Lawal Spits Fire- I Have Nothing Against Keshi

Former Super Eagles midfielder Garba Lawal has said that his criticisms of Stephen Keshi were never personal, but his way of 'helping' the embattled Super Eagles coach. Garba Lawal has also expressed regret at how Keshi took the criticisms personal.

Speaking in an interview, Lawal also added that he only meant well and was always saying the truth to Keshi, as Nigeria's failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has proven.

"I wasn't after his job, but I was helping him to change but he took it personal and if he took it personal, that's his own problem but I know the national team is for all of us. At least I tried to advise from the little knowledge I have in the game.

"I keep telling people that I'm not criticizing Keshi and I don't have anything against him, but I was just telling him the truth and he refused to listen and at the end of the day, where are we now?

"It's sad that the African champions will not be at the Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea next year. It's sad I tell you, it's sad," he said regretfully.

The former Roda JC of Holland midfielder has been one of Keshi's fiercest critics and it was no surprise that the 'Big Boss' kicked against having the former Nigeria international as the Super Eagles team coordinator when he was named by Amaju Pinnick.

FIFA Gives Enyeama The Cold Shoulder

World Football governing body, FIFA has shunned  Nigeria shot stopper, Vincent Enyeama for the FIFA FIFPro World XI 2014 released thursday, 24th November.

Five goalkeepers were shortlisted for the award, they include Manuel Neuer(Germany/Bayern Munich), Claudio Bravo(Chile/Barcelona), Thibaut Courtois(Belguim/Chelsea fc), Iker Casillas(Spain/Real Madrid) and Gianluigi Buffon(Italy/Juventus).

In the year under review, the 32 year old Nigerian was outstanding for both club and country and it leaves little to be desired about the criteria used by FIFA for selection.  

For club Lille, the Nigerian shone throughout the season helping them to a third place finish thereby secuiring champions league qualification. He kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in the process, meaning he played 1,062 minutes without conceeding and was 114 minutes away from equaling Gaetan Huards ligue 1 goalkeeping record set in 1993.

The former Enyimba of Aba safe pair of hands surprisingly lost to Italy and Paris Saint German keeper Salvatore Sirigu for the 2014 ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year award.

He was deservedly awarded the best African player in the french ligue 1 after a fantastic season.

In the summer of 2014, Vincent Enyeama was part of the Nigerian squad to the world cup in Brazil and the Lille man didnt just travel to make up the numbers.

He kept two straight clean sheets in Nigeria's'first two games,  a goalless draw with Iran and a 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. He however conceeded thrice against Argentina in Nigeria's final group game.

His remarkable performance was noted as he was voted fourth best goalkeeper at the Mundial ahead of the likes of Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, Joe hart and other top keepers.

Its rather surprising to note that FIFA didnt dim it fit to nominate Enyeama for this award after having a better impact in 2014 for both club and country than most of the shortlisted candidates.

However, the 32 year old was nominated by both CAF and BBC for African footballer of the year 2014.

That's what we need!! Brotherly love

Super eagles and Lazio of Italy midfielder Ogenyi onazi yesterday showed his concern for injured eagles and Reading of England midfielder Hope Akpan. Hope injured his shoulder when he fell awkwardly in the AFCON 2015 qualifier against Congo in Pointe Noire. Reports say Akpan could be out for 8months.
Onazi posted this pics on his instagram page.

Get well soon our dear Eagle.

Hire Oyibo coach and players Keshi shoots

Super eagles under fire boss Stephen Okechukwu Keshi has taken a swipe at those calling for a  foreign manager for the super eagles, Keshi who is currently without a contract failed to qualify the super eagles for Equatorial Guinea 2015, and despite this, the AFCON 2013 Winning manager has refused to give in to calls for his resignation. ” We should also bring foreign players to play for Nigeria. So if they bring a white foreign European Coach, they should come along with ‘Oyinbo’ [white] players.” Keshi told footballlive.ng.

If you came across this article, we'll like you to give us your thoughts, please feel free to drop a comment. 

Mixed Feelings For Nigerians Across Europe

While majority of super eagles regulars were either not dressed or came on as substitutes, others were the heroes as they scored to help their respective clubs. 

ENGLAND

-Victor Moses was the only Nigerian starter at the weekend for club, Stoke city who surprisingly lost 1-2 at home to underdogs, Burnley in the EPL. It is the Nigerian tenth league appearance of the season with 3 assists and a goal to his name. 

-Chelsea Fc continued their impressive run of form with a 2-0 home victory over Westbrom at the bridge. John Obi Mikel and Brown Ideye were not listed for Chelsea and Westbrom respectively, while Victor Anichebe replaced Saido Berahino in the 79th minute. It was Anichebe's ninth appearance of the season with just one goal so far in all competitions.

-Kenneth Omeruo and Sone Aluko were not part of the match day squad for their respective clubs.

SCOTLAND

-After close to two months on the bench, Nigeria defender, Efe Ambrose finally made a substitute appearance for Celtic as they defeated Dundee 2-1 at the Celtic park. His last game for the scottish giants was on 5th of october were they lost 0-1 at home to Hamilton.

ITALY

It was the biggest game in Italy, Roberto Mancini's first game on his return to the Serie A, the Milan derby. 
Joel Obi started and scored for Inter Milan to cancel Jeremy Menez's first half strike for Milan. It is the 23 year old first goal of the season, replaced in the 72nd minute by Brazillian, Hernanes. 

Ogenyi Onazi was absent as Lazio were humbled 3 nil at home by Juventus. The midfielder has been booked twice in his seven appearances, with his last game coming on 3rd november in Lazio's 4-2 win over Cagliari.

SPAIN

Ike Uche was a second half substitute for Villareal as they beat Getafe 2-1 at the Estadio El Madrigal. He replaced Gerrad Moreno in the 69th minute of play.

GERMANY

-Fc Cologne lost 1-2 at home to Hertha Berlin, with Anthony Ujah scoring the only goal for his club. The 24 year old has made 11 appearances for the German outfit, with 4 goals and 2 yellow cards for his hardwork.

-Chinedu Obasi failed to add to his 10 appearances and 1 goal at the weekend as he was missing in action for Schalke 04. In the absence of the 28 year old, his club defeated Wolfsburg 3-1 in the German Bundesliga.

FRANCE

-Elderson Echiejele made his fifth appearance for french giants Monaco as they could only manage a 2 all draw at home to Caen in the Ligue 1. 

HOLLAND

-Abiola Dauda could not save club, Vitesse from a 1-0 loss to Az Alkmar at the weekend. The 26 year old has so far scored 5 goals this season.

-Bathlomew Ogbeche seem to be having his best season ever as he scored again at the weekend to help Cambuur secure a 3-1 away win to Fc Utretch. The 30 year old has now scored 8 goals in 13 appearances for the club.

TURKEY

-Godfrey Oboabona marked his 7th appearance with a yellow card in Rizespor 0-2 loss to Istanbul buyuk. 

- Super Eagles star, Raheem Lawal scored his second goal of the season to inspire club, Eskisehirspor to a 2-1 win over Erciyesspor in the Turkish top flight. 

RUSSIA

-Ahmed Musa was on the losing side as club, Cska Moscow lost 2-1 away to Fc Krasondar. In his 18 games played, Musa has found the back of the net six times this season.

Goal in Milan derby for Joel Obi

Super eagles out of favour midfielder Joel Chukwuma Obi was on the scoresheet on Sunday for Inter in the derby della madonnina  that's the Milan derby, and Joel chose the 61st minute of that game to score his 1st Seria A goal. Obi was booked 9minutes from his goal but that didn't take the excitement away from the Nigerian, who told reporters he got his goal because returnee gaffer Mancini asked him to move forward “It went well and I finally scored, “We wanted to win, but a draw is acceptable.

“Now we have more options with the ball, which is especially an advantage for us midfielders. I prefer this tactical system. Mancini had been testing me for a few days, so I figured I would start.

“Mancini asked me and Guarín to push up and give Kuzmanovic more space between the lines I feel that's why I was able to get the goal ”.

The midfielder is a product of inter's youth system and broke through to the senior team in 2010. This is Obi's 5th start this season.

Is Karanka selfish with Omeruo?

For those of you that haven't heard what Boro's manager Aitor Karanka had say about Nigeria's inability to qualify for AFCON2015. "It’s good for us that Ken (Omeruo) will be available in January and February,” said Aitor.

“I think about my team and the club, and thinking selfishly is good for me and the club.

“Ken will be disappointed because it’s important for players to be involved in these kind of major tournaments, but I’m sure he’s going to be happy being here because the team is playing really well and he’s the kind of player who likes to be involved with the team.” 

Omeruo was injured in international duty with Nigeria but the injury wasn't as serious as first feared, presently he's being worked on by Boro's medical staff. “I have to be careful with Ken coming back from international duty because he has only just played with Nigeria on Wednesday so I must know if he’ll be fit and ready to play.”

Mfon Udoh inspires Enyimba to fourth Federation Cup Title

Two-time African champions Enyimba FC of Aba on Sunday defeated four-time Federation Cup winners, Dolphins, to lift their fourth Federation Cup title.

Dolphins were the better of the two teams in the first half with greater percentage of ball possession but the players were wasteful after putting the Enyimba defence in all kinds of trouble.

Chinedu Udoji was a hero in Enyimba’s defence, making two crucial clearances while Emeka Atuloma was also instrumental in Dolphins’ game though there was controversy when he handled the ball at the edge of the box.

Mfon Udoh scored Enyimba’s first goal with a powerful left-footed shot from a counter attack. It was the Peoples Elephants’ first attempt at Dolphins’ goal and that lead gave them more impetus to launch series of attacks on Dolphins.

Mfon Udoh, the top scorer in the recently concluded league season with 24 goals however missed a sitter a minute later.

Dolphins reduced the arrears with about 12 minutes to the end of th game.

Emem Edouk who gave Emmanuel Anyanwu a torrid time in the game before the latter got injured and substituted, swept home with his left foot from close range.

Edouk was adjudged as Most Valueable Player(MVP) of the 2014 Federation Cup.

Meanwhile, River Angels were crowned champions of the female version of the federation cup after defeating Sunshine queens of Akure 2-0 at the Teslim Balogun stadium.

 Goals from tournament MVP Assisat Oshoala and former Nigeria international, Stella Mbachu gave Edwin Okon's led side the deserved victory.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State handed the medals and trophies to the teams.

I never sacked my mom from my house -Adebayor

We follow up on the piece we brought you on Emmanuel Adebayor and family, see here. Now Adebayor has given another interview to peace fm where he denied evicting his mom from his, but did not change his stance on the witchcraft saga, the Tottenham hit man still strongly believes that witcraft is being practiced against him by people close to him but denied ever driving away his mom from his house saying she left on her own accord. In the interview where the spurs striker sounded audibly stressed he said "

‘Obviously I’m not a pastor, I am a footballer so I cannot point out a witch… “..I never sacked my mum from the house; she decided to leave the house…But how am I going to be in touch with my mum if my mum is the one telling everyone that my work will not go forward, so I will just be on my side and do my thing.’ “They should stop talking talking, they should stop doing Juju on me; they should leave me alone…The one talking there and calling herself my sister I bought a house in East Legon for $1.2m…can you imagine that sister went to rent the house without my knowledge?"

The striker feels the burden of taking care of the family should be shared among family members, since members of his family have shared his properties while he's still alive  "They shared my houses, they shared my cars, they say if he dies this car is for you, this house is for you, can you imagine?”

”Right now they don’t need money…If they claim I am not looking after my mother, we are seven in the family, and so why can’t the rest do it?”.

Balogun Returns

Super Eagles one cap defender Leon Balogun, who has been out injured for three weeks, marked his return to the pitch for his team Darmstadt in their 0-0 draw with Kaiserslautern.

He was introduced in the 88th minute and helped the team survived a late onslaught by Kaiserslautern which takes them to third on the log, well within the range of promotion to the Bundesliga.

Balogun picked up an injury two games before the international break, bringing a halt to his fine start with Darmstadt, despite being out injured since June. 

Since joining the Bundesliga promotion hopefuls, Balogun who was released by Fortuna Dusseldorf in the summer, has made four appearances scoring a goal against Nuremburg.

The 26 year old has one cap for Nigeria which unfortunately ended just a few minutes after he came on, after he suffered a broken ankle in a nasty collision with the pitch panels.

It led to his omission from the Nigeria world cup team, and despite having his career back on track at Darmstadt, the Nigeria national team selectors are yet to look in his direction.

Enyimba, Dolphins Renew Rivalry as Federation Cup Final Returns Home

 Federation Cup kings, Enyimba Football Club of Aba will hope to end their season on a high when they confront Dolphins Football Club of Port Harcourt in the final of this year’s edition of the competition.

The Peoples Elephant, who are the most successful club in Nigeria, came close to winning the league title but lost narrowly to eventual winners, Kano Pillars.

A 1-1 draw against Dolphins in Port Harcourt in their penultimate game of the season put paid to that aspiration.

And now they will be desperate to exert revenge on the Port Harcourt Dwellers and win their fifth Federation Cup title even as the club’s two main strikers will continue their supremacy battle.

Enyimba’s Mfon Udoh picked the Glo Premier League highest goalscorer award with a record 23 goals ahead of Emem Eduok of Dolphins who scored 20 goals. Eduok has scored three goals, while Udoh has two goals to his credit in the Cup race.

The competition returns to Lagos state today Sunday, 23rd November where it all started in 1945, but this time at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Dolphins have played the Federation Cup final four times in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007, winning all of them against Elkanemi in 2001, against Rangers in 2004 and 2007 and against Bendel Insurance in 2006.

Enyimba will be making their seventh  appearance in the final and have won it five times.

STARS TO WATCH

ENYIMBA
CHINEDU UDOJI
The Enyimba captain has over the years marshalled his side defence with great aplomb and he is one of the reasons why the Peoples Elephant are in the final of the competition again.
His solid  partnership with Markson ojobo will be key in Enyimba retaining the title. And again, it is another opportunity for the well built defender to prove his worth to the national team selectors.

MFON UDOH
The man who broke goals record in the Glo League will continue his battle with Emem Eduok and have another big chance to prove his achievement so far this season was not a fluke.
He has scored two goals in the Federation Cup and will fancy a few more.

DOLPHINS
EMEM EDUOK
Eduok has a chance to pick the topscorers gong in this competition and get one over Enyimba’s Mfom Udoh.
The talented forward has scored three goals so far and he will be relied upon once more to help his side win the trophy for the fifth time.

VICTOR EZURUIKE
Much will be expected from the experienced midfielder who has been one of  Dolphins dependable star over the year. A lot will be anticipated from him and his understanding with Eduok  will no doubt cause problems for Enyimba’s defence.

ROAD TO FINAL

DOLPHINS
Round of 64
DOLPHINS 3-1 INGAS
ROUND OF 32
DOLPHINS 1-0 KOGI UNITED
ROUND OF 16
DOLPHINS 1-0 EL-KANEMI
QUATER-FINAL
DOLPHINS 4-2 LOBI STARS
SEMI-FINAL
DOLPINS 1-0 PRIME

ENYIMBA
Round of 64
Enyimba 3-1 Sokoto North (pen)

Round of 32
Enyimba 7-6 Tornadoes

Round of 16
Enyimba 2-1 Nembe City

Quarter Final
Enyimba 2-0 Sharks

Semi Final
Enyimba 1-0 Giwa FC

TOP SCORERS CHART
Three Goals
Emem Eduok – Dolphins
Ebube Okpokwu – Dolphins

Two Goals
Mfon Udoh – Enyimba
Raphael Boumsong – Enyimba
Bobby Sokari – Enyimba

Victor Moses Rated Above Yaya Toure, Rooney, Wilshere

Away from the eagles failure

Victor Moses boasts one of the most impressive stats in the EPL this season. With nine appearance so far, the Nigerian has notched one goal and three assists to help the potters to ninth position on the log.

The player is ranked 36th on the EA player index, making him the highest rated Stoke city player. The   Nigerian  is also ranked above several top super stars like Danny Welbeck(52), Aaron Ramsey(87), Wayne Rooney(50), Juan Mata(82) and even Yaya Toure(61).

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero is the highest ranked player, followed by chelsea duo of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in second and third respectively.

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is fourth, while a former gunner captain, now a hero at stamford bridge Cesc Fabregas is ranked sixtth.

The EA player performance index is the official player rating index of the Barclays premier league. It measures a players contribution to the team's success using six key indices. These includes;
Winning perfomance, players performance per match, appearances, goals scored, assists and clean sheets.

SHOKER!! Nigerian/Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor Accuses mom of Witchcraft!!

Came across this story about Adebayor and his family and decided to share, now we know recently the Adebayors as I like to call them have been in and out a popular radio station in Togo called peace fm, well it happened that Adebayor's sister (Maggie) gave an interview to the station where she accused Adebayor of not caring for his family, and abandoning his mother, she said "as am speaking to you now our mother is selling all sorts of items including padlocks, polythene bags, and some foodstuffs in the Ghana/Togo border, he has totally abandoned us, he doesn't pick or return calls from mom or me, he haven't seen his mother for over a year and yet it doesn't bother him, our mom just wants to see her son because she loves him so much, not for his money".
Adebayor also gave a follow up interview to peace fm where he dropped the bombshell.."how can I talk to a mother who together with my sisters have been plotting juju and witchcraft against me and my career? they have already shared all my properties while am still alive". He told peace fm
Now we all wonder what's going on because this is contrary to what Adebayor said earlier in an interview with daily mail in 2009 "when we got to the airport my mom said "go to France because if you succeed in France you can change the condition of our family". She knew that if I succeeded in football I could help our family get out of poverty, and live a better life, so right from age 15 I wasn't playing football for myself alone but for my family".

Wyclef, Victor Moses, Others Reacts To Nigeria Afcon Exit

It was a dark day in Nigerian football as the super eagles failed to make it through to Equitorial Guinea 2015.

Football enthusiast, ex internationals and even
renowned singer, Wyclef Jean joined over 180 million Nigerians to air their views about this dilemma.

Some notable reactions are:

Gutted for the lads but we will bounce back stronger as a nation. Keep believing #Nigeria- Victor Moses
       

A sad day for Nigerian football. I really believed the decisive one was vs Congo, only for South Africa to spoil it. God knows why, believe me!-Sunday Oliseh

Heartbreaking. Our boys showed determination to pull an equalizer, but it was not enough.-Keshi

Shocker, I am stunned unbelievable the #NGA #SuperEagles are out of #CFA finals in the hands of #RSA #AfricaUnited #Clefication #DivineSorrow-Wyclef Jean.

With coach,Stephen Keshi blaming his players for this debacle, NFF has swiftly moved to take the blame.

Whoever carries the blame, the fact still remains that the defending champions, Nigeria will not be defending their trophy come 2015.

Implications of Nigeria Absence From Afcon 2015

 Its no longer news that 2013 Afcon champions, Nigeria will not be defending their title in Equitorial Guinea, we look at the implications of Nigeria's absence from the next edition:

1. Farewell to Ageing Players

The 2015 Afcon might have been the last for the ageing crop of players in the current eagles set up.

Players like Ike Uche, Obafemi Martins, Vincent Enyeama, Austin Ejide, Osaze Odemwingie and Bathlomew Ogbeche are in their thirties while others like Mikel Obi, Chinedu Obasi, Taiye Taiwo, Efe Ambrose and even Emmanuel Emenike are in their prime and might not feature in the next edition due to age, form or other factors.

2. YoYo Afcon Status

After missing the 2012 edition in Gabon/Equitorial Guinea, Nigeria made it to South Africa in 2013 and will miss out the next edition in 2017 confirming Nigeria's Yoyo Afcon status.

The super Eagles has been on and off in Afcon, after qualifying only once in three Afcon tournaments.

3. Keshi's Afcon Triumph, a Fluke?

Nigeria were Afcon champions in 2013, got to round of sixteen in Brazil, third place in Chan 2014, all these were the achievements of Stephen Keshi in his 3 years spell as Nigeria coach. With same poll of players at his disposal, where did it go wrong for the big boss?

Call it whatever you want, but i term it a fluke. Individual brilliance and hard work got us where we are with the coach contributing little or nothing tactically to the team's overall outcome. Victor Moses, Emmanuel Emenike, Sunday Mba, Mikel Obi at one point or the other shouldered the burden of the team, but when form and fatigue set in, Keshi had no answer.

4. No show for Emerging NPFL Stars

A season where the record goals per season was broken, eleven players hit double figures in terms of goals, a player scored six goals in a single game, it was expected that the 2015 Afcon will be the icing on the cake for Nigeria premier league players. In what could be seen as the best season in the history of the league, the Afcon would have afforded these stars the necessary exposure required.

Already a main stay in the eagles team, players like Gbolahon Salami,Ighodaro Osaguona, Emem Edouk and Solomon Kwambe are regulars but 2017 might not be realistic for these lads.


5. Pinnick Vindicated?

On assumption of office as NFF president, Amaju Pinnick immediately got rid of Stephen Keshi and his crew replaced by Shuaibu Amadu on an interim basis but a presidential call ordered the reinstatement of the former captain.

Did Pinnick forsee the incoming danger?

6. Future is Bright

On the brighter side, Nigeria Afcon 2015 outster could be a blessing in disguise for Nigerian football.
"This is a dark moment but we will emerge into sunshine shortly." NFF boss Amaju Pinnick said.

Most players in the national setup are relatively young, players like Kenneth Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses are in their early twenties and are the core of the team. Coupled with the current crop of players in the youth system such as Kelechi Iheanacho, Chinedu Nwakali,Dele Alampasu,Chidera Eze amongst others under proper tutelage, Nigeria football will raise again.