Sports

Football: Messi and Mbappe among nominees for FIFA Best award

12, January 2023

Football: Messi and Mbappe among nominees for FIFA Best award 0

Fresh from their brilliant performances at the World Cup, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are among the nominees for FIFA’s The Best award for last year, world football’s governing body announced on Thursday.

Messi, who has won the prize once before, captained Argentina to victory in Qatar, a career-defining triumph that has boosted his chances of winning an eighth Ballon d’Or but may also make him favourite for this prize.

As well as Mbappe, who netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final, another two Paris Saint-Germain players are nominated in Neymar and Achraf Hakimi.

Karim Benzema, who won last year’s Ballon d’Or for his performances with Real Madrid, is also nominated, as is Robert Lewandowski, winner of the FIFA prize in the last two years.

The list of nominees is completed by Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland; the Real Madrid pair of Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior; Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Jude Bellingham.

Alexia Putellas is nominated for the women’s award despite being out for the last six months due to injury.

The Barcelona and Spain midfielder won the award last year and retained the Ballon d’Or in October.

Arsenal striker Beth Mead, runner-up to Putellas for the Ballon d’Or, is also nominated, as are two other members of the England team that won the European Championship on home soil in Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh.

There are also prizes for the best male and female coach, the best goalkeeper, and the Puskas Award for the best goal of 2022.

A public vote, open until February 3, will decide the three finalists in each category.

The winner is then voted for by a jury made up of national team coaches and captains as well as journalists and fans.

Source: AFP

Football: Messi set for first PSG appearance since World Cup

10, January 2023

Football: Messi set for first PSG appearance since World Cup 0

Lionel Messi is expected to make his first appearance for Paris Saint-Germain since his World Cup triumph in a Ligue 1 clash at home against Angers on Wednesday, as the Qatar-owned club look to tie the Argentine down to a new contract.

The 35-year-old took part in training with his teammates on Tuesday, a little over three weeks after inspiring Argentina to victory over France on penalties in an epic World Cup final in Qatar.

He was granted a two-week holiday back in his home country following the tournament, before returning to Paris and being given a guard of honour at PSG’s training ground last Wednesday.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who scored 12 goals in 19 games this season for his club prior to the World Cup, did not take part in PSG’s win at third-tier side Chateauroux in the French Cup at the weekend.

But he could start as the Ligue 1 leaders play host to an Angers side who are bottom of the table and have lost their last nine league outings.

How Messi approaches the second half of the campaign in France after a career-defining World Cup will be closely observed, with his initial two-year deal in Paris coming to an end.

However, the Qatar-owned club are in talks to extend his contract with coach Christophe Galtier insisting the former Barcelona star is settled in the French capital.

“I know there are talks and that the club has spoken to Leo but I don’t know where they are at,” Galtier told reporters on Tuesday.

“Leo seems to me to be happy in Paris and I think there is a real desire on behalf of the club to extend Leo’s contract,” added Galtier, who said that Luis Campos, PSG’s football advisor, was in discussions with Messi’s representatives along with president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

Kylian Mbappe, scorer of a hat-trick for France in the World Cup final, may again be rested for PSG’s midweek game after missing their French Cup victory as he took a holiday in New York along with teammate Achraf Hakimi.

Neymar has been getting treatment on the ankle injury he suffered playing for Brazil at the World Cup, while Italy midfielder Marco Verratti is out for a PSG side who suffered their first defeat of the season in their last league outing at Lens on New Year’s Day.

Source: AFP

Football: Manchester United agree to sign Vincent Aboubakar on loan

8, January 2023

Football: Manchester United agree to sign Vincent Aboubakar on loan 0

Premier League (PL) club, Manchester United, have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Cameroon captain, Vincent Aboubakar on loan for the remainder of the 2022/2023 season from Saudi Arabian outfit, Al-Nassr.

The Red Devils are currently in the winter transfer market for a new forward after terminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract after the just concluded World Cup in Qatar.

The Portugal captain was later signed by Al-Nassr, thereby linking up with Aboubakar, who currently plies his trade with the Saudi-Arabia club. 

Aboubakar since joining the club 18 months ago has netted 13 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions for Al-Nassr this includes 4 goals from the 12 matches he has so far played this season.

Man United, after making inquiries, from the Middle East side, have been told that Aboubakar will be available and that the club is willing to let the 30-year-old leave on loan.

Al-Nassr was disposed to the deal because they have exceeded the limit for non-Saudi Arabian players in their first-team squad following the arrival of Ronaldo and they cannot register the five-time Ballon d’Or winner until one of their 7 foreign players leaves the club.

According to Saudi Arabian news outlet OKAZ, Man United and Turkish giants, Fenerbahce have an agreement in place to take Aboubakar on loan this January, with the Cameroonian expected to favour a move to the Premier League.

Aboubakar’s potential temporary move to Old Trafford would be a perfect deal for both Man United and Al-Nassr, as it will mean the former would have strengthened Erik ten Hag’s options in the attack, while the latter will also be able to officially register Ronaldo.

Source: The Nicheng

Indomitable Lions: Modeste M’Bami dies aged 40

7, January 2023

Indomitable Lions: Modeste M’Bami dies aged 40 0

Modeste M’Bami, the former Indomitable Lions midfielder is no more! The veteran Paris Saint Germaine and Olympic Marseille player died today of heart attack aged 40.

Modeste M’Bami who recorded 38 caps, 3 goals died in Le Havre, where he lived.

He had played for PSG (2003-2006) and OM (2006-2009).

Gold medalist at the Olympic Games in 2000 in Australia with the Indomitable Lions, M’Bami also won two French Cups with PSG (2004 and 2006).

After starting his career in Douala, Cameroon, the native of Yaoundé played in France with Sedan (2000-2003). Transferred to PSG, he imposed himself in the midfield, especially during the 2003-2004 season, which ended in second place under Vahid Halilhodzic. He then joined PSG rivals, Olympique de Marseille in the summer of 2006.

After a stint at Almeria, and a few seasons in more distant destinations (China, Saudi Arabia, Colombia), M’Bami ended his playing careerat Le Havre, in Ligue 2 (2014-2016).

By Chi Prudence Asong

Mbankomo: More U-17 players fail age testing enforced by Eto’o

6, January 2023

Mbankomo: More U-17 players fail age testing enforced by Eto’o 0

Cameroon’s Under-17s face a race against time to field a team for regional African Cup of Nations qualifiers after more players failed age tests ordered by Samuel Eto’o, president of the country’s governing body, Fecafoot.

The former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker’s insistence on using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) screening saw the squad ravaged at their training camp in Mbankomo, on the outskirt of Yaounde.

Of the initial 30-member group, 21 failed the tests.

But BBC Sport Africa now understands Cameroon have suffered a fresh setback as 11 new players also failed tests on Tuesday, with coach Jean Pierre Fiala struggling to find replacements.

Cameroon host Congo, Chad, DR Congo and Central African Republic for the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) qualifiers between 12 and 24 January, with two teams progressing to April’s Under-17 Nations Cup in Algeria.

A Fecafoot statement said Eto’o gave “strict instructions” for the actions to be taken “in order to put an end to the tampering with civil status records which have, in the past, tarnished the image of Cameroon football.

“Fecafoot urges all actors, in particular educators, to ensure that the ages by category are respected.”

The fight against age cheats

Many of Africa’s international successes in junior tournaments have been clouded by allegations of the use of over-age players.

Football’s world governing body Fifa introduced MRI scans at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, which took place in Nigeria.

The MRI works by scanning the wrist to study how advanced the bone structure is

In 2017, Fecafoot blocked 14 players from taking part in the Under-17 Afcon in Gabon after they failed the tests.

Eto’o promised to take action to combat the long-running problem when he was elected Fecafoot president in December 2021 and Simon Lyonga, a journalist with Cameroon’s national broadcaster CRTV, says the decision to weed out age cheats has been applauded by the public.

“Here in Cameroon, people are by and large pleased that Fecafoot actually seem to be doing something to try to stop the cheating,” Lyonga told BBC Sport Africa.

“It is important for the country to give chances to players of the right age.”

Cameroon have twice been continental champions at Under-17 level, in 2003 and 2019.

Source: BBC

Gianluca Vialli: Former Italy and Chelsea striker dies aged 58 after battle with pancreatic cancer

6, January 2023

Gianluca Vialli: Former Italy and Chelsea striker dies aged 58 after battle with pancreatic cancer 0

Gianluca Vialli’s death on Friday robbed Italian football of an iconic figure of its golden era, a powerful yet studious centre-forward who won almost every honour and was one of the English Premier League’s first big-name foreign imports.

Vialli, who had battled pancreatic cancer since 2017 before finally succumbing to what he called “an unwanted guest” at the age of 58, was the archetypal Italian ‘signore’, a well-dressed, well-spoken gentleman who nonetheless thrived in the bruising world of Italian football.

His glittering club career saw him at one point become the world’s most expensive player when Juventus paid Sampdoria 16.5 million euros in 1992 and he ended his career with one final successful spell at Chelsea.

The son of a self-made millionaire, Vialli grew up in a 60-room castle in his native Cremona.

His bustling style of forward play belied his comfortable upbringing and led him to the greatest heights at club level.

During most of the 1980s and early 1990s he was part of a devastating strike partnership at Sampdoria with Roberto Mancini, one of Italy’s most naturally gifted players of the era, which carried the Genoa-based team to unprecedented levels of success and led to them being nicknamed “the goal twins”.

In eight years at Sampdoria, Vialli won the club’s only Serie A title in 1991, the previous year’s Cup Winner’s Cup and three Italian Cups.

They also came to within a hair’s breadth of winning the European Cup in 1992, being narrowly beaten by Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘Dream Team’.

London calling

Vialli was one of the first leading players to leave a club on a free transfer thanks to the Bosman ruling, departing Juventus after he won the Champions League in 1996 to link up with fellow former Serie A star Ruud Gullit at resurgent Chelsea.

By then 31, Vialli was among the first wave of foreign stars who would soon flood the Premier League and alongside compatriots Roberto Di Matteo and Gianfranco Zola turned Chelsea into trophy and title contenders after a long silverware drought.

“It was a club that had exciting plans… even if this was before (Roman) Abramovich. There was already the idea within the club of winning the league,” Vialli said in 2016.

“Gullit was there and I had the chance to live in London. You put that all together and I couldn’t have said no.”

In 1997 he helped Chelsea to the FA Cup, the club’s first major honour in 26 years, and the following year won the League Cup and Cup Winner’s Cup after taking over as player manager from the sacked Gullit.

In his final campaign as a player he led Chelsea on a title challenge that only faded in late April, and in 2000 won a second FA Cup before being replaced by Claudio Ranieri in the following season.

A humbling spell at Watford followed before Vialli decided to leave the game to become a pundit on Italian TV.

“I realised that there were more fun, less stressful things to do than be a coach,” he said.

“Then there was the fact that I’d got married. Before then, I was married to football.”

However he retained a strong affinity to Chelsea and lived in London with his family until his death.

Italy blues

He scored 16 goals in 59 matches for Italy but failed to recreate his often exceptional club form on the international stage.

At the height of his powers he flopped at the 1990 World Cup on home soil, shoved aside early on to make space for Roberto Baggio and Toto Schillaci, and his Italy career never recovered.

At one point he went over two years without scoring for Italy, and his final match for the national team came in 1992 when he was still in his late 20s, surprisingly early in a career that was still to bring another Serie A title and the Champions League with Juve.

However he remained a popular figure and in 2019 became Italy’s delegation chief, providing support to old friend and head coach Mancini.

His tearful embrace with Mancini on the Wembley pitch after Italy beat England on penalties to win European Championship in 2020 became one of the iconic images of an emotional triumph.

Source: AFP

The moment Cristiano Ronaldo met with Vincent Aboubakar

5, January 2023

The moment Cristiano Ronaldo met with Vincent Aboubakar 0

The five times Ballon d’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo departed the shore of Europe and completed a shock move to Saudi Arabia club side Al-Nassr and was officially presented to the excited club supporters in a fully stadium.

After his unveiling, he quickly made his way into the club dressing room and met with his new teammates.

In the dressing room the iconic number seven Cristiano Ronaldo took time to exchange pleasantries with his teammates before he finally began his training session in his new environment.

One of the popular players in the Al-Nassr dressing room is the Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar whose fame grew at the just concluded 2022 FIFA world cup tournament in Qatar, the two likewise exchanged pleasantries.

The two will hope to strike up a devastating partnership upfront for Al-Nassr and help them win plenty of trophies both in their league and in the continental competitions.

Source: Opera News

Tennis legend Boris Becker back to work as Australian Open pundit

3, January 2023

Tennis legend Boris Becker back to work as Australian Open pundit 0

A month after his release from prison, Boris Becker will return as a consultant for Eurosport during the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the sports television channel announced on Tuesday.

“I am delighted that Boris Becker is returning to our Eurosport team at the Australian Open,” said Jochen Gundel, one of the managers of the German subsidiary of Warner. Bros Discovery, the chain’s parent company.

“Since 2017, Boris has been an integral part of the tennis broadcasts on Eurosport.”

The German six-time Grand Slam champion was released from prison in England last month after serving eight months of a two-and-a-half year sentence for flouting insolvency rules.

Becker was found guilty of hiding £2.5 million ($3.1 million) of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

His lawyer explained that Becker, now 55, had “served his sentence” and was “not subject to any criminal restrictions in Germany”.

Becker will appear on Eurosport every day after the night sessions of the Australian Open which begins on January 16.

Source: AFP

Football: Aboubakar sends Cristiano Ronaldo message after Mohamed Salah dig

1, January 2023

Football: Aboubakar sends Cristiano Ronaldo message after Mohamed Salah dig 0

Cristiano Ronaldo has been sent an emphatic message by new Al-Nassr teammate Vincent Aboubakar amid the Cameroonian’s ongoing feud with Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.

The Portuguese forward sealed a big-money switch to the Saudi Arabian outfit earlier this week having penned a deal worth in the region of £173m per year until 2025. It sees Ronaldo venture outside of Europe for the first time in his glittering career following his explosive exit from Manchester United.

His first assignment once he arrives in the Middle East will be to break into the Al-Nassr starting XI – an easy task most would think considering the eye-watering wages that he will earn during his spell with the club. New teammate Aboubakar might have something to say about that first though.

The former Porto star has been with the Saudi outfit since a move from Besiktas in the summer of 2021. The 95-time Cameroon international has gone on to make 36 appearances for the club since, scoring 11 goals.

One of those strikes came in his most recent outing as he opened the scoring in the fifth minute against Al-Khaleej. That goal proved to be the winning strike as Al-Nassr rose to top spot in the Saudi Pro League ahead of Al-Shabab.

It also came at a perfect time for Aboubakar who will certainly be hoping to hold onto his starting berth regardless of Ronaldo’s arrival at the club. And the striker has already proved that he has no issues in putting himself up against the world’s best, having previously compared himself to Kop ace Salah.

Speaking shortly before the World Cup, he claimed that he shared the same ability as the Egyptian – his lack of a move to a top five league the only thing preventing him from displaying that more regularly.

Source: The Mirror

Football: Clarence Seedorf says Onana will return to play for the Indomitable Lions

1, January 2023

Football: Clarence Seedorf says Onana will return to play for the Indomitable Lions 0

Former Cameroon coach Clarence Seedorf believes Andre Onana will rescind his decision of retiring from international football. Seedorf thinks the Inter goalkeeper will make international U-turn

Onana retired from Cameroon days after being kicked out of World Cup camp. The 26-year-old was accused of indiscipline by coach Rigobert Song

Onana retired from Cameroon duty in December, less than a month after he was kicked out of the Indomitable Lions’ World Cup camp, following a clash with coach Rigobert Song.

However, Seedorf, who handled Cameroon at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, feels the 26-year-old Inter Milan goalkeeper will make a return to the national team at some point.

 “Onana is a great goalkeeper, an intelligent, curious man, who takes an interest and believes in himself. I think he will return to play for the national team,” Seedorf told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Onana played in Cameroon’s World Cup opener against Switzerland when they lost 1-0 before he was dropped for disciplinary reasons. Reserve goalkeeper Devis Epassy took his place as they fought from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Serbia and then stunned Brazil 1-0 in their final group match.

The goalkeeper claimed to have “always behaved in a way to lead the team to success in a good manner,” but Song was adamant that he needed to send a strong message to one of the Indomitable Lions’ star players.

Onana had made 34 appearances for his country, featuring in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations as well as the 2022 World Cup, since making his debut in a friendly against France in May 2016.

Onana had earlier in the week explained how he has put his woes with Cameroon behind him and was eyeing success with Inter.

“This is where I belong, I think that’s obvious,” he said. “I’ll always be a fan of my Cameroon, but now I’m only focused on Inter and I want to win every trophy with the Nerazzurri. With the team that we have, I think that’s possible.”

Onana is now fully focused on club duties with Inter Milan who are preparing for their Serie A return against leaders Napoli on January 4.

Source: Goal.com

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