West Versus North Africa in Angola 2010

Pin It Now! The Angola 2010 football contest has shifted from just between the traditional teams to between the West and their North African counterparts. The men have been finally separated from the boys; experts from amateurs and veterans from debutees at the ongoing tournament. The semi-finalists finally emerged on Sunday 24th and Monday 25th January 2010. At the end of the second match between Nigeria and Zambia on Monday night only 2 West African teams (Nigeria and Ghana) and 2 North African teams (Egypt and Algeria) were lucky enough to make the list of the final four.
In the first quarter final match played on Sunday, Ghana ran away with a lone goal over the host country Angola through a chance perfectly converted by A. Gyan to ensure that Angola which I had earlier described as an emerging soccer giant in the African continent did not make the list of the final four. Then came the match which everyone had waited for with great expectations- the match between Algeria and Cote d’ivoire. At the end of the 90 minutes of play, scores stood at 2-2 but Algeria eventually carried the day after scoring their third goal in the second minute of extra time to end the match at 3-2.
The match between Egypt and Cameroon on Monday was no less tensed as expectations were high on both sides. People expected the all time highest scorer of the tournament, Samuel Eto’o to do the magic for Cameroon once again but this time around the Indomitable Lions were dominated by the Pharoahs. The match ended 3-1 in favour of the Pharoahs. Now that we look forward to an all west Africa affair between Nigeria and their Ghanaian neighbours, and another all North Africa affair between Algeria and their bitter rivals Egypt what are we expecting? Who wins in each of the matches? One thing is very certain; the final match of this year’s tournament would be played between a Western and a Northern team.
To get to this stage, Algeria emerged runners up in group A loosing their first match 0-3 to Malawi, winning their second match 1-0 against Mali and drawing their last match 0-0 against Angola. Ghana was runners up in group B behind Cote d’ivoire; they lost their first match 1-3 to Cote d’ivoire and won their last match 1-0 against Burkina Faso. Egypt and Nigeria both qualified from Group C with Egypt topping having defeated Nigeria 3-1, Mozambique 2-0 and Benin 2-0, while Nigeria won her remaining two matches 1-0 against Benin and 3-0 against Mozambique. It is now clear that group C was the strongest because two teams from that group are still in the race.
Whatever be the outcome of the semi final matches, by Sunday 31st January 2010 one of these surviving veterans would emerge the new champions. But the question is who becomes the new champions, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria or Algeria?

West Versus North Africa in Angola 2010

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Eto’o Advances with a New African Nations’ Cup Record

Pin It Now! The reigning African highest goal scorer of all time in the nations’ cup history Samuel Eto’o Phils yesterday added yet another profile to his unassailable record after helping his country Cameroon to qualify for the quarter finals in the ongoing competition in Angola. He scored his side’s equalizer in the 1st minute of the second half after the Cartridge Eagles of Tunisia went into the lead in the first half. The match eventually ended 2-2 to ensure that the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and the Chipolopolo of Zambia moved on into the quarter finals.
Samuel Eto’o had earlier scored in their second match against Zambia to increase his goal tally to 17, but with his goal against Tunisia yesterday he now has 18 goals. Before his emergence on the African nations’ cup scene the highest goals record stood at 14 goals which was set and held by Laurent Pokou of Cote d’ivoire. But at Ghana 2008 nations’ cup this record was broken by Eto’o. I remember I did predict that he was likely to break his own record this year, and he has just done that: with 18 goals in his kitty it would remain an uphill task for anybody seeking to equal and break this record. This young man came into soccer limelight in Nigeria/Ghana 2000 nations’ cup and ever since he has not stopped scoring great and thrilling goals.
I can almost hear you ask what is so special about this guy; Let me just answer that away. He parades a very intimidating record – three time African footballer of the year award winner, 2 nations’ cup trophies (Nigeria/Ghana 2000 and Mali 2002), all time highest goal scorer in African nations’ cup history (18 goals), Olympics Gold medalist at Sydney 2000 Olympics, two time UEFA champions with FC Barcelona of Spain (2006 and 2009), UEFA Super Cup winner, several domestic and FA titles with FC Barcelona, etc. He has really achieved much as far as African football is concerned.
Age is one advantage on the side of this player and if he endures like his counterpart Roger Miller, he might just still be there in 3 or more editions of the competition; and if he does, what would that translate into? He would score more goals of course: he might just get to score 30 goals which would make it more difficult for any player to equal or break considering how long it took to break the record set by Laurent Pokou. The likes of Rasheed Yekini of Nigeria and Joel Tiehi of Cote d’ivoire had tried to break this record but the highest they could do was get close to it. Eto’o has no doubt proven to be force to reckon with in Africa football whose record is yet to be equaled by any of the players from the continent. George Weah won the African footballer, European footballer and FIFA world footballer of the year awards, and also UEFA champions league but compare that with the above-listed records by Eto’o and decide for yourself who you think is Africa’s greatest footballer of all time.

Eto’o Advances with a New African Nations’ Cup Record

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The Traditional Teams Advance in African Nations’ Cup 2010

Pin It Now! The performances by the various teams in the ongoing African nations’ cup in Angola have been wonderful. So far only two of the traditional teams (Mali and Tunisia) have been knocked out of the competition and they were knocked out by fellow traditional teams. The Cartridge Eagles of Tunisia were unlucky to have been paired in the same group with Cameroon and Zambia and since only two teams could advance they had to go home. Like I did also predict in my previous article, the host country Angola which I described as ‘an emerging soccer giant in the African continent,’ensured that the Eagles of Mali (one of the traditional teams) were sent home but not disgraced anyway.
The other teams that did not scale through the preliminary group stage were no push-over: they gave a good account of themselves. Finally the quarter-finalists have all emerged. The double defending champions Egypt were the only team that had 100% at the preliminary round having secured their maximum 9 points to top group C, qualifying alongside Nigeria who got 6 points. The host country Angola topped group A with 5 points having won a match and drawn the remaining two. Cote d’ivoire topped group B with 7 points, after winning a match, drawing one and had 3 points added to them because of the exit of Togo who were earlier ambushed by rebels in Cabinda. Ghana also qualified as runners-up garnering 6 points. Cameroon started poorly in group D having lost their opening match against lowly rated Gabon but came back strong to win against Zambia and draw their last match against Tunisia. Group D was particularly interesting because three of the teams- Cameroon, Zambia and Gabon finished on 4 points each while Tunisia had 3 points to make it the most competitive.
Now that the big teams are advancing what do we expect this time? Remember that all the teams that would represent Africa at the 2010 world cup in South Africa except Tunisia are still around. Is the champion going to come from among them or is it going to be host country, or the defending champions are going to make it a hat trick this time around? We should patiently wait till the 31st January, 2010 when the curtains of the competition would be drawn. Very soon football in Africa would grow to the point that one would not be able to predict with precision who would emerge as the champion in any competition because by then every team would have improve tremendously so that separating the minnows from the strong teams would be a Herculean task

The Traditional Teams Advance in African Nations’ Cup 2010

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How Nigeria Can Become a Strong Force in Marathon Race

Pin It Now! Nigeria has the potential to become a strong force in Marathon race considering that she is the world’s most populous single black nation. Apart from being blessed with population, she is also endowed with enormous wealth and beautiful topography suitable for training marathoners who could become future champions of the world. Kenya and Ethiopia only have one particular advantage which they have exploited to become leaders in this area of sports- mountainous terrain.
Nigeria is blessed with mountainous terrains in Cross River state (Obudu mountain range), plateau state, Taraba state, etc where these marathoners can have their endurance training. Obudu mountain range for instance is about1,600m above sea level. While the Kenyans, the Ethiopians and even the Ugandans are making hay in marathon by tapping their natural environment, we have not been able to utilize ours to our advantage. If we properly tap this resource we would become world marathon champions, rubbing shoulders with Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda in no distant time.
The second advantage that we have which the afore-mentioned countries do not have is wealth. With her abundance of oil wealth Nigeria should be able to afford whatever she needs to be able to emerge a formidable force in the area of marathon race. She can actually pay for the services of seasoned and proven coaches from anywhere in the world to help train these athletes who are hungry to make their country proud.
In a nutshell, Nigeria could take advantage of her vast populace by recruiting a lot of her able-bodied young men and women who would be given adequate training and properly motivated by giving them incentives to make them represent their country well at international meets. If this is done people would even volunteer to be part of the training exercise. When the athletes know that adequate provisions have been made to cater for their welfare they will put their minds, bodies and souls into making their country proud.
Another option is for the country to actually go the source of the best coaches – Kenya and Ethiopia and either go into bilateral sports relationship with them or do some hiring. If they go into a mutual relationship with the government or the sport’s governing body in this country they can be given reliable coaches to help train their marathoners. I have said hiring as a second option because we all know that apart from honours the second name of this game is money- it is business. So she could actually go there and use her money to lure the best hands to her country where they would be properly catered for to bring out the best in them. If they are well paid they would switch their allegiance to Nigeria.
Lastly, Nigeria could also begin to organize international competitions that would afford her athletes the opportunity to compete with experienced marathoners from other parts of the world. If this is done consistently the tendency is that in no distant time she would catch up with others and even become better. This is why the Lagos and the Port Harcourt international marathon must be kept alive by making sure they are organized annually to keep exposing our athletes to their counterparts from other parts of the world.

How Nigeria Can Become a Strong Force in Marathon Race

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How to Make Wrestling More Decent

Pin It Now! Wrestling is one of the sports that provide entertainment for the viewers or fans; it is supposed to make people ease off tension and relax after a hectic day’s job or when they are stressed by other concerns. Wrestling is supposed to be enjoyed like Golf, athletics, football, hockey, etc and also governed by rules as seen in other sports. But the kind of violence we see in the sport today makes me feel uneasy and I think every viewer of this sport or at least 80% of them are not too happy with the level of violence that has crept into the game in recent time. This violence and lawlessness is visible on the three wrestling platforms – Smackdown, RAW and ECW.
A sport that is viewed world wide with a lot of models and super models is supposed to be moderated in such a way as to not be seen by our children as preaching violent acts or indirectly supporting it. If you have watched some wrestling contests in recent time you would understand what I mean. The other time I watched the fight between Chris Jericho and Shaun Michael my heart bled when I saw Shaun Michael bathed in the pool of his blood with a gash on his foremen, Chris Jericho kept hitting hard on the wound till he was beaten to submission. Last time, it was Big Show who threw John Cena into a 7000 watt halogen lamp.
Besides, what I saw in the fight between Chris Jericho and JBL was pathetic and terrifying. In that fight, JBL succeeded to tie a thick electric cable around Chris Jericho’s throat and dragged him till he almost hung him on a mast but for the timely intervention of the security men who over powered him. Needless to talk about Randy Orton who has become a source of nightmare to his fellow wrestlers; he has become so arrogant and disrespectful to his elders: he has even built a dynasty of bullies with which he terrorizes anybody who comes his way. Several times I have seen the use of broken bottles and glasses, cudgels, clubs, nails hammers, chairs, metal knuckles, rods, etc on opponents without considering the damaging effect this would have on them. Several of these wrestlers have been in and out of hospital because of the horrifying and brutal beatings they received from their opponents – Ray Mysterio, Raw Van Dann, Mark Henry, Baptista, Bobby, Shaun Michael, the list is endless.
What should be done?
I think the following should be done to help restore some level of sanity back into the game:
1. Restrict the use of weaponry in and outside the ring. There should be punishment for anyone who uses weapons on another person.
2. Fight between two persons should strictly be fought by only the two of them; no external assist.
3. Wrestlers should be restrained from using abusive or foul languages
4. There should be fines against a wrestler who attacks his fellow in the dressing room or during joint press conference.
5. Suspension or banning of anyone who jumps into the ring to disrupt a fight or help one against his opponent.
6. Fine against anybody who intentionally knocks down an umpire in order to win by tricks.
I feel that when these few recommendations are enforced there would be decency in wrestling again and our children would no longer learn extreme violence from there.

How to Make Wrestling More Decent

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Who is the True Heavy Weight Wrestling Champion?

Pin It Now! There are no doubt, wrestlers with reputation, skills and enviable records, but the question is, of all the wrestlers who have at one time or the other laid claim to being the champion, who is the true heavy weight wrestling champion now that some of the champions have emerged through different means – both acceptable and unacceptable in the sight and opinion of the fans? Most of the fights that have produced champions have been marred by irregularities, assists from outside and walking in through the back door. One of such fights I watched was the one between Mark Henry and Undertaker. Undertaker eventually emerged the winner but was still in the pool of his own blood after he was badly injured by Mark Henry. Suddenly Edge came out from nowhere to challenge the same Undertaker that had just finished an energy sapping contest and had not even stood up because of his injury; he won the fight and to my surprise the umpire rang the bell in favour of Edge. If they were truly looking for a champion who merited to be called a champion why wouldn’t they stage a new fight between Edge and Undertaker after the latter might have fully recovered?
Another case study was the fight between Edge and Jeff Hardy which Jeff Hardy won and no sooner was he declared champion than C.M. Punk rushed into the ring and floored Jeff, and ran away with the belt thereby making Jeff Hardy the champion with the shortest reign in wrestling history. What do you think wrestling is turning into? A place of merit or a place of cheating? What makes a true champion, is it when you are able to stake your reputation and win a fight respectfully or when you think that the end justifies the means and you go ahead to employ all dubious tactics in order to win because you are desperate to be a champion?
There are quite a number of these wrestlers who are physically strong and skillful – John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, Great Khali, JBL, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Shaun Michael, C.M. Punk, Kane, Ray Mysterio, Baptista, Mark Henry, Bobby, Raw Van Dann, Big Show, etc but only few of them have shown they deserve to be true champion by winning their titles in such a clean and respectful manner. We need a champion that would be universally acceptable like what we have in Boxing, athletics, golf, marathon, motor sport, cycling, bowling, rowing, skating, tennis, swimming and other sports and not those whose titles are questionable. It doesn’t matter how long or how short a belt stays with the champion, what matters is that he deserves to hold the title and did not get it through a dubious means. We need wrestlers who will command respect like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, Gabriel Silasie, Hamilton, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Mohammed Ali, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd MayWeather Jr, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Christiano Ronaldo, etc who earned their title by working assiduously for it without resorting to the use of thugs or set up.

Who is the True Heavy Weight Wrestling Champion?

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Have you been to Obudu Ranch Mountain Race?

Pin It Now! Obudu Ranch mountain race is fast gaining popularity in the world right now because it is the highest paying mountain race in the world. Apart from being the highest paying in terms of prize money, it is also one of the most beautiful tourist attractions right now.
Obudu cattle ranch is situated deep in the tropical and mountainous rain forest of northern Cross River state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The ranch is noted for its beautiful and enchanting landscape; equipped with an airstrip, international hotels, golf course, cable cars, canopy walkway, wildlife and Water Park. The forest is also endowed with variety of beautiful flora and fauna.
Obudu ranch maintain race is a race of 11.25km, with an 810m ascent up to the height of 1,600m (over 5,000ft) above sea level. The race was initiated by the immediate past Governor of Cross River state, Donald Duke, to draw attention to the loveliest mountain/tourist attraction in Sub Saharan Africa. The race has been endorsed by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and World Mountain Running Association; it is open to both male and female mountain runners all over the world.
The week long activities during the annual competition include: Road shows; stakeholders dinner with government officials, sponsors, tourism bureau, LOC and agencies; Anti-Doping seminar, and Bonfire Night featuring musical entertainment, comedy, barbecue, games, and Raffle draw. The total prize money for the 3rd Obudu Ranch Mountain Race was $245,000, up from $227,000 in the previous year. It is currently the highest paying mountain race in the world: the prize money has since been reviewed upward. The first African Nations Mountain Championship for males only which was held there attracted $15,000 for first, $10,000 2nd and $7,500 3rd positions respectively. It is a place every mountain runner would be delighted to visit and at least have a feel of the championship. Every participant also has the opportunity to be treated to the popular Efik’s Edika-ikon soup, Afang soup, Ekpan and Ekpan-kukuo delicacies.
The standard of the place has been raised to an international standard that the Nigerian federal government now has a special reservation for their visitors there. It would be recalled that President Olusegun Obasanjo was even there during one of his leave periods while in office; he even rode the popular cable car. Why don’t you create time to pay a visit to the Obudu cattle ranch or at least participate in the mountain race?

Have you been to Obudu Ranch Mountain Race?

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Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr: Who is the World’s best?

Pin It Now! The much talked about fight between the current Ring Magazine’s world number one Pound-For-Pound boxer, Manny Pacquiao and the number two pound-for-pound boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr scheduled to hold on the 10th of March 2010 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas has been called off due to a disagreement about Olympic style drug tests. The world had hoped to watch the fight between the best two boxers only to have this hope dimmed by irreconcilable differences. The fight would have been an opportunity to settle the argument as to who is the best boxer right now. Before we settle that, let’s briefly examine the profile of each of the boxers.
Manny Pacquiao (Born Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao) was born on the 17th of Dec.1978 in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines. He has fought 55 fights winning 50 with 38 knockouts, 3 losses and 2 draws. He is currently rated by the Ring magazine as number one pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He’s former WBC World lightweight champion, WBC world super featherweight champion, IBF world super bantamweight champion, WBC world flyweight champion, former Ring magazine featherweight and super featherweight champion; current WBO world welterweight champion, IBO and Ring magazine light welterweight champion. Manny Pacquiao is the first boxer to win seven world titles in different weight divisions, and the only boxer to win the Lineal Championship (‘the man who beat the man’) in four different weight classes.
He has beaten the likes of Mexican Mario Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, Jorge Solis, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, etc.
Floyd Mayweather Jr was born Floyd Sinclair on Feb 24, 1977 in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the United States of America. He is rated by the Ring magazine as the number best pound-for-pound boxer in the world currently. He was rated by the Ring magazine between July 18, 2005 and June 2, 2008 as number one pound for pound boxer. He has won six boxing championships in five different weight classes. He’s former WBC welterweight champion, named Ring magazine fighter of the year 1998 and 2007, he has fought 40 fights winning all with 25 knockouts without a loss or draw. He was nicknamed ‘pretty boy’ by his amateur team mates due to his defensive techniques and less scars on his face.
Mayweather Jr’s first professional fight was against Roberto Apodaca in October 11, 1996 which he won by knockout in round 2. Since then he has beaten Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, Carlos Gerena, Gregorio Vargas, Diego Corrales, Carlos ‘Famoso’ Hernandez, Jesus Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo, Victoriano Sosa, Southpaw De Marcus Corley, Henry Bruseles, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez.
Would the world ever have the opportunity to watch Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr? Only time can tell. The record paraded by both boxers is very intimidating and the only thing that would put rest to this controversy is a fight between the two to decide who is truly the world’ best.

Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr: Who is the World’s best?

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Yet Another Dramatic Comeback in the African Nations’ Cup

Pin It Now! Mozambique recorded yet another dramatic comeback in the ongoing African nations’ cup tournament in Angola yesterday to level scores with Benin republic at 2-2 after a display of soccer artistry by both sides at the Ombaka stadium in Benguela. It would be recalled that Mali had on the opening day come from 4 goals deficit to draw levels at 4-4 with Angola in what was termed ‘the greatest comeback’ in the tournament’s history.
The match kicked off at 19:30 GMT with Abdel Raman Khalid of Sudan as the centre referee. The Mambas of Mozambique made their first dangerous incursion at the 11th minute through Manuel Bucuane (Tico Tico), but the brilliant display by the Beninese goal keeper saved the situation. In the 13th minute however, Omotoyossi Razak was brought down by the Mozambican goal keeper to concede a penalty and received a yellow card for the offence. The resultant penalty was neatly converted by Omotoyossi for the first goal for the Squirrels. The Squirrels continued to mount pressure on the Mambas until the 21st minute when this eventually paid off for them when Mozambican defender, Dario Khan scored an own goal after a goal mouth scramble.
The Angolans fought back gallantly and pulled a goal back in the 28th minute through a header by Almira Lobo. Thereafter, it was attack and counter attack by both sides. At half time, ball possession was 54% against 46% in favour of the Mambas. Officiating was fair with just a yellow card in the first half. But on resuming the second half, Benin squandered a chance that would have sealed victory for them when Omotoyossi Razak after displacing the goal tender lost the ball to onrushing Dario Khan for a corner kick. In the 53rd minute M. Bucuane received a yellow card for placing the ball into the Beninese net after the referee had sounded the whistle for an offside. But in the 54th minute Mozambique was rewarded with the second goal through Fumo who cashed on the blunder by the goalie who had rushed out to place the ball in an empty net. More fouls were committed as both sides tried to wrap up the game. Sitoe and Adenon both got a yellow card each in the 58th and 60th minute respectively. Bucuane once again wasted another chance that would have gotten victory for his side as he shot wide inside the 18 yard box in the 70th minute.
Muri Ogunbiyi was later substituted with Kobena after a below average performance. He obviously disappointed the fans after series of wrong passes and shooting unto the body of his opponents against their expectation.
A mild drama ensued in the 84th minute when the Mozambican goal keeper Cossa Albino did a flip after catching the ball but the ball rolled off his hands; thanks to the defender that quickly came to his rescue, it would have been an expensive mistake. It could be recalled that he did the same flip in the return leg match against the Super Eagles of Nigeria during the world cup/nations cup qualifiers in Abuja. The two goal tenders actually performed badly giving away cheap goals. The ‘Orange Man of the Match’ was awarded to Manuel Bucuane (Tico Tico). Earlier the Pharaohs of Egypt defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria by 3-1 to top group C.

Yet Another Dramatic Comeback in the African Nations’ Cup

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Angola 2010 Opens amidst Beauty and Pageantry

Pin It Now! The much awaited Orange African Nations’ Cup 2010 finally kicked off yesterday at the November 11 stadium in Luanda amidst beauty and pageantry. The opening ceremony which lasted for around an hour was a colourful display of the rich cultural heritage of Angola. The 50,000 capacity stadium was filled with lots of spectators including the CAF president Issa Hayatou and the country’s president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. Cultural performances, calisthenics and gymnastics were all displayed to thrill the audience.
The anxious moment soon came, which was the opening match between the host team and their Malian opponents. It was a trilling performance which saw the host go up by 4 goals before a dramatic comeback by the visitors to level scores at 4-4 at full time. The Angolans had taken the lead in the 37th minute when Gilberto’s free kick was nodded in by Flavio Amado. Barely 5 minutes later, in the 42nd minute Flavio made it goal number 2 for his team and thereafter the Palancas Negras piled a series of pressure on the Eagles but the first half ended 2-0. On resumption of the second half Manucho missed an opportunity that would have increased the goals to 3 by his team when he shot directly to the body of the goal keeper. He lost another chance when his header was diverted to the corner. However, in the 67th minute Gilberto was brought down by M. Bagayoko and the centre referee waved to the penalty spot; the penalty was neatly converted by Gilberto, making it the goal number 3 for Angola. The ovation that greeted the 3rd goal had hardly died down when Gilberto was pulled down in the 18 yard box by Saidu Keita resulting in another penalty which was converted by Manucho for the host team’s 4th goal. At this point everyone almost lost the hope of recovery by the visiting team. The reserve bench and the coaching crew of the Eagles had disappointment written all over their face because of what seemed a lacklustre performance by their team.
However, the Malians began to regain confidence, mounting pressure upon pressure on the host and this paid off when S. Keita scored their first goal in the 79th minute after a goal mouth scramble. Fredric Kanoute made it two in the 87th minute, while Saidu Keita added yet another goal in the 93rd minute before the substitute, M. Yattabare increased the tally to 4 to level score at 4-4 at full in what could easily be termed the greatest comeback in the history of the tournament. At the sound of the final whistle, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, the coach of Mali was obviously elated because his team was not humiliated in their opening match.
Some of the Angolans that gave good account of themselves were Flavio Amado, Gilberto, Manucho and Stelvio while on the side of the Eagles, S. Keita, F. Kanoute and M. Diara were outstanding. Four yellow cards were issued – to Stelvio, Chara, M. Bagayoko and Keita. The Angolans may have lost the opportunity to win the match because they became complacent, substituted their best attackers and allowed the wounded Eagles to draw levels

Angola 2010 Opens amidst Beauty and Pageantry

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Africa Cup of Nations 2010: What do we expect?

Pin It Now! The biennial Africa soccer cup of nations comes alive on 10 Jan. 2010 with great promises. It would be a showcase of most of the soccer talents from the African continent, ranging from those plying their trades in the English premiership, Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian serie A, Brazilian league, Asian leagues, to those in the African leagues.
The traditional national teams like Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’ivoire, Congo, Tunisia, Algeria, Mali and Zambia would all be there to entertain the teeming followers of the African soccer fiesta. Countries favoured to lift the trophy at the end of the tournament include Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’ivoire, Cameroon, Algeria, the defending champions Egypt and the host nation Angola which is an emerging soccer giant in the African continent.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Salomon Kalou, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Eboue, Peter Osaze Odiwingie, Vincent Enyama, Samuel Eto’o, Zidane, Mohammed Abu Tarika, Taiye Taiwo, Obafemi Martins, Dominic Adiyiah, Opoku Agyemang, etc. would all be paraded by their respective countries. Millions of soccer fans world-wide would be glued to their television sets to feed their eyes with artistic soccer display throughout the period of the Africa cup of nations’ championship 2010.Samuel Eto'o would certainly be the centre of attraction: being the highest goal scorer of all time in the African nations cup history a lot would be expected from him. Would he deliver again this time around? Or would someone else equal or break his record? That would be an uphill task for any player at the moment.Another player that would also attract much attention is Didier Drogba of Chelsea Fc who is currently the highest goal scorer in the Barclays English premiership. With Drogba scoring close 20 goals in the first half of the league a lot of soccer fans would expect him to do very well in Angola.
The question on everyone’s lips is ‘who lifts the trophy at the end’, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt or Angola? The end shall tell as each of the above-listed countries has the wherewithal to lift this year’s Africa cup of Nations’ trophy. As the various teams file out to confront each other and entertain their teeming spectators, they should remember to approach each game in the spirit of ‘fair play’ as the game of soccer is built on the grounds of fostering unity and love amongst the competing nations, and should not be a theartre of war or a do-or-die affair. As the tournament finally winds to a close on 31st Jan. 2010, one thing is sure- there would be a new African champions, but who would that be? Till then.

Africa Cup of Nations 2010: What do we expect?

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Barclays English Premier League – World’s Most popular and prestigious league

Pin It Now! The Barclays English premier league is arguably the most televised, most glamorous, most popular and the richest league in the world right now, with at least four of the teams - Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC ranked among the top 20 richest club sides in the world, and the league televised in several countries of the world. The television rights on the league is in millions of pound sterling and the prize money for the league winners is the best any country can offer anywhere in the world
The English premier league has metamorphosed from a small league in the 19th century to the giant of the 21st century. With the league producing four quarter finalists each year in the past five years in the UEFA champions league, with Liverpool FC lifting the champions league trophy in 2005, Manchester United in 2008 (playing the final with fellow English club side Chelsea FC); Arsenal playing in the finals in 2006; Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United each having played at least at the semi-finals level in the past five years, the Barclays English premier league is obviously the best league in Europe currently.
Years ago, Brazilian and Argentine players shunned the English premier league like a leper, rather preferring to ply their trades in the Spanish La Liga, Italian serie A, German Bundesliga and the French league, etc. But today the story has changed as more of the Brazilian players are now gradually entering into English premier league - The likes of Robinho, Edwardo, Baptista, Carlos Tevez, etc. now showcase their talents in this wonderful league; it is certainly a place every footballer would love to be.
We are entering into the second round of the 2009/2010 league, we expect more Brazilians, Argentines, Nigerians, French, Portuguese, Ivorian players etc to troop into this prestigious, exciting, entertaining and attractive league to add more colours and glamour to the league as we also expect more transfer records to be broken. Manchester United currently holds the record of the most expensive player transfer in the European league with the sale of Christiano Ronaldo for 70 million Euro to Real Madrid FC of Spain. With the exit of Christiano Ronaldo would more quality players come in? We hope to see more of Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Stephen Gerrard, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, Fabregas, Ireland, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Berbatov, etc. The Barclays English premier league is certainly the place where the soccer action is at the moment.

Barclays English Premier League – World’s Most popular and prestigious league

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The Golf World Without Tiger Woods

Pin It Now! Tiger Woods brought glamour and popularity to the game of golf and has remained one of the most popular golf players ever. He has won more trophies than most popular golfers living or dead, with about 96 career victories in his kitty since 1996 making him a living legend in the world of golf, without whom the history of golf would never be complete. His exploits has made many people who never loved the game of golf to become ardent followers of the game, and his presence has also brought reputable sponsors to the golf world.
Only the likes of Pele, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Platini, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Carl Lewis, Gabriel Silesia, Usain Bolt, Ashafa Powell, Michael Phelps, George Weah, Dunga, etc enjoy the fame and respect that Tiger Woods enjoys as far as the sporting world is concerned.
Having given much to the golf world, he does not deserve to take his exit in such an unceremonious way. He may have done what the world did not expect by engaging in extra-marital affairs, but we should remember the popular saying that 'to err is human but to forgive is divine', and give him a second chance. We all have our human weaknesses and Tiger Woods being human has just exhibited his human weakness.I do not in any way support what Tiger Woods did but I feel that abandoning Woods is certainly not the best thing to do to a friend at the moment of trials. I do believe he has learned his lesson though through the bitter way. Tiger Woods has done what he should do - show respect to his family by withdrawing from golf to put his family in order without exhibiting any form of arrogance and without justifying himself.
The exit of this talented, crowd-puller golfer has forced some of his personal sponsors to withdraw their sponsorship. They are certainly concerned about the image of their reputable companies but they should also put into consideration the emotional trauma their hasty decision is adding to the psychological pain Woods already is going through. He really needs their support at this crucial time of trial. They should help to launder his image and persuade him to return to the game that brought him fame and wealth.
Now that Tiger Woods has bowed out what happens to the game of golf? Would the popularity, colours and followership still be there? Who fills the vacuum that his exit has created? We shall certainly miss this great hero - Tiger Woods.

The Golf World Without Tiger Woods

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Lionel Messi: Celebrating a Soccer Icon

Pin It Now! Lionel Messi's emergence as the world's footballer of the year 2009 was no surprise to so many soccer enthusiasts who have followed the progress of this young soccer icon. This young man came into the limelight during the World Youth Championship (FIFA-20) in the Netherlands in 2005 where he dazzled the world with his dribbling and scoring skills; he eventually emerged the most valuable player of the championship.
Lionel Messi has improved tremendously. Ever since he led his country Argentina to win the FIFA U-20 championship in 2005, he has added more medals to his coffer, including the Olympics gold medal in 2008, the UEFA champions league trophies in 2006 and 2009, the Spanish league trophies, the Spanish F.A. cup, the world clubs cup, the European footballer of the year 2009, and now the FIFA world footballer of the 2009 award.Still in his twenties, he has age on his side and also has a very good club side where contribution of others would help improve his skills further. One word for Messi 'keep your head cool and the sky will be your limit'. He should remember he is a role model who has a lot of influence on children and lovers of the game of football; he should therefore avoid anything capable of tarnishing his reputation on and off the pitch of play.
This young, talented, amiable, humble and respectable footballer has achieved in a space of four years what so many footballers could not achieve in their entire soccer careers. This soccer maestro has little or nothing more to prove to the soccer world. His award as world footballer of the year has now put him on the same level with soccer heroes like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Paulo Madini, Canavalho, George Weah, Kaka, etc.
The year 2009 was certainly the best year in the life of Lionel Messi and remains a year he would always remember because of the achievements he had - league trophy, F.A. Cup, World Clubs Cup, European footballer of the year award and FIFA world footballer of the year award. This is certainly no mean achievement.
Football history would never be complete without the inclusion of this soccer icon - Lionel Messi. Barcelona FC expects to reap more gains from the investment they made on this young talent. And now that he has helped Argentina to qualify for the world cup in South Africa what shall we expect from him? The world certainly expects nothing less than a dazzling performance.

Lionel Messi: Celebrating a Soccer Icon

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