Four time African Player of the Year and Former Cameroon international, Samuel Eto’o, has officially completed his transfer to Sampdoria, as they and Everton confirm the move.  The move has been known for some time now, but could not be finalised as all the necessary paperwork had not been completed.  The Cameroonian striker was presented to the club’s fans on Sunday, and is now officially a Blucerchiato, having signed a three-and-a-half year deal. “Everton manager Roberto Martinez has thanked Samuel Eto’o for his contribution to Everton after the 33-year-old striker’s transfer to Serie A side Sampdoria,” the English club confirmed in a statement. “The Cameroon international joined the Club on a free transfer in August 2014, scoring four goals in 20 appearances. “A four-time African Footballer of the Year and former Champions League winner with Barcelona and Internazionale, Eto’o has returned to Italy on a three-and-a-half year deal with the Genoese club. “On behalf of all Evertonians, we wish him well for the next chapter in his career.” Posting on his official Twitter page Eto’o spoke of his delight at the move, and appeared to contradict the length of his contract. “I have the pleasure to announce that I have signed a contract with U.C. Sampdoria for 3.5 years.”

Former Super Eagles Goalkeeper, Wilfred Agbonavbare, who was also Rayo Vallecano’s goalkeeper between 1990 and 1996, has died from cancer. The Nigerian passed away early on Tuesday morning at the age of 48. Wilfred’s footballing career began at New Nigeria Bank and after a stint at Brentford FC in England, he moved to Rayo Vallecano, where he played for six seasons. In 1996, he signed for Écija Balompie, where he stayed for a year. Wilfred was an international for his home country and in 1994 won the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia. In that same year, he also took part in the USA World Cup as Peter Rufai’s substitute. His team, affectionately known as the ‘Super Eagles’, managed to get as far as the group of 16 stage in the tournament. The Nigerian keeper, who was always one of the Rayo fans’ favourites, was being cared for at the Príncipe de Asturias Hospital in Alcalá de Henares near Madrid. Rayo Vallecano did their very best for Wilfred’s children to fly from Nigeria to see their father before he died. To this end, half of the 21,000 euros raised for dona Carmen, the elderly lady who was to be evicted from her home in Vallecas and who insisted that she did not need so much money, was used. The club did all it could to get the ex-keeper’s three children over from Nigeria to see their father for the last time, but all the paperwork and bureaucratic steps to be taken were not completed in time and tragically, Wilfred died before their arrival. His wife died years ago, also from cancer.

Czech, Tomas Berdych ended a 17-match losing streak against Rafael Nadal as he outplayed the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, to reach the Australian Open semi-finals. The Czech, seeded seventh, won 6-2 6-0 7-6 (7-5) and will face Andy Murray (who beat Nick Kyrgios) in the last four. Berdych, 29, began working with Murray’s former coach Dani Vallverdu at the end of 2014. An 18th successive defeat by third seed Nadal would have set a new record for men’s tennis. “It feels great,” said Berdych. “The really good thing is the plan that we put together was the right one. “Everything was working. I was able to execute it really well. But still, until the last point you can’t think about anything else. “When it’s done, it’s done. It’s great. I might be think about it and enjoy the time until tomorrow morning. When I wake up, I need to get myself ready for another one. There is a still long way to go in this tournament and I need to be ready for it.” Nine years after his last victory against the 14-time Grand Slam champion, Berdych took full advantage of an opponent struggling desperately to find his game. Nadal, 28, was playing only his 12th match since Wimbledon last summer, and his first against a top-10 opponent since he beat Novak Djokovic in the French Open final in June. He insisted there had been no physical issues, saying it was “just not my day”, but added: “You cannot expect to win matches in quarter-finals of a Grand Slam helping the opponent to play well. “That’s what I did the first two sets. From the beginning of the third, I played with more character. “More the way that I have to play to be where I want to be, where I have been for the last lot of years.”

Mon 26 Jan 2015:

Cape Verde 0 – 0 Zambia

Congo DR 1 – 1 Tunisia

Tue 27 Jan 2015:

Senegal Vs Algeria 7pm

South Africa Vs Ghana 7pm

(NB: Time = Nigerian)

The matches will hold on the weekend of February 14 and 15, 2015.