₦airaland Forum

Middlesbrough  1 - 1  Arsenal (The Riverside Stadium)
                               62' P Senderos (red card)
63' A Yakubu (pen)
                               77' T Henry

Liverpool  0 - 0  Everton (Anfield)

Man City  0 - 2  Reading (City of Manchester Stadium)
                      79' L Lita
                      88' L Lita

Aston Villa  1 - 0  West Ham (Villa Park)
36' J Carew

Watford  0 - 1  Bolton (Vicarage Road Stadium)
                      63' N Anelka

Blackburn  2 - 1  Sheff Utd (Ewood Park)
22' M Pedersen
                      25' J Stead
89' M Pedersen

Wigan  1 - 0  Portsmouth (The JJB Stadium)
68' L McCulloch

Charlton  0 - 1  Chelsea (The Valley)
                      18'  F Lampard

Fulham  2 - 1  Newcastle (Craven Cottage)
49' H Helguson
73' B McBride
                      90' O Martins

The final match of the championship is in progress.

Consolatory news for Muki:

The young scorpions of Gambia beat the young chipolopolo of Zambia 3 - 1 to clinch the third place in the AYC. I believe the gambians would be our best representative in Canada. I hope they keep their performance up.

What can be done to hostilities shown by host countries to other teams in competitions in Africa? The congolese have been too hostile to team nigeria, even our journalists aint spared.

A friend of mine who could not browse with his phone before the deadline, now does so. Plus, he is a pre-paid subscriber.

Chelsea 3 - 0 Blackburn (Stamford Bridge )
6' D Drogba
67' F Lampard
90' S Kalou

Man Utd 4 - 0 Watford (Old Trafford)
20' C Ronaldo (pen)
61' L Doyley (og)
70' H Larsson
71' W Rooney

Bolton 1 - 1 Charlton (Reebok Stadium)
6' H Pedersen
12' T El Karkouri

Newcastle 3 - 1 Aston Villa (St James' Park)
5' J Milner
7' K Dyer
25' A Young
90' A Sibierski

The team list - Flying Eagles

No.     Name                                Club name                  Date of birth

1  THOMAS  OLUFEMI                 NASARAWA Utd              5-8-89

2  SADIQ  SURAJ                         PRIME FC                     8-1-88

3 ECHIEJILE  UWA                      INSURANCE FC              20-1-88

4  OYEWOLE  MUIDEEN              PRIME FC                      3-12-87

5  BALA  EZEKIEL                        LYN OSOLO FC             8-4-87

6  ANYANWU  NNAEMEKA            RANGERS FC                 21-5-88

7  SARKI  EMMANUEL                  WESTERLO FC              26-12-87

8  IYAM  FRIDAY                          KADUNA UNITED           1-12-89

9  OZOKWO  NDUKA                   RANGERS FC                25-12-88

10  OWELLO  SOLOMON             NIGER TORNADOS       25-12-88

11  MOHAMMED  SALIHU             BARCELONA FC            2-8-89

12  OCHEJE  MOSES                    LOBI STARS FC            21-5-88

13  OKARDI  BLESSING               OCEAN BOYS FC           5-11-88

14  BALA  JOSEPH                       SEC FC                     27-7-88

15  TIJANI  AKANBI                     WIKKI TOURIST FC      21-12-88

16  ODEBE  FREDERICK              LOBI STARS FC             31-12-88

17  ZENKE  TERWASE                 RACING STRASBURG    24-12-88

18  AYODEJI  ADENIYI                 NPA FC                        12-9-88

Portsmouth  0 - 0  Middlesbrough (Fratton Park)

West Ham  1 - 2  Liverpool (Upton Park)
                         46' D Kuyt
                         53' P Crouch
77' B Kepa

Sheff Utd  2 - 0  Fulham (Bramall Lane)
23' J Stead
28' M Tonge

Reading  3 - 2  Wigan (Madejski Stadium)
                         3'  E Heskey
31' I Ingimarsson
51' S Long
88' L Lita
90' D Landzaat

I can't but agree with you, Chris.

Despite the incentives, the guys have not been impressive at all.  Siasia's boys, who were not in any way motivated, represented us well at the AYC and the world stage.

Who's to blame? the coach or the boys men?

Host Congo will play Nigeria in the Final of the AYC.

Congo beat Zambia 1 - 0 in the other semi-final match played today.

It is the opinion of most people that the better teams (Gambia and Zambia) lost in the semis. At least they have a chance to prove that at Canada.

@Muki and Lalaboi, stop spamming the thread

texazzpete:
I never knew sweat and muscles could be so damn sexy until i watched serena in action. damn, she's HOT!

uh, yeah, good game

When questioned over her fitness, Serena answered:

"I think it's all because I have a large bosom and a large a**. I have a large a** and it always just looks like I'm bigger than the rest of the girls."

"I've been the same weight for I don't know how long and I could lose 20 pounds and I'm still going to have these bosoms and I'm going to have this a** and that's just the way it is."


https://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1633/posterialperfectionnf2.jpg

Now I know why she has alot of fans.   

Kanu and Aboutrika have been dropped from the list.

Yea, I know they were dropped some weeks back. I just wanna update this thread. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in March and Zizou (not Akide) will do the honour of presenting the awards.

I doubt if Muki will answer that yet because her team is a man down and trailing 1-0 in the first half.

Edited: Zenke played in the match though unimpressively.

Gambia, Congo, Zambia and Nigeria have all qualified for Canada 2007. We can only hope they make us proud.

Papa Flying eagles play young scorpions at 2pm in the first semi-final of the AYC. We will be playing without our first choice goalkeeper, Thomas Olufemi and our top scorer Zenke due to injury. Do these guys have what it takes to overcome Gambia, who are yet to concede a goal?

Excerpt from Bola's link:

Aghahowa's move is subject to the 24-year-old international being granted a work permit in England.

   

Is this a typo?

Hail the king!

    https://img266.imageshack.us/img266/3058/rogereu1.jpg  https://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1908/fedholdstrophycloseos1.jpg

It took him 140 minutes to overcome Gonzalez.

FedExpress is two sets up (7-6, 6-4) in the final of the men's singles. Can he win the title without dropping a set in this tournament?

I can no longer browse on my phone; it gives "GPRS connection not available" message whenever I try to connect. I got disconnected this afternoon.

The men boys played as if they were instructed not to win, even the coach didn't in anyway look bothered with the defeat.  I hope they do better against Gambia in the semis.

Group A
                   P    W    D    L    GS    GA    GD    PT
Gambia        3    3    0    0    4    0    4    9
Congo         3    2    0    1    3    1    2    6
Burkina Faso 3    1    0    2    2    3    -1   3
Cote d'Ivoire 3    0    0    3    0    5    -5   0

Group B
                P W D L GS GA GD PT
Zambia 3 2 0 1   8 6 2    6
Nigeria   3 1 1 1   5 5 0    4
Egypt    3 1 1 1   2     4   -2    4
Cameroun 3 1 0 2     4    4    0      3

Final Score:
Cameroun 2 - 0 Nigeria
Zambia 3 - 0 Egypt

It's half-time, Nigeria is trailing by 2 goals to nil in the last group match while in the other match, which is being played concurrently, Zambia is leading Egypt by the same scoreline.

@Chris. . . ta

https://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7886/serenawii4.jpg

"I would like to dedicate this win to my sister, who is not here, her name is Yetunde," Williams said - her voice cracking with emotion - of her sister who was shot dead in Los Angeles in 2003.

"I just love her so much. A couple of days ago I said if I win this it will be for her so thanks Yetunde," added the American, who will now climb to 14th in the world on Monday.

@Bola, Venus has a wrist injury.

Update on the Championship:

Gambia makes it 3 wins out of 3 today by beating Cote d'Ivoire 1 - 0 to top group A. Congo also won their last group match against Burkina Faso by the same scoreline.

Group B is still open to all except Cameroun, who face Nigeria tomorrow.

Michel Platini has been elected as the new president of UEFA in Dusseldorf after beating Lennart Johansson in the voting.

Platini, 51, defeated the Swedish incumbent Johansson, 77, by 27 votes to 23 in a poll of national Football Association presidents at the UEFA Congress.

Johansson had been in charge of European soccer's governing body since 1990.

Platini, three times former European Footballer of the Year, becomes the first high profile former player to hold such an important position in soccer administration.

He said after his victory: "I am moved, enormously moved but I am happy, it's the start of a great adventure."

Platini, who plans to cut the number of Champions League places open to the big national leagues, had used his final speech before the vote to put the emphasis on soccer's importance as a sport rather than a business.

"Football is a game before it is a product, a sport before it is a market and a show before it is a business," Platini told the Congress on Friday.

Platini also said before the vote that if successful he would propose Johansson should be appointed as honorary president to continue his work.

Platini was one of the most gifted players in the game's history. In 1984 he led France to victory at the European Championship, scoring nine goals in five games, and he was named European Footballer of the year three times.

After playing for Nancy, St Etienne and Juventus, he retired in 1987 and the following year took up his first post within UEFA, as a member of the technical development committee.

He was a co-organiser of the successful World Cup in France in 1998, the year in which he became a personal adviser to FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who in turn endorsed him in the UEFA presidential election.

Platini pledged during the campaign to limit the number of places in the Champions League to a maximum of three, even for the major powers like England, Italy and Spain.

Otherwise there was little difference between the two campaigns, with both candidates promising to intensify the fight against racism, doping, match-fixing and illegal betting.

The lack of major contention between the two meant the fight was largely a friendly one, at least until the intervention of Blatter, who gave his public support to Platini on the eve of the election in a move that infuriated Johansson.

Source

Gonzalez books a date with Federer on Sunday. He completely destroyed Hass by beating him 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

What a final we have on our hands!

I see you've written off Hass completely.

It's interesting to know that Federer holds a 9 - 0 head-to-head record against Gonzo, while he holds a 7 - 2 record against Haas. So going by statistics, Federer is as good as winning the tournament already.

Let's see how it all goes.

Roddick's Interview after the match. It's a long, honest and funny one.

I love this part:

Q. How much would you have paid in order not to come to this press conference tonight?

ANDY RODDICK: That's about the best question that's been asked.

Well, I mean, I can't really say an amount because I would have gotten fined, what, 20 grand. Obviously, it would have to be less than that, right, if we're thinking logically? It really wouldn't be about the money; it would be about running away and not facing it.

I would pay a lot of money if everyone would just make up stuff that I said and pretend like I was actually here. That would be fine. My dad didn't raise me to run away from it, so here I am.

Would Hingis have fared better against Sharapova? Maybe it's not all about power.

@dblock Gonzalez's Profile

Sharapova is through to the final! she [i]sharap[/i]ped Clijsters by beating her 6-4 6-2. She meets Serena who beat Vaidisova 7-6 6-4.

I still find it hard to believe that Clijsters could lose in straight sets to Sharapova. It's so disappointing  . I don't see Serena upsetting her in the final.

I hope Federer makes my day. His match against Roddick starts 9:30am (Nigerian time)

I just confirmed it, Mukina.

Cameroun lost 2 - 3 to Zambia. The result means they are the second team to be eliminated from the championship.

Mukina, what's the result of the Zambia/Cameroun match? The score was 1-1 before I dozed off.

Nadal's Interview after the match:

Q. Fernando was in awesome form out there. What was it like on the other side of the court? Could you do much against him?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, he's playing very good level, that's for sure. Maybe was not a good match for me. I don't know if I can say I am playing bad, but for sure I can't play at hundred percent, no?

I have problems in my leg, so I cannot run. I can't run a lot. Was difficult play one match like this, quarterfinals of one Grand Slam, with pain, without the best conditions, no?


Q. When did you hurt your leg?

RAFAEL NADAL: After the match. After the last match of Murray.


Q. Is that what the treatment was for?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah.


Q. What exactly is it?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I don't know. I really don't know why. I was thinking before the ‑‑ before the match, I was practicing a little bit in the hotel because I was very tired. Today I going to warm up. I don't feel very bad. I just feel very tired. The leg hurt.

When I am on court, I am trying to run. Hundred percent run, well, I can't. I can't start. Was difficult and disappointing for me, no? I don't know if is a good opportunity because Fernando is very tough match. But for sure when you are in quarterfinals of a Grand Slam and you can't play with your best feelings, your best conditions, is difficult, no?


Q. Did you expect to win?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, before the match, yes. When I am on the match, no.


Q. Did you do something in the match against Murray? When did you feel the pain in that match?

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I don't feel the pain in the match of Murray, no? I feel later. I feel after. Well, I don't know. I was thinking was just tired. Normal. I was playing very tough match, I just feel tired. Maybe is not just tired, because is not normal. Walking right now I have lot of pain. Maybe is a little bit more than tired.


Q. What part of your leg is the pain in?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, it's not just the one place. I have pain here, in my famous ass (smiling). After I feel a little bit here, too (pointing to the inside and outside of the thigh). That maybe it's just tired, no? But down this way and in the ass is very, very painful, no?


Q. What do you do now? Do you leave Australia as soon as you can? Where do you play next?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I going to leave on Friday maybe because tomorrow I don't have plane. Well, I want to play the Davis Cup after one week. I hope be hundred percent for Davis Cup. Is one of my goals always, play for your country is always special for me.

But I need go to the doctor and watch what I can I do right now, no?


Q. Will you have a scan?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, not yet. I just have doping right now. Nothing else.


Q. How much better a player is Fernando now? Does he seem more patient?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, he improves his game a lot, no? He's playing with more calm all the time. Well, now he's doing a lot of slice, open the backhand. Sometimes is difficult.

Well, today I can't say so much, no, because I am not, I don't know. (Speaking in Spanish).

INTERPRETER: He really didn't have the chance to see how he plays because he was never at a hundred percent today.

RAFAEL NADAL: But for sure he has very good results. He improves a lot his game.


Q. Do you think he's got the game to beat Roger or Andy in the final?

RAFAEL NADAL: You never know. Roger is always very difficult. Is another level always. But you never know. When you are in one final of Grand Slam, you can win for sure because you are with big confidence. Anything can do.

But we will see the semifinals against Tommy Haas, no?


Q. You will have a scan in Spain?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, for sure, because I have the Davis Cup after one week. I need know if I going to be in the team or not ‑ for me and for the rest.


Q. How much more disappointing is it when you have to leave a tournament after losing not being a hundred percent fit than when you lose in a tough match just normally?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, disappointing, no, because I was playing fine. I was playing good. I was winning very important match two days ago against Murray. I was with good confidence for try to play this quarterfinals and try to go to the final, no? But, well, that's it. I was trying my best all the time. I was fighting a lot for being in this quarterfinals.

But these things happening sometimes. Well, it's not a problem. If I am playing bad, something, well, you can go to the home and say disappointing. But today I just say, well, I can't do more. I try my best. Well, that's it.