Sports
Chelsea To Exploit Barca’s Weaknesses, Today
Chelsea and Barcelona will renew hostilities when they meet in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final today.
English Premier League giants Chelsea will be looking for revenge after Andres Iniesta’s late goal in their 2008/09 semi-final tie put Barca into the final, which they won 2-0 against Manchester United.
Chelsea caretaker boss Roberto Di Matteo’s team, who booked their place in the FA Cup final on Sunday, welcome Barca to Stamford Bridge for the first leg.
In a blow to Chelsea, centre-back David Luiz could miss the match after being carried off the field with a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 5-1 victory over Tottenham.
Di Matteo believes that Barca has weaknesses his side can exploit, and said the focus would be on each of the European champions’ players, not just the in-form Lionel Messi.
“It’s not just about stopping a single player because obviously they have so many players that can hurt you,” he said.
“It has to be a team tactic, a team strategy, to be able to limit their threat.”
Di Matteo, who took over from Andre Villas-Boas in March, has helped inspire Chelsea’s revival, with the Italian overseeing nine wins, two draws and just one loss in his time in charge.
Attacker Juan Mata will play a key role for Chelsea, with the Spaniard’s ability to support striker Didier Drogba, as well as the Chelsea midfield, crucial.
Messi has scored 20 goals in his last 11 matches, an incredible run that has kept Barca in the hunt for the La Liga title.
The clash against Chelsea marks the start of a crucial week for Pep Guardiola’s side, who meet Real Madrid in the El Clasico at the weekend.
Barca are unbeaten in 15 matches in all competitions, although they needed a fortuitous penalty to record a 2-1 win at Levante on Saturday.
Iniesta, Dani Alves and Gerard Pique all started on the bench in the win, and the trio could all fit into the starting 11 against Chelsea.
Guardiola’s team have only kept one clean sheet in their last four matches, an encouraging sign for Chelsea.
Di Matteo’s side need a strong result at home if they are to upset a high-flying Barcelona in the tie and book a place in the final.
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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