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Tag: Players

  • Why Arsenal players love playing for Arteta – Odegaard

    Why Arsenal players love playing for Arteta – Odegaard

    Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has laid out why the players love playing for manager Mikel Arteta.

    The Norwegian international, 24, has forged an unbreakable bond with the boss he describes as: “Passionate, intense and a bit crazy.”

    With Arsenal currently sitting five points clear at the top of the Premier League, Odegaard says: “I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Mikel Arteta and not believe everything he tells you.

    “When he speaks to you, you understand that whatever he says will happen, will happen.

    “He’s next level. He’s passionate, he’s intense and sometimes, yeah, he’s a bit crazy.

    “So if there is anyone who still doesn’t believe in this Arsenal team, take it from me that there are no limits to what we can achieve. No-one can tell me otherwise.”

    Odegard also told the Players’ Tribune about joining the Gunners: “Arsenal were not doing well at the time. They were way down in like 15th in the table.

    “But he told me his plan, everything he was building towards and he knew exactly what he needed to change at the club.

    “He told me all about these amazing young players in the squad – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe – and he explained how I was going to fit in and improve.

    “I got this strong feeling that he was onto something really special. And even when we finished eighth at the end of my first season here, no-one at the club lost faith in what we were doing.

    “It was all part of the plan and though we’re in the title race now there is still a long way to go and no one is thinking about May yet.”

  • Check out players of Nigerian descent plying their trade abroad

    Check out players of Nigerian descent plying their trade abroad

    Many footballers of Nigerian descent are scattered all over Europe playing for different clubsides on a regular basis.

    Few of them have already don the shirts of their country of births at the junior level but are still eligible to play for Nigeria their roots.

    Abimbola Fabunmi of TheNewsGuru   (TNG) brings you some of the eligible Nigerian footballers plying their trade for clubsides abroad.

    Excerpts

      Noni Madueke

    Madueke is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club side Chelsea as a winger and attacking Midfielder.

    He was born in England to parent of Nigerian origin.He started his career with Crystal Palace Youth Team in 2014 before Joining Tottenham’s Youth side a few months later.

    Madueke is of Igbo descent but born in Barnet, he later on signed for PSV Eindoven in the Netherlands.

    The young attacking Midfieder/ winger is eligible to play for Nigeria.

    Madueke signed for Chelsea in the Janury transfer window and played his first game for the Blues against Fulham on Friday night.

    Kelvin Mauss Martins

    Martins is the son of Ex-Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins. He was born in Italy to a Nigerian father and a Ghanian mother.

    Obafemi Martins son, Martins was born to a Ghanaian mother who holds Italy Citizenship.

    Martins had him with Mario Balotelli’s sister,  Abigail Bawuah.

    Mauss-Martins, who is also a striker has represented Italy at the U-15 level but he is still eligible to play for Nigeria.

    The striker featured for both AC Milan and Inter Milan before switching to Monza.

    “First professional contract for striker born in 2005 Kevin Maussi Martins, who made his debut with AC Monza in the #spring 2-0 victory over Padova,” the modest club wrote on their official Twitter handle.
    The youngster was previously at AC Milan and Inter Milan academy before switching over to Monza.

    Meanwhile, his father, who played for Inter Milan during his active days has congratulated him on the feat.

     

    Folarin Balogun

    On form forward Balogun currently plays for Reims of France but he’s  on loan from Arsenal in the English premier League Arsenal.

    Balogun currently leads the scorers chart in France, topping  the likes of Kyllian Mbappe and Lionel Messi .

    Balogun is on loan from Arsenal and the move is already proving to be a big success for all parties, especially for the man who joined the Gunners aged 10.

    The 21-year-old once again put on a show against Lorient during Reims’ 4-2 win on Wednesday, scoring his first hat-trick as a professional.

    Born in New York to Nigerian parents, he arrived in London with his family as a baby. He climbed through the academy ranks at Arsenal, distinguishing himself each time as a scoring machine: 75 goals in 103 games across the Under-18s and Under-23s.

    His first senior appearance came in the Europa League against Dundalk in October 2020. He had a reputation of a player that was too strong for players his own age, but not quite good enough to worry senior opponents.

    At that point in his career, Balogun’s future remained uncertain. In their Premier League season opener against Brentford in 2021, Arsenal were without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah so Balogun was thrown into the deep end as a substitute.

    Arsenal were beaten 2-0 on a memorable night for the newly-promoted Bees, before Balogun was also part of the team that lost to Chelsea later that month.

    Haven’t  bagged a senior cap for the three Lions of England Balogun is still eligible to play for Nigeria,

    Chuba Akpom

    Chuba Akpom currently plies his trade for Championship side Middlesborough and he’s firing on all cylinders for the English clubside.

    Akpom has scored 16 times already for Middlesborough and tops the Championship Scorers chart.

    For Akpom individually, this is already easily his best goalscoring season. His previous record was 11 goals in all competitions, but he’s already at 17 for the current campaign, including one against Premier League Brighton in the FA Cup.

    The former Gunner is hitting his stride with Middlesbrough after a tricky start to life with the club. He’ll hope the season ends with a return to the Premier League, eight seasons after he last featured in the competition with Arsenal.

    Akpom is still eligible to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

    Authur Okonkwo

    Okonkwo  is currently Arsenal’s third-choice goalie. The academy graduate was recently listed on their matchday game against Wolves.

    Arsenal-owned Nigerian goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo issued a big statement on his future moments after starring on his competitive debut for Sturm Graz in their 5-4 win on penalties against Red Bull Salzburg on Friday.

     

    Okonkwo was the hero for Sturm Graz as he saved a penalty to knock out Noah Okafor and Junior Adamu’s Red Bull Salzburg from the UNIQA ÖFB Cup.

     

    Okonkwo is on loan at Sturm Graz until the end of the season without an option to buy but the Austrian Bundeslga side have started talks with Arsenal over the extension of the loan agreement.

    Michael Olise

    Olise is known to all those who are keen followers of the English Premier League. The attacking midfielder made name for himself at Reading in the championship before moving to Cyrstal Palace.

    The thing with Michael Olise is that he is eligible to play for four countries; England, France, Algeria and Nigeria.

    Olise is yet to make his decision concerning his which country to play for.

     

    Jonas David 

    Jonas Benjamin Chimezie David was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a German mother. He currently plays for Hamburg in the German second division.

    David is yet to commit his future to any country at the moment but he’s eligible to play for Nigeria or Germany.

    Antonio Eromonsele Nordby

    Nordby Nusa was born in Norway to a Nigerian father and a Norwegian mother. He has played just one time for the Belgian champions in the league this season.

    Nordby was a hero for Club Brugge in one of the UEFA champions League last season where he netted the winner against FC Porto in last season group stage fixture.

    The 17-year –old is eligible to play for Nigeria and country  of birth Norway.

     Shola Shoretire 

    Shoretire is another eligible Nigerian who plays for Manchester United.

    He was born in England to a Nigerian father and English Mother, he’s eligible to represent both nations at International level.

    He has already represented the England u-15 team but Shoretire is still eligible to play for Nigeria.

     

  • FIFA bans four Uruguay players

    FIFA bans four Uruguay players

    Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera and Jose Maria Gimenez were hit with four-match bans by FIFA on Friday.

    While Diego Godin and Edinson Cavani were suspended for a game each after they confronted the referee following their World Cup match against Ghana.

    FIFA launched proceedings against the players who angrily harangued the referee after crashing out of the tournament in Qatar, in spite of beating Ghana 2-0 in their final group match on Dec. 2.

    In the Group H deciders, Uruguay had one foot in the last-16 before South Korea scored in stoppage time to beat Portugal 2-1 and went through by virtue of scoring one goal more than the South Americans over their three matches.

    German referee, Daniel Siebert, decided not to award penalties for tackles on Darwin Nunez in the opening half and Cavani in the dying minutes, with striker Luis Suarez saying after the game that FIFA was “against Uruguay”.

    The players will also have to carry out football-related community service, and will pay fines of up to 20,000 Swiss francs ($21,701).

    The Uruguayan FA was additionally fined 50,000 Swiss francs for the behaviour of its supporters and team members, FIFA said.

    Uruguay were also ordered to partially close their stadium for their next FIFA “A” international match as hosts.

  • CHAN: I doff my hat to my players – Algeria coach, Bougherra

    CHAN: I doff my hat to my players – Algeria coach, Bougherra

    Algeria’s coach Madjid Bougherra on Sunday expressed his satisfaction with his players’ performance in the group stage of the African Nations Championship 2022 (CHAN) in Algiers.

    This was after the Desert Foxes clinched a 100 percent record in the group stage after matches in Group A of the tournament they are hosting were concluded on Saturday.

    The hosts sealed their third victory of the tournament at the expense of Mozambique with a slender 1-0 victory on Saturday at Nelson Mandela stadium in Algiers.

    “Our players did their best to be in the quarter-finals of the competition and I raise my hat to them.

    “We are currently in the quarter-finals and happy because we did not concede any goals in the three matches.

    “We played well in the first half against Mozambique but they pressed us in the second and we did well to defend,” said the coach.

    “We had opportunities to get into the dangerous areas but we were a bit unlucky with the final finish. It is great that we did not concede goals.

    “There are some cases that we must take into account, and there are also things that we must do carefully, and I repeated several things with the players which they are gradually getting right,” he added.

    Bougherra also touched on the close relationship he has built with the first team coach, Djamel Belmadi, who has been in attendance at all of Algeria’s matches in Algiers.

    “Belmadi is part of our preparations and encourages our players. He has been in contact with us for a long time and I give him some reports regarding the playing system.

    “He follows the players closely and the players are happy to have his support. The coach is also a close friend of mine. So, his support is really appreciated.”

    Bougherra also defended his players on some of the casual mistakes made in their matches.

    “It is true that in the match there are positive and negative things. Against Mozambique we focused on direct play. Everyone looks at football in their own way.

    “We must respect our players who do their work and should be saluted. We are ready to listen to criticism, but we must encourage them. I know that our players are under pressure, but they have achieved three victories”.

    The coach added he he was happy their next match would still be in Algiers as the support from the locals played a crucial role in their good run at the group stage.

  • NPFL: Wikki Tourist bus breaks down, Players, officials spend night on the road

    NPFL: Wikki Tourist bus breaks down, Players, officials spend night on the road

    The bus of Nigeria Premier Football League side, Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi broke down while conveying players to Uyo for their match day two game with Daakada FC.

    Players and officials of the Bauchi based club side were stranded

    The Bauchi Elephants were on their way to honour the matchday two encounter against Dakkada FC at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

    It was gathered that the bus broke down in Otukpo, Benue State and they spent hours trying to put it back in proper shape.

    The players put fire on the road which kept them warm throughout the cold night.

    Players and officials of

    Players and officials of Wikki Tourists Football Club of Jos spent Tuesday night on the road after their team bus broke down on their way to Uyo.

    The Bauchi Elephants were on their way to honour the matchday two encounter against Dakkada FC at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

    The bus broke down in Otukpo, Benue State and they spent hours trying to put it back in proper shape.

    The match is expected to take place today (Wednesday) by 4pm Nigerian time.

  • Bayern Munich providing more players for Qatar World Cup than others

    Bayern Munich providing more players for Qatar World Cup than others

    Bayern Munich have provided more players to the teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup than any other club side on the planet.

    Bayern Munich’s list of 17 players eclipses the 16 each from Manchester City and FC Barcelona, world governing body FIFA said on Tuesday as the deadline for squad lists closed.

    The Qatar World Cup begins on Sunday.

    The unique November and December timing, plus the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, means coaches have been able to nominate 26 players this time instead of 23.

    As for the domestic league with the most World Cup players, England tops the list with 156 ahead of Spain (86), Germany and Italy (70).

  • I can’t guarantee Chelsea will be ready for the season – Tuchel

    I can’t guarantee Chelsea will be ready for the season – Tuchel

    Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel admits his team isn’t good enough.

    Tuchel remains frustrated after their 4-0 humbling by Arsenal in the USA on the weekend.

    The German says his squad remains well short of players and can’t see things improving unless the personnel changes.

    Tuchel said: “I cannot guarantee we will be ready [for the start of the season] in two weeks.

    “It’s the same players so why should anything change? We will see hopefully development but at the moment we have the same issues because we have the same players.”

    The Athletic reports the Blues boss is targeting four more signings before the window shuts on September 1, and will allow his outcasts to go out on loan if permanent moves fail to materialise.

  • Players are trying to leave Chelsea – Tuchel fumes

    Players are trying to leave Chelsea – Tuchel fumes

    Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel concedes more of his players are pushing to leave.

    Tuchel were speaking in Florida after their 4-0 thrashing by Arsenal.

    He said, “My analysing of the season does not change because of this game. Unfortunately, it proved my point. The last week proves my point. I would absolutely prefer not to be right. I did everything to prove myself wrong but at the moment I feel that I was right.

    “I look at the last season and parts of the game where we struggled, parts of the season where we struggled, and then we got sanctioned and players left us and some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is.

    “So we had an urgent appeal for quality players, a huge amount of quality players. We got two quality players but we are not competitive like this. Unfortunately you could see it today.”

  • Canada players end strike, to continue Qatar 2022 preparations

    Canadian players have ended their strike to continue preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but warned that “questions have yet to be answered and actions have yet to be taken”.

    The team, who qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986, had taken action in a dispute over Qatar 2022 prize money.

    As a friendly against Panama had to be called off, the country’s football ruling body reacted.

    Canada Soccer responded to reports players would receive only 10 percent of the pot it received from FIFA.

    It said it had proposed 30 percent would go to the men’s team, 30 percent to the women’s team, and 40 percent to the association.

    The players, the association claimed, asked for somewhere between 75 and 100 percent of the money.

    But a letter from the players asked for 40 percent.

    This letter said negotiations over compensation had been “unnecessarily prolonged” by the association’s executives “taking vacations” before players were presented with “an archaic offer” last week.

    The team apologised to Panama as they went on a short-lived strike, which was ended by their return to training this week — albeit without a resolution.

    “We, the Canadian men’s national team, have decided to resume training in preparation for the road to Qatar,” they said in a second letter.

    “To be clear, we have not reached an agreement with [Canada Soccer].

    “The players have met with the senior leaders of Canada Soccer on Sunday evening and will continue the negotiation process. But questions have yet to be answered and actions have yet to be taken.

    “We move forward in hope that Canada Soccer will work with us to resolve the situation.”

    Canada Soccer added: “Canada Soccer senior leaders and the men’s national team players met on Sunday night to continue the negotiation process.

    “The players will train this [Monday] afternoon with future meetings scheduled toward a resolution.”

    Canada have regional Nations League matches against Caracao on Thursday and Honduras on Monday.

    They begin their World Cup campaign against 2018 semi-finalists Belgium in Al Rayyan on Nov. 23 and will also play 2018 runners-up Croatia and Morocco in Group F.

  • My players don’t get along with each other – Man Utd coach, Rangnick

    My players don’t get along with each other – Man Utd coach, Rangnick

    Manchester United interim manager, Ralf Rangnick admits his players don’t get on well with each other.

    United suffered another dent in their quest for Champions League football next season following a 3-1 defeat away to fourth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

    And Rangnick, United interim manager, stated: “Obviously, after games like today or the game at Liverpool or Everton, there is massive disappointment in the locker room for sure.

    “This is normal. It would be rather a problem if that was different. This is for me normal.

    “But, I think the whole group, they get on reasonably with each other. I’m not daring to say they get on well with each other.

    “But, I don’t see that there is an issue with regard to the atmosphere in the locker room.”