Germany’s World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm has dropped the first hint that he may retire before his Bayern Munich contract expires in 2018. The 32-year-old stepped down as Germany’s skipper after leading them to their Brazil 2014 World Cup triumph, but he has suggested he may retire from all football within the next two years having spent his whole career with Bayern. “My current contract runs until the summer of 2018. Of course, I am not getting any younger, only older, and as a professional sportsman, it is something you always have to question,” Lahm told German daily Bild. “If…
Author: David Folami
Pep Guardiola enters the final four months of his three-year reign as Bayern Munich coach on Friday with the Spaniard under pressure to sign off with the treble. Bayern kick-off the second-half of the season at Hamburg with an eight point lead in the table and if things continue Guardiola will end the Bundesliga season on May 14 with the Bavarians having become the first club to win the German league title four times in a row. But his tenure will be judged by whether he repeats the 2013 treble of Champions League, German League and Bundesliga titles, achieved by…
Juventus host struggling Roma looking to capitalise on a potential slip by embattled Napoli that could see the Old Lady snatch the lead of Serie A for the first time this season. Juve’s catastrophic start is well behind them and the champions moved up to second at just two points behind Napoli after registering their 10th consecutive league win in a 4-0 rout of Udinese last weekend. And the Turin giants will be looking to cash in on the hangover Napoli have suffered since their coach, Maurizio Sarri, was caught on camera in a homophobic rant at Inter Milan counterpart…
Lionel Messi is expected to be fit as Barcelona make the tricky trip to Malaga on Saturday looking to move back to the top of La Liga. Messi missed Wednesday’s 2-1 Copa del Rey win at Athletic Bilbao due to a hamstring problem that forced him off at halftime in a 6-0 rout of the same opponents last weekend, but returned to training on Thursday. Barca will also have Luis Suarez back after he completed a two-game Cup ban in midweek as they look to exact revenge on the only side that stopped the European champions from scoring in their…
Manchester United great Bryan Robson believes Louis van Gaal’s players can do more to prevent boring displays and wants them to exhibit the same attacking football that has made the Premier League side arguably the world’s most popular soccer club. United have alienated a section of their fans and former players with a series of soporific displays this season and were booed by their supporters at home on occasions. Robson, United’s longest-serving captain, feels the fans are justified in being frustrated with the dour playing style of a club famed for entertaining fans with their attacking flair. In an interview…
Manchester United’s full back curse has struck again with Ashley Young ruled out for a “long time” after sustaining a severe groin problem, manager Louis van Gaal said on Friday. Young, a winger who has filled in at right and left back this season after a string of injuries, was forced off late in the first half of the Premier League victory at Liverpool on Sunday. Van Gaal told MUTV Young needed surgery and that United could sign a full back in the January transfer window after being forced to use academy players in the position. “I have started with…
Manchester United manager Lous van Gaal has again dismissed reports he will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, saying on Friday he does not have to answer to the media. The Dutchman’s future has been the subject of persistent speculation after United’s Champions League group-stage exit and indifferent Premier League displays sparked discontent among fans. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was linked with Van Gaal’s job last and United were forced to deny a report that they had met with Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich boss who has said he wants to manage in the Premier League…
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England’s north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford…
European champions Barcelona joined Real Madrid and Manchester United in earning over €500 million last season, financial consultants Deloitte revealed in their latest Football Money League published on Thursday. Madrid topped the table for the 11th year running with earnings of €577 million over the course of the season, driven largely by a €22.7 million increase in commercial revenue. Barcelona, buoyed by on-pitch success that included a La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League treble, climbed from fourth place to second place with revenues of €560.8 million, bumping United down to third. “For the first time, the top three clubs…
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has made a surprise return to Chelsea’s training ground ahead of Sunday’s big London derby after Adidas sent a consignment of gloves to his former club by mistake. Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, whose misfiring champions travel to Cech’s Premier League leaders on Sunday, made light of the situation at a news conference on Friday. “I was here when Petr showed up. It was nice to see him,” the Dutchman told reporters at the Cobham facility to the south-west of London. “We had a chat here. Almost everyone was gone already, it was late afternoon….we tried to…
Arsenal must be prepared to battle Chelsea striker Diego Costa when the two London rivals meet in the Premier League on Sunday, manager Arsene Wenger has said. Costa was at the centre of controversy in their last meeting earlier this season as his first-half scuffles with Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel eventually led to the Brazilian being sent off for retaliating. Gabriel’s red card was later rescinded, but the defender was given a one-match suspension for failing to leave the pitch quickly enough, while Costa was slapped with a three-match ban and both clubs were fined for not controlling their players.…
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole has reportedly warned that the current Lassa fever outbreak could kill 1000 Nigerians if not urgently checked. He also described the outbreak as a national embarrassment while urging health practitioners not to hide cases in their respective states, ThisDay reports. Professor Adewole made the disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, during the Emergency National Council on Health meeting with state Commissioners of Health and other stakeholders in the sector. “There is a high level of denial and a conspiracy of silence in some of our states. I think people take delight…
The Federal Government says it will reconstitute an expanded Presidential Task force on Polio to include the 36 state governors in order to sustain the successes recorded in the efforts to eradicate polio from Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday at the signing of updated Abuja Commitment on polio eradication. He said that when reconstituted, the expanded Task force would ensure effective surveillance and routine immunization programmes. The President, who expressed satisfaction with the progress so far made on immunisation, assured that the federal government would continue to provide strong oversight and funding for polio…
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole has said that the federal government will eradicate Lassa fever from Nigeria by April 2016. Adewole made the comment on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 during an interview with Punch. “We want to assure Nigerians that Lassa fever will soon become a thing of the past. It will become history in Nigeria. Ordinarily, Lassa fever will be eradicated from Nigeria in April. But if we do nothing, it will come back by August,” he said. “So, we will make sure that we work all-year round to make sure that there is no resurgence in…
The President’s Wife, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, has tasked the Katsina State Government to embark on enlightenment campaign on the dangers of sickle-cell for the benefit of the people. Mrs Buhari stated this during the screening and treatment of 2,000 sickle-cell patients on Thursday in Katsina. She advised that the sickle-cell enlightenment campaign should be carried out on monthly basis to reduce the spread of the disease. According to her, the North West sub-region has the highest rate of people suffering from the disease in the country. “There is the need for officials of the Ministry of Health to encourage people…
Mr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has promised to block all leakages that smugglers used to export minerals out of the country. Fayemi made the promise while receiving both local and foreign miners in Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja. According to him, a large quantity of Gold is being taken out of the country without any record to show the volume and royalty paid through the relevant agencies in charge. He said Blue Sapphires located in Manbila Plateau were being smuggled to Cameroon on a daily basis without any record to show. On multiple monitoring of mining companies…
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has said that there’s nothing wrong with the recent handcuffing of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Olisa Metuh by prison officials on a court visit. Oshiomhole made the comment on Wednesday, January 20, 2016, during a meeting with the new leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Benin. “If those accused of lesser crimes are handcuffed and paraded by the police and got no sympathy from the public, Mr. Metuh and others accused of diverting huge public funds, should not have sympathy,” the governor said. “I want to appeal to the media to join…
All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has said that God has a hand in the economic troubles Nigeria is currently facing. Oyegun made the remark today, January 21, 2016, while receiving a delegation of an APC support group, Change Agents Foundation (CAF) in Abuja, The Nation reports. “I think God has a hand in the current economic predicament of the country. Imagine the sudden fall in the price of crude oil, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, from its heights in 2014, averaging $112 per barrel down to the current price of $28 per barrel — lower than the…
Governor-members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of lifting itself above Nigeria. The PDP governors also said that the recent handcuffing of the party’s spokesman, Olisa Metuh was an attempt to ridicule the party. This was contained in a statement released by the Coordinator of the PDP governors Forum, Osaro Onaiwu today, January 21, 2016. It reads: “The only reasonable conclusion we have reached is that the anti-corruption agencies and other institutions of state have allowed themselves to be dictated to by a single vindictive authority which takes pleasure in using power anyhow…
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said on Thursday in Abeokuta that the Federal Government would build 10,000 functional primary healthcare centres across the country. Ehanire, who disclosed this during his familiarisation visit to the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, said constructing more healthcare centres would reduce pressure on tertiary health institutions. He noted that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to tackling medical tourism. According to him, the country loses an estimated one billion dollars annually as a result of Nigerians travelling abroad to get the desired medical services. The minister said as part of…