Nigerian Football
BREAKING! MIKEL OBI RETURNS TO ENGLAND, SIGNS FOR STOKE CITY
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Mikel Obi whose 15th anniversary of international appearance for Super Eagles falls on this date has signed for English Championship side, Stoke City.
International news agencies have it that the former Chelsea midfielder has arrived in Stoke for a medical as he nears return to English football after leaving Turkish side Trabzonspor on a free exit.
He was pictured arriving in Stoke as he is set to complete a medical ahead of his move to the Championship side.
The Nigerian midfielder is currently a free agent after leaving Turkish outfit Trabzonspor by mutual consent back in March.
Stoke, according to Daily News, have been in talks with Mikel for a couple of weeks and he is set to sign a one-year deal with the West Midlands club.
And a picture of the former Chelsea and Middleborough player was doing the rounds on social media as he headed to the club’s Clayton Wood training ground.
Mikel made 249 Premier League appearances for Chelsea in an 11-year spell, which ended when he left Stamford Bridge in 2017.
He won the Champions League and Europa League, two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the League Cup with the London side.
After leaving Stamford Bridge he joined Chinese side Tianjin TEDA and had a brief spell at Middleborough in 2019.
Mikel played 23 times for Trabzonspor in the last year but he left the club days after expressing his concern that the Turkish Super Lig was continuing amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Stoke are looking to strengthen their side after finishing 15th in the Championship under former Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill.
Mikel’s arrival at the club could be announced today and it would be their fourth signing of the summer.
So far this transfer window, they have already secured the signings of Morgan Fox, James Chester and Steven Fletcher on free transfers as O’Neill hopes to push the club closer towards the automatic promotion and playoff places this season.
CAREER CV AND HONOURS
· Lyn ( 2004-2005) – six appearances, one goal
· Chelsea (2006-2017) – 372 appearances, six goals
· Tianjin Teda (2017-2018) – 31 appearances, three goals
· Middlesbrough (2018-2019) – 19 appearances, one goal
· Trabzonspor (2019-2020) – 23 appearances
· Premier League – 2009-2010 and 2014-2015
· FA Cup – 2007, 2009 and 2012
· League Cup -2007
· Champions League – 2012
· Europa League – 2013
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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