Students of the King’s College, Lagos registering for MTN Football Scholar Season 4 at the Lagos Audition, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Hundreds of youngsters that thronged the centres of the audition in the ongoing MTN Football Scholar season 4 were all ecstatic about the uniqueness of the initiative.

The nationwide audition which started in Port Harcourt before taking place in other cities of Calabar, Akure, Enugu and Abuja, ended in Lagos over the weekend. The kids were unanimous in their declaration that the idea of combining schooling with active football is fantastic.

The audition which formed the process of securing tickets into the camp of this year’s edition witnessed display of excellent football skills and talents by the youngsters. Apart from the well-tested and experience coaches that drilled the boys, prominent ex-internationals were also on ground at the centres to motivate them.


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On Friday Magnus Carlsen also won the FIDE World Blitz Championship in Dubai and so the Norwegian now holds the crown in three different time controls. He finished on 17.0/21, a full point more than Ian Nepomniachtchi & Hikaru Nakamura, who finished two points ahead of the rest of the pack

source: ChessVibes.com

Friday Jun, 20 2014 World Cup Matches

Italy Vs. Costa Rica

After the stunning display, the Costa Ricans put up against Uruguay, few will bet against them. 

The Italians usually  have difficulty breaking down smaller teams or more respectable, the less favored teams. These teams usually bunker up and tried to catch their opponents on the break. The same  strategy the italians employ.  Don't see Costa Rica or Italy risk losing when they can both play for a draw, ensuring their qualification to the next round.

Prediction: Italy 0 vs. Costa Rica 0

Switzerland Vs France

Benzema will be brimming with confidence after his faux-hattrick against Honduras. The Swiss however, will be well aware of his threat. And might just be able to cope. Its funny how the French have really improved after their dismal performance in 2010. 

Prediction: Switzerland 1 vs. France 1

Honduras Vs Ecuador

This match promises to be a very open game as both teams look for maximum three points.

Prediction: Honduras 2 vs. Ecuador 3

In a tournament, full of goals, it was disappointing is a match go goal-less. If Super Eagles and Iran were pugilists, maybe the match might have been called off in round 4. That was how frustrating it was. The Iranians parked the bus and hoping against hope that they could get one on the break. They almost one did, via a corner kick. If not for the acrobatics of Vincent Enyeama- the mercurial Nigerian goal keeper, the effort, would have been the smash and grab, the Iranians had set-up to get. Sadly, The Super Eagles, a team previously renown in its glory days as a fearless attacking side, lacked the quality,tactics and personnel to break the iranians down. Lets see if there are lessons to be learnt from the match.

1. Keshi Keeps Ignoring the Startling Obvious to his detriment.

Ambrose is not a right-back . Every one can see. His crosses are so poor to say the least. He is much better as a centre-back. It's time to move him to his natural position in the centre and plug Azeez or anyone else that has good delivery as right back or play with 3 centre backs. The Super Eagles are too slow in the final third. It is just so plain to see. Yet nothing gets done to remedy this. 

2. Emenike needs a Partner.

Like Batman, Emenike misses his robin, Ideye Brown. Since it's too late to bring him in. Keshi needs to improvise with someone else. Maybe Osaze could suffice. His contribution in the match was very good though it could also be said that much of the iranian resistance had wilted away in the Brazilian scorching heat by the time he had come in as a second half substitute. Either way, a creative side kick should partner him upfront.

3. Forget Dribbling, Coordination

This is the world cup! Very few teams are going to allow a player waltz their through their defenses. For goodness sake, speed up the play in the final third. Also it helps conserve energy in the very hot atmosphere in Brazil. Moses, Musa and Emenike start their runs from their half and when they get the opponents final third get tired and their legs give in. 

4. Set Pieces 

The ability to convert set pieces is one of the big factors that differentiate world-beaters from lesser teams. For example, The U.S.A won their game against Ghana by converting a corner kick as well as Italy in their match against England. But anytime, Nigeria have dead ball situations, nothing becomes of it. In fact, it is wasted. 

5. There are Positives.

There were positives to take away from such a poor performance.

The Super Eagles improved defensively, Mikel and Onazi played well together in midfield. If it had been an open game, maybe we could have seen a better performance from the Super Eagles. In future games, hopefully against Bosnia, there will be a willingness for both teams to have a go at each other. 

So far so good. 

San Antonio Spurs beat Miami Heat (104-87) in Game 5 to win their fifth NBA Championship. In a game, that the Heat needed to win to a least give their challenge for a title, a glimmer of hope. And it almost went their way judging by  the first quarter  opening blitz, where they led the Spurs by double digits. That lead evaporated in the second quarter, when the Spurs came out fighting. For then onwards Miami were chasing the game.
Congrats Spurs
more to follow...

Who is going to win the world cup?  I wonder. There are a lot of formidable teams coming to the mundial this year. No European team has won the World cup whenever, it is hosted in the Americas. Therefore, that should be an indicator of who could win it. Or maybe not. The last time the world cup was hosted in South America, was in Mexico '86. Not considering U.S.A 1994, but if you must, then 1994.  Soccer has made several leaps and bounds since then.African teams have grown stronger. The game laws are biased towards the attack-minded teams. The best players enjoy more than necessary protection by referees and the dirty side of the game such as diving and time wasting, isn't forgiven like in 1980s. Little wonder that Brazil is only team from the Americas, that keeps appearing in the finale since 1994. Whereas three different teams from Europe have won it during this timeline. 

Therefore, an European team might just win it in South America for the first time.

1. Belgium : Have a crop of very exciting players such as : Hazard, Lukaku, Januzaj and Kompany. On paper, they look like world beaters but they have not yet been tested in a tournament setting.

They will leave their group but their lack of tournament experience will haunt them against a more experienced side. 

Verdict: Quarter-final.

2. England: Come on England! Goes the battle cry. England's journey in several world cups is a strange one. Their adventures usually end in a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out. This time, something feels different. Armed with quality young players such as Barkley, Lallana and Sterling, England looks most likely to pose their most forminable challenge for the crown in recent memory.

Verdict: Semi-finals.

3. Spain: In the last 8 years, Spain have occupied the enviable position that was Brazil's. Tikitata seems to have over-shadowed Samba. Spain before the 2008 European championship win, were regarded as the perennial under-achievers. How have times changed. The accent of the spanish team to the top of the soccer pyramid coincide with the dominance of Barcelona. With Barca's powers of the wane, would we see a commiserate effect on the national team? Most likely, if feelers from last years confederations cup is any thing to go by.

Verdict: Quarter-finals 

4. Uruguay: Forlan showed the rest of the world, how to use the much reviled Jalabiya in 2010. Becoming the most valuable of the tournament in the process. Four years later, not so sure if he still got it. Suarez, when he rejoins the team, might not be 100% fit. That leaves Cavani to lead the charge. Sadly, it will not be enough to escape the group of death.

Verdict: Early Exit

5.Brazil: The hosts will love to win their sixth title in front of their home fans. Opponents will have  to cope with, not just the attacking talents that the Brazilian team possess, but also the intimidating atmosphere, that will be generated in whichever stadium, the home team plays in.

Verdict: Semi-final

6.Argentina: Possess the most gifted player in the world. Messi is probably the greatest player, the world has ever seen since Maradona. If they can solidify their defense. then they have chance to lift the trophy.

Verdict: Finalist

7. Holland: Under the tutelage of Manchester United bound, Loius Van Gaal, the dutch will play in their usual fluid attacking style. Which will be a departure from the ultra-defensive style of Marwijk. 

Verdict: Quarter-Finals

8. Italy: The Azzuris had a disaster in the 2010 edition. But often times, when the italians leave their group, they find themselves, if not in the finale, a very close to winning it. This Italian team has been going through a period of transition and rebuilding but their performances in both the European Champions in 2012 and the Confederations Cup last year, shows that the Italian team is now ready to challenge, should they leave the group.

Verdict: Champions

The Super Eagles played the Americans in a friendly warm-up game for the world cup.  As the last warm up game, both teams put up their most probable starting eleven. The Nigerians having included new players, probably wanted to use the match to bud them into the team. Well, it did not go so well as the American beat the Super Eagles 2-1, with Altidore scoring a brace. 

I collated a few lessons to be learnt from this encounter.

1. Don't Change a Winning Team.

Nigerians became Africans Champions last year for the first time since 1994. Between those years, the Super Eagles had fielded very strong teams in each challenge, but fell short each time.  One of the reasons, the 2013 team were successful, were others had failed, was that the team had few big egos and less bickering. The harmony amongst the players, helped solidify the team to a cohesive unit.

But with this 23 man World Cup squad, the functional members of the African Cup team e.g Sunday Mba , Ideye were dropped for the big egos: Osaze and co. From the friendly match, team cohesion, both is attack and defense was absent.

2. Don't Expect Anything from the Full-Backs

Back in the days of yore, the Nigerian team were renown for the rampaging runs from the wings from the full backs such as Iroha, Eguavoen to mention a few. Sadly, with Echejile out of the world cup through injury and Ambrose being a static full back, the Nigerian attack have no way to stretch their opponents through the wings.  One wonders why a full back with poor crossing ability like Ambrose, should continue to occupy that position?

3.Midfield is Ominious.

With Mba, Ideye, Igiebor, Joel Obi gone, it is no surprise, that the Nigeria midfield looks very much weak and ineffectual. One thing that was really different about the 2013 team was their high work rate. They worked harder in getting the ball than any Nigerian team before them. Now they have been robbed off their work-horses.

4. A Good Defence Gives Anyone a Chance.

Few teams are blessed with Messis or Maradona, but having a good defense is a great leveler. It gives any team a chance to do well especially in a tournament setting. The Ghanaian team in the 2010 world cup comes to mind. That was a team that lacked star players but almost found themselves in semi-finals. The match really exposed the high level of naiveté in the Super Eagles defense. Almost unforgivable defending.  It was so bad, that Altidore- a striker that in a 6 month barren spell almost scored a hat-trick! The defensive problems are a combination of both personnel and organization or tactics. If Keshi does not sort out the defensive problem then the soccer loving Nigerian fans will have to make necessary changes to their travel arrangements.

5. Keshi Does Not Know His Starting Eleven.

Keshi truly is a great coach and it is noteworthy that a Nigerian is coaching the Nigerian Team to the World Cup. It is something to be proud of. The level of experimenting with formations and personnel at this point, is indicative of how unsure, Keshi is of his side. 

6. Too Many Minds.

In the movie, the Last Sumarai, Tom Cruise reversed the trend of the ass-whopping that his lack of concentration was getting him, in the hands of his captors,by focusing on a single purpose. Same thing can be said of Super Eagles. From the match, one could not see what they were trying to do. Play like Barcelona with short passes through the middle? For which they lack the fluidity. Or have a high pressing game? The strikers received non-existent service. Maybe they could go for the Route 1 approach with Uchebo at the tip, but he is played in midfield. The Super Eagles need a single game plan and not try to do too many things at once.

Such a game plan needs to be tailored towards the personnel in the team.

7. It is never too late to make amends.

Keshi should look into the possibility of recalling any amongst the outcasts of Ogu, Igiebor,Ideye, Mba. It is obvious that the inclusion of Ameobi, Osaze,Micheal is a big mistake. And it is not too late to correct it.