Sports
UCL: Zidane Revels In Real’s Performance, Qualification
Zinedine Zidane felt that Real Madrid produced their most complete performance of the season as they claimed a crucial 2-0 win over Borussia Monchenglad-bach.
Needing a victory to guarantee their place in the Champions League last 16, Madrid delivered at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, with Karim Benzema heading in the goals in the first half.
Benzema, Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez all hit the woodwork, while goalkeeper Yann Sommer made flying saves to deny Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos to keep the scoreline down.
The result always seemed safe, though, as Madrid progressed through a 29th consecutive Champions League group stage, with Gladbach also advancing after Inter and Shakhtar Don-etsk drew 0-0.
Failure to go through could well have seen Zidane’s position become untenable, and the Madrid boss was delighted with the way his side performed under pressure.
“This was the objective: to finish first,” he said, as quoted by Tidesports source. “We played a spectacular game, from the first minute to the last. We interpreted the game really well.
“I think this was the most complete game of the season. I’ve been a player and it’s impossible to play like this all the time. We try to, but every now and then…
“We don’t only perform under pressure; we have played other good games as well. It’s true this team has that [quality]: when the difficulties are great, it appears.
“I’m happy for the players because they are the most important thing. I’m fighting with them and I’m happy for them. It was a good game.”
Benzema’s pair of headers means he has been involved in 11 goals in all competitions this season, the joint-most of any LaLiga player.
The striker’s double took his tally to 51 goals in the group stages, a figure bettered only by Raul (53), Cristiano Ronaldo (67) and Lionel Messi (71).
“It was a difficult game,” Benzema said. ”We started well, we were eager to win and to show we’re the best and that we were going to work together to win this game.
“When we give everything on the pitch, we get goals and we could have got more.”
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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