Sports

Ronaldo! All Hail Mr. Consistency

Published

6 years ago

August 25, 2018

Eric

By Timothy Edaki

Call him a goal scoring machine and you have not erred from the truth. Refer to him as a football god and you have just put it mildly. Arguably the best football currently, Cristina Ronaldo is one player to envy. Everything about this 33 year old Portuguese star is totally on point. On pitch, his tactical and mouth-watering dribbles, his sleek passes and crosses, and of course his signature shots that sends goalkeepers diving but always too late to stop the ball from its predestined course for the back of the net.

One must congratulate the man for his consistency in the Balloon d’Or nomination list. Since his first entry in 2011, Ronaldo has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with. Having won it five times, the new Juventus signing would be looking to succeed his rival, Lionel Messi with his sixth win s3ei they both have five apiece.

As much as we wish Ronaldo well, one must not forget that there are other gladiators in the list. The young but striking Mbappe. The dazzling Modric and of course one of Africa’s shining stars, Salah.

Who would take home the crown?

As Salah Makes Balloon d’Or List…

… Messi Losses Out

Tongues are wagging, social media is buzzing and faces are lit with questions. Everyone is wondering why the world’s supposed G. O. A. T, Lionel Messi has failed to make the shortlist for the 2018 Balloon D’or. Interestingly, there’s a new entrant to the list, Egypt’s starman and Liverpool playmaker, Mohammed Sallah. The question however is: Was Salah a better player than Messi in the previous year? What criterias were uses to determine those who made the list and those who didn’t? How effective was Salah in the games he played?

One must however not forget to congratulate the latest signing into Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo for his consistency in making the list since 2011. A brilliant player, the Portuguese star is making incredible feats in the footballing world.

While most Messi fans are of the opinion that Salah doesn’t deserve to be on the list, it is pertinent to expose and explain the reason why the Balloon D’or committee decide to favor a Salah over a Messi.

First, there is the need for a new face at the awards and while one might argue that this reason isn’t solid enough because Ronaldo who has been a nominee for the award for such a long time made the list. It is however obvious that Ronaldo had a better and more intresting season than Messi, winning the UEFA Champions League, bagging the highest goal scorer award in the tournament and having his country go ahead of Messi’s Argentina before finally crashing out.

Salah made the list because he had the highest number of goals in the English premier league, a feat Messi tied with Ronaldo. Salah was instrumental in the Jurgen Klopp’s side meteoric rise to the UEFA Champions League final. Barcelona had crashed out after a stunning 3-0 defeat by Roma in the Round of 16.

Again, Salah made the list because it was necessary to include a player from the English Premier League following reports that the awards had been biased against players from the league.

Moreover, as earlier hinted, Argentina failed to make an interesting mark in the 2018 World Cup, barely managing to lead his team to the Round of 16 before losing to France.

A Salah or a Messi? The Ballon D’Or committee has chosen and we can only keep our hands crossed to see who finally takes home the award. Cristiano Ronaldo? Mohammed Salah? Kylian Mbappe? Lukas Modric? The world is waiting!

Sports

PSG Bundle Barcelona Out of Champions League

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Eric

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have kicked 10-man Barcelona out of the Champions League as they qualified for the semi-final after winning 4-1 at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona had won the first leg 3-2 in Paris, but PSG won 6-4 on aggregate to qualify for the semi-finals.

Kylian Mbappe grabbed a brace in the encounter to see PSG through.

A Superb work from Lamine Yamal squared the ball to Raphinha, who beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a brilliant shot into the bottom right corner to give Barcelona a 12th minute lead.

In the 29th minute, Ronald Araujo made an ugly tackle on his opponent and was sent off by the referee leaving the homers with 10 men to play the entire duration.

PSG capitalised on their advantage and equalised in the 40th minute. A former Barcelona player, Ousmane Dembele equalised for the visitors.

Bradley Barcola played the ball to Dembele, who showed great determination to get to the ball before a couple of defenders and from inside the box he shot into the top right corner of the net to make it 1-1.

PSG made it 1-2 in the 54th minute from a fantastic finish by Vitinha from just outside the box. He wasted little time in getting away a bullet of a shot that flew past the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner of the net.

Mbappe added another goal for PSG from the penalty spot in the 61st minute. He put the ball into the top left corner past the outstretched arm of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

A minute to duration time, PSG made it 1-4. Mbappe fired the rebound into the bottom right corner after the ball broke to him in the box.

Sports

IGP Salutes Exceptional Performances of Police Athletes at 2023 African Games

Published

2 weeks ago

April 11, 2024

Eric

The Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D, NPM, has commended the exceptional performances of the Police Athletes who distinguished themselves, as Nigeria’s ambassadors at the recently concluded 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana.

The IGP notes that their remarkable performances across various sporting events have brought immense pride to the Force and the country at large.

While receiving the athletes, the IGP, who was represented by the Force Director of Sports (FSO), CP Patrick A. Atayero, likened the African Games to a continental Olympics, and harped on the significance of young and talented Police Sports Men and Women showcasing their skills, passion, determination and courage on such a prestigious stage to emerge Medalists. He emphasized that the success of Police Athletes at the 13th African Games which held from 8th to 26th March, 2024, shortly after the 14th Biennial Police Games (Oluyole 2024) that concluded on 2nd March in Ibadan, is a veritable testament to the effectiveness of the sports development initiatives of the Force.

The medalists – Inspr. Aisha Adamu, Sgt. Mohammed Inuwa, Sgt. Emmanuel Bala, Sgt. Matthew Deshi, Corporal Chika Blessing, Corporal Nathaniel Samson, Corporal Victor Ikechukwu, Corporal Eweh Emmanuel, Corporal Collins Obi, Corporal Godwin Sunday, Corporal Emmanuel Ochayi, Corporal Aminu Garba, PC Olayiwola Zainab, PC Mabel David, PC Precious Joel, PC Esther Peter, and Bello Tunde Muiz (Education Officer II), demonstrated exceptional dexterity in Arm wrestling, Athletics, Badminton, Mixed Martial Arts, Swimming and Hockey. These Police Athletes garnered 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze totalling 8 Medals, for Nigeria at the Continental Sports Fiesta.

The Inspector General of Police appreciates all Police Athletes for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to sporting excellence, national unity and development in all spheres in Nigeria. He reiterates that their collective success serves as an inspiration to other Police Officers and fellow aspiring Athletes and inestimable potentials across the nation.

Sports

Super Falcons Draw Goalless with South Africa, Quality for Paris Olympics

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2024

Eric

Nigeria’s female national football team, Super Falcons have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Nigeria beat South Africa 1-0 on aggregate to reach the Summer Olympics.

Rasheedat Ajibade scored from the spot in the first leg of the qualifiers in Abuja on Friday.

That goal was enough for the Super Falcons to pick one of Africa’s tickets for the women’s football event of the Paris Olympics as the second leg tie ended goaless in South Africa.

The last time Nigeria’s Super Falcons reached the Olympics was 16 years ago.