₦airaland Forum

All good things must or probably would come to an end at some point and that’s the sad reality that has beamed on Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie. The Netherlands striker, during the week revealed to a UK-based paper how much he admires Juventus and how former teammate Patrice Evra has been whispering good tidings into his ears.

Van Persie has always seemed to me a smart man and he knows when to call it quit. Remember how he ditched Arsenal three summers ago to win the Premier League title the following season with Manchester United? He saw it coming and he jumped ship.
Fast forward three years later and the reality on ground is that van Persie won’t be first choice next season – not after his dismal 24 months at Old Trafford. And the striker has seen the writing on the wall. He prefers to leave on his own terms and would not want to be pushed out or accept a super-sub role like departing teammate, Falcao.

Van Persie’s comments during the week stopped short of saying “come and get me Juventus”. It was as an open invite from a footballer I’ve seen all my life and no doubt he has seen how oldies like Evra, Tevez and Pirlo have thrived in the Turin city.
Will RVP ignite his career in Italy? Absolutely. I believe it’ll be a nice move for him as his game (at his age) would probably be suited to the slower pace known with the Serie A.

Do you think RVP can succeed in Juventus?

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Warri Wolves and Super Eagles striker. Gbolahan Salami has said that he will score more goals for the Senior National Team in subsequent matches.

Salami got the first goal for the Super Eagles in the game against Chad and he revealed that he is eager to add more goals as his contribution to the success of the Nigerian National Team in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

"I am happy I scored the first goal in our qualifiers. I want to give thanks to God for helping me to play the way I did in the match.

"I also want to say that I am promising more goals in subsequent matches. It is a thing of joy for me to score in our very first game of the qualifiers.

"I want to continue to do my best for the team, Salami said.

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Atletico Madrid Midfielder Jorge Resurrección Merodio ‘Koke’, has made an open revelation that FC Barcelona approached him last summer.

Koke,23, who is an academy product of Atletico Madrid has been identified by Barca as a long term successor to Xavier Hernandez.

Coincidentally, he made his official debut as a 17-year-old against the Catalan giants in 2009.

Although, he remain a rumoured transfer target for Manchester United and Chelsea to name a few.

“Last Summer I knew there was an interest from Barcelona in me, But my head was at Atletico Madrid.”

I grew up here (Madrid) and did not have that need to go, i’m very comfortable here and for now I don’t see the need to go.” he told reporters.

If he eventually arrive, there will be a huge cavort at Camp Nou, because of his immense talent.

Should the Madrid born midfielder move or stay at Atletico Madrid as one-club man like Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Ryan Giggs, Xavi- the man he will succeed at Barca?

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What a bad tackle, It’s a penalty – what will be the ref decision; play on. Refereeing in the beautiful game come into different phases- mockery and top notch.

The state of officiating games for the beauty of the game -FIFA slogan, is entering a turbulent state.

This is 21st century, where the use of Technology is alarming, great exposition of recent advancement. The rules and regulations of the game have evolved tremendously – Goal line technology have come in, fifth official behind the goal post in UEFA Champions League matches.

To say the game haven’t produce good refereeing of the highest order is a fallacy.

Great Pierluigi Collina ‘Kojak’ is an Italian former football referee .

He was widely considered the best referee of his generation, having been named FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” six consecutive times.

He had the opportunity to officiate top crucial games like 1996 Olympic Games Final between Nigeria and Argentina, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Collina was chosen as the official centre referee for the 2002 World cup Final between Brazil and Germany.

He was a top centre referee that commands respect from coaches,players and even his fellow colleagues. He was famously regarded as the best referee of his generation.

Then we’ve the case of Tom Henning Ovrebo – A Norwegian former football referee, widely criticised for preventing Chelsea from reaching the UEFA champions league Final in 2009.

I look into English Premier League this just concluded season with an eagle eye, match officiating have come in mixed reactions.

From Jose Mourinho’s alleged campaign against Chelsea to all other shambolic refereeing. Nemanja Matic moment of madness which was a disgraceful state of officiating by Martin Atkinson.
Wrong decisions from matchday officials could if not promptly curb could damage the beauty of the game.

Several calls from ex- international on the importance of using a review before any crucial decision, (just like the the NBA) where video tape review is done before making any final decision.

Do you think we really need the Collina and Technology effect for match officiating?

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What a bad tackle, It’s a penalty – what will be the ref decision; play on. Refereeing in the beautiful game come into different phases- mockery and top notch.

The state of officiating games for the beauty of the game -FIFA slogan, is entering a turbulent state.

This is 21st century, where the use of Technology is alarming, great exposition of recent advancement. The rules and regulations of the game have evolved tremendously – Goal line technology have come in, fifth official behind the goal post in UEFA Champions League matches.

To say the game haven’t produce good refereeing of the highest order is a fallacy.

Great Pierluigi Collina ‘Kojak’ is an Italian former football referee .

He was widely considered the best referee of his generation, having been named FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” six consecutive times.

He had the opportunity to officiate top crucial games like 1996 Olympic Games Final between Nigeria and Argentina, the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Collina was chosen as the official centre referee for the 2002 World cup Final between Brazil and Germany.

He was a top centre referee that commands respect from coaches,players and even his fellow colleagues. He was famously regarded as the best referee of his generation.

Then we’ve the case of Tom Henning Ovrebo – A Norwegian former football referee, widely criticised for preventing Chelsea from reaching the UEFA champions league Final in 2009.

I look into English Premier League this just concluded season with an eagle eye, match officiating have come in mixed reactions.

From Jose Mourinho’s alleged campaign against Chelsea to all other shambolic refereeing. Nemanja Matic moment of madness which was a disgraceful state of officiating by Martin Atkinson.
Wrong decisions from matchday officials could if not promptly curb could damage the beauty of the game.

Several calls from ex- international on the importance of using a review before any crucial decision, (just like the the NBA) where video tape review is done before making any final decision.

Do you think we really need the Collina and Technology effect for match officiating?

More: http://tanko.com.ng

Bayern Munich will only countenance selling Bastian Schweinsteiger if the German World Cup winner asks to leave the club this summer.

The 31-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United, with Louis van Gaal identifying him as a possible transfer target.

But Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insists the player has given no indication he wants to leave the Allianz Arena.

He said: ‘I don’t know if the story has weight. But from our point of view it’s clear: we would only consider a transfer if Bastian were to confront us with a concrete wish. That’s not the case.’

Schweinsteiger, who has played in the Bayern first team since 2002, has won eight Bundesliga titles, seven German Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.

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He is now 30, though the experience and energy is there, but will he be ready for the physical game in England?

Virtually all of South America’s top stars actually enjoyed a vigorous level of performance post-Brazil 2014 World Cup. Far from badly needing a break this summer, all of Leo Messi, Neymar, James Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez look ready to take command of the Copa America in Chile. One after the other, let’s take a look at these quartet.
Take the finest of them all. Just under a year ago, it seemed like we had seen the best of Messi, and it didn’t look quite as devastating as it used to be. Although the World Cup displayed he was still capable of individual feats of historic quality – the goal against Iran, the run and pass for Angel Di Maria against Switzerland – it was as if the cumulative fatigue that affected his physical condition meant they could only come at intervals.
That has undeniably changed. Messi’s camp have investigated his physical conditioning since Brazil, and it has had an exponential effect. Now, it is not just that he is back to the 2008-12 blur of energy, or that he no longer has to wait for opportune moments. It is that he is so completely involving himself in almost every aspect of the game.

He is now so thoroughly dominant. Most obviously, there’s the manner in which he is so productive again. The goal rate has shot up to 1.13 per game from 0.9 and his assists have gone to 0.47 from 0.36. That has come, however, while he is also playing far more passes – an average of 61.4 a game. He is no longer sparing himself at all. He is offering even more. Messi is both defining games and deciding them.

James Rodriguez is now inevitably doing more of the former due to the idiosyncratic politics of the Real Madrid line-up. He scores less (0.44 from 1.2) but assists more, and generally offers more key passes (2.7) than shots (1., when it has been the opposite with Colombia (2.5 key passes compared to 3.2 shots).

There was also the way a February foot fracture disrupted his campaign. For the Copa America, though, that two-month lay-off may have come at exactly the right time. Given how good his World Cup was, there was the possibility that James would drop off. Instead, the two-month lay-off has possibly given him the required time off to resume his more advanced international role with relish.

There has arguably been a similar dynamic with Neymar. The notorious injury he suffered in Brazil’s quarter-final with Colombia ended his World Cup prematurely and curtailed his start to the campaign, but also means he is that bit fresher.

James Rodriguez
There was also the way a February foot fracture disrupted his campaign. For the Copa America, though, that two-month lay-off may have come at exactly the right time. Given how good his World Cup was, there was the possibility that James would drop off. Instead, the two-month lay-off has possibly given him the required time off to resume his more advanced international role with relish.

There has arguably been a similar dynamic with Neymar. The notorious injury he suffered in Brazil’s quarter-final with Colombia ended his World Cup prematurely and curtailed his start to the campaign, but also means he is that bit fresher.

Neymar
He has also moved up a level with his club. His scoring has drastically improved since the World Cup (0.67 from 0.35 per game), while he is so much more involved in Barca’s play, with 46.7 passes per game rather than 36.6.

Ironically, the same has happened to Alexis Sanchez since leaving Barca. He has become a central figure for Arsenal with 42 passes per game as opposed to 26.9, while he also plays far more key balls. Although his scoring has slightly dropped, the wonder is whether this can make Chile a more potent force as a whole.

Sanchez
Sanchez was obviously good at the World Cup, but there was still the feeling he was someway cowed by his time at Barca, that he had been relegated to one of the supporting cast rather than becoming the dominant star he always suggested he might be. It had an effect on the World Cup, too, given he still looked more of a finisher rather than the talent driving play. Now, we’ve seen more of the latter.

The hope is that we see the best of all of these players in Chile. It could well make, and settle, the Copa America.

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Ebenezer Adaramodu is the person in the picture below. He is the winner of post with most comments for May and has duly been rewarded at Tanko’s office.

You too can be the winner for June. Start making engaging post on http://www.tanko.com.ng/community/post-guest/ and invite your friends to comment.

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Swansea City have pulled off a major summer coup by signing Andre Ayew on a four-year deal.

The Ghana forward has joined on a Bosman transfer after his Marseille contract expired at the end of last season.

Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen from Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma and Bayer Leverkusen to land the 25-year-old, whose father, Abedi Pele, is considered one of the greatest African players of all time.

Ayew comes with a hefty reputation in his own right, having played in the Champions League and past two World Cups. Sportsmail understands the forward, who can play anywhere across the attacking line, will become the club’s top earner, earning in excess of £50,000 a week.

He finalised personal terms in Wales on Wednesday before completing a medical.

He scored 10 goals for Marseille last season as they finished fourth in Ligue 1. During his time in France, he won the League Cup twice.

The midfielder spoke of his delight at completing his move to the Premier League outfit.

He told the Swansea website: ‘The project that the club has for the future is very exciting, and when I spoke to the chairman and manager I felt this was the right place for me.

Can the player find his ground in the English Premier League?

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Liverpool are one of the EPL team who cannot wait for another season to start in order to forget their poor campaign of 2014/15 season. And their fans had hoped they will atleast make a signing that will make the difference just like Suarez did, someone like Cavani or Marco Reus would have filled the gap left by Suarez.

But instead of Liverpool to act upon lessons learnt in the just concluded season, they are on the verge of making same mistakes they made when they sold Suarez and went ahead to buy 7 players which of course none was capable of filling the void left by Suarez.

Liverpool need world class players at both the midfield and striker or better still players with great potentials. Commanding midfielders such as Wanyama, William Carvalho, De Bruyne or Vidal would be a great addition and attackers such as Marco Reus, Cavani or Even Griezmann will be fine but instead they opted for Danny Ings and James Milner two of which were available for free. They have a good playmaker in Coutinho and they will need atleast two quality additions not especially when Gerrard too has left.

Although it is too early to judge because the transfer market has not even opened but this is the time when fallen teams aspiring to lift themselves up show signs of intents. Its not to say the players they signed in Milner and Ings are not good, infact they are perfect for the EPL but Liverpool need better qualities not adding average players to the existing ones.

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Petr Cech is a top drawer goalkeeper and professional and would instantly strengthen Arsenal’s title hopes.

Cech is an absolutely marvelous goalkeeper, and at 33 he is still at a good age for a keeper.

At most other clubs he would still be first choice surely and would still walk into most XIs in the world.

He is undoubtedly an upgrade to Ospina and Szczesny and would strengthen the Gunners’ back line substantially.

Cech is a supremely intelligent goalkeeper, gets his positioning spot on each and every time. His reflexes and agility are second to none as well, stretching himself to get a finger to shots that most other keepers simply wouldn’t.

With an improving back line in front of him, I think Cech could help take Arsenal to the next level surely. ‎

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On Sunday, Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi requested the FA to provide video clips of the Chadian national team. With less than six days to the 2017 AFCON qualifier, it's rather worrying that the Super Eagles technical team hadn't seen the Chadian team live or on video.

Some people might say it's only Chad, what's the ruse about? But then I'll add, it's the Super Eagles - one under transition - and there's a lot to be worried about.

Stephen Keshi has the most to lose as his team dare not wobble against Chad in Kaduna on Saturday. He has run out of goodwill and whatever he does from here onwards will be recorded on a clean slate.

For the team itself, many players need a top performance to stay in reckoning. Keshi will know the stakes are high and he has to look out for those players that really matter. This time around, Keshi must be flexible, proactive and objective in his selections.

For a team rated 152nd in the world, the Super Eagles must indeed drive in their obvious superiority and get a comfortable win. The disappointment of losing out of the last AFCON is still fresh and only a strong performance will start the healing process.

Expectations are high and Chad provides a good basis for Keshi and his players to start the AFCON qualifiers on a strong footing, really there can be no excuses. All hands must be on deck to ensure a comfortable victory for Nigeria on Saturday. ‎

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Few weeks ago, Kufre Ekpe wrote this piece -Football’s Best Attacking Trios, and he cited the triumvirate of Diego Milito, Samuel Eto’ Fils and Wesley Sneijder were energetic, vibrant, reliable, inventive and combative enough to win the treble (Serie A title, the Coppa Italia and the
Champions League ) for Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan team in 2009.

Now the series continue..

The attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, ostensibly known as MSN looks scary for any defence in the world, not to forget the attacking trio of Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo at the end of La Furia Roja.
While the established footballers are tearing the world apart with their ferocious feet.

Recently, the Super falcons obviously displayed to the world the popular saying ‘what a man can do, a woman can do it better’.

And they did it better, againsta Swedish side that occupies the 3rd position on FIFA ranking at Winnipeg in Canada, Super Falcons were 2 goals down at half time- one was an own goal by Oparanozie. Both goals were from set piece. But the second half brought the moment we were waiting for.

The Os combined well
Asisat Oshoala, Desire Oparanozie and Ngozi Okobi performed exceedingly well to equalise twice in this game, interestingly, the last goal was scored by another O -Francisca Odega.
It was a top-notch performance by the ladies, they truly deserve the credits.

I think they are the most fearsome and lethal triumvirate in the world, what do you think about our girls?

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There’s been a lot of talk about Morgan Schneiderlin and Sami Khedira joining Arsenal this summer – and there was lots of talk about it last summer too.

Schneiderlin has been wonderful for Southampton and already knows the Premier League very well. He is also good in possession, though, and would fit quite well into the Arsenal mould.

Of course, they’d face stiff competition for him, they’d need to pay a handsome sum of money to get him, but he’d certainly appease some of the fans calling for a defensive midfield lynchpin.

Then there’s Khedira. A perennial bench-warmer at Real Madrid, he is expected to leave the club in the summer. He was wonderful in the World Cup, and alongside players like Schweinsteiger and Muller, Gotze and Ozil he looked just as comfortable in possession, and provided a little bit of steel in front of their formidable defence.

But Schneiderlin and Khedira are hardly physical, powerful players. More Rolls Royce than 4×4. This might suit Arsenal’s current mould, but why would you go out and spend loads of money on something that isn’t too different to what you have already?

They’d certainly shore up the midfield more than they have already, but that’s not saying much. Arsenal should go for some power. Someone more Viera-like than those two.

What do you think is best for Arsenal’s midfield?

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Chelsea forward Eden Hazard would cost more to buy than Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, according to the latest report by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football Observatory.

As part of a comprehensive study of players plying their trade in one of Europe’s top five leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 – the Belgium international was valued at between £99-110million.

The PFA Player of the Year was second only to Lionel Messi, who is worth up to £207m, while Real Madrid forward Ronaldo completed the top three.

The research group applied a number of factors, including a player’s age, the length of their contract and the level of their performance as well as taking into account their club’s results and achievements, to work out how much the player would be worth in the transfer market.

This would explain why Ronaldo is valued at less than Hazard; the Belgium star is six years Ronaldo’s junior and has a contract at Chelsea until 2020 – two years longer than the Portugal international.

Meanwhile, Tottenham sensation Harry Kane, who enjoyed a standout season in which he scored 31 goals for the north London club, is valued higher than his former team-mate Gareth Bale.

Are they right?

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Super agent Mino Raiola won’t rule out tonight being Paul Pogba‘s final game for Juventus.

Juve will meet Barcelona in the Champions League final.

“Could it be his last game with Juve?” Raiola told Sky Italia. “Theoretically, yes. The transfer window is open until September 2. We’ll see.

“Offers are already coming in, but they’ve all been sidelined. Juventus don’t want to sell him, so anyone who wants him will have to go out and buy him.

“The price depends on who buys him, but Juve must make it an auction. His transfer would be one of the most expensive in history.

“He’s certainly one of the most expensive players in the world, he’s a special young player and has something more than the others.

“I’ve convinced that we’ve not even seen the best of what he can do yet.”

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FAI chief executive John Delaney has revealed that he had to ask FIFA president Sepp Blatter to “move on” after the 79-year-old stared at his girlfriend.

Blatter announced his resignation from his role at the top of football’s governing body following the recent corruption scandal, which saw a number of FIFA officials arrested in Zurich last week.

Delaney told RTE Radio One: “He met Emma, my partner, in Vienna recently. He stared at her for seven or eight seconds and he said, ‘I approve of your new girlfriend’. I asked him to move on, move on please.

“She is a great girl, I love her very much, it was an extraordinary moment. If she was here she would tell you herself. He stared at her and I said ‘move on’ and he did.”

HAHAHA! What could papa be thinking when staring at Emma?

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How many European Cups does it take to beat a World Cup? One doesn’t come close, two starts to draw level, three probably just about does it. So, a fourth for Messi would certainly achieve it.

That’s the logic behind the idea that if Leo Messi wins the Champions League on Saturday night and especially if he becomes the first player to score in three finals – Raul scored in 2000 and 2002 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008 and 2014 – he will have topped Diego Maradona’s 1986 tournament victory.

The more years that pass the greater Maradona’s achievement seems to some. The idea that he won it on his own gets stronger with every subsequent World Cup.

If Barcelona are victorious this weekend in Berlin they will have overcome last year’s French, English, German and Italian Champions to lift the trophy.

Three out of four of those wins will have been achieved over two legs. It’s a 14-game slog to the final and even when the group stage is a procession it remains tougher to win the biggest club competition in football than it does the World Cup.

The argument that the pressure is greater for the World Cup owes more to the bare-faced Sepp Blatter exaggeration that one billion people watch ‘his’ final than any reality. Last year’s Champions League final reached 380 million viewers and the pressure will be on Messi more than ever.

The currency of trophies has changed in modern football. Fourth place in the Premier League really does now mean more and is harder to obtain than the League Cup.

And the Champions League is at the very least on a par with the World Cup now, especially in an age when sadly so many players and coaches take club football more seriously than the international game.

Will winning the fourth Champions League make Messi greater than Maradona?