Sports
From Grace To Grass …Whither Sharks, Dolphins?
Since the early days of organised sports competition in Nigeria, Port Harcourt has always been in the mix for glory. In terms of result, talent and achievement, the City has had its fair share of euphoria, especially, in football.
It is on record that the oldest football competition in the country, known then as the FA/Challenge Cup in 1954, has been celebrated seven times in the city, second only to Ibadan, which has had it for about eight times in the hay days of 11CC Shooting Stars FC.
Those were the days of Port Harcourt Red Devils and Port Harcourt FC, which won the FA Cup three times beating Warri X1 4-1, Federal United 6-0 and Mighty Jets 1-0 in 1955, 1958 and 1963, respectively.
Those were the times when about six out of every 10 Port Harcourt youth would have the capacity to thrill with football skills or display indepth knowledge of the game.
However, since the days of present day Sharks and Dolphins FCs, solely sponsored and motivated by the Rivers State government, the fortunes of the city in the game have been swinging back and forth.
Despite the proven desire of successive administrations in the state to make the clubs the best in the land, it has been one celebration today, despair tomorrow.
Football fans in the state have yet to be served the consistent performances and achievements they once knew and still crave for.
According to one ardent football fan, Worlu Chimene, the clubs, considering the enormous resources put at their disposal by the government ought to be the Manchester United FC of Nigerian Football, by consistently winning laurels and being in the mix for titles year in year out.
Perhaps, Dolphins FC, which became an adopted son of the city after being acquired from the then Eastern Bulkcem company as Eagle Cement FC in 2000, has truly returned rewards on investment.
Two-time League winners in 2004 and 2011, Dolphins have also become FA Cup champions four times.
They were champions in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Indeed, Dolphins have been there in virtually every race for titles more times than not. But the favourite club in the city, Sharks FC has been the bigger disappointment.
Since inception in early 1970s, the brilliance and promise of its early days have gone into a jinxed history of just completing the number of clubs in competitions every season.
Apart from the triumph in the regional WAFU Cup of three years ago, the Blue Angels succeeded in harvesting a tale of woes, including suffering relegations to the lower division of the league. Within touching distance.
On two occasions, Sharks came to glory in 1996 in the league and 2009 FA Cup, fate conspired to deny history from its grasp.
The Blue Angles was on the verge of winning the league in 1996 but Udoji United usurped the title via the boardroom while the club in 2009 failed to break the jinx of winning a national title, when against expectations, it succumbed to Enyimba in the FA Cup final in Lagos.
The clubs, especially, Sharks, may have been suffering from self-inflicted nemesis or the myopia of successive administrators of the club. Indeed, Sharks FC, has been carrying serious excess baggages that have clogged its wheel of progress. And it is on when such loads are shed, that the club would begin to progress as expected.
According to the Secretary of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN, Rivers State chapter, Olalekan Ige, until Sharks and Dolphins are run like business enterprises that they are supposed to be, they would continue to underperform, while different interests at play would continue to exploit it.
He calls for a functional management board to be set up for the clubs for efficient and effective day-to-day operations.
More importantly, the Secretary believes that the state government ought to collapse the two clubs into one entity or dispose one to concentrate effective on management of a viable club side.
A board member of Rivers State Football Association, who is also a retired referee, Chief Omineokuma Kile sees Dolphins FC as the orphan who does not feed well but works very hard, with determination to succeed while Sharks remains the opposite.
Both clubs have not been able to perform well as they should because their administrators have not done what they should do to put them in good stead.
In the days of old, recalls Chief Kile, recruitment of players was done systematically, but getting gifted and committed players from within and outside rather than concentrating on players that would suit selfish interests and at the end of the day remain on the bench.
Also, absence of conscious youth development policy has robbed the clubs of a sure nursery bed for the supply of fresh talents.
“Let us see the schools, just live in the days of Richard Owubokiri, Kuruye, Pastor Sarawinyo (Benbella), as the supply line for talents that will endure rather than focusing on already made ‘stars’ that may twinkle for a few moments”, said Chief Kile.
Indeed, the potentials to make Sharks and Dolphins succeed as per the passion and vision of the sports loving governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi abound in the city and beyond. But it must not be business as usual, especially, for those interests that see the clubs as a means of survival.
Most stakeholders would rather explore ways to milk the clubs, and not contribute towards making them brands that can stand on their own. That’s the plight of our darling teams, once beheld as two of Nigeria’s best in the local league. Shall we ever get there again?
Liverpool’s season of abject misery worsened as they were beaten with embarrassing ease by a hugely impressive Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s Premier League champions were looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at Manchester City, but instead ran into a Forest side revitalised under new manager Sean Dyche and looking back to their best.
Liverpool head coach Slot gave £125m British record signing Alexander Isak a start, but he was totally anonymous once more and only lasted 67 minutes.
Forest went ahead after 33 minutes when defender Murillo shot powerfully past fit-again Liverpool keeper Alisson to subdue an already anxious Anfield.
Igor Jesus had a second ruled out for handball, but Forest doubled their advantage 39 seconds after the break when former Liverpool defender Neco Williams set up Nicola Savona for a crisp finish in front of The Kop.
Liverpool could barely raise a response in a desperate display, Forest increasing their lead 12 minutes from time when Morgan Gibbs-White scored after Alisson saved from Omari Hutchinson.
It means Liverpool, who lie 11th before Saturday’s late fixture, have now lost six of their past seven Premier League games as Slot’s near £450m summer spending spree comes under further scrutiny.
Forest, meanwhile, are surging away from the relegation zone and are up to 16th.
Michael Olise scored twice and provided a hat-trick of assists as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from two goals down to thrash Freiburg.
The visitors stunned the defending champions by taking a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes when Yuito Suzuki scored from close range and Johan Manzambi rose highest to head home Jan-Niklas Beste’s corner.
Bayern, who had not lost in the league since March, responded superbly and had restored parity by half-time.
Teenager Lennart Karl fired into the bottom corner from Olise’s pass in the 22nd minute and set up the Frenchman for a fierce finish in first-half injury-time, although Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu should have done better.
Bayern took control in the second period as Dayot Upamecano headed home Olise’s corner to put them ahead for the first time.
England captain Harry Kane netted his 14th league goal of the campaign on the hour mark, before Olise made it three assists when he threaded a pass through for Nicolas Jackson to finish at the first time of asking in the 78th minute.
Winger Olise completed a sensational afternoon with his second of the game six minutes later, driving at the Freiburg defence and curling into the far corner.
A 10th victory in the first 11 games left Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg remain 10th in the standings.
Vincent Kompany’s side visit Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday with both sides having a perfect record of four wins so far in the league phase of the competition.
AS FAR Morocco Win African Women’s Champions League (8)
AS FAR held firm to beat debutants ASEC Mimosas 2-1 in the African Women’s Champions League final and become continental champions for the second time.
Hanane Ait El Haj put the Moroccan club ahead from the penalty spot in the 13th minute after Safa Banouk had been tripped by Aboa Yapo.
ASEC Mimosas rallied after the break and Ami Priscal Diallo netted a fine header from Sopie Brou’s cross to drag the Ivory Coast club level 10 minutes into the second half.
But AS FAR were handed a second spot-kick in the closing stages when Noura Diarra committed a rash challenge on Sofia Bouftini.
This time it was Zineb Redouani who stepped up to stroke home in the 85th minute and restore her side’s lead.
Asastasie Gbehi came close to forcing extra time but she poked wide of the post in stoppage time, and the centre-back was sent off after the full-time whistle for dissent.
AS FAR move level with South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns as two-time winners of the title, having first lifted the trophy in 2022.
The Rabat-based side will now take on Chinese’s Wuhan Jiangda on 14 December for a place at next year’s Fifa Women’s Champions Cup.
The winner of that match will face European champions Arsenal in the semi-finals of the inaugural competition early next year in London.
Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on Saturday with an emphatic win over 10-man Athletic Club in their first match at the Spotify Camp Nou since May 2023.
Robert Lewandowski scored their first goal back in their iconic home, which had been closed for extensive renovations, in the fourth minute.
Ferran Torres then netted twice in the second half, each assisted by wonderful skill from Lamine Yamal, who was aged just 15 in his only previous Nou Camp appearance.
Fermin Lopez also struck in the 48th minute, while visiting midfielder Oihan Sancet was sent off for a crude challenge on Lopez just six minutes later.
Large sections of the Nou Camp remained closed for the game, which was played in front of a 45,157 crowd.
The rebuilding work, which was originally scheduled to be finished in November 2024, will eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000.
Barca moved to 31 points from 13 games and top on goal difference, but Real Madrid had the chance to replace them, if they won at Elche in their game in hand, late last night.
Poland striker Lewandowski got his side off to the perfect start when he drove his low shot in off the arm of Athletic Club goalkeeper Unai Simon for an eighth league goal of the season.
The home side extended their lead in first-half added time as Yamal’s superb pass off the outside of his foot set up Torres for a good finish.
Lopez made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, drilling a shot past Simon from near the penalty spot.
Sancet’s tackle from behind on Lopez was initially deemed a yellow card, but upgraded to red after the referee consulted with the video assistant referee (VAR).
And just before full-time, Yamal twisted and turned before sending Torres away to claim his second goal, which was originally disallowed for offside but overturned following a VAR check.
It was a dream return to their ground, with the reigning Spanish champions having mostly played at the 55,000 capacity Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill since renovations on the Nou Camp began in June 2023.
They were forced to play two matches at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium, home to their women’s team, this season after failing to get a permit for the Nou Camp through safety reasons.
Pogba Returns To Action In Ligue 1 (6)
Paul Pogba played his first minutes of professional football in more than two years as he came off the bench during Monaco’s 4-1 defeat by Rennes at the weekend.
The 32-year-old was introduced in the 85th minute at Rennes’ Roazhon Park, though his side were already four goals and a player down, following a red card for captain Denis Zakaria.
French World Cup winner Pogba broke down in tears when he joined Ligue 1 club Monaco last summer, after his four-year doping ban was reduced to 19 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
Pogba’s last competitive appearance was 811 days ago, when he featured for Juventus in a Serie A match against Empoli on 3 September 2023. He left Juventus by mutual consent in November 2024.
Pogba was provisionally banned from football for four years after a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in February 2024, following a doping test in August 2023.
Pogba maintained it was a mistake and that he was given a supplement without knowing it contained a banned substance.
The former Manchester United midfielder was permitted to return to football in March following the decision to reduce his ban.
Pogba watched from the bench as goals from Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal, Mahdi Camara, Breel Embolo and Ludovic Blas put Rennes out of sight.
Fellow substitute Mika Biereth pulled a goal back for Monaco in the 95th minute, but a second consecutive 4-1 defeat means Sebastien Pocognoli’s side drop to eighth in the table with 20 points after 13 games.
