Football
Samuel Eto’o: How Jose Mourinho lured me into Inter Milan
Inter Milan treble hero Samuel Eto’o has revealed how Jose Mourinho lured him to play for Inter Milan. Eto’o insists the connection has never waned.He’ll always be a Nerazzurri. “That’s right, when you become an Inter fan once, you will die as an Inter fan,” he said. “There is no reason for this, it’s simply how it is, period.” Eto’o revealed how Jose Mourinho signed him from Barcelona. “He called me speaking perfect French and said, ‘Eto’o, trust me. You’ll be very happy with the move to Inter, it will become like your home.’ He was right. “Mourinho sent me a picture of a Nerazzurri shirt with the number 9 on it and wrote, it’s yours, it’s waiting for you.” Get more stories like this on Twitter
Katsina United coach urges NFF to make age-grade teams home-based specific
Katsina United coach Henry Makinwa has also joined voices with current Plateau United coach Abdul Maikaba in urging the NFF to make the age-grade national teams home-based specific. Makinwa joined his voice with other football stakeholders in the country to urge the NFF to make the age-grade football teams home-based specific. Speaking, Makinwa noted that getting foreign-based for the U17 is totally absurd as the age-grade teams shouldn’t be stuffed with foreign-based players who aren’t really exceptional. “The nucleus of the team should be for players at home, I think the NFF should tell the coaches that will handle any of the age-grade national teams to consider this,’ he said. Get more stories like this on Twitter
Osaze Odemwingie regrets missing out on 2013 AFCON winning team
Former Super Eagles forward Osaze Odemwingie says he regretted missing out on the team that won the 2013 African cup of Nations in South Africa. Odemwingie was reportedly omitted from the squad late Stephen Keshi after fallen out with officials of the team. Nigeria went on to lift the tournament for the third time in South Africa without Odemwingie who was one of the most important players in the squad at the time. While speaking with Super Eagles media team in a live Instagram interview, the former Stoke City striker said he regretted missing the opportunity to win a major title with his country. “I dreamt of the team winning the trophy before it kicked off the tournament. But you know when you’re young and believe your decision is true, you just want to stick to it. Okay, now it’s past b...
Wayne Rooney: Park was just as important to Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo
Getty Images Wayne Rooney has said that former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung was just as crucial to the club’s success as Cristiano Ronaldo, with the South Korean’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the team as a whole critical to lifting titles. Park and Ronaldo spent four years together at Old Trafford, winning three consecutive Premier League trophies, a League Cup and the Champions League in that time before the latter left the club for Real Madrid in 2009. And while Ronaldo’s goals, skills, speed and trickery will always be at the top of the highlight reel when looking back at that side, Rooney feels that Park’s contributions were just as important as that of the Portuguese icon. “It’s crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately...
Onome Ebi: Why players hardly earn 100 caps for Nigeria
Super Falcons experience defender Onome Ebi has explained why it is difficult for players to make 100 caps for Nigeria. Only Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama, and former Super Falcons assistant coach Maureen Madu are the only players who have played more than 100 games for the country. Ebi believes lack of proper structure and academy in the country is one of the major challenges. The Chinese base defender opined that Nigeria needs to learn from other countries and establish enough academies that will produce young talents for the country. “I will say in Nigeria we catch talents old, while other countries catch them young, in other countries that I’ve played, there are plenty academy and most players moved to national from 15, 16 years of age.” “It’s difficult in Nigeria, no academy, you have ...
Alex Iwobi reveals happiest moments of his career in national team shirt
Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi has revealed helping Nigeria reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup is the happiest moment of his career. Iwobi scored the winning goal against Zambia to help Nigeria qualify 2the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time, two years after switching allegiance to the West African Nation. While speaking to sports bibe on Instagram live session, the former Arsenal forward said the feat remains the best of his career, despite winning bronze at the African cup of Nations in Egypt and English FA Cup with Arsenal. “I’ve had a lot of happy moments in my career but for me, I will say when I scored against Zambia to send my national team to the World Cup because my parents were there,” he said. “That’s a special moment, I almost shed a tear on the pitch.” He said. Iwobi went on to rep...
FIFA to pick 2023 Women’s World Cup host in June
World governing football body, FIFA, will pick a host for the 2023 Women’s World Cup on June 25. The host will be selected by FIFA’s ruling council and it is a contest between Brazil, Japan, Colombia, and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand. According to reports, the selection will be done in an open vote of the 37-member FIFA Council and the result of each round of balloting and each voter’s choice will be made open. “FIFA is now finalizing the evaluation report, which will be published in early June,” FIFA said in a statement on Friday. Newsmen report that FIFA inspection teams had initially visited the four bid candidates in January and February before international travel was restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2023 World Cup will be the first to feature 32 teams. Th...
Coronavirus: African football must wait – CAF chief
CAF president, Ahmad Ahmad, has stated that African football must wait till the coronavirus pandemic is over. He said health comes first before football and as such, it is better that the pandemic is managed and curtailed before football resumes in the continent. He said: “As we see the ratio of tests that have been carried out in these countries, it is always alarming because we lack visibility in the management of this pandemic. “There is a lack of visibility. We must wait. As president, I invite everyone to be very careful and wait for the situation to normalize. But beyond that, I do not want football to be a source of destabilization for the precautionary measures taken by the various governments to deal with the pandemic. “The whole world is facing a very important health crisis, and...
UEFA clarify comments on teams from abandoned leagues pre-qualifying for Champions League
UEFA has made clear a statement which implied that teams from abandoned leagues would need to pre-qualify for next season’s Champions League. European football’s governing body had issued confusing comments which implied that teams such as Paris Saint-Germain would need to enter the competition in the first qualifying round. PSG, who remain in this season’s Champions League, were awarded the Ligue 1 title as the season was cancelled last month. But UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin appeared to warn that clubs from abandoned leagues – such as in France, Holland and Belgium – would need to enter European competition at the preliminary stages. UEFA have now clarified their comments, confirming that only teams in the positions normally needing to pre-qualify will need to be ready to compete in...
Casemiro: Football can prove a return to normal is possible
Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro says it is “important” that football can return in Spain and that if it does, it will demonstrate that society can eventually return to normal after the coronavirus pandemic. Football fans had their first top-level live games to watch on Saturday with the return of the Bundesliga and, while the situation around the game was far from normal, the games were a source of entertainment and comfort to plenty. Spanish football is hoping to get the green light to resume as well, with La Liga chief Javier Tebas currently aiming for June 12 as the date when games can go on. “It’s a really significant step, not just for football but for society too, to show people that it is possible,” Casemiro told Real Madrid TV. “It’s not just about playing football, it’s about peop...
Odion Ighalo would like to end his career at Manchester United – trainer
According to Odion Ighalo’s personal trainer, the former Super Eagles of Nigeria star would like to remain at Manchester United for the rest of his career. The striker’s future is an uncertain one: he is officially on loan at United until May 31, but the Red Devils are keen to extend this period to allow him to feature if and when the season resumes in the coming weeks. However, Igahlo’s parent club, Shanghai Shenhua, want the player to return to their stable for the start of the next Chinese Super League season. United are also not seeking a permanent deal for the former Super Eagles spearhead. Despite being in this awkward situation, Ighalo’s has remained focused on keeping himself fight and ready for action while under lockdown in Lagos. “He’s a wonderful athlete, I’ve never seen someon...
Club Brugge finally crowned Belgian league champions
Emmanuel Dennis’ Club Brugge have been finally crowned Belgian champions, with Gent joining them in the Champions League, while Charleroi, Antwerp and Standard Liege go into the Europa League. Waasland-Beveren are relegated to the second tier, while Beerschot VA and OH Leuven will play for promotion to the top flight in a playoff. If the playoff is not fulfilled before the start of 20-21 then KVC Westerlo will replace Waasland-Beveren as they already have a valid licence to play in the Pro League. Meanwhile in Germany, Werder Bremen, have announced just one day before the Bundesliga resumes that one of their players were quarantined. As per a club tweet, it comes as the result of ‘somebody in their personal circle’ testing positive for coronavirus. However, unlike the now-scrapped Italian ...
