Moment
Euro 2020: Jose Mourinho ‘prayed’ and ‘cried’ after Eriksen collapsed
Jose Mourinho revealed he “prayed” and “cried” for Christian Eriksen after the Denmark star collapsed during Saturday’s Euro 2020 clash against Finland. Inter midfielder Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest when collapsing on the pitch before being resuscitated, Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen said. Eriksen was given CPR by medics in the first half of the Group B match after falling to the ground with no other player around him – the fixture was originally suspended, but the former Tottenham star was later confirmed to be “awake” and the game resumed a little under two hours later, with Finland winning 1-0 in Copenhagen. Ex-Tottenham head coach Mourinho spent time with Eriksen prior to the Denmark international’s move to Inter in 2020 and the Roma-bound boss said he was reduced to tears. “I...
Hamza Al-Mustapha: Nigeria has no excuse for inadequate power supply
Hamza Al-Mustapha, ex-chief security officer to Sani Abacha, former head of state, says Nigeria doesn’t have any excuse for inadequate power supply. Al-Mustapha said this during an interview with newsmen on Sunday, noting that Nigeria has abundant resources that should reflect in its power supply. He said electricity supply is still very expensive in the country, adding that the country has what it takes to have a stable and cheap power supply. “Up till this moment, electricity supply in Nigeria is still very very expensive compared to other countries in spite of the fact that we have all it takes to have one of the most stable and cheap power supply in the world,” Al Mustapha said. “We have the resources in abundance, we have coal and gas, we have solar energy in abundance because we are ...
PSG steals Georginio Wijnaldum from Barca’s grips with better offer
Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum, who had been a long-time target to firm up the Catalan midfield for Barcelona, made a sudden volte face by deciding for former French Ligue champions Paris Saint-Germain instead. Just when the details of his move from former English Premier League champions Liverpool were almost fully sorted with arrangements on course for Wijnaldum’s medicals at Camp Nou, PSG jumped ahead to challenge for the midfielder’s interest with a juicier offer which appears to have worked in their favour. The Ligue 1 side has now won the race to sign 30-year-old central midfielder on a free transfer from Liverpool. PSG found their way around advanced talks between Wijnaldum and Barca by showing the defender their determination to attract him to Paris by improving ...
Nigeria orders broadcasters not to use Twitter to gather information
Nigerian television and radio stations should not use Twitter to gather information and have to de-activate their accounts, the broadcast authority said following the move to suspend the US social media giant in Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria’s government on Friday said it had suspended Twitter’s activities, two days after the platform removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish secessionists. Nigerian telecoms firms have since blocked access to Twitter. International diplomats responded with a joint statement in support of “free expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria”. Buhari, who was Nigeria’s military ruler in the 1980s, has previously been accused of cracking down on freedom of expression, though his government has ...
Aston Villa set to break transfer record with Emi Buendia signing
Aston Villa are set to break their transfer record for the third consecutive summer window after agreeing a £30,000,000 initial fee with Norwich City for Emi Buendia. The transfer will include a number of add-ons and a sell-on fee should the Argentina international move on from Villa Park in the future. It is thought that the deal offered by Aston Villa was too good to refuse, with the deal set to potentially rise to £40,000,000 in the future. It marks a huge profit for Norwich City, who signed Buendia for £1,500,000 from Spanish side Getafe. It is thought that Emi Buendia has agreed personal terms today whilst away with the Argentina national team, while also completing his medical. When the transfer is set to be officially announced remains to be seen, but it is a sign of Aston Villa’s c...
Ex-soldiers: We trained 4,400 IPOB militias after Nnamdi Kanu promised us rank of General in Biafra Republic
Operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team have arrested three dismissed soldiers, who allegedly partook in the training of 4,400 members of the Eastern Security Network for the Indigenous People of Biafra. The suspects have been identified as Linus Owalo, Godswill Steven and Chinasa Orji. They were arrested recently after operatives of the IRT, while following a tip-off from some members of IPOB, raided the group’s hideouts in Imo, Anambra and Delta States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. ESN is the armed wing of the POB. IPOB and ESN have been accused by the police of being responsible for the attacks and killings of security operatives as well as burning of police stations and government infrastructure across the South East and South South regions of the country. IPOB a...
Jorginho almost joined Manchester City in 2018 – agent
Chelsea star Jorginho was close to joining Manchester City prior to his move to west London, according to the midfielder’s agent. Jorginho followed Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri to Stamford Bridge in 2018 and has since become a key part of the Blues line-up, helping them to Champions League final victory over City in May. But if things had turned out differently he might well have lined up against his current team-mates in Porto. “It was Napoli’s choice,” agent Joao Santos explained to Football Italia. “They were negotiating with Manchester City, but then they began talks with Chelsea, and that’s where we ended up. “We have nothing against Manchester City. Playing at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola would have been satisfying, but that’s how transfers work. “Sometimes things can change ver...
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy receives hero’s welcome in Senegal
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was given a hero’s welcome by his Senegal teammates on his arrival at the national team camp on Thursday evening. Players and members of the national team management waited until late on Thursday evening to welcome the 29-year-old, who helped Chelsea win the Uefa Champions League trophy last Saturday after a 1-0 victory over Manchester City. Mendy is the second Senegalese player to lift the coveted European title after Sadio Mane won it with Liverpool in the 2018-19 season. He played a vital role in the Blues’ successful European campaign with a record nine clean sheets in 12 games. Following an impressive debut campaign in England, Mendy, who has made himself Chelsea’s no. 1, said he will continue working to improve his game. “I don’t set limits for myself...
Belgium coach: Kevin De Bruyne’s Euro 2020 participation still unclear
The possibility of Kevin De Bruyne competing for Belgium in the European Championship remains unclear as he recovers from facial fractures, coach Roberto Martinez said on Wednesday. The midfield talisman broke his nose and eye socket in a clash in the Champions League final last weekend but it would be days before Belgium were clear about his chances of competing, Martinez told reporters. “I would say that until next week we won’t know exactly where we are with Kevin. Now, allow him now to relax. “He could be available for the Euros but when, we don’t know at the moment. It’s too early to give you an answer now, we must first get the green light from the medical side.” De Bruyne had been scheduled to join up with Belgium’s squad just days before their opening Group B match against Russia i...
Gary Lineker expects Manchester clubs or PSG to win Harry Kane race
Gary Lineker believes that both Manchester clubs and Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites to land Harry Kane in the summer, although he expects Daniel Levy to fight hard to keep Tottenham’s star man. Kane recorded 22 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League last season to secure both the golden boot and the playmaker award, despite Spurs finishing in seventh place in the table. As reported by Goal on May 17, the Spurs forward, who will captain England at the upcoming European Championship in the summer, wants to leave the north Londoners and Lineker can understand his desire for trophies. “I think that it would be worrying [to see him dominate the league if he joins Manchester City],” Lineker told Goal. “I would love to see him at Barcelona but they are going for [Sergio] Aguero and ar...
UEFA supremo: Barcelona, Real Madrid & Juventus ‘paralysed themselves’ with ‘strange’ Super League approach
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have “paralysed themselves” with their “strange” approach to the Super League, according to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. A controversial proposal for a new competition to rival the Champions League was met with universal condemnation in April, leading to the withdrawal of nine of the original 12 founding clubs. The Super League plans were subsequently put on hold, but Barca, Real and Juve have vowed to continue pushing for change despite being threatened with serious sanctions by UEFA, who are in the process of investigating their involvement in the breakaway. The three remaining clubs released a statement criticising European football’s main governing body last week, which read: “FC Barcelona, Juventus FC and Real Madrid CF wish to express their a...
Roger Federer hints at withdrawal from French Open after Saturday’s hard won match
Former world one, Roger Federer, was made to go at great lengths to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam for a record-extending 68th time by Germany’s world number 59 Dominik Koepfer in their battle, which the Swiss won 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in a late-night slugfest at Roland Garros. Although the tennis icon was solid in his opening two matches, with encouraging victories over qualifier Denis Istomin and former US Open champion Marin Cilic, upon his return to Open action after two knee surgeries, he got a tough test of his mettle on Saturday. The 20-time Grand Slam champion knew it was not going to be plain sailing, as newsmen reported him as saying, and he found out just how in the night-session showdown with Germany’s Koepfer. It was tough enough to make Federer admit that, base...