The Nation, April 28, 2012 by The Nation

THE NATION SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012

SPORT EXTRA CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

AFTERMATH OF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FLOP

Sunshine expecting a tough clash

Guardiola quits Barcelona N

ARCELONA have confirmed that Tito Vilanova will take over as manager from Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. The 42-year-old has been assistant boss at Camp Nou since Guardiola took the top job in 2008, and has helped to guide Barca to 13 trophies in four years. In a press conference on Friday afternoon, club president Sandro Rosell thanked Guardiola for the successes that he has brought the Catalonian side. He told reporters: "Thank you, Pep, for all the happiness you have brought us and for bringing a model of football that can never be questioned." The naming of Vilanova so quickly after the Spaniard's resignation on Friday afternoon was unexpected, with Laurent Blanc, Marcelo Bielsa and Ernesto Valverde among those thought to have been in contention. Guardiola's last match in charge of the Blaugrana will be on May 25, when Barcelona take on Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. The move to step down as Barca boss occurs mere days after being knocked out the Champions League by the 10 men of Chelsea. Prior to that semi-final second leg, the current La Liga champions were all but

eliminated from the topflight title race by losing 2-1 to Real Madrid at Camp Nou.

• Barcelona's coach Pep Guardiola, center, is flanked by the president of the club Sandro Rosell, left, and the sport director Andoni Zubizarreta, right, during a press conference where he announced his resignation in Barcelona, Spain yesterday.

Reading targets Yakubu swoop

EADING are preparing a summer swoop for Blackburn Rovers striker Yakubu, Goal.com can reveal. The Championship winners have placed the Nigerian at the top of their summer shopping list and want him to lead their line when they return to the

NFF concerned about Keshi’s non-arrival HE Nigeria Football

Federation (NFF) yesterday expressed concern over the non-arrival of Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi from the United States of America where he is holidaying with his family. Keshi was expected to arrive in Nigeria on Thursday, but as at the time of filing in this report, his backroom staff were still making efforts to reach him, but his lines were not reachable. NationSport’s source at the GlassHouse however expressed optimism that the former international will arrive before the weekend runs out

•Vilanova to take over

From Patrick Ngwaogu, Abuja "Our concern is that we have a jam-packed period ahead, and many of the things need his presence. His backroom staff and assistance are working, but he should be around to coordinate some of the things. Although they are resuming on the 6th May, his presence would facilitate some of the things," the source said. The gaffer has been on holidays since playing Rwanda in Kigali and travelled to Dubai from his USA base to lead Nigeria in the 3-2 loss to Egypt.

Premier League next season. However, Goal.com has learned that Reading will only make a move if Rovers are relegated from the top flight. The Berkshire club have won the Championship despite scoring a relatively paltry 69 goals in 45 games, with their top scorers Adam Le Fondre with 12 goals, Noel Hunt (eight) and Simon Church (seven). Yakubu, 29, has two years remaining on his Blackburn contract after moving from Everton for £1.5 million last summer. But he is unlikely to be willing to drop down a division following a prolific season in which his Premier League haul of 16 goals from 27 matches is bettered only by Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero. Yakubu, who is playing for his fifth English club since moving to Portsmouth in 2003, revealed in February that he rejected interest from QPR in the January window. "I said 'I don’t want to go'," he explained. "Blackburn gave me the opportunity to play in the Premier League again so

ZENITH BANK WOMEN’S BASKETBALL LEAGUE

First Deepwater beat First Bank 69-63

ITH one phase left to be decided in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League, title holders First Deepwater basketball club have already set the pace to annex the league title for a third straight season with a 69-63 points victory over former champions First Bank basketball club in the second phase Thursday in Ilorin. The Oil & Gas Ladies have kept a clean slate from the first phase having defeated the Elephant Girls during the first phase by 88-81 points in Kaduna. First Deepwater basketball club stormed the Nigerian domestic scene four seasons ago after taking the place of defunct Dodan Amazon basketball club before the commencement of the 2008/2009 season and have succeeded in effect-

ing significant changes in the Nigerian women’s league where they finished second behind the bankers in their first season, thus pushing the likes of Dolphins, Sunshine Angels and Delta Force basketball clubs to struggle for the third spot. The Coaches Lateef Erinfolami and Shola Ogunade-tutored First Deepwater side recorded a feat in their first outing in the league when they stopped First Bank’s unbeaten run in ten years at the final phase of the 2008/2009 season in Lagos. Inspired by the Babatunde Babalola-led management team, First Deepwater went on to become the first club to stop First Bank’s dominance in the local league when they wrestled the league title from the Adewumi Aderemi-coached First Bank in the 2009/2010 sea-

son and have not looked back ever since, thus relegating First Bank to the second position in the league. The club made appreciable impact in 2011 when they hosted and finished third in the FIBA Africa Champions Cup in Lagos. Club chairman, Babalola disclosed that the players and their handlers have done the organisation proud and justified the essence of giving back to the society through basketball. The soft-spoken Oil & Gas mogul implored the players to remain focused and finish what they started during the first phase in Kaduna when the last phase dunks-off in Lagos. First Deepwater will round off their second phase campaign with a game against Delta Force basketball club of Asaba on Sunday in Ilorin, Kwara.

for me to just go and want to leave, I don’t want to do that. "I’m lucky to be here, they gave me the opportunity to prove myself so why do I have to leave? I had made the decision I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to stay here and help the team stay in the Premier League."

IGERIA’S Sunshine Stars have admitted they will be up against the heat in Mali ahead of today’s CAF Champions League tie versus Djoliba. Skipper Godfrey Oboabona said the tropical heat has been unsettling, but they are still focused on getting a result on the road. "The weather here is very hot, even hotter than what we experience in Northern Nigeria, but we are here for business and ready to battle Djoliba for a favourable result,” said the versatile Oboabona, who has been capped at full international level by Nigeria. Striker Dele Olorundare has been the Sunshine striker on form in the Champions League with three goals and he told MTNFootball.com the harsh weather notwithstanding, the team will win in Bamako. "We expect a good game. I

will do my best to lift my team in this game. We have to forget about the weather, we are going to beat them,” declared the hard-running front man, who has also netted four times in the NPL. "It is not going to be an easy game as Djoliba used to be one of the top teams in Africa, but we are lifted by the spirit that made us to scale through the previous round even after most people wrote us off.” Goalkeeper Moses Ocheje has promised a clean sheet in Mali. He said: “I am prepared to do my best not to allow the Malians score and I am sure my defenders will make that easy for me, so that our strikers and midfielders will get the goals for us to conquer in Mali." Djoliba enjoyed a walkover victory over Uganda Revenue Authority in the second leg after they won the first game 2-0 in Kampala.

Falconets to play DR Congo in HE Nigeria U-20 WomAbeokuta en's team; Falconets will

trade tackles with their counterparts from the Democratic Republic of Congo at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday 5th May, 2012 in the first leg final round of the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup Qualifier. The Director of Competitions in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Sanusi Mohammed confirmed this to NationSport. He also added that the coach Edwin Okon-tutored ladies will

•Storm the Rock City on Monday

From Tunde Liadi, Owerri arrive in Abeokuta on Monday for the final part of preparation for the all-important encounter. Dr Mohammed said: "Falconets will be playing in Abeokuta and they are expected to leave for the venue of the next qualifier on Monday. They are going there to start the preparation to round off what they started in Abuja before the May 5 match."

Abuja Stadium’s rot • Continued from back page after PHCN restored power in the place. This flaw raises the question about the level of security in the place. We only hope that the owner of the abandoned vehicle is unveiled while the culprits should be taken to court to face the music. This theft case shouldn’t be swept under the carpet. It is the only way that this dastardly act doesn’t repeat itself. If the Sports ministry’s budget is too meager to keep the stadia in shape, such projects can be given to ministries, such as the Ministry of Works. It is shameful that a stadium which hosted the 8th All Africa Games and the 2009 U-17 World Cup can be said to be in a state of disrepair. Nigeria’s absence from the Germany 2006 World Cup began when the Super Eagles played their matches in unfamiliar stadiums around the country. Such setting diluted the home advantage that playing venue offers to host teams. Nigerians lost billions from that misadventure. We haven’t recovered from that misfortune, with our ranking now 60th in the world and 10th in Africa, 18 years after our remarkable World Cup debut in the USA’94. Right to play I’m proud to be a Nigerian. I can watch the UEFA Champions League final in Munich on May 19, with one aim in mind - John Mikel Obi should be decorated with the winners’ medal. It’s been quite a while since a Nigerian was decorated. Nwankwo Kanu and George Finidi achieved this feat with Ajax in 1995. I hope to shout the roof top off because other Africans (Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salmon Kalou) may celebrate with Mikel at dusk. I took a close look at the words written behind Chelsea’s shirts before the Barca game and felt that they should win the tie. The wording read: “Right to play.” It’s good to note that playing in the final should also be Chelsea’s right to claim the diadem. Can somebody shout Amen? Watching Mikel against Barca at Camp Nou gave me hope that he could lead a new dawn for Nigeria, now that it appears he’s in form. Not a few dislike Mikel over his attitude towards Super Eagles matches. I shudder on it because I know that the quality of coaching has been appalling. Eagles’ coaches have repeatedly fielded Mikel as an attacking midfielder, even after seeing him play for Chelsea in defensive positions. In such innocuous positions, we have watched Mikel widen his hands, pass the ball sideways or backwards and this clumsy style makes the Eagles vulnerable to defeat. Stephen Keshi must watch Chelsea’s games since Roberto De Matteo took charge to understand how to effectively use Mikel. Playing Mikel in front of the central defensive pair is his best position. On May 9, I expect Chelsea to lift the trophy. But inside me, it looks like a tall order because John Terry’s absence will provide the leeward for the Germans to roll over the English side. Playing in Munich before their home fans will put pressure on Bayern Munich, yet Chelsea is depleted with the exit of Terry, Ramires, Ivanovic and their man-marker Meireless. It is true that Bayern will miss David Alaba and Kroos, but their absence will not be as significant as the Chelsea quartet’s. Mourinho’s humble pie Jose Mourinho is an enigma. Mourinho doesn’t disappoint soccer lovers with his antics. He isn’t a friend of the media, yet he enjoys the most commentaries for the good and bad of the game. As the game began on Wednesday, I kept vigil on the Special One. I wanted to see what he would do, if victory or defeat stared him in the face. Wise man. Mourinho hid his emotions when Real Madrid secured a two-goal lead. He shrugged his shoulders when Bayern scored, as if to say that he would fix them in the second half. He was calm in the second half. But when the game ended, I smiled when he walked towards Bayern’s bench to salute their coach. It was a mind game. The Bayern coach knew especially as it appeared that Mourinho spent the second extra time writing his penalty-takers’ names. I pitied him when he slumped on his knees in supplication when it became clear that defeat was sure. Mourinho, after all, is human. What a reality check for a boastful coach. That is the beauty of football; its unpredictable outcome. Better luck next time, Mourinho. You’re truly the Special One.