Puma Produces Balotelli-Inspired Mohawk-Themed Boots

You just can’t keep Super Mario out of the news at the minute, can you?
The Liverpool striker has Jose Enrique telling the media that the pair are being ‘frozen out’ by Brendan Rodgers, he’s been linked with every Italian club to ever kick a ball, he dons an outrageous earring in a Liverpool cameo and then he turns up Manchester City’s changing room?!

Phew, long breath.

Well anyway, in the latest typically Mario Balotelli thing to happen in the life of Mario Balotelli he’s gone and designed some football boots in collaboration with current sponsor Puma.

The Puma evoPOWER boots are only available in junior sizes, have Balotelli’s infamous slogan ‘why always me?’ on the side and something a little bit furry on the heel…
Culled from Metro.co.uk

Ebola: Nigeria To Host Sierra Leone, CIV Clash

Nigeria will host the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifier between defending champions Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone.

This was made known by the Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday.

The game which comes up on Sunday, September 6, will either hold at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos or the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium, Port Harcourt.

Sierra Leone and Guinea have been barred from hosting matches since the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus last year there.

But the NFF claim they have been cleared by health authorities to host the match in Nigeria.

“We are delighted to announce that we have received the go-ahead from the Federal Ministry of Health to host the match,” NFF President Amaju Pinnick said. “The Sierra Leoneans will come with a delegation of 32, made up of mostly overseas-based professionals, technical crew and officials of the SLFA, to be led by its president, Isha Johansen.

“We are happy about the go-ahead because, once more, our country has an opportunity to underscore its leadership role on the African continent, nay global sphere. The NFF has initiated discussions with the Lagos State Government and the Rivers State Government on preventive measures, such as keeping Sierra Leone’s small delegation in a special hotel where they can be monitored at all times.”

Pinnick stated further that the thought of hosting top Cote d’Ivoire stars most especially African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure, makes it worth the effort.

“We are talking of hosting the African champion team, with the likes of African Player of the Year, Yaya Toure and others, and this will certainly earn us commendation from CAF and FIFA.”

QPR-Bound Ikeme: I Doubted Eagles Call-Up

Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme has admitted that he thought someone was joking with him when he was informed of his first international call-up for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The 29-year-old will join up with the Super Eagles squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania next weekend in Abuja.

Meanwhile, Ikeme is reportedly attracting interest from Queens Park Rangers, who were relegated to the Championship from the Premier League last season.

Ikeme who pledged his allegiance to Nigeria years back will now challenge Super Eagles skipper Vincent Enyeama for a place in the side.

“When the message and the phone call came I thought someone was winding me up to start with,” he told the BCC.

“I spoke to the coach and it started to make more sense and I realised it was none of my cousins winding me up or anything like that.”

Ikeme was surprisingly dropped for Wolves’ home game against Hull City on Sunday in favour of Emiliano Martinez after his error in the defeat against Blackburn.

Rafael Nadal beats Fabio Fognini to win Hamburg Open title

Nadal, playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon, had already lost to Fognini twice on clay this year.
But he won a tight final that saw 12 breaks of serve to extend his run of having won a European clay-court tournament every year since 2004.
It is the 67th singles title of the 29-year-old's career and his third in Hamburg, where he last won in 2008.
"It was a very tough final, it is an important title for me" said Nadal, who suffered cramp as he tried to conduct a post-match interview on the court.
Nadal, who has suffered from injuries this season, had not competed since he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round qualifier.
The Spaniard squandered a 3-1 lead in the final set but saved two set points before finally defeating the eighth seed in two hours 34 minutes.
"It was a great match, many great points, many breaks, we fought hard," added Nadal, who now has 47 titles on clay and will move up to ninth in the world rankings on Monday.

D’Tigers Hit France For Pre-Nations Cup Tourney

The Nigerian national men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, have departed for France to take part in an invitational tournament billed to hold between July 22 and 27, Sportsyan can report.
The team, according to officials of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, departed via Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday and will use the invitational tournament to prepare for the FIBA-African Championship scheduled to hold in Tunisia between 19 August and 30 August.
Completesportsnigeria.com was also informed that the team will be handled by the newly contracted American coach William Voigt, who has been mandated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation to win the African Championship.
Players on the trip include NBA stars Al Farouq Aminu and Ekpe Udoh who will be making his first appearance for Nigeria at the invitational tournament in France.
Alfarouq’s older brother Alade, Ike Diogu, Benjamin Uzoh, Stanley Okoye, Andy Ogide, Jamal Olasewere, Stanley Gumut , Deji Akindele, Micheal Umeh, Eric Oluwaseun, Obekpa Chris and Ofoegbu Ikechukwu with the likes of Edo Karachi, Akinlolu Akingbala, Ebie Jason, Elonu Chinemelu, Gbinije Micheal, Olaseni Lawal and Talib Zanna are also in the squad.
Also making a return to the team are Chamberlain Oguchi and Derrick Obasohan who were part of the London 2012 Olympics.
Meanwhile, the team will remain in France after the tournament to prepare for the Nations Cup and from there move to Tunisia on August 15 for the tournament proper.

2016 Olympics: Hamilton Sees Falcons Ouster As Wake-up Call

Former Super Falcons coach, Paul Hamilton, has described the team’s ouster from the race to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games by Equatorial Guinea as a wake up call.
The Falcons lost 2-1 despite scoring first through Ngozi Okobi, to crash out 3-2 on aggregate.
Speaking with Completesportsnigeria.com, Hamilton, said other African teams are fast closing the gap on Nigeria in women’s football.
“It was unfortunate that he Super Falcons have been knocked out after putting in their best. But I think this is a wakeup call on the team because they’ve been dominating for years and other African teams are now catching up,” Hamilton said.
“All hopes not lost, what they need to do is to pick up the pieces and work hard in order to get back to their best again, I believe they will bounce back.”

Oliseh Confirms Meeting Moses, To Invite Chelsea Star

Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has given a strong indication that he will give Victor Moses another opportunity to play in the team.
The Chelsea star has not played for the national team since the 2014 World Cup, where he reportedly fell out with then coach, Stephen Keshi.
Completesportsnigeria.com reports that Oliseh is expected to name his first squad this month for September’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with Tanzania and he confirmed meeting with Moses in London over the weekend. The meeting was apparently about Moses’ return to the Super Eagles squad.
“Very constructive meeting with Chelsea & Super Eagles’ Victor Moses,” Oliseh wrote on Twitter on Monday night, the tweet accompanied with a picture of himself and Moses.
“The team building continues.”
Oliseh was at Wembley to watch Chelsea lose the Community Shield to Arsenal and Moses was a second half substitute as the Blues chased an equaliser. The other Super Eagles player at Chelsea, Mikel Obi, was an unused substitute.
Moses has had an impressive pre-season for Chelsea, scoring against PSG and being named man of the match in one of the games.
The former Wigan winger was one of Nigeria’s best players at the 2013 AFCON and he is apparently keen on a return to the squad.

               Okagbare Leads Nigeria’s 23-Man Team

Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor tops the list of 23 athletes selected by the Athletic Federation of Nigeria for the IAAF World Championship in Beijing,China from August 22-30.
 Okagbare,26,the reigning Commonwealth double sprint queen will feature in 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay events.
She won a silver and bronze at the last edition in Moscow, Russia two years ago in the 200m and the long jump.
With a 10.80 seconds personal season's best in the 100m,Okagbare is tipped to make history as the first Nigerian,man opr woman to win a blue ribband medal at the flagship of IAAF events. Also listed are Gloria Asumnu, Stephanie Kalu, Deborah Odeyemi, Cecilia Francis and Ngozi Onwumere for Nigeria’s 4x100m event.
For the 400m and 4x400m, Patience Okon George, Regina George, Tosin Adeloye, Margaret Etim, Funke Oladoye and Ruth Ossai are listed.
Delta girl, Ese Brumeh who won a long jump gold medal for Nigeria at the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, is to also listed to see if she could  emulate her mentor, Okagbare in the long jump pit in Beijing albeit hr form has been rather indifferent this season. 
Doreen Amata has her another chance at the Worlds again with her inclusion on the list for the women’s high jump.
Amaka Ogoegbunam (400m Hurdles), Lindsay Weyimi Lindsey (100m Hurdles), Chinwe Okoro (Discus) and Uhunoma Naomi Osazuwa (Hepthatlon) completed the list of 18 women on the Team Nigeria list for the Worlds.
The five male athletes listed for the Worlds in Beijing include; Ogho-Oghene Egwero (100m), Peter Tega Odele (200m), Tyron Atkins (110m Hurdles), Miles Ukaoma (400m Hurdles) and former Commonwealth Games triple jump champion, Tosin Oke.
Former American Olympic sprint gold medalist, Maurice Greene, Gabriel Okon, Yusuf Alli and  Solomon Aliyu are part of the consortium of coaches for Team Nigeria at the Championships.

           

           Man City Set To Promote Iheanacho

Kelechi Iheanacho has impressed Manuel Pellegrini so much that the Manchester City manager is prepared to promote the Nigerian youngster to the club's senior squad.

The Telegraph reports that Iheanacho, along with two other prospects Jason Denayer and Marcos Lopes are being considered to replace departing senior players in the squad as City seek to promote from within the club instead of splashing the cash.

The report adds that Iheanacho will get a chance to feature in Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup games even if top targets Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Paul Pogba are brought to the Etihad Stadium.

With James Milner choosing to reject a new contract at City in order to complete a free transfer to Liverpool, Pellegrini is now faced with replacing three ‘home-grown’ players in his squad following Frank Lampard’s move to New York City and the departure of Belgian defender Dedryck Boyata – a product of City’s youth system – to Celtic.

Premier League clubs can name no more than 17 foreign players over the age of 21 in their squads and the exits of Milner, Lampard and Boyata have left City with only three senior home-grown players in goalkeepers Joe Hart and Richard Wright and French full-back Gaël Clichy, who is classed as such after spending three years of at Arsenal prior to the age of 21.

But while City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan will back Pellegrini with a significant transfer fund this summer, the City manager has already identified teenagers Jason Denayer and Marcos Lopes, both 19, as first-team players for next season.

Denayer, a Belgian centre-half, was named Scotland’s PFA Young Player of the Year this year following the youngster’s impressive campaign on loan at Celtic.

And attacking midfielder Lopes, a Portuguese born in Brazil, will also be promoted to the senior squad next season after returning from a season-long with Lille in France.

Pellegrini is understood to also be considering Iheanacho, who is on international duty at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, to the first-team and is likely to monitor the youngster’s progress during the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and Indonesia.

None of Lopes, Denayer or Iheanacho would be classed as foreign players should they be named in Pellegrini’s Premier League squad due to all three being under the age of 21.

             Six Reasons Why Juve Could Upset Barca                    

Nobody in their wildest dreams would have predicted that an Italian team would make it to the final of this season’s UEFA Champions League. But that is what is upon us as Barcelona will have their hands full against the Old Lady of Italian football, Juventus.
With Real Madrid finally achieving La Decima last season, it was generally believed that Los Merengues would go on to become the first team to win the prestigious title back-to-back, since AC Milan did it in 1989 and 1990.
Aside from Madrid, there was talk about how Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side had what it took to claim a sixth title after achieving the feat two seasons ago. Also, the likes of Paris Saint Germaine, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid were tipped as teams who could go all the way, with only a handful giving teams from Serie A a chance. But alas, the Old Lady proved everyone wrong.
After being stripped of the Serie A title in 2006 and demoted to Serie B, Juventus seem to have reclaimed their place among the elite since returning, as they have not only dominated Serie A, but made their presence felt in Europe. With only two Champions League titles to their name (1985 and 1996), Juventus’ quest of adding a third seems a tall order as they will come up against a rampaging Barcelona side that parades the fearsome trio of Lionel Messi (58 goals), Neymar (38) and Luiz Suarez (24), who have accounted for 120 of Barcelona’s goals this season. But coach Massimiliano Allegri, skipper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Leonardo Bonucci, despite acknowledging the threat the trio possesses, all stated that they will be ready for them.
And knowing Italian teams when it comes to surprises, here are six facts why Juventus could upset the apple cart and become champions of Europe for the third time.
AC MILAN 4-0 BARCELONA, 1994 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL:
Barcelona were favourites to win the 1993/1994 UEFA Champions League title, having just won La Liga for the fourth year in a row. And in their squad was an array of talents such as Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Pep Guardiola, Ronald Koeman and Andoni Zubizareta.
On their part, Milan’s preparation before the final was in disarray: legendary striker Marco van Basten was still out with a long-term injury, and £13 million young sensation Gianluigi Lentini (then the world’s most expensive footballer) was also injured; sweeper and captain, Franco Baresi was suspended, as was defender Alessandro Costacurta; and UEFA regulations at the time that limited teams to fielding a maximum of three non-nationals meant that coach Fabio Capello was forced to leave out Florin Răducioiu, Jean-Pierre Papin and Brian Laudrup. But goals from Daniel Massaro (brace), Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly saw AC Milan pummel Barcelona 4-0.
JUVENTUS’ EXPERIENCE HEADS
Known for their penchant for experienced hands, Barcelona will come up against a Juventus side that parades players who have seen it all at the biggest stage. With players like Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Patrice Evra – players who have either won the Champions League, World Cup, Scuddeto, Coppa Italia, in their ranks – the final promises to be one hell of a contest just like Real Madrid found out in the semi-final.
EQUALLING INTER MILAN 2010 TREBLE WINNING FEAT
If there is one feat Juventus would like to achieve, it is to become the second Italian club ever to win a treble after Inter did it in the 2009/2010 season. Under Jose Mourinho, Inter had the greatest season in their history completing a historic treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia & UEFA Champions League, becoming the sixth European club to complete the treble and the 1st Italian club to achieve this feat. And one of the teams who were swept aside by Inter that season was a Pep Guardiola-led Barcelona team in the semi-final.
BID TO PLACE THE ITALIAN SERIE A BACK AMONG THE BIG LEAGUES
After Inter’s remarkable achievement in the 2009/2010 season, Italian teams’ performances in the lucrative Champions League was nothing to write about. For four straight seasons (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), no Italian team made it to the semi-final. It got so bad for the Serie A that their four slots for the Champions League was reduced to three. But all that could change following Juventus great run to the final of this season’s edition. And victory against Barcelona, could go a long way in making a statement that the Serie A still has what it takes to compete with Europe’s best.
BARCELONA 1-2 JUVENTUS (NOU CAMP) 2003 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL CLASH
It was the 2003 UEFA Champions League second leg quarter-final clash at the Nou Camp between Barcelona and Juventus. The first leg had ended 1-1 in Turin. Barcelona’s first 11 (goalkeeper)Roberto Bonano (defenders) Michael Reiziger, Carles Puyol, Patrik Andersson, Frank de Boer (midfielders) Marc Overmars, Xavi Hernandez, Thiago Motta, Lius Enrique (forwards) Javier Saviola, Patrick Kluivert.
Juventus first 11 (goalkeeper) Gianluigi Buffon (defenders) Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Montero (midfielders)Alessio Tacchinardi, Edgar Davids, Mauro Camoranesi, Pavel Nedved (forwards)Marco Di Vaio, Alessandro Del Piero.
Pavel Nedved put Juventus ahead on 53 minutes but Xavi drew Barcelona level in the 66th minute. Edgar Davids got sent off 11 minutes to go but Juventus held on for extra-time. Then with six minutes remaining for the game to go into penalty shootout, substitute Marcelo Zalayeta scored to send Juventus into the semi-final.
ITALIAN TEAMS’ HABIT OF THRIVING IN ADVERSITY

It seems Italian football just can’t rid itself of scandals most notably match-fixing. But one surprising thing is that despite this setback, Italian teams always find a way of shutting everyone up by letting their football do the talking on the pitch.
Totonero 1980 or Totonero was a scandal of match fixing in Italy in 1980 in Italian Serie A and Serie B. It was uncovered on 23 March 1980. The principal protagonists in this scandal were Milan, Lazio, Perugia, Bologna, Avellino (Serie A), Taranto and Palermo (Serie B). And most notable in this scandal was Paolo Rossi who was suspended for three years (reduced to two on appeal). Italy went on to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain with Rossi emerging top scorer with six goals.
The 2006 Italian football scandal involved Italy’s top professional football leagues, Serie A and Serie B. The scandal was uncovered in May 2006 by Italian police, implicating league champions Juventus, and other major teams including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina. But Italy were crowned World Champions that same year in Germany.
And in 2007, AC Milan went on to win the UEFA Champions League, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final.
And just this year, an anti-Mafia inquiry unearthed evidence of a match-fixing scam which led to the arrest of players, coaches, presidents and administrators. More than 50 people were arrested and many more placed under investigation.Nobody in their wildest dreams would have predicted that an Italian team would make it to the final of this season’s UEFA Champions League. But that is what is upon us as Barcelona will have their hands full against the Old Lady of Italian football, Juventus.
With Real Madrid finally achieving La Decima last season, it was generally believed that Los Merengues would go on to become the first team to win the prestigious title back-to-back, since AC Milan did it in 1989 and 1990.
Aside from Madrid, there was talk about how Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich side had what it took to claim a sixth title after achieving the feat two seasons ago. Also, the likes of Paris Saint Germaine, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid were tipped as teams who could go all the way, with only a handful giving teams from Serie A a chance. But alas, the Old Lady proved everyone wrong.
After being stripped of the Serie A title in 2006 and demoted to Serie B, Juventus seem to have reclaimed their place among the elite since returning, as they have not only dominated Serie A, but made their presence felt in Europe. With only two Champions League titles to their name (1985 and 1996), Juventus’ quest of adding a third seems a tall order as they will come up against a rampaging Barcelona side that parades the fearsome trio of Lionel Messi (58 goals), Neymar (38) and Luiz Suarez (24), who have accounted for 120 of Barcelona’s goals this season. But coach Massimiliano Allegri, skipper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Leonardo Bonucci, despite acknowledging the threat the trio possesses, all stated that they will be ready for them.
And knowing Italian teams when it comes to surprises, here are six facts why Juventus could upset the apple cart and become champions of Europe for the third time.
AC MILAN 4-0 BARCELONA, 1994 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL:
Barcelona were favourites to win the 1993/1994 UEFA Champions League title, having just won La Liga for the fourth year in a row. And in their squad was an array of talents such as Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Pep Guardiola, Ronald Koeman and Andoni Zubizareta.
On their part, Milan’s preparation before the final was in disarray: legendary striker Marco van Basten was still out with a long-term injury, and £13 million young sensation Gianluigi Lentini (then the world’s most expensive footballer) was also injured; sweeper and captain, Franco Baresi was suspended, as was defender Alessandro Costacurta; and UEFA regulations at the time that limited teams to fielding a maximum of three non-nationals meant that coach Fabio Capello was forced to leave out Florin Răducioiu, Jean-Pierre Papin and Brian Laudrup. But goals from Daniel Massaro (brace), Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly saw AC Milan pummel Barcelona 4-0.
JUVENTUS’ EXPERIENCE HEADS
Known for their penchant for experienced hands, Barcelona will come up against a Juventus side that parades players who have seen it all at the biggest stage. With players like Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo, Patrice Evra – players who have either won the Champions League, World Cup, Scuddeto, Coppa Italia, in their ranks – the final promises to be one hell of a contest just like Real Madrid found out in the semi-final.
EQUALLING INTER MILAN 2010 TREBLE WINNING FEAT
If there is one feat Juventus would like to achieve, it is to become the second Italian club ever to win a treble after Inter did it in the 2009/2010 season. Under Jose Mourinho, Inter had the greatest season in their history completing a historic treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia & UEFA Champions League, becoming the sixth European club to complete the treble and the 1st Italian club to achieve this feat. And one of the teams who were swept aside by Inter that season was a Pep Guardiola-led Barcelona team in the semi-final.
BID TO PLACE THE ITALIAN SERIE A BACK AMONG THE BIG LEAGUES
After Inter’s remarkable achievement in the 2009/2010 season, Italian teams’ performances in the lucrative Champions League was nothing to write about. For four straight seasons (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), no Italian team made it to the semi-final. It got so bad for the Serie A that their four slots for the Champions League was reduced to three. But all that could change following Juventus great run to the final of this season’s edition. And victory against Barcelona, could go a long way in making a statement that the Serie A still has what it takes to compete with Europe’s best.
BARCELONA 1-2 JUVENTUS (NOU CAMP) 2003 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL CLASH
It was the 2003 UEFA Champions League second leg quarter-final clash at the Nou Camp between Barcelona and Juventus. The first leg had ended 1-1 in Turin. Barcelona’s first 11 (goalkeeper)Roberto Bonano (defenders) Michael Reiziger, Carles Puyol, Patrik Andersson, Frank de Boer (midfielders) Marc Overmars, Xavi Hernandez, Thiago Motta, Lius Enrique (forwards) Javier Saviola, Patrick Kluivert.
Juventus first 11 (goalkeeper) Gianluigi Buffon (defenders) Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Montero (midfielders)Alessio Tacchinardi, Edgar Davids, Mauro Camoranesi, Pavel Nedved (forwards)Marco Di Vaio, Alessandro Del Piero.
Pavel Nedved put Juventus ahead on 53 minutes but Xavi drew Barcelona level in the 66th minute. Edgar Davids got sent off 11 minutes to go but Juventus held on for extra-time. Then with six minutes remaining for the game to go into penalty shootout, substitute Marcelo Zalayeta scored to send Juventus into the semi-final.
ITALIAN TEAMS’ HABIT OF THRIVING IN ADVERSITY
It seems Italian football just can’t rid itself of scandals most notably match-fixing. But one surprising thing is that despite this setback, Italian teams always find a way of shutting everyone up by letting their football do the talking on the pitch.
Totonero 1980 or Totonero was a scandal of match fixing in Italy in 1980 in Italian Serie A and Serie B. It was uncovered on 23 March 1980. The principal protagonists in this scandal were Milan, Lazio, Perugia, Bologna, Avellino (Serie A), Taranto and Palermo (Serie B). And most notable in this scandal was Paolo Rossi who was suspended for three years (reduced to two on appeal). Italy went on to win the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain with Rossi emerging top scorer with six goals.
The 2006 Italian football scandal involved Italy’s top professional football leagues, Serie A and Serie B. The scandal was uncovered in May 2006 by Italian police, implicating league champions Juventus, and other major teams including AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Reggina. But Italy were crowned World Champions that same year in Germany.
And in 2007, AC Milan went on to win the UEFA Champions League, beating Liverpool 2-1 in the final.
And just this year, an anti-Mafia inquiry unearthed evidence of a match-fixing scam which led to the arrest of players, coaches, presidents and administrators. More than 50 people were arrested and many more placed under investigation.

             

  Spanish Journalist: Mikel Perfect For Real Madrid

There is a hole at Real Madrid that has never been filled, properly, and Mikel Obi is the man for the job, says Rik Sharma, a former Daily Mail journalist who now writes for Diario Sport in Barcelona, Spain.
Sharma insists Madrid has not found the perfect replacement for their former defensive midfielder Claude Makelele who he described as the best the club has ever ‘Claude Makelele left Los Blancos to join Chelsea in 2003 and since then a variety of midfielders, from Thomas Gravesen to Lassana Diarra, Fernando Gago to Asier Illarramendi have tried and failed to replace him,wrote Sharma,adding that the arrival of Xabi Alonso from Liverpool papered over the weakness in Real’s midfield.
“Alonso changed the mould and paved the way for someone like Luka Modric to play in defensive midfield, an extremely attacking, creative player for the position.
Modric is doing an excellent job, and Toni Kroos alongside him too, Sharma, however, believes Madrid lack the presence of a true defensive midfielder, someone whose first thought, their natural instinct, is to shut down the opposition.
“Against Celta Vigo Madrid had huge holes in their midfield; they were being ripped to pieces.
Modric was missing, out injured, but even he wouldn’t have been able to fill that space like Mikel would.
His vision, strength and ability to shield the ball with three or more opposition players trying to take it from him is a valuable resource,’he further wrote and insists the Nigerian has not been properly appreciated by fans.
‘Every manager Mikel has ever had at Chelsea has appreciated him.
Jose Mourinho helped him become the defensive midfielder he is today, after signing him in 2006.
At just 19 years old, Mourinho played Mikel 42 times in his debut season in English football.
There were rash challenges and a steep learning curve for the Nigerian, but he’s managed it and hasn’t been sent off since the 2007-08 season.
After Mourinho, Avram Grant. After Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari. Guus Hiddink, Ancelotti himself, Andre Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Rafa Benitez. Mikel has been appreciated by all of these managers.
He is a big-game player. When Chelsea need him to step up and take the weight, he has done.
Arguably his best performance for the club came in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. A resolute display at the heart of the team kept the Germans at bay, and Chelsea eventually emerged triumphant.
Ancelotti used Mikel a lot in the season he won the double with Chelsea, the midfielder being the platform that Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Nicholas Anelka and Co built from.

     

 

 

Enjoy England Ride, Captain Wayne Rooney Tells Harry Kane 

Harry Kane, 21, has been drafted into the England squad by manager Roy Hodgson after scoring 29 goals this season and could make his debut in Friday's 2016 European Championship qualifier at home to Lithuania. 

 England captain Wayne Rooney has beseeches his new team-mate Harry Kane to savoir the experience as the Tottenham Hotspur striker prepares for his first taste of international football.

Kane, 21, has been drafted into the England squad by manager Roy Hodgson after scoring 29 goals this season and could make his debut in Friday's 2016 European Championship qualifier at home to Lithuania.
It is over 12 years since Rooney made his England debut at the age of 17, in a friendly against Australia at Upton Park, and he has encouraged Kane to relish every second of his international career.
"When you're playing for your country, the one thing you want to do is enjoy it," Rooney told journalists at the England team hotel in Watford, north of London on Thursday.
"And listen to your friends and family and coaches, because if you start listening to people from the outside or reading too much of what is in the press about how good you want to be or how well you did or didn't do, it does affect your mind.
"So enjoy it and keep doing what he's doing, concentrate on his football. I'm sure he'll have a good career if he does that. It took me a few years (to realise that)."
Hodgson refused to reveal whether Kane would start against Lithuania, but Rooney predicted that the youngster would face a nervous night's sleep regardless.
"He'll be lying in bed tonight (Thursday) hoping that he'll make his England debut tomorrow," said Rooney, who described Kane's recent displays as "sizzling".
"I can imagine that. I know because I've felt the same feeling, the excitement he'll have tonight."
A sell-out crowd of 90,000 is expected at Wembley, but Hodgson believes Kane will be able to handle the attention.

 

 

 

Rafael Nadal will start his bid to win a third Wimbledon title by returning to the grass-court tournament at Queen's Club later this year.

Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, has reached the Wimbledon final in each of the five years he played at Queen's, but UK tax laws forced the world number three to turn his back on the west London event.
The 28-year-old Spaniard had instead prepared for Wimbledon by playing in Germany at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle in recent years.
Since his last visit to Queen's in 2011, Nadal has failed to get past the fourth round at the All England Club and the former world number one, who last won Wimbledon in 2010, has decided to return after a three-year absence.
"I'm very happy to be back," said Nadal, who won the Queen's title in 2008.
"Queen's is a great event, I always enjoyed it. I had some great feelings there, the atmosphere of the Club - a real tennis club - is very special, the courts are unbelievable.
"I enjoyed Halle but the results have not been perfect for me in Halle, so I want to try Queen's again where the grass courts are a little bit more similar to Wimbledon. That's the reason for my decision."
Former Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, defending Queen's champion Grigor Dimitrov and 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka are among the leading players already confirmed to appear at the event in June.

Brazil recorded their seventh successive victory since their 2014 World Cup humiliation as they came from behind to beat France in Paris.

Raphael Varane powerfully headed in Mathieu Valbuena's left-wing corner to put the French ahead.
But Oscar equalised when he linked up with Roberto Firmino and poked the ball past France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.
Neymar made it 2-1 as he collected Willian's pass and shot past Mandanda before Luiz Gustavo headed in a third.
The victory maintains Dunga's 100% record since he took charge of Brazil for a second time in July.
He is helping to restore some pride to Brazilian football after the side suffered their heaviest ever World Cup defeat when they were  thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-final  in Belo Horizonte.
Luiz Felipe Scolari resigned as coach after the tournament  ,which also saw Brazil lose 3-0 against the Netherlands in the third-fourth play-off.
Only two of the first XI from that Germany defeat started in Paris and Dunga will be pleased with their fightback after they fell behind to Varane's 21st-minute header.
Chelsea midfielder Oscar equalised before Neymar put the South Americans ahead with his eighth goal in seven internationals.

Balogun Plays Down Injury Scare

Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun has allayed fears that he got injured in Wednesday’s international friendly match against Uganda which the Eagles lost 1-0.
Balogun who plies his trade with Darmstadt, in the German lower division, made his second appearance for the Eagles against Uganda but was substituted in the second half due to a knock.
He wrote on his Twitter page: “Any information about me being injured is wrong – I’m fine by the grace of God.”
Balogun went on to hail Vincent Enyeama for making his 100th appearances for Nigeria and expressed disappointment for the loss.
“Really enjoyed playing my 2nd cap for the Super Eagles. Glad to be part of Vincent’s 100th, the loss was unlucky though.”

 Amir Khan believes Floyd Mayweather will win ‘the fight of the century’ against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2.

The Bolton fighter was in talks about facing both superstars before they agreed to meet in their welterweight world championship unification fight at the MGM Garden Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Khan said “It’s going to be a great fight and I think five years ago it would have been ever better because they were both at their peak and it was a fight that everyone was dying to see.

  Manny Pacquiao has had two defeats. He’s been knocked out once by (Juan Manuel) Marquez and then he got beat by (Timothy) Bradley which was a little controversial, but I think Mayweather will take the fight.

“He will be much smarter and he’ll pick his shots a little bit better. He’ll make it a little boring at times because Manny, as we know, is a come-forward fighter who likes to do a lot of punches.
“But Mayweather will try to avoid all those punches and just maybe throw that one shot that will count and then move away again. But time will tell.
“I’ve been watching Mayweather train on social media and he has been training very hard so he might come up with a different gameplan this fight, something that we have not seen before.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY :NIGERIA VS UGANDA

25TH MARCH,2015

AKWA IBOM STADIUM,UYO

Fernando Alonso closer to return in Malaysia after concussion tests

Fernando Alonso will fly to Malaysia for the grand prix on 29 March after having tests to establish whether he has recovered from concussion.

The McLaren driver missed the season's first race in Australia on 15 March after crashing in pre-season testing
His adviser Luis Garcia Abad refused to confirm reports in Spain that Alonso had got the all-clear after the tests.
"It is private so I cannot confirm or deny it, but I have no doubts he will go to Malaysia as planned," he said.
The Marca and As newspapers said Alonso had been given short- and long-term memory and reflex tests in Cambridge on Sunday.
Alonso had been keen to do the tests before flying to Malaysia this week, to do everything he could to ensure there would be no problems with his plans to return to the cockpit.
The tests were conducted by an independent board of three eminent physicians at Cambridge University, set up by Formula 1's governing body the FIA as an extra medical panel when required.
Spaniard Alonso, a double world champion, will have further tests on his arrival at the Sepang track this week, among them a full assessment of his recovery from concussion and cognitive function, called an Impact test.
Following his apparent all-clear from the doctors at Cambridge, there is now no reason to believe Alonso will not also pass the tests in Malaysia and race next weekend as scheduled.
The 33-year-old also   completed a season in McLaren's simulator earlier this week without problems.
McLaren say they will be guided by official medical advice when they receive it.

 

 

Mo Farah breaks European half marathon record in Lisbon win

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah has won the Lisbon half marathon in a new European record time, becoming the first Briton to break 60 minutes.

The 31-year-old won the 13.1-mile race in 59 minutes, 32 seconds, to knock 20 seconds off the record set 14 years ago by Spain's Fabian Roncero.
Farah, also world champion at 5,000m and 10,000m, beat Kenya's Micah Kogo.
The world record of 58:23 was set by Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese in the 2010 edition of the Lisbon race.
Farah's only world record is the two-mile indoor mark he set at the Birmingham Grand Prix  last month.
He clocked a time of one hour exactly in winning 2014's Great North Run  becoming the first British man to win the North East's famous half marathon for 29 years.
Kenya's Kogo, the 10,000m bronze medallist from the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was one of six men lining up against Farah to have already run under 60 minutes for the distance.
There was also British success in the wheelchair races for David Weir and Shelly Woods who continued their preparations for next month's London Marathon, which also doubles as the IPC World Championships.
Weir beat Swiss rival Marcel Hug in a photo-finish while Woods got the better of British rival Jade Jones.

 

 

Dutee Chand: Indian sprinter starts appeal against 'gender test' ban

Chand, 19, has not been allowed to compete since last summer after failing a gender test
The test revealed her body produced natural levels of testosterone above International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) guidelines.
Her legal team will argue the ruling is discriminatory and flawed.
There is currently no similar assessment for male athletes.
The landmark case against the IAAF and Athletics Federation of India started on Monday at CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland and is expected to last up to four days.
A final judgement could take weeks or even months.
Chand was forced to miss the Commonwealth Games and Asia Games after failing the test but refused medical treatment to help make her eligible.
Her appeal is the first to challenge rules the IAAF introduced in the wake of the Caster Semenya affair in 2009.

 

       

 Zambia Coach;Dream Team should Forget All Africa Games.

–Zambia Coach tells U23 Eagles to forget the competition

Despite his inability to beat Zambia at home in Sunday’s 2015 All Africa Games qualifier, National U-23 Eagles coach Samson Siasia says his team should not be ruled out of the competition yet, saying they have what it takes to win the return leg match in Lusaka.

The former Super Eagles handler who spoke to Sportsyan crew in Abuja after the first leg match ended 0-0, said the team still has a good chance of qualifying for the competition billed to hold in Congo later in the year.

“It is unfortunate that the match ended goalless but I want to assure Nigerians that we can still qualify for the competition. If they could play a draw here, we can as well beat them in Lusaka.

We are going to work on the team’s lapses and make sure the players get better before the return leg match. The attackers were goal shy today but we are hopeful that they will get it right in the second leg match.

Meanwhile, Zambia coach Fighton Simukonda has expressed happiness over the 0-0 goalless draw played on Sunday, saying they got what they planned for in the match.

Simukonda has also said Nigeria should forget the All Africa Games as he boasted that his boy will beat the Dream Team in Lusaka.

“I am happy with this result because things worked the way we planned it, we knew Nigeria has quality players and we came with the mind of at least picking a draw and we got it. We decided to be defensive in the match and that really helped us”, says Simukonda.

“Nigeria should forget the All Africa Games because we are going to beat them in Lusaka”, he added.

The return leg match holds in two weeks’ time in Lusaka.

Oliver Giroud at the the double for Arsenal edge past Newcastle

Olivier Giroud's double helped Arsenal to a 2-1 victory at St James' Park, although they were made to sweat by Newcastle's second-half rally.
Giroud's early brace appeared to have put Arsenal in firm control of the game and they should have extended their lead when great chances fell to Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey. It appeared Arsene Wenger's side were cruising towards a win.
However, the second period saw Newcastle launch an impressive fight-back, with Moussa Sissoko's goal immediately restoring confidence. Arsenal looked leggy after their midweek trip to Monaco, but managed to hold on to claim a valuable three points in the race for Champions League qualification.

A late minute goal from the hosts ensured they shared points with the reigning African queens in the 2015 All African Games qualifier played on Saturday evening

Nigeria's senior women national team were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali in the second round, first leg match of the Caf Women All Africa Games qualifiers on Saturday.

Ngozi Okobi's solitary goal was not enough to hand the country the needed victory as a late equalizer from the hosts ensured the encounter ended in no winner, no vanquished state in Bamako.

The Super Falcons failed to convert many chances created in the first half as the opening 45 minutes ended scoreless.

In the second half, Okobi put the Nigerian side ahead in the 52nd minute before the hosts levelled up in the injury time of the encounter which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Edwin Okon's ladies who holds away goal and point advantage will hosts Mali in the final qualifying round, second leg which will take place on April 4 in Abuja