Sports
Nigerians Hail Team, Call For Caution
As Nigeria Falconets secured one of the semi-final tickets of the on going under-20 female World Cup, in Germany yesterday after beating the defending champions USA on penalties, football analysts, coaches and football lovers have followed up with reaction on their prospects and performances in the competition.
In his reaction, former Sharks’ youth football team coach, Barnabas Chimezie, said the Nigeria female team have the potentials to lift the trophy.
According to him, the only problem facing the team is the difficulty in coverting scoring chances. He, however, noted that the problem had become a major issue to all our national teams.
“Yes, I believe strongly that our Falconets can lift the trophy, because they play quality football and have good control of the ball, but they must begin to convert clear scoring chances” Chimezie said.
He continued that the players also exhibit determination, commitment and fighting spirit, adding that any team that is committed would surely go far in any tournament.
Imama Amapakabo, the Chief Coach of Sharks FC, shared the same view with Chimezie, but added that the Falconets should take the semi-final game seriously because the team they are going to play (Colombia) is also a strong team.
Amapakabo warned that the Falconets should not be carried away or be over- welmed because they defeated the defending champions, USA.
“I am particularly happy that Falconets beat USA, that is my dream and prayers, but the players should concentrate on the semi-final match. They should not under-rate the Colombians, because they are also a very strong team”, Amapakabo said.
In his contributions, Jim Odede Opiki, the assistant secretary of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State Council, expressed optimism that the Falconets will lift the trophy.
He advised the players to be positive, because they have reached a stage where Nigerians are praying for them.
Opiki, further advised the Falconets to believe in themselves and not to be in a hurry in the match against Colombians.
“Falconets should understand that they have only one match to the finals, so they should not be over zealous and always listen to their coach’s instructions.
“Individual game and unnecessary show of skills cannot help the team”, he advised.
Tonye Orabere
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