Nigeria – Champion of Africa!!! Courtesy: The Nation
There was no upset this time! Neither a moment of individual brilliance, nor a dramatic late goal. On Sunday, Nigeria showed the world and its critics that the draw against Burkina Faso in the opening game of the group stage was nothing worrisome by defeating the same Burkinabe side 1-0 in the African Cup of Nations final! This was the third title in the Nigeria’s history and made up for when the team missed out on last edition of the tournament due to failure to qualify.
The win also earned Nigeria a spot in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, which will be played out in Brazil this summer. Other than the hosts and the Super Eagles, the tournament will feature Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Mexico, Japan and Tahiti.
It can be said that the Super Eagles were the better team on the pitch in the first half as they created a few good early chances. However, it was not until the 40th minute that they scored, when Sunday Mba got the most of the situation when a lucky deflection sent the ball in his feet. Burkina Faso in turn tried to threaten the Nigerian goal through efforts by Aristide Bancé.
The second half was more of the same and Nigeria had more good opportunities as the Stallions opened up in the back while seeking an equalizer. However, lack of concentration on part of the Nigerian forwards kept Burkina Faso in the game. In fact, the Stallions nearly made Nigeria pay in the 73rd minute, but Wilfried Sanou‘s close-range shot was saved by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. Burkina Faso didn’t create any serious threat in the remaining time and thus the score remained 1-o Nigeria.
Wilfried Sanou’s golden chance goes begging. Photo: Getty Images
Here is the story of the game in images: http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/photogallery/gallery=2010043.html#2010226
And here is the most thorough highlights video clip that I could find out there: http://footyroom.com/nigeria-1-0-burkina-faso-2013-02/
AFCON 2013 Final: Burkina Faso’s Paul Kéba Koulibaly (left) or Nigeria’s Emmanuel Emenike (right) will celebrate at the expense of the other on Sunday
While skipping through the channels on Wednesday to find one of the highly anticipated friendlies England-Brazil, Netherlands-Italy, or France-Germany, I came across another international game which had me hooked immediately. It was Burkina Faso-Ghana, the second semifinal of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Luckily for me, the score was still tied at 1 each after extra time and I was just on time for a neutral fan’s favorite part of a soccer game – the penalty shootout. The Stallions from Burkina Faso demonstrated stronger nerves from the spot and outscored Ghana 3-2. This way they guaranteed their place in Sunday’s final against Nigeria, which thrashed Mali 4-1 earlier on Wednesday.
As much of a soccer fanatic that I am, my knowledge about African football, in general, is limited mainly to performances of African nations in World Cup competitions as well as the individual performances of African soccer players in the “big” European leagues. Therefore, it would be foolish of me to try to make an analytical prediction of which team will walk off the pitch as the African champion on Sunday. As I watched the Burkina Faso’s players’ tears of joy and prayers, however, I gave in to the “underdog effect” and asked myself if it is at all possible that they take their dream all the way and beat Nigeria on Sunday.
Even though the two teams met in the group stage of the competition, the highlights of the 1-1 draw didn’t give me enough from which to draw conclusion on who is a favorite ahead of the final. So I decided to make a little research and compare the teams in several criteria that I thought illustrate the class of each squad and thus to get an idea of the Stallions’ chance to defeat Nigeria’s Super Eagles. For each criteria, I also compared Nigeria and Ghana, with the purpose of comparing the class of Burkina Faso’s last two obstacles on the way to making history.
The first criteria is the two (three, including Ghana) teams’ performance in the past 2 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) (2010 and 2012) because in my opinion experience and tradition in the tournament will definitely play their part in the final. In 2010, Burkina Faso were eliminated in the group stage because they lost their last game to…Ghana (see the irony there?). Nigeria, on the other hand, advanced comfortably and reached the semi-finals, where they, too, lost to Ghana. Eventually, Nigeria won the bronze medals while Ghana lost the final to Egypt. In 2012, Burkina Faso left the tournament with 3 defeats to its records while the Super Eagles did not even qualify. In comparison to both teams, Ghana worked itself up to the third place of the competition. Overall, Nigeria has 2 titles and 4 third-place finishes in its AFCON history, while Burkina Faso’s best result is fourth place in 1978.
The second criteria that I thought is key to the outcome of Sunday’s final is the performance of the two teams’ star players. For this reason, I looked up the rosters of the two teams to see how many players of each squad play in the “big” European leagues. Namely, the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and German Bundesliga. Of the Burkinabe players who have played regularly so far in the tournament, 6 play in “big” leagues – 5 in Ligue 1 and 1 in the Bundesliga. Nigeria has only 5 “star” players – 2 from La Liga, 2 from the Premier League and 1 from Serie A – but the two who play in England are John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, players of European champion Chelsea. Ghana had 7 “big”-league players on their squad.
As a last source of comparison I used the website www.transfermarkt.com, which calculates the market value of a certain players based on his performance for his team and various other factors. According to www.transfermarkt.com, Nigeria’s AFCON squad‘s total value is 86.5 million euros (~115.5 million dollars) while Burkina Faso’s AFCON squad is worth only 29.95 million euros (~40 million dollars). The estimated value of the Ghanaian squad is 77.3 million dollars. The Nigerian squad’s average age is 24.3 years; their opponent’s is 26.4 years.
In other words, on Sunday we have a younger, star-spangled Nigeria, with tradition on its side, facing a more mature Burkinabe squad. Nothing else seems to be in the Stallions’ favor, but I am sure things seemed quite similar prior to their game against Ghana.
Do you believe the numbers? Can Burkina Faso pull one more trick out of the hat? Who will be the difference-maker in the final? What do you think will be the final score?
David Beckham was introduced to the media as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Thursday. (Photo: AP)
After a month filled with countless rumors, names, 8-figure transfer fees and unrealistic hopes by fans, the winter transfer window finally closed around Europe on Thursday. As expected, the English teams were once again most active on the market, even though some preferred to lay low until the summer window. Other clubs — especially those struggling in the league — decided to get advantage of this situation and spill some cash in attempt to strengthen their squads.
Fellow bloggers Mad Dog and Glory of Caught Offside did a good job summarizing the most interesting transfer action from the past month.
The transfer move that I want to talk about today occurred on the other side of the English Channel and had nothing to do with the Premier League. Well, almost nothing. Coming in the dying hours of the transfer window, it was quite sudden, unexpected and created quite a media frenzy. I am referring to David Beckham‘s move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Becks signed a 5-month contract with the Ligue 1 leaders and will donate his entire salary of 237,825 dollars per week to children’s charity in Paris.
“It’s something I’m not sure has been done before but I’m passionate about children and the charity, so we came together and it’s something special,” he told The Guardian. Beckham also explained his choice of joining PSG and shared some thoughts on his new club.
Here is Beckham’s first press conference as a PSG player:
An article I read the other day implied that the Englishman’s decision to continue his career in France is a way of bolstering his declining image and to look for new endorsement opportunities. The authors of the article also call Beckham “a dinosaur for the sport”. Growing up with Beckham’s magical goals and passes while at his prime in Manchester United and Real Madrid (even though I strongly disliked both teams), and following his performance in Los Angeles Galaxy, I believe his words that he is still passionate about the game and that he is still looking to contribute on the pitch. All this media frenzy around England’s ex-captain brought some nostalgic thoughts along and I spend some time on YouTube enjoying the skills of one of the greatest players in modern soccer. It would be selfish of me not to share these memorable moments with you.
Bonne chance in Paris, Becks, and prove all your critics wrong! Do you remember watching Beckham play? Are you a fan of any of the teams he has played for? Do you think he will do well in PSG? Do you agree with the criticisms directed at him? Comments are welcome.
Stunned: Norwich out of the FA Cup. Courtesy of: Focus Images Ltd.
With Europe’s finest leagues at its height and the African Cup of Nations providing its usual amount of drama, it was yet another busy soccer weekend for soccer fans across the globe. And although some of the pickier supporters of the Beautiful Game might have initially missed the drama and magnificence of the English Premier League, it is unlikely that they were disappointed with what the Football Association Cup had in store for them. The upsets, comebacks and drama of the FA Cup’s fourth round made soccer fans to once again believe in the “magic of the FA Cup.” I decided to provide a small review of the weekend but to emphasize on one particular upset and why it occurred.
Thirty-two teams from all possible tiers of English soccer entered the fourth round of the competition. Among them were Premier League “giants” such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City; relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers and Aston Villa; teams with glorious pasts such as Leeds United; and several small clubs – including “underdogs” from Luton Town – who were enjoying the ride while it lasts.
Prior to the games, it seemed as the “big” clubs were favored by the luck of the draw because only 2 of the 16 matches featured two Premier League clubs. In these two, Manchester City was victorious 1-0 at Stoke City while Manchester United thrashed Fulham 4-1 at home (although this was the least the visitors could get away with!). Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham had easier tasks on paper, having to go on the road to Brentford , Oldham and Leeds United. Even less-intimidating Premier League teams Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City seemed to have hit the jackpot for they had to just win against third-division Milton Keynes Dons and fifth-division Luton at home in order to reach the next round.
Alas, that was not meant to be and many of these “favorites” left the competition, some in quite a disgraceful manner. A star-filled Liverpool squad deservedly lost 3-2 in the mud and pouring rain at Boundary Park; Tottenham was entirely outplayed by Leeds and the final score 2-1 could deceive many who haven’t watched the game; the Dons contributed to Queens Park Rangers’ dreadful season by making a fool of the Premier League team in the middle of London, 4-2.
The closest Tottenham players will get to the FA Cup this season. Courtesy of: 2013 Getty Images.
Only Chelsea seemed to partly save its face by coming back from behind twice thanks to a beautiful goal by Oscar and a rare such from Fernando Torres. The Blues will most likely find themselves in the next round after the replay at “Stamford Bridge” but the way the team played forced its fans to start an online petition against manager Rafael Benitez, Daily Mail reports.
However, the upset that most impressed me was Luton Town’s 1-0 win over Norwich City. This was not only because of the Luton’s players’ heroics, but also because of the way Norwich played.
Norwich City manager Chris Hughton started the game against Luton Town without some key players and that eventually cost him dearly. The inexperience of his line-up showed throughout the first half. Although the Canaries created some very good opportunities for goal in the first half, to the frustration of their fans they were constantly denied by a solid Luton defense, especially Norwich-born goalkeeper Mark Tyler.
Substitute striker Grant Holt boosted creativity in Norwich’s attacks after half-time and a goal seemed inevitable but then for some reason the Canaries let their fifth-division visitors to control the tempo and pressure them in their own half. Jon Shaw and Alex Lawless nearly made the Norwich defense pay but wasted good chances. As Hughton introduced two more forwards to the game in attempt to regain the momentum for his team, it was one of Luton manager Paul Buckle’s changes that made the difference. Jake Howells and Scott Rendell connected perfectly on the break for the visitors in the 80th minute, with the latter stunning the 26-or-so thousand spectators by side-footing the ball past goalkeeper Declan Rudd.
After the final whistle, Luton players, coaches and fans alike went crazy and didn’t rush to go into the locker rooms. Hatters manager Buckle later told Sky Sports News, “It has not really sunk in yet. It is an incredible performance by the players. The most pleasing thing for me was that we defended very well and carried a threat going the other way.”
Good to be back: Mark Tyler triumphed at the stadium he once called home. Courtesy of: Focus Images Ltd.
He also described the supporting crowd of 4,000 as the team’s 12th man and described them as “out of the world.”
After the loss, Hughton – who played together with Buckle in Brentford between 1992 and 1993 –told Sky Sports that “[Luton] came with a game plan and we found it difficult to break them down.”
With all due respect to Mr. Hughton, but what did he expect? To breeze through a team that has allowed only 1 goal in the competition thus far while at the same time playing many of his reserves? Or perhaps he hoped that the Luton players would wave the white flag as soon as they see the packed Carrow Road.
In my opinion, it was not so significant that the Canaries lost on Saturday but that they could not win. In other words, the game was theirs to take and they could be easily a goal or 2 to the good at half time, but yet once again they became victims of their poor finishing. Andrew Surman, Simeon Jackson and Holt all wasted chances that one could only dream of. Only three teams have scored fewer goals than Norwich City in the Premier League this season (25); two of them are at the very bottom of the table.
“The good chances that we did have, we were not able to put them away. If we get one of them, the game changes a little bit,” Hughton added. This cliché would probably do the job after a hard-fought, away loss to another Premier League team, but I doubt it will comfort many Canaries’ fans after this one.
The January transfer closes 11 pm local time and there is still time to bring in another striker. Sky Sports reported that in fact the Canaries are in talks with Leeds United about possible transfer of striker Luciano Becchio while also trying to acquire 24-year old Celtic forward Gary Hooper.
Luciano Becchio: Is the Argentine the man Norwich needs? Courtesy of: BBC News
From statistical point of view, Becchio, who has scored 19 times for the Championship side this season, and Hooper (21 goals in 27 starts this season) might be good acquisitions for goal-needy Canaries, but only time will show how valid those reports are. However, the time IS ticking away.
Do you think those two will suit the Canaries well? Which was your favorite FA Cup upset of the weekend? Which Premier League team do you expect to fly out of the competition next?
