John Mikel Obi has set a new milestone in today’s game against Watford as he becomes only the 21st player to make 350 appearances for Chelsea in her 110-year history. Mikel was introduced in the second half for Cesc Fabregas. The 28-year-old is already well clear as the club’s third-highest overseas appearance maker ‘Personally it is going to be great for me if I can achieve that number,’ Mikel tells the official Chelsea website before the match. ‘I also want to push on and see how many more appearances I can get. For me it has been a great time here, I still enjoy it and ever since I walked into this football club I knew this was the place for me. ‘I am so happy and so proud of the amount of games I have played for this club and at the same time using these games to win trophies and medals. This is the most important thing. For the past 10 years we have helped build the reputation of this club and Chelsea is up there in world football. I am so proud of what I have achieved and I still want to keep going.’ Sixteen of Mikel’s 349 matches so far came during the three months Guus Hiddink was previously in charge. The Nigerian was one of the players frequently selected during that time (Michael Essien and Michael Ballack being others) to form a solid base to midfield that allowed Frank Lampard freedom to form a strong link with restored centre-forward Didier Drogba. Big matches such as the 0-0 draw in the 2009 Champions League semi-final in Barcelona and the FA Cup final win over Everton rank among Mikel’s best. He is one of the three members of the current squad remaining from that time and he has been training again with Hiddink since Tuesday.

I felicitate with all Nigerians,
especially our Christian brothers and sisters, on the joyous occasion of this year’s Christmas.
On this occasion of the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, let us all rededicate ourselves to the virtues of peace, love, honesty, justice, equity, piety, humility and service to others which he taught. There can be no doubt that a greater manifestation of these virtues and ideals in our lives will immensely help us to become a more united, peaceful, secure and progressive nation.
Let us also reach out in love and compassion to fellow Nigerians who are in distress at this period of our nation’s history.
I particularly urge you all to remember victims of terrorism and insurgency in the country, especially Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The Federal Government will continue to collaborate with state governments and other stakeholders to ease the harsh conditions in IDP camps, while the ultimate objective remains to quickly put an end to insurgency and return the IDPs to their homes.
We must never again allow any group to hold the nation to ransom under whatever guise.
Let us also not allow current socio-economic and security challenges to dampen our expectations for a better Nigeria.
This administration has taken a number of measures to restore hope to our people. The 2016 Budget defines our commitment to giving Nigeria a new lease of life.
Our change slogan is not a campaign gimmick but a promise that must be kept. We are determined to bring about tangible changes in the lives of our people.
In this regard, efforts will be intensified to recover stolen funds, block revenue leakages and enthrone due process, transparency and accountability.
Public office is a public trust that must be held to the highest ethical standards.
I wish all Nigerians a Merry Christmas.
Please drive carefully.

who remembers this scene

KSA

King Sunny Ade Afro Juju maestro, King Sunny Ade is 69 years today. A two time Grammy’s Award nominee is being celebrated by his teeming fans on social media, especially the facebook. Born Sunday Adeniyi, 22 September 1946, Sunny is a Nigerian musician, singer-songwriter, multi- instrumentalist, and a pioneer of modern world music. He has been classed as one of the most influential musicians of all time. Adé was born to a Nigerian royal family in Ondo, thus making him an Omoba of the Yoruba people. His father was a church organist, while his mother was a trader. Adé left grammar school in Ondo under the pretense of going to the University of Lagos. There, in Lagos, his mercurial musical career started. Sunny Adé's musical sound has evolved from the early days. His career began with Moses Olaiya's Federal Rhythm Dandies, a highlife band. He left to form a new band, The Green Spots, in 1967. Over the years, for various reasons ranging from changes in his music to business concerns, Sunny Adé's band changed its name several times, first to African Beats and then to Golden Mercury.

Nigerian comedy king, John Okafor more commonly known as Mr. Ibu has revealed for the first time he once escaped an attempt by his friend to have him killed for sacrifice. Mr. Ibu who was a special guest on Starr Chat with Bola Ray on Starr 103.5FM Wednesday said although he was already sold out by this friend, he managed to escape by the “Help of God. “This is something I haven’t spoken about anywhere,” he told Bola Ray. “A friend of mine sold me for sacrifice once. I was just there and they were calling price over my head like that. Speaking in their local language thinking I wouldn’t understand but I understood everything.” Ibu said the incident happened somewhere in 1979, before he started acting. The Nollywood actor is considered to be one of Nigeria’s most talented comic characters. His humorous acting is often characterised by stupidity, hilarious imbecility and a sharp disconnection from reality. He was born on 17 October 1961. Okafor is married with seven children and has said he would do anything for his family. According to him, he considered selling off his kidney to save his family when they were all kidnapped by armed men.

#5 Gary Lineker England's second highest goal scorer, while being known for his goal scoring exploits, is also known for defecating in his pants during a World Cup match. Grander accomplishments aside, he's also known for being cut from the purest cloth, for being a saint among saints, in that, he's never been booked in his career. No yellow cards, no red cards. Zero. Nada. If you aren't already acquainted with this fact, you'll need to read it again. Most of you will dismiss it as a joke, before googling and inevitably finding out. I highly suggest you google and confirm. Lineker was one of the most sought after strikers of his time. He played for some big teams in Barcelona, Everton, Leicester and Tottenham Hotspur. It is easy to dismiss this by saying he did it in the 70's and 80's but know that, that era was a more physical era and there were lesser rules protecting players back then. How he managed to possess the calm and patience to go through 466 matches without picking a booking is anyone's guess, but its certainly a mighty good achievement.

#4 Philipp Lahm Being a fullback can be hard. Being a successful fullback is even harder. Games are spent chasing road runner-esque wingers, combating strong and burly strikers along with being positionally aware to support the center backs. And when all of this is not being done, they run. Miles and miles of running, covering space, and basically pushing their lungs to the hilt. Lahm does all of this exceptionally well, and he's done it without ever getting a red card. If this was a story, it would be incredibly hard to believe that a fullback, playing in some of the biggest games of his generation, over a period of 11 years has never been sent off. It is ludicrous, this record, and speaks volumes of how efficient and splendid a player Philipp Lahm is. There is only one word left to describe him - awesome.

#3 Ryan Giggs Imagine going through a Premier League game. The emotions are high, so are the studs of the defender who is out to get you. The crowd is on your back. The referee may be an incompetent loon and every tackle feels like you've been hit by a truck. The 90 minutes don't feel like ending and frustration is just increasing. Finally the whistle blows, and relief. But wait, you have to do it again, next week. And again and again and again. Now imagine doing it for 672 games stretching over a span of 24 years. That was the life of Ryan Giggs, and though the anger and the frustration and pain has been offset by victories and trophies, the ordeal of those 24 years wouldn't have been easy. Giggs was very consistent in the most punishing football tournament in the world and despite its challenges, was never once been pushed to the brink of a red card. It would have required a heavenly amount of patience and composure and for it he should be celebrated along with all his other achievements.

#1 Damien Duff Duff, the former Blackburn, Chelsea, Newcastle and Fulham winger, has never seen a red card in his career despite spending most of his career in the hustle and bustle of the Premier League. He plied his trade in the top division for 18 years and despite spending 14 of those years at clubs that weren’t really at the top, he never once was ejected from a match. His disciplinary record, to not have been sent off as yet, is highly commendable. Similar players - pacey, explosive wingers - have ratcheted small mountains of red cards, due to their inability to control their emotions when fouled, or because of their inept defending. Duff would often be seen running up and down the pitch, working hard, covering every blade of grass and basically nobody would have ever blamed him if he got sent off, but Duff never succumbed. No, he was different. Almost a saint compared to the uncouth bruisers he found himself in teams with. #2 Raul Not many strikers in the world could compare to the talent, drive and hunger possessed by Raul in his prime, and looking back, there probably won't be many who can match his discipline either. Raul played in some of the most competitive matches in football, and despite the frenzy and emmotion of some of the most high pressure games, never once got sent off. He has played in El Clasicos, the Ruhr derby, Champions league finals and countless other League matches and Cup finals and never once lost his cool. He also happens to be the second most capped player in La Liga, with 550 appearances for Real Madrid, which makes his record remarkable.

Jose Mourinho was earlier today presented with his Guinness book of records award for holding the following records; Longest football unbeaten home run by a manager (nine years) Most Champions League titles with different clubs (two) Youngest manager to reach 100 Champions League matches (49 years 12 days) Most points in a Premier League season (95) Most games unbeaten at home in the Premier League (77) Mourinho who was pleased to be recognised by such an iconic publication, said this: MOURINHO: ‘The fact they gave me the awards in a way that I can put them up in my office is nice,’ he said. 'It’s something fun and as a kid you could never imagine that one day you would be in the Guinness Book of Records. ‘You know me, these awards are for something I did in the past and obviously it’s nice, but for me what’s more important is what I can do in the future.’ Congratulations Jose Mourinho!

#1 Wayne Rooney Wayne Rooney is a huge fan of boxing Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney was an avid boxer during his adolescent years. In fact, Rooney had joined professional boxing training for three or four years while growing up. He accredits his heroics on the football pitch to the rigorous amounts of training he did as a boxer in his youth. "All through my life - from the ages of six, seven and eight - when big fights were on television, I used to stay up with my dad to watch them,” he had said in an interview. "I've always loved watching boxing and I went boxing training for about three or four years when I was younger. It's a sport I've always been involved in,” he added. His obvious brilliance with a football at his feet was for all to see but he tried to accommodate boxing along with his football training with Everton up until he was fifteen. That is when the Merseyside club told him to concentrate on one sport and that’s when he opted for football. We all believe that was a very wise decision, Wazza. Although the fight with Phil Bardsley at home where you were knocked out probably wasn’t. Slide 1 / 8

#2 Gareth Bale Gareth Bale (R) played rugby in school Real Madrid’s Welsh winger Gareth Bale is one of the most gifted athletes to have graced a football pitch. Growing up in Whitchurch, Cardiff, Bale attended the Eglwys Newydd Primary School where he excelled in a number of sports including rugby, hockey and athletics. He was also classmates with former Welsh rugby captain Sam Warburton at Eglwys. The Madrid winger was a remarkable sprinter as a teenager and once clocked an impressive 4:59 and 2:24.8 for 1500m and 800m respectively. As a 14-year-old, he completed a 100 metres sprint in just 11.4 seconds. He even did cross country running as a youngster. His sprinting ability has been accentuated on the football pitch and brought him global recognition when he tore apart Inter Milan’s defence for Tottenham in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League. A career in athletics would not have been that bad, but it is safe to claim that it would not have been as good as his career in football considering he became the most expensive player when he moved to the Bernabeu in 2013.

#3 Roy Keane Roy Keane was an amateur boxer Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane’s inordinately fiery disposition on the pitch could be traced back to his frequent bouts as an amateur boxer in his hometown of Mayfield in Cork, Ireland. He took up boxing at the age of ten or eleven and was moderately good at knocking people out cold until the day he was forced to quit the sport and focus on his rather better footballing abilities. A lack of height was cited as the reason why he quit boxing. "Boxing is the best sport in the world. It's man against man. You are on your own. There's only one person going to come out of that ring a winner,” he said in an interview with The Guardian . Evidently, the love for boxing has not left the Irishman. Keane’s exemplary captaincy was pivotal in United winning an unprecedented treble in the 1998/99 season. However, his tenures as manager at both Ipswich and Sunderland were deemed as major failures.

#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a black belt in taekwondo
Paris Saint-Germain and Sweden striker Zlatan
Ibrahimovic on whom phony internet memes are
based is not only one of the best footballers on the
planet but also a black-belt in Taekwondo. The
Swede received his black belt when he was 17
years old and continued to practice the sport when
he moved from Ajax to Italy to play for Juventus,
and later, Inter Milan.
Ibrahimovic also received an honourary black belt
from the Italian national taekwondo team in 2010.
“Had he had the same focus on taekwondo he has
had on football, and able to invest in the same way,
it is clear that he could have been just fine,” said
Leif Almö, president of the sports centre where
Zlatan practiced taekwondo in his youth.
Ibrahimovic’s nomadic football career has seen him
represent seven clubs so far including Spanish
heavyweights FC Barcelona and three of the biggest
Italian clubs in Juventus & Milan giants Inter and AC
Milan where he won a myriad of accolades.

#5 Gary Lineker Gary Lineker has played cricket and captained his school team Gary Lineker is one of England’s greatest ever players. The current Match of The Day host is third on the England’s all-time scorers list and has played for clubs like Barcelona, Everton, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Unbeknownst to the fans, Lineker was a cricketing talent while growing up. Discussing his adolescent years, Lineker said in the Independent: “I was captain of the Leicestershire Schools cricket team from 11 to 16 and thought at the time I would probably have more chance afterwards in cricket than football.” A right-handed batsman who also bowled medium pace with the ball, Lineker played three games for Sir JP Getty’s XI at Wormsley Cricket Ground in Buckinghamshire, England. The prolific striker also represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against The Forty Club at Beckenham. As a footballer, Lineker became the top scorer of the English first division on three separate occasions and won the Golden Boot award at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. We are glad that you stuck with football, Gary. Slide 5 / 8

#6 Phil Neville Phil Neville – better than Andrew Flintoff? Former Manchester United and Everton player Phil Neville was an exemplary cricketer and the captain of the England U-15’s. An opening left-handed batsman, Neville became the youngest player ever to represent the Lancashire second XI, a team which also boasted a certain Andrew Flintoff. Former Somerset bowler Steve Kirby even believed that Neville was better than Flintoff. “Phil [Neville] was captain of the England under-15 side at football and cricket. He was brilliant. I know it's a big statement, but he was better than Flintoff at the time,” he said. Neville then went on to represent the Lancashire U-19 side along with Flintoff. An undeniable prodigy without a shadow of a doubt, Neville’s other talent as a footballer saw him live a glittering trophy- laden career. His brother and former United captain Gary Neville believes had it not been for his love for football, Phil would have captained the England senior team. Well, we think it all turned out for the best, Gary.

#7 Boudewijn Zenden Boudewijn Zenden has played for clubs like Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool Bolo Zenden had a knack for martial arts while growing up in Maastricht, in the Netherlands. Being the son of former judoka Pierre Zenden, Bolo had a keen interest in Judo. He earned his black belt by the time he was fourteen and is a three times champion of his home province of Limburg. Phil Bardsley, a former teammate at Sunderland, once recalled his judo moves. “He’s a judo black belt and used to do a few moves on me. I used to say, ‘show me’ – he put me in a move one day and I couldn’t get out. He nearly killed me!” The Dutch midfielder applied the strict principles of discipline and obedience associated with martial arts to football which saw him featured for clubs like Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool. Zenden also represented the Dutch national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and helped the Netherlands reach the semi-finals of both the UEFA European Championships in 2000 and 2004.

Joe hart as a cricketer

Footballers are arguably among the best athletes on the planet. Speed, skill, agility, strength, endurance – the modern day footballer possesses a varied range of characteristics to succeed on the pitch. So it should not come as a surprise that some of them applied these traits to other sports before carving out a career in football. Be it cricket or boxing, there are a number of players who could have excelled in another arena. We take a look at eight such footballers who could have excelled in other sports. #8 Joe Hart Joe Hart was known to be a decent swing bowler Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart was a cricketing prodigy. The 28-year-old played for Shrewsbury Cricket Club in the Birmingham & District Premier League between 2003 and 2005 and also spent two years in Worcestershire’s youth squads playing alongside former England international and current Surrey batsman Steven Davies. According to his former coach at Worcestershire, Damian D’Oliveira, Hart was a precocious talent as a cricketer and could bowl quite fast as well. "He had all the attributes — he was tall at 6’2”, could swing the ball back into the right-hander and could bowl around 85mph. He was one of the most highly-rated players in the country,” he said. Worcestershire fast bowler Jack Shantry fondly remembers his days as Joe Hart’s teammate. "We played junior cricket together for Shrewsbury Under-13s and Under-15s and we were the national champions and we also played football for the same football team,” he recalled. “ He was the school year above me and he was always far more talented than I was at both football and cricket. I'm sure if he had chosen cricket over football, he would have been a very successful cricketer.” We think he is doing rather well as a footballer for Manchester City.

damola311:

what did u mean by did u agree? u want it to be given to Ronaldo huh?

of course hr scored more goals than messi per match

Lionel Messi has won the Uefa Best Player in Europe Award, beating Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prestigious prize. do you agree

man u with psv

SCHMEICHEL CO-HOSTING Not much to report so far, peeps. Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel (what a player he was) is co-hosting this evening's ceremony, and we're currently being treated to a tasty video montage of last season's best bits.

The north African country have withdrawn from the football events of Brazzaville 2015 according to the Confederation of African Football Egypt have withdrawn from participating in the men and women’s football events of the 2015 All African Games billed for Brazzaville in September. This was made known by the Confederation of African Football without stating reasons for their decision. Samson Siasia’s Dream Team VI were billed to battle the Pharaohs in the men’s football event alongside Senegal and Ghana in Group B, while the Egyptian women were zoned with Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa. In accordance with Article 19 (B) of the regulations which states “If a team withdraws after having qualified for the Final Tournament, but before the actual start of the Final Tournament, the Organizing Committee may replace it by the last team it has eliminated, if the circumstances are favourable…” The two teams eliminated by Egypt in the qualifiers, Senegal (Women) and Burundi (Men) are considered to replace Egypt. The tournament will be held from 6 – 18 September 2015 in Brazzaville, Congo.

pics

The president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has
allegedly fired his chief of defence forces...
If the tweets by Alex Tackie and a few others are
anything to go by, President Mugabe allegedly fired
his chief of defence forces, seen seated next to his
wife in the photo below for being too close to his
wife and staring at her butt when she bent down.. Just recently, the controversial president revealed
he did not marry his wife, Grace, because of love,
and revealed the real reasons. Robert Mugabe, who
is often in the centre of controversy publicly
proposed marriage to the US President Barrack
Obama to make mockery of the legalization of gay
marriage in the USA.

Luis Suarez may be a star on the pitch, but the Barcelona striker has now become one in a children's book too - albeit not for his football skills. British author Peter Barron has used the Uruguayan as inspiration for a character - a vampire no less - in his new children's tale Daydreaming Daisy McCloud because of the player's history of biting opponents. Speaking about his decision to base the football- playing vampire called Luis after the former Liverpool forward, Peter said: "When I was writing the book Luis Suarez had been in trouble again for biting another opponent. "So when I needed a striker to complete my monstrous line-up he seemed to fit the bill. "I just hope he sees the funny side of it and the idea doesn’t come back to bite me." Suarez first bit an opponent while playing for Dutch giants Ajax in 2010 after taking a mouthful of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal, which earned the striker a seven-match ban. After then moving to Liverpool, Suarez found himself in trouble again when he bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in 2013 before biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup last year. Despite apologising for the incidents, Suarez has clearly left a lasting impression on Peter, with the author including the Barcelona man in his new book, which forms part of his Monstrous Morals series aimed at scaring primary school children out of their bad habits.

Furious Messi headbutts Yanga-Mbiwa in Roma friendly clash
5 Aug 2015 22:59:08

A heated exchange off the ball saw the Argentine lash out at the French defenderLionel Messi was lucky not to receive a red card in Barcelona's friendly against Roma when he headbutted Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

With Barca leading 1-0 through Neymar's strike, the pair began to tangle during the first half in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou.

The Argentine attacker has a reputation for keeping a cool head in intense situations, but his temper flashed through when he came face to face with the France international.

Messi lashed out at Yanga-Mbiwa with a headbutt before grabbing at his throat.

The referee then separated the pair and gave both a yellow card, though they were lucky not to be dismissed.

Moments later, Messi went on to double his side's lead, finishing off a sound team move to send his side 2-0 up at half time.

it seems op has been busy

when u score 199 and ur jamb cut off mark is 200

Thank God no life was lost but dat bald head for d 1st pix sha