Sports
2010 W/Cup: How Will Spain Cope With Favourites Tag?
Spain are universally considered to be favourites to lift the FIFA World Cup in South Africa on July 11.
Their triumph at Euro 2008 has loosened the medallion of ‘nearly-men’ from around their neck, a hindrance which proved to be too heavy for Raul’s generation to overcome, and for the first time ever, La Furia Roja enter a major tournament with little to prove.
Similar to the respect that domestic champions Barcelona collect from across the globe, Spain are widely regarded as wonderful to watch, and have a squad bristling with talent. To many, they would be worthy winners of a tournament where the major European superpowers such as Italy, France and the injury-hit Germans are not seen on paper as viable threats.
However, in a similar vein to France after their Euro 2000 victory, the weight of expectation that success can bring can often be as overbearing as the hunt for success itself. At World Cup 2002, Les Bleus were deemed to be the team to beat, but their bid to become the first side since Brazil in 1962 to retain the title was a disastrous one. An unfamiliar climate in an unfamiliar continent combined with a stunning opening game defeat to Senegal, the absence of Zinedine Zidane in the first two group matches, and a dramatic loss of form to key individuals left France winless, goal-less, and going home.
Vicente del Bosque’s men should take heed. On paper, their draw seems relatively straightforward, but being installed as pre-tournament favourites immediately places them on a pedestal, to be shot down by Honduras, Chile and Switzerland, who will be in the hunt for a famous result. Furthermore, La Roja’s World Cup history is littered with giant-killing defeats – Northern Ireland in 1982, Nigeria in 1998 and South Korea in 2002, to name but a few.
Being the team expected to do well, and expected to win, can psychologically disrupt a player’s focus and drive; if anyone in the squad feel that they will cruise through Group H simply by turning up to the party, they could be monumentally brought back down to Earth.
It could be argued that this team is too experienced to allow for such an elementary error of judgement, but it comes with the territory of being the team to beat, and the failure to perform in one match (think of the defeat to the USA in last summer’s Confederations Cup semi-final) can bring a methodically-planned campaign to a grinding halt.
Indeed complacency is a concern of every manager when facing inferior opposition, and one that is difficult to eradicate. Del Bosque’s array of talent must be able to disregard the praise and channel their preparations solely on the next opponent. ‘Taking each game as it comes’ may be a tired cliché, but in knockout competitions such as the World Cup, taking place in a month of intense action, it is absolutely crucial.
South Africa will become the epicentre of the planet from June 11 until July 11, with players facing greater media demand, greater scrutiny, not to mention seven matches in the space of 30 days, should they reach the final. The next match is the biggest match, as Del Bosque will repeat ad nauseum to his final 23, and there will be no talk of finals, of being victorious, only on the next task in hand.
World Cup fever is beginning to kick in, and one way of recognising this is the manner in which each nation’s domestic press exacerbate any minor team issues, and pinpoint any errors in a ruthless manner. If ever proof of this fact were needed, it can be found in the recent criticism of goalkeeper Iker Casillas following his performance versus Saudi Arabia. If even ‘San Iker’ isn’t safe from the snipers, then it’s time to recognise the euphoria and chaos that can ensue during a World Cup campaign.
Spain and in particular Victor Valdes, handled the situation superbly, giving the Real Madrid legend his full public backing. There had been concerns that Valdes’ inclusion despite never being capped at international level, could be a potential disruption to an otherwise harmonious squad. Valdes, however, was appreciative of the situation, and behaved diplomatically – an attitude that Spain’s squad as a whole has maintained, and will stand them in good stead.
The point being that it isn’t only the teams on the pitch that want to see a favourite falter, if there is potential for upsetting a squad, the manic, press-orientated World Cup bandwagons can see to that. Moreover, Spain’s recent imperious form has led to a general anticipation that this is a team in the midst of a halcyon era, and that world domination will naturally follow.
There is still the ongoing saga regarding the future of Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres at club level, and transfer rumours affect players more than they would like to admit. The English Premier League duo have been subject to incessant questioning regarding their destination for the 2010/11 season, Del Bosque needs to know that his players are focused on the task in hand.
The role of favourite brings additional problems to a coach and squad ahead of a major tournament that can easily be succumbed to. Vicente Del Bosque’s side will need to use all of their experience to avoid falling foul of the problems that have haunted them, and indeed others in their position, in the past.
Sports
African Games: Nigerian Women Athletes Make Country Proud Again
Before, the saying that ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better’ is usually met with resistance.
In sports, that saying has been validated over and over again with the performances of female athletes in comparison to their male counterparts, especially when it comes to quantifying their contributions to their country’s success at multi-sports events like the Olympic, Commonwealth and African Games.
For Nigeria, the women have once again proven to be the most consistent and reliable by winning the most medals for the country at the just-concluded 13th African Games in Ghana. Nigeria finished second behind Egypt in the overall medals table with a total of 121 medals comprising 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze.
The women’s contribution to Team Nigeria’s haul is 71 compared to the male athletes’ 47, while three were won in mixed events. That number makes up 58.67 per cent of Nigeria’s total medals.
Significantly, the women also won 35 out of Team Nigeria’s 47 gold, leaving 11 to the male, while the other one was won in the mixed 4x400m relay, which was inspired by one of the two women in the quartet, Omolara Ogunmakinju.
The women’s gold medal haul is a whopping 74 per cent of Nigeria’s total gold.
Interestingly, the women’s 35 gold would have been enough to see Nigeria top the overall medals table, if it was an all-female affair as Egypt, who won the Games recorded 33 gold, 22 silver and 22 bronze medals from their female athletes.
On the other hand, the men’s 11 gold would mean Nigeria would finish joint third with Tunisia, who’s men also won 11 gold medals while Egypt will retain their number one spot with 66 gold from their men and Algeria second with 19.
There were also 18 silver medals from the women, two more than the 16 won by the men. In terms of bronze medals, the men had the upper hand with 20 medals, two more than the women’s 18 while two medals were won in mixed games for a total of 40.
Notably, there were stellar performances from Nigeria’s female wrestlers at the Games as the six of them (Blessing Oborududu, Odunayo Adekuoroye, Hannah Reuben, Christiana Ogunsanya, Mercy Genesis and Esther Kolawole) had a clean sweep of the wrestling event.
Also, four among the five weightlifters who won three gold medals each are women (Eze Joy, Ayodele Ruth, Lawal Rafiatu, and Olarinoye Adijat).
All the seven female boxers for Nigeria also won medals – five gold (Joy Ojo, Patricia Mbata, Cynthia Ogunsemilore, Blessing Oraekwe, Jacinta Umunnakwe) and two silver (Zainab Adeshina, Kareem Shukura).
In athletics, world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, retained her African Games title by winning a third consecutive crown while long jumper Ese Brume also successfully defended her title by winning a second African Games gold in the event.
According to the 2023 African Games website, in terms of representation, Nigeria’s 437 contingent also had more women (221) than the men (216).
Beyond the 2023 African Games, female Nigeria athletes have shown greater prospects than their male counterparts.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the women won all the gold for Team Nigeria as the country put up their best outing ever, snatching a record 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals to erase their previous best performance at the Games, 11 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals in 1994 in Victoria, Canada.
The men took the back seat, managing just three silver and six bronze medals out of a total haul of 35 medals.
At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Nigeria’s only two medals were won by two female athletes, Blessing Oborududu (silver in wrestling) while Brume won bronze in long jump.
Amusan (gold) and Brume (silver) were also the only two medallists for Nigeria at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, USA, where the former stormed to the current women’s 100m hurdles record (12.12s) and also became the first ever world champion from Nigeria.
Sports
African Games: Minister Promises Swift Preparation For Egypt 2027
Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has declared that the preparations for the 2027 African Games which will be held in Egypt will begin immediately, as the contingent to the just concluded 13th edition of the Games in Ghana arrived on Sunday.
Team Nigeria arrived in the country’s capital Abuja and Lagos in batches on Sunday via chartered flights provided by the Ministry of Sports Development.
In Ghana, Team Nigeria had an impressive outing and finished second in the overall medals table with a total number of 121 medals comprising 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze medals.
Although the foreign-based athletes who were part of Nigeria’s success at the Games have also returned directly to their bases, Enoh believes a head start ahead of the 2027 Games will give the country an edge in their quest to claim top spot for the first time since hosting the Games in 2003.
“On behalf of His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I welcome you back to our dear country. I congratulate you for your outstanding performance in the just concluded 13th African Games that held in the Ghana,” the minister said in a statement obtained by our correspondent last Sunday.
“While you bask in the euphoria of your exploits and worthy sense of achievement, let me quickly remind you that preparations for the 14th African Games built to hold in Egypt starts now. As your Sports development minister, dubbed Nigeria’s Games Master General, I sure will be with you all the way.
“Without prejudice to the comprehensive audit and thorough evaluation of our overall performance at the games which will soon be carried out under my guidance and leadership, the time has come for our country to spend as much, if not more, as it does for competitions in development and preparation, if we ever hope to get atop the medals table which we have only achieved once in 2003 when the country hosted the Games.”
Sports
NWFL: Rivers Angels Striker Targets Women CAF Champions League
Rivers Angels FC of Port Harcourt striker, Blessing Okpe has said that her target was to keep working hard and ensure her team seals the CAF Women’s champion’s league ticket this season.
According to her, no game comes easy but what is important is the approach towards each of the games, adding that she is playing for Rivers Angels to give her best in the round leather game.
Okpe said this recently in a chat with the team media officer, Faith Meremegbunam and made available to Tidesports even as she expressed happiness for scoring her first goal against FC Robo that gave her team a draw.
The stand-in captain also expressed joy as she captained the team to an impressive performance, saying that she would do her best to ensure the team move forward.
“I feel so great and so happy to lead the team and scoring the first goal against our opponents.
“After the 1 -1 in Ikenne, we came back home and gave ourselves the target of beating them here in Port Harcourt.”
“We never wanted to lose two straight home matches because the two home matches are an advantage to us.
“After we drew with Robo, we had to fight hard to win matches.”
“We will keep working hard, my target this season is to qualify for CAF women’s Champions’ League,” Okpe said.
Rivers Angels’ next game is against Edo Queens in Benin on February 28.
By: Kiadum Edookor
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