Africa

Egypt vs Ghana in Cup Final 2010

/ Adeola / 3 Comments

Adeola Aderounmu

I will give the match to the Egyptians. That will be good for football and reward for performance. But then 90m must be played, at least.

Ghana survived the Nigerian scare after going one goal up and sitting back for the rest of the game. That was the same negative football they played against Angola. In football teams must learn to score more goals and secure their victory. One goal lead can be erased even in the last 5 seconds of the game. The Ivory Coast team can witness to that. But then,vitory is victory no matter how it is acheived.

So congratulations to Ghanaians who will appear in their first final since Senegal-1992.

Algerians cracked up and they paid dearly. The Egyptians became ruthless and merciless. That is a good revenge and consolation for missing out of the world cup coming up in SA this summer. The best consolation lies ahead if they beat Ghana on sunday.

I really want the Egyptians to win because more than any other team in Angola 2010, they are outstanding and very effective. They play positive football and they score goals. They don’t sit on a goal, they get more goals.

In this tournament the Egyptians make the best team. This is so sad for Africa as the best team on the continent will not be at the world cup. Very very sad. This team would have done Africa proud.

Still One hopes that the other teams going to the world cup especially Nigeria can learn from their errors and ineptitudes and give us a good outing in SA come June 2010.

The world is waiting for us on our continent..!

African Cup of Nation: Old Rivalries Rekindled

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Adeola Aderounmu

Ghana vs. Nigeria and Algeria vs. Egypt. These are classical games. On paper, Egypt and Ghana should be heading to the finals. This is because Egypt has won all the matches played so far. They are also out to prove a point that losing to Algeria in Sudan was an unfair result for them. The Algerians have emerged from being humbled by the Malawians to a great force after seeing to the exit of highly rated Ivory Coast.

Ghana has not been spectacular but they have shown more enthusiasm than their Nigeria counterparts. Nigeria struggled to beat Zambia and only after the penalty shoot out did Nigeria manage to scale through to the semi-final.

I hope that security are in place to prevent the ugly scenes from Sudan, Egypt and Algeria that we had 2 months ago during the world cup qualifiers that Algeria finally won by a lone goal in Khartoum. It will be shameful it the North Africans come to Angola to show their violent tendencies. We have had enough of that and please let us see some beautiful football and live in peace.

One also hopes to find a good centre referee. Officiating has been disastrous in this tournament. Ivory Coast got an equaliser against Algeria but it was wrongly ruled as offside by a careless linesman. The demoralising of Cameroun was completed by another catastrophic officiating that ruled for a goal when the ball didn’t even touch the line.

If FIFA has been reasonable to introduce TECHNOLOGY into this game, it would have taken less than 1 minute to verify these “2 disasters” among several others. Until then, cheating and useless decisions will continue to take the beauty of the game away.

May the better team win on Thursday and may we get a beautiful final.

Nation Cup Scandals: How Angola Messed Up the African Cup of Nations

/ Adeola / 1 Comment

By Adeola Aderounmu

Angola is giving Africa bad image ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. These must be worrying times for the Organising Committee in South Africa. South Africa must continue to monitor the useless errors emanating from Angola and the world must be told in clear terms that whatever is happening in Angola right now is basically Angola and CAF’s problems and is not related in anyway to South Africa 2010.

Togo went home because Angola and CAF did not warn of the rebels in Cabinda. Togo lost key members of their national team to organised terror acts in Cabinda. Togo therefore went home to bury their dead compatriots while praying for the reserve goalkeeper undergoing treatment in SA.

Malawi has filed a fresh complain. The team has not been able to train since they beat Algeria 3-0 in their opening game. Ahead of their game to Angola which they lost, the Malawians were not allowed to train. Each time they got to the training pitch, they were turned back. Sometimes it was the Angolans training there and at other times they were being chased away by the police.

What a scnadal? The Angolans are lucky that everyone is not like me. This scandal is enough for the Malawians to withdraw from the competition. I mean if you are not allowed to train or practise ahead of your game, then you are like going to a war without weapons.

The Malawians did not get the chance to train on their tactics, and they had no time to exercise and charge-up for the game against Angola. That they lost is therefore no surprise.

Angola has messed up this year’s Nations Cup. Angola should never be allowed to host any competition in the next 20 or 40 years. They should learn to do their homework. I actually see this particular case as a way of demoralising the Malawians and making sure that they did not get the necessary time to plan the downfall of the Angolans. It worked perfectly well!

This is a shame-a BIG scandal by any magnitude. Angola is disgracing their country and Africa. Angola should bury its head in shame. This is nonsense!

The Shooting of Togolese Footballers

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Adeola Aderounmu

I read with dismay the unfortunate shooting of Togolese Footballers as their entourage were driving through Cabinda to reach Angola.

If I was one of the footballers I would been long gone, home!

I mean they could all have been dead by now if they were seated in the first bus. The driver of the bus was killed but they were lucky to be in the bus coming behind. Still one or two players got bullets embedded in their bodies and losing consciousness.

This is very frightening. The Angola Government and the Angola Football Federation has not tried at all. What kind of nonsense and stupidity is this?

Why was there no warning of war or rebellion in parts of Angola or Cabinda? This is completely unacceptable in a world now dominated by terrorist activities. Yes terror and the fear of it has gripped the world whether we like it or not. This is why we now have to be stripped naked by machines especially if we are travelling to the US.

The Angola Government and the Football Federation, even CAF has a lot to explain to the world and to the Togolese especially. This could have been a much more devasting tragedy. It is still a serious tragedy because someone has been killed for no fault of his.

The terrorists who carried out this devilish act deserved to be hunted and captured by all or any means possible. What is the crime of the Togolese players that they made them the target? Absolute nonsense and unacceptable act of war on innocent people plying their trade and flying the flag of Togo.

Like I wrote earlier, I would be long gone if I survived such an attack. Morally and psychologically I would not find the strength to play any stupid game when my teammate is down injured and my driver is dead. If Togo goes ahead to feature in this African Cup of Nation Tournament, I wish them luck but they deserve a break from it-if only to send a strong signal that security is not a joking matter when you are a visitor of a certain government.

Angola has let African down not because they attack actually took place but because it didn’t provide any warning system that there are terrorists within its territory. Angola has failed even before the kick off because an entire entourage could have been massacred. If that has happened I am sure we will be talking about a cancellation of the entire tournament by now.

Well let this serve as a good lesson for nations all over the world. Give early signals and warn visitors to your country of the type of terrorists that you habour and the areas to avoid. The Togolese team was driving from Congo to Angola and it seems the the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is now shifting blame that the team should have flown (by air). Lame excuse! CAF should just accept responsibility for its failure rather than make useless comments at this time that Togo is experiencing pain and sorrow.

There is no point trying to paint the condition of perfection when your country is under siege from within by terrorists or rebels. Make is open, give warnings, offer maximum protection and provide adequate security that will avert the unnecessary lose of lives and property.

My greatest sympathy to the Togolese Team in the African Cup of Nation. To Nigerian-born Emmanuel Seyi Adebayor and his teammates I send my condolence for the lose of your driver. Surely the siege is over but the shock will stay for a long time. If you decide to play, we will understand if you don’t play your hearts out. Whatever happens, we have all learnt a new lesson, like we do everyday, and football is just another kind of sports. It should never be a do-or-die event and the earlier the perpetrators of this ugly event are captured and prosecuted the better for the global village.

___________________-

(The death toll has increased to 3: an assistant coach and the press officer are now dead from their injuries). Some players are receiving treatment and a goalkeeper is undergoing surgery in South Africa.

Their President is Missing

/ Adeola / 4 Comments

By Adeola Aderounmu

Mr. Yar Adua who millions of Nigerians regard as their Nigerians is missing. He is not in the hospital in Saudi Arabia as originally thought or reported. So, where is their president?

This is so ridiculous and shameful. The US has just listed Nigeria as one of the countries under scrutiny because of one stupid boy called Abdulmuttalab who tried to blow up an American airliner. Seriously I’m beginning to have a second thought on my support for Mr. Obama.

1 Nigerian terrorist and 151 million people guilty. Mr Obama needs to re-examine his thoughts and actions. Indeed Northern Nigeria is a potential hot spot for recruitment of idle or wasted minds into terrorist network but the more literate south is devasted by this situation. Nigerians should be removed from the useless list of passengers to be “stripped” when flying to the US. All passengers deserve the same treatment.

Anyway how much blame falls on Obama’s admin is another perspective into the entire scenario. 151m Nigerians have been kidnapped and held hostage by a cabal and some gangsters that have refused to move the country forward more than 40 days since Mr. Yar Adua went missing.

Nigeria is a peculiar country no doubts. Our politicians and rulers are more or less idiots and nonentities. If not, how can there be a power vacuum for more than 40 days when there is a VP? They have turned the VP to a mumu. I could throw up reading his new year message! Pray, Support, this, that and all the useless and nonsense statements we’ve heard before. Nigerians need a new way forward, we want a leader and to even think that this entrapped man called Jonathan is the likely ruler in the days ahead makes me shiver. Still I hope he gets the chance and we’ll see where we go from there in 2011.

Many things are wrong and lies and propaganda are flowing freely. Power vacuum remains as some irresponsible people continue to toy and play with our lives. They stole our future and they are about to set the stage for the destruction of the next generation.

If I may repeat (how many times have I done this?), Yar Adua should be left alone wherever he is and whatever he is doing, we MUST MOVE ON.

We are a nation of 151m people and we are currently at the centre-stage of world’s attention as a terrorist nation. Still we have no one to address the issues plaguing us. Their president is missing, no one knows where Yar Adua is!

Maduekwe is giving the US a 7 day ultimatum. Very funny. Where is your president Mr Ojo Maduekwe? Where is the ultimatum coming from and who are you chatting with? Please give me a break. A country without a legal president is a symbol of useless politicians who should be ignored.

I’m sure Obama will listen to you when you tell him where your president is.

Where is their president, Mr Yar Adua?