Sports & This'n'That

Since 2002, the once all-conquering Brazil football team has endured a depressingly long World Cup trophy drought.   Now under the tutelage of the Italian master tactician Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil has another opportunity to end their hoodoo in the World Cup later this year.   As is to be expected, doing so will not be a walk in the park for Brazil as there are loads of other quality teams who harbor ambitions of winning the holy grail of global football.   Thus, with Brazil and her rivals primed to go all out in an attempt to clinch the coveted  title, we should be in for a peach of a football championship.      

Following what has been a hugely engrossing football championship, the number of teams partaking in the AFCON Finals has now been whittled down to just two - Nigeria and the hosts Ivory Coast, who will battle it out in the final, the day after tomorrow .

In the realm of football, there are run-of-the-mill players, and then there are the gifted gems, who have been blessed with extraordinary talents.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.                                Despite being in the twilight of his  glittering career, Lionel Messi amply  demonstrated at the football world  cup last year that he was still  incredibly capable of impeccably  inspiring a  team to victory.

Photo by Vienna Reyes on Unsplash Ever since he burst onto the scene as a prodigiously talented youngster at his boyhood English club Birmingham City, Jude Bellingham has unquestionably enjoyed a meteoric rise. However, it can be argued that the English midfielder has blossomed at his ex-club Borussia Dortmund in recent years, where he gained a reputation for being an unbelievably gifted midfielder. Still, presently only 19, Bellingham is the complete package: he can win back the ball, make defense-splitting passes and he possesses mesmerizing dribbling skills. Recently, Bellingham signed on the dotted line for the European behemoth Real Madrid in a lucrative deal, that made him the most expensive English signing of all-time. However, one wonders whether he has bitten off more than he can chew. This is not to suggest that Bellingham will fail to leave his mark on Spanish football. Nevertheless, a strong case could be made that this headline-grabbing move to Europe’s most s...

It is a truism that in the pulse-racing realm of football Brazil is a team, which definitely don’t need any introduction. Indeed, the Selecao have dominated the sport’s most prestigious championship, the World Cup as their record five trophies so clearly demonstrate. This year, Brazil venture forth into the World Cup as perennial favorites due to their star-studded squad, which includes such football greats like Neymar, Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior among others. The aforesaid trio form the Selecao’s threatening forward line and great things are expected of them precisely because of how insanely skillful they all are. That notwithstanding, though, Brazil are certain to face stiff competition from other traditional heavyweights such as Argentina, Belgium and France among a few others. Indeed, Brazil is unquestionably a sterling side on paper. Still, whether they can transform their abundant potential into successful results is an open question, which will be thrillingly and exci...

In a mere matter of days, 32 nations will converge on Qatar to take part in the grandest sporting championship in the globe, the quadrennial Football World Cup. Indeed, the anticipation of the showpiece event is such that it has reached fever-pitch levels, probably because there is arguably an unprecedented abundance of talented attacking players who will be strutting their stuff on football’s biggest stage. Certainly, two ageing attacking maestros who will be the magnet for massive attention are Argentinian football wizard, Lionel Messi and the ever deadly Portuguese marksman Cristiano Ronaldo. Both icons are unarguably in the twilight of their glittering careers and it will be distinctly fascinating to see whether one of them can cap off their record-breaking careers by clinching the world cup trophy. Beyond Messi and Ronaldo though, there are other excitingly potent attacking marvels, whose inimitable skills should light up the competition. These include the creative Belgi...

Photo by Portuguese Gravity on Unsplash With the dazzling Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo and his great rival the pint-sized Argentinean great Lionel Messi now in the twilight of their glittering careers attention is now shifting to a number of ascendant young guns who are catching the eye with their mesmerizing displays. Indeed, this roll call of up and coming football stars includes, the greatly feared Norwegian marksman, Erling Haaland, the breathtakingly exciting Brazilian forward, Vinicius Junior and the Gallic superstar, Kylian Mbappe among others. That being said though, it should be noted that ‘CR7’ and Messi leave behind such gigantic shoes to fill, as both living legends were so amazingly consistent for over a decade, which is fantastically brilliant. Nevertheless, the meteoric rise of the likes of Haaland and Mbappe among others, speaks volumes about their self-assuredness, which is rare for players so young. So, although the jury is still out on whether ...

Photo by Rhett Lewis on Unsplash With the Football World Cup in Qatar being just around the corner, African fans are eagerly looking forward to the global feast of football with mounting excitement. Indeed, many African fans are bullish that at least a few of our World Cup-bound teams possess the mettle to progress very far in the unfailingly exciting football championship. At this point, it should be noted that our five world cup representatives this year are: Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia and Morocco. It should also be recollected that no African team in history has progressed beyond the quarterfinal stage of the world cup, which is really a crying shame. Indeed, with gigantic numbers of Africa’s most glittering football gems leaving the continent every year to join the premier football clubs in the world, one would expect that African teams would have been able to advance to the semifinal stage of the world cup a few times by now. Frustratingly though, as alluded to e...

Photo by Alessio Patron on Unsplash With the perennially pulsating English Premier League (EPL) now in full swing, Arsenal fans must be mightily pleased at the sublime manner in which the Gunners have been playing since the outset of the season. Indeed, right from the get-go, the Gunners have been firing on all cylinders and they have picked up seven wins while just registering one defeat thus far this season. It is also crucial to note that the Gunners’ highly touted new Brazilian signing, Gabriel Jesus has been seemingly unstoppable in the Arsenal attack as the ex-Manchester City striker has firmly established himself as a thorn in the side of EPL defences. However, despite Arsenal’s sterling form, the Gunners are set to face a difficult test this weekend when they go up against struggling Liverpool in a potentially mouthwatering EPL clash on Sunday. It should be remembered that although Liverpool are presently going through a rocky patch, they remain a star-studded side tha...

Despite making an infuriatingly lackluster start to the new season, Manchester United have not only brilliantly rebounded but they have impeccably collected a maximum of twelve points from their last four English Premier League (EPL) clashes. Photo by Nat Callaghan on Unsplash Tomorrow though, the Red Devils will face arguably their toughest test of the season thus far when they go toe-to-toe with age-old rivals Manchester City, who under Pep Guardiola, have transformed themselves into a devastatingly effective force to be reckoned with. Ahead of the famous Manchester derby tomorrow, Manchester City are sitting comfortably in 2 nd place on the table while Manchester United are in fifth place, which is a pretty staggering improvement from being bottom of the league standings following uncharacteristically woeful losses to Brighton and Brentford in their opening two games of the season. It is expected that Manchester City will seek to typically dominate possession and exert immense p...

With the football world cup in Qatar looming large on the horizon it is a matter of great concern that England presently find themselves in an alarming slump. Indeed, compared to the glorious highs which the team has ascended to in recent years, England’s form in the ongoing UEFA Nations League has been nothing short of catastrophic. Following an enormously concerning run of six winless games in the UEFA Nations League’s group phase England has been relegated to the second tier of the European football competition. Disturbingly, the three lions ended the group phase without picking up even a single victory. Naturally, England’s alarmingly shoddy form has prompted the country’s perpetually vocal sports media to call for the three lions’ gaffer Gareth Southgate to change tactics so as to ensure that the team returns to winning ways. It is hoped then that if Southgate changes his tactical approach, successful results will consequently follow. Having said that though it cannot ...

Ahead of the new season, Arsenal fans must have been troubled by a severe case of the jitters over how the Gunners would fare in the new English Premier League (EPL) campaign. Indeed, it should be noted here that the Gunners got off to an embarrassingly dismal start to their league campaign last season, which saw them lose their opening three games in humiliating fashion. These abysmal displays saw Arsenal rooted to the bottom of the league’s standings last season and they also sparked grave fears among the Gunners faithful that their beloved club had taken giant strides backwards. However, Arsenal’s start to this, a brand new season, has been a totally different kettle of fish. Indeed, the Gunners have a 100 percent record in the EPL thus far, having played five games and won them all. This sensational form has propelled Arsenal to the apex of the EPL, and understandably, the Gunners’ sterling showings have set tongues wagging. Nevertheless, before we get carried away, it sh...