Kaka will pull on Brazil yellow again after being included in the squad for the friendlies against Costa Rica and US next month. The 33-year-old Orlando City midfielder was left out of the squads for the 2015 Copa America and 2014 World Cup. He will be joined by Paris Saint-Germain forward Lucas and winger Hulk, currently with Zenit St Petersburg, who both earned recalls.
After a bout of fun Twitter banter between Yaya Toure and team-mate David Silva on Wednesday over who scored Manchester City’s opening goal in Monday’s 3-0 win over West Brom, it appears that the Premier League’s goal accreditation panel has made the decision for them. Yaya Toure had initially been credited with the goal, but now Premier League has twitted “GOAL ACCREDITATION PANEL @MCFC’s 1st goal against West Brom was in fact a @21LVA goal and has not been credited to @YayaToure” meaning the Silva has the goal. During the said match, a Toure shot appeared to take a slight deflection off David Silva before going through defender Craig Dawson’s legs and trickling over the line. This verdict means that Silva has score City’s opening goal of the season for the past three years!
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has joined Serie A side Roma on a season-long loan. The Italian club have paid an initial £2.9m, with a further £7.9m due if the move is made permanent. “I came here to win titles with Roma,” Dzeko said. “I can only promise one thing and that is that I will give my best for this club in every game.” The 29-year-old Bosnia-Hercegovina international joined City from Wolfsburg in January 2011 for £27m. He had signed a new four-year contract at Etihad Stadium last summer. However, manager Manuel Pellegrini recently admitted Dzeko was likely to leave following the £49m capture of Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling. Dzeko was City’s leading scorer with 15 goals in 2012-13 and hit 26 more in all competitions as they won the Premier League the following season, but he managed only six goals in 32 appearances last season.
Costa Rica head coach Paulo Wanchope has resigned after being involved in a brawl during a match against Panama. The 39-year-old former Derby County and Manchester City striker retaliated after being pushed by a steward during the under-23 Olympic qualifier on Tuesday. The struggle between the two men ended when security guards pulled them apart. “Following a meeting, the manager Wanchope has decided to step aside,” said a Costa Rica statement. Wanchope said he got angry when the steward stopped him getting to the pitch. He said: “He denied me access even though I had accreditation. Then I decided to open the gate myself. Then I was pushed by the steward who was there and I pushed him back. You could all see that.” The former West Ham player added: “A thousand apologies to everyone in Panama for this incident, obviously also to Costa Rica for what has happened. “I have always been known for defending my country, and behaving in the best possible way. We’re human beings and I reacted in a way that was wrong.”
Southampton have signed Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu for £5m on a three-year contract. The 23-year-old Spaniard played 34 times for the Blues after joining the club from Barcelona in 2011. Romeu has spent the past two seasons on loan, at German club Stuttgart and at Valencia in his homeland.
Nigeria’s U-23 team coach, Samson Siasia, has invited 31 players for camping in preparation for next month’s All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo. Nigeria will face Ghana, Senegal and Egypt in Group B of the men’s football tournament of the 11th All Africa Games holding from September 3 to 18. The invited players are:
Barcelona’s Uruguay forward Luis Suarez is on a three-man shortlist for UEFA’s Best Player in Europe award for 2014-15. Team mate and fellow forward Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo are the other two players.
Chelsea team doctor Eva Carneiro is set to lose her place on the bench for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City after criticism from manager Jose Mourinho. The Blues boss said his medical staff were “naive” for treating Eden Hazard during the 2-2 draw with Swansea. Carneiro will continue to be Chelsea’s first-team doctor but her role at the club will be significantly changed.She will no longer attend matches or training sessions. Carneiro will, however, continue to work with first-team players at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.
Watford striker Odion Ighalo says he will get even better after scoring a goal on his Premier League debut in Saturday’s 2-2 daw at Everton. The Nigerian, 25, helped Watford win promotion last season and is thrilled to be in the top flight. “Scoring my first Premier League goal was one of the moments I had waited for all my life,” he told BBC Sport. “I can do even better as long as I keep keep working hard, and I think my goal is the first of many to come.” Ighalo’s 83rd-minute-strike his put his side 2-1 up at Goodison Park and although Arouna Kone’s equaliser prevented it from being the wining goal, the 25-year-old is delighted with his first taste of life in the Premier League.
Substitute Pedro scored an extra-time winner as Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup for a record-equalling fifth time after a nine-goal thriller in Tbilisi. Europa League winners Sevilla surprised the Champions League holders when Ever Banega netted a delightful free-kick. Lionel Messi scored two sublime free-kicks to put Barca 2-1 ahead before Rafinha and Luis Suarez made it 4-1. Jose Antonio Reyes, a Kevin Gameiro penalty and a Yevhen Konoplyanka goal forced extra time before Pedro struck. Barcelona’s first success in the competition since 2011 means they join Italian side AC Milan in winning it five times. Barca’s triumph means they have now won four trophies this year after winning the treble last season.
Hertha Berlin’s team bus has been shot at on the eve of a German Cup match. The Bundesliga club say the bus was fired at by a motorcyclist in Bielefeld in north-west Germany but added that no-one was injured. Hertha are staying near Bielefeld before their first-round tie with German second division side Arminia Bielefeld on Monday night. Only the driver was on board at the time of the shooting and police are now investigating. The vehicle was travelling from the team hotel to pick the players up from Bielefeld Central Station. Hertha say the motorcyclist had overtaken the bus and threatened the driver “with his fist”, before turning and pointing a gun at the bus and the driver. Pictures from the club show the windscreen of the bus with a bullet hole. Hertha chief executive Michael Preetz said: “We are deeply shocked and hope that the perpetrators will be caught. Luckily our bus driver got off with a fright.” Arminia Bielefeld tweeted: “We are shocked by the attack on the team bus from HerthaBSC.”
Xherdan Shaqiri is having medical at Stoke City ahead of his proposed move from Inter Milan, report Sky Sport News. The winger was at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday to watch Stoke’s Premier League defeat to Liverpool. Stoke had agreed a club record fee of £12m for the Swiss international but they withdrew the offer in July after he failed to respond to their deadline.
Barcelona striker Neymar has been diagnosed with mumps and could miss the start of the season. The Brazil international is expected to be out for two weeks and will miss the European Super Cup against Sevilla on Tuesday and the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao on 14 and 17 August. He could also miss the league opener against Athletic Bilbao on 23 August. Neymar, 23, scored 39 goals last season as Barcelona won the treble.
The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) said a programme of year-ending competitive domestic fixtures would be drawn up after the ban on football and other sporting activities in the country was lifted. President Ernest Koroma lifted the ban after the number of recorded ebola cases in Sierra Leone went down. The suspension was put in place a year ago to stop the spread of the outbreak in the country – one of three nations, along with Guinea and Liberia, most severely hit by the disease. The SLFA welcomed the lifting of the ban. “This will now provide us with an opportunity to carry out football related activities in the country which is the primary function of the FA,” the head of SLFA competitions, Sorie Ibrahim Sesay, told BBC Sport. “Our clubs can now go into full scale training sessions. “The SLFA will soon come out with a calendar of activities in playing local competitions to climax the 2015 calendar year,” Sesay added.
Marseille boss Marcelo Bielsa announced his resignation minutes after their opening-day Ligue 1 defeat by Caen. The 60-year-old, who was linked to the vacant Mexico job this week, was just starting his second campaign in charge, having finished fourth last season. He handed his letter of resignation to the club’s president before announcing the decision in a news conference. “I have finished my work here, I will return to my country,” the Argentine, who had not told his players, said. Caen won the match 1-0 with Andy Delort, a summer signing from Wigan, scoring in the 27th minute, Bielsa managed several clubs in Latin America before spells as manager of Espanyol, Argentina, Chile and Athletic Bilbao.
Super Eagles of Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo made his English Premiership debut against Everton yesterday. Ighalo came in as a 74th minute substitute replacing Miguel Layun and scored a nice goal in the 83rd minute. The match ended two goals apiece. Mexican Miguel Layun fired Watford ahead on the half-volley in the first half after Everton failed to clear. Ross Barkley’s stunning effort brought the home side level before Odion Ighalo’s composed strike gave the Hornets the lead for a second time. But three minutes later, substitute Kone snatched a draw with an angled finish across Heurelho Gomes. Much of Everton’s play was laboured and ponderous and, despite improving in the second half, they owed their recovery to a moment of brilliance from Barkley. The 21-year-old’s right-footed strike flew high into Gomes’s goal and once Watford’s defence had been breached, the home side seemed to gather momentum where in the first half it would peter out. There was an element of fortune about Layun’s opening goal but there was nothing lucky about but Ighalo’s strike. The Nigerian striker dummied two Everton defenders before coolly slotting home to put Watford back in the lead, only for Kone to rescue the Toffees with just his second goal for the club.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho criticised his “naive” medical staff for treating Eden Hazard in their draw with Swansea. The Blues, who had keeper Thibaut Courtois sent off, were down to nine men for a period after staff ran on to treat Hazard following a trip, despite him not appearing to be badly injured. If a player receives treatment, they must leave the field. “I was unhappy with my medical staff. They were impulsive and naive,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “Whether you are a kit man, doctor or secretary on the bench you have to understand the game. “You have to know you have one player less and to assist a player you must be sure he has a serious problem. I was sure Eden did not have a serious problem. He had a knock. He was tired.” Chelsea were already struggling to cope against Swansea’s extra man before Hazard was tripped by Gylfi Sigurdsson with six minutes remaining, leading to Mourinho’s frustration.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has signed a new four-year deal at the Stamford Bridge club. The new deal will keep the 52-year-old in his post until at least 2019. The Portuguese, who had previously been in charge from 2004-2007, rejoined in 2013 on a four-year deal, leading the Blues to the Premier League title and the Capital One Cup last season. “I said when I returned here that I have a special feeling for this club and nothing changed,” he said. “I think this is a normal thing for me to sign a new contract. It is important we have this continuity and I hope we can enjoy more success in the future – for the fans, the players and the club. “It is the club closest to my heart and I am very happy to know I will be staying here for a long time.” Mourinho has the best win rate (69%) of any manager to have taken charge of 15 or more Premier League games and will lead his side out in their season opener against Swansea on Saturday at 5:30 pm Nigerian time. Last season, Chelsea were the only club in all four divisions to remain unbeaten at home, winning the title with three matches to spare. Ex-England striker Alan Shearer said on BBC Radio 5 live: “He’s the best manager. He makes up points. If Mourinho was in charge of any of the top four, I would put them favourites to win the title.”
Yay!!! The action is right back.
Saturday 8 August, 2015:
Manchester United 1 – 0 Tottenham
Bournemouth 0 – 1 Aston Villa
Everton 2 – 2 Watford
Leicester 4 – 2 Sunderland
Norwich 1 – 3 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 2 – 2 Swansea
Naija Sports Crib 