International Football
ARGENTINE PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS, ORODE, NIGERIAN PLAYER IN ARGENTINA
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Olé, a publication in Argentina has highlighted Felix Orode, a Nigerian player featuring in the domestic league. It began with a question lead: “Did you know that there is a Nigerian who plays here has chances to face the National Team (Argentina) in the World Cup? The Nigerian who had his debut in the Argentine league under Coach Diego Simeone now features for Defensores de Pronunciamiento.
“My wife already tells me that Nigeria-Argentina is just another classic,” Orode joked with Olé. According to information at the disposal of www.sportsvillagesquare , Orode had a tough time adapting to customs and language in Argentina when he made his debut in San Lorenzo in 2009. According to Olé, Orode’s career is taking a new turn since last year when the Super Eagles began to follow him. “Yes, gentlemen: Felix could be Messi’s rival!” remarked Olé. The highlight of the interview translated from Spanish runs:
- What did you think when you saw that Argentina will face Nigeria in the group phase?
FELIX ORODE: (smiles) I was looking at the drawing at home and, as soon as it came out, my wife said: “Again with you, we are a classic.” It’s going to be a nice game. It is a difficult group, where anyone can beat anyone…
- Your children Simona (almost two years) and Salvador (two), do you explain that his mother is Argentina and his father is Nigerian?
Yes, I taught them the two flags and I tell them whenever they have two countries. I feel the same way. I’m even doing Argentina citizenship and I want to make them Nigerian. I hope that someday we can travel all four, I want my mom to meet her grandchildren…
- There is talk that you have a chance to go to the World Cup. Can you imagine yourself in Russia?
It’s my big dream! It all came up when in Sportivo barracks I was given the ticket to go visit my family. When we arrived in Nigeria they found out that I was playing in Argentina and they started following me. They asked the club to send my videos and now we’re in touch. I know it’s hard, but with God everything is possible.
· Do you know the players of the national team?A few. I talk a lot with Moses Simon: with him I shared a squad in the Under 20, where I played in 2007. He told me many things and hopefully we can share the team again. · You already thought about changing the shirt with Messi if it touches you?It would be incredible, but I do not know if it would cheer me up. I always look at Barcelona for him, I admire him a lot. There are not many like him, a Messi pass is a goal. · What does your family say to you in Nigeria?My family is very happy, they call me every day and they tell me what is said about me in the media there. The only problem is that I am unaccustomed to the language and sometimes I mix Spanish with English and my mother challenges me because she does not understand me, heh.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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