friendlies. The midfield maestro has fallen a bit out of favor under Pep Guardiola, featuring in only 13 matches in all competitions for Manchester City, coming on as a substitute on six occasions. The West African nation will be hoping that his return will help change the nation’s fortunes after they failed to reach the knock-out stages of the 2017 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament or qualify for this year’s FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. The qualification for the 2019 AFCON tournament is all they have to play for now.

Chelsea win 2-1 in extra time

Antonio Conte proves he has still got it as his team fought hard for him against Leicester City in a match which they won 2-1 in extra time. First, it was Alvaro Morata who was out to prove his critics wrong who have been at his back for not living up to expectations. Some believe that he does not deserve to start for Chelsea ahead of Giroud because he is out of confidence. Nonetheless, it did not prevent him from scoring the opener in the 42nd minute. There was nothing much in the match after the break before Vardy deservedly evened the scores in the 76th minute. 90 minutes passed and still, there was no winner. The match had to go to extra time where N’golo, in an unfamiliar position to the right, whipped a beautiful cross and it was headed home by the Spanish Pedro of all people on 105 minutes. That was it for the night as both teams tried to score more with nothing materializing. Chelsea are up against Southampton next in the semis whom are now under the coach Mark Hughes who won 2-1 against Wigan in his first game in charge. Game on!

Will your favorite players make it to the World Cup?

There is a little less than 2 months left to go to the World Cup and the national team coaches have already started testing out the players that they think could make the final squad that will compete against the world’s best. An international break is right ahead of us and we have seen some familiar faces face the ax as some inexperienced players have been called up and trusted more than the experienced. For England, Gary Cahill who was tipped to become the captain of the team has been left out and has been replaced by players like Tarkowski. David Luiz has not been playing much of late this season and many expect him to be one of the biggest omissions from Brazil’s World Cup squad. What about Mario Goetze?

The dilemma brought about by Luka Modric

The best way to describe the Croatian midfielder is to call him a midfield maestro. The 33-year old player has been at the heart of Real Madrid ever since Mourinho bought him in 2012. It has not all been perfect though for the former Tottenham midfielder as he was once voted the worst Real Madrid player in his first season after failing to adapt to the league. The Madrid faithful have since regretted for judging him too soon as the player has cemented his position as the box-to-box midfielder. He has orchestrated some of the most brutal attacks on teams like Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona and Manchester United with a simple drop-shoulder dribble and quick pass to Ronaldo which instigated counter-attacks that have led to goals. Unplayable when he is at his best and irreplaceable when he is not available through to suspensions and injuries. The question is who will replace him if Madrid are relying so badly on him? What will happen when he eventually retires because he is not getting any younger? Madrid have already thought about these questions and have since been on the lookout.

Manchester United win 2-0 against Brighton

Criticism for the Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku has died down in recent weeks as the player has rediscovered his goalscoring touch and he contributed once again to Manchester United’s win on Saturday. It had been a quiet night for the team who were failing to break the Premier League side’s defense before Nemanja Matic found Lukaku with an inch perfect cross for the striker to nod home just before the break. That made it his 25th goal in his debut season at Manchester United. Mourinho’s men had enough time to add another one 7 minutes before time as Ashley Young’s freekick found Matic at the back post and the midfielder made no mistake as he scored the second to secure a 2-0 win against newly promoted Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup. Next up is the semifinals and the boys have to be at their best if they are to have a chance against Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool hit 5 past Watford

Excellence personified. Mo Salah was at his best when Liverpool faced a Watford side that was still wounded from a 3-0 loss against Arsenal not so long ago. The Egyptian was ready to make the show his as he scored 4 goals and assisted the other for Roberto Firmino. This means that he is at 28 goals in the EPL, four ahead of the injured Harry Kane and is tipped to edge out the rest in the homestretch. Some have started comparisons between the player and the Argentine great, Lionel Messi but his coach, Jurgen Klopp, thinks that it is too soon to mention such names that have done it for 20 years. He however, mentioned that he believes that his player is on his way to be considered one of the best footballers in the world if he keeps his head down and do what he does best which is scoring goals. The race to be the best in the African continent is already finished with his closest competitor Aubameyang of Gabon also joining the Premier League in January but failing to keep up with Salah’s stats. Is Salah there yet? Tell us what you think.

Transfers: Bafana Bafana talisman relishing PSL return from Belgian side, Oostende

South Africa’s acclaimed midfielder, Andile Jali, has revealed that he would be coming back to the local top flight league, ABSA Premiership after his contract with Oostende comes to a close at the end of the season. The 27-year-old midfielder has featured in Oostende’s 24 of their 30 matches this season, not shy to point out that he has enjoyed playing in front of the Belgian crowd. Jali cited the need to spend more time with his family as the major driver pulling him back to Mzansi.

“I have made up my mind, with my family, my wife. I have made up my mind that now is time to come back to my family.” - Andile Jali

He is currently back in South Africa, recovering from a knee injury and reports are suggesting that the former Orlando Pirates man could join Pitso Mosimane’s Mamelodi Sundowns on his return.

Andile Jali went, saw and conquered.

Russia 2018: Nigeria ‘poaches’ German U-21 defender

Apparently, the Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has been trying for months to convince Hertha Berlin center back, Jordan Torunarigha to join his camp. Jordan’s agent has confirmed that they received such a request from the Nigerian Football Federation(NFF) also advising that the 20-year-old defender will listen to his heart on the matter. Torunarigha has climbed through the ranks of Hertha Berlin academy, featuring for the world champions’ youth teams since 2014. Should he accept the request, the defender will get a chance to wear Nigeria’s colors on the biggest stage of them all at a tender age and perhaps follow after his father, Ojokojo Torunarigha, who won 12 caps for the Super Eagles. Last week, Rohr announced a squad for friendlies that included only two home-based players and did receive a fair share of criticism. Could this mount up the pressure?