Sports

Sports

Reactions trail the appointment of Unai Emery as new Arsenal head coach

Arsenal today announced their decision to appoint 46-year-old Unai Emery as their new head coach. The three-year deal is reportedly worth £5m a season. He takes over from Arsene Wenger who stepped down last month after a 22 year-old spell.
According to Arsenal, the former Sevilla coach has an outstanding track record of success throughout his career, has developed some of the best young talent in Europe and plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly. His hard-working and passionate approach and his sense of values on and off the pitch make him the ideal person to take us forward.

Arsenal Chief Executive, Ivan Gazidis, added that “We conducted a confidential, wide-ranging and rigorous search involving extensive background references, data and video analysis, and personal meetings with all the candidates we shortlisted. All were interested in the position and we were unanimous in our choice of Unai to drive the next chapter of our history.”
Reacting to his appointment, Emery said, “I am thrilled to be joining one of the great clubs in the game. Arsenal is known and loved throughout the world. I’m excited about what we can do together and I look forward to giving everyone some special moments and memories.”
So here’s how the footballing world reacted to the news on twitter.


https://twitter.com/dejazimako007/status/999220359869222912


https://twitter.com/SirWoley/status/999248468165177344


https://twitter.com/t_riumphant/status/999251769157996544
https://twitter.com/Bhadoosky/status/999243581872320512


 
 
 
 

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Sports

Andres Iniesta says goodbye to Barcelona in the most heart-melting way.

Permit me to pour out my feelings in this post.
I am a Barca fan and this week has been intensely emotional for me.
So, one of our legends at Nou Camp, Andres Iniesta left the club this week after a 22 year-spell and tributes from colleagues, friends and footballers all over the world have left most of us teary-eyed. Of course, Barcelona gave him a befitting farewell party.




Shortly after his last game for the club, Iniesta stayed on the pitch bare footed, relieving his moments as a player.
The images are heart-melting.


 

 



 
And then the video of him emptying his locker. Another heart-breaking moment


Iniesta and his trophies:

La Liga – 9🏆
Copa del Rey – 6🏆
Spanish Super Cup – 7🏆
Champions League – 4🏆
Club World Cup – 3🏆
UEFA Super Cup – 3🏆
Euro Cup – 2🏆
FIFA World Cup – 1🏆
Thank you for the wonderful memories Andres Iniesta. You will be sorely missed.

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Sports

Unai Emery is the new Arsenal boss in-waiting

According to reports, Arsenal will appoint Unai Emery as their new manager and successor to Arsene Wenger. This development is coming days after the club made a decision not to offer Mikel Arteta the role at the Emirates Stadium.
The 46 year-old led Almería into La Liga for the first time, finishing 8th the following season. He also took Valencia to three consecutive 3rd place finishes in La Liga and is a three-time consecutive Europa League winner with Sevilla. PSG won the domestic treble under him this season. He is to be announced as Arsenal’s new manager within the next 48 hours.

Reacting to Wenger’s retirement in April, Emery said, “It is impossible to talk about Arsenal, the Premier League and the coaching profession without mentioning Arsene Wenger, one of the references without doubt. Thanks Arsene!”

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Sports

Alexis Sanchez signs for Manchester United

Manchester United have announced the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a deal that sees the Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to the Emirates. The Chilean signed a 4-and-a-half year contract. He’ll reportedly earn £490,000-a-week, becoming the best paid player in the Premier League and Manchester United’s highest earner, joint with Ibrahimovic.

Speaking about his transfer, Alexis Sanchez said: “I am thrilled to be joining the biggest club in the world. I have spent three-and-a-half wonderful years at Arsenal and I bring with me very positive memories of that great club and its fans. The chance to play in this historic stadium and to work with Jose Mourinho was something I could not turn down. I am very proud to be the first Chilean player ever to play for United’s first team and I hope I can show our fans all around the world why the club wanted to bring me here.”

Jose Mourinho maintained that “Alexis is one of the best attacking players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players. He will bring his ambition, drive and personality, qualities that make a Manchester United player and a player that makes the team stronger and the supporters proud of their club dimension and prestige.

“I would like to wish Henrikh all the success and happiness that I am sure he is going to get. He is a player that we will not forget, especially for his contribution to our Europa League victory.”
Alexis Sánchez‘s Manchester United wages broken down [before tax]:
£25.5m-a-year
£2.1m-a-month
£490,000-a-week
£70,000-a-day
£2,900-an-hour
£48-a-minute
80p-a-second

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Sports

Wilson Oruma suffers mental breakdown after losing N1.2b

Former Super Eagles midfielder Wilson Oruma has suffered a mental breakdown after losing N1.2bn in a phony oil business. Oruma, who played alongside JJ Okocha and Kanu suffered a mental disorder six years after the incident and is currently a shadow of himself. More sad is the fact that, his ex wife introduced him to the fraudster clergyman who defrauded him of the hefty amount and also misled him into working with him. She later divorced him.
His close friend, Emakpor Dibofun told Complete Sports that: “Wilson Oruma hasn’t really recovered from the emotional disorder which he suffered after he was duped. He has been to several places in search of a lasting solution, but it gets worse after a bit of improvement,” he said.

In the wake of the report, Super Eagles legends, Augustine Eguavoen, Samson Siasia and Nwankwo Kanu, have reportedly agreed to organise a fun-raising match to aid the recovery of their former teammate.The game has been proposed to hold in Lagos in February.

Ex Nigerian International and former Chairman of Lagos State Football Association, Waidi Akanni, also revealed that a delegation will be sent to meet with Oruma’s family to know how they can help him fully recover.

“Since the news broke that he (Oruma) had a relapse of an emotional disorder, his former teammates having been trying to reach out to people around him to show love to him, Taribo, Kanu and some of the Atlanta 96 set are keen to turn out for their former teammate.They have all agreed to reach out to his family to see how they can help him out and also use the opportunity to educate the current players on how to plan their future after retirement. I’m sure other players who will be contacted later will be willing to take part just as the Lagos State government and the Delta State government, where Oruma hails from.”

41 year-old Oruma laced his boots for RC Lens, Nancy, Samsunspor, Nimes, Servette, Sochaux, Marseille and Guingamp, and Kavala FC of Greece before he retired at the age of 33 on November 26, 2010. The midfielder also featured for Nigeria’s U-17, U-23 and the senior national team winning the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1993, the Olympic gold in 1996 and two bronze medals at the African Cup of Nations in 2002 and 2006.

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Opinion, Sports

Opinion: Why Africa’s young people are the real winners at the CAF Awards | By: Benedict Peters

Almost nowhere on earth is football followed as passionately as in Africa. It is loved by Africans from all walks of life across the continent. This week, I am giving the opening address at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards in Accra, Ghana. This has afforded me a good opportunity to reflect on Africa’s relationship with football and how it can help deliver a brighter future for our young people.
I believe we need only look to the Liberian presidential election for a fine example of the transformative power of football. Against the odds, football legend and opposition candidate, George Weah was victorious and today, is President-elect of Liberia, one of Africa’s most popular countries. Weah’s perseverance in the face of an initial unsuccessful attempt is a testament to the endurance football teaches.
Before he was a Presidential candidate, of course, Mr. Weah was an outstanding footballer whose career spanned great clubs like Paris Saint Germain, Marseille, Monaco and even English Premiership giants like Chelsea and Manchester City.

George Weah

A striker of fearsome reputation, Weah has been described as the greatest footballer to emerge from Africa, confirmed in 1995 when he won both FIFA Footballer of the Year and the highly valued Ballon d’Or. Over a three year period, in 1989, 1995 and 1996, he claimed the top prize of African Footballer of the year, crowning that in 1996 with the African Footballer of the Century award.
The power of a footballer entering frontline politics cannot be overstated, for two reasons. First, it shows that politics is accessible to all, to the ambitious individual who dares envisage a way he or she can contribute to their country’s future. Second, it makes politics interesting and relevant to young people. If our continent is ever to reach its full potential, then it is our young people who are going to deliver it.
Africa’s youth are already shaping today and redefining tomorrow with their creativity, passion and innovation. I believe that the greatest gift that our generation can give them is to continue to provide platforms for aspiration, recognition and inspiration. But the idea of ‘opportunity’ or of ‘potential’ can be an abstract enough concept to adults never mind the younger generation, many of whom have been overlooked by the decisions of governments not to allow funds raised from investment to trickle down into stronger education systems, apprenticeships and advancement.
In football, the notion of opportunity is far from abstract. Football has always been a unifying factor and a great tool for promoting integration and development. But more than that, it is a global currency, a language spoken in the United Kingdom as much as in Brazil, China and Nigeria. And in football we see, most tangibly, the bold young role models and ambassadors of Africa who are inspiring others and have set the pace in their pursuit of excellence.
Of course, we must be careful not to set false expectations. Football is affected by the same attrition rate that applies to other sports in that very many are called but few ultimately make the dizzy heights that many dream of.  President Barack Obama pointed out that youth in the United States may have good role models for economic empowerment and entrepreneurship in the music industry, but that it was unlikely that each child would grow up ‘to be the next Lil Wayne’, so children must also work hard in school. The same can be said of football: not all of our children will grow up to be the next George Weah, Abedi Pele,  Dider Drogba or Jay Jay Okocha, but these role models still offer young people a concrete example of the hard work that goes into the pursuit of excellence.

The example of football goes far beyond the 22 men or women who stand on the pitch for 90 minutes each week. I know this because I have seen the extraordinary depth of support services that go into creating the finished product of a football match, and the transformative role they play when properly looked after.
Over the last year, Aiteo has been supporting sports development in Nigeria, leading a partnership agreement with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to provide financial Support to the technical team of Nigeria’s national team for the next five years. In the months since, Nigeria has won more games than they have lost and has qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Aiteo has also made significant contributions towards developing the local football by underwriting the costs associated with organising the Federation Cup, Nigeria’s equivalent of the English FA Cup, helping smaller teams grow and improve on the national stage.
With coaching roles, training roles, marketing, advertising, commercial partnerships and merchandising roles all part of the infrastructure of a newly-global Nigerian football team, no child need only grow up to be the next Alex Iwobi if they are to benefit from the transformative power of football. If a footballer can become the head of a nation, they why not a football coach, a medic or a marketing executive?
So, when I stand on the stage this week to open the CAF Awards, the winners will be very clear to me before the awards have even been handed out: the true winners will be every young person who sees that event; sees that the eyes of the world are on Africa and that a future for each one of them exists in which they can go beyond their school, their hobbies, their parents, and truly embrace their potential. Because the way we conceive the future sculpts the present.

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Sports

Manchester City's Yaya Toure comes out of international retirement

Cote d’Ivoire’s midfielder Yaya Toure has come out of international retirement.
The Manchester United midfielder who has not played for Ivory Coast since AFCON 2015 final has decided to return to Ivory Coast national team to win another trophy with the Elephants. The 34-year-old, who has over 100 caps for his country, announced his decision via Twitter on Tuesday.
Toure tweeted: “I love my country and I am free for the national selection. I want to help the next generation and use all my experience so that all Ivorians are proud!”
Toure who has made made three Premier League appearances and eight in total after signing a one-year contract extension in the summer will remain at Man City.“He will 100 per cent stay at City in January. He wants to be a three-time champion of the Premier League, but he is also enjoying using his experience to help the young players at the club.” His agent Dimitri Seluk told Sky Sports News.”
Ivory Coast failed to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, their next opportunity is  the 2019 African Nations Cup. The next round of qualifiers for that tournament is in March.

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Sports

Galatasaray offer embattled ex-Arsenal star, Eboue assistant coaching role.

Did you read the disheartening riches-to-rags tale of former Arsenal star, Emmanuel Eboue?
48 hours ago, Daily Mirror told the story of how he contemplated suicide after losing everything to divorce. The Ivorian who earned millions of pounds in wages during an illustrious seven-year career in the Premier League now hides from ­bailiffs, sometimes sleeps on the floor of a friend’s home, travels by bus and even cleans his clothes by hand because he has no washing machine.
“I want God to help me,” he says. “Only he can help take these thoughts from my mind. Only he can help take these thoughts from my mind,” Eboue added.
The Ivorian lost his grandfather, Amadou Bertin — who raised him before being diagnosed with cancer and his brother N’Dri Serge — who was killed in a motorbike accident all in 2016. He has also faced divorce from his wife Aurelie — who will be awarded all of their assets.
The defender who made 79 appearances for Ivory Coast said admitted he cannot afford a lawyer anymore and he stays scared and keeps himself away from meeting people.

 “I am in the house but I am scared. Because I don’t know what time the police will come. Sometimes I shut off the lights because I don’t want people to know that I am inside. I put everything behind the door. My own house. I suffered to buy my house but I am now scared.”

“I am not going to sell my clothes or sell what I have. I will fight until the end because it is not fair.”

Eboue would have returned to Premier League (Sunderland) last year, unfortunately he was hit with a 12 month FIFA ban after a dispute with his former agent and that shattered the dream. He said he didn’t receive guidance to manage his finances and he is paying dearly for being “naive” with money. And he now wants other young African footballers to learn from his mistakes.
He says: “I look back and say ­‘Emmanuel, you have been naive… why didn’t you think about that before?’ It is hard. Very, very hard. The money I earned, I sent it to my wife for our children. In Turkey I earned eight million euros. I sent seven million back home. Whatever she tells me to sign, I sign. She is my wife. The problems with FIFA were because of people advising me. People who are supposed to care. But it was because of them FIFA banned me.”

With his assets transferred to his ex wife, he now has an Oyster card and relies on London transport and trying hard to hide from the public. He spends his time between the Enfield house and the home of a ­confidante he calls his “sister” – Yasmin Razak. “I call her house The Bunker. I can hide there. She has children. I don’t want to disturb them, so I sleep on the floor.”
He said seeing friends like  former team-mate Thierry Henry, a football pundit on TV triggers negative thoughts makes him, “ashamed of my own situation. “When I see friends on TV that I played with or against I say to myself ‘I should still be there’. It’s hard to watch them.”

It hurts deeply that he will not be spending Christmas with his kids daughters Clara, 14, and Maeva, 12, and son Mathis, nine. “It hurts me a lot. They used to call me. But now, no contact. It pains me to be alone without them.”
“Every day I wash my jeans, my clothes, everything. My hands are hard. As though I have been working on a farm. I thank my grandmother because she taught me to wash, cook, clean, everything as a young man. I continue to thank God. I have my life. I didn’t want what has happened. I don’t wish it on anybody.”
Eboue  would relish the opportunity to work with former club Arsenal or players’ union the PFA.
He says: “I would accept help from anywhere but if my previous club wants to help me then I would be very, very happy. Maybe I could help the young players? The PFA helped me when I had my problems with my agent. If they gave me a job, even if it wasn’t a big, big job. Maybe I’d see some of the people I played with or against and I’d feel embarrassed. But I would cope.”
 
Update on his situation
Galatasaray boss Terim, who was moved after reading the shocking story of the former Ivory Coast full-back has been offered an assistant coaching role of their U-14 team at the Turkish club.  He will remain at the Florya facilities provided by the club and will be a salaried employee.
 

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Sports

Victor Moses misses out as CAF unveil the Top 3 finalists for the 2017 African Player of the Year award.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have unveiled the three finalists for the 2017 African Player of the Year award and sadly Nigeria/Chelsea’s Victor Moses didn’t make the cut. The final shortlist features: Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Borussia Dortmund) and Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool)
Egypt’s Mohammed Salah, who was recently adjudged BBC Africa Footballer of the Year is the huge favourite to win the award. The 25 year-old’s performances for both club and country in this campaign has been nothing short of stellar and his role in ensuring the Pharaohs book a spot in the 2018 World Cup (since 1990) can never be ignored. The former Chelsea man has netted a total of 20 goals for Liverpool this season; the first premier league player to achieve that in all competitions this season.

CAF Coach of the Year shortlist includes Super Eagles manager Genort Rohr, Egypt’s national team coach Hector Cuper and  L’Hussein Amoutta of Casablanca
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Accra on 4th January 2018.

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Sports

Photos: Thierry Henry crowned ‘Igwe of Football’ in Lagos.

Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Former France international striker Thierry Henry has always been regarded as the ‘Igwe of football’ by his teeming Nigerian fans, however, he was ‘officially’ crowned during his visit to Lagos for the Guinness Made of Black programme. The Arsenal legend who is in Lagos to meet the ‘Be a Front Row Fan’ winners; a consumer promotion of the company also watched the West Brom v Manchester United EPL game at Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The 40-year-old is currently the assistant coach of the national team of Belgium. 
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
Image result for Thierry Henry crowned ‘igwe of football’ in Lagos pics
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