Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been appointed manager of Norwegian club, Molde for the second time and will take charge for Thursday’s Europa League tie against Celtic. The former Manchester United striker left his position at Cardiff a little over a year ago.
Ex-NBA star Lamar Odom is back in Los Angeles after receiving treatment at a Las Vegas hospital, a week after being found unconscious at a Nevada brothel. Mr Odom will continue his recovery in Los Angeles and is making “miraculous” progress, even taking a few steps, according to a family statement. His estranged wife Khloe Kardashian, his father and two of his children are with the former Lakers star. Police are conducting tests to establish what happened. Odom, who married reality television star Kardashian in 2009, has long struggled with addiction. He told brothel employees he had taken cocaine before arriving, police said. Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said that a worker at the brothel reported Odom was found unresponsive with blood coming from his nose and mouth. US media had reported that although Ms Kardashian filed for divorce from Mr Odom in 2013, it had yet to be processed and she was making decisions about his medical care. Odom won the NBA championship with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. He last played in the NBA in 2013 with the Clippers.
Congrats to Nigeria’s Brown Ideye who scored the winner for Olympiakos.
Tuesday 20 October, 2015:
BATE Borisov 0 – 2 Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen 4 – 4 Roma
Arsenal 2 – 0 Bayern Munich
Dynamo Kiev 0 – 0 Chelsea
Dinamo Zagreb 0 -1 Olympiakos
FC Porto 2 – 0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Valencia 2 – 1 KAA Gent
Zenith St Petersburg 3 – 1 Lyon
Defending champions Nigeria continued their impressive start to their FIFA U-17 World Cup title defence by completing a comprehensive 5-1 victory over hosts Chile and progressing to the knockout stages in the process. A goal within 30 seconds by star man Samuel Chukwueze set the tone for a straightforward win, with the diminutive No8 grabbing a second in the second half after he had earlier been fouled for Kelechi Nwakali’s to score from the spot, and before he was felled for Victor Osimhen’s successful spot kick conversion. Chile grabbed a consolation, before Funsho Bamgboye saw his marching orders, with Osimhen’s late header adding some gloss to the win, despite Nwakali missing his second penalty of the match after Chukwueze had been fouled in the penalty area for a third time.
Tuesday 20 October 2015:
USA 2 – 2 Croatia
England 0 – 1 Brazil
Chile 1 – 5 Nigeria
Korea Republic 1 – 0 Guinea
Today’s Fixtures (Wednesday 21st October 2015):
Australia vs Mexico 9pm
Belgium vs Honduras 9pm
Argentina vs Germany 12am (Thursday morning)
Ecuador vs Mali 12am (Thursday morning)
*Time = Nigerian.
Former France international Djibril Cisse has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34. Cisse scored in Liverpool’s penalty shootout victory against AC Milan to win the Champions League in 2005. After announcing his retirement, Cisse broke down live on French television as he heard a tribute from Guy Roux, his former Auxerre coach.
Let’s celebrate once more the guys that won the first ever world cup for Nigeria. The U-16 Baby Eagles as they were called went to China for the maiden FIFA U-16 (now U-17) world cup. On their return after winning the trophy, they were renamed the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria. Playing in Group D, they defeated Italy by a lone goal, played goaless draw with Saudi Arabia and defeated Costa Rica by three unreplied goals. They came second in the group behind Saudi Arabia on goals difference. In the quarter final, they defeated Hungary by three goals to one and went on to defeat Guinea 4 -2 in penalty shoot out after a 1 – 1 draw in the Semis. To lift the cup, they defeated West Germany by two unreplied goals (scored by Jonathan Akpoborie and Victor Igbinoba) in the final match. This Sebastine Broadricks and Christian Chukwu tutored lads left the country unannounced but returned as heroes making the the Federal Government to name streets after them at the capital cities of their various states of origin as at then. Talk of Chukwuma Nwoha street in Owerri, Fatai Atere way in Lagos and Nduka Ugbade street in Benin city for instance.
The heroes are:
Shaikh Salman, the most powerful man in Asian football, says “senior” figures in the game have told him to run for the FIFA presidency. In a letter to members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee, the 49-year-old Bahraini said he is not yet a candidate. But he added he had been urged to stand “by a growing number of senior football administrators, FIFA members and personalities of public life”. The election takes place in February.
South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released under house arrest nearly one year after he was jailed for killing his girlfriend, prison officials say. He is expected to spend the remainder of a five-year prison sentence at his uncle’s home in Pretoria.He shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door in 2013 but said he thought she was an intruder. Ms Steenkamp’s relatives say they think Pistorius is “getting off lightly”.
Monday 19 October 2015:
South Africa 1 – 2 Costa Rica
New Zealand 1 – 6 France
Korea DPR 0 – 2 Russia
Syria 1 – 4 Paraguay
Today’s Fixtures (Tuesday 20th October 2015):
USA vs Croatia 9pm
England vs Brazil 9pm
Chile vs Nigeria 12am (Wednesday morning)
Korea Republic vs Guinea 12am (Wednesday morning)
*Time = Nigerian.
Nigeria and Al Ain of UAE forward Emmanuel Emenike has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 28 and after five years of service, becoming the second player after Vincent Enyeama to sign out of the senior national team. He wrote on Instagram on Monday night, “No more Eagles career! After five great years, I am happy to announce that I have put full-stop to my national team career for the sake of national peace.” “It’s a pleasure for me to have played for this great country. I never regretted it and I think it’s the best time to end it. Million thanks to all the fans who have been very supportive during the good and bad times. “I am very proud of my performance, I am proud of my team mates and I am very proud of the nation called ‘Nigeria’. My AFCON gold medal is a sign of great achievement, My AFCON topscorer award speaks a lot about my commitment and dedication to the team. Super Eagles is a camp not a family house, and it shouldn’t be a threat zone for any individual. “I have done according to our national anthem. “All my dreams came true in the national team, I dreamt (sic) to win Nations Cup for Nigeria after 20-years, I dreamt (sic) to played at the World Cup as well as to make a name for myself… In the space of five years, I got them. I’m a winner! “For every disappointing fans, maybe due to my inability to re-establish my goal scoring instinct for Super Eagles, I will like to say I’m sorry but the ones I had scored counted well for the team. ”As long as Nigeria remains, you and I will always remember the name ‘Emenike’. “Finally, I am happy to make a bow and continue supporting the team every time.” Emenike played 35 times for the Super Eagles and scored 16 goals.
What is happening that we have not been told in full???
Zimbabwe’s women beat Cameroon 1-0 in the second leg of their final Olympic qualifier in Harare to book a place at Rio 2016. They will be joined at next year’s Olympics by South Africa who defeated Equatorial Guinea in Bata 1-0. It is the first time that any Zimbabwe team has qualified for a global football tournament. Rudo Neshamba’s 8th minute goal was enough to send Zimbabwe to Brazil. The result meant the tie finished level at 2-2 on aggregate, with Zimbabwe qualifying on the away-goals rule. It was disappointment for Cameroon who represented Africa at the Women’s World Cup in Canada, reaching the second round. Also on Sunday, South Africa defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Bata to win the tie by the same score on aggregate after the first leg had ended goal-less. South Africa’s progress to the Olympics makes up for their disappointment of missing out on qualification for the Women’s World Cup earlier this year.
Sunday 18 October 2015:
Australia 1 – 4 Germany
Belgium 0 – 0 Mali
Mexico 2 -0 Argentina
Honduras 1 – 3 Ecuador
Today’s Fixtures (Monday 19th October 2015):
South Africa vs Costa Rica 9pm
New Zealand vs France 9pm
Korea Republic vs Russia 12am (Tuesday morning)
Syria vs Paraguay 12am (Tuesday morning)
*Time = Nigerian.
Cristiano Ronaldo officially became Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer with a goal as they beat Levante in La Liga. The 30-year-old Portugal forward scored his 324th Real goal in 310 games to overtake Raul’s record. The club had already considered Ronaldo the record holder as they credit him with a goal deflected off Pepe in 2010. Ronaldo’s official record-breaking strike came after an hour from just outside the box – either side of goals from Marcelo and Jese. After scoring twice in a 2-0 win over Malmo last month, Real held a presentation to give Ronaldo a trophy for breaking the record. The discrepancy dates back to 2010 when a Ronaldo free-kick was deflected in by Pepe. La Liga considered it a Pepe goal but Real deemed it Ronaldo’s – and hence have credited him with various scoring landmarks one strike before anyone else. New York Cosmos striker Raul, who is retiring in November, was Real’s record goalscorer, but took 741 games to score his 323 goals.
Saturday 17 October 2015:
England 1 – 1 Guinea
Nigeria 2 – 0 USA
Brazil 0 -1 Korea Republic
Chile 1 – 1 Croatia
Today’s Fixtures:
Australia vs Germany 8pm
Belgium vs Mali 8pm
Mexico vs Argentina 11pm
Honduras vs Ecuador 11pm
*Time = Nigerian.
Former professional basketball player Lamar Odom has regained consciousness three days after he was found unresponsive inside a Nevada brothel. Odom spoke and gave a thumbs-up greeting from his hospital bed on Friday morning, said JaNean Mercer, a spokeswoman for the Odom family. He had been on life support after being found on Tuesday with blood coming from his nose and mouth. The former Los Angeles Lakers star has long struggled with addiction. Police said that an employee of Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada, told emergency services dispatchers that Odom, 35, had been taking cocaine and libido enhancers. Employees said Odom had spent several days at the brothel. Odom’s estranged wife, reality television star Khloe Kardashian, had been making medical decisions on his behalf. He and Kardashian were married in 2009 in a ceremony that was taped for US television network E!. US media report that although Kardashian filed for divorce in 2013, it had yet to be processed. Odom won the NBA championship with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. He last played in the NBA in 2013 with the Clippers.
Nigeria’s U-17 male soccer team, The Golden Eaglets will today in Chile begin the defence of the U-17 World Cup they won two years ago in UAE. The coach Emmanuel Amuneke lads will play their opening group game today against USA by 9pm Nigerian time. Other African representatives are Guinea, Mali and South Africa.
The 2013 edition saw a joyful Nigerian outfit win a record fourth junior world crown for the west African nation with Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho winning the Golden Ball (MVP) and Silver Shoe while Dele Alampasu won the Golden Glove. This team also featured the likes of Isaac Success and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Former Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius will be released from jail in South Africa next week. He was sentenced to five years for culpable homicide in September last year after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius will be released on Tuesday 20 October on correctional supervision. The 27-year-old killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year. He says he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in his house in Pretoria. Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by Pistorius through a toilet door.
Liverpool’s Danny Ings will miss the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury. The forward was injured in training on Tuesday – Klopp’s first session in charge. Ings had made a fine start to the season, scoring three goals and earning his first England call-up. The injury almost certainly rules him out of Euro 2016. It’s Liverpool’s second season-ending cruciate knee injury in a matter of days after Joe Gomez was sidelined with a similar injury on Wednesday. Ings moved to Anfield in the summer after impressing in Burnley’s relegation fight last season. The news is a big blow for new Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, who must now rejig his plans for Liverpool’s attack. The injury to Danny Ings leaves Divock Origi as Liverpool’s only fully fit striker, with Christian Benteke still recovering from a hamstring injury and Daniel Sturridge working his way back to full fitness. Ings previously suffered a serious knee at the start of the 2012-13 season.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been given a suspended one-match stadium ban and fined £50,000 by the Football Association for comments made about match officials. Mourinho had claimed officials were “afraid” to award his team penalties after Robert Madley denied Chelsea a spot-kick in a 3-1 loss to Southampton. The FA charged that his comments “imply bias on the part of a match official”. Mourinho’s ban will only be enforced if he repeats the offence within a year. The home defeat by Southampton was Chelsea’s fourth loss in the defending champions’ opening eight Premier League games of the season and left them 10 points behind leaders Manchester City and four points above the relegation zone. Speaking after the game, Mourinho had said the Blues were “always punished” by officials because “there is always a question mark” from the media. “If the Football Association wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers,” he added. A Chelsea spokesperson told BBC Sport the club would wait to read the FA’s full reasoning before making any comment on the verdict. Mourinho was charged hours after the Blues said the Portuguese retained their “full support” following back-to-back defeats. His side return to Premier League action at home to Aston Villa – four points and two places below them – on Saturday.
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