Month: November 2009

Ireland wants replay

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

Adeola Aderounmu

Ireland wants a replay with France. Thierry Henry shamefully handled the ball in the second leg of the playoff thereby setting up Gallas for a dubious goal that gave France a 2-1 aggregate advantage.

FIFA is looking into the scandal that has rocked the footballing world. Keen observers are following and will like to see the outcome. Whatever the outcome is will give a signal as to what examples we set for our children on morality and ethics. Our children will like to know if it is ok to cheat in sports or exams.

FIFA has a moral obligation to set good examples. FIFA is also under pressure before the 2010 world cup to improve or increase the amount of technological input in football.

Henry should be given a post match red card and 5 match ban. In the future Thierry Henry should not be allowed to talk about sports to children unless he shows remorse for this shameful act.

As I do hope, fairplay should be emphasized more than ever.

Sports is a noble activity and all international organisations must stop at nothing to ensure that fairplay and justice, as much as possible, are promoted through sports. It shouldn’t be about money all the time even though money and sponsorships are important. Honour and integrity must be carried along. They are virtues we need to make the world a better place.

Thierry Henry is a disgrace to football

/ Adeola / 17 Comments

BY Adeola Aderounmu

You could work hard all your life to achieve greatness and then mess it up with one stupid unbecoming act. This is what Henry has become to his fans worldwide-A very big shame!

I feel so sorry for him because I don’t know where he will find respite for his soul after cheating in that game against Ireland. Football is a game and FIFA has preached fairplay for ages.

Where is the FairPlay in carrying the ball with your hand when it wasn’t basketball?

Thierry Henry has become a disgrace and a huge shame to the game of football. I wish him well as he battles the open wound in his conscience.

I am not a fan of Ireland neither am I a fan of France. I just want to enjoy watching a game. I always hope the better team wins but it doesn’t always turn out to be so.

But when one team or a player clearly robs the other side in a significant way, I always wished I had the power to nullify the outcome.

If I could I would have ordered a replay of that match in less than 72 hours at a neutral venue just like the Egypt-Algeria match that was decided in Sudan.

Shameful, sad indeed, Henry!

France presents another Acid Test for FIFA

/ Adeola / 6 Comments

by Adeola Aderounmu

I just want to say FIFA will be the MOST USELESS ORGANISATION on the face of the earth if France goes to the World cup with that goal by Gallas. Ireland should protest to the highest level.

Thiery Henry was playing the ball with his hand for at least 1 second, 2 maybe, and then he managed to get it across to Gallas.

If this result stands, then FIFA is just so useless!

I mean I have seen Danish referee robbed Chelsea in favour of Barcelona in 2008. This one just shown by Thiery Henry is the height of the mockery of the game of football.

If that result is not annulled, FIFA is sending another bad signal to footballers-that it is ok to cheat.

Thiery Henry should be given a post-match red card and probably a ban that would put him out of football. He’s already planning his retirement before this shameful act.

This is so sad, another bad day for football.

If nothing is done about this nonsense, I repeat that FIFA will be the most useless organisation of all ages.

Algeria qualify for the 2010 World Cup

/ Adeola / Leave a comment

Algeria qualify for the 2010 World Cup

Algeria has qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The Algerian National team defeated Egypt by 1 goal to Nothing in Khartoun, Sudan.

Algeria scored in the 40th minute of the first half and defended the goal until the 94th minute.

Austin Jay Jay Okocha-Probably the Greatest Footballer since Pele. An unsung hero

/ Adeola / 103 Comments

Austin Jay Jay Okocha-an unsung hero

Jay Jay is arguably the best footballer ever from Nigeria. He is the most underrated player ever in the history of world football!!! No Nigerian or African living or dead displayed the same level of skills and techniques that Okocha gave to football. Okocha is one of the rare players who did in big matches what they would do on a training pitch. While at PSG in France, Brazil’s Ronadinho learnt so much from Okocha and he went on to display some of Okocha’s skills in big matches as well.

Okocha’s exploit at Bolton Wanderers are well documented and famous. For the Nigerian national team we are still looking for a replacement for the midfield tactician albeit a magician.

Okocha was a past winner of the BBC African footballer of the year. But Okocha was never recognised by CAF-The Confederation of African Football. This is a very serious indictment on CAF and the fact the Okocha is no longer active does not imply that CAF cannot make amends.

CAF must admit its error of judgment that Okocha never received the African Footballer of the Year award despite his popularity and contributions to the game in Africa and Europe. My advice to CAF is to use the World Cup in South Africa 2010 to make amends for this catastrophic error. There is nothing wrong if CAF institute an award or awards that will honour the likes of Okocha as part of the opening ceremony for the Mundial.

Even FIFA is not left out of this international scandal. If either David Beckham or Michael Owen has a quarter of Okocha’s skills and abilities, they would have won the award of World Footballers of the year at different times. It will remain one of the unsolved mysteries of this century that neither CAF nor FIFA gave Jay Jay Okocha the awards that he ought to have won, African and World Footballer of the year. Don’t ask me what year. Let them search their consciences.

That Liberian George Weah won the awards in the past is not enough for Africa. It shouldn’t be “symbolic” that an African had won it before. An African should win awards on merit.

Even the Nigerian sports establishments cannot be left out in this scandal. They didn’t do enough to presents Okocha’s peculiar case to the rest of the world. Austin Jay Jay Okocha remains a legend and should rank among the best 10 footballers of all time. I see him in the same rank as Maradona and Pele.