Rep. of Ireland -Nigeria 1-1 FT

The Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland shared the spoils at Craven Cottage in a 1-1 draw. A Michael Eneramo goal in the 30th minute was quickly negated by a Robbie Keane finish in the 38th as both teams got in a warmup in preparation for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers. The match was also a chance for both teams to give debuts to several new players and examine the depths of their squads. With veterans like Kanu, Osaze Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama and Obinna Nwanneri on the bench, it was up to the new boys-Sone Aluko, Sam Sodje, Yusuf Mohammed and Eneramo to make their mark and give Eagles coach Amodu Shuaibu a selection headache. Next up for the Super Eagles is the friendly vs France on June 2nd.



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=266285&cc=3888

Lineups for Ireland-Nigeria match

Lineups for the friendly match taking place tonight at Craven Cottage in London are set.


Republic of Ireland: Given, Foley, Dunne, St. Ledger, Nolan, Duff, Miller, Andrews, Lawrence, Keane, Best.

Nigeria: Ejide, Adefemi, Sodje, Mohammed, Olofinjana, Aluko, Uche, Adeleye, Utaka, Akpala, Eneramo.

Referee: William Collum (Scotland)

Barca wrap up

Samuel Eto'o is the most decorated African Football player according to the Beeb.
This is despite a World Player of the Year award like the great George Weah, but Eto'o does have multiple African player of the year awards and one ups Kanu Nwankwo with two UEFA Champions League medals compared to Kanu's one.

Eto'o is compared to Raul in this article.

Eto'o and Yaya Toure have made their countrymen proud. Especially Toure as he became the first Ivorien to win the Champions League.

Yaya is proud of Barca's achievements this season but will not be requesting a stay at Center-back.

Barcelona are Champions of Europe

Thanks to goals from Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi on opposite sides of the half, Barcelona are the Champions of Europe. Manchester United started the match brightly but after Eto'o slipped past Nemanja Vidic and tucked in the first goal, Barca took control and held on till the end. A strong and complete performance by Pep Guardiola's squad was enhanced by the sharp Eto'o and a solid Yaya Toure playing at the back due to the knee injury suffered by Rafa Marquez in the Semi-final vs Chelsea. Guardiola brought on Seydou Keita for Thierry Henry after Messi's 2nd half goal and Keita joined forces with Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets to solidify the Catalan clubs midfield and end Man.United's repeat aspirations. Barcelona will end the 2008/09 season with the first Spanish treble-League, League cup, UEFA Champions League. Congrats to Barca--from Joan Laporta to Guardiola, the African contingent and the entire Barca playing staff on an excellent season.

Eto'o explains his goal celebration
http://goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2009/05/28/1290157/samuel-etoo-my-goal-comes-thanks-to-my-fathers-blood

2009 UEFA CHAMPIONS LGE FINAL Preview

The big match is upon us. Manchester United- Barcelona. Two titans of European club Soccer meet for the first time in the European Final.
Match Previews:
http://www.betfirms.com/2009-uefa-champions-league-final-preview/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8060878.stm

Manchester United will be at full strength including Senegalese born French International Left-Back Patrice Evra but excluding the suspended Darren Fletcher. Barca will have Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta fit for the match as well as the African contingent-Yaya Toure, Seydou Keita and Samuel Eto'o.

Yaya Toure feels Barca will have the support of neutral fans
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/05/24/yaya-toure-neutrals-will-back-beautiful-barcelona-115875-21384469/

Samuel Eto'o is eyeing the treble for Barca
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1188660/Etoo-eyes-terrific-treble-sink-Manchester-United-Barcelona-legend.html

Evra talks up the significance of the match
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/football/teams/m/man_utd/8066791.stm
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3728007757376086951

Eagles squad for Eire friendly + French Squad list

The head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Amodu Shuaibu has added to his list of players for friendly matches against the Republic of Ireland on Friday, France on June 2nd and two World Cup Qualifiers.
Sam Sodje of Reading, Sone Aluko of Aberdeen, Michael Eneramo of Esperance and John Utaka have been added to the mix of players previously named for the matches.
A number of players had to be scratched from the list due to match commitments as well as injury.

France have released their squad list for the friendly match against the Super Eagles.
The big names like Henry, Anelka, Viera and Ribery are in the mix for "Les Bleus" in the match against Nigeria as well as a later friendly against Turkey.

Goalkeepers - Cédric CARRASSO(F.C. Toulouse), Hugo LLORIS (Olympique Lyon), Stève MANDANDA (Olympique Marseille)

Defenders - Eric ABIDAL (FC Barcelona/SPA), Jean-Alain BOUMSONG (Olympique Lyon), Julien ESCUDE (FC Sevilla/SPA), Patrice EVRA (Manchester United/ENG), Rod FANNI (Stade Rennes), Philippe MEXES (AS Roma/ITA), Bakary SAGNA (Arsenal FC/ENG), Sébastien SQUILLACI (FC Sévilla/SPA)

Midfielders - Abou DIABY (Arsenal FC/ENG), Alou DIARRA (Girondins Bordeaux), Lassana DIARRA (Real Madrid/SPA), Yoann GOURCUFF (Girondins Bordeaux), Florent MALOUDA (Chelsea FC/ENG), Jérémy TOULALAN (Olympique Lyon), Patrick VIEIRA (Inter Milan/ITA)

Forwards - Nicolas ANELKA (Chelsea FC/ENG), Karim BENZEMA (Olympique Lyon), André-Pierre GIGNAC (Toulouse F.C.), Sidney GOVOU (Olympique Lyon), Thierry HENRY (FC Barcelona), Loïc REMY (OGC Nice), Franck RIBERY (Bayern Munich/GER)

Super Sunday Preview

The EPL season rounds up tomorrow and the other major leagues are winding down. Here are some matches to look out for.

EPL
Aston Villa - Newcastle United
Newcastle are fighting relegation and need Obafemi Martins to be on point against Villa.

Fulham - Everton

John Paintsil and Joseph Yobo have had solid seasons for their high-flying clubs. This match will be a formality as the players wait for their summer hol's to begin.

Hull City - Manchester United

Unfortunately for Manucho, he won't get to play for Hull against the team that owns his rights.

Manchester City - Bolton Wanderers
Benjani will be making a return to EPL action against a Wonderers side that somehow managed to avoid the drop. Long odds against Danny Shittu seeing much action in this match.

Sunderland - Chelsea

Sunderland will most likely stay up in the EPL and Chelsea know third place is all they can get so it'll be merely an FA cup warmup for the Blues.

Wigan Athletic - Portsmouth

This match could be Kanu and Utaka's last match for Pompey despite the clubs EPL status being assured for next season.

Interview with the player-Dikembe Mutombo

African Sports Blog caught up with legendary NBA center Dikembe Mutombo recently.
Dikembe was preparing for the playoffs with the Houston Rockets but weeks after our interview Deke suffered a career ending injury vs the Portland TrailBlazers.

Check out what Dikembe had to say on a number of topics and read on for tributes to Dikembe from Rockets teammates Luis Scola and Yao Ming.


A.S. How did you get started playing Basketball?
D.M. I came to America for Medical School but then the coaches
asked me to join the Basketball team at Georgetown. I had previously played only a little bit in school back home.

A.S. What are some of your fondest memories from your time at Georgetown?
D.M. I broke all the records-rebounding, blocks, I did all of that. I have so many good memories from my time there.

A.S. What made you return to the Houston Rockets this season?
D.M. They have got a great team and organization. They have done so much for me, there was really no reason for me to go away to another team when I could just stay here (Houston) and play my final season here and retire.

A.S. What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?
D.M. I think maybe becoming one of the best shot-blockers in NBA history. That was always my goal from when I came into the league. By the time I retire I wanted to be known as one of the best defensive players in the league and I’ve done that.

A.S. What do you think about the other player from the Rep.of Congo in the NBA DJ Mbenga?
D.M.I think if he continues to work hard then good things will happen. I’m very proud of him and I talk to him every week. We’re both from the same country so we talk a lot. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing, he doesn’t have to be a starter, just do whatever the coach needs him to do.

A.S. What are your retirement plans?
D.M. Right now just going home and spending time with my wife and kids. They live in Atlanta and I’ve been away for a while.

A.S.Outside of Basketball what other sports do you enjoy watching or playing?
D.M. I love American Football and also Baseball. I’m a sports fan. Also Boxing and Soccer. I find it difficult to keep up but it’s easier when there’s a World Cup.

A.S. Are you planning on going to South Africa in 2010?
D.M. Yeah, also my organization and a couple of people we’re organizing a way to help people get to South Africa next year to watch it. We are working very hard on that project.

A.S. How is the hospital outside Kinshasa? (Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital built in honor of his Mother).
D.M.It’s fine but we’re still trying to raise more money to keep the doors open. It’s taken a lot of funding from me and others. We need more donors to assist with it.

A.S. What are your thoughts on the country( Republic of Congo) at the moment?
D.M. I’m just happy that the civil war is over. If we can capture Kony(LRA leader and indicted war criminal Joseph Kony) who is killing thousands of women and Children in the country then I think we’ll see a bit more peace.

A.S. Do you have a favorite African saying or proverb?
D.M. The best one I remember is that when you take the elevator up don’t forget to send it back down because there’s always people waiting for it. It just means that when you’ve made it, don’t forget where you’ve come from.

A.S. What’s your favorite food from home?
D.M. Everything. Well I guess anything my wife cooks.

A.S. What kind of music do you listen to?
D.M. All African music, Congolese artists, also Reggae.

A.S. What’s your favourite place to visit in Africa apart from your homeland?
D.M. Capetown. I go there every year.


Luis Scola

A.S. How has playing with Mutombo helped you since you’ve joined the Rockets?
L.S He is a great guy, a great player that understands the game. He talks a lot to me which is a great help when I’m playing and even though he doesn’t get to play much anymore, he always does a good job when he gets the chance.


Yao Ming

A.S. How has Mutombo helped you in your time with the Rockets?
Yao. He’s been great for everyone not just me. In Basketball, on and off the court he has been great to me. He has been a good teacher for me and the other young players and for a player as successful as him, it’s been an honor to have him on the same team.

More EPL

John Utaka is back in good form for Portsmouth, unfortunately there's one week left in the season. Nonetheless Utaka left Sunderland mired in the relegation fight after scoring a goal and forcing an own goal in Pompeys 3-1 win.

Victor Moses is contemplating his international future and what country it will be with. The talented 18-yr old Crystal Palace player is forced with sticking with England as he has previously represented the Three Lions at Youth Level and in the 2007 U-17 World Cup in South Korea or going Nigeria-where he was born.

http://kickoff.com/
static/news/article.php?id=8419

Euro News

Everton pulled off a 3-1 win over West Ham on Saturday to strengthen their hold on the fifth spot in the EPL.
http://www.rotowire.com/Joseph-Yobo-googid5599-spsoccer.htm
Now the Nigerian skipper is considering his options as he is in the final year of his current deal and reports have Arsenal and Man.City interested in the defender.
http://www.sundaymercury.net/midlands-sport/trashtalk/2009/05/21/
everton-star-attracting-interest-from-manchester-city-and-arsenal
-66331-23679639/

More news on the possibility of Adebayor leaving Arsenal:
http://news.google.com/
news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_10_0_t&usg=AFQjCNFyYNe0j7Lz5Vne8MwR5u_-jJfnNg&sig2=D2Pgsz_1hon9PiHKf__ZlA&cid=1243130554&ei=E2gcSsjnKZSa9gSm3IH2Aw&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnewspaper%2Fsport%2F2009%2F0515%2F1224246567953.html%3Fvia%3Dmr

One writer's views on why Eboue should remain at Arsenal
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/178726-arsenal-should-keep-emmanuel-eboue

Diomansy Kamara's goal helped Fulham beat Aston Villa in the penultimate match for both teams.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/05/10/diomansy-kamara-
leads-fulham-to-glory-over-aston-villa-115875-21348003/

Ghana's number one Richard Kingson was unable to stop Manchester United from coming out with a win against Wigan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8038255.stm

European matches preview

EPL
Saturday May 16th
Manchester United - Arsenal
Middlesbrough - Aston Villa
Newcastle United - Fulham
Stoke City - Wigan Athletic
Tottenham Hotspur - Manchester City
Bolton Wanderers - Hull City
Everton - West Ham United

Sunday May 17th
West Bromwich Albion- Liverpool
Chelsea - Blackburn Rovers

Monday May 18th
Portsmouth - Sunderland


Spanish La Liga

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Deportivo La Coruña - Getafe
Osasuna - Sevilla FC
Villarreal - Real Madrid

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Racing Santander - Valladolid
Real Betis - Almeria
Espanyol - Athletic Bilbao
Numancia - Recreativo Huelva
Sporting Gijon - Málaga
Mallorca - Barcelona
Atlético Madrid - Valencia

Italian Serie A

Saturday, May 16, 2009

AS Roma - Catania
Udinese - AC Milan

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Juventus - Atalanta
Reggina - Cagliari
Genoa - Chievo Verona
Palermo - Lazio
Bologna - Lecce
Fiorentina - Sampdoria
Napoli - Torino
Internazionale- Siena


German Bundesliga

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Hannover 96 - VfL Wolfsburg
Borussia Dortmund - Arminia Bielefeld
VfB Stuttgart - Energie Cottbus
Bayer Leverkusen - Borussia Monchengladbach
Hertha Berlin - Schalke 04
TSG Hoffenheim - Bayern Munich
VfL Bochum - Eintracht Frankfurt
Hamburg SV - FC Cologne
Werder Bremen - Karlsruhe

French Ligue 1

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Bordeaux - Le Mans
Caen - Sochaux
St Etienne - Toulouse
Grenoble - AS Nancy Lorraine
AS Monaco - Valenciennes
Lorient - Le Havre AC
Paris Saint-Germain- AJ Auxerre

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Nantes - Stade Rennes
Lille - Nice
Marseille- Lyon

Footy buzz

The European seasons are rounding up and the MLS is hotting up as we head into the Summer. Here's some news, rumors and articles on the footy lads.

Jose Mourinho wants to bring Mikel Obi to Internazionale:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/
2009/05/12/jose-mourinho-closes-in-on-chelsea-s-15m-
john-obi-mikel-115875-21351091/

Amr Zaki is done for the season
http://www.clubcall.com/wigan-athletic/zaki-set-miss-run-in-900790.html

Obagoal comes off the bench to help Newcastle win the Tyne-Tees derby

http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=8343

Two articles on Benni McCarthy's decline this season

http://www.kickoff.com/static/features/article.php?id=8281

http://www.goal.com/en/news/
1717/editorial/2009/04/15/1210575/
where-has-it-all-gone-wrong-for-benni-mccarthy

Ivory Coast and Cameroon to play friendly match in aid of stampede victims.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/89/
africa/2009/05/11/1259017/ivory-coast-to-play-
cameroon-for-abidjan-stampede-victims


Emmanuel Ekpo is in a rich vein of form for the MLS team Columbus Crew this season.
Two goals in his last two matches and numerous standout performances this term have enhanced his standing in the league and possibly with European scouts.

http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090511&content_id=
251720&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

NFL tidbits

NFL OTA's are ongoing and players are returning from their vacations in preparation for the start of training camp in July. Here's news and articles on some of our lads.

Nnamdi Asomugha recently chatted with fans on ESPNSportsnation. Check it out:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=26097
Osi Umenyiora's rehab is right on schedule and it looks like he'll be ready for Giants training camp.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11543444/rss
Tamba Hali is hoping to show his worth to the new Kansas City regime during the upcoming season.
http://www.kansascity.com/160/story/1183165.html
Folks in St.Louis are wondering if the Rams have done enough to steady their backup running back situation with both Samkon Gado and rookie Chris Ogbonnaya in the mix.
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/round-two/round-two/2009/04/have-the-rams-done-enough-at-rb/
Brian Orakpo is saying and doing the right things as he fits right in with the Redskins.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/28/orakpo-at-ease-with-redskins/#

Essiens wonder goal vs Barca

Michael Essien's volley for Chelsea's goal.

Barcelona deny Chelsea victory

There will be a member of the Toure family playing in Rome on May 27th against Manchester United. Yaya Toure, playing out of position at Center back, helped his Barcelona side advance to the Champions League Final with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea.(Barca moves on due to their away goal). Toure inadvertently helped set up the Chelsea goal in the ninth minute as he deflected a ball from Frank Lampard into the path of Michael Essien and the Ghanaian star unleashed a beautiful volley into the back of the Barca goal.
Chelsea looked set for victory as Didier Drogba gave the young Toure all he could handle before the Ivorien striker was substituted by manager Guus Hiddink. The Barca goal came deep in stoppage time and unfortunately Essien played a part in it as a Messi pass from a miscleared ball by Essien led to another wonder strike, this time by Andres Iniesta. Chelsea will have to go another season with no European glory while Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita lead Barca to the Champions League Final against Man.United.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/essiens-power-denied-final-glory-by-his-own-error-1680486.html

D'Tigers coaching position up for grabs

The head coaching position for the Nigerian men's Basketball team-D'Tigers is becoming a hotly contested position. A number of candidates from around the world, foreign and domestic have put their names in the hat for the position and are now awaiting word from the Basketball federation. Former coach Sam Vincent is in the mix as is former University of Georgia coach Dennis Felton and former French coach Alan Weisz. The team will be looking to hire a new coach in time to prep for the African Nations Cup in August.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200904170031.html

Champions League Semi-Finals update

Unfortunately for the Toure family there will be no Toure vs. Toure matchup as Kolo's Arsenal squad lost handily to Manchester United 3-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday. A dissapointing result for an Arsenal squad with Adebayor leading the line and Eboue coming off the bench. The younger Toure- Yaya, will get the chance to lead his Barcelona squad to the finals with the 2nd leg of their semi-final match vs. Chelsea on Wednesday. Chelsea's African contingent look set to feature in the match.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hs52tE_3vb8Ye0u3Bc4Q9etlfV6A

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/defiant-drogba-puts-faith-in-chelsea-firepower-1679657.html

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ikjYYrwdO_VMYNuCk9rnsBKVRJGg

Footy roundup

Pienaar scores for Everton
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8014852.stm

Utaka returns for Portsmouth
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/05/03/1244657/john-utaka-pleased-with-portsmouth-return

European goals roundup
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7946730.stm


Man. City to play pre-season friendlies in South Africa
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8032789.stm

More NFL rookie free agent news

A number of African players that went undrafted have signed rookie contracts with NFL teams in the past few days.
Wopamo Osaisai-Stanford CB signed with the San Diego Chargers.
Cyril Obiozor-Texas A&M DE signed with the Green Bay Packers.
Raphael Nguti-U.of Albany tackle was at last report still negotiating a rookie free
agent contract with the NY Jets.



Also need to add a correction to our info on the 2009 draft.
Moise Fokou-Maryland LB was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 21st pick
of the seventh round(230th overall)