Olubayo Adefemi dies in car crash !
Tragedy befell Nigerian football on Monday when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed that Super Eagles’ youthful defender, Olubayo Adefemi had died in a car crash in Greece.
The 25-year old right back, who could also play as a midfielder, died when he lost control of the car he was driving on the road from his base, Xanthi to Thessaloniki, where he was to board a flight to Nigeria to finalize plans for his wedding programme.
His manager, Miguel Riera, who spoke to the NFF hierarchy on phone from Xanthi on Monday morning, said the accident occurred at about 7am Nigeria time as Olubayo attempted to make good use of the one-week break granted by his Greek top club, Xanthi Skoda to travel to Nigeria to finalize his marriage plans.
“This is very sad. I am very sad to confirm to you that Olubayo is dead. There is no doubt about it. I am presently at the hospital and I have identified the body. The autopsy will be out in a few hours, but there is no doubt that he has died”, said Miguel Riera.
The cool-headed defender was one of the so-called ‘Siasia boys’, showing remarkable consistency all the way from being a key member of the Nigeria U-20 side that won the FIFA World Cup silver in The Netherlands in 2005 and playing regularly with the U-23 side that reached the final of the 2008 Olympics Men’s Football Tournament in China. He even scored one of the goals in the semi final defeat of Belgium.
Hard tackling, always fully on the alert and fearless, Adefemi made the logical move to the senior team in 2009 and was a member of the squad that qualified Nigeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa. But he missed the cut for the 2010 African Cup of Nations and was also overlooked for the World Cup finals.
NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, in South Africa for the 17th African Youth Championship in which Nigeria defeated world champions Ghana 2-1 on Monday, was weighed down by sorrow.
“This is devastating. I was just leaving the stadium after our U-20 team’s victory over Ghana when the Acting General Secretary (Barrister Musa Amadu) called me on phone. Why? Such a young and dedicated player? Why now? Oh, I can’t say more”, said Maigari.
The secretariat of Nigeria Football Federation was also thrown into mourning as Management and Staff tried to come to terms with the demise of the promising, effervescent and energetic player.
“We are in grief, total grief. This has come on a day that we should be celebrating the Flying Eagles’ defeat of the world champions at the African Youth Championship. But at this stage, we can only pray for a repose of his soul and that God should grant the family he has left behind and Nigeria football family the fortitude to bear the huge loss”, said NFF’s Acting General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu.
Amadu added that the NFF would stay in contact with the club and the family of late Adefemi on his body’s journey back to Nigeria and the Federation’s involvement in the burial rites.
Olubayo Adefemi was born on 13th August, 1985 and was invited by Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Samson Siasia for the team’s last 2012 Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia and the international friendly against Kenya, both at the National Stadium, Abuja.
Arsenal's Fall from Grace Could Hit Rock Bottom at Spurs.
Four draws in five league games, three of them at the Emirates, have left Arsenal's title hopes hanging by a thread and they face another tough hurdle on Wednesday when they visit neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, reports Reuters.
Arsenal's decline has been stark in the last two months and defeat at White Hart Lane would be the final nail in their Premier League coffin.
It all started to go wrong when they were beaten by Birmingham City in the League Cup final on February 27 - though throwing away a 4-0 lead to draw 4-4 at Newcastle United earlier in the month was also something of a psychological hammer blow.
They were then knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and the Champions League by Barcelona.
In the league they drew 0-0 at home with Sunderland, 2-2 at West Bromwich Albion, 0-0 at home with Blackburn and, after beating Blackpool, suffered the heartache of gifting Liverpool a 1-1 Emirates draw after 11 minutes of stoppage time.
That result on Sunday left them six points behind leaders Manchester United and only two ahead of Chelsea, who beat West Bromwich Albion 3-1 away on Saturday to restore their hopes of a top-two finish with six games to go.
With Manchester City seven points adrift of Arsenal in fourth, Arsene Wenger's side look unlikely to miss out on a top-three finish but their trophy drought looks set to go into a seventh year.
They still have to play United at the Emirates and Alex Ferguson's team also have to play Chelsea so everything is far from settled but Wenger has a real job on his hands to slam the brakes on the decline, starting on Wednesday where Tottenham and their fans would be delighted to ensure it does not happen.
Wenger has ranted and raved at everyone and everything except himself and his players during the lean streak but would be better employed addressing his team's problems - not least their lack of a strong leader on the pitch and their declining ability to make and take chances.
The extraordinary finale to Sunday's game diverted attention from the fact that Arsenal had again looked relatively toothless in attack. However, Wenger criticised Liverpool for their defensive approach.
"We are maybe jaded a bit physically, you could see that some players have played around 40-45 games and we lacked a bit of a change of pace," Wenger said.
"We will have to give everything until the last game of the season and see if it is our year or not."
By the time Arsenal run out for what will be another formidable test at White Hart Lane they could be nine points adrift if United triumph at Newcastle on Tuesday.
Chelseaare also in action on Wednesday, at home to Birmingham City.
Bale eyes Champions League after PFA award
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale insists he will not rest on his laurels after receiving the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award.
The 21-year-old was voted as the country's best player this season by his peers after a string of superb performances for Spurs in the Barclays Premier League and the Champions League.
Bale was shortlisted alongside six others for the evening's top award, with Samir Nasri of Arsenal second in the ballot and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez finishing third.
The latter got the vote of Bale, who is now keen to focus on building on yesterday's success and wants to improve further.
"I want to reach as high as I can really," he said. "Obviously, it is a massive honour to even be on the list on that trophy and only the fourth from Tottenham.
"It is massive and I want to try and build on this now and hopefully get better and better.
"I think I've still got a lot to improve on," he continued.
"I am still only 21 and I still have a lot to learn, a lot to take on board.
"I think if I keep working hard in training and games, which I am going to do, then hopefully I can keep improving and getting better."
The award marks an incredible turnaround in fortunes for Bale, having struggled with form and injuries after his big-money move from Southampton in 2007.
The winger admitted his rapid change in fortunes has been a bit of a surprise but insisted it is evidence of what hard work and belief can do.
"I have always believed in myself that I was capable and it has happened in such a short space of time, which is a bit strange," he added.
Dani Alves urges Guardiola to stay.
Barcelona defender Dani Alves said on Monday he hopes Pep Guardiola will stay on as coach of the Spanish champions after his contract with the club expires at the end of next season.
Guardiola, 40, hinted he may leave the club in an interview with Italian television channel Rai this month, saying: "I think my time is ending here in Barcelona."
"Next year will be my fourth consecutive as Barca coach. A club like this must have a lot of courage to keep a coach for all this time because players tire of coaches and vice versa," he added.
But in an interview published on Monday in daily newspaper El Mundo, Alves said he and the rest of the squad want him to stay on.
"We follow him with our eyes shut. He is very intelligent, he always knows what he is doing. To not follow Guardiola would be foolish. Since we are not foolish we will follow him until he gets tired of us," he said.
"Everyone has their cycle and one day his will come to an end. We hope his cycle will last for a very long time because we can't imagine Barca without Guardiola," the 27-year-old Brazilian international added.
Guardiola, who spent most of his playing career at Barcelona, coached Barcelona's B team before taking control of the first-team squad in June 2008 from Dutchman Frank Rijkaard.
The former Spanish international midfielder has won eight trophies, including successive La Liga titles and the 2009 Champions League, since taking over Barcelona's senior team.
Barcelona held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, leaving them eight points ahead and well placed to clinch their second straight league title.
The two sides will meet again on Wednesday in the King's Cup final at Valencia's Mestalla stadium, with Real coach Jose Mourinho aiming to win his first trophy with the club.
Barcelona and Real will also face off twice in the Champions League semifinals, with the first leg at the Bernabeu on April 27 and the return leg on May 3 at Camp Nou.
Nigeria's Flying Eagles defeat Ghana.
Nigeria's U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, got their campaign at the 2011 Africa Youth Championships (AYC) off to a winning start as they defeated the reigning world and African champions, the Black Satellites of Ghana, by 2-1.
Two strikes from Enugu Rangers forward, Uche Nwofor, ensured Nigeria's first victory over Ghana. The Black Satellites had recorded a hat trick of wins in the previous meetings between both teams at the AYC.
The Flying Eagles started the stronger of the two teams, with star attacker Ahmed Musa, who only joined the team on Sunday evening from Holland, posing so much threat to the Ghanaian defence.
After much incursion into the Ghanaian deeper half, the Flying Eagles deservedly took the lead in the 17th minute, taking advantage of poor defending by their opponents.
A cross from the right flank was flicked-on by Abdul Ajagun to Uche Nwofor who fired the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper James Achampong to make it 1-0.
The goal seemed to spur the Black Satellites into action as they got back on level terms in the 32nd minute. Right-back Richmond Nketiah crossed to the near post from a corner kick which Kwame Nsor scored with a header.
With the first half ending even, both teams resumed for the second half seeking another goal that would guarantee the three points in the testy opening encounter.
Both teams had their chances to change the scoreline in the second half but it wasn't until the 82nd minute that the deadlock was broken.
Winning goal
Nwofor again found himself in space on the right flank and looked to be lining up a cross; the ball bobbled up off the pitch, causing the attacker to mis-time his kick, while the ball looped over a helpless Achampong and found its way to the back of the Ghanaian net.
At the end of the game the happier of the coaches, expectedly, was John Obuh who was thrilled by the important opening day win over Ghana. "I am happy to have won the opening game, especially against a strong team like Ghana. We have done well. Congratulations to my boys, and thank God," declared Obuh.
Ghana coach, Orlando Wellington, said he is still optimistic that his side would cruise through the group phase with six points in their next two matches to grab one of the two slots for the semi-finals, and also for the World Cup in Columbia. "My team lost because of tactical indiscipline on the part of my players. We will go home and fix the problem so that we can win the next two games and qualify for the next round.
Nigeria, now atop Group B, will be meeting the Young Lions of Cameroon on Thursday, April 21. The Young Lions had defeated Gambia 1-0. Ghana will be meeting Gambia on the same day.
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