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Premier League Matches Return Sets Lagos Agog

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It is no longer news that
Lagos used to be the Mecca of Nigeria football in the past due mainly to the number of clubs that once participated in the nation’s thriving league scene.
At the height of football splendour in Lagos, colourful sides like Stationery Stores FC, NEPA FC, ACB FC, Julius Berger FC and First Bank FC at one time or the order held their football fans spellbound with their magical displays.
But eventually the eminent status that Lagos had in Nigerian football petered out because of challenges culminating in poor performance that saw the high flying Lagos clubs relegated to the lower rung of the Nigerian league.
Fans hostilities during national football team matches and national league matches also aided in dousing the flame of football in the state.
Because of the unruly nature of the football fans, the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) now known as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), had to stage matches involving the Super Eagles in Port Harcourt and elsewhere.
The ensuing development gradually turned the National Stadium Surulere into a “Ghost Town’’ of sorts, in addition to the relegation of the once flamboyant clubs like Stationery Stores et al into obscurity.
But the impending campaign of Mountain of Fire and Miracle FC and Ikorodu United FC in the 2015/2016 Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL will no doubt reignite the passion for league football in Lagos.
It will be germane to note that football fans around the country are already re-cultivating the attitude of storming league matches to cheer their teams to victory.
As tge NPFL matches resume this month, opes are currently high among fans as they anticipate the re-emergence of league matches in football-starved Lagos ahead of the kick-off of the upcoming season in 2016.
The Chairman of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Seyi Akinwunmi, said that the promotion of the two Lagos sides to the NPFL would once more ignite league followership in the state.
Akinwunmi said that the remarkable development would spur the growth of grassroots football in the state, adding that LSFA would assist in preparing the clubs ahead of the new league season.
“I keep on telling people that if you allow me to jump and roll and scream, I will.
“This is because I have been hounded for the past four years by the press over the absence of Lagos clubs from the Nigeria Professional Football League.
“I told people that when the time comes, it will happen and it has happened in a big way and we’ve been proven right.
“The important thing is that Lagos clubs are prepared.
“When we were talking about that, all we wanted was for them to run the clubs properly.
“And as the season begins, we are going to do a lot in terms of preparing them.
“In terms of teaching the people about what to do and I am sure that football is back home,’’ he said.
In the same vein, a former Super Eagles midfielder, Friday Ekpo, said that the return of Lagos clubs to the Nigeria top league would spice up football in the state.
Ekpo, who plied his trade for the defunct Abiola Babes FC in the late 1980s, noted that it would redeem the image of football in Lagos.
“It is a great development and also good for football growth in Lagos. I vividly remember as a player, how fans usually troop out to watch league matches in the past.
“Football is back to its main arena and I know Lagos fans are happy with the development,’’ he said.
Nduka Ugbade, who played for the defunct Niger Dock FC of Lagos, said that the newly promoted teams should be given the much needed support to thrive in the league.
Ugbade said that the task ahead of the clubs went beyond gaining promotion to the NPFL, adding that the sustenance of the clubs in the league was vital.
“There was a time when we had more clubs from Lagos State in the league before everything went bad for most of the clubs.
“The promoted clubs will only remain in the league if they are adequately prepared and well funded.
“By so doing, more clubs from Lagos will gain promotion to the league and reignite passion for football in the state,’’ he said.
Also,  a board member of LSFA Falade Oyekan, said that the clubs’ promotion will boost football momentum in Lagos.
Oyekan said that it would also impact on the grassroots development of soccer, adding that the league had returned to its place of prominence.
“Lagos used to be the home of league football in the past and for a very long time we were starved because of the absence of clubs from Lagos.
“We are happy with this development and we know it will have positive impact on football in Lagos,’’ he said.
On the part of the teeming football fans in Lagos and its environs, expectations are high but the fans must learn to curb their unbridled exuberance and to make the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere a veritable Mecca for NPFL matches.
Ajayi writes for News Agency of Nigeria.

 

Kemi Ajayi

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Inter Best Juventus To Maintain Serie  A Lead

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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.

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Szoboszlai’s Real Madrid Dream Sparks Concern At Liverpool 

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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.

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Wolves Beat Man Utd Conquerors

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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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