Every team wants to fight Nigeria in CHAN -Oliseh

Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has expressed his thoughts about the forthcoming African Nations Championship in Rwanda.  

The biennial event billed for three cities in the Central African nation will run from 16 January to 7 February - with the Eagles making a second appearance. 

Oliseh revealed that his team will be at the receiving end of brutal attack and massive combat from other teams at the tournament. 

But stated that his wards are physically and mentally ready for the task ahead. 

“Everyone will be out to fight us (in Rwanda),” the former skipper confessed.

“But we’re on track, the boys are in high spirit and physically okay.”

Nigeria's 'B' team will be heading to Rwanda undefeated. 

Oliseh's team played three warm-up games - beating both the Elephants of Cote d'ivoire and South African side, University of Pretoria as well as a draw against Angola. 

Interim coach of the Palancas Negras, Andre Makanga, had earlier implied that his team will be ready to fight if need be against "strong" Nigeria. 

“We are taking this game seriously – Nigeria is always Nigeria – they will be very strong in every competition they play," Makanga said before his side's 1-1 draw with Nigeria in Pretoria, South Africa, last week. 

"That’s why we will head into this match to compete and try to see where we are in terms of readiness before the spectacle starts in Rwanda."

Nigeria, who finished third at the previous edition in South Africa, will begin their 2016 CHAN campaign on Monday, January 18, against Niger. 

They also battle Tunisia and Guinea in the group stage.

Revealed: Oliseh, Musa voted Messi for Ballon D'or

Super Eagles head coach, Sunday Oliseh and skipper, Ahmed Musa did vote for newly crowned FIFA Ballon d'or winner, Lionel Messi, FIFA has revealed. 

Messi clinched a record fifth FIFA World Player of the Year award at the expense of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar at the annual award ceremony in Switzerland on Monday evening. 

The award which is voted for by a panel of journalists, international coaches and captains, witnessed a slightly different voting pattern this year. 

And according to a list released by the world soccer governing body, the Nigerian pair preferred the Argentine to his other two rivals. 

Oliseh selected Messi's Barcelona team-mates, Neymar and Luis Suarez as first and second runner-up. 

While Musa went for Ronaldo and four-time African Footballer of the Year, Yaya Toure, behind the 28-year-old.  

Meanwhile, only Neymar out of the three finalist voted another finalist for the prestigious award. 

The trio who are also national team captains of Argentina, Portugal and Brazil respectively had the opportunity to vote just like others. 

Messi, who eventually emerged victorious with 41.33 per cent of the votes, gave his top vote to Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez, ahead of Neymar and Andres Iniesta.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, who had to settle for 27.76 per cent of the votes, picked three Real Madrid team-mates as well, going with Karim Benzema ahead of James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.

Neymar, who completed the podium with 7.86 per cent of the votes, backed Messi, ahead of Suarez and Ivan Rakitic.

Furthermore, Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger left out both Messi and Ronaldo from this top three, going with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Neymar instead.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arjen Robben both snubbed the Madrid star as well, naming the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez instead.

England skipper Wayne Rooney gave Messi his vote, ahead of Muller and Ronaldo.

Al Ain prepare to offload Emenike

United Arab Emirates champions, Al Ain, are on the verge of farming out former Nigeria international, Emmanuel Emenike according to reports in the country. 

Emenike joined the Abu Dhabi side from Turkish side, Fenerbahce, on a season long loan in July with an option of a permanent deal but all these could come to an end in a matter of days. 

Despite scoring nine goals in 12 appearances for  Zlatko Dalic’s side, his performances have not been deemed strong enough to help the club’s quest for more silverware. 

Inplace of the 2013 African Cup of Nations top-scorer, Brazilian striker, Douglas Costa could be making the move to the Arab league. 

The Tokushima Vortis forward, 28, is expected to land in the UAE on Tuesday to undergo a medical after the club agreed to pay his €3.9 million asking price.

Douglas has recently enjoyed a fine loan spell at Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima, scoring 21 goals to fire the club to the J League title. 

The 28-year-old Emenike could be heading back to his parent club, Fenerbahce, before the January 25 transfer deadline. 

Jordan 2016: Nigeria ready for Namibia

Nigeria women national U-17 team, the flamingoes, are gearing up for an epic showdown with the Baby Gladiators of Namibia in the 2016 FIFA Women U17 World Cup qualifiers. 

The South African side overcame Botswana 3-2 on aggregate to setup a titanic clash with the young Falcons. 

 Mervin Mbakera, coach of the Namibians, believes his team is capable of creating an upset by beating the powerful Nigerians. 

"We’ve been preparing so hard for this game, both physically and mentally. The team has been together for over three years now, most of them graduated from the national U-13 team and we are confident that we can progress through to the second round with due respect to the Flamingoes.

” Having said that, we expect a very tough game against the best team in Africa and I want to believe that with the kind of support the girls have been receiving from Government and the fans, I believe we can all achieve our long term dream; which is to qualify for the World Cup in Jordan come 2016.”

” We are coming to defend well (not to concede plenty of goals), then finish the job at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on January 23, 2016, which would be a good score-line for us to advance to the next round of the qualifier” , Mbakera told SRSport.com in a telephone interview.

The game will be played on Saturday, January 9th at the Abuja National Stadium in Abuja at 4pm local time (15:00GMT).  

While the second leg wcomes up in a forthnight on January 23 2016, at the Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek in Namibia.

Iheanacho dreams of Champions League football

Nigeria youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho, still dreams of playing in the UEFA Champions League with his English side, Manchester City.

The 19-year-old was initially omitted from City's 25-man squad for the competition with more experienced teammates preferred instead.

He was the victim of UEFA's squad limits, which restrict every club to 17 foreign stars in their 25-man squad.

But the latest injury setback to French winger, Samir Nasir, could be a blessing in disguise for the Nigerian who has so far impressed this season.

The City no 72 has scored four goals in 275 minutes of action this season against Nasri's sole strike in eight games.

City can submit an altered selection after the transfer window closes, with many suggesting Iheanacho should be the man to replace the 28-year-old.

“Football is just the same,” the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup Most Valuable Player said.

“It’s a big tournament and I haven’t played in it before, so you just have to do your best and keep doing what you are doing.

“It’s the same players I train with, so it’s not going to be easy but I really have to help my team if I’m in.”

Iheanacho has performed superbly whenever he’s been given an opportunity this season and could be forgiven for feeling somewhat frustrated by Manuel Pellegrini’s reluctance to give him an extended run in the side, yet his focus is purely on the positives.

“Everyone has been great to me,” he says. “Yaya and everyone. They talk to me every time in the dressing room and on the field of play, they speak to me very well.

“I’m happy to work with them and play with great players. They talk to me every time, so every one of them is good.

“The facilities here – everything is great. The pitch, the environment. Great people as well are working here. It’s a very great place to train and to play. I love staying here.”

Tragedy: NFF head of protocol shot dead

Head of Protocol of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Abubakar, was shot dead by armed robbers in his house in Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday.

The NFF announced the fatal shooting through its Twitter handle.

"NFF's Head of Protocol Ibrahim Abubakar was shot dead by armed robbers in his house in Abuja in the early hours of today."

It also disclosed that Abubakar’s remains were being taken to Kaduna for burial.

"Abubakar's remains is being taken to Kaduna for burial."

The burial will be done according to Islamic rites.

Mikel flaunts in image with twins

Nigeria midfielder, John Obi Mikel, once again took to social media to show-off his beautiful kids.

The Chelsea star, who has found a new lease of life under new coach, Guus Hiddink, seem a happy man not just on the pitch but also at home.

Mikel, a proud father, displayed the photos of his two cutises and wrote on his twitter account on Monday evening:

"Good Evening !! Play time !! #HappyFamily #MikelObi."

The 28-year-old former Lyn Oslo star will be hoping for more solid performances just like he had against Crystal Palace on Sunday in the Barclays Premier League.

Hiddink's side were 3-0 victors with Mikel producing one of his finest performance in a Blue shirt.

Chelsea coach salutes 'ideal player' Mikel

Chelsea coach, Guus Hiddink, has applauded the impact of Nigeria midfielder, John Obi Mikel, in his new-look Blues team. 

The much-maligned midfielder was a fringe player under Jose Mourinho and nearly made a move away to Turkey last summer.

However, since Hiddink's arrival at Stamford Bridge the 28-year-old has been drafted back into the side, helping keep clean sheets against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

And the Dutchman is certain Mikel is the "ideal player" to bring balance back to the defending champions and get their season back on track.

"He played very well but also in the previous game. He's the ideal player in my option to bring balance to the team," he said.

"If the team is not willing to defend well, or hasn't got the right balance, then you'll concede a lot of goals. 

"And I think John Obi can be one of the key figures in bringing back that balance - on this podium very talented players can explore their qualities. "

Against Palace on Sunday, Chelsea were 3-0 victors - with Mikel brilliant in the game and looked a different player altogether. 

According to Squawka, the former Lyn Oslo man made 96 percent pass accuracy, three tackles won, two blocks and one interception. 

But his manager was particular impressed with his recovery rate, his defending and ability to bring other players into the game.  

"He can recover his radar, he reads the game very well, he knows where the strength of the opponent is and knows how to combat that. 

"He has very good sense, he doesn't do it in a brutal way, he's very elegant. Someone who can defend so smoothly is very beautiful. 

"I don't expect the decisive final pass from him - he can, but he can also let the other players play."

Mikel has so far made nine appearances this season in the league and 12 in all competitions for the London side.

Kano Pillars fire 10 players

The management of Kano Pillars Football Club has fired 10 of its players ahead of the 2015/2016 Glo Premier League season.

Idris Malikawa, Media Officer of the club made this known in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Kano.

Malikawa said the 10 players were sacked based on medical ground and poor performance.

“The management of the club felt the only way to make headway in the plan to have a good season in the NPFL is to weed out 10 aged and unproductive players.

“This is to make way for new boys that will strengthen the team,’’ Malikawa said. The media officer disclosed that the club would recruit new players “to beef up the team in some critical areas.’’

He said the team had already resumed training ahead of this year’s campaign, assuring that the transfer formalities would be completed on time.

CHAN 2016: Super Eagles thrash South African side in test game

Nigeria Super Eagles began their preparation for the 2016 African Nations Championship on a blazing note with a 3-0 win over South African side, University of Pretoria FC. 

The home-based Eagles came firing from all cylinders as they walloped the 13th placed Premier Soccer League side in their own backyard on Tuesday. 

Sunshine Stars hitman, Tunde Adeniji, continued his prolific form from the just concluded Nigeria Professional Football League were he hit double figures with a double in the game. 

Adeniji opened scoring from the penalty spot, before midfielder Ifeanyi Matthew fired a cracker of a goal from the top of the box.

The 20-year-old then completed his brace with a beautifully worked team goal.

Midfielder, Julius Ubido, said the Eagles emphatic win against the PSL side is a sign of good things to come in Rwanda. 

“That’s a good result a sign of good things to come at the championship proper and I think they will certainly excel.

“The result was not in any way a surprise one to me because each of the players is 100% fit and everybody is good to go to deliver the goods at any given time." 

Sunday Oliseh's team will confront Angola on Wednesday while it will be the turn of Ivory Coast next Monday before the side head off to the championship venue on Friday.

The 2014 bronze winners are in Group C together with the 2011 winners, Tunisia, Guinea and Niger.

Gunmen kidnap wife of Super Eagles star, Fegor Ogude

Maimunat, the wife of Nigeria international, Fegor Ogude, have been kidnapped by armed gun men. 

The 28-year-old midfielder who is yet to get a look from new Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, was a key figure under his predecessor, Stephen Keshi. 

Ogude while narrating his ordeal to TheCable disclosed that the sad incident occurred at about 7:30-8pm local time on Monday evening in his home in Warri, Delta state, while he was away. 

The Amkar Perm of Russia star revealed that the abductors took his wife alone leaving behind his kids and he is yet to know her present state. 

“I wasn’t home yesterday. My wife, Maimunat Ogude, went out with my kids. Barely two hours that I left the house, my younger brother Ogaga called me to say that some armed men came to the house to take my wife away,” said the midfielder, who has 16 International caps. “I was told that they threw my kids out of the car and just took my wife in my car."

Ogude, who won the 2013 African Cup of Nations and featured at the FIFA Confederations Cup for Nigeria same year, added that he has already reported the incident to the police but they could only recover his car without his wife. 

“Immediately I heard this, I had to go to the Police station to report this. And after making the report, I tried tracing them to see if by chance I could get the direction they went to. But I could not. 

“All these happened between 7:30/8pm last night. Till this moment, I have not heard from them. I haven’t found my wife till this moment. 

“But I got a call from the police that my car had been found in Ughelli. But no words yet from the kidnappers. I don’t know the state in which my wife is since last night.”

This isn't the first time that the relative of a Nigerian football personality have been kidnapped. 

Mother of Dream Team VI coach, Samson Siasia, as well as the father of Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel, have all gotten a fair share of the bitter pill. 

Nigeria Premier league to resume in January

The new Nigeria league season is scheduled to kick off next month so as to get the country’s clubs on the continent could get ready for both the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup.

Speculations were rife that the new league season will only begin after the CHAN in Rwanda, which is between January 16 and February 7.

“The league will not wait for 23 players (who will make the final squad for the CHAN) to start. We need to get going so that our clubs in the Champions League and the Confederation Cup will get some matches under their belt before their preliminary matches in February,” a top official disclosed.

Today’s Nigeria Football Federation Annual General Assembly will ratify a proposed January kick-off date for the new season.

Osimhen didn't travel to England -Reps

Representatives of Victor Osimhen have moved quickly to dismiss reports emanating from the local media that the Nigeria Under 23 international has jetted off to England to seal a deal with an unnamed English Premier League club.

The Golden Eaglets star left the Dream Team’s camp in Dakar for Lagos a day before the delegation returned to Abuja, as the date on his return ticket was different from those issued to his teammates.

“Victor Osimhen is in Lagos, he came back to Nigeria before the team. There will be a violation of international laws if he travels unaccompanied to England because he is a minor, ” Osimhen’s rep told allnigeriasoccer.com.

“He has been in Lagos since Sunday. The excuse they gave us was that his ticket was booked a day ahead. ”

After the Flying Eagles crashed out of the Fifa Under 20 World Cup in June, Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho and Granada’s Isaac Success departed New Zealand a day before the rest of the squad, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Osimhen was booked on another flight.

The 16 - year - old Osimhen is attracting interest from clubs based in England, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Italy due to his recent displays for the national teams, most especially the Golden Eaglets.

Mikel wants to represent Nigeria in Rio Olympics

Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel has indicated his willingness to feature for the U-23 team at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as one of three over-aged players, according to Mtnfootball.com.

However, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, told The Guardian yesterday that he was not aware of such move. “Sincerely speaking, I don’t know anything about such move by Mikel,” Pinnick said.

The 28-year-old Mikel has won almost every major trophy at stake, including the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League, but he has so far missed out on playing at the Olympics.

Incidentally, it was coach Samson Siasia who left him out from the Beijing 2008 Olympics after the midfielder had stayed away from the qualifiers for the competition.
“He has made it clear he wishes to play at the Rio Olympics,’ a top official of the NFF specially revealed to Mtnfootball.com.
“But it is left for the coach to pick who will be the overage players along to Brazil next year.”
For the 2008 Olympics, Siasia took along Ozase Odemwingie and Victor Anichebe as overage players.

Nigeria, back under Siasia, will lead Algeria and South Africa to the Rio 2016 Olympics in August after they clinched the U-23 AFCON in Senegal at the weekend.

Golden Eaglets hotshot off to England to complete transfer

Golden Eaglets’ star, Victor Osimhen, has jetted out to England, where he is expected to seal a deal with a top English Premier League side, officials said.

The youngster flew out to England from Dakar, Senegal, after he helped Nigeria win the U-23 African Nations Cup, africanFootball.com reports.

Osimhen, who netted a record-breaking 10 goals as Nigeria won a fifth FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, has been linked with several top European clubs.