Sports
Quest For Second Treble Motivating Man City
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has said that winning the Treble for a second consecutive year is an inspiration and motivation.
City won the Premier League, Champions league and FA Cup last season and are on track to repeat the achievement.
They faced Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final last night following a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.
“We want to create the legacy. We want two Trebles in a row,” said Silva.
“We want four Premier Leagues in a row. We want the Champions League twice in a row. If we win two Trebles in a row that would be legacy.
“[But] in one week we could be out of all the competitions. But we are fighting.”
City take on Chelsea on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final and sit top of the Premier League after title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal both lost at the weekend.
While Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites to win all three competitions, they have not always been at their best this season and Silva said there has been a “hangover” from the last campaign.
“To have that hunger to again go is not easy. It’s a mix of having a lot of players injured, having new players and those that have left. New players have to adapt which is not easy,” he said.
“Our feeling inside is to fight as much as we could. We have to fight. We can fight for all three competitions.”
While his players are considering the prospect of a second Treble in a row – something no team has done before – City boss Guardiola says those things are “hypothetical dreams” for now.
“I am not going to say ‘don’t feel this’ to my players, but I have a different opinion. We are far away from those hypothetical dreams,” he said.
“When we are in the final of the FA Cup and two or three games in the Premier League and in the final of the Champions League I will start to think about that.”
After a breathless last-eight encounter in Madrid last week, Guardiola’s side will feel confident knowing they have beaten Real Madrid in their past three home games, including a 4-0 thrashing in last year’s semi-final.
Guardiola said City must have the “right energy” to prevent 14-time champions Real getting the better of them but that he does not fear Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
“If you think we have done it already it’s not good. We need that hunger to perform against teams,” the Spaniard said.
“I don’t fear Real Madrid. I respect them a lot. I have faced them many times. I’m not going to talk great things about them, and give you my opinion. And if I say I’m scared of them, it would be false,” he said ahead of their clash last night.
Sports
Iwobi Optimistic On S’Eagles Qualification
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
Sports
ATLANTICBELL CEO ADVICE SPORTS WRITERS ON SPECIALIZATION
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
Sports
DEPUTY PRESIDENT EXPRESSES COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT SPORTS DEV, SWAN
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
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