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46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019<br />
AFCON: Super<br />
Eagles camp kicks<br />
off Sunday<br />
The Super Eagles are expected to begin<br />
preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations<br />
on the 2nd of June in Asaba.<br />
Ahead of this year’s continental showdown in<br />
Egypt, the 2013 champions will report to training<br />
camp in Asaba to kickstart fitness and tactical<br />
preparations.<br />
In a brief interaction with reporters in Abuja, the<br />
second Vice President of the Nigerian Football<br />
Federation, Mallam Shehu Dikko said that<br />
everything is being put in place to make sure the<br />
team does well in Egypt.<br />
“So everything regarding their preparations is<br />
being sorted out. Once the players resume camp<br />
other issues that crop up will be dealt with.<br />
“But all programs have been set out and all<br />
procedures are done. All that is left now is for the<br />
team to resume camp on the 2nd of June” Dikko<br />
revealed.<br />
Dikko also gave insights on the Super Eagles<br />
chances of winning the trophy in Egypt.<br />
“The chances? It’s the Nations Cup we are<br />
contesting for. Our objective is to win the cup, this<br />
is not the World Cup, it’s the Nations Cup. We are<br />
not going there to just participate. The minimal<br />
benchmark is to win the trophy and that’s what we<br />
are going to do,” Dikko concluded.<br />
Nigeria is placed in Group B alongside Burundi,<br />
Guinea, and Madagascar.<br />
African Freestyle<br />
Football<br />
Championship<br />
organisers<br />
promise more<br />
thrills<br />
The 2019 African Freestyle<br />
Football Championship<br />
will be bigger and better<br />
than the two previous editions<br />
of the competition, the<br />
organisers have promised.<br />
The finals of this year’s<br />
championship, which is<br />
sanctioned by the World Freestyle<br />
Football Association and fully<br />
endorsed by WFFA co-founder<br />
Daniel Wood, will take place at<br />
the Balmoral Convention Centre,<br />
Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos on<br />
September 14 and September 15.<br />
The organisers and rights<br />
holders of the competition, Feet<br />
& Tricks International,<br />
explained some of the<br />
improvements to the<br />
tournament during a press<br />
conference in Lagos on<br />
Wednesday.<br />
“We’re excited to have<br />
started the drive to pave a new<br />
direction for freestyle football<br />
in Africa,” Feet & Tricks<br />
International Chairman,<br />
Valentine Ozigbo, said during<br />
the press conference.<br />
“In this year’s edition, we<br />
expect at least 30 African<br />
countries to be represented<br />
and many have already<br />
registered. We will work on the<br />
continuous development of<br />
African freestyle talent and<br />
continually exploit all available<br />
resources to create more<br />
awareness for the sport, and<br />
we’re grateful to our sponsors<br />
and partners.”<br />
Ozigbo explained that for the<br />
first time in the championship,<br />
there would be regional<br />
competitions to determine<br />
Nigeria’s representatives in<br />
the finals.<br />
Lineker hails Iwobi after<br />
historic goal against Chelsea<br />
England legend Gary<br />
Lineker had nothing but<br />
praise for Alex Iwobi after<br />
he netted the pick of the goals in<br />
Arsenal’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea in<br />
the final of the Europa League<br />
on Wednesday night.<br />
The Nigeria international was<br />
one of the few bright sparks as<br />
the Gunners threw away another<br />
chance to qualify for the<br />
Champions League, and several<br />
fans questioned the decision to<br />
name him on the bench,<br />
especially as German playmaker<br />
Mesut Ozil struggled during the<br />
game.<br />
Iwobi’s goal was a real<br />
collector’s item, scoring with a<br />
right-footed rocket from outside<br />
the area after Chelsea failed to<br />
clear their lines in the 69th<br />
minute.<br />
Writing on social media, 1986<br />
World Cup Golden Boot winner,<br />
Lineker said : ‘’That is one hell of<br />
a goal from Iwobi. We’ve seen<br />
some bonkers games in Europe<br />
this season. Not again, surely.’’<br />
It was a historic goal as Iwobi<br />
became the first Nigerian player<br />
to score in the final of a European<br />
club competition, a feat the likes<br />
of Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi<br />
George, Taribo West, Chidi<br />
Odiah, Dickson Etuhu, Jonathan<br />
Akpoborie, Yakubu Aiyegbeni<br />
and Stephen Keshi failed to<br />
accomplish.<br />
NPFL Playoff: Anamena gunning for second<br />
League title with Enyimba<br />
Ifeanyi Anaemena, captain of<br />
Enyimba FC of Aba is<br />
looking forward to winning a<br />
second league title with the club<br />
after they qualified for the<br />
Championship Playoff with five<br />
other clubs.<br />
Enyimba, Akwa United, Kano<br />
Pillars, Rangers, FC IfeanyiUbah<br />
and Lobi Stars will compete in a<br />
mini league from June 4 in Lagos<br />
to determine the Nigeria<br />
Professional Football League<br />
(NPFL) 2019 Champions.<br />
Anaemena said after the last<br />
match of the season, that it had<br />
been a fruitful season for him<br />
having scored six goals in the<br />
league.<br />
Babayaro: Mikel deserves<br />
his place in Nigeria's AFCON<br />
squad<br />
The centre back expressed delight<br />
at being a part of the squad that<br />
qualified the former champions for<br />
another opportunity to enrich their<br />
trophy cabinet.<br />
“We are looking forward to the first<br />
match of the Championship Playoff<br />
against Rangers International. It is<br />
going to be a tough game<br />
considering the pedigree of the two<br />
teams in the NPFL and an oriental<br />
derby is always a match where the<br />
two teams want to win for pride.”<br />
said Anaemena.<br />
The former Giwa FC of Jos<br />
defender concluded by saying that<br />
his utmost desire would be to win<br />
the league with Enyimba at the end<br />
of the Playoff.<br />
Former Nigeria defender<br />
Celestine Babayaro says<br />
he has no problem with John<br />
Obi Mikel’s return to the<br />
national team.<br />
Mikel has been included in<br />
the Super Eagles’ provisional<br />
squad which is set to<br />
participate in the 2019 Africa<br />
Cup of Nations (AFCON)<br />
finals.<br />
Babayaro explained that the<br />
32-year-old central<br />
midfielder deserves his place<br />
in the squad as long as he is<br />
in good form.<br />
“John Obi Mikel has done<br />
well for the national team and<br />
the man is an experienced<br />
midfield player,” Babayaro<br />
said.<br />
‘’If you look at what Gareth<br />
Southgate is doing with the<br />
Former Super Eagles<br />
Coach, Clemens<br />
Westerhof has reiterated<br />
that he remains Nigeria’s most<br />
successful coach in history after<br />
taking the country to the<br />
echelon of world football during<br />
his reign.<br />
Westerhoff, 79, talked about his<br />
past experiences and<br />
achievements with Nigeria whilst<br />
reflecting on the good old days<br />
when the country reigned supreme<br />
both in Africa and the world.<br />
Speaking in Abuja during the<br />
week, Westerhof didn’t waste<br />
any time to wind the clock back<br />
to when he changed Nigerian<br />
football for good.<br />
“I remember a lot of things I<br />
did when I was the coach of the<br />
Nigerian team in 1994 when we<br />
qualified for the World Cup in<br />
the USA.<br />
“I took Nigeria from 79th<br />
position to 5th on the FIFA<br />
world rankings, that was an<br />
English national team, the man<br />
blends young with old.<br />
‘’He doesn’t just move the old<br />
ones immediately, he likes to<br />
blend for example Raheem<br />
Sterling and Harry Maguire at<br />
the back,” he added.<br />
‘’If the national team coach<br />
has looked at Mikel who plays<br />
at Middlesbrough, if he has<br />
watched him play and he’s inform,<br />
why not. If he’s in-form<br />
and has played well, I cannot<br />
see any reason why he can’t be<br />
invited.<br />
‘’If you have been doing well<br />
and playing regularly, I am up<br />
for it. If you look at his CV, he<br />
has won the Champions<br />
League, FA Cup, all kinds of<br />
cups. He has done well for<br />
himself ’’.<br />
I took Nigeria football to the<br />
world, says Westerhof<br />
unthinkable milestone and that<br />
has been its highest till date,<br />
right?” Westerhoff boasted.<br />
He added: “So I believe the<br />
current crop of players can still<br />
achieve this task or even better,<br />
they just have to be focused and<br />
disciplined and perform all<br />
assigned roles in top condition<br />
and state, then the results will<br />
come”.<br />
Chukwueze to replace<br />
Shaqiri at Liverpool<br />
Villarreal forward Samuel<br />
Chukwueze has played<br />
down rumours linking<br />
him with a potential move to Liverpool<br />
this summer.<br />
The 19-year-old Nigerian has<br />
enjoyed an impressive debut<br />
campaign for the LaLiga club<br />
but has a €60m release clause to<br />
ward off any potential suitors.<br />
The talented teenager joined<br />
Villarreal in 2017, despite being<br />
heavily linked to<br />
both Porto and<br />
Monaco, and has<br />
netted eight<br />
goals in total this<br />
season – having<br />
initially impressed<br />
for the<br />
club’s reserve side in 2017-18.<br />
His performances have seen<br />
him linked a summer move, with<br />
several outlets stating that Liverpool<br />
boss Jurgen Klopp is looking<br />
to replace Xherdan Shaqiri<br />
with the attacker.<br />
But Chukwueze was playing<br />
coy on his future, as cited by<br />
Marca, “I am aware that there<br />
are several interested teams, but<br />
I am still a Villarreal player and<br />
there is nothing concrete.<br />
“It’s good that I am linked to<br />
great clubs, because that shows<br />
that hard work has its reward.<br />
“I do not want to rush to go to<br />
another club. But if I ever had to<br />
leave, I should make sure I go to<br />
a club where I’m going to play.”<br />
•Chukwueze
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