Sports
National Coaches, Others For CAF Course
No fewer than 200 individuals including three serving and over 40 former national coaches have registered for the forthcoming CAF B-Licence coaching programme scheduled for this month in Abuja.
The advance coaching programme, which is one of the three courses being organised by CAF, will hold from March 11 to March 25.
The course was introduced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last year, and the continental football governing body has recommended it to all Africa-based coaches.
The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) is jointly organising the course with CAF.
The three serving national coaches are Super Eagles assistant coach Daniel Amokachi, the head coach of the Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba, and Flamingoes’ head coach, Peter Dedevbo.
Others are Austin Eguavoen, Stanley Eguma, Okey Emordi, Kadiri Ikhana, Benedict Iroha, and Erasmus Onuh, all former handlers of the national under-23 male team.
John Obuh, Alphonsus Dike and Hassan Abubakar, all former Eaglets coaches, as well as ex-Super Eagles assistant coaches Bitrus Bewarang, Salisu Yusuf and Amusa Adisa, have also registered for the course.
The list also has Oladunni Oyekale, Ladan Bosso, Usman Adams, Sunday Eresulesi, Monday Odigie and Lawrence Akpokona, who have at one time or the other handled national teams.
Also participating are Niyi Akande, Emmanuel Deutch, Godfrey Esu, Ben Duamlong, Moses Ajala, Solomon Adedara, Ndubuisi Nduka, Julius Alhassan, Abdulganiyu Mustapha, Jimoh Imam and Aliyu Muzambilu.
Others are Danladi Nasidi, Justin Tenger, Taiye Yusuf, Harrison Okagbue, Gbenga Ogunbote, David Egbiri, Samson Unuanel, Samuel Adingi, Andrew Agu, Tunde Sanni, Evans Ogenyi, Bernard Ogbe and Tony Ottah.
The women team coaches who registered for the course are Egan Adat, Ntiero Effiom, Ann Chiejine, Daniel Evumena, Rolandson Odeh and Bala Nikyu, all former national coaches.
Former national players such as Dominic Nwobodo, Jide Dina, Fancy Ewulu, Henry Nwosu, Lookman Oshun and Fatai Amoo have also registered for the course.
CAF has demanded that coaches must hold one of its three categories of certificates before they can sit on the bench of any team or club in any of its organised competitions.
The C-Licence course, the first of the three certificates, was held in October 2011 in Abuja with 80 coaches, drawn from across the country in attendance.
The B-Licence course is a follow-up to the C-Licence course, while the A-Licence course is a more advanced course.
The A-Licence course is not expected to hold in Nigeria until after the country has produced a good number of coaches with the B-Licence.
Sports
Inter Best Juventus To Maintain Serie A Lead
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
Sports
Szoboszlai’s Real Madrid Dream Sparks Concern At Liverpool
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Sports
Wolves Beat Man Utd Conquerors
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.
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