A Befitting Crown For Ademola Lookman!

 

The meaning of Ademola is: Crown is Added to My Wealth,

 Gender: Boy.

Origin: African, Yoruba.

As part of Yoruba traditional beliefs, names are given to their newborn babies, as prayers/wishes of expectations by their parents for them.

 

On the 22nd May 2024 when Atalanta FC of Italy walloped the hitherto unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen FC of Germany, during the final of the UEFA Europa Cup competition, played in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin-Ireland, it was a culmination of a long season of grit and determination by both sides in their various leagues. Bayer Leverkusen FC had just broken the highest unbeaten run in a season for any European club side and had remained so for 51 matches. With this feat, they won the German Bundesliga, upsetting perennial winners, Bayern Munich FC, and Borussia Dortmund amongst others. Everyone predicted them as the favorites to win the Europa Cup but this was not to be because of the actions of a sleek Nigerian attacking-minded player.

Nigerian-born, Ademola Lookman, at 26, has journeyed to several European club sides in his struggle to register his imprints in the annals of football. Standing at 5’ 9, using his speed, good ball control, and swerves, he’s any defender’s nightmare and so much of that was on display when he finally won his biggest crown of glory (so far), at club level.

 Lookman has played for Charlton Athletic FC, Everton, Fulham (loan), Leicester City (loan), and RB Leipzig (loan), before joining Atalanta FC. He also has the distinction of having played for the English U-19, 20, and 21 national teams, before switching his allegiance to Nigeria, his fatherland. He won the FIFA U-20 World Cup competition with England and was gradually endearing himself to the senior team coaches when he decided to make the important decision of switching to Nigeria.

He was born in Wandsworth, U.K. with Nigerian parentage and was finally enthroned with a glowing Crown after his hat-trick which ended Leverkusen's 51-match winning streak.  His team won their first-ever continental title and Lookman was voted the most valuable player of the match.

His exploits this season had started during the 2024 CAF African Nations Cup wherein Nigeria virtually rode on his wings to narrowly lose the title to hosts, Cote d’Ivoire. Throughout the competition, he displayed his extraordinary football skills and attacking qualities, leaving nobody in doubt about his assorted wealth of talents.

 Within one football season, Ademola Lookman has done so much that in the immediate future, he'd remain a marked man in every match. His qualities have begun to draw so much recognition that former  Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur FC star, Peter Crouch, had in the course of his punditry, discourteously asserted that Ademola Lookman missed his opportunity to play for England due to his impatience. As disgusting as the statement sounds, it positively affirms the fact that he's missed by his country of birth.

Ademola Lookman would be gunning for greater glory if he's able to remain consistent with his current form throughout the 2024 calendar year. This would obviously attract transfer offers from bigger clubs and more honors such as the CAF ANC Best Player of the Year. That would not be an impossible task to achieve!

 

How Far Can Finidi George Soar With The Super Eagles?

Two weeks ago the Nigerian Football Federation finally announced Finidi George as the replacement to erstwhile coach Jose Peseiro, whose contract was not renewed when it elapsed in February, after the 2024 African Nations Cup Competition, where Nigeria took the silver medal.

The Nigerian Super Eagles have for some time now endured some wobbly and flailing performance, especially in their style of play. Their inability to qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup caused great frustration for Nigerian football fans, especially knowing that their then-foe for the ticket did not possess a better team to overwhelm the Nigerian team.

Finidi George is a much-known name in Nigerian football. He played as a right winger for a long time in the Nigerian local league for Sharks of Port-Harcourt, Calabar Rovers FC, and Iwuanyanwu Nationale FC, Owerri, then got into the Super Eagles, under Clemence Westerhof and soon joined the legendary Ajax Amsterdam that had some wonderful crop of players such as Captain Danny Blind, Goalkeeper Edward van der Sar, Kluivert, Mark Overmars et al, but he instantly got into the first eleven. With Ajax he won the European Champions League amongst several other titles, and also was part of the team that qualified Nigeria for its maiden World Cup in 1994, the same year they also won the African Nations Cup. Finidi, as he’s popularly called went further to ply his trade in Spain, with Real Betis and Mallorca FC, and in England with Ipswich Town FC.

Finidi is a fully certified coach and has bagged the highest coaching grades in the volatile European League, serving as a youth coach in Spain before his return to Nigeria. He returned from Europe to take a coaching job with Enyimba FC of Aba, a little over three years ago and has excelled twice by winning the Nigerian Professional Football League. This likely must have counted in his favor when he was chosen to serve as assistant to Peseiro during his two-year tenure. He would definitely know the team and the workings of his employer, the Nigerian Football Federation, very well to make it easy for him to settle down in his new job.

THE TASK BEFORE FINIDI GEORGE

With less than two months to the resumption of hostilities for the FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket, Finidi needs to hit the ground with blistering speed that would enable the Super Eagles to soar beyond its current position. He’s yet to appoint his assistants and has not publicly articulated his vision for Nigerian football. One expects that his experience as a youth team coach during his coaching exploits in Spain would also count greatly for him, but he still needs to be specific and deliberate on how he intends to transform Nigerian football beyond its present level. The talent pool of the Super Eagles is overwhelming and Nigerians don’t need to suffer watching the team, neither do we need to have our citizens dying of heart attacks watching the Super Eagles struggling against less endowed teams like we witnessed in Cote D’Ivoire. The team needs to play organized football that would make the players perform at their optimal level, rather than turning them to mediocre talents. Our star player, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen virtually used his willpower rather than the team cohesion to make an impression during the Cote D’Ivoire ANC 2024 and he paid dearly on his return to Italy. He got fatigued playing for a Nigerian team that had no style and this, Finidi, needs to change. It was during his era in the Super Eagles that Nigeria reached the apogee of its relevance in World Football and their creativity and style remain unrivaled by any Super Eagles team, thirty years after!

Whilst welcoming Finidi George to the Super Eagles job with open arms, it’s expected that he’d get the best support from his employers, build the best team right for his football philosophy which we expect to be fluid and progressive, and also the Nigerian Football Federation must set the right targets for him to serve as the veritable yardstick to judge his performances. Good luck Finidi!

 

HONEST LESSON FOR MO SALAH OF LIVERPOOL FC

Last week, the electronic media was abuzz with news about a seeming altercation between Liverpool mercurial star, Mohammed Salah and his coach, Jurgen Klopp. Whilst much was not revealed, it remains absolutely clear that Salah must have been upset about being benched for the match against West Ham United FC, only to be told to come in during the last 10 minutes of the match. Video footage showed Salah grudgingly shaking hands with Klopp and engaging in some heated exchanges with his coach, until his colleague, Darwin Nunez, intervened to stop any further exchanges.

 

Both Salah and Klopp are true legends of Liverpool FC having helped the club to win virtually every club football title in England and Europe. Before joining Liverpool FC, Salah, looked very much like a talented journeyman who’d never been fully trusted by any big European club he’s played. After leaving Basel FC, Switzerland, his move to Chelsea FC of England (he met a brick wall with Jose Mourinho, who rarely entrusted him with playing time), Inter Milan FC, Italy been rather underwhelming, until he got a new lease of life in Liverpool FC. Klopp trusted him and he blossomed to become an integral part of the successful eight-year reign of Jurgen Klopp in Liverpool FC.

 

SALAH NEEDS TO BE BETTER BEHAVED

Would Salah now begin to show such disrespect to the manager who absolutely brought out his best as a footballer? That would be surprising and utterly absurd and irresponsible. Despite leaving Liverpool FC, at the end of the 2023/24 season, whatever results the team achieves can never diminish his positive contributions to Liverpool and it is clear that by the current English Premier League standings, the team has already confirmed a European Champions League direct qualification ticket for themselves.

 

During last season's transfer market, Mo Salah was speculated to be enticed by several Saudi Arabian football clubs who worked tirelessly to attract him to the ambitious Saudi Arabian Football League project that had already lured several quality players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Jordan Henderson, Alexander Metrovic, Phillipe Coutinho, Kareem Benzema, Koulibaly, Roberto Firmino et al to their country.  Salah is the most accomplished homegrown footballer from the Middle East and has broken so many records, especially in club football, succumbing to the lure of the money-driven Saudi Arabian football revolution would have further enhanced the cult-figure status he enjoys in the Arab World, but yet he deterred to enjoy more successful seasons in the top flight European football competitions.

 

His open altercation with Jurgen Klopp and the statement he made thereafter does him no good but open a dangerous precedence that could steer other players against him and/or against the team. As one of the captains of the team, needs to solve this issue.

 

His calm demeanor has always portrayed him as a team player willing to work for the success of the team and not otherwise. His form at the twilight of the 2023-24 English Premier League season has not being been so brilliant and this possibly caused Klopp’s decision to bench him or give him more rest to recharge and rediscover his form. Taking it in bad faith, was obviously wrong, and throwing tantrums in the open further worsens his actions and he needs to nip this fast. It further gives a red signal to Arne Slot, Klopp’s perceived successor, and should learn to show more respect to his coach and fellow team members.

 

 

THE THRILLS & DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

 

The drama of the English Premier League would never stop to confound its admirers seeing the listless moments of excitement, disappointments, and confusion each match brings. The introduction of VAR has further increased the level of suspense viewers are faced with in the English Premier League.

The past five years have been most remarkable and this has been an outcome of the stiff rivalry between clubs such as the acclaimed perennial winners of this half-decade, Manchester City, and Liverpool FC, strengthened by the managerial acumen of the now departing Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta of Arsenal FC, a former assistant to Pep Guardiola, the architect of Manchester City's recent dominance.

As the 2023/24 English Premier League reaches its twilight, the fight between Man City and Arsenal FC remains fierce, and extraneous factors have caused a sudden decline of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool FC. The sudden outbursts of the mercurial Mohammed Salah, at his coach's actions during their match against West Ham FC, revealed a possible crack in Liverpool's setup. It would remain a very painful end to the beautiful legacy that the German coach has built in these past eight years wherein he has won everything within England, including the European Champions League for Liverpool FC.

 

CAN ARTETA STOP GUARDIOLA?

These two teams are accelerating at the same speed towards the finish line and only the actions of spoiler teams striving to secure their positions within the English Premier League would determine who wins the league. These Spanish coaches have brilliantly managed their teams amidst the diverse vagaries of the English Premier League, such as injuries and loss of form of their players, unfavorable VAR decisions, and surprise defeats by opposition teams. Their consistency shows the quality of their coaching skills and unlike a team such as Tottenham Hotspur FC, who dazzled the English Premier League in their first ten matches but fell apart thereafter possibly resulting from some mediocre coaching and poor mentality from the players, Arsenal and Manchester City FC, both represent a perfectly better level of team strength.

 

 

 

WHO REPLACES KLOPP?

Liverpool FC has virtually confirmed Dutch coach Arne Slot, as a replacement for Jurgen Klopp but it's too early to call if he'd be able to immediately keep Liverpool at their current level of being amongst the best 3 teams of the English Premier League for more than five years. Whilst we wait to see how well he maintains this consistency, the superlative performances of Unai Emery's Aston Villa FC cannot go unnoticed. In his first season, he took them to get the European Conference League ticket, and currently, they have a firm grip over the fourth position in the English Premier League. With this level of consistency, the likelihood of maintaining this position looks strong and it would be the right decision to get the best backing from his board, anything otherwise would be calling for trouble!

 

THE BOTTOM TEAMS

The struggle here has been very fierce though Sheffield United FC confirmed their relegation last weekend and the battle for the other two spaces continues between Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Burnley. Despite the point deductions against them, Everton FC has overcome relegation and gliding on safe ground, whilst Nottingham Forest who faced the same fate as Everton FC is in dire waters.

When the English Premier League ends next month, there will be so much thrills, excitement, and disappointment about how the 2023/24 season went and the next focus will be on what to expect in the next season and how to make VAR a less disruptive factor in the determination of match results.

 

The Magic Wand of Florentino Perez

 

For his capabilities to successfully manage the brand and wonderful football records of Real Madrid FC, Spanish business mogul Florentino Perez deserves commendation. To be given a national award by Spain, UEFA, and FIFA for his contributions to football development would be in order. With their 4-1 Spanish Super Cup victory over Barcelona FC in January 2024, his achievements have surpassed that of legendary Real Madrid President, Santiago Bernabeu. With Perez as President, the club has won 33 major trophies over 32 won by Bernebau.

 

For almost two decades and serving in two different terms, he's successfully managed the financial stability and football success of the club, providing its followers with unending celebrations.

 

In his first term in 2000, he started the Galacticos policy wherein he made sure Real Madrid FC signed some World renowned footballers to improve the fortunes of the club. He brought Louis Figo, from bitter rivals, Barcelona FC, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo de Lima, and David Beckham but they failed to win any trophy from the 2003-2004 season to 2006. The partial failure of the initial plan during his first term forced him to resign. As later events show, his resignation was just an opportunity for him to rejig his strategies and when he returned in 2009, it was with a resounding bang!

 

Under his current leadership, the club has recruited such players as Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, and lots more. For a successive period of four years, they won the UEFA Champions League three times, the La Liga, and many other titles. Their marketing rights with Emirates Airlines and the revamping of the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium are business masterstrokes that only astute businessmen such as Perez can pull.

His great ambitions for football made him and other like minds propose the Super League. Despite threats and strong opposition from UEFA, the recent European Court judgment has resuscitated their plans.

 

Aside from his huge responsibility at Real Madrid FC, Florentino Perez is the Chairman of Grupo Construction Company, which currently remains the largest civil engineering company in Spain. Whilst bitter rivals Barcelona FC, wallow in a precarious financial situation that has affected players’ salaries, transfers, and on-field activities, Real Madrid FC enjoys a positive financial balance sheet and is currently building probably the most robust Galacticos of the 21st century.

Seeing the team Florentino Perez has already built in comparison with the Qatari-backed PSG FC of France, gives an understanding of his knowledge of the transfer markets and integration of players with complimentary profiles that can form a strong unit. With the rumored and expected arrival of Kylian Mbappe to the team this summer, matching their football prowess would be a difficult task for most teams in the La Liga and European competitions. With a team comprising Vinicius Jnr, Rodrygo Goes, Eduardo Camavinga, Tchouemeni, Rahim Diaz, Thibaut Courtois, Andrey Lunin, Kylian Mbappe, David Alaba, Rudiger, Bellingham, Nacho, Kroos at all, what else can a coach ask for? The Brazillian star, Endrick is also expected in Madrid this summer.

 

Carlo Ancelotti has remained an astute manager and is amongst the best managers in World football.  With eleven major titles for Madrid, he jointly sits with Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid FC’s 2^nd most successful manager in their history, three titles short of Miguel Munoz’s fourteen titles. He’s helped Florentino Perez and Real Madrid FC navigate through perilous situations without much fuss. It’s expected that they’d maintain the leadership of the 2023/24 La Liga season and win the trophy! Well done Florentino Perez!!

 

 

 

 

The Twists And Turns Of The 34th AFCON Competition

 

 

Video: The goal that crippled the Super Eagles(Courtesy CAF_Online)

The 34^th AFCON hosted by Cote D’Ivoire carried with it some of the most dramatic moments in African football. It was a bundle of excitement, determination, and the vicissitude of fate in diverse actions of our daily lives.

It started with the confusion of the Elephants sacking their coach Jean Louis Gasset, after losing two matches whilst on the verge of exiting at the group stages from a competition they were hosting.  Their 0-4 loss to Equatorial Guinea was damning with their victors considered a far lesser football force and their most prominent players wallowing at the bottom of the lower leagues in Europe, compared to the Ivoirians who had players rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s best! The situation looked crazy, with the hosts on the brink of being eliminated, spectators dried up at the venues, leaving the stadium for birds, visiting fans, AFCON officials, and cameramen.

The twists and turns of the competition saw the hosts narrowly qualify for the second round and the local spectators returned to the stadium and the tension of the knockout stages began. Most of the matches were predictable, but in the matches at Abidjan (Egypt vs Republic of Congo), (Nigeria vs Cameroon), Yamoussoukro (Senegal vs Cote d’Ivoire), and San Pedro (Morocco vs South Africa), everyone expected fireworks and indeed, the drama these matches was much. The match between hosts Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal rose to its crescendo and against bookmakers' predictions, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire did the unexpected by beating the defending champions. It was an unexpected result; the Taranga Lions had not lost within the African continent for over two years and losing to Cote D’Ivoire, who had crawled to the second round as one of the best losers, looked unfathomable. Alas, it was about football, the game of drama! South Africa beat Morocco, Egypt lost to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria beat Cameroon.

The quarter finals had giant killers Cape Verde who had beaten Mauritania in the second round playing against South Africa in the quarter finals. It was an exhilarating match, with both sides looking equally matched and it dragged into penalties, where the South African goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, made an everlasting statement in AFCON folklore by saving four penalties, to take his team to the semi-finals. The Elephants continued with their heroics and cut down the Mali national team in the last minute and last kick of the extra time and in another dramatic fashion. They had started to believe in themselves. The local coach Emerse Fae, had tweaked the team to play to their full strength but their initial stumbles, still made them less considered by other teams.

With their underwhelming performance at the 33^rd AFCON Competition in Cameroon and losing the FIFA World Cup in a despicable manner, Nigeria’s Super Eagles, stumbled to a draw in their first match against Equatorial Guinea and beat eventual winners, Cote D’Ivoire in the second match. They came with a large collection of brilliant players, including Victor Osimhen, the African Footballer of the Year but their style was unclear. Like Cote D’Ivoire, Nigeria’s confidence as they progressed in the competition. Nigeria overcame the onslaught of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in the semi-finals, but in the finals, against the Elephants, despite taking the lead they could not continue to soak the pressure with the Ivoirians boosted by the home crowd. It was a sad ending for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, but for the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, it was a dream come true.