Home Archives
Daily Archives

February 26, 2019

Stephen Eze
FeaturedNIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Stephen Eze hopes to get Eagles recall through hardwork

by Chidozie Okoroji
written by Chidozie Okoroji

Nigeria defender and Lokomotiv Plovdiv’s Stephen Eze has revealed that they only thing on his mind is hard work and nothing else as he continues to develop as a player, after registering 19 appearances for the club this season.

 

The Nigerian defender’s stats under coach Bruno Akrapović has been wonderful, and in a chat with www.brila.net, the defense stalwart said all he ever thinks about is becoming better and better for both club and country, with 6 yellow cards for all his best efforts in the heart of the defense for the Smurfs in the Bulgarian first league, even as he is always ready to give his best.

“I will always give my best to my club where I work so that is my focus, for me to keep working hard and doing well for my club side because that is what will help me grow and improve as a player”

 

“So the focus for me is to ensure I continue learning from my coach who as really helped my confidence as well as my ability to get better”

 

“The atmosphere here is very friendly, and my teammates have really helped me settle down well, so its all about making sure there are no distractions as I continue to give my best and show that I am capable of playing every time I am needed”, he concluded.

 

Eze will hope to continue at the heart of the defense for the Smurfs ahead of Saturday’s visit of Beroe after he was on the bench for all 90 minutes in their last league outing, a 2-0 loss to Etar away from home in the league.

 

For the former CHAN player, he will be looking to make it his 20th appearance as Plodiv look to stop a two-match losing run.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Igiebor
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Igiebor won’t put money on Eagles reaching 2019 AFCON Final

by Chidozie Okoroji
written by Chidozie Okoroji

As Egypt’s sports ministry and Football Federation continue in their bid to be ready for the Africa Cup of Nations which starts on 15 June, out of favor Super Eagles midfielder and recuperating Anothorsis Famagusta of Cyprus player, Nosa Emmanuel Igiebor has revealed that it would be very difficult for him putting his money on the Eagles getting to the final of this year’s showpiece, although he acknowledges that nothing is impossible in football.

 

The Eagles are back to the biggest football competition on the African continent after missing out on the last two editions, and with many expecting them to go all the way to reclaiming the trophy just like they did in their last appearance in 2013, Igiebor, speaking with www.brila.net said he would not put money on the Eagles reaching this year’s final.

 

“I think we have a good squad with great young players and some experienced legs as well in there”. I can’t bet my money on them reaching the final but I think they will do well, especially with the quality we have”

“But to bet my money on them reaching the final, am not going to do that”, he stated.

 

He, however, added that nothing is impossible in the round leather game, as the players can achieve it if they surely believe in themselves.

 

“You just never know, if they believe and work together, it is very possible. ” The fans surely will be behind the team, and we can achieve success in this year’s AFCON”.

 

Egypt took over as hosts for the 2019 tournament last week after Cameroon was stripped of the event due to infrastructure delays and political instability.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Sylvester
FeaturedOTHER SPORTS

Tennis: Nigeria Number One Sylvester Emmanuel expects ‘anything to happen in 2019’

by Adebanjo Ogunseye
written by Adebanjo Ogunseye

Nigeria Men’s number one ranked tennis player, Sylvester Emmanuel is hoping for more success in 2019 but is cautious to expect too much.

 

Emmanuel enjoyed a dominant run for the most in 2018 and jumped to the top of the standing in Men’s ranking ahead of close rival Joseph Imeh and veteran Abdumummin Babalola.

 

Speaking with brila.net the clay court specialist stressed the need to improve and work even harder than he did last year with the field this time around expected to be even tougher.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Golden Eaglets
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Age cheats killing our football – Yisa Sofoluwe

by Adebanjo Ogunseye
written by Adebanjo Ogunseye

Age cheating in the junior national team must be curbed to give Nigeria the chance of building a truly formidable senior team with longevity, former Green Eagles star Yisa Sofoluwe has told brila.net.

 

The former full-back, who enjoyed success with the U20 and senior Eagles teams praised recent efforts by the Nigeria FA to address the anomaly, but points to the potential dangers the sharp practice could cost in the long term.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Flying Eagles
FeaturedNIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Flying Eagles bag $3000 each for World Cup qualification

by Seyi Alao
written by Seyi Alao

According to reports , the Flying Eagles pocketed qualificationbonus of $3,000 (about N1.08million) each  for picking one of thetickets to the World cup in Poland.

The team returned to the country on Monday after finishing in fourth position behind Mali, Senegal and South Africa at the Justconcluded AFCON U-20 in Niger Republic.

Brila.net gathered that the bonus was paid by the Nigeria Football Federation to the players before the semi- final clash with the eventual champions Mali, before the Paul Aigbogun Boys lost 3-4the game in the penalty shootout after 1-1 in regulation time.

 

After unimpressive performance in Niger , the team will be hoping to right their wrongs at the U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Nigeria has been drawn with Qatar, United States of America and Ukraine in Group D.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
WORLD FOOTBALL

Tony Pulis banking ‘heavily’ on Mikel and Besic partnership for Boro’s EPL promotion

by Seyi Alao
written by Seyi Alao

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis says he’s hoping that Middlesbrough will benefit greatly from the promising midfield partnership between Super Eagles Captain John Obi Mikel and Bosnia’s Muhamed Besic.

Middlesbrough is aiming to return to the top flight division again after a long spell in the Championship and the team is currently not in the automatic promotion position on the table , meaning they have to continue fighting to improve their current league status before the end of the season.

Mikel who moved to Riverside from Chinese Super League side Tiajin Teda has been very impressive since joining and manager Tony Pulis is happy with his commitment towards the Club’s promotion push.

Besic on his part was also instrumental in the team victory at the weekend, setting up the two goals that secured the valuable three points against Queens Park Rangers.

”I thought Besic was excellent in the first half, that was like him last year,” Pulis told reporters .

 

“We’ve got to get him up to that level. There are 13 games left, that’s a lot of games.

“And if we can get Besic up to that level that he was at last year, him and John [Obi Mikel]…yeah, that’s an awesome pair in midfield.

 

The former Stoke City Boss added the Mikel will bring the best out of Besic who’s on loan from Everton.

 

“It might help him [Besic] that the two of them are close together; they both live next to each other now, so John might bring that out of him.”

Middlesbrough will return to Championship action on Saturday 2 March when they play away to Wigan Athletic.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Gbenga Ogunbote
FeaturedNPFL

Ogunbote gives verdict on his Rangers team

by Adebanjo Ogunseye
written by Adebanjo Ogunseye

Rangers suffered only their first in the CAF Confederation Cup campaign this season in a 2-1 away defeat to Etoile du Sahel to end their run of eight game unbeaten streak, but whilst it might have been a harsh outcome in Tunisia, head coach Gbenga Ogunbote has praised his players and believes they’re still improving as a unit.

 

Rangers have won 6 of their last 9 games on the continent, scoring 15 goals in the process and conceding just 6.

 

In his assessment of how his team has fared, Ogunbote told brila.net while a few individuals may be singled out for praise, as a collective, “everyone of them has contributed immensely”.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
FeaturedOTHER SPORTS

Basketball: D’Tigers Rookie relishes hard work, ‘it pays’

by Adebanjo Ogunseye
written by Adebanjo Ogunseye

D’Tigers Point Guard Ibe Abuchi Agu has told brila.net he worked his way to his first national team invitation and wants to keep improving.

 

Abuchi was a member of the D’Tigers team Abidjan for the final round of the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, where they won just a single game and lost two.

 

The Gombe Bulls star, however, insists he wants to keep working on ways to improve his game.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts