Sports
Emenike Quits S’Eagles
Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike has announced his retirement from international football.
The 28-year-old Emenike said on Instagram that he is putting a stop to his five-year career with the Super Eagles.
He further disclosed: “For everybody that thinks I am the problem of Super Eagles, I am using this opportunity to give you a breaking and interesting news, that I am no longer a Super Eagles player. It has always been my pleasure to play and win for the team.
“I am always proud of my successful years in the team and I am pleased to call it off at this point in order to avoid insults.”
The Al Ain of Dubai striker’s decision comes a day after story broke that coach Sunday Oliseh was considering dropping him from next month’s World Cup qualifier against Swaziland after he has gone two years without scoring for the three-time African champions.
Despite no longer playing in a “top league”, Oliseh, a big admirer of the big striker, has picked him for his first four matches.
Coach Samson Siasia talked Emenike into playing for the Super Eagles and he made his long-awaited debut in February 2011 in a friendly against Sierra Leone in Lagos.
He went on to emerge top scorer at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa which Nigeria won.
But he soon after hit a bad patch which saw him score his last goal for the country in Ethiopia in October 2013 in a final 2014 World Cup play-off.
A top source close to the team revealed: “Oliseh is disappointed Emenike has not justified the confidence he has in him.
“He has been given his chance by the coach, who is now seriously considering Odion Ighalo to lead his attack against Swaziland next month.”
Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama also took to Instagram to announce his retirement from international football after a much publicized row with coach Oliseh earlier this month.
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
