After two years in charge at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have sacked Antonio Conte from his position as head coach. The Italian who guided the Blues to a memorable Premier League title win in his first season, and a FA cup victory was told he was axed at a meeting today, sky sports reports.
Chelsea’s dismal performance during the 2017/2018 campaign which did not only see them finish 5th on the premier league table but also made them finish a 30 points behind Manchester City, is not unlikely to be responsible for this development.
Antonio Conte has the best win % (65.1%) of any manager in Chelsea’s history to take charge of 100+ games. He is the first manager to win 30 Premier League games in a single season.
They look to appoint Maurizio Sarri as his successor .
"The moment has arrived for a new cycle." Ronaldo in emotional tribute to Real Madrid fans.
Cristiano Ronaldo has written an open letter to his fans in the wake of his €105m move to Juventus today. The 33 year-old thanked the club, colleagues and his fans for their support throughout his 9-year spell, adding that he is leaving to start a new chapter in his life. The Portuguese’s letter was published on Real Madrid’s website. Read below:
“These years in Madrid, and in this city of Madrid, have been possibly the happiest of my life. I only have feelings of enormous thanks for this club, this fanbase and this city. I can only give thanks to all of them for the love and affection that I have received. However, I think that the moment has arrived to start a new chapter in my life and therefore I have asked the club to accept letting me leave. I am sorry it is like this and I ask all of you, especially our followers, to please understand me.
“These have been nine absolutely marvellous years. These have been nine unique years. It has been an emotional time for me, full of consideration because Real Madrid takes the most out of you but I know very well that I won’t be able to ever forget that here I’ve enjoyed football in a completely unique way.
“I only have feelings of enormous thanks for this club, this fanbase and this city. I can only give thanks to all of them for the love and affection that I have received. However, I think that the moment has arrived to start a new chapter in my life and therefore I have asked the club to accept letting me leave. I am sorry it is like this and I ask all of you, especially our followers, to please understand me.
“These have been nine absolutely marvellous years. These have been nine unique years. It has been an emotional time for me, full of consideration because Real Madrid takes the most out of you but I know very well that I won’t be able to ever forget that here I’ve enjoyed football in a completely unique way.
“I have had on the field and in the dressing room some fabulous teammates, I have felt the heat of an incredible fanbase and together we have won three consecutive Champions Leagues and four in five years. Together with those I have the individual satisfaction of having won four Ballon d’Or and three Golden Boots. All during my spell in this immense, extraordinary club.
“Real Madrid has conquered my heart and that of my family, and that is why more than ever I want to say thanks: thanks to the club, to the president, to the directors, to my friends, to all the coaches, doctors, physios, incredible workers that make everything function that are attending tirelessly to every detail.
“Infinite thanks one more time to our fans and thank you also to Spanish football. During this incredible nine years I have played against incredible players. My respect and my recognition goes out to all them.
“I have reflected a lot and I know that the moment has arrived for a new cycle. I am leaving but this shirt, this badge and the Santiago Bernabeu I will continue to feel as something that is mine wherever I go.
“Thank you to everyone and, of course, like I said for the first time in our stadium nine years ago: Hala Madrid!”
Ronaldo in Real Madrid
Appearances: 438
Goals: 450
Assists: 119
Hat-tricks: 44
Real Madrid confirm the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for €105m.
Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo has put an end to his 9-year stay in Spain after agreeing to join Italian champions, Juventus on a 4-year old deal worth around £88million. The current world best player who scored a record 450 goals in 438 games, and won four Champions League titles with Real – and the move, believed to be worth around £88million, will be seen as a big step forward for Italian football.
A statement from Real Madrid read: “Real Madrid C. F. communicates that, according to the will and request expressed by the player Cristiano Ronaldo, we have agreed to transfer him to Juventus F. C. Today Real Madrid wants to express its gratitude to a player who has proved to be the best in the world and who has marked one of the most brilliant times in the history of our club and world football.
“Beyond the conquered titles, the trophies and the triumphs achieved in the playing fields during these nine years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been an example of dedication, work, responsibility, talent and improvement.
“He has also become the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid with 451 goals in 438 games. In total, [Ronaldo won] 16 titles, including 4 European Cups, three of them consecutively and four in the last five seasons. On an individual basis, in the Real Madrid jersey he has won four Ballon d’Ors, two (Fifa’s) The Best, and three Gold Boots, among many other awards.
“For Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will always be one of the great symbols and a unique inspiration for the next generations.
“Real Madrid will always be your home.”
Spain appoint Luis Enrique on a two-year deal
Former Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique has been named Spain’s new head coach, the Spanish Football Federation (SFF) have announced.. This development is coming after Fernando Hierro stepped down from temporary charge following their last-16 World Cup exit to Russia.
Recall that Spain sacked their former coach Julen Lopetegui just two days before their opening World Cup game against Portugal in Sochi.
“We need a successful coach, who’s modern and who knows the game style but can make small adjustments. We can’t swipe everything clean, with regards to all the work carried out.” Spain’s new sporting director, José Francisco Molina, maintained.
The president of the SFF, Luis Rubiales, added, “We have not spoken to anybody else – only Luis Enrique. We liked his commitment and he has turned down better paid jobs to coach the Spanish national team.”
Enrique’s contract is for two years and his first game in charge will be a friendly against England, on 8 September at Wembley. He won 8 titles in 3 seasons at Barcelona
World Cup 2018: FIFA sanctions Maradona over middle finger gesture.
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Argentine football legend, Diego Maradona has been sanctioned by FIFA for swearing and giving the middle finger in front of millions of TV viewers as he celebrated Argentina’s late winner against Nigeria on Tuesday in the Saint Petersburg Stadium.
For that disgraceful act, The 1986 World Cup winner will no longer be paid as an ambassador of world soccer governing body FIFA. His behaviour has been termed embarrassing and provocative hence he will no longer receive the £10,000 he was receiving from the world soccer governing body to appear at World Cup matches.
He has also been warned to be of good conduct in the remaining games he will attend at the World Cup. A possible stadium ban awaits the former Napoli forward if he repeats the act.
Cancer fight: Carl Ikeme announces complete remission.
One year after Super Eagles and Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukemia, the British Nigerian has provided an update on his condition on his social media accounts.
‘After a year of intense chemotherapy I would like to share that I am in complete REMISSION. I still have hurdles to pass to be cured,but hopefully I can move on with some normality! I would like to thank everyone for there support over the past year. Thank you❤ #Grateful🙏🏽’
Expectedly, there have been an outpour of reactions to the good news.
His club side, Wolves excitedly tweeted, ‘There have been some fantastic moments this year but this by far tops them all. We’re all delighted for you Carl Ikeme. See you soon.”
The NFF also added, ‘Great News! We are with you through and through and God will see this healing through. #OurCarlIsBack‘
Opinion: The 2019 Nigerian Presidential Elections | By: Tony Ogunlowo
The Nigerian Presidential Elections are barely a year away. It’ll be an interesting and definitive election that the whole of Nigeria – and the rest of the World – will be watching very carefully. Again it’s going to be a test to see if democracy can survive in Africa.
Traditionally incumbent Presidents can expect to win a majority of the votes cast with a ‘swing vote’ – floating or undecided voters – deciding whether they’ll be elected for a second term or not.
Nigeria is a funny country and nobody knows what this ‘swing vote’ will be: the electorate normally makes its judgement based on how well the President manages the economy and deals with civil unrest. In the case of ex-President Goodluck it was his inability to eradicate Boko Haram, rescue the Chibok girls and control rampant corruption in his government that made the voters vote him out of office.
The incumbent won the Presidential ticket on the single basis of turning the country around. In this task he has failed, but yet again the problems besetting Nigeria can’t be solved in a single or double tenure of office by a President; the right President will need a millennium to sort out Nigeria’s problems!
The incumbent President is not in a good position to win the elections in 2019: too many things have gone wrong; some his fault and others beyond his control. The falling prices of oil on the international market is one factor: with no money in the nations coffers very little can be done. Corruption is still rife and all promises to bring all guilty politicians to book have failed: corrupt politicians have proved to be cleverer, either hiding behind Section 308 or playing legal games which makes it difficult to secure convictions. He (the president) will be savaged by the electorate on further issues concerning his health and his suitability for the post, his inability to bring the country out of recession and most important of all his stance on the infamous militant Fulani herdsmen. The Presidential election will not be a contest between APC or PDP parties but rather against one man – the President – and a lot of people will gang up against him just to get him out of office.
There are a lot of Presidential aspirants in the waiting and borrowing a leaf from the American Presidential elections of 2016 the voting public fed up with the establishment might well vote in a maverick – like Donald Trump – just to see what somebody else can do. And if Baba Iyabo has anything to do with it, it might well be a coalition of opposition parties – or one of his protégés – that will be vying for the top job – and may win it!
Nigerians want results and not promises. It’s one thing to mount an election podium and make outlandish promises and another thing to deliver. If you can’t deliver you’ll be called out and stoned!
A presidential aspirant in Nigeria needs to make promises they can deliver within their tenure, whether that be the eradication of Boko Haram or the creation of jobs. Nigeria is a cesspool of problems and one person can’t solve all its problems in one go: Rome wasn’t built in a day! So instead of promising Heaven and Earth and nothing gets done – which is a logical conclusion – make meaningful promises that can be attained within a specific time. This way people will see that something is being done.
Perhaps the time has come for a much younger person to take over the helm of affairs instead of all these old babas who have been meddling in Nigeria’s affairs since before independence: no more analogue 20thcentury Presidents but a digital one for the 21st century who’ll be in tune with everyone whether they be ‘lazy’ youths, pompous billionaires or ‘snake-oil-merchant’ politicians. New young person = new ideas and style of governance (- hopefully!)
Even though the electorate will demand everything be fixed within the Presidents tenure, the latter has to be honest in outlying what he can or cannot do. At the end of the day the President is only human and can humanely do whatever he can to keep over a 180 million people happy.
Therefore in choosing a new President Nigerians need to understand that the person they’re electing has a long term vision for the country – this is the only way. Where Nigeria is concerned there is no such thing as a quick fix solution.
Follow Tony Ogunlowo on Twitter: @Archangel641 or visit http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk
2018 World Cup: Download Super Eagles' theme song, 'Dem Go Hear Am'.
Aiteo Group (www.AiteoGroup.com), the Official Optimum Partner of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), last Saturday premiered to industry applause, an official theme song to mentally boost the Super Eagles of Nigeria to go for glory at the Russia 2018 World Cup. This is also as they pledged to donate $50,000 to the team ‘for every unreturned goal’ scored at the Mundial.
The rousing theme song titled, ‘Dem Go Hear Am, meaning “Go Show Them” was put together by Nigeria’s Hip-Hop/Afrobeat luminaries; Olamide and Phyno. The Single, has been well received by Nigeria’s teeming football and music fans, and is currently enjoying massive airplay with over 1,000,000 downloads recorded across assorted media channels. The hit track had also garnered 7.5 million social media impressions barely 24 hours after release.
According to Benedict Peters, the Executive Vice Chairman of Aiteo Global Group, the Group’s sponsorship of the theme song is yet another demonstration of its commitment to promoting football in Nigeria as a means of uniting the people.
“Football is a phenomenon in Nigeria. You can see and feel its power on every street. It galvanises unity amongst our people, irrespective of ethnic or class differences. As the World Cup kicks off, we solidly throw our weight behind our national team and its ever-effervescent supporters spread across the globe. We look forward to great football moments that will become historic as the Super Eagles play to covet the World Cup trophy,” he said.
Also speaking at the launch of the theme song, President of Nigeria’s Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, extolled Aiteo for its unflinching support for football development in Nigeria. “Aiteo has been magnanimous, not just to the Super Eagles but in their contributions towards the revitalisation of football in Nigeria and Africa. Our partnership has returned impressive results; we are able to pay our coaches on time and keep our players well motivated. We are glad that Aiteo continues to exceed our expectations always. They are indeed deserving of commendations.”
Aiteo signed a N2.5 billion (about USD 7 million) sponsorship agreement with NFF in May 2017, to cater for the salaries of all national team coaches for a period of five years.
At a star-studded listening party for the theme song which held in Lagos on Saturday June 9, 2018, Aiteo Group, also announced a $50,000 bonus for every unreturned goal scored by the Super Eagles, at the Mundial.
Download the song: https://goo.gl/b7yktq
Scan QR code to download song: https://goo.gl/E69BUj
Spain Sack Julen Lopetegui On The Eve Of World Cup
Spain have sacked manager Julen Lopetegui just one day before the start of the 2018 World Cup.
Lopetegui was announced as Zinedine Zidane‘s successor at Real Madrid and will resume duty immediately after the World Cup. The president of the Spanish FA (RFEF) Luis Rubiales revealed that he was not informed of Lopetegui’s new role, he only heard about Madrid’s impending appointment five minutes before the official announcement.
Rubiales told reporters at a press conference in Krasnodar. “We have been forced to dispense with the national coach. We wish him the best of luck. What the Spanish team achieves, will have to do with the work he has developed. The negotiation has happened without any information to the RFEF, just five minutes before the press release. There is a way of acting that must be fulfilled. We have to work on a series of decisions that come two days before the beginning of the World Cup. There is a lot to do.
“I do not feel betrayed. Lopetegui, while he has been with us, has done an impeccable job. [However], this has been done without knowledge of the RFEF. We will touch the staff as little as possible, as soon as we have something to communicate, we will do it. I have a very close relationship with the players, as with Julen, it’s a very complex situation, the most complex one I could find.
“We are in a very complicated situation, but the players and the new coaching staff will do everything in their power to take the team as far as possible. The Spanish national team is the team of the Spanish. You cannot do things this way, two or three days before the World Cup. We have been forced to make this decision.
“I admire Julen a lot, I respect him a lot, I think he’s a top trainer and that makes it more difficult to make the decision. I’m sure this will, over time, make us stronger. I know it’s a very difficult situation, I know there’s going to be criticism whatever I do, but the values of the RFEF are set by the RFEF itself. We cannot remain on the sidelines of a negotiation of one of its workers and find out five minutes before the issuance of a statement. We have been forced to act.
“The team will do everything to get the best results, we cannot talk about hypothesis, but the RFEF cannot find out five minutes before it becomes public. In the RFEF we cannot not fulfil our own values. It is a difficult and painful situation, we would have liked to finish here with Julen at the top, but we have not determined the way we act.”
Lopetegui was unbeaten in his 20 matches as Spain boss, having succeeded Vicente del Bosque following the team’s exit from Euro 2016. Spain sporting director Fernando Hierro and Under-21 coach Albert Celades will take charge of Spain at the tournament.
Julen Lopetegui will become Real Madrid manager after the #WorldCup
Spain’s national team coach, Julen Lopetegui has been named as the new boss of Real Madrid. He’ll join on 3-year deal after coaching Spain at the 2018 World Cup. In 20 matches for the Spanish national team, he has recorded 14 wins, 6 draws, 0 defeats, scored 61 Goals scored, conceded 13 Goals and had 11 Clean sheets.