Sports

By our Reporter who is in Garoua

Hours ahead of Nigeria’s Group D opener against the Pharaohs of Egypt, many residents of Garoua have expressed their support for the Super Eagles and vowed to cheer the Nigerian national team to victory. 

After a grand opening ceremony, the twice-postponed Africa Cup of Nations finally kicked off on Sunday in Yaounde. The opening match ended with the hosts, Cameroon, beating Burkina Faso 2:1 to lead Group A.

Nigeria, playing in Group D alongside Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, will get into action Tuesday evening against the Mohamed Salah-led Egyptians. All Group D matches will be played at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.

Thousands of Super Eagles fans have stormed the Northern Cameroon town “to offer their maximum support” for Nigeria’s national team “to emerge victorious”. While many arrived by air, fans mostly from northern Nigerian states crossed the land and water borders between Nigeria and Cameroon through Adamawa state.

Garoua, a predominantly Fulani Muslim town, is wearing a new look with all major roads and streets adorned in Cameroon flags alongside flags of other participating countries. Nigerian flags can be sighted in many different locations, including on cars and motorbikes, signalling the level of support the Super Eagles have among Cameroonians as well as Nigerians residing in the country.

Many residents interviewed by TDR throw their weight behind the Super Eagles in the promising encounter against the North African opponents “in the spirit of good neighbourliness”, they said. 

“Though I like Salah (Liverpool star who is expected to lead the Egyptian onslaught against Nigeria), I will support Nigeria. When they play against Cameroon, I will support my country”, said a uniformed Cameroonian man who chose to remain anonymous. His position was echoed by Adamu (27) and Usman, a Cameroon-based Chadian.

This reporter caught up Tuesday morning with a group of vuvuzela blowing Cameroonian youths along one of the busiest roads in Garoua. “Nigeria is at home”, the over-excited youths told TDR as they chanted and waved Nigeria’s flag.

Meanwhile, the sale of tickets is ongoing at various locations in Garoua ahead of the crucial Group D tie expected to record a massive attendance.

By Muhammad Muzdaleefa

The Euro 2020 Cup ended in Italian hands after the Azzurri defeated England at Wembley Stadium. What a journey it has been. The winning team has shown us that it is not what happens to you but rather how you react to it that matters. Some fall and stay down there; others fall and dust themselves off and rebuild. 

No doubt, it was a hotly contested final. Southgate’s team had got off to an impressive start with Luke Shaw’s goal after just two minutes. But the Italians equalised in the 67th minute through Leonardo Bonucci. After much anticipation, England’s dream was shattered as Italy won the match in penalty kicks. One thing is for sure; this loss will be seared into the national consciousness of English people for generations to come. It was simply nothing like it as a nation that treasures soccer fell in one of the most crucial matches in its football history.

The performance of both sides from the beginning of the tournament to the end was quite impressive. However, the defeat will remain a footnote. Few will remember that England played well, but many will recall that Italy won the final at the Wembley Stadium. The final was a great feat for Italian team manager Roberto Mancini. A man who attracted a lot of scepticism when he took over the reins of a team in a state of utter disrepair is the one who has masterminded its return to the top of European football and possibly world football. He did it silently and always with the smile and assured confidence of a stoic.

The coaching philosophy of both Mancini and Southgate must be saluted. The philosophy is that excellence can be achieved through hard work, which explains why they gave chances to their players as long as they are willing to put in the work and the stamina—everybody in their squad matters. As a result, many great players will surely emerge from both sides.

For now, Italy has conquered Europe and a big congratulations to the Azzurris for this important milestone.

Muhammad Muzdaleefa wrote from Kaduna. He can be reached via mohammedadamu736@gmail.com.

By Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf

Ask any casual football fans what the biggest mystery in recent football history is. One of the possible answers would surely be Argentina not winning a senior international trophy for 28 years. Not since Gabriel Batistuta led the Albiceleste to the 1993 Copa America triumph has the country tested victory in any men’s senior football tournament. For the record, I began supporting Argentina in 1998 courtesy of my support for Serie A side, SS Lazio. During those years when the Italian league was at the apex of the European football ladder, Lazio had an Argentine contingent of Juan Sebastian Veron, Diego Simeone, Matias Almeyda, Jose Chamot and Nestor Sensini. Over the subsequent seasons, Hernan Crespo, Claudio Lopez and Lucas Castroman soon joined their compatriots at Lazio.

For 25 long, agonising years, I have witnessed all the inexplicable near-misses, heartbreaks and sheer bad luck of being a fan of Albiceleste. We have played no fewer than six consecutive major finals and lost all, often by the slimmest of margins: Copa America finals (2004, 2007, 2015, 2016), Confederations Cup final (2005) and World Cup final (2014). Of course, there many intermittent triumphs in the youth football tournaments such as the FIFA U21 World Cup (2001, 2005, 2007) and the Olympics (2004, 2008), but those serve to add to the frustration as to why a country with so much footballing history and so much footballing talent can’t get over the finish line in a major tournament.

It’s scarcely believable that Argentina failed to win a single trophy despite boosting elite players such as Veron, Riquelme, Saviola, Ayala, Heinze, Aimar, Pocchettino, Sorin, Zanetti, Samuel, Cambiasso, Crespo, Tevez, Zabaleta, Banega and Higuain. But, beyond all these players, I believe that if anybody deserves to win a senior trophy with the Albiceleste, it is Javier Mascherano. In my more than two decades of watching the team, no player epitomises the essence of the team better. His last-ditch tackle to deny Arjen Robben in the semifinal of the 2014 World Cup is a stuff of footballing legend.

Literally speaking, I have waited my entire life as an Argentine fan for this moment. And now that the agonising wait is over, I would like to congratulate the long-suffering fans of Argentina football team and the captain fantastic, Lionel Messi. In a way, Messi appears to transcend football boundaries of rivalries. It was reported that many Brazilians rooted for him to win the trophy against their own country, in their own country. For his detractors, the criterion for being the GOAT is nothing but an international trophy. And now that he’s laid his hands on one, we are waiting for them to bring another criterion.

Aliyu is a lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via aliyuyy@gmail.com.