Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao has joined French side Monaco on a season-long loan deal. The Portugal left-back struggled for first-team football at the Spanish club last season. Former Manchester United manager David Moyes tried to bring him to Old Trafford in September 2013 but a transfer deadline day loan move fell through. The 27-year-old joined Real from Benfica for a reported £25m in 2011.
Egypt has withdrawn its men’s Under-23 team and women’s senior team from the 2015 African Games, which will be held from 6-18 September in Brazzaville. The rules state that the Organising Committee could replace a team with the opponent it eliminated. However, Senegal (Women) and Burundi (Men) decided not to take up a spot because of the short notice period. It means both the men’s and women’s competition will have one group of three teams and one group of four.
Women
Group A – Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire
Group B – Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa
Men
Group A – Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso
Group B – Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria.
Asier Illarramendi has completed his return to Real Sociedad, signing from Real Madrid in a £19m deal. Illarramendi left Sociedad to join Madrid in 2013.
Sky Sports are reporting that Besiktas have agreed a deal to sign Manchester United keeper Victor Valdes. I hope it is true because Valdes remains a great goalkeeper.
Spain became the first nation to have five teams qualify for the Champions League group stages as Valencia beat Monaco in a qualifying play-off. The 2001 runners-up join Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Sevilla are also in the draw after qualifying via their triumph in last season’s Europa League. The draw for the group stages will be made on Thursday. Valencia secured their place via a 4-3 aggregate victory, despite a 2-1 defeat in France. Former Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo scored the visitors’ crucial away goal. This was the first season that is was possible for one nation to have five team in the 32-team group stages, with UEFA introducing a Champions League place as a prize for the Europa League winners in 2014-15. Spanish teams have won four of the last seven Champions League, with Barcelona defeating Juventus in May’s final. Spain lead UEFA’s the club coefficient rankings – the system used to decide which leagues get most qualifying spots for its competitions – by a considerable margin.
It was redemption time for Petr Cech against Liverpool yesterday. At fault for both goals in Arsenal’s opening weekend home defeat against West Ham, the 33-year-old was unbeatable as he denied Liverpool on several occasions. “When you start with a new club and everything goes wrong, you need to bounce back and this is what I tried to do,” said Cech. “Today was one those games where I was in the right place at the right times and helped the team overcome a difficult moment in the first half.”
Chelsea winger Juan Cuadrado is set to sign for Juventus after being welcomed by the Serie A club at Turin airport. The Colombia international, who joined the Blues for £23.3m from Fiorentina in February, has been linked with a loan move to the Italian champions. The 27-year-old has made only 15 appearances for the Stamford Bridge side, including four starts. The Premier League champions signed Spain winger Pedro from Barcelona for £21.1m on Thursday. On his arrival in Turin, Cuadrado was greeted by waiting fans and the club posted a video saying: “He has arrived! He quickly found an extraordinary welcome. #welcomecuadrado”
Barcelona full-back Dani Alves could be out for up to a month with a groin strain he suffered during Sunday’s La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao. The 32-year-old was replaced 19 minutes into Barca’s 1-0 win at San Mames after clashing with Bilbao’s Aritz Aduriz. Barca did not say how long Alves might be sidelined, although Spanish media reported it could be up to four weeks. The club also revealed the ankle injury suffered by Sergio Busquets in the same game was “nothing important”. The 27-year-old midfielder was replaced by Marc Bartra in the second half in Bilbao after a collision with Athletic striker Aduriz. The champions will hope to have Spaniard Busquets available for Saturday’s La Liga game against Malaga at the Nou Camp. If the worst prognosis of Alves’ injury proves correct, he will also miss a further three league fixtures: away at Atletico Madrid on 12 September, at home to Levante on 20 September and the trip to Celta Vigo three days later.
West Brom have rejected a transfer request from striker Saido Berahino. Albion rejected an offer for the 22-year-old from Tottenham last week and have reiterated their intention to keep him at the Hawthorns. They stated their position is unchanged from 18 August, when chairman Jeremy Peace said that selling the player was “simply not on our agenda”. Berahino was dropped at the weekend, with boss Tony Pulis saying he was not in the right frame of mind to play. In the absence of the England Under-21 striker, who scored 20 goals last season, the Baggies were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea – a result which left them bottom of the Premier League table with one point from three games.
Mario Balotelli will take a pay cut to return to AC Milan from Liverpool on a one-season loan deal. Liverpool are also going to pay some of Balotelli’s wages as part of the move, which is close to being completed. The Italy striker, 25, scored just one Premier League goal after a £16m move from the Serie A club in August 2014. He was left out of the pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia and has been training away from the first team. The Reds have signed forwards Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Danny Ings, while Divock Origi has arrived at Anfield after a year on loan at Lille.
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce narrowly held off Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands to retain her 100m World Championships title in Beijing. Fraser-Pryce, 28, started strongly but was almost caught by Schippers on the line as she crossed in 10.76 seconds. It was a sixth career gold at the World Championships for Fraser-Pryce, who won the 100m and 200m double in 2013. Schippers, a heptathlete bronze medallist two years ago, finished ahead of American Tori Bowie in third. Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare came last in the star studded final.
Roger Federer beat world number one Novak Djokovic to win his seventh Cincinnati Masters title on Sunday. The 34-year-old Swiss, who knocked out Britain’s Andy Murray in the semi-final, recorded a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 win. Djokovic lost the first set on a tie break, and the 28-year-old Serb then double faulted at break point in his first service game of the second set. Federer, who will now be the number two seed at the US Open, held serve to win in one hour 30 minutes. “We really get the best out of each other,” said Federer, who made it an 87th tour-level title. “We have improved a lot playing against each other over the years. “It’s very special for me. I will try my best to come back for many years to come.” With the victory, Federer denied Djokovic from completing the set of all nine ATP Masters titles and took a 21-20 edge in career head-to-head meetings. “I really hope he (Djokovic) can win here one day,” added Federer. “He deserves it.” The win will also give Federer confidence going into US Open, which begins on 31 August, where he will be seeking a sixth title at Flushing Meadows and his first since 2008.
A 26-year-old striker for Cameroonian second division team Dynamo de Douala collapsed during a match and later died, according to Cameroon’s professional Football league. Leopold Angong Oben was fouled in the penalty area, earning his team a spot-kick during the first half of the match against Colombe du Dja-et-Lobo at the Reunification Stadium in the commercial capital Douala on Saturday. He received treatment on the field and resumed play but collapsed minutes later. “He collapsed in the stadium in the 33rd minute of the match. “His team mates tried to revive him without success,” said sports journalist Aime Moukoko, who was in the stadium reporting on the match. The referee called for the assistance of Red Cross personnel present at the stadium, the Cameroon Professional Football League said in a statement. “(Oben) was evacuated to a Douala hospital where he passed away minutes after,” the statement said. His cause of death has not been disclosed. Oben was the second player from Dynamo de Douala to die in the span of three weeks after 27-year-old goalkeeper Ferdinand Mbog passed away following an unspecified illness.
Usain Bolt produced perhaps his greatest performance of all as he put a troubled build-up behind him to beat two-time doper and clear favourite Justin Gatlin to retain his world 100m title. The controversial Gatlin came into the final on a 28-race unbeaten run and apparently relishing his role as the sport’s bad guy. But at the same Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing where Bolt announced himself to the world with two Olympic golds and two world records in 2008, the Jamaican superstar came past a faltering Gatlin at the death to snatch victory by one hundredth of a second. Bolt’s 9.79 seconds was more than two tenths off his world record, but this was a night for athletics to celebrate victories rather than times. Canada’s Andre de Grasse and young American Trayvon Bromell were both awarded bronzes in 9.92secs. Few noticed. This was once again the Bolt show, even as the world doubted him, even as his own struggles this summer continued in a semi-final when he stumbled and almost fell. Gatlin had looked unbeatable in running 9.77secs in his own semi-final, but starting out in lane seven – US team-mate Tyson Gay between him and Bolt in five – he was the slowest of the main contenders from the block.
Sunday 23 August, 2015:
Bayelsa 0 – 1 Sharks
Lobi Stars 1 – 0 Ifeanyi Uba
Akwa United 2 – 2 Giwa
Kano Pillars 1 – 2 Nasarwa
Enugu Rangers 1 – 1 Dolphins
Sunshine Stars 5 – 0 El-Kanemi
Warri Wolves 1 – 0 Wikki Tourists
Abia Warriors 1 – 0 Heartland
Kwara United 1 – 0 Shooting Stars
Former Nigerian international Taye Taiwo has signed a short-term deal with Finnish league leaders HJK Helsinki until the end of the season, the club announced on Sunday. Out of contract since being released by Turkish club Bursaspor in April, the 30-year-old left back won a league title in France with Marseille in 2010 and has also had stints with AC Milan in Italy and Queens Park Rangers. “He has a very interesting history, and very few players from top European clubs have played in Finland,” HJK sporting director Tuomo Saarnio said of his new signing, who has over 50 caps for Nigeria and played at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Jose Anigo quit as coach of Tunisian club Esperance after Saturday’s 0-1 home defeat by Al Ahly in the group phase of the African Confederation Cup. The 54-year-old Frenchman left his position after just seven games in charge, having lost five matches since taking over in June. His assistant Bernard Rodriguez, who joined with Anigo, is to take over, club officials said. The defeat to Ahly confirmed Esperance’s exit from the competition. Holders Al Ahly all-but guaranteed their semi-final spot after that victory over Esperance in Rades on Saturday. Former African champions Esperance exit the second-tier continental club championship after four defeats at the group stage. They have three points from five games, seven behind Group A leaders Ahly and six behind fellow Tunisians, Etoile du Sahel.
Saturday 23 August, 2015:
Bayelsa vs Sharks
Lobi Stars vs Ifeanyi Ubah
Akwa United vs Giwa
Kano Pillars vs Nasarawa
Enugu Rangers vs Dolphins
Enyimba vs Taraba
Sunshine Stars vs El-Kanemi
Warri Wolves vs Wikki Tourists
Abia Warriors vs Heartland
Kwara United vs Shooting Stars
Saturday 22 August, 2015:
Manchester United 0 – 0 Newcastle
Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Aston Villa
Leicester 1 – 1 Tottenham
Norwich 1 – 1 Stoke
Sunderland 1 – 1 Swansea
West Ham 3 – 4 Bournemouth
FIFA has appointed the president of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, Amaju Pinnick as a member of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Organizing Committee. In a letter dated 14th August 2015 and signed by FIFA Secretary General, Jerome Valcke, the world body wrote: “We are very pleased to inform you that you have been appointed as a member of the Organizing Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Please accept our sincere congratulations on this nomination. We wish you success and enjoyment in this role at FIFA and look forward to welcoming you soon in Zurich.”
Naija Sports Crib 