Dolphins attacking winger, Emem Eduok, can now return to international football after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) lifted his suspension. . Eduok was expelled from the Super Eagles on Tuesday following a transfer confusion over him after it emerged that he signed for Sarpsborg 08 in Norway and Tunisian club, Esperance. This suspension came just days before this Sunday’s international friendly against Ivory Coast in Abu Dhabi. . “We are not happy with the cloud of controvery over his transfer issue and it is a terrible distraction to the team and Nigeria football generally. Telling him to leave the camp…
Author: David Folami
Neymar’s double helped Barcelona cruise to a 5-0 victory in the first leg of their King’s Cup last 16 tie against Elche on Thursday to ease the pressure on coach Luis Enrique. . The Brazilian put the Catalan club ahead after 34 minutes when he fired home following a well worked move and after that the flood gates opened against the bottom side in La Liga. . Six minutes later Luis Suarez slotted past Przemyslaw Tyton after creating the chance with a delightful dummy as he allowed the ball to run through his legs before bearing down on goal. .…
With just one player left on Manchester United’s injury list and a new goalkeeper signed, manager Louis van Gaal is starting to enjoy life at Old Trafford as he tries to assemble the “best team in the world”. . Third-placed United, unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions, host fourth-placed Southampton at Old Trafford on Sunday with just a point separating the sides after 20 matches. . United were plagued by injuries at the start of the season but the treatment room has an emptier feel now as a number of first-team players close in on returns. .…
Level at the top of the Premier League, Chelsea and Manchester City know neither can afford to slip up this weekend. . Joint Premier League leaders Chelsea and Manchester City go into the weekend’s round of fixtures with a dual purpose of maintaining form and avoiding mistakes. . Chelsea host managerless Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge while City are away to out of form Everton. . The leaders have 45 points each and an identical goal difference of 44-19. . Chelsea are likely to start with Diego Costa after he was a substitute in the FA Cup win over Watford…
Former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has signed for Manchester United as “the number two goalkeeper”, said manager Louis van Gaal. . The 32-year-old Spain international has penned an 18-month deal, with the option of another year. . Valdes had been training with United as he recovered from a serious knee injury after his Barca contract expired. . “I can already see this is a very special club,” said Valdes, who will deputise for David De Gea. . “I worked with Louis van Gaal during my time at Barcelona and to have the opportunity to work with him here at Manchester…
Players at relegation-threatened VfB Stuttgart have been ordered on to the training field before sunrise this week as coach Huub Stevens looks to kick-start their battle against relegation. . With just over three weeks to go until the Bundesliga season restarts, Dutchman Stevens, who took over at the former German champions in November, told his players to set their alarm clocks to wake them up before dawn. . They have to be ready to start work at 6.30am, a very unusual time for professional footballers to be training. . “It is good not only for the body but also for…
Alan Pardew has defended his record at Newcastle United saying the north east club “pulled above its weight” during his four, often turbulent, years in charge. . Pardew was named as manager of his former playing club Crystal Palace on Saturday after Palace met the terms of a release clause in his Newcastle contract. . While he is busy plotting this weekend’s home clash with in-form Tottenham Hotspur, Pardew’s Thursday news conference inevitably focussed on his reasons for leaving mid-table Newcastle for a relegation battle. . “It was difficult because it’s a big club run on fairly tight financial margins,”…
Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp enjoys the club’s full backing, despite his team being in 17th place in the Bundesliga, with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke saying on Wednesday they would never sack the 47-year-old. . Dortmund, champions in 2011 and 2012, have been languishing in the bottom spots of the Bundesliga table and lost 10 of their 17 matches in the first half of the season. . “We will never sack Juergen Klopp,” Watzke told SportBild magazine. “He has a lot of merits at the club. It will never come to a confrontational situation with him.” . Klopp, who took over…
VfL Wolfsburg defender Ricardo Rodriguez, a transfer target for several top European clubs, signed a four-year contract extension on Thursday that will see him stay at the Bundesliga club until 2019. . The 22-year-old Swiss international, who played in last year’s World Cup, has been in superb form this season, helping lift Wolfsburg to second place in the Bundesliga. . “Wolfsburg have agreed with Ricardo Rodriguez to extend the contract early and until 2019,” the 2009 Bundesliga champions said in a short statement. . Rodriguez, who joined Wolfsburg from Zurich in 2012, is among the most dangerous defenders in the…
A bust up between Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique and the firing of sports director Andoni Zubizarreta in the aftermath of the club’s transfer ban has pushed an already tainted Barcelona board into crisis. . Talk of controversy is never far away when discussing the Catalan club that has more than its fair share of internal disputes, mainly due to the importance of the institution in the community. . Yet a similar level of unrest has not been seen since the days of president Joan Gaspart, whose mismanagement led to his resignation and elections in 2003. . Just under…
Senior members of Barcelona’s squad met with Lionel Messi on Wednesday to discuss the Argentine’s dissatisfaction with coach Luis Enrique, hoping to prevent their bust-up undermining the club’s bid for trophies. . Luis Enrique has found himself in the spotlight as the Catalan club struggles to keep pace with Real Madrid and his future could hinge on whether he can patch up his differences with the talismanic Messi. . Xavi and other influential players met Messi before training in an attempt to smooth the waters. . There is no real surprise though that the situation has come to a head…
Barcelona bowed to the dual pressures of boardroom strife and fan discontent on Wednesday when president Josep Maria Bartomeu called elections for the end of this season. . The Catalan club were due to hold a presidential vote in 2016 but Bartomeu brought the elections forward a year amid widespread dissatisfaction with his running of the La Liga giants. . The person most likely to be celebrating is former incumbent Joan Laporta, who has been sizing up the possibility of returning to the hot seat. . Laporta experienced extreme highs and lows during seven years in charge after winning the…
In-form Atletico Madrid will aim to pile pressure on a Barcelona side reeling from a rift between coach Luis Enrique and star player Lionel Messi in a crunch La Liga clash on Sunday. . It was an all-or-nothing match last time the two sides met at the Camp Nou in the final game of last season with a draw giving the visitors the title. . Now while the stakes are not as high, a negative result could have a major impact on the future of Luis Enrique. . It is a perfect time for Diego Simeone’s Atletico side to face…
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has vowed to play his strongest possible side against Everton in the FA Cup third round on Tuesday and believes the competition has not lost any of its glamour despite a lack of upsets. . West Ham have surpassed expectations in the Premier League this season and are seventh in the table with 32 points from 20 matches, but the high-flying Hammers picked up one point from three games over the festive period. . Allardyce is hoping for a return to form against an out-of-sorts Everton at Goodison Park on Tuesday and said the…
Four straight Premier League defeats have left Everton fans feeling blue but manager Roberto Martinez is confident victory over West Ham United in the FA Cup on Tuesday will provide the perfect tonic for his side. . Everton have slipped to 13th in the Premier League and supporters have started voicing concerns over performances. . But Martinez, who guided Everton to fifth last season, believes there is enough quality in his team’s ranks to improve their lacklustre campaign. . “All we are concentrating on is how we can help each other in terms of performance,” Martinez told a news conference…
Captain Steven Gerrard scored twice to rescue Liverpool from FA Cup embarrassment and lead tinto the fourth round after a tricky 2-1 win at fourth tier AFC Wimbledon on Monday. . In the night’s other Cup match, Premier League strugglers Burnley fought back from a goal down at Turf Moor to draw 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur and force a replay to decide who then takes on Leicester City. . Liverpool will move on to play second tier Bolton Wanderers in the next round but only after a night of living dangerously with determined League Two opponents who looked far from…
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku spared his side a fifth straight defeat by snatching an added-time equaliser to salvage a 1-1 home draw with West Ham United in the FA Cup third round on Tuesday. . It had looked like being another dismal occasion for Everton when West Ham centre back James Collins was left unmarked to head the visitors into the lead from Morgan Amalfitano’s corner to the near post 11 minutes into the second half. . But Lukaku volleyed home after Bryan Oviedo crossed into the area to force a replay and relieve the tension and frustration that had been…
Stuttering Chelsea retained their Premier League lead by virtue of the alphabet heading into the new year but will need a quick riposte at home to Newcastle United on Saturday to hold Manchester City at bay. . Jose Mourinho’s side gleaned a mere four points from nine during a frenzy of holiday fixtures and a humbling 5-3 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on January 1 meant champions City restored parity at the top having at one stage trailed by eight points. . An easy FA Cup win over second tier Watford offered Chelsea a breather, but they host managerless Newcastle knowing…
Harry Redknapp is renowned for his wheeling and dealing in the January transfer window but admits mid-season signings represent a gamble for the Premier League’s struggling clubs. . With his Queens Park Rangers side hovering just above the relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s trip to second-bottom Burnley, the former West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur boss is expected to be active in the window. . However, with a restricted budget he will be forced to look for loan signings such as Mauro Zarate who arrived this week from West Ham until the end of the campaign. .…
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti remains loyal to off-form Gareth Bale despite criticism during the team’s poor start to 2015 but needs the Welshman to return to his swashbuckling best. . Bale has sometimes been accused of being too greedy by Spanish media and those accusations returned after last weekend’s La Liga defeat by Valencia and Wednesday’s King’s Cup, last 16 first leg loss to Atletico Madrid. . Ancelotti’s side were able to relax over Christmas having won the Club World Cup to extend their Spanish record winning streak to 22 matches but their lacklustre displays since have alarmed fans…