BUSY SCHEDULE KEEPS KESHI OUT OF ODEMWINGIE’S WEDDING

Keshi 
Super Eagles' Head Coach, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, has emphatically said that he would not attend Nigerian international, Peter Osaze Odemwingie's forthcoming high-profile wedding billed for England.

Big Boss said tight schedule for the preparation of Eagles for various matches would not allow him to honour such an invitation if it had been extended to him. 

Keshi, who dropped the hint while responding to questions from Daily Sunsports if the wedding arrangement would affect his training programme, hinged his decision not to attend the wedding in the face of the enormous responsibilities before him ahead of the busy June World and Nations Cup qualifier schedules. 

The Eagles' gaffer, insisting that he could only pray for the success of the wedding and wish him well, retorted: 'Why should you think that the wedding engagement of an individual would truncate the training programme involving the whole country? It is true that he might invite the players and technical crew for his wedding, but I don't think his engagement would affect us.

'For the records, if he invites me for his wedding, I will be very glad, but I cannot attend because I have a job to do. I would pray for him to have a successful wedding, if he informs me about it, but I won't attend as I'm on national assignment,' he quipped emphatically. 

The former Hawks of Togo gaffer also revealed that though he was still considering the foreign-based players to invite, however, their numerical strength would not exceed a maximum of 10 or 11 players, even as he warned that all the pros invited must report to camp latest on or before May 27. 

On the identity of players likely to make his list, Keshi, said: 'Players such as John Utaka, Aluko, among others, are in my list but Nigerians must wait till tomorrow to know. I'm thinking of inviting foreign players with the number ranging from 10, 11 or something close to that. 'I have not really made up my mind on the exact number because I'm not in hurry to make the list. I know what I wanted mentally, but I still have to discuss with my fellow coaches and come out with big pitches of who would make the list,' he said. 

Asked the deadline for reporting to camp, the Eagles' gaffer said: 'The truth is that some of the players had a very hectic season in Europe. The English, Spanish, Italian and French leagues were very stressful for the players.

'So, for them to give me more than 100 per cent, I need to give them, at least, one week rest even though they must keep in shape. They are professionals. I trust and believe in them. 

I want to say that every of them I invited must report to camp latest by May 27,' he warned.

osaze odemwingie wedding story

I shifted my wedding for Champions League final —Osaze

Osaze Odemwingie and his fiancée, Sarah, had initially fixed the wedding for May 19, the date of the Champions League final and one week after the close of the Premier League, but his would-be father-in-law insisted he would not attend if Manchester City survived to the end of the competition.

“We wanted to get married the week after the season ends but when we fixed the date, Manchester City were still in the Champions League and Sarah’s dad, Mike, who is a big fan, said he’s never coming if they’re in the final, which is on that Saturday,” Odemwingie told guardian.co.uk.

Osaze has now fixed his wedding for June 2, two weeks after the UEFA Champions League.

“When he was saying it, we were laughing at the table. And then Sarah looked at me and said: ‘He’s not joking.’ I was still laughing and she said: ‘I’m serious.’ So because of him we had to have it two weeks later. It was too late to change when Manchester City went out of the Champions League. And Sarah has something in her head that once a date is fixed, it has to be done then. So we left it.”

Odemwingie finds the whole episode hilarious and breaks into more laughter when he recalls Albion’s meeting with City at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day. “Sarah’s family are all Man City fans and they had to sit with the West Brom supporters but her dad couldn’t help but sing the City songs. His wife was hitting him, saying: ‘Will you stop that!’ They were looking forward to winning the game but it was a 0-0 draw so I changed my shirt with Vincent Kompany and gave it to Mike as a consolation. I said, ‘Here you are, don’t cry (about the result)’.”

He was the fifth highest Premier League scorer last term with 15 goand although he is frustrated that ankle, knee and hamstring injuries disrupted a second season that he describes as “a little strange”, he has still managed to score nine times in the top flight at a rate of one every three appearances. Five of those goals came in February, including a hat-trick in the 5-1 victory over Wolves that has left an indelible mark on one fan.

“There was a guy who came to the training ground, he looked so bright and it was maybe two months after the game,” says Odemwingie. “He showed me a tattoo on his leg with my face and me holding up three fingers. I couldn’t say anything. I was shocked, positively shocked that it meant so much that he could go and do that. I said to Youssouf Mulumbu: ‘Youss, do you know what I just saw? I saw a tattoo of my face on someone’s leg because of that Wolves game!’”

Nigerian Footballer John Utaka Launch Foundation in London

On Sunday 6th May, stars from sport, screen and stage help international football star John Utaka launch The John Utaka Foundation at a glittering event at the Hilton Paddington Hotel in London.

The charity is dedicated to helping Africa’s mentally and physically disabled children.

Pictures below

Danny shittu is posing by the left while John Utaka poses handsomely by the right.  Below left is  Mary Shittu  (Danny Shittu’s sister) while below right are May7ven and Alexander Amosu.

Left is John Utaka and the PR PR Vannessa Amadi and right are guests. The Sodje brothers are below left while May7ven is below right

   

Below Left is May7ven_with actress Fatima Jabbe while right is Aminu Maigari_President of The Nigerian Football Association

  

Mum tells RVP to stay in Asenal

Manchester City lead the chase for the Gunners skipper.

But mother Jose said: “Arsenal love him and that’s a great incentive to stay. Arsenal are a fantastic club.

“They have no debts and Robin is idolised there.”

Spanish giants Barcelona and Italian champions Juventus also want to sign Arsenal’s double Footballer of the Year.

RVP opened negotiations with Arsene Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis in London last week.

The Gunners are offering him a new £130,000-a-week deal, plus a £5million re-signing bonus to enhance his position as the club’s highest-paid player.

Van Persie’s wife Bouchra added: “Arsenal showed faith in Robin when he was going through a lean time, so we should not repay them by thinking about other clubs.

“Our home life and our children are happy in London.”

Premier League - Hazard decision 'this afternoon'

Eden Hazard is expected to announce on Monday afternoon whether he will sign for Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea

The 21-year-old is considered one of Europe's best young players, and he has already been given an emotional send-off from his current club Lille, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title in 2010/11.

Hazard tweeted on Monday morning: "I made my choice, meeting this afternoon."

Chelsea are rated as strong favourites by the bookmakers, who price him at 1/6 to join the newly-crowned Champions League winners.

Whichever of the three Premier League giants gets the nod is expected to fork out around £25 million, plus wages of £170,000-a-week.

Hazard said he would choose the team that guarantees him the most playing time in his favoured 'number 10' position.

He said last week: "I scored 20 league goals also had the most assists in the league (16), and I never believed I could possibly come up with such a fantastic set of statistics.

"Certainly I could not have made such a decisive contribution had the coach at Lille not changed my position.

"It is all down to that. I have always dreamed of playing the No 10 role, and wearing that number on my back, and you can see what a difference it makes from how many goals I have scored and set up for others. That will be a consideration when I decide on my club. Where I will play will influence my thinking on who I should join."

FACTS ON UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHY

"It may not be an artistic masterpiece," said the maker of the UEFA Champions League Trophy, "but everybody in football is keen to get their hands on it."

The current UEFA Champions League Trophy, which stands 73.5cm tall and weighs 8.5kg, is the sixth overall and dates back to 2006. 

A rule introduced in the 1968/69 season allowed the cup to become the property of any club which won the competition five times or three years in a row. That means Real Madrid CF, AFC Ajax, FC Bayern München, AC Milan and, since 2005, Liverpool FC all have an original in their trophy rooms. Under new regulations, any club which wins the trophy three consecutive times or five times in total receives a special mark of recognition, with the club then starting a new cycle from zero.

The trophy that the winning captain will lift at Wembley Stadium in London is the fifth version of the current design. After Real Madrid were allowed to keep the original in 1967, UEFA's General Secretary, Hans Bangerter, decided to create a new design and called in a local specialist in Berne, Jürg Stadelmann.

"My father Hans and I went along to Herr Bangerter's office and covered the whole floor with the drawings," recalled Stadelmann. "He made comments like, 'The Bulgarians would like the bottom of that. The Spaniards would like that, but the Italians would prefer that and the Germans would go for this bit.' We put the design together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was a design constituted of many parts yet I like it and I think everyone in football likes it as well.

"I remember that it had to be finished before 28 March," Stadelmann added, "because I was getting married and taking my wife on a ten-day boat trip to Los Angeles. The trophy took 340 hours to make. I did the finer work, then it was finished off by the engraver, Fred Bänninger. On time, I am glad to say."

UEFA Champions League Trophy

The European Cup is the trophy awarded to the club that wins the UEFA Champions League. The first UEFA Cup was donated to the competition by L'Équipe, the French sports newspaper that originally proposed the pan-European competition. The original trophy was awarded to Real Madrid in 1967, when they claimed their 6^th Champions League winners' title.

The design of the European Cup was modified when the original trophy was replaced. The new European Cup was cast in silver in a workshop in Switzerland at a cost of 10,000 francs. The trophy sports an urn-like shape with two large handles that have earned it the title 'La Orejona' in Spain due to the handles' similarity to a pair of oversized ears. The trophy is also unusually large, standing 74cm in height.

Since the first European Cup was replaced in 1967, the trophy has been recast several times as top European clubs have claimed it permanently as they won the tournament either three times in a row or have notched up their fifth title in the history of the competition.

Besides Real Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam, Liverpool and AC Milan, Bayern Munich has also been awarded permanent ownership of original Champions League trophies. Liverpool was the last club to achieve this feat after claiming their fifth title in 2005. Each new trophy is engraved with the names of the previous winners.

Besides being allowed to retain an original trophy these five clubs have the right to wear 'badges of honour' on their football jerseys which indicate the years in which the relevant club won the title on a patch bearing an outline of the Champions League trophy.

Other teams winning the UEFA Champions League trophy are allowed to retain the trophy for 10 months, and are then awarded a scale replica to hold permanently. Clubs are also permitted to cast their own replicas provided these replicas are scaled down versions of the original trophy.

UNILAG lecturer dies watching Chelsea, Bayern match

A lecturer in the Creative Arts Department of the University of Lagos, Chief E.A Bassey, died on Saturday evening while watching the finals of the 2012 European Championship between Chelsea and Bayern Munich in his house in Lagos.
His death came one week after the university lost its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tokunbo Sofoluwe, who died of cardiac arrest on May 12.
Though university source said he died of heart-related ailment, a source in the department who pleaded anonymity, said he died while watching the football finals which Chelsea won 4-3 on penalties.
“He started watching the match in his departmental office but later, he left the office for his quarters on campus where he continued watching the tension-soaked match. During the match, he complained of heat from within and asked that the fan be directed at him.
“Those who were watching the match with him did, but later, he said he wanted to go to the toilet and it was in the process of going to the toilet that he slumped and later died,” the source said.
Though efforts to get the comment of the Deputy Registrar, Information and Protocol, Mr. Dare Seth, failed, a senior member of staff in the Information Unit of the institution, who pleaded not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed Bassey’s death.
“Yes, it is true that Chief Bassey is dead,” he said.
Asked whether the deceased was a fan of any of the two clubs, the source said he did not know. “But what I know is that he started watching the match in his office before he left for his official quarters where he was said to have slumped,” the source said.
A student of the institution, Mr. Tosin Adesile, expressed shock at the death of the lecturer, wondering why another lecturer should die a week after the demise of Sofoluwe.
Also, a student in the Faculty of Arts, Funto Haastrup, while paying tribute to Bassey, said the multi-talented lecturer would be sorely missed by the university.
“He will be sorely missed. We will miss his creative ability,” he said.
His death threw the institution into a fresh round of mourning, as it was still making arrangements to bury the late VC on May 30.

RAUL ALBIOL TIED KNOT WITH GIRLFRIEND ALICIA

Real Madrid player Raul Albiol finally marrying his longtime girlfriend Alicia that already gave her 2 daughters. The wedding ceremony took place at Cathedral of Valencia yesterday, the same day  as Cristiano Ronaldo son’s christening.

Only 2 of his team mates from Real Madrid were seen on the wedding, such as Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa, who came with their wives. Anyway, Congratulations, Albiol !!!

Irina Shyank at Xti launch Autumn winter collection

She kept her busy schedule in Spain, close to her boyfriend Cristiano Ronaldo. Last Friday, Irina was promoting Xti shoes Autumn Winter collection 2012/13 at the Xti launch in Hospes Hotel, Madrid.

Chelsea fans pay tribute to players with west London parade

Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans  lined the streets of west London yesterday to celebrate the club's historic Champions League and FA Cup double.

Hoards of jubilant supports are expected to salute their heroes during a victory open-top bus parade less than 24 hours after the Blues' dramatic Champions League penalty triumph in Munich.

The rolling procession  kicked off from Stamford Bridge at 4pm with interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, captain John Terry and the rest of the double-winning Chelsea team set to display their newly-won silverware.

The Blues were crowned European club champions for the first time in their history after a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Germany last night.

They overcame Bayern Munich in their home stadium after the match went to extra time.

Around 25,000 Chelsea fans packed behind one of the goals in the Allianz Arena, while many more crammed into bars in London and around the UK to follow the action live on TV.

Even Prime Minister David Cameron managed to catch the nail-biting shoot-out, watching the drama unfold alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders at the G8 summit at Camp David.

Didier Drogba was Chelsea's hero, scoring the equalising goal in the dying minutes of normal time and netting the spot-kick to win the shootout 4-3.

It followed his match-winning goal which saw the west Londoners overcome Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley earlier this month.

Drogba was nearly the villain last night when he conceded a penalty in the first half of extra time, but Dutchman Arjen Robben's shot was saved by Chelsea's other hero on the night, goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Roman Abramovich, the club's owner, joined in the celebrations from the stands.

The team's last victory parade saw around 70,000 excited fans flock to the streets to celebrate the club's 2010 Premier League and FA Cup double.

Today's bus celebration will follow the same route, travelling along streets including Fulham Road and King's Road before ending in Parsons Green.

Local roads will be restricted and some closed to traffic from early this morning until the crowds disperse, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham said.

Councillor Nick Botterill, H&F Council Deputy Leader, said: “Chelsea's historic Champions League and FA Cup double is a monumental achievement that will never be forgotten in these parts.

“Like a phoenix from the flames Roberto Di Matteo turned around what could have been a disappointing year for the Blues to deliver the top prize in world club football to west London.

“This will forever be remembered as the year the Blues achieved their European destiny.”

Rihanna Parties With Footballers At Emmanuel Adebayor’s 28th Birthday At The Swanky Aura Club In London

Lucky she’s got that Umbrella, because there has been a shower of money falling over Rihanna. The Bajan beauty, 24, was a surprise guest for Sport star Emmanuel Adebayor’s 28th birthday at the swanky Aura club in London.

She was also joined in the VIP area by Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand, Man City’s Gael Clichy and Reading’s Jason Roberts along with a squadron of stars from QPR.

At one point some players and their mates started throwing £50 notes at her to “make it rain” on her in the London haunt (during Umbrella, geddit?).

 

Unfortunately, a couple of the stars didn’t quite get the concept that it was supposed to be paper money – and threw their loose change instead.

Rihanna saw the funny side and was lapping up the fun with the boys on Sunday night

She giggled: “I wanna be a Euro 2012 Wag. This rocks.”

It wasn’t long before Rihanna threw down her handbag and led the lads around the club.

Then she gyrated her hips, smacked her bum and did her best to imitate Adebayor’s fancy footwork as a circle formed around them.

She took a breath for just two minutes to tweet: “I love this club! DJ on point!”

She carried on until 4am, when she blew them kisses goodbye.