Welcome To Dipo Liadi's blog: October 2014

30 October 2014

Maybe My Injury Is Hereditory - Daniel Sturridge

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge fears that the injuries which have ruled him out of much of the season could be hereditary. The former Chelsea man has not made an appearance since England's friendly against Norway in early September, having suffered from thigh and calf problems, and believes that injuries suffered by his family - including his uncle, former Derby County striker Dean Sturridge - could be linked to the issues that he has faced in recent years.

You might have heard that there was some drama in the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets game last night. Old pals Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard got into it a little bit, with Bryant appearing to call Howard "soft" after receiving an elbow to the head. Postgame, Bryant didn't seem to think it was a big deal, via the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan:

"I think it's fantastic," Bryant said. "Elbows are part of the game. Trash-talking is part of the game. I don't know where the NBA became so sensitive."

BASEBALL: Super Madison Bumgarner Leads Giants To World Series Championship Victory

For the third time in the last five years, the Giants are the champions of baseball. They beat the Royals by the score of 3-2 in Game 7 on Wednesday night (box score) thanks to their bullpen and the middle of the order. It was a crispy and exciting game after five blowouts in the first six games of the series. Let's review Game 7, quick hits style.

Hero: The Giants bullpen as a whole, but especially Madison Bumgarner. Like Jake Peavy in Game 6, Tim Hudson's outing was very short...

James Rodríguez assures that he is very happy at Real Madrid. He also says that he is not a prolific goalscorer like Ronaldo, that Ancelotti is the key, and he really likes Isco. The Colombian was interviewed on Cadena SER's 'El Larguero' programme.

Real Madrid: "I always wanted to be here; I dreamed of being here since I was three or four years old, and I want to stay for a long time. I'll fight to the death to keep this dream alive for a long time. I knew I had talent, but in football you have to be lucky as well."

MAN CITY 0 NEWCASTLE 2: Watch The Goals & Highlights

This Sisoko will amaze you......

NO ARGUMENT: Cristiano Ronaldo Will Win Ballon d'Or - Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti did not mince his words when giving his opinion of the FIFA president, who said that the World Cup Golden Ball should have gone to Neuer: "It's impossible to shut Blatter up. CR7 will win the Ballon d'Or".

Although the question put to Blatter was a little confusing, as it was unclear if it referred to the Golden Ball that was awarded to Messi for his World Cup performances or to the next winner of the Ballon d'Or for 2014, the Real Madrid manager continued with his argument.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini admits that he is "worried" by his side's current struggles after an impressive Newcastle dumped the League Cup holders out of the competition. Goals from Rolando Aarons and Moussa Sissoko sealed the Magpies' passage to the quarter-finals, with the visitors comfortably the better.

City are six points off the pace in the Premier League, struggling in the Champions League and have now surrendered their League Cup trophy with a whimper, leaving the Chilean in no mood to offer up excuses.

This could be a beef with the perspective that this comment is coming from a former Madrid player. Think it a bit he has scored 7 goals in La Liga with 8 assists but he has failed with his team in the both big games they have played this season. Is Jorge Valdano right or is he just playing football politics?

Nigeria’s Bartholomew Ogbeche was on target in his side’s 2-0 win against SVV Scheveningen in the KNVB Cup on Wednesday night at Cambuur Stadion. Ogbeche got his side’s curtain raiser in the 105th(second extra time) of the Dutch national football knockout championship before Bob Schepers sealed the win for the topflight side in the 120th minute.

The third division outfit had entered the game with the intention of causing an upset against the huge favourites but their major undoing was poor finishing as they wasted glorious chances to have scored at least three goals before regulation time.

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said Hamburg forced them to play at a higher intensity, in their DFB Pokal win. The Bundesliga champions were 3-1 winners at Imtech Arena on Wednesday, with Robert Lewandowski's opener followed by further goals to David Alaba and Franck Ribery.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga struck a late consolation for the hosts.

Guardiola said Josef Zinnbauer's men brought out the best in Bayern, who advanced to a last-16 clash with second-tier Eintracht Braunschweig.

Am Blessed To Play With Eto - Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku feels he is "blessed" to be able to train and play alongside Everton team-mate and legendary striker Samuel Eto'o. Former Barcelona and Inter star Eto'o scored twice in Sunday's 3-1 win over strugglers Burnley, including an impressive long-range strike late on to make sure of Everton's victory.

Club-record signing Lukaku was also on target at Turf Moor, and the 21-year-old says he is learning so much from working with three-time UEFA Champions League winner Eto'o.

REAL MADRID vs BARCELONA: All The Statistics & Facts You Need To Know

SCHALKE 4 SPORTIN LISBON 3: Chinedu Obasi Scores In Champions League Encounter

Nigeria international Chinedu Obasi was on target for Schalke 04 in their 4-3 win over Sporting Lisbon in a Champions League game played on Tuesday evening at the Veltins-Arena in Germany.
The visitors had raced to the lead through a Nani 16th minute strike before the Nigeria pulled his team back on level terms 14 minutes later.

Obasi assisted Klaas Jan Huntelaar for his 51st minute strike after slipping a pass to the Dutch forward following an intelligent run from Draxler.

BATE 0 SHAKHTAR DONETSK 7: Super Luiz Adriano Scores 5 Goals To Equal Lionel Messi's Record

Luiz Adriano hit a record-equalling five goals as Shakhtar Donetsk hammered BATE 7-0 in Borisov on Tuesday night. The Ukrainian champions struggled in their opening two group games, letting slip of a two-goal lead in the final four minutes of their previous match against Porto to draw 2-2.
But there was little danger of that happening in Borisov on Tuesday as they blitzed BATE in the opening 45 minutes and became the first team to score six times in the first half of a Champions League game.

Luiz Adriano plundered a 12-minute hat-trick - the third-fastest in Champions League history - adding a fourth just before the break, after Alex Teixeira had opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

Quaresma's late strike helped strengthen Porto's grip on Group H of the UEFA Champions League as they beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1. The experienced winger struck 15 minutes from time at the Estadio Do Dragao on Tuesday to keep the hosts two points clear of Shakhtar Donetsk, who moved into second with a 7-0 trouncing of BATE.

Julen Lopetegui's side created the better chances early on and were rewarded when Hector Herrera opened the scoring shortly before the interval. The Mexico international coolly fired home after a sublime ball from Juan Quintero, but Guillermo Fernandez's first goal since February brought Ernesto Valverde's men level.

Edinson Cavani scored a late winner as Paris Saint-Germain took a big step towards UEFA Champions League progression with a 1-0 win at APOEL. With talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic still on the sidelines through injury, Cavani fired home in the 87th minute to keep PSG top of Group F.

Having beaten Barcelona 3-2 in their previous Champions League encounter, PSG will have expected to run out comfortable winners in Tuesday's clash in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. But they were frustrated for long periods by the hosts, who produced a stern defensive performance and threatened PSG sporadically in what was a largely uninspiring game.

Neymar and Lionel Messi helped Barcelona get their Champions League campaign back on track with a 3-1 win over Ajax at Camp Nou. The star forward duo have now both scored in each of Barca's past five matches and Neymar gladly accepted a pass from his partner in crime to net an early opener on Tuesday.

Messi doubled the advantage in the 24th minute - his ninth goal of the season - and the prospect of Luis Enrique's team bouncing back from their surprise 3-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain last time out in the Champions League was rarely in doubt until substitute Anwar El Ghazi struck in the 88th minute to set up a tense finale.

Bayern Munich produced a scintillating display to batter Roma 7-1 and take firm control of UEFA Champions League Group E on Tuesday. The five-time European champions were expected to face a difficult task in Rome, but Pep Guardiola's men made a mockery of those predictions as they ran riot.

Roma had lost just one competitive home match in 2014 and conceded only once in five wins at the Stadio Olimpico this term, but Rudi Garcia's side were left shell-shocked by Bayern's blitz of five goals in the space of 28 first-half minutes. The terrific Arjen Robben started the rout before Mario Gotze - who scored twice in Bayern's 6-0 demolition of Werder Bremen on Saturday - doubled the advantage.

Didier Drogba scored his first goal for Chelsea since the 2012 UEFA Champions League final as they beat Maribor 6-0 on Tuesday. The veteran striker, who netted with both a late equaliser and the deciding penalty versus Bayern Munich in Germany two-and-a-half years ago, obliged from the spot again in a welcome easy win.

Chelsea had begun their European campaign with a lacklustre draw against Schalke and a hard-fought victory at Sporting Lisbon, but they are now firmly on course to top their group for the ninth time in 12 seasons.

With six minutes to play at a virtually empty Arena Khimki in Moscow, Manchester City’s Champions League campaign looked back on track. After failing to record a win in their first two games against Bayern Munich and Roma, Manuel Pellegrini’s side looked set to record a much-needed 2-1 victory against CSKA Moscow.

But the unforgivable sin of complacency was committed and could well cost the Premier League champions their place in the competition.

Nigeria Will Qualify For AFCON 2015 - Amodu Shaibu

The Super Eagles' interim coach has said his coaching crew could still qualify the country for 2015 African Cup of Nations despite their slim hopes of qualification. Nigeria interim coach Shaibu Amodu has said he and his technical crew will do everything to ensure the Super Eagles qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

Amodu, who was appointed alongside Salisu Yusuf, Gbenga Ogunbote and Alloyius Agu following the dimissal of Stephen Keshi by the Nigeria Football Federation last week, pleaded with Nigerians to be patience in the nation's quest for a qualification ticket.

Oscar Pistorius was taken away in a police van with barred windows Tuesday to start serving a five-year prison sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Delivering her sentence, Judge Thokozile Masipa cited the "gross negligence" the double-amputee Olympic runner showed when he shot Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home.

Pistorius, who had cried and retched during his trial, was unemotional as he stood to hear his sentence. His prison term begins immediately and he was led down a flight of stairs and toward holding cells before leaving the South African courthouse in the armored vehicle.

Thunder forward Kevin Durant told reporters Tuesday he has "been antsy" since undergoing foot surgery last week. However, Durant cautioned that he has no intentions of returning sooner than the 6-8-week timeframe he was given.

"Nah, I'm not going to rush it all. That's one thing I'm not going to do," Durant said, per ESPN.

Oscar Pistorius Awaits Jail Sentence Today

The Olympic and Paralympic runner was convicted of culpable homicide last month for shooting dead 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria in February 2013.

Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder, saying prosecutors had failed to prove his intent to kill when he fired four 9mm rounds through the door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief an intruder was lurking behind it.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal insisted his team can catch Premier League leaders Chelsea, despite trailing by 10 points. Van Gaal has battled a reputation for arrogance throughout his career but did not shy away from that label on Monday after watching United come from behind twice to claim a 2-2 draw at West Brom.

The Dutch manager argued he has bridged a 10-point gap "a lot of times" in his coaching career but while Van Gaal is confident his team are still contenders for the title, former United full-back Gary Neville disagrees.

Southampton 8 Sunderland 0: Watch Gus Poyet's After Match Interview

What you would probably say when you get thrashed by 8 goals, lol.

QPR 2 LIVERPOOL 3: Watch The Goals & Highlights

Manchester United Missing Champions League Football - Louis Van Gaal

Louis van Gaal feels that Manchester United are missing the regular tests provided by the Champions League. David Moyes' tumultuous reign at Old Trafford last season was ended by the club's hierarchy as soon as it was confirmed that United were mathematically incapable of qualifying for Europe's top competition.

"I had a philosophy when I was a technical director of the Dutch Football Federation, I gave structure to the youth education, that the younger players have to play against the better players," he told reporters.

Jose Mourinho was left beaming by his side's ability to win without star striker Diego Costa at Crystal Palace. The Spain international missed the trip to Selhurst Park with a long-standing hamstring complaint thought to be at the root of his absence.

Mourinho blasted the striker's national side for over playing him during the recent Euro 2016 qualifiers, but was left soothed as goals from Oscar and Cesc Fabregas secured a 2-1 triumph, in which Loic Remy proved a handful up front - drawing two bookings which saw Damien Delaney dismissed in the first half.

Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone wants to reimburse the club's travelling supporters, who witnessed Saturday's 8-0 mauling at Southampton. Guy Poyet's side were left licking their wounds after Southampton ran riot in Premier League action, racking up eight goals with the hosts' incisive attack supplemented by some woeful Wearside defending.

Southampton struck three times in the first half, while they added another five after the break as Ronald Koeman's men produced a club-record top-flight win and heaped further misery on their beleaguered opponents. The embarrassing defeat left Sunderland hovering just a point above the relegation zone, with just one league win thus far.

Barcelona attacker Luis Suarez has stressed that his Argentine team-mate Lionel Messi is a better player than Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi and Ronaldo have won six Ballons d'Or between them in the past six years - the former emerging victorious four times and the latter twice - and are widely regarded as the two best players around in the game at the moment.

BARCELONA 3 EIBAR 0: Watch The Goals and Highlights

NEWCASTLE 1 LEICESTER CITY 0: Watch The Goals and Highlights

Barcelona Not Thinking About El Classico - Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano claims Barcelona are thinking about their midweek clash with Ajax - not Saturday's Clasico clash with Real Madrid.

The Liga leaders restored their four-point advantage over their great rivals by beating Eibar 3-0 at Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi moving to within one goal of the all-time Spanish top-flight record of 251 after earlier strikes from Xavi and Neymar. The build-up to the first season of the Clasico has already begun but Mascherano insists that Luis Enrique's men are solely concentrating on Tuesday's visit of Ajax.

Utah Jazz forward Trevor Booker fouled Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin hard on the break during the third quarter of Friday's preseason game. Griffin did not appreciate it, and the two exchanged words. Then things got a bit out of hand:

Yeah, Griffin grabbing Booker's head wasn't the best move. But neither was the initial foul, especially given that it's an exhibition game. Booker was assessed a flagrant-1, and both of them were also given technicals. Chris Paul got a tech, too -- I'm not sure if that one will hold up, but I guess he briefly shoved Booker away.

Cesc Fabregas says comparisons with Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ are “a joke” and that he does not expect Chelsea to go through the season unbeaten. The midfielder scored his first league goal for the Blues in a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

The result means Jose Mourinho’s league leaders have gone eight games unbeaten so far this season, evoking memories of Arsenal’s title winning side of 2003-04.

LEVANTE 0 REAL MADRID 5: Watch The Goals & Highlights

MANCHESTER CITY 4 TOTTENHAM 1: Watch The Goals & Highlights

CRYSTAL PALACE 1 CHELSEA 2: Watch Oscar's Amazing Free Kick

BARCELONA 3 EIBAR 0: Messi Shines In Camp Nou Victory

Lionel Messi edged one closer to La Liga's all-time goalscoring record as Barcelona easily beat Eibar 3-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday. The Argentina international went into the match needing just two goals to go level on 251 top-flight strikes with Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra, but he could only notch once as he was frustrated by Eibar goalkeeper Xabi Irureta.

Messi saw a couple of chances go begging in the first half, as he was first denied by the right leg of Irureta, before flashing an effort just wide. In fact, Eibar should have taken the lead themselves before the break, as Ander Capa and Saul Berjon both failed when through on goal.

Arsene Wenger was left to bemoan his side's lack of focus as they needed a late Danny Welbeck goal to salvage a 2-2 draw against Hull City. Strikes from Mohamed Diame and Abel Hernandez looked set to condemn Arsenal to a second successive Premier League defeat on Saturday.

However, Alexis Sanchez - who had opened the scoring after 13 minutes - jinked through Hull's defence in injury-time to set up Welbeck's equaliser. The draw salvaged a small positive for Wenger, who saw Jack Wilshere hobble off in the second half, but the Frenchman was unhappy with Arsenal's defending for Hernandez's goal shortly after the break and referee Roger East's refusal to award a free-kick for a perceived foul on Mathieu Flamini during the build-up to Diame's opener.

A Cristiano Ronaldo brace, as well as goals from Javier Hernandez, James Rodriguez and Isco, eased Real to a 5-0 thrashing of Levante on Saturday. The win at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia represented Real's seventh victory in a row in all competitions - a run that has seen them rack up 32 goals in the process.

Ancelotti's side are in ominous form ahead of a week that sees them travel to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday and host Barcelona in the season's first Clasico three days later.
And the Italian feels hard work on the training ground is the reason behind his team's recent upturn.

NIGERIA 3 SUDAN 1: Watch The Goals & Highlights

NIGERIA: Giwa Blasts NFF Over Keshi's Sack

A football proprietor, Chris Giwa, has cried out over the removal of former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, by the Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday.

The Amaju Pinnick board of the NFF after a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday removed all the technical crew members of the national team and named Amodu Shaibu as the head of a consortium of coaches to oversee the affairs of the team for the two remaining matches in the Africa nations Cup qualifiers.

Lionel Messi has described his 10 years at Barcelona as "wonderful" and is looking forward to future successes with the Liga outfit. The Argentine icon made his official Barca debut as a 17-year-old against Espanyol on October 16, 2004 and has since gone on to achieve greatness, winning six Liga titles, three Champions Leagues and breaking a host of goalscoring records.

Messi took to Facebook on the 10th anniversary of his Blaugrana bow, stating: "I want to thank all my family, friends, colleagues and the entire staff of FC Barcelona for all their support in these 10 wonderful years.

After discussing it for nearly a week, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant finally underwent surgery at the OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Clinic in Charlotte, N.C., the team announced Thursday.

Durant will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Recovery time for the injury is supposed to be between six and 10 weeks, but that depends on how the fracture heals. These types of injuries are prone to re-fracture. Medical sources have indicated that blood flow can complicate healing in the bone, which is located three-quarters of an inch from the pinky toe.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo's level of professionalism is unique within the world of football. The Portugal international is widely regarded as one of the most complete players of all time and his current coach feels that it is the 29-year-old's dedication to the game that makes him so special.

Indeed, that is why the Italian coach says he is not in the least bit shocked by Ronaldo's remarkable goal scoring exploits, with the in-form forward having already scored 17 goals in just 11 games in all competitions so far this season.

William Gallas Announces Retirement From Football

Former Chelsea rebel, Arsenal, Tottenham defender and France international William Gallas has announced his retirement from the game at the age of 37. Gallas' ended his 19-year career with Perth Glory in the A-League, having spent the bulk of his playing time in England.

Starting out as a professional in his native France with Caen - where he won Ligue 2 - Gallas then had four years at Marseille before he was brought to the Premier League by then-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri in 2001.

Stephen Keshi has been sacked as coach of Nigeria with Shaibu Amodu appointed as interim replacement. Keshi had been in charge of the African nation since 2011, but had been leading the team on a non-contract basis since the World Cup.

Nigeria took just one point from a possible nine early in qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, before Wednesday's 3-1 win over Sudan, which failed to convince Nigerian authorities of Keshi's capabilities to turn their form around. As such, the Nigeria Football Federation have acted to replace their former captain with Amodu - who will serve in charge for the remainder of the year - following an NFF Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Nigeria Allowed Sudan To Dominate Them - George Weah

Former FIFA World Player of the Year and Liberia legend, George Weah, has joined the bandwagon of those criticizing the performance of the Super Eagles in the African Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Sudan last weekend.

Conducting an analysis on the game for ABN Sports channel, the retired AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain star aired his concerns, stressing that Nigeria allowed the North African opponents to dominate the match.

Lionel Messi has set his sights on sealing Copa America success with Argentina after they thrashed Hong Kong 7-0 on Tuesday. The Argentina captain made a half-hour cameo at the Hong Kong Stadium, but still managed to score two and set up another.

Gonzalo Higuain and Nico Gaitan also managed to bag a brace apiece, while Ever Banega opened the scoring for the visitors. Gerardo Martino, Messi's former coach at Barcelona, took the reins from Alejandro Sabella after Argentina's run to the World Cup final this year.

Africa Cup of Nations holders Nigeria head into a crucial qualifier against Sudan in the midst of discord both on and off the pitch. Shockingly, Nigeria sit bottom of Group A with just one point from their three games so far, and realistically must beat third-placed Sudan on Wednesday to stand any hope of progressing.

Newly elected Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick has piled on the pressure by criticising the team's "embarrassing" and "awful" qualifying performances.

30 October 2014

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20 October 2014

19 October 2014

18 October 2014

17 October 2014

16 October 2014

14 October 2014