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March 11, 2019

Zidane
WORLD FOOTBALL

OFFICIAL – Zinedine Zidane reappointed as Real Madrid Manager

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo
Zinedine Zidane has been reappointed as Real Madrid manager, just 10 months after leaving the Spanish giants upon completing an historic hat trick of UEFA Champions League titles, following the sacking of Santiago Solari.

A club statement released on Monday read, “Zinedine Zidane is the new coach of Real Madrid. The Frenchman returns to the club where he has made history as a player and as a coach.” 

“With him on the bench, the team has starred in one of the most glorious eras of the legend of the best club in the world. 

In its two years and five months, the whites raised 9 titles: 3 Champions League, 2 Club World Cups, 2 European Super Cups, 1 League and 1 Spanish Super Cup.”

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Iroegbu
OTHER SPORTS

Playing for Nigeria at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China is a mission – Ikenna Iroegbu

by Joan Igbava
written by Joan Igbava

Ikenna Iroegbu, point guard of the D’Tigers contributed an average of 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists during the African Qualifiers as Nigeria secured a World Cup ticket for the first time since 2006.

Qualification for the FIBA world cup is a dream come true for Ikenna Iroegbu, who knows he has his work cut out for him “It’s a great feeling playing for Nigeria and now that we’ve qualified for the World Cup, I am working hard, perfecting my skills and certain moves as well as pushing my body to the limit to make sure I can get better. I want to stay healthy and be ready for the competition.”

Lietkabelis Panevezys player Ikenna Iroegbu has said his goal is to get a medal with Nigeria. “Whenever I wear the Nigerian jersey, I just want to perform. I think about my siblings, my family and those millions of Nigerians and fans watching us, praying for us and encouraging us to victory. I feel responsible and I realize it’s a duty to be exceptional and this is what I want to do all along.”

We have some terrific players and we have a coach who’s determined to send across a strong signal in China. If the team continues working hard, this is something that’s very possible,” he stated.

Iroegbu owes his progress in basketball and his world cup dreams to family support. “My family and friends supported me and I remember how they stood by me during the hard times. That’s why playing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China will mean a lot for me and them.

I just want to go to China, be exciting and make everyone happy and hopefully win a medal.”

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Zidane
WORLD FOOTBALL

Zidane set for shock Madrid return

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo

Zinedine Zidane will make a shock return as coach of Real Madrid after the club decided on Monday to sack Santiago Solari, say reports in the Spanish press.

Madrid president Florentino Perez has reportedly met with the board and resolved to dismiss Solari, with Zidane set to be his replacement, nine months after the he resigned at the end of last season.

Zidane could take training as early as Tuesday and be in charge for Madrid’s La Liga game at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday.

His priority will be to secure Madrid’s place in the top four after a turbulent fortnight that has seen them lose twice to Barcelona and knocked out by Ajax in the Champions League.

Zidane won that tournament in each of his three seasons in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, as well as La Liga in 2016-17, while enjoying a strong relationship with the majority of the players.

Gareth Bale was one of the few not to see eye-to-eye with the Frenchman and Bale’s future will become even more uncertain, should Zidane’s appointment be confirmed.

Sergio Ramos had said earlier on Monday he accepts blame for the club’s “deeply disappointing” season but insists the players have no say on the coaching situation.

Ramos posed a series of questions to himself on social media after Madrid had beaten Real Valladolid 4-1 in La Liga on Sunday night.

“As footballers we like to do our talking on the pitch but this season is not turning out that way,” Ramos wrote.

“Recent events have been disastrous and I’m not hiding. We are not hiding. We the players are primarily responsible and I, as captain, more than anyone.”

On Solari’s position, Ramos said: “It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere. We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach.

“These reflections are, without doubt, the result of a deeply disappointing season but if success didn’t stop us, we’re not going to let defeat stop us. It’s our obligation to carry on, to work and to evolve.”

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Ramos
WORLD FOOTBALL

Ramos addresses bust up with Marcelo – ‘He’s like a brother to me’

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo

Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos has addressed reports of tensions with Marcelo, saying that what happens inside the dressing room stays there and the Brazilian is like a brother to him.

Real Madrid crashed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Ajax in the UEFA Champions League and they got knocked out of the competition.

Ramos posted a big message on social media and he discussed a lot of things. One of them was Marcelo.

He said: “Things remain the dressing room in the dressing room. There is no problem with anyone, and we all have the same interest, Real Madrid.

“Marcelo? There are discussions in Every training. It is part of working under pressure. Marcelo is a brother to me.”

Ramos also said that sacking Solari will never be the players’ decision. He said: “It is not a decision that is up to us, and we will not interfere, we have great respect for its position and we always support the Real Madrid coach, whoever he is.”

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Ramos
WORLD FOOTBALL

Sergio Ramos will stay at Real Madrid even if Jose Mourinho is appointed manager

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo

Sergio Ramos has hinted he will stay at Real Madrid even if Jose Mourinho is reappointed insisting he will “always support” the club’s manager.

The Real Madrid captain had a famously frosty relationship with Mourinho when the Portuguese was in charge from 2010-13 and reports this weekend suggested the defender would seek a move away should Mourinho replace current boss Santiago Solari in the Spanish capital.

Addressing speculation over Solari’s future in a wide-ranging statement on Twitter on Monday, Ramos said: “It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere.

“We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach.” Ramos also addressed his deliberate yellow card in the Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Ajax which saw him miss defeat in the second leg.

“Was the yellow card in Amsterdam an error? Absolutely it was an error and I take the blame 200 per cent,” Ramos said.

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Sergio Ramos
WORLD FOOTBALL

‘We are not hiding’ – Sergio Ramos takes blame for Real Madrid ‘disastrous’ season

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo

Skipper Sergio Ramos says he takes the blame for Real Madrid’s “deeply disappointing” season but insists the players will have no say on the future of Santiago Solari.

Ramos posted a series of questions to himself on social media on Monday in the hope that his answers would be “the most honest way” to tackle speculation surrounding the club.

Madrid beat Real Valladolid 4-1 in La Liga on Sunday but Solari’s future as coach remains in serious doubt after the consecutive league and cup losses to Barcelona which were followed by Ajax knocking them out of the Champions League, defeats that all-but ended the Club World Cup winners’ hopes of winning another trophy this term.

“As footballers, we like to do our talking on the pitch but this season is not turning out that way,” Ramos wrote.

“Recent events have been disastrous and I’m not hiding. We are not hiding. We the players are primarily responsible and I, as captain, more than anyone.”

On Solari’s position, Ramos said: “It’s a decision that’s not ours to make and in which we never interfere. We have enormous respect for the position and we always support the Real Madrid coach.

“These reflections are, without doubt, the result of a deeply disappointing season but if success didn’t stop us, we’re not going to let defeat stop us. It’s our obligation to carry on, to work and to evolve.”

Ramos has been at the centre of Madrid’s problems in recent weeks.

He was suspended for the defeat to Ajax after deliberately picking up a yellow card in the first leg and, sitting in the stands for the return, Madrid’s captain was then pictured filming a documentary as his team-mates were beaten 4-1.

“Was the yellow card in Amsterdam an error? Absolutely it was an error and I take the blame 200 per cent,” Ramos wrote.

“Why did you record the documentary? There are certain commitments made and it never remotely went through my head that the game could have turned out as it did. The recording itself was scaled down as the game went on.”

Ramos was reportedly engaged in a heated argument with club president Florentino Perez after the game, in which he countered accusations of unprofessionalism by attributing Madrid’s problems to bad planning at the top of the club.

“Did you argue with the President in the dressing room? Dressing room issues are discussed and resolved in the dressing room,” Ramos wrote.

“There’s no problem whatsoever and everybody has the same interest: Real Madrid.”

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Nwakali
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL

Kelechi Nwakali gets call-up to Imama’s Dream team VII squad

by Tolu Adedayo
written by Tolu Adedayo
Kelechi Nwakali is in contention to make his international debut for the Olympic Dream team VII in a U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya at the Stade du 7 Mars, Ben Gardane on March 20.
The Porto B starlet is among the foreign-based professionals invited to beef up the squad by manager Imama Amapakabo.
Nwakali has vowed to join the Nigeria U23s at their get-together in Abuja before they fly to Tunisia for the first leg match against the North Africans.
But the attacking midfielder would be racing against the clock as Porto B have a league match against Cova Piedade this coming Sunday, three days before the second round tie.
The ASJ Academy product was the Player of the Tournament at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup and was captain of the Flying Eagles squad that failed to qualify for the U20 World Cup in 2017.
Portuguese-based professionals Kelechi John and Tosin Kehinde are already training with the Dream Team with a view to a possible inclusion in the traveling party to Tunisia.
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Barcelona
Lifestyle

“Football is for footballers”- Barcelona

by Brila
written by Brila

The campaign theme for International women’s day 2019 is Balance for Better with the focus on forging a more gender-balanced world and celebrating women’s achievements.

Barcelona posted a video of their women’s team on their official Twitter account which said: “Football is not for girls. Nor for boys. Football is for footballers”.

Asisat Oshoala and her Barcelona teammates will play Real Sociedad on Tuesday, 12th March 2019. Asisat has scored 3 goals from 3 games.

Ernesto Valverde in his pre-match press conference said: “In football, people are taking steps so that women have more of a presence and women’s football is growing fast.”

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Quincy Pondexter
Lifestyle

NBA veteran Quincy Pondexter got his career going again after 7 knee surgeries

by Joan Igbava
written by Joan Igbava

In August 2018, San Antonio Spurs in the NBA reached an agreement on a one-year deal to sign free-agent Quincy Pondexter. He played only 23 games for Chicago Bulls during the 2017-18 season before being waived midway through the season.

Having a past history of multiple knee surgeries which made him sit out for two full NBA seasons, Pondexter suffered an MRSA infection that complicated his recovery.

He comes from a family where basketball is taken seriously, his father, Roscoe, was a third-round pick by the Boston Celtics in 1974 and his uncle Cliff was drafted by the Bulls in the same year as the 16th overall pick in 1974 draft.

Pondexter was picked by the Oklahoma City Thunder as the 26th pick in 2010 NBA draft. He has averaged 5 points and 2 rebounds per game in 302 games with the Hornets, Grizzlies, Pelicans, and Bulls till now in his injury-plagued career.

Quincy Pondexter’s trade to Chicago makes him a newcomer. Even in the eye of team chaos, Pondexter’s debut with the Bulls had such a special meaning that when he entered the game to start the second quarter, he thought he would come to tears. Having been out of basketball the last two years after knee surgeries went bad, Pondexter came close to dying in a New York hospital in January when his organs began to fail after an MRSA infection.

Pondexter said “It wasn’t looking good. It was tough. I prayed. My family was there close to me. Being able to play basketball again in less than a year is crazy. It’s all God. This journey has been amazing.”

His journey took him from being in New Orleans, where his knee troubles started, to be an addition to the Bulls in a trade months ago when the Bulls picked up cash and a second-round pick from the Pelicans.

He dunks for his first points since the 2015 playoffs, when the Pelicans were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual champion Warriors.

Pondexter, who calls basketball his “obsession” said “I love it to death. It’s my life, Basketball is what got me through it—my family and basketball. It was like, ‘How can I make this story even better? Do I quit?’ No. I watched so many inspirational movies, ‘Hacksaw Ridge.’ They get you through tough times because you say, ‘That’s going to be me.’ I’m going to be able to inspire someone down the road. That’s really helped me.”

Quincy Pondexter still with spurs as a veteran believes “Being able to play after two and a half years, it feels like hundreds of surgeries. It’s been a lot, I wouldn’t trade any of that for this moment right now and how I feel in my heart… The journey is worth it.”

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