Nigeria vs Germany: Can the Dream team determination crush the youthful German Machines tonight

By Chinedu laurel Okorodike (Aka Juanizy) 
Follow me on Twitter via @laureldpundit
and Instagram via @laureldpundit

When funding issues meant Nigeria’s men’s football team was stranded in Atlanta on the eve of the Olympics, even making it to its opening match appeared a tall order. The idea that the team could actually prosper in the event looked to have already been extinguish by the sort of administration woes that have hobbled the country’s progress on the football field for far too long. Yet, improbably, the Super Eagles now stand a win over Germany in Wednesday’s semifinals away from being guaranteed at least a silver medal.

It is quite the contrast. Off the field, the Nigerian team’s Olympics have been nothing short of a disaster. Its plane arrived in Manaus for its opening game against Japan only hours before kickoff, after the airline supposed to charter a flight from Atlanta failed to get paid by the country’s sports ministry.

Nigeria somehow won that game 5-4 and made its way through the group stage, but more problems arose ahead of its quarterfinal against Denmark when players refused to turn up for a training session after a pay dispute. Hearing of the financial woes, a Japanese plastic surgeon has even offered to pay each member of the squad $30,000 if they take home the gold medal.

Still, that promise did not prevent Nigeria from sending its two alternate players – Stanley Dimgba and Yusuf Mohammed – as well as three team officials home ahead of the semifinals in order to reduce costs. Yet, despite its country’s authorities seemingly doing everything possible to undermine its chances, Nigeria has continued to do the business on the pitch against far better prepared teams.

Twenty years after Nigeria’s greatest football moment, it is now eyeing further Olympic glory. Perhaps even the fact that the team’s plane was stranded in Atlanta of all places proved to be an omen for what has followed. It was, after all, the American city which hosted the 1996 Olympics and where Nigeria beat Brazil 4-3 in the semifinals in perhaps the greatest Olympic soccer match of recent times, before defeating Argentina in the final.

That side included a startling array of talent, including Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West and more. And it was that team that had a pivotal impact on the captain of the 2016 Olympic team, John Obi Mikel.

“Watching Nigeria beat Brazil in the semifinal and then Argentina in the final really inspired me,” the Chelsea midfielder told the London Evening Standard last month. “I was just kicking a football around for fun back then in the streets. But after seeing Nigeria win the gold medal, I changed.”

Mikel may have scored just one Premier League goal in 247 appearances, but he found the net as Nigeria beat Denmark 2-0 in the quarterfinals. And it is Mikel who is the undoubted star of a 2016 Olympic team that doesn’t have the star power of the 1996 version but has produced some thrilling play in Brazil.

But, in Germany, Nigeria will be going up against a team that has also provided plenty of entertainment. Germany has scored 19 goals in its four Olympic matches, a remarkable tally even if 10 of those did come against minnows Fiji.

Serge Gnabry, alone, is responsible for six of those and has been the outstanding player for Germany ever since coming off the bench in the team’s opening game to help salvage a draw against Mexico. And the 21-year-old was on target once again in the quarterfinals, opening the scoring as his side beat Portugal by a surprisingly emphatic 4-0 margin. 

Gnabry will hope that his form in the Olympics will earn him a first-team opportunity when he returns to his club, Arsenal. But before that he can endear himself to Arsenal supporters by getting once over Chelsea rival, Mikel.

Nigeria vs Germany: Key Facts

Nigeria will be facing a European team for the third time in this Olympics and they have defeated the previous two. They Super Eagles have also lost one of their four games in the competition, scored 8 and conceded 6.

Germany will be locking horns with an African side for the first time in the completion. In addition, the German are unbeaten in the competition and scored the the highest no of goals 19 goals in the tournament, with 14 coming from last two games.

Nigeria vs Germany: Head to Head

These two Nations will be facing each other for the first time in this competition. Germany and Nigeria national football team last met in an international friendly that took place in Koln.

However, Germany have had encounter with African sides in the football aspect of the Olympics. During their last appearance in Seoul 1988, the German met African side like Zambia, And Tunisia, and enjoyed a resounding victory over them.

On their way to the Semi-final of this on-going Olympics, Nigeria faced and defeated 2 European sides. In Addition, any Nigeria Olympic football team has never lost to an European side since the West African country scooped the gold medal in 1996.

Prediction

It promises to be a thrilling contest in Sao Paulo between the two most entertaining sides in the competition. Much could come down to which side is more clinical in front of goal.

This is going to be close game considering the quality in both sides, and their exploit on the way to the final.

Germany has only one shot off target out of their 20 shot goal in this game, netting 19 goals the highest in the competition so far. The German will however be facing a more tactical side, and a team that have failed to loss against any European side in any Olympics game.

In their last Olympic appearance (i.e. Beijing 2008), Nigeria faced an European in the same level of the competition, and produced a wide margin victory over the European side. Dream team V under the tutelage of Samson Siasia defeated Belgium with 4-1 score line and ease to the final of the 2008 edition of the Olympics.

In conclusion, both sides have produced great performances in Rio so far, and have had few historical advantages. This clash is going to produce the best football performance in Rio, and narrow line will separate the two sides. I however predict a win for the Nigerian side.

Predicted starting Eleven

Nigeria starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Daniel; Shehu, Troost-Ekong, Sincere, Amuzie; Okechukwu, Usman; Ezekiel, Obi Mikel, A. Umar; S. Umar

Germany starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Horn; Toljan, Ginter, Sule, Klostermann; S. Bender, L. Bender; Brandt, Meyer, Gnabry; Selke

Players to watch

Serge Gnabry

Germany’s Serge Gnabry is the leading goal scorer at the Olympics with six goals. He has scored in all four of Germany’s matches since he came on as a substitute in the team’s Olympic opener. 

Gnabry has been a consistent threat on the left side, cutting in to the middle of the field on his stronger right foot. He also has two goals from free kicks. 

This should be an exciting match with plenty of scoring chances for both sides.

Mikel Obi

Nigeria is led by captain John Obi Mikel. The Chelsea midfielder was selected as one of the team’s overage players. He plays behind Nigeria’s front line, which is loaded with talented players including Sadiq Umar, Imoh Ezekiel and Oghenekaro Etebo. 

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Juventus, building a century of success

After two decades without a UEFA Champions League trophy, the Old Ladies have now made it their sole ambition to bring the trophy back to Turin after failing to win 4 finals after that.

With the arrival of Dani Alves, Medhi Benatia, Miralem Pjanic, Marko Pjaca and Gonzalo Higuain on a Serie A record deal, the Italian champions now seem to have the necessary ingredients to cook a champion’s league winning side.

Squad:

On paper, the Tuscans have one of the most complete squad in Europe. With two world class goalkeepers, in the name of Buffon and Neto, Allegri can rotate to give each of them enough rest and chances of play time, both in Italy and Europe.

With defenders like, Dani Alves, Lechsteiner, Bazarghli, Benatia, Bonucci, Chiellini, Rugani, Evra and Alex Sandro, at the back, it will be difficult for opponents to penetrate to even get a shot on target.

The arrival of Miralem Pjanic, much more creativity will be added to the midfield of the Italian side, who already have players like Marchisio, Lemina, Khedira, Kwadwo Asamoah, Hernanes, Sturaro, Perreyra and Paul Pogba (even though he may leave this summer).

Juventus, now possesses one of the best attack in the world. After paying a club and Italian record of £75.3m for Higuain and €23m for Pjaca, the Bianconerri’s seem to have overfilled the space Alvaro Morata left at the club, after the Spaniard rejoined Real Madrid. Adding these two to last season's star man Paulo Dybala, Simone Zaza and Mario Mandzukic, they now don't have a problem with their striking options like they use to have seasons back.

Expectations:

Everything comes down to the selection and tactics of Massmilliano Allegri, who might be going through sleepless night, looking through the pool of players at his disposal. With Pogba rumoured to likely leave, it is not clear as to who else will be leaving now, after the departure of the likes of Martin Caceres and Padoin.

For the Juventus family, this may be the time for them to show their prowess in Europe once again, and maybe get their first treble.

Even though it may be too early to predict, this squad is going to be one of the strongest forces in Europe in the coming season and may go on to win every trophy at their disposal.

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How the coup plotters in Turkey took advantage of Samuel Eto’o's kind gesture

By Chinedu Okorodike

Few players in Africa and the world at large are celebrated like Samuel Eto’o Fils and rightfully so. He is a two-time Champions League winner with Barcelona and Inter Milan, a multiple Spanish La Liga winner, he has over 100 goals for Barcelona across five seasons and jointly holds the record as a four time African best footballer of the year amongst other enviable records. 

But on a night of bliss, hope and anticipation of giving back to a beautiful city (Antalya in Turkey) for the love and acceptance they had for him, it all turned to unbearable pain and a scar he will never forget. 

At the time of writing this piece, it is still unclear if he will call off the game which had all 33,000 tickets sold out and saw the world’s best players both present and past all arrive in Turkey to celebrate a man who was, in its full definition, an excellent footballer. 

But one thing is certain. Eto’o’s night of excitement for which he had taken pains to organize and put in not only physical cash but his time, had left a scar on him; one that would leave him wondering if he made the right decision in hosting the game in his beloved Antalya Turkey or done in Yaounde Cameroon, the country he represented and took to the World Cup. 

What was the purpose of the game? 

I am sure a lot of people reading this piece will be wondering what sort of game it was. 

In my short career as a journalist, I have been privileged enough to cover a few charity games but the Samuel Eto’ Charity game simply because of the sheer weight of footballers involved was out of this world. Of course, it was a football game but this had the current world footballer of the year Lionel Messi confirming that he had a ticket to Antalya for the game, 

Chelsea super Stars Eden Hazard had already touched down and so did Italian and former England Manager Fabio Capello amongst others. 

The aim was to raise funds to continue the work the Samuel Eto’o foundation had been doing in the past decade. 


What is the Samuel Eto’o foundation? 

The Samuel Eto’o Private Foundation was established in March 2006 as a non-profit organization operating mainly in West Africa. 

The foundation strives to raise awareness of the needs of the African continent. Its goal is the protection of children and young people, providing emergency aid and encouraging education, basic health and social inclusion for the disadvantaged in order to help them create opportunities for the future, according to its website. 

Why was the game being played in Turkey and not Cameroon? 


Why did he choose Turkey and not Cameroon to have this game? 

“The Samuel Eto’o foundation is a global foundation now and the primary aim is to make it visible not only on the African continent but make sure we help everybody who is in need by creating the awareness,” he jokingly said 

“There are a lot of things that go into games like this which you will not understand.” I guess I will leave the judgment for you to make if his answer was satisfactory. 

The GALA: the night before the football match 

The event itself was one of the most colourful gatherings in the world with Chelsea star Eden Hazard in attendance, and of course he would be because he credits Eto’o for his career development as he played a part in sending him to play in Lille. 

Also present were Eric Abidal, Fabio Capello, Puyol, Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwakwo, Stephen Appiah, Michael Essien, David James, Marcel Dessaily and Kolo Toure. 

Also in Antalya was President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Mayor of Antalya, Menders Türel  and they were all there to celebrate a player that had boosted tourism in Turkey since his arrival at the beginning of 2015. 

Almost every television station in Turkey was picking the Gala live and the attention of the nation was at one place- the Regnum Carya hotel in Antalya. 

But at that point, some other guys were executing their plans (military coups) because the nation was concentrated in Antalya, the military who for some reason I do not know, decided to cease the opportunity and try to overthrow the government. 

News quickly broke like wild fire in the Gala room and you could tell the uneasiness on Eto’o’s face who had succeeded in bringing together a crowd that had never been seen before in Antalya. 

His perfect night had been ruined and fear and panic replaced the bright smiles of the face of every top player present. 

The Coup attempt was done overnight but I am certain it took hours if not days, weeks or months of planning. 

The military knew everything about the Samuel Eto’o game and knew very well that their only chance of catching the government unaware was when Eto’o brought the world to Turkey. 

Although Turkey has arrested 6,000 people who had connection to the failed coup, with President Erdogan vowing to purge state bodies of the "virus" that caused the revolt.

It’s a shame that a night that started with so much excitement had ended in pain but the ultimate losers will be the people of Turkey who will have to wait for another generation to have a foreigner try to sell their country like Mr Eto’o wanted to do. 

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How Ogenyi Onazi Survived Road Accident Ahead Of His Wedding In Lagos Today

Nigeria and Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi suffered a road crash on Friday evening in Benin while returning from his traditional wedding. He was on his way to Lagos ahead of his wedding ceremony on Saturday.

The 23-year-old will be tying the knot with his fiancée Miss Sandra Ogunsuyi in Lagos and everything is in place to ensure the success of the ceremony.  “Devil na lie for you. Thank God we are fine But our government no try at all…” Onazi posted with a picture on Instagram.

Devil Na lie for you ⛏⛏ thank God we are fine. But our government no dey try at all, bad roads they are not called pot hole put well on the road Christ😳😳😳 #praisehim🙌🏽

A video posted by Onazi Ogenyi Eddy(MON) (@onaziogenyi) on Jun 17, 2016 at 6:50am PDT

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IF IT WAS AFRICA

By Chinedu laurel Okorodike (Aka Juanizy) 

Follow me on Twitter via @laureldpundit
and Instagram via @laureldpundit

IF IT WAS AFRICA

The world usually see Africa as an under developed continent filled with violent people who can’t get things right or organized a successful football competition without witnessing violence from fans. 

Such has been the thought of some of the Western world. Even South Africa hosting the 2010 FIFA world Cup did little to change that.

During the semi-final match between host Equatorial Guinea and Ghana at the 2015 Africa Nations Cup there was crowd trouble.

That crowd trouble started when missiles were thrown by fans and supporters of Equatorial Guinea at players and supporters of Ghana, with fans angry at some refereeing decisions. Bottles were thrown onto the pitch and the Ghana players were forced to leave the pitch at half-time under a tunnel made of riot shields.The bottle throwing continued after the break.

"Soon after the third goal went in, a section of Ghana fans pushed through a gate and made it onto the running track behind the goal. With them so close to the pitch, the match was stopped. Equatorial Guinea players pleaded with fans to stop throwing objects but to no avail.

"A police helicopter tried to intimidate fans by flying just 20 or 30 metres above their heads. Then police moved in with tear gas and batons to move the fans away. The press box emptied, too, as the tear gas spread.

Hundreds of  Ghanaian fans ran to the race tracks of the stadium as they were attacked by fans of Equatorial Guinea. It took the help of military helicopters to evacuate some of the troublemakers before the match was restarted in a near empty stadium. Ghana went on to win that match 3-0 but lost to Didier Drogba Ivory Coast in the final.

The situation was exaggerated by the western media especially the BBC.  Which led to CAF president Issa Hayatou saying  "The press always dramatise events in Africa, particularly the western press.The western media are simply here to perpetuate colonisation."

He added: "When something bad happens in Europe, they say it's an error. When something happens in Africa, they begin talking about corruption."

Which led to CAF president Issa Hayatou saying  "The press always dramatise events in Africa, particularly the western press.The western media are simply here to perpetuate colonisation."He added: "When something bad happens in Europe, they say it's an error. When something happens in Africa, they begin talking about corruption."

Now fast forward to the ongoing Euro 2016 competition currently going on in France which has witnessed handful of violence and crowd trouble far more greater than what happened in 2015 in Equatorial Guinea. 

The first week of the Euro 2016 competition was marred by Russian and England supporters engaging in brutal fight. French police had to use tear gas on fans before the match as Russian fans charged on England supporters in the Stade Velodrome after the game ended. Russian hooligans chanted 'Die, die, die' at an England football fan as police saved his life.

The French Police reported that a core group made up of about "150 hyper violent organized Russian hooligans traveled to the French city with the aim of causing violence and mayhem. (Imagine if it was the Nigerian police or any other police in the Africa continent that made this statement).

The situation left Russia president Vladimer Putin bemused which led him to say "I don't know how 150 - 200 Russia fans could beat up several thousand of the British fans" 

UEFA swiftly swung to action and handed Russia a suspended disqualification and a fine of €150,000 and also threatened to throw Russia out of EURO 2016, if similar scenario comes up again.

But that did not put a stop to hooliganism as fans of other countries soon started theirs. First to kick off the trend was Germany and Ukraine.

On 12th June, German and Ukrainian fans clashed in the French city of Lille, with further violence and street battles. UEFA later said they had "serious concerns" over security in the city. An additional 4,000 police were drafted in. Four Russian fans were later arrested, with French police planning to deport them. 

The violence continue and this time it was the turn of French hooligans and Northern Ireland supporters, who had been drinking alcohol with their Polish counterpart in the French city of Nice,ahead of the match between Northern Ireland and Poland. 

Reports later showed the attack had been provoked by the French "hooligans". Six Northern Irish and a Polish supporter were injured, one of them seriously injured.

Massive violence followed and this time it was the turn of the notorious Russian hooligans who attacked three Spanish tourist on the evening of 16th June. The attack started when the Spaniards, two men and one woman, put stickers with anti-fascist slogans on a lamp post. 

Click play to watch how England Fans & Local Youths Clashed In Marseilles, stoning themselves metal chairs which left one England fan now in coma.

According to the police, the group of Russian fans were members of a right-wing group. In their possession authorities found tickets to the Euro 2016 games of the Russian team against England and Slovakia as well as disguises such as masks. Six attackers were detained, five of them immediately after the attack and one at the airport.

Then finally yesterday (17th June 2016) during the match between Czech Republic and Croatia in Saint-Etienne, in the 86th minute of the match, Croatian fans threw fire sticks into the pitch, causing referee Mark Clattenburg to stop the match over security concerns.

It did not stop there as Croatian fans fought amongst themselves, and there was also a fight between Czech and Croatian supporters.  An Innocent steward was struck with a fire cracker (what we popularly call knockout in Nigeria) after a Croatian fan threw it onto the field and Croatian football player Ivan Perišić was nearly struck when a fire cracker flew in his direction. 

A total of eight fire stick and numerous fire cracker, as well as other objects, were thrown into the field. Croatian players tried to calm the crowd without success. Referee Clattenburg then moved every player into the center of the field to avoid possible injury. The match resumed after five minutes, with the score at 1–2 to Croatia, but finished 2-2 after a late equaliser. 

Russian and English fans clashed again same yesterday, requiring the police to use tear gas to break up crowds. Fans were chased away by riot police away from the main square, and the atmosphere calmed.

So far at least 36 people were arrested following brawling battle between England and Russia fans in Lille city center on 15 June which left a total of 16 people hospitalized. 

French Minister of Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve, swiftly asked all participating cities in the tournament to ban the sale of alcohol on both match days and the day before them. He also recommended a ban on selling any containers that can be used as missiles. 

Now imagine all this incident I have written above happened in our continent Africa, especially Nigeria. Imagine how the western press would have painted and reported the story with magniloquent patterns and styles . 

Also imagine how our bloggers and websites (including the top ones you reading this my article loving visiting with your mobile phone everyday) would have written about it with high class of raconteur with the aim of attracting massive traffic (readers and viewers).

Maybe some countries (western world) would have ordered for the immediate return of its contingent citing "lack of safety as it's reason". 

This is a lesson that crime and violence is not based on the color of the skin or the continent involved, but rather on the mindset of the individual perpetrating it. 

The violence and hooliganism witness currently in France could have been avoided if UEFA and the LOC (Local Organizing committee) of the EURO 2016 were not complacent. So we can rightly accused UEFA and the LOC base on the fact that previous competition had been relatively peaceful.

To Nigerians who fail to turn up for Nigeria Professional League matches (NPFL) citing "lack of security" at match venues. We have never had this type of violence and God on our side won't. So judge yourself.

Gallery

An England fan arrested by French police

An England fan's shirt is covered in blood after suffering a head injury

An injured supporter at the port of Marseille.

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Meet Nigeria's Lesbian Female Footballer Known For Her Boyish Looks

30 year old former Super Falcons of Nigeria player Chichi Igbo is a Nigerian lesbian Pro Soccer player based in Denmark.  She plays as a forward for Fortuna Hjørring  When she is not on the football field, Chichi creates youtube videos and funny enough, she has become a Youtube sensation.

It seems people are more fascinated about her because she is open about her sexuality which is not the case for a lot of gay Nigerians both home and abroad.  

Chichi has however expressed her pride in being a woman despite her boyish looks.Chichi is known for her boyish lifestyle which has made a lot of people also question her gender.  In a new Instagram rant, the former football star turn fitness trainer says she’s tired of people questioning if she’s male or female. Chichi Igbo says she's tired of answering questions about her gender.

"Even with my nipples right in their faces, they still ask "are you a boy or a girl" I can't say I blame y'all, too blessed to be real but allow me break it down, I'm a proud woman whom is your boyfriend's body goal, dress better than your man and have bigger (invisible) balls than your man,” she wrote.  “Pulling girls/boys more than your biggest player so NO I don't wanna be a man, I'am more than a man aka extraordinary WOMAN!! Wait tho, what's really there to be about a man? The only thing that makes most of you a "man" is only your dick that I have no need nor use for so umm nope I'll take a pass.”

                                                       Gallery

 Chichi Igbo in action for Fortuna Hjørring

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Samuel Eto'o Weds Long Time Partner In Stunning Ceremony (PHOTOS)

Former Barcelona and Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o got married on Tuesday to long-term girlfriend Georgette Tra Lou in a stunning ceremony.  


The ex-Cameroon international's wedding took place in Stezzano, Italy, as hundreds flocked to see Eto'o and his new wife outside the church.

The 35-year-old, who spent two seasons in Serie A with Inter Milan before another spell with Sampdoria, was dressed in a sharp grey suit and arrived in a vintage car.  


Georgette Tra Lou, mother to Eto'o's two children, was pictured being helped out a classic car before making her way past the waiting public. Eto'o's former Barcelona team-mate and captain Carles Puyol was also in attendance for the forward's special day. 

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