A couple more under the radar transfers: Emmanuel Frimpong (Ghana/England) free -> FC UFA (Russia) Anthony Annan (Ghana) Schalke -> HJK Helsinki Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Ghana) Ajax -> Manchester United (youth team) Abdul Yakuni-Iddi (Ghana) KV Mechelen -> OH Leuven (loan) Mohammed Fatau (Ghana) Granada -> Rayo Vallecano Nana Addo Wellbeck (Ghana) Atalanta -> Krka Nove Mesto (Slovenia) (loan) Benjamin Francis (Nigeria) Heartland -> Hapoel Tel Aviv (loan) Michael Eneramo (Nigeria) Besiktas -> Istanbul Başakşehirspor Jonathan Obika (Nigeria/England) Tottenham -> Swindon Town Akeem Agbetu (Nigeria) free -> Le Havre Last weekend checked out the Serie A and it seems half the teams has a token Ghanaian... Cofie (Chievo), Asamoah (Juventus), Nyatankyi and Acquah (Parma), Muntari and Essien (AC Milan), Boakye (Atalanta), Badu and Alhassan (Udinese), Chibsah (Sassuolo), Donsah (Cagliari), Quiason (Palermo), Duncan (Sampdoria). And among those who don't have Ghanaians in their first team, many have them in their reserves or on loan (Acosty and Salifu on loan from Fiorentina, Donkor reserves at Inter, Gyasi on loan from Torino, Alhassan reserves at Genoa). BTW Modou Farrow scores within a few hours after arrival to Swansea for the U21 side. Could be one of those low-league underexposed gems...
David Addy receives a red-card for headbutting KV Mechelen's Joachim Van Damme. Apparently the Dutch prick called him a “F*cking n*gger”. If confirmed they should rescind Addy's red and give van Damme a punishment as harsh as what Luis Suarez received for biting. And BTW - Van Damme deserved it and I would have done the same. Else FIFA or UEFA is not really serious on fighting racism on the pitch.
What a game by Ibrahima Traore! Scored two, assisted one, another goal was from a rebound from his shot and he was deep in the mix for the final goal. Not to mention the key passes and crosses he provided! http://ourmatch.net/videos/23-10-2014-borussia-monchengladbach-5-0-apollon-limassol/ Expect him to play way more minutes for Borussia after this showing.
Anyone know what is the situation with seydou doumbia and his club? The Russian league player of the season relegated to bench duties. .. and still in contention for the goalscoring crown despite playing half the minutes of hulk or rondon. Must ahead of doumbia is ridiculous. .. Grateful for any info on why doumbia is getting the Juan mata treatment.
Belated video, but I cannot overstate how excited I am by this kid. He's a true number 10, the first since Kanu and Okocha. A true creative player which Nigeria, hell all of West Africa, has lacked for awhile now. Can't wait until he's seasoned enough to play for City and the senior Nigerian squad. Hopefully City won't mismanage his career.
I'm also worried with Keshi not fast forwarding him to the national team. He's a big talent and as such he needs to be nurtured and heightening his profile through national team games would only help with that. He's good enough.
He definitely could have helped them get past South Africa had he been integrated into the team earlier. Even as a spark off the bench. This is a kid with the type of talent that national team head coaches usually like to showcase in order to help move their club careers forward. I was fine with some of the other players who Keshi left off bc it was usually in favor of youth and domestic players. But this kid is probably the best of both and Nigeria was needing a spark. Keshi may not survive missing out on the ACN which might push the next coach to include him in his plans but there isn't another major potential showcase until the next ACN qualifiers in two years. This is the type of player that Nigeria has been looking for such a long time and it makes me nervous that he might not get all the opportunities that he needs. Pellegrini even seems to value him more than Keshi. With that said, Keshi did have other problems to deal with. The NFF was nearly banned twice during qualifiers, Keshi himself was sacked in the middle of them and then brought back during preparations for the last two games. Instability from the top down is difficult to deal with especially for the first real long term homegrown manager. It's not about one player picked here or there. Keshi has been the right guy for Nigeria when he came along, but his tactics have gotten figured out and he hasn't been able to adapt and try new things. Many national team coaches hit a wall after a cycle, he won't be the first, and this is probably the best time to start fresh. The current cycle has just begun and a potential newcomer has plenty of time to introduce a new set of tactics, formation and integrate players. Better to do it now than at the end of the cycle. It was the right decision to take him to the WC but it's probably the best time to let him go. He got Nigeria as far as he can. Time to pass the baton.
You know there's talk of Iheanacho(?) joining new MLS side, NYCFC this winter on loan for a season. Seems pretty serious.
It's been said that they're interested, mostly through the connection of the two clubs having the same ownership. It's been long thought over here that NYCFC is going to be a place where MCFC will send alot of their younger academy players and loanees. However many ppl associated with Iheanacho want him to be loaned out somewhere in Europe so City can keep an eye on him more closely, so to speak. Whatever happens, he needs to be officially signed before he can be loaned out anywhere bc he was still technically an academy player last I saw. They were waiting for his 18th birthday this past October before EU laws would allow them to sign him but nothing was announced.
Nice to see Carlos Kameni is starting games again. Three MOTM performances in a row for Malaga (vs Real Madrid, Deportivo and Celta Vigo) if Whoscored stats are to be believed. Nice to have Ondoa, but would love to see Kameni return to goal.
I remember at some point whilst he was at Espanyol, he was considered a real up-and-comer and was even linked to Man U. Then for a while he seemed to have fallen off the radar but now he's resurfaced with some great performances. Do you guys think he's Africa's best goalie? Is he better than Enyeama?
He definitely was Africa's best goalie before his ill-fated move from Espanyol. I would say that 2006-2011 he was Africa's no 1. Then he made some terrible career choices that backfired. He could be better than Enyeama, but only if his form of late remains consistent. However even at his best he was erratic in performances and prone to the odd mistake. But he was always a big game player and some of his games against top tier teams are legendary. He's definitely one of the best shot stoppers in the business and his reflexes are second to none. He also has a physical advantage over Enyeama. I've watched him and for the past few games he has been excellent (world class? at his best?) after a patchy start to the season. All in all Cameroon is one African country which always seems blessed with top class goalkeepers.
Fun fact I just found out: 21-year old Ghanian striker at John Antwi of Egyptian club Ismaily is closing in on one of the records of Lionel Messi, who once scored in 21 consecutive games. John Antwi has meanwhile scored in 19 consecutive Egyptian Premier League games, which already places him just behind Messi in all-time world records.
zahzah, Adama Traore made a big step in his career after only 6 month in Portugal. He can play in UCL next season. It's a Basel player now.
Jailton Alves Miranda (Kuca) (Estoril-Praia, Portugal) signed offical contract with the Karabukspor. 3.5 years.
When do you know you have a killer youth squad? When the U20 squad easily dominates and beats the biggest club in the league. Nigeria U20 beats giants Enyimba in a friendly. The score was 2:0, but apparently could have been much more with Taiwo Awoniyi profiglate in front of goal. Oh... and the U20 squad played with a man down since the 57th minute. SQUAD: Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (Captain), Mustapha Abdullahi, Prince Izu Omego, Zaharadeen Bello – Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Akinjide Idowu, Abdullahi Alfa, Wasiu Jimoh, Prince Aggrey, Taiwo Awoniyi GOALS: 62' PG Musa Muhammad, 90' Musa Yahaya
Second game of the U20 side of Manu Garba (based on the 2013 U17 side that dominated the world). Today they beat the Nigerian League champions Kano Pillars 2:1... This is a team without Chidi Nwakali, Kelechi Iheanacho or Isaac Success. Nigeria U20 - Kano Pillars 2:1 22' Suleiman Abdullahi, 34' Taiwo Awoniyi - 32' OG Musa Muhammad Nigeria U20 missed a penalty in the 64th minute. They play Warri Wolves next. FLYING EAGLES: GK Olorunleke Ojo 21 DF Musa Muhammed 2, Mustapha Abdullahi 3, Zaharadeen Bello 19, Prince Izu Omego 6 MF Ifeanyi Ifeanyi 15, Akinjide Idowu 4, Ifeanyi Matthew 15 FW Wasiu Jimoh 8, Sulaiman Abdullahi 14, Taiwo Awoniyi 18 Boy... is this team good. Can't wait to see them at the U20 African Championship, U20 World Youth Championship, 2016 Olympics and finally at the 2018 World Cup. If their club career goes well... it should be one hell of a generation of footballers.
Nigeria 20 - Warri Wolves 1:0 47' Musa Mohammed Hattrick of wins by the youth team against the best of the Nigerian league...
Nigeria U20 win fourth game in a row (and the event) thrashing Dolphins 4:1: 24' Obinna Nwobodo, 42' OG Jonathan Zikiye, 59' Bernard Bulbwa, 90' Chidere Eze - 62' Christian Pyagbara
Seydou Doumbia finally signs for a big club (well... sort of). Now at AS Roma. Will rise to prominence sooner than later. Could hit double figures in Italy by May IMHO.
I don't think he'll have double figures by the end of the season, but finally he's playing in a bigger league/market than the russian championship