Author: Brila

Former Chelsea and Juventus energetic Boss Antonio Conte has taken the opportunity to relax following his recent sacking as manager of Chelsea. Conte was seen for the first time since being relieved of his duties and being told he no longer needed to report in to take training. Chelsea ushered Premier League title winner Conte out of the door while facilitating the arrival of Maurizio Sarri from Napoli. Despite initially reporting for pre-season and taking command of training sessions while his job situation at Chelsea was attended to, Conte has now headed off to warmer climes for a much-needed re-charge.…

Flying Eagles coach, Paul Aigbogun, has resigned from his post as Chief Coach of Aba-based Clubside Enyimba, ending his third stint at the club. Enyimba are fourth in the 2018 Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) standings with 38 points from 24 games. The People’s Elephant’s first assistant coach, Usman Abdallah will take charge of the team on an interim basis. Abd’allah’s first task in charge of the team will be against Williamsville Athletic Club of Cote’d Ivoire this Sunday away – a CAF Confederation Cup at the Felix Houphouet- Boigny Stadium. The two-time CAF Champions League…

Qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League is already underway as clubs throughout Europe try to seal their spots in the group stages. The likes of Benfica, Dynamo Kiev, and Fenerbahce enter the fray at this stage for the two-legged ties taking place on August. Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic will be hoping to join them and, providing they see off Rosenborg in the second qualifying round, will take on AEK Athens for a place in the final qualifying round. There’s also the small matter of the Europa League draw, where Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, Aberdeen and Burnley will…

The Super Falconets will play two friendlies during their training camp in Austria, before heading to France on August 2nd for this year’s FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup. The contingent of 25 players and 11 officials, including Falconets head coach, Chris Danjuma as well as his assistants, Wemimo Mathew, Mansur Abdullahi, Lateef Yusuf and Precious Dede, departed from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday night. Nigeria will battle Haiti, China, and Germany in Group D of the 16 –nation finals, while Africa’s other flagbearer Ghana must negotiate a tough Group A against host France, New Zealand and…

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha’s future, where Anthony Martial may be heading, what Italian side are courting Matteo Darmian and a bid rejected for Nigerian World Cup star Ahmed Musa. Ivorian international Wilfried Zaha is reportedly desperate to join Tottenham Hotspur. The Crystal Palace star has a rumoured £70 million price tag on his head. This has deterred most suitors, including Spurs. French attacker Anthony Martial is apparently considering handing in a transfer request. The youngster was reportedly furious to miss out on France’s World Cup winning squad. The former Monaco star blames his lack of appearances last season for…

Flying Eagles and IK Start midfielder, Afeez Aremu said he is happy to have made a scoring debut for the team in their 5-0 bashing of Mauritania in Saturday’s 2019 AYC qualifying match. A hat-trick from Nazifi Yahaya and two other goals from Aremu and Wasiu Alalade secured a 5-0 win for Nigeria in Lagos and 6-1aggregate win. The former Akwa United playmaker noted that he’s glad that he did not disappoint the coaches for the confidence that was reposed in him, Aremu said the feeling after the game was a very elated one for helping the team to…

Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud has followed through with his promise to shave his head in the event of France winning the 2018 World Cup. Before the tournament in Russia, several players from the Les Bleus camp pledged to carry out forfeits if they managed to guide their nation to the trophy. Giroud, Nabil Fekir, and Hugo Lloris promised to shave their hair off, while Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi vowed to cycle from Paris to Turin. Indeed, the Chelsea forward was true to his word following France’s second World Cup victory, unveiling his new hairstyle on social media on Sunday night.

Super Eagles forward Henry Onyekuru has opened his goalscoring account with the Turkish club Galatasaray. The Super Eagles forward scored his side’s only goal in a 2-1 loss against Spanish side Valencia in a friendly yesterday. He came on in the 61st minute as a substitute, and scored just eight minutes later after being put through 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper by an incisive pass from teammate Sinan Gumuş. The 21-year-old had made his Galatasaray debut midweek in a 3-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven, with Onyekuru coming on for about half an hour in that game as well. His…

Mesut Ozil has effectively closed the door on international football, citing criticism from the media and the German football federation president that struck him as racist. In a statement posted on Twitter, he said that he “will no longer be playing for Germany… whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.” The German national football association, the DFB, did not carry news of the playmaker’s retirement on its website or social media accounts. Ozil said he could not accept “German media outlets repeatedly blaming my dual-heritage and a simple picture for a bad World Cup on…

Mesut Ozil announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect, hitting out at what he perceived to be unfair discrimination surrounding his meeting with Turkish president Erdogan in May.