AFCON 2013: Renard under pressure as Keshi plots Zambia’s fall

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Herve Renard is feeling the pressure ahead of Friday’s crucial clash against Nigeria.

This follows Zambia’s stuttering 1-1 draw against Ethiopia  in their opening Group C match on January 21 at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

Renard refused to be engaged into discussing the scenario in Group C following Nigeria’s draw against Burkina Faso.  At the end of Zambia’s Tuesday morning training session at Ka Nyamazane Stadium,  less than 24 hours after his team was outclassed by 10-man Ethiopia.

“You want us to talk,  no, we should not talk but we should talk on the pitch,” Renard said.

“People in Zambia talk a lot and one day you will see when we will be out.”

Renard said it was the same thing at the 2010 tournament in Angola when Zambia drew 1-1 against Tunisia in their opening Group D match before qualifying to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996.  “They said the same when I left the first time, you know, that they say you have to change this one, bring this one and you can change everything,” Renard said.

“You want to talk about Nigeria? The press conference was yesterday.”

Group C is tight with all four teams tied on one point each after the Super Eagles also drew 1-1 against Burkina Faso at Mbombela.

Meanwhile, Zambia looked in good spirits at Tuesday’s training like nothing eventful happened on Monday night across town at Mbombela.

Eight players minus Chisamba Lungu who started and finished the match had a separate 40 minute light workout while the rest underwent the full two hour practice session at Ka Nyamazane.

After a thorough review of Eagles match against Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s coach, Stephen Keshi would make changes in tactics and in his selection for the match against Zamibia.

It is a plot that he hopes will win him the match if the players implement even 70 per cent of his strategy.Renard said it was the same thing at the 2010 tournament in Angola when Zambia drew 1-1 against Tunisia in their opening Group D match before qualifying to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996.  “They said the same when I left the first time, you know, that they say you have to change this one, bring this one and you can change everything,” Renard said.

“You want to talk about Nigeria? The press conference was yesterday.”

Group C is tight with all four teams tied on one point each after the Super Eagles also drew 1-1 against Burkina Faso at Mbombela.

Meanwhile, Zambia looked in good spirits at Tuesday’s training like nothing eventful happened on Monday night across town at Mbombela.

Eight players minus Chisamba Lungu who started and finished the match had a separate 40 minute light workout while the rest underwent the full two hour practice session at Ka Nyamazane.

After a thorough review of Eagles match against Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s coach, Stephen Keshi would make changes in tactics and in his selection for the match against Zamibia.

It is a plot that he hopes will win him the match if the players implement even 70 per cent of his strategy.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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AFCON 2013: Hope dims on Ejide’s return against Zambia

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Flicker of hope on the possibility of seeing injured goalkeeper Austin Ejide return against defending Champions Zambia on Friday in the Eagles second game in Afcon dimmed yesterday.

Technical Officials had confirmed that Ejide had returned and awaits when he would be called upon to man the post for Nigeria.

Ejide himself said that much when he told me that his inclusion was in the hands of the coaches as he had since rejoined his mates in the strenuous trainings that he skipped after injuring himself in a friendly against Cape Verde before the Nations Cup.

But Sports Vanguard scooped yesterday that the goaltender may still have to wait as a scan conducted on the injury was not too pleasant to hand him the goalkeeper’s jersey.

A reliable source informed that he was doing well but feared that it would be too early to allow him play so soon.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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AFCON 2013: Eagles blast Ahmed Musa, Uche

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Ahmed Musa and Ikechukwu Uche were rapped by their teammates after Nigeria threw away their lead at the death against Burkna Faso on Monday.

“The players gave both Musa and Uche their piece of mind immediately after the match,” a top official informed MTNFootball.com

“They blamed them for the draw because they said they should have tried to play for time rather than go for goal with seconds only left on the clock.

“The best thing for the players to have done in stoppage time with Burkina Faso enjoying the momentum was to try to run down the clock.”

Uche, Eagles leading scorer in the qualifying tournament for the 2013 Nations Cup with three goals, had two good chances to bury the Stallions but his finishing was not clinical.

Some top officials have also blamed the draw with Burkina Faso to inexperience. Only six players from the final 23-man squad have played at the AFCON before this competition.

They are skipper Joseph Yobo, goalkeepers Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide, Elderson Echiejile, Mikel Obi and Ikechukwu Uche.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Quotes from the 2013 Afcon

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Quotes from the 2013 Afcon

“We have to work harder as a team, nothing can bring us down after this result. Victor Moses was not physically fit for this game but he will play the next one if he gets better”.

Stephen Keshi- Super Eagles Coach

“As far as the result is concerned, it wasn’t the best start for us. We were supposed to win this game, it is like a lost game to me. Of course we played a good game and we controlled it but that is football for you. The match against Zambia is going to be like a Cup final because we want to qualify for the next stage”.

Joseph Yobo- Super Eagles Captain

“We played a good game and I am proud of my players. The opportunity for us to qualify to the next round is still open”.

Paul Put- Burkina Faso Coach

“It was a hard game against Nigeria as we expected but the draw is good for us and we are going to work harder”.

Dagano Moumouni – Burkina Faso Captain

“We caused ourselves this loss, we were attacking without cover. We were supposed to put one player in front but we did not and this cost us our victory”.

Sunday Oliseh – Former Nigerian International International

“Just like I’ve been saying for weeks now, Nigerians should not hope on this tournament because our players are not fit to carry the cup. Nigeria cannot win this cup but Keshi should use this match in planning for the future”.

Taribo West –Former Nigerian Super Eagles Defender

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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AFCON 2013: Keshi defends defenders

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Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi stood stoutly against any blame on his back men after a sloppy defence caused Nigeria to relinquish a one goal lead against Burkina Faso few seconds to the end of the game.

“No, no, no. Don’t go there. My defenders were excellent. There is no blame for anybody and if there is anything, they deserve to be praised”, he said as many Nigerian fans agonized the slip that allowed Burkina Faso draw level. “I’ll allow them to sleep and then psyche them up for the match against Zambia. Gentlemen, these boys did well and we cannot condemn them because of the goal”, he said.

The Eagles would go up against defending Champions, Zambia on Friday after Ethiopia spoiled Zambia’s lead to end it on a goal apiece. “It’s not going to be easy but the way it is, we must go for their jugular. We will do something and come up with a good outing”, he insisted.

He said that Burkina Faso was a good team that had stayed together for four years while his team was a young team that have only stayed together for 25 years.

“There are no minnows in African football. Burkina Faso have stayed together for four years while my team are together for 25 days. They are not the same. They are a good side. We all saw what Cape Verde did against South Africa and saw what Ethiopia did against defending champions Zambia. Football has moved on in Africa. I am proud of my boys holding on after red card to Efe Ambrose”, Keshi emphasized.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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AFCON- Fans decry poor officiating of Eagles/Burkinabe

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A cross section of Football Followers on Monday kicked against the “noticeable bias shown against the Super Eagles’’ by the Angolan referee who handled the team’s first group match with Burkina Faso.

The Eagles were held to a 1-1 after the Burkinabe scored the equaliser 40 seconds to the end of the match in the ongoing AFCON in South Africa.

Some of the fans  after the match in Enugu said that the Super Eagles would have scored many goals but for the poor handling of the match by the central referee.

A member of the Board of Rangers Football Club, Mr Afam Udeani urged the Super Eagles not to be deterred by the actions of the officiating team.

“The award of penalty was uncalled for. Even the commentator said it. The pitch was horrible. I cannot believe South Africa has such a terrible pitch,’’ he said.

Mr ikem Odenigbo, a civil servant and football fan said the actions of the referee and his counterparts were efforts to discourage and disorganise the Super Eagles.

“Nigeria players did very well. For the first time in a long while, we saw good football by the Super Eagles,’’ he said.

Mr Victor Chikwendu, a football analyst described the poor officiating as “an insult to Nigeria’’.

“They denied us viewing right, now they want to use referees to frustrate us. This is not right. Enough is enough,’’ he said.

Chikwendu wondered why no Nigerian referee was allowed to participate in the championship in spite of the country’s contributions to CAF. (NAN)

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Why we couldn’t pay for live transmission of AFCON 2013 – Maku

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The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku on Monday said that Nigeria’s inability to broadcast live matches from the African Nations Cup was in the interest of sports development in the country.

Maku said this during an inspection of ongoing work at the Inland River Port in Oguta, Imo.

The minister, who apologised to Nigerians for the blackout on live matches of the tournament, said that the demand of the rights holder was highly exploitative.

According to Maku, “it is necessary for Nigeria to call their bluff because they were not willing to bring down the price despite efforts by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON)

“All efforts made by BON through the agent LC2 did not work. From eight million euros, they came to six million then 4.5 million Euro; so you can see that it is not a scientific charge, it is a kind of casino pricing.

“BON decided that this year, Nigeria should call the bluff of this agent and maybe next time the Confederation of African Football will be more sensitive when it comes to hiring of agents to vent the broadcasting rights of the African Nations Cup,” he said.

The minister said that Nigeria would no longer tolerate agents who would turn the country into a cash cow.

“Nigeria cannot be a cash cow for every agent to come and exploit. We have to call the bluff of people that want to abuse our generosity.

“We are making this collective sacrifice for a better future. We will work with BON to agree on a new formula for these prices and we will want to see that what we pay should not be different from any other African country.”

He said that broadcast stations would have ran at a loss because no telecommunications company would have advertised knowing that this year’s Nations Cup was sponsored by Orange, also a telecommunications company.

He said that the Federal Government had offered to augment the cost if BON could negotiate a fair price but the agents said they could not move from the price tag they were offering.

“BON advised government not to intervene.

“They said they will not want the government to use public money to any agent because it is not good to our country and the agent has not treated Nigeria fairly.”

He however assured that Nigerians would get a better deal in 2014.

Several efforts by BON to strike a deal with the right holders, LC2 did not yield any result. (NAN)

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Afcon: Mixed feelings trail Super Eagle’s draw with B/Faso

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Some football fans in Birnin Kebbi have expressed mixed feelings over the Monday match between Super Eagles and Burkina Faso.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles played drew 1-1 with Burkina Faso at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa.

The Kebbi Director of Sports, Alhaji Ladan Usman, in a telephone interview said that the Super Eagles played a good game “but there is room for serious improvement.’’

“The average Nigerian soccer fan expected the team to show that it is a potential winner of the competition by winning convincingly.

“Soccer fans expected a large difference between the Super Eagles and the Burkinabe team, but were highly devastated by the equaliser which came close to the end of the time.’’

Alhaji Aliyu Jagirma, who said he is an ardent soccer fan, said the encounter was a good outing for the Super Eagles, “only for the team to allow their opponents to equalise due to drop in concentration.’’

“I hope the team will win in subsequent matches. The general coordination was balanced, but winning was all that mattered.’’

Another fan, Mr Ayo Ajoge, said “the Super Eagles did not show the hunger to score.

“The passes were not perfect and the attack forwards were denied passes to score.’’

Malam Ali Koko, also a passionate fan, wondered whether the draws in previous matches made the players to be extra cautious in scoring early goals.
He said that the formidable attackers were denied passes that could translate to goals.

“I am sure that thousands of fans are heartbroken with the equaliser that should not have occurred if we had scored many early goals.

“I urge Coach Stephen Keshi to plan for early goals in subsequent matches because if we fail to win the trophy, preparations for the 2014 World Cup will be a real hard task for us.’’ (NAN)

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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AFCON: Ivory Coast 2 Togo 1

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The Ivory Coast snatched a 2-1 win over Togo Gervinho's 88th-minute goal at the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday.
A nasty defensive blunder could have allowed Togo to take the lead as early as the second minute when Emmanuel Adebayor beat his former Manchester City team-mate Kolo Toure to a back pass and found himself facing goalkeeper Copa Barry, but the Spurs forward failed to seize the opportunity.

Ivory Coast made Togo pay for the miss six minutes later, when Gervinho beat two defenders from the right flank and managed to lay the ball of to Yaya Toure, who struck through a forest to put his side 1-0 ahead at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

Ivory Coast, beaten finalists against Zambia in last season's competition, dominated possession with short and sharp passing but the Sparrow Hawks stood firm, with defender Vincent Bossou marshalling Didier Drogba.

As the half wore on, Gervinho picked a loose ball, surged down the flank and cut inside the Togo box before cutting back to onrushing Yaya Toure, who crashed his effort against the crossbar, missing a genuine chance to make it 2-0 with five minutes left in the half.

In first-half injury time, Togo's Jonathan Ayite bundled home a free-kick past the sprawling Copa to see the two teams go in level at the break.

Seeking to restore their advantage, Ivory Coast began the second half at a frenetic pace, with Gervinho and Drogba both spurning chances.

The Elephants' coach Sabri Lamouchi brought in former Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou and Newcastle's Cheick Tiote to energize his lacklustre side, as Togo saw a goal disallowed from a corner kick for taking the kick before the referee had blown his whistle.

With time running out and no sign of the decisive goal arriving, Lamouchi replaced veteran Drogba with the Eredivisie top scorer, Wilfried Bony of Vitesse Arnhem.

Immediately after the change, Gervinho found himself with time and space inside the area, setting up Yaya Toure, who shot straight at Agassa Kossi.

It looked as if Togo would hold out for a valuable draw, only for Arsenal man Gervinho to score from a tight angle with two minutes to go in normal time.

Togo also had their last chance to equalize when Adebayor lobbed a cross over the Ivorian defence for Ayite, who squared for Dakonam Djene, but Copa intercepted.

The Ivory Coast became the second team after Mali to record a win in the 2013 tournament.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Bafana captain desperate to score at Afcon

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Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo is desperate for his team to make the most of their second chance at Afcon when they come up against Angola in Durban.
 
South Africa were held to a goalless draw by minnows Cape Verde Islands in the tournament opener on Saturday, with their lacklustre showing coming in for heavy criticism.

"The first game is now gone. If there's any lesson to be learnt it's that you hardly get any second chances in tournaments," Khumalo said on Tuesday.

"So we're very fortunate that we're still in it, and we have another game on Wednesday.

"It's important that we forget about the past and make sure we don't repeat our mistakes."

The disappointment of the opening result, in the broader context, was somewhat lessened later on Saturday when the other two teams in the group, Morocco and Angola, also played to a goalless draw.

Supporting the team
The Greece-based defender highlighted the importance of supporting the team at this crucial stage, when doubts have been raised about their capability to reach the latter stages of the tournament.

"Obviously it's been said that nerves may have gotten the better of some players," he said.

"That happens sometimes, and it's important that the other players around support them and make sure they can come back up again."

Khumalo defended his own form in the national jersey, saying: "That [questions about my form] is news to me. My job is just to focus on the team and what we're trying to achieve.

"In terms of the critics, people will always have their opinions in football, that's the nature of the game. In my mind, I don't really spend much time worrying about those people."

He said Bafana would be going all out to beat the Antelopes.

Main motivation
"Our main motivation is as simple as winning," Khumalo said.

"Obviously when you win games, everything else falls into place.

"That's how people are proud of you and that's how you bring joy to a nation – it's by winning games. As professional players, we really know what we have to do here. We have one aim on our minds and that's to win."

Coach Gordon Igesund confirmed on Tuesday that midfielders Kagisho Dikgacoi and Lerato Chabangu had been ruled out of the match, due to a knee and groin injury respectively. – Sapa

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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