Sports
Academy: AS Roma Partners Nigerian Clubside
Italian football giant, AS Roma has confirmed its first presence on the African soil, with a partnership with Nigerian club side, Garden City Panthers of Abuja.
The club confirmed this on Wednesday via its website, www.asroma.com/en, that it had entered an agreement with Garden City Panthers to run a football academy in Nigeria.
“The link between AS Roma and the African country grows ever closer with this latest news, which will see young boys from the age of 5-17 given the chance to follow the same training methods experienced by their compatriots in the Italian capital.
“The new academy will be run in conjunction with local club Garden City Panthers FC, and is the club’s first on the African continent.
“We are really pleased to have begun this partnership with the club,” said Robinson Adakosa, President of Garden City Panthers FC.
“This project is the result of our great relationship with AS Roma, based on creating opportunities and training programmes for Nigerian children through our academies.
“This new collaboration is an important milestone for all of us,” the club said via its official website.
The club also explained that its coaching staff from the Giallorossi will help support the work done by local coaches, advising them on methods and techniques to help all students grow and develop.
In addition, a total of 60 scholarships will be made available to the most talented players at U-13, U-15 and U-17 levels.
The new academy marks the first in a planned expansion throughout the region, with further AS Roma Academy sites being worked on in Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Lagos and Benin City.
The close bond between Roma and the country of Nigeria began in 2018 when, with Italy not participating at that summer’s World Cup, the Giallorossi ‘adopted’ the Super Eagles as the team they would support.
Initially a social media initiative, led to the creation of the club’s Pidgin-language social media account, along with a subsequent link-up with the Nigerian FA.
“In the last few years a digital link between Nigeria and our club has been formed,” said Francesco Calvo, Roma’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“Opening our first academy on the continent is a natural and positive result of that, especially in an area of the world where so many boys and girls love the game.
“We want to give them the opportunities and resources to help their development as both footballers and people.”
Confirming the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, Adakosa said that all the paper works have been completed.
He said the Coronavirus pandemic denied both Roma and Garden City Panthers a formal ceremony, adding several meetings took place via Zoom before the agreement was reached.
Adakosa explained that Garden City Panthers and Edo State Government are in talks to have a branch of the academy in Benin City.
“We will be extending our tentacles to some parts of the country, so that we can spread our search for talented players across the country.
“I am delighted about this partnership and it is the beginning of many things to come through Garden City Panthers FC,” Adakosa said.
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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