₦airaland Forum

Leo Messi and arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo shared pre-game encounter in the tunnel prior the December 3rd Clasico encounter.



It isn’t too often the two best footballers in the world face off against each other and all eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as they met for a moment in the tunnel prior to kick-off on Saturday.



Both players appeared focused but it was a respectful exchange nonetheless just seconds before hostilities began on the Camp Nou pitch.

However, the Real Madrid man had the last laugh as Sergio Ramos stole a late point for the visitors.

Though the details are still sketchy, but a former Nigerian minister is said to have passed away on Saturday at the age of 80.

Dr. Bola Kuforiji-Olubi 
 
A former minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, 80, is reportedly dead.
 
She was said to have died, Saturday morning in Lagos.
 
An online platform, The Elites reported that she died at 11:30am.
 
The banker, recently visited President Muhammadu Buhari to thank him for his contribution to her success. She said that it was Buhari as a military Head of State that appointed her the first female Chairman of United Bank for Africa.
 
She said, “Having turned 80, I looked at my life and made a list of those who contributed to what I have become in my life and the name of President Muhammadu Buhari came topmost on the list.
 
“This is why I am here to pay my respect and thank him,” she said.
 
Dr. Olubi was born September 28, 1936. The former ICAN president graduated from the University of London in 1963. She was appointed the first female chairman of the United Bank for Africa, UBA in 1984.

[i][/i]Manchester United Boss Jose Mourinho Charged For Alleged Improper Conduct.


Jose Mourinho has been charged following Manchester United’s game against West Ham United on Sunday [27 November 2016].



It is alleged his behaviour in or around the 27th minute of the game amounts to improper conduct.

He has until 6pm on 1 December 2016 to respond to the charge.

via The FA.

Special Ones in waiting: Eleven  Players Who Will Make Great Managers


This article was created By Greg Evans [Squakwa] back in Dec. 2015, thought it was an interesting read. Enjoy.

Taking the big step into management has to be a key moment in any professional footballers life, as it most likely means that the playing days are over and a new life awaits you in the dugout. 

Recently we have seen the likes of Garry Monk, Roberto Di Matteo, Patrick Vieira, Gary Neville, Clarence Seedorf and Filippo Inzaghi plunge headfirst into the management lifestyle where varying degrees of success have followed.

Besides the necessary coaching badges, you need a certain amount of intelligence and tactical know-how in order to relay your philosophy onto the pitch.

The greatest players don’t always make the greatest managers, though. Diego Maradona didn’t exactly thrive when he was the Argentina national coach and the less said about Alan Shearer’s short tenure as Newcastle boss the better.

Many have bucked that trend though as greats like Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Roberto Mancini and Carlo Ancelotti have seamlessly transferred their talents on the pitch to the training ground and beyond.

Individuals like Frank Lampard, Mikel Arteta, Xavi and John Terry look almost destined to become managers in the future but here are 11 others that we can definitely see pulling on a smart suit or wind-resistant overcoat in the next few years.

Xabi Alonso

Position: Centre midfield

Age: 34

Current team: Bayern Munich

Major honours won: 13



Having already played under the likes of Pep Guardiola, Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Vincente Del Bosque during his illustrious career, you can bet that Xabi Alonso has picked up a fair few tips along the way.

The midfielder has a great mind for the game and can often control matches when he’s on the field. We can’t see why it would be any different in the technical area. Plus, he practically looks like a coach already.

Gerard Pique

Position: Centre back

Age: 29

Current team: Barcelona

Major honours won: 24



Pique might act like a little hooligan off the pitch (see any Barcelona or Spain victory parade for an example of that), but on the pitch he is one of the most commanding and cultured defenders in the game. He’s now in the prime of his career, so it might be a while before he hangs up his boots and becomes a manager, but we can’t wait to see what happens when he does. The touchline tantrums could be spectacular.

Nemanja Vidic

Position: Centre back

Age: 34

Current team: Retired

Major honours won: 13



Vidic would probably be the sort of boss that you wouldn’t want to cross or question after a poor display or humbling defeat. The Serbian has the air of a coach that would take no prisoners and happily hang anyone out to dry that he felt let down by.

You can guarantee that would produce some very loyal and committed players who would give anything to Vidic’s dogged defensive style. Coming up against one of Vidic’s sides would be terrifying.

Vincent Kompany

Position: Centre back

Age: 29

Current team: Manchester City

Major honours won: 7



Although he can’t stay fit for longer than nine minutes at the moment, Kompany has displayed on multiple occasions that he has the intelligence to make it as a top coach.

The Belgian speaks with a confidence which would be more suited to a TED talk than a football pitch and you only have to look at his Twitter feed to realise just how clever he is. Whether he would be able to apply that to the dugout is a bigger question but a reassuring nod or big arm around the shoulder would never be far away for Vincent’s players.

Theo Walcott

Position: Striker/ Winger

Age: 26

Current team: Arsenal

Major honours won: 2



This one might not seem like the most obvious of choices but when was the last time you disagreed with anything Theo Walcott said or felt that he didn’t really know what he was talking about?



Almost never should be the answer. Walcott has showed a degree of maturity that is well beyond his years as of late and is probably one of the most articulate players in the Premier League right now. We can’t see him landing a big job to begin with but could definitely see him take a small team from the lower leagues to the big time, like Eddie Howe at Bournemouth.

Philipp Lahm

Position: Full back/ Defensive midfield

Age: 32

Current team: Bayern Munich

Major honours won: 19



Lahm’s transition into management is practically a dead cert. We honestly can’t think of a player that would be more suited to a coaching role than the German defender who has shown time and time again that he can think like a manager and has more tactical insight than most pundits.

Guardiola simply could not get enough of the diminutive defender who more than compensates for his size with a brain that would dwarf most of us mere mortals.

Gianluigi Buffon

Position: Goalkeeper

Age: 38

Current team: Juventus

Major honours won: 15

It’s rare to see goalkeepers become managers but if any current shot-stopper should give it a try, Gigi Buffon is your man. The Italian has been there, done that and got the t-shirt during his prestigious career, where he has won nearly every major trophy going and played with some of the all-time greats.

Dino Zoff was one of Italy’s best ever goalkeepers and he forged a respectable career in management following his retirement and there is no reason why Buffon cannot do the same.

Javier Mascherano

Position: Centre back/ Defensive midfield

Age: 31

Current team: Barcelona

Major honours won: 20



Javier Mascherano’s leadership qualities should never be questioned. Even when he isn’t wearing the captain’s armband for Barcelona or Argentina, he is the first man to dish out an order or bellow at his team-mates to keep their shape and track their marker.

If he does become a manager we can imagine his players giving everything for their coach, winning every tackle and even drawing blood for the cause.

Petr Cech

Position: Goalkeeper

Age: 33

Current team: Arsenal

Major honours won: 14

Petr Cech’s commitment to his profession has to be applauded as it is well known that he will learn the languages of his respective defenders just so he can communicate with them freely on the pitch.

That sort of knowledge would be invaluable in a dressing room, especially when helping new players to bed in. Also, if things aren’t going quite right for his team he can treat them to a little musical number on his drum kit. That’s sure to raise spirits, right?

Benedikt Howedes

Position: Centre back/ Full back

Age: 28

Current team: Schalke

Major honours won: 2

There are few more underrated defenders in world football right now than Schalke’s Benedikt Howedes who is one of the most consistent players in the Bundesliga, rarely missing a beat for the Royal Blues.

The 27-year-old’s stamina and professionalism puts him in great stead to become a manager and he would have learned a significant amount at the 2014 World Cup, where he played every single minute for Joachim Low’s successful Germany team.

Giorgio Chiellini

Position: Centre back/ Full back

Age: 31

Current team: Juventus

Major honours won: 9



There aren’t enough old school managers left in the game, who rely on heart and brawn to win matches rather than intricate tactics and unique formations. We can definitely see Chiellini fitting that mould as the Italian is always willing to wear his heart on his sleeve and give everything to the cause.

He would almost certainly adopt the Tony Pulis’ management wardrobe as well complete with tracksuits, baseball caps and a receding hairline. Just imagine if they were to go up against one another? It would be glorious.

The power play in Ondo State Governorship election has taken a new turn as Jimoh Ibrahim and Olusola Oke’s names are conspicuously missing on INEC’s final list.

Jimoh Ibrahim
 
Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were among the governorship candidates whose names were released in the final list by the Independent National Elect0ral Commission, INEC, for candidates that will participate in the forthcoming governorship elections in Ondo State, Vanguard reports.
 
Noticably, the names of Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Olusola Oke were missing from the final list released by the commission. This might spell trouble for the two candidates who might lose out in the governorship race.
 
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court had ordered INEC to recognize Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate in the Ondo election.
 
This has not been reflected in the latest decision by INEC as Jimoh’s name is conspiciously missing in the released final list.
 
According to Vanguard, a list of 28 candidates dated September 22 and recently updated on its website showed the that there has been no substitution of any of the candidates. Chief Oke, who defected to the Alliance for Democracy, AD, after the controversial primaries of the APC also suffers similar fate as Ibrahim.
 
In the list, the AD candidate, Mr Akin Enoch Zerubabel Olowookere and his 72-year old running mate, Yahaya Ipinloju are jointly number 4 on the list.[b]The power play in Ondo State Governorship election has taken a new turn as Jimoh Ibrahim and Olusola Oke’s names are conspicuously missing on INEC’s final list.

Jimoh Ibrahim
 
Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were among the governorship candidates whose names were released in the final list by the Independent National Elect0ral Commission, INEC, for candidates that will participate in the forthcoming governorship elections in Ondo State, Vanguard reports.
 
Noticably, the names of Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Olusola Oke were missing from the final list released by the commission. This might spell trouble for the two candidates who might lose out in the governorship race.
 
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court had ordered INEC to recognize Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate in the Ondo election.
 
This has not been reflected in the latest decision by INEC as Jimoh’s name is conspiciously missing in the released final list.
 
According to Vanguard, a list of 28 candidates dated September 22 and recently updated on its website showed the that there has been no substitution of any of the candidates. Chief Oke, who defected to the Alliance for Democracy, AD, after the controversial primaries of the APC also suffers similar fate as Ibrahim.
 
In the list, the AD candidate, Mr Akin Enoch Zerubabel Olowookere and his 72-year old running mate, Yahaya Ipinloju are jointly number 4 on the list.[/b]The power play in Ondo State Governorship election has taken a new turn as Jimoh Ibrahim and Olusola Oke’s names are conspicuously missing on INEC’s final list.

Jimoh Ibrahim
 
Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, were among the governorship candidates whose names were released in the final list by the Independent National Elect0ral Commission, INEC, for candidates that will participate in the forthcoming governorship elections in Ondo State, Vanguard reports.
 
Noticably, the names of Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Olusola Oke were missing from the final list released by the commission. This might spell trouble for the two candidates who might lose out in the governorship race.
 
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court had ordered INEC to recognize Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate in the Ondo election.
 
This has not been reflected in the latest decision by INEC as Jimoh’s name is conspiciously missing in the released final list.
 
According to Vanguard, a list of 28 candidates dated September 22 and recently updated on its website showed the that there has been no substitution of any of the candidates. Chief Oke, who defected to the Alliance for Democracy, AD, after the controversial primaries of the APC also suffers similar fate as Ibrahim.
 
In the list, the AD candidate, Mr Akin Enoch Zerubabel Olowookere and his 72-year old running mate, Yahaya Ipinloju are jointly number 4 on the list.

Spanish Treasury demanding 41 million euros from Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico.


Real Madrid, Atletico, and Barcelona all owe Spanish tax authorities 41 million euros in total between the three of them, due to irregularities in the signings of players, according to El Confidencial.

Sevilla and Valencia are also implicated in the case, bringing the total up to 52 million euros.

The governing agency accuses the clubs of paying the commisions of the representatives of the players when that payment should have instead been made by the players themselvesAs such, that money should be returned to authorities, alongside each club’s respective fines for the wrongdoing.

LaLiga as an overarching body has neither ‘confirmed nor denied’ the claims made by the Spanish treasury.

It appears as though players aren’t the only ones in trouble with the authorities as far as large sums are involved, with clubs too back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

 
In an official statement released by the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dayo Adeyeye, on Monday, the party said that it has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State, and described the outcome of the election as a “charade and not the true reflection of the will of the people of Ondo State”.
 
The Chief Returning Officer of the Independent National Elect0ral Commission, (INEC), Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, had on Sunday, declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, winner of the election.
 
Akeredolu polled 244, 842, to defeat the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, who rallied 150, 380 votes to place second in the race.
 
According to Premium Times, Adeyeye in the statement, said the elect0ral umpire, INEC, aided the APC to rig the election, adding that INEC has now “graduated from inconclusive Elections as seen in Kogi, Bayelsa, Osun, FCT, Imo, Nassarawa and some other previous By-Elections in the Country to ‘Advanced Election Rigging’, as in the case of Edo and Ondo States Gubernatorial Elections”.
 
“It is common knowledge that the APC Agents openly bought votes of the electorates in the full glare of security operatives who did nothing to prevent such dastardly violation of the Elect0ral Law.

“It is not surprising that the electorates in Ondo state became so vulnerable to the corruptive influence of the APC because of the hash economic situation in the Country inflicted on Nigerians by the APC Administration which have indeed made all Nigerians virtually beggars in their own Country.”
 
Adeyeye said PDP had persistently called for the postponement of the Election before Saturday, for at least two weeks to enable the Party Campaign and prepare properly for the Election.
 
He said the party’s request followed the setback orchestrated by “Justice Okon Abang and the charlatans in PDP who allowed themselves to be used by the APC to destroy our chances in the Ondo State Election.
 
“The actions of INEC in collaboration with the APC led Administration left us no time to campaign and sell our Candidate and Party Manifesto to the electorates in Ondo State.

“Our persistent call for the postponement of the Election which was backed and supported by more than 20 other political parties were all rejected by INEC which were acting the script of the APC.

“It was a carefully planned and well-orchestrated strategy to rig the Election well in advance by preventing the PDP from planning and campaigning for the Election. The APC has hereby introduced a new formula of rigging Election in Nigeria.

“In view of the fact that the Election was blatantly manipulated from the beginning to the end to favour the APC, we vehemently reject the results of the November 26, 2016 Gubernatorial Election in Ondo State,” he said.
 
He also said Saturday’s election and all actions leading to it fell short of laid down principles guiding conduct of elections in Nigeria.

“We have instructed our Candidate and the Ondo State Chapter of our Party to proceed to the Tribunal to challenge the Outcome of the Election. We call on the Judiciary to redeem Nigeria’s image on this matter as we request for the total Cancellation of the Election in Ondo State,” the party said.