₦airaland Forum

Official: Fenerbahce sign Emmanuel Emenike from Karabukspor on four-year contract
. . . . .Nigerian forward has joined Fenerbahce and will feature for the Turkish champions until 2015
May 25, 2011 10:40:00 PM
http://www.goal.com/en/news/467/turkey/2011/05/25/2503660/official-fenerbahce-sign-emmanuel-emenike-from-karabukspor

Fenerbahce have signed striker Emmanuel Emenike from fellow Turkish club Karabukspor on a four-year contract.

The 2010-11 Turkish Super Lig winners made the announcement on their official website on Wednesday evening but did not disclose the transfer fee exchanged between the two clubs.

Emenike’s contract with Karabukspor was slated to expire in June 2013. He joined the Turkish team only in 2009 and has established himself as one of the better players in the country.

The 24-year-old Nigeria international striker had an impressive strike rate of 14 goals in 23 league appearances for Karabukspor this past campaign.

Warri Wolves defender Oni Ojo has been slapped with a three match ban by the Nigeria Premier League (NPL). The player has also been hit with a one hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) fine following his conduct during Sunday’s NPL game between Heartland and Warri Wolves.

Ojo was involved in an altercation with the center referee Gabriel Solomon in the second half of the game shortly after a penalty had been awarded to Heartland. He (Ojo) was subsequently issued a red card in the feisty game which ended 0-0.

Acting Chairman of the NPL, Shehu Gusau said the punishment was meted out to the left back to serve as a deterrent to other players in the league who did not show the necessary respect for match officials.

“I saw the incident on Television and it was very appalling. We (NPL) have to take action swiftly so that other players who do not show respect to match officials will desist from such practices,” Gusau told SuperSport.com.

The NPL chief also highlighted the decisions taken by the league’s governing body following the ill fated game between Ocean Boys and Enyimba in Yenagoa on May 15. The media chief of Enyimba, Farrel Allaputa was beaten up and several Enyimba fans were stabbed as disgruntled Ocean Boys fans went on the rampage.

“We have issued Ocean Boys a strong warning pending when we will conclude investigations on the matter,” he said.

marutimon: See brace from Ojo from last week:
http://www.imscouting.com/global-news-article/Nigerian-ace-Kim-Ojo-hits-two-more-for-Brann-video/13428/

Argentina Names 'Killer' Squad for Country
17 May 2011
http://allafrica.com/stories/201105170279.html

Argentina Football Federation (AFA) Monday made good it's intention to file a top list set of players against the Super Eagles in the international friendly slated for the Abuja National Stadium on June 1.

For the match, which is being facilitated by Guinness Nigeria Plc, Argentine Coach, Sergio Batista has sent to AFA for release an impressive array of world-class players; many of who were in the Albeceleste squad that edged the Super Eagles out of the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Apart from Adrian Gabbarini who stars for local side, Independentiete, all the rest play for top European league club sides. As widely anticipated, Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano are not included in the Argentine squad due to Champions League final commitments with their club, Barcelona.

It is also confirmed that Carlos Tevez, who was tested for fitness in the FA Cup final at the weekend and could only manage half of the game, is not match fit enough for the Abuja clash as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

While unveiling his team Monday, Coach Batista said: "I have named a world class squad for Guinness The Match. It befits our status as one of the world's greatest and most successful football nations and combines the strength of our more experienced team members together with the best of our exciting young talent. We intend to put the Super Eagles to the test in a way only Argentina can - and we will win for our fans and our nation."

But his opposite number in the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia, was unfazed by the array of stars coming to Abuja for the game, insisting that he would not let down Nigerian fans:

"It is not about the individual players such as Messi and Tevez. The strength and success of Argentina and the threat they pose, comes from the depth and breadth of their football talent. This is what makes Guinness The Match such an exciting challenge for me personally and all our players.

"The Coach's named squad is impressive - with such an array of talent available to him he has put forward a clever combination of tried and tested players with solid international experience together with the exciting skill of the phenomenal rising stars of Argentina. We knew full well that he could raise a world-class team to maintain their unbeaten record against us and defend their ranking as 5th in the world. With this squad he is definitely playing to win. But we will be well prepared and fielding our very best team.

"Fans can expect a thrilling game. It will be a match for the history books and we will show what we are made of. We will not let the fans down. In return we ask them to play their part and show their support"

Leading football authority and former Blackburn Rovers manager, Sam Allardyce who managed Jay Jay Okocha at Bolton Wanderers and was present at the announcement of Guinness The Match earlier this year, also commented on the Albeceleste.

"I am impressed with the coach's choice. There is a genuine, dynamic mix of youth and experience that should ignite the Argentine side on the night.

"It'll be fascinating to see who is picked for the team on the day. I would love to see the likes of Perotti step up. Pablo Zabaleta has just won the FA Cup with Manchester City and been a vital member of the team that has secured a place in the UEFA Champions League next year.

"Franco Jara and Nicolas Gaitan were a core part of the Benfica team that won the 2010/11 Portuguese League Cup Final on the 23rd April, clinching their 3rd consecutive league cup trophy. In fact Franco Jara is a really exciting talent. He was called up to the Argentine national team on 19 January 2010 for a match against Costa Rica. The match finished 3-2 with Jara scoring the match-winning goal.

"Since his inclusion in the Argentine starting line-up at the FIFA World Cup, the highly exciting Nicolas Otamendi (also with 4 league goals in 11 appearances since his transfer to Porto this season) is a real name to watch out for. He and Fernando Belluschi have just helped FC Porto to win the Portuguese Liga. Porto are also playing in the Europa League Final on the 18th May in Dublin.

Ruben Marco and Mateo Musacchio instrumental in steering Villarreal to the Europa League semifinal. Although still relatively young, Musacchio made his La Liga debut on 13 February 2010, playing the last 15 minutes in a 2-1 home win against Athletic Bilbao. From that moment onwards, he was permanently promoted to Villarreal's first team, successively surpassing more experienced Iván Marcano and Gonzalo Rodríguez - the latter his compatriot - in the defensive pecking order.

"Siasia will doubtless now be reading this with heightened interest and I am now intrigued to see who he will name. He too has some exciting young talent in his armoury. One thing's for sure, it will certainly provide the fans with a spectacular high tension, action-packed 90 minutes."

THE FULL LIST:
GABBARINI, Adrian - Independiente, Argentina
ZABALETA, Pablo - Manchester City, England
ANGELERI, Marcos - Sunderland FC, England
GARAY, Ezequiel - Real Madrid, Spain
OTAMENDI, Nicolas - Porto FC, Portugal
FAZIO, Federico - Sevilla, Spain
BELLUSCHI, Fernando - Porto FC, Portugal
CABRAL, Alejandro - Legia Varsovia. Poland
FORMICA, Mauro - Blackburn Rovers, England
INSUA, Emiliano - Galatasaray, Turkey
CRISTALDO, Jonathan - Metalist Kharkiv, Ukraine
GAITAN, Nicolas - Benfica, Portugal
PIATTI, Pablo - Almeria, Spain
RUBEN, Marco - Villarreal, Spain
JARA, Franco - Benfica, Portugal
PEROTTI, Diego - Sevilla, Spain
BOSELLI, Mauro - Genoa, Italy
BERTOLO, Nicolas - Real Zaragoza, Spain
COSTA, Tino - Valencia, Spain
MUSACCHIO, Mateo - Villarreal, Spain

And some Nigerians are complaining about the absence of Messi, Di Maria, Higuain, Aguero, Pastore, Milito, Tevez and co. Like sey our best players play in clubs as good/big as those of these ''2nd string'' Argentine players'

This reminds me of the Nigeria vs Brazil friendly match in Abuja in 2003 in which they came with a ''second string'' side that had only one of their R-trio (Ronaldinho) and they still walloped us 4-0. Something tells me these South Americans will inflict another defeat on the Super Eagles. . .

Siasia's present record stands at P-6, W-5, D-0, L-1. By June 1st, it'd be P-7, W-5, D-0, L-2. Anyway, na just friendly. . .I'll rather we lose this big grade-A friendly match and beat Ethiopia in the important AFCON 2012 qualifier 3 days later

Poor Samson Siasia!!

marutimon: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-505295.320.html
1/05/2011 (Sunday)

Holland Eredivisie League
VVV-Venlo - Feyenoord Rotterdam 3:2
34' Ahmed Musa (VVV Venlo) (1:0)
74' Ahmed Musa (VVV Venlo) (2:0)
84' Uchebo Okechukwu (VVV Venlo) (3:0)
The 2m tall Uchebo and high-flying Musa give a vital win to VVV. I believe their goal tally is now 5 and 7. Interestingly Uchebo assisted on both Musa goals and Musa assisted on the Uchebo goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmya73MfX_A&feature=player_embedded

Fifty-two out of the 53 National Associations affiliated to CAF will take part in the qualifying series to determine the continent’s five slots for the next World Cup.

laposta: Western Sahara seems to be the country not on CAF's list