Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says his side will be favourites in their upcoming Champions League semifinal with Manchester City, but his full focus for now is on Saturday afternoon’s La Liga game at suburban neighbours Getafe. Madrid go into the game boosted by Tuesday’s comeback against Wolfsburg in the Champions League to reach the last four, with key players such as Cristiano Ronaldo looking in their best form of the season. The Los Blancos coach told a news conference that having the return at the Bernabeu early next month was an advantage, but he does not want to be…
Author: David Folami
Guus Hiddink has warned incoming Chelsea manager Antonio Conte that he faces a tough task to get the club back into the Premier League’s top four. Italy coach Conte will take charge at Stamford Bridge after Euro 2016 and Chelsea interim manager Hiddink believes the permanent successor to Jose Mourinho will have his work cut out to revive a troubled squad amid intense competition from the rest of the league. After winning the English title last season, Chelsea’s season was ruined by Mourinho’s rift with members of his side and they have ended up in mid-table obscurity after briefly slipping…
A repeat of the 2014 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is still possible after Friday’s semifinal draw. Real, who won that game 4-1 after extra-time, will play first-time semifinalists Manchester City, with the first leg in north-west England. Atletico, who beat holders Barcelona in the last eight, host Bayern Munich in their first leg. Bayern manager Pep Guardiola misses what would have been a difficult semifinal for him personally against City, the Premier League side he will take charge of next season. “It’s a great tie against the team that has won the competition the most…
A four-match ban imposed on Napoli’s 30-goal star striker Gonzalo Higuain was reduced to three on appeal on Friday, as his side seek to overturn a six point gap on league leaders Juventus. Higuain has already sat out one match after a spectacular meltdown at Udinese two weeks ago during a shock 3-1 defeat. Higuain was shown his second yellow card for kicking out at defender Felipe before launching a verbal tirade against the referee and angrily remonstrating with Udinese players. The disciplinary commission said he uttered “an insulting term” to the referee, and made “a disrespectful gesture when he…
Sevilla, winners of the Europa League for the past two years, will play Shakhtar Donetsk in this season’s semifinal. The holders will have home advantage for the second leg. Sevilla beat fellow Spaniards Athletic Bilbao on penalties in the quarterfinal. In the other semifinal Villareal will be at home to Liverpool in the first leg. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool came from 3-1 down on aggregate against Borussia Dortmund to win 5-4 with a goal in the last minute. The first legs are on April 28 with the return games on May 5. Basle stages the final on May 18.
Claudio Ranieri warned his Leicester City players on Friday that their remarkable Premier League title challenge will be forgotten unless they claim the trophy. The Foxes are odds-on favourites to finish the season on top after mounting the most amazing title bid in the history of the Premier League. But despite their season capturing the imagination of the football public, the manager has insisted they will only go down in history if they hold off the challenge from Tottenham Hotspur and claim top spot. “We made a good story, but to make something you will remember in 30 or 40…
Manchester City will be without David Silva, Raheem Sterling and captain Vincent Kompany for this weekend’s visit to Chelsea, manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters on Friday. But Yaya Toure, who came on during the midweek Champions League win over Paris St Germain, will be available. “Yaya, 100 per cent fit is an important player and can make a difference starting or playing 30 minutes,” Pellegrini said. City hope Kompany and Sterling will be available for Tuesday’s Premier league game at Newcastle United. Silva, who picked up an ankle injury in the PSG match, will be handled carefully for the rest…
Lionel Messi failed to find the net once again on Wednesday as Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid, with the Argentinian’s 452-minute goal drought his worst such run since April 2010. Messi is searching for his 450th Barcelona goal as he looks to further etch his name into club folklore with another milestone, but he has been stuck on 449 since March 16, when he netted the third in a 3-1 win over Arsenal. Since then the Argentina star has failed to net in five successive matches, with Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid…
Luis Enrique has taken full responsibility for Barcelona’s Champions League exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid, but has stressed they still have plenty left to play for in the remainder of the season. An Antoine Griezmann double helped Atletico to a 2-0 win at the Vicente Calderon after Barcelona had won the first leg 2-1 at Camp Nou, ending the Catalans’ hopes of successfully defending their European title. Luis Enrique refused to dramatise matters, though, and urged his team to turn their attention to La Liga and the Copa del Rey. “I am 99.9 per cent to blame for…
The Governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola has called on President Buhari to probe former President Goodluck Jonathan for an alleged crude oil theft which he says is worth N5.8tr. Aregbesola said this on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, at a meeting with members of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR). The Osun state Governor called on Buhari to set up an panel of inquiry to investigate how 400,000 barrels of crude oil was stolen from Nigeria without being noticed, during Jonathan’s administration. Aregbesola said ”In the middle of 2013 a party at the helms of affairs of…
Con Coughlin, the author of The Daily Telegraph editorial that accused President Buhari of intimidating his political enemies, has come under fire from the Presidency over what it called ‘factual inaccuracies.’ Coughlin alleged in the editorial that Buhari’s government was using aid from the United Kingdom meant for the fight against insurgency to fight his perceived enemies. In his reply, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said the editorial showed the author’s ignorance of the ongoing war against terrorism. Shehu also described as shocking, the allegation that the Buhari led administration tried to cover up…
The last is yet to be heard about the alleged use of the military by Governor Fayose to rig the June 21, 2014 Ekiti state governorship election. The Ekiti state Commissioner for Justice, Mr Owoseni Ajayi in an open letter to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Alhaji Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the military panel report on the governorship election cannot be used to prosecute Fayose or any other politician in the state. This is coming on the heels of alleged plans to prosecute the Governor and some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)…
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at a roundtable on Chibok girls and vulnerable people, on Wednesday called for increased funding of education at all levels to empower the people and make them unwilling tools by insurgents. Vice President Osinbajo specifically emphasised the importance of addressing vulnerability through quality education especially for girls. He was speaking in Abuja at a one-day Roundtable on Vulnerable People in Insurgency and other conflicts in Nigeria, a forum organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser in conjunction with the Presidency. Osinbajo gave the assurance that the Federal Government was committed to improving the sector…
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, that it spends $1.8 billion in 90 days to import fuel. The Group Executive Director Upstream of NNPC, Mr Bello Rabiu, stated this while addressing State House Correspondents. According to him, the organisation spends between $16 million and $20 million on imports daily totaling about $1.8 billion per quarter. Rabiu was reacting to the inability of the nation’s refineries to provide the local needs of consumers. He said that the organization had to rely on importation to satisfy local consumption. He said that import bill depended on both…
A statement issued in China by his spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said like Henan, agriculture has traditionally been the pillar of Sokoto’s economy, with the state among Nigeria’s highest producers of wheat, corn, onions, tomato and rice. “Henan is considered the breadbasket of China. Our target in Sokoto is that in the next 10 years, we want to become the most important state in Nigeria in terms of agriculture.” “We hope to standardize the production of important agricultural items such as beef, fish, maize and vegetable oil. Our vision to have the full agricultural value chain fully embedded thereby creating…
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe has said that his colleagues rejected the Gender Equality Bill out of fear that it would turn women into prostitutes and lesbians. The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujimi, was debated and rejected on March 15, 2016. Abaribe also said that many senators were concerned that the bill would make women ignore their immediate responsibilities. The senator made the comments on Wednesday, April 13, in Abuja during a forum on the political rights of women in Nigeria, Premium Times reports. “The bill was defeated at the second reading when its details were highlighted to the…
Former Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, has insisted that he won the 2015 governorship election in the state. Wada stated this through one of his witnesses, Mr Joe Agada, while opening his defence at the State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, April 13. The witness was led in evidence by Mr Chris Uche (SAN), counsel to Wada. Agada, who is the PDP Chief Agent at INEC collation centre in Lokoja, said that Wada won the election with 204, 877 votes against 6,885 scored by Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He said Bello could…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has traveled to China, three days after the President Muhammadu Buhari also embarked on an official visit to the country. In a statement issued by the Governor’s spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Wednesday, April 13, Fayose’s trip to the Asian nation is to attend the 119th China Import and Export Fair, otherwise known as the Canton Fair holding between April 14 and 19. In trying to justice the trip, Olayinka said the Governor had only travelled out of the country twice since he assumed office in October 2014 and this trip to China makes it the…
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff has expressed optimism that the party will produce 30 governors in 2019. Sheriff said further that the mass victory would be the result of the strategic repositioning currently taking place in the party, according to ThisDay. The Chairman is said to have made the comments while addressing members of the party in Bauchi. “With the present efforts at reconciling ourselves and rebuilding process taking place in the PDP, the party stands a good chance of reclaiming our lost glory,” he said. “I like to see us emerge from the…
Jay Z and Beyonce’s marriage is reportedly heading to the rocks as sources claim the rapper stormed out of their home to have some private time amid the break up rumors. According to Mirror, Jay Z has left their house in order to focus on himself while Bey prepares for her world tour. “Jay Z recently told his entire staff that he will not be needing them for another month!” A source tells Radar Online. “He said that he has to take care of business and has a lot of traveling to do. As Beyonce prepares for her upcoming tour,…