Nigerian Football
NWANKWO KANU IS THE BEST JANUARY SIGNING BY ARSENE WENGER
UK’s daily Mail has reported that Arsene Wenger has named Nwankwo Kanu ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as his best January signing while manager of Arsenal.
Kanu joined the Gunners in 1999 after making the move from Inter Milan for a fee of £4.15million and he quickly became an important player in the second half of his first season.
He came off the bench in his first few games, netting goals against Derby, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa and North London rivals Tottenham.
The striker scored 17 goals in his first full season, including a 15-minute hat-trick against Chelsea, and helped his side reach the UEFA Cup final.
When asked about his best piece of business in the January window, Wenger opted for the Nigerian over Aubameyang who he signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
‘What a difficult question. Over 20 years, maybe Kanu. In the middle of the season. That had a big impact and he was a huge player,’ he told beIN Sport.
Kanu was popular among Arsenal fans during his five-and-a-half years at the club. He was part of the Invincibles team from 2003-2004 and managed 43 Premier League goals in 195 games.
He went on to play for West Brom and Portsmouth where he finished his career in 2012.
Wenger signed Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for what was a club record fee of £56million.
The striker managed 10 goals in the remainder of the 2017-2018 before scoring 31 in all competitions during his first full season at the club.
The Gabon international was on 20 for the current campaign before football was suspended in March.
Wenger, who is now working as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, revealed he is not a supporter of the mid-season transfer window and believes it should be scrapped.
‘No, I am not [in favour of it]. Because I think it is like a race in a marathon where you change the shoes halfway,’ he added.
‘It is not right, when once you have started the season, you have to finish the season with the same players.
‘Or you keep it open the whole season like it was when I arrived in England. They have chosen a rule that is not right.’
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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