Archive | November 2016

Hull’s Hernandez out for around a month….

abel Hernandez

Hull City striker Abel Hernandez will be out for around a month with a groin injury he picked up in the weekend’s win against Southampton. The Uruguayan was forced off inside the first 25 minutes at the KCOM Stadium on Sunday and manager Mike Phelan said “the signs aren’t very good” after the match. Fellow striker Will Keane limped off with a knee injury and further tests are needed to learn the extent of the former Manchester United man’s problem.

German footballer on trial in Turkey….

Deniz Naki playing for SC Paderborn

German-born footballer Deniz Naki is going on trial in Turkey charged with spreading terrorist propaganda and supporting the banned Kurdish PKK guerrillas. Naki, 27, is ethnically Alevi-Kurdish and now plays in Turkey for third-tier side Amed SK. The Turkish charges relate to a message he posted on Facebook after scoring the winning goal for his club Amed SK in January. He dedicated the team’s victory to victims of the Kurdish conflict. If found guilty he could go to jail for up to five years. He is also currently under a 12-match ban.

Henke takes interim Bundesliga job….

Bundesliga strugglers Ingolstadt have appointed Michael Henke, the former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund assistant boss, as their interim head coach. Markus Kauczinski was given the boot after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Augsburg. The 59-year-old also took temporary charge in September 2013.

Barcelona contest Messi yellow card….

Lionel Messi

Barcelona will appeal against Lionel Messi’s yellow card in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Sevilla. The Argentina forward was booked for time wasting as he attempted to put his boot back on after it had come off following a challenge from Steven N’Zonzi. Boss Luis Enrique said after the game that the delay was because N’Zonzi’s tackle had broken Messi’s laces. Yellow cards can be contested in Spain.

Zamalek reject coach’s resignation….

Momen Soliman

Zamalek have rejected the resignation of coach Moamen Soliman and his technical staff – rare but nothing too strange so far. Soliman’s decision to quit came after a 1-0 victory last weekend when he insisted his team did not deserve three points – odd. He took over as manager in August, and is the club’s sixth manager this season, and had already offered to step down once this season – maybe he’s trying to tell them something?

Osasuna sack coach Martin…

Enrique Martin

Enrique Martin spent his whole playing career with La Liga side Osasuna, barring a couple of loan spells. He coached the first team and the B team before being made manager in 2014-15 – during the club’s relegation battle against dropping into the third tier. He kept them up, then got them promoted last season. After one win in their opening 11 games this season, the 60-year-old has been given the boot however.

Stefano Pioli set for Inter Milan job….

Stefano Pioli

Inter Milan are set to name Stefano Pioli as their new coach. The 51-year-old, sacked by Lazio in April, is poised to replace Frank de Boer, who was sent packing on 1 November after 85 days in charge. Pioli’s first game would be the Serie A match against city rivals AC Milan at the San Siro on 20 November. Inter’s owners, the China-based Suning Commerce Group, have also replaced their chief executive Michael Bolingbroke.

New York City could extend Lampard stay….

Frank Lampard

New York City have until 31 December to trigger a one-year extension to Frank Lampard’s contract. Lampard, 38, played the final game of his initial two-year deal with the Major League Soccer outfit as they lost 5-0 to Toronto at Yankee Stadium. It completed an 8-0 aggregate defeat and eliminated NYC from the play-offs. Lampard, who signed for NYC after leaving Chelsea in 2014, has scored 12 times in 16 games this year, including a hat-trick against Colorado Rapids.

Ronaldo signs new contract….

ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, has signed his new Real Madrid contract until 2021 and said it won’t be his last contract. Judging by his comments today, he could play until he is 41.  “I’ve got a lot of years left in football, another 10 years” Would that be at Real Madrid? He says he would like to end his career at the Bernabeu, but added: “no one knows what the future holds.” Ronaldo has scored 371 goals since joining from Manchester United in 2009. Asked if he can reach 500 goals, he replied: “These things happen naturally, I never thought about beating Raul’s record. 500 goals is possible, but I’m not obsessed with it. It is important to win titles with the team.” Ronaldo also said he was not “obsessed” with winning the Ballon d’Or, an honour he has won twice. He added: “It is important to win, but it is important to win the Champions League and European Championships. Team awards are more important than winning individual awards.” The 31-year-old also said he was “not contemplating” early retirement from the Portugal national side.

FC Ifeanyi Ubah win Nigeria Federations Cup….

Image result for pic of ifeanyi ubah wins confederations cup

FC Ifeanyi Ubah, have clinched a first-ever Federation Cup after they beat Nasarawa United 5-4 on penalties in the final after both teams failed to score in regulation time. The Anambra Warriors impressively converted all their kicks, while their keeper Uche Okafor saved one from Nasarawa United. The Nnewi club, will now represent Nigeria in the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup. FC Ifeanyi Ubah’s victory ensured that the two main Nigeria’s trophies remained in South East Nigeria (Igbo land) as Enugu Rangers had earlier clinched the Nigeria Professional League trophy.

Buffon makes 600th Serie A appearance….

Buffon

Juventus and Italy legend Gianluigi Buffon made his 600th Serie A appearance as his side beat Chievo Verona. The 38-year-old is fourth on the all-time appearance list in Italy’s top division, behind Francesco Totti, Javier Zanetti and Paolo Maldini.

Birthdays of Sports People – 7th November….

John Barnes

John Barnes (Football) – Former Liverpool and England midfielder, turns 53.

Rio Ferdinand (Football) – Ex-Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, turns 38.

David De Gea (Football) – Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper David De Gea, turns 26.

 

Fenerbahce play down van Persie concerns….

Robin van Persie

Fenerbahce have played down fears that Robin van Persie has suffered a serious eye injury, after he was carried off the pitch bleeding on Sunday. Netherlands striker Van Persie, 33, had scored the opening goal in the Turkish side’s 3-1 win against Akhisar before the first-half injury. Television pictures showed blood coming through a bandage on his left eye. “He received a blow to the eye and suffered a torn eyelid and bleeding,” club doctor Burak Kunduraciogl said. “After the investigations we learned that nothing important happened. His condition is good.”

Messi scores 500th Barca goal….

Lionel Messi

Barcelona star Lionel Messi passed another milestone on Sunday after scoring his 500th goal for the club. The strike in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Sevilla took Messi to 500 in 592 games for the Catalan club, including friendlies, with 469 of those in official fixtures.

TP Mazembe win African Confederation Cup….

Zambia international Rainford Kalaba scored twice as TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Algeria’s Mouloudia Bejaia 4-1 at home on Sunday to win the African Confederation Cup for the first time. Mazembe made sure of the win having held their opponents to a 1-1 draw in Algeria in the first leg of the final last weekend. They won the final 5-2 on aggregate, to add the Confederation Cup to their list of honours after winning the African Champions League in 2015. Mazembe were eliminated early in the defence of their African Champions League trophy this year and dropped down to the continent’s second tier club competition. They will receive $660,000 following their Confederation Cup triumph with Bejaia receiving the runners-up prize of $462,000. Mazembe will now play this year’s African Champions League winners, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, in the 2017 African Super Cup on the weekend on 17-19 February.

Naija EPL Corner (5 – 6 Nov., 2016)….

  • Victor Anichebe started for Sunderland and played full time as they won their first game of the season 2 – 1 against Bournemouth away at the Vitality Stadium. Anichebe scored Suderland’s equalizer and got the penalty for the winner.
  • Kelechi Iheanacho made a substitute appearance for Manchester City in the 90th when he replaced Aguero as they drew  1 – 1  at home with Middlesbrough at the Etihad Stadium.
  • Victor Moses started for Chelsea and played full time as they beat Everton 5 – 0 at home at the Stamford Bridge.
  • Alex Iwobi started for Arsenal as they drew 1 – 1 at home with Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium. He was replaced by Giroud in the 70th minute.
  • Ahmed Musa started for Leicester as they lost 2 – 1 at home to West Brom at the King Power Stadium. He was replaced by Gray in the 67th minute.
  • Odion Ighalo started for Watford and played full time as they lost 6 – 1 away to Liverpool at the Anfield.
  • Isaac Success was not selected for Watford’s game against Liverpool. Mikel Obi was also not selected for Chelsea’s game against Everton – The inspiring Super Eagles captain continues to pay the price for leaving Chelsea’s pre-season to represent Nigeria at the Rio Olympics where he won a Bronze medal.

 

Manny Pacquiao wins WBO welterweight title….

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Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring to score a unanimous decision over champion Jessie Vargas to claim the WBO welterweight title in Las Vegas. Former eight-division world champion Pacquiao, 37, had announced his retirement after beating Timothy Bradley in April. The judges scored the bout 114-113, 118-109 and 118-109 in favour of the veteran Filipino. His former world title rival Floyd Mayweather Jr had a ringside seat.

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