Sports
2014 CHAN: Nigerians Optimistic Of Eagles Victory
Soccer pundits in Lagos
have expressed optimism that the home-based Super Eagles would emerge leader in Group A at the Championship of African Nations (CHAN), scheduled for January 2014 in South Africa.
The Eagles are expected to slug it out with hosts, South Africa, Mozambique and Mali, in the group.
The pundits said that the team had the pedigree and the technical capacity to withstand any opponent in the group.
A former Eagles’ coach, Paul Hamilton, said that he had confidence in both the home-based players and their technical crew that they would make the country proud.
“The home-based Eagles have the zeal and strength to do so. The team is now a force to be reckoned with in Africa.
“The team has been dominating when it comes to football and I know the teams in our group will be watching out for them,’’ Hamilton said.
The former coach, however, urged Coach Stephen Keshi to instil discipline and dedication in the boys and play each match with zeal and determination.
“The boys should be warned against underrating any of their opponents at the group stage,’’ Hamilton said.
A former coach of the Flying Eagles, Tunde Disu, said that Nigeria was already a threat to their rivals in the group because of the country’s pedigree.
Disu added that at the moment, Nigeria was playing the finest and best football in Africa, and that would make the paired countries to plot Nigeria’s downfall.
“South Africa will be Nigeria’s rival at the group stage because over time, they have always been competing with Nigeria and will want to be hard when they both meet.
“Even with that, I am sure Nigeria will top the table at the group stage because the players possess what it takes to take the lead,’’ he said.
Disu, however, urged Keshi to strengthen the squad before the competition, so that the country could come out victorious.
A former goalkeeper-trainer of the Eagles, Joe Erico, expressed his confidence in the home-based team, saying that they have so far proved to be good in their performance.
Erico said that there was no cause for fear on how the Eagles would perform at the championship.
“The players have been doing well in the ongoing Globacom Premier League and that shows that they are in form and up to the task.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor