Chelsea got their Premier League campaign off to a flying start with a comfortable 3-1 away win over newly-promoted side Burnley on Monday. The Portuguese handed debuts to new recruits, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, and both proved to be key figures as Burnley were taken apart. In terms of personnel and performance, it was a new-look Chelsea, one that Jose Mourinho likes very much. However, with the team packed with so much power and flair, where exactly does John Obi Mikel fit in the revolutionised Stamford Bridge outfit? As Mourinho seeks perfection, does he have a place for the Nigerian, even if he is one of his long-serving lieutenants?
Nigeria moved a place up to the 33rd place in the Fifa rankings released on Thursday, courtesy of the Super Eagles' second round finish at the World Cup in Brazil. The Super Eagles have moved a place up in the latest global rankings released on Thursday to remain the third best team in Africa. Reigning world champions Germany remain at the summit of the ranking table with 1736 points while World Cup runners up Argentina remain unmoved in the second position with 1604 points. The Eagles are now the third-ranked African side behind Algeria and Cote d'Ivoire who finished in the 24th and 25th positions.
Jose Mourinho has warned his title rivals that Chelsea can dominate the Premier League for the next decade. The Blues have acted swiftly and decisively in the summer transfer window, recruiting Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis and Didier Drogba for nearly €90 million ahead of the new season, leading Mourinho to claim that he is finally content with the personnel at his disposal.
Carlo Tavecchio has been named as the new president of the Italian football association (FIGC), the body announced on Monday. The controversial 71-year-old has been voted in as Giancarlo Abete's replacement as the head of Italian football's governing body. The 71-year-old was vice-president of the federation from 2009, but confirmed his candidacy for the top job following Giancarlo Abete's decision to resign after Italy's early exit from the World Cup in Brazil in June. And despite a controversial campaign, in which he caused a racism stir and was accused of sexism in a previous interview in 2009, Tavecchio fought off the challenge of former AC Milan star Demetrio Albertini to be named as the FIGC's new president.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has disclosed that it won’t be able to pay coach Stephen Keshi the 10million Naira monthly salary he has asked for in order to continue in his role as handler of the national team. The football house has agreed to renegotiate a contract with the Big Boss whose previous agreement ended after the World Cup, Spokesman of the NFF Technical Committee, Paul Bassey disclosed this shortly after a meeting held at the Glass House Secretariat of the NFF on Wednesday. The Committee has advised the NFF board to negotiate with the coach on what they can afford, that will be acceptable to the coach. Media reports indicate that the NFF is willing to pay Seven million Naira, a significant rise from the Five million Naira the trainer earned in his first three years in charge.
According to a report published by AfricanFootball.com, a top official of the NFF informed that the new contract is most likely to be made public next week pending Keshi’s acceptance of the offer. It would be recalled that the former Super Eagles captain earned five million naira monthly before his initial contract expired after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Some earlier reports had stated that the former Mali and Togo coach was now demanding twice that amount. But with the new salary offer, Keshi, who was not considered for the South African post, and the NFF are expected to finalise a new deal next week.
The Lille goalkeeper was the only Nigeria player that was included in the list of 50 best players in the world during the 2013/14 season and he finished in 27th place. (See Enyeama's Goal 50 entry). Former Nigeria goalkeeper Peter Rufai has praised the inclusion of Vincent Enyeama in the Goal 50 announced on Monday. The Nigeria legend has hailed the man who took up from where he left off for his deserved inclusion among the 50 best players in the worldRufai said it is an accolade that his protégé has rightly earned, seeing that he had a great year where he kept clean sheets over 1062 consecutive minutes in the French top division and his form saw the Super Eagles qualify for the World Cup and reach the second round with two shut outs.
 |
| Ronaldo No One |
While infamously declaring his preference for Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo last year, Sepp Blatter displayed a surprising level of insight when he mused that the Barcelona No.10 is “a good boy ... and that's what makes him so popular.” The Fifa president unwittingly underlined that while the Portuguese may be an advertisers' dream, he has long since lost the Public Relations battle in the war for the title of the greatest player of the 21st century. In the eyes of his critics, Ronaldo's greatest crime appears to be that he is not Lionel Messi. The suggestion that the Madeira native is lacking something seems particularly ludicrous after a season in which he scored 51 goals, 11 of which came either via his head or his ‘weaker’ left foot, and ended with him placing a Champions League winners’ medal in his trophy cabinet alongside the Ballon d’Or for 2013.
Lukaku is keen to return to Goodison Park on a permanent basis after a successful loan spell and the Toffees have prepared a deal worth around €25 million to sign the Belgium international. Everton have agreed two different deals with Chelsea for the potential signing of Romelu Lukaku. bBut Chelsea and Blues boss Jose Mourinho are yet to decide whether or not to let Lukaku leave Stamford Bridge permanently this summer. The striker could instead find himself on loan to Everton for a second season - his third consecutive campaign with another club since moving to Stamford Bridge after spending 2012-13 with West Brom.
