John Mikel Obi commits future to Chelsea by agreeing a new five-year deal

John Mikel Obi is ready to sign a new five-year contract with Chelsea.

Former Blues boss Jose Mourinho had hoped to take Obi to Inter Milan and was prepared to pay the midfielder £60,000 a week, as revealed in Sportsmail in April.

But the 22-year-old Nigerian, who is thought to be on around £40,000 a week, will see his wages rise to around £70,000 a week when he puts pen to paper at Stamford Bridge in the next few days.

Obi's agent John Shittu said: 'He will sign the deal early this week. Some of the club officials were away but they were expected back last weekend. As soon as everybody is in, we will sign the new contract.

'It is a very good deal for him and would put him on a par with some of the top earners in the club.'

Obi is due to report back for pre-season training next week but is expected to cut short his summer break by a few days to sign the new deal.

Chelsea have already secured Florent Malouda on a new contract and Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Joe Cole and Alex will follow soon.

The Blues have also confirmed they have agreed an £18million deal with CSKA Moscow for Yuri Zhirkov.

Newcastle put Martins up for Sale

Obafemi Martins and Fabricio Coloccini are among the list of names Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley hopes to offload in a bid to slash the club's £65m annual wage bill and make the relegated club more attractive to sell.

Martins is one of the biggest earners at St James' Park and Ashley is desperate to get his £80,000-a-week wages off Newcastle's books as they prepare for life in the Championship.

The Guardian reports the 24-year-old Nigerian striker, who cost the Magpies £10m in 2006, has been linked with Wolfsburg, Sevilla and Lyon but he will reportedly not be offered anymore than £40,000-a-week at any of the three clubs.
Coloccini, 27, another £10m purchase, is on £70,000-a-week but after a disappointing season is unlikely to earn that anywhere else - although Galatasaray have made a £4m bid for the Argentina defender.

Newcastle has attracted interest from Malaysia, the US and the UK but the club remains unsold with concerns about their £65m annual wage a major stumbling block.

Should 'Jay Jay' Okocha Come Back To Super Eagles?

The sweet science of boxing is very much known for its many stories of comebacks - a former champion, either out of pocket or simply bored and missing the limelight and public adulation, comes out of retirement to fulfil some new expectations.

Football itself has had its own fair share of comebacks, none more notable than that of Cameroon's Roger Milla, who at 38 was called out of retirement by his country's president to go on to score four goals as the Indomitable Lions reached the last eight of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

The man who made famous the Makosa goal celebration also, at the ripe old age of 42, scored against Russia at the 1994 World Cup in the United States of America, making him the oldest player ever to find the back of the net at this level.

Nigerian football is replete with its own international comebacks - the likes of Christain Chukwu, Rashidi Yekini, Peter Rufai and Ben Iroha all returned to the Eagles fold with various degrees of success.

Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha has also flirted with retirement from the international scene.

He first announced he will no longer wear the green-white-green shirt after he skippered an experimental Nigerian team which crashed out in the very first round of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

He would then be pressurised to return to the Super Eagles in time for the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia, where he emerged as one of the shinning lights of the tournament as Nigeria reached the semi-finals.

He again hung up his international football boots after the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt, months after he had failed to lead the Eagles to the World Cup finals in Germany as an unfancied Angola beat Nigeria to the punch.

Since his bow, the Eagles have struggled and struggled for creativity in the middle of the park.

Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu is not willing to risk it and throw youngster Rabiu Ibrahim in at the deep end, while the likes of Christain Obodo, Kalu Uche, Wilson Oruma and even the now more defensive-minded Mikel have yet to assert themselves as the old-fashioned no.10 or playmaker.

In the team's last three World Cup qualifiers, the Eagles clearly missed a player like Okocha, who could dictate the pace of the game
as well as use his vision and dribbles to create chances for what on paper is one of the most feared strike forces in Africa.

In Maputo in March, strikers Ikechukwu Uche, Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins and Obinna Nsofor ran around the artificial pitch like some headless chickens, deprived of any service from the midfield.

In the home game against the Kenyans, not known for their midfield play, the Eagles engine-room again struggled so much so that it needed old war horse Nwankwo Kanu to get the Eagles flying again in the second half.

It is now very obvious that Mikel is not the new 'Jay Jay', and if at all he has to line up for Nigeria, it would be as a defensive midfielder, the role he now occupies with Chelsea.

Kalu Uche appeared to have settled in at central midfield in the previous round of the qualifiers, but as the competition has intensified in the final round, it looks like he is a lot happier playing a more offensive role than to carry the whole team as playmaker.

That may well explain why with his Spanish team, Almeria, he is played as a second striker.

'Jay Jay', on the other hand, is one of the top cheer leaders of the Eagles as a member of a Presidential Task Force mandated to ensure Nigeria's flag flies high at South Africa 2010.

In a recent interview, he told me that one of the happiest days of his life was the day he hung up his boots for good. But he also told me he still enjoys the occasional kickabout with friends.

Probably, it would be asking too much of his 35-year-old body to return for the crunch World Cup tie against Tunisia on September 6 in Abuja.

But who says that this crowd pleaser should not again be convinced to come back to star for the Eagles in time for next year's World Cup.

His boots have been too big for any of the younger pretenders to fill.

Inter Boss Jose Mourinho Lands In Nigeria For Three Day Visit

Inter coach Jose Mourinho arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, on Friday for a three day visit as a guest of the Kwara Football Academy (KFA).

According to the BBC, Mourinho will be in the West African country from 3-5 July, seeking to encourage coaches and officials of the project, which is run by the Kwara state government.

The fans turned up to greet the former Chelsea boss and the rest of the delegation, despite the fact that he arrived two hours later than announced.

"It is a great landmark in the history of Nigerian football, as well as the KFA," Nkechi Obi, CEO of Premium Sports Marketing Services told BBC Sport.

"He is here with other coaches and trainers to conduct seminars and coaching clinics for indigenous coaches.

"We are positive that his presence will benefit the talented players in the academy and hopefully attract interest from international clubs throughout the world.

"Football fans, media and everyone involved with football will enjoy photograph and autograph sessions with the 'Special One' on this trip."

The trip, facilitated by DanJan Sports, is widely seen as an opportunity to expose the KFA to the rest of the world.

"The KFA epitomises what a perfect football academy truly is and Gestafute are happy to be associated with them," David Omigie of DanJan Sports explained. "We have seen what the visit of Manchester United and Portsmouth gave to Nigeria as a country in the past.

"The coming of Mourinho and KFA will bring a lot of positive attention to football in the country once again.”

Former Nigeria coach Clemence Westerhof is the director of the Kwara Football Academy, which is in Ilorin, the capital of Nigeria's Kwara State.

Adebayor fights with a nigerian fan at the Lagos Airport

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor had a furious four-letter word bust-up with an Arsenal fan at Lagos airport who accused him of not pulling his weight for the club.

Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas admits he was flattered by reports Inter Milan were interested in signing him during the January transfer window, but insists he is committed to Spurs, according to today's national papers.

Manchester United target Karim Benzema says he would rather move to Spain from Lyon than the Premier League.

Striker Robin van Persie says he will only sign a new contract at Arsenal if they can match his desire to win silverware.

Report: Arsenal Line-Up Real Madrid's Huntelaar To Replace Barcelona-Bound Emmanuel Adebayor

According to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Star, Spanish giants Barcelona are preparing an end-of-season offer for Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor.

The 6ft 3in forward, who found the back of the net 30 times in all competitions for the Gunners last season, is wanted by La Blaugrana as both Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry could leave in the summer.

It is thought that Los Cules have also identified Arsenal's Robin van Persie as a possible arrival, but while manager Arsene Wenger would be prepared to sell Adebayor for around €22.7 million, he is eager to keep hold of the Dutch forward.

Apparently, Wenger already has a potential replacement in mind in the form of Real Madrid's Dutch international striker, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

The 25-year-old only moved to the Bernabeu from Ajax in the January transfer window, for €20m, but it is claimed Los Blancos are already prepared to let him go in the summer, possibly for around €17m.

Former Everton Star Daniel Amokachi Leads Nigeria Coaching Shake-Up

In a planned massive re-organisation of coaches by Nigeria, former World Cup star Daniel Amokachi has been pencilled in to lead the country's team to the FIFA World Youth Championships in Egypt. Former Enyimba coach, Kadiri Ikhana, may be drafted to the Under-17 team.

The technical committee of the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation), headed by Taiwo Ogunjobi, has recommended that the Super Eagles assistant coach, Amokachi, replace under-fire Ladan Bosso as coach of the country's youth team.

Olympic team coach Samson Siasia was the NFF's prime target to replace Bosso, who has come under-fire from both the public and press after the Flying Eagles finished third at the African Youth Championship in Rwanda.
The NFF's search light has since settled on Amokachi. However, the former Everton man could only take the job on the understanding that he, along with other Eagles assistant coaches Fatai Amoo and Aloy Agu, takes charge of the Flying Eagles when the full international squad are not busy.
"I have not heard anything about this," Amokachi said.
The FIFA World Youth Championship will be staged by Egypt and will last from September 25 to October 16.

Many observers believe Bosso is not the right man to lead the Junior Eagles to the tournament and are advocating a fresh start for the team.

In the same vein, Kadiri Ikhana is being considered to take over the national Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets. There are fears that the herculean task of grooming a formidable unit may be too overwhelming for the current coach, Henry Nwosu.

Nigeria are set to host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October.

The recommendations of the technical committee will soon be deliberated upon by the board of the NFF.

Five Great International Soccer Rivalries

The Top Five FIFA Rivalries (in no particular order)

Argentina v. Brazil

Easily two of the best footballing nations in the world, and two of the biggest countries in South America, this pair have been providing riveting battling since as long as anyone can remember with classic matches seemingly happening every year.

Between them, they have seven world cups, with Brazil leading the way with five. The talent levels are off the charts as many of the world’s top footballers come from this region, so it’s not a surprise that the teams are successful.

The first match between the two sides took place almost 100 years ago, back in 1914 and they have played a total of 93 matches against each other. The gap in the record is barely visible given that Brazil have won 35 of the matches, while Argentina have 34, the rest being ties.

Most recently, the two teams battled in the Olympics at the semifinal stage, a match that Argentina won handily and went on to win the gold medal, beating Nigeria in the final.

Key matches: 2008 Olympics Semi-Final (3-0 Argentina), 2004 Copa America Final (Brazil won on PKs), 1990 World Cup round of 16 (1-0 Argentina)

England v. Germany

Two countries with quite a significant political history, England and Germany have always been heated rivals on the football pitch. Their earliest and most significant encounter came in the final of the 1966 World Cup, a match that was won by England but still is regarded as controversial.

An extra time goal by England has often been debated whether it actually went in, with the people on the German side citing the Russian lineman’s prejudice given the fact Germany had knocked out the USSR in the previous round.

Besides the classic final in 1966 the teams have met 26 other times with Germany winning 12 times, the same amount that England has won. There have been three ties in the series.

Key matches: 1966 World Cup Final (4-2 England), 1990 World Cup semi-final (Germany won on PKs), 2001 friendly match (5-1 England)

France v. Italy

The two teams in blue have always been fierce rivals, given their shared border and passionate football cultures. Italy currently holds a distinctive edge in the rivalry, having won 18 of the 36 matches between the two sides. France has won 10, while the other eight matches have obviously ended in draws.

Meeting in two of the last three World Cup knockout rounds, the rivalry has certainly been stoked in recent years. Both matches went to penalty kicks, with France taking the 1998 quarterfinal en route to a World Cup title, while Italy won in the 2006 final.

The 2006 World Cup Final will forever be remember as the match that the talismanic French captain Zindeine Zidane headbutted Italy defender Marco Materazzi, which resulted in Zidane receiving a red card, with less than five minutes remaining before penalty kicks.

Key matches: 1998 World Cup Quarterfinal (France won on PKs), 2006 World Cup Final (Italy won on PKs), 1938 World Cup Quarter Final (3-1 Italy)

Portugal v. Spain

Similar to the U.S.-Mexico and Brazil-Argentina, these two countries share a very distinct border. In fact, Spain is the only country Portugal touches, so the animosity is obviously going to be there.

The teams first met in 1921 with Spain winning the contest 3-1. After that first match, Spain didn't lose for 15 straight matches against Portugal, over 25 years. The Selecção das Quinas finally tasted victory in 1941 defeating Spain 4-1.

One of the most lop-sided matches came during the 25 year unbeaten run by Spain, when they defeated Portugal by a score of 9-0.

The most recent competitive match came in Euro 2004 when Portugal effectively knocked Spain out of the tournament with a 1-0 win in the last match of the group stage.

Key matches: 2004 Euro group stage (1-0 Portugal), 1934 World Cup qualifier (9-0 Spain)

Ghana v. Nigeria

Two of the most successful African teams in history share the biggest rivalry on the continent. One of the tamer of the rivalries as far as the fan support goes, these two teams are linked together more because of their overall success in football, and not the animosity between them.

The rivalry is also a relatively new one, having been born in 1954, which makes it still an adolescent compared to the other duos on the list. Despite its age, the teams have played meaningful matches against each other, particularly in the African Cup of Nations.

There was also a stretch from 1994 until 2002 (six matches) when Nigeria didn’t allow Ghana to score a goal against them.

Key matches: 2008 African Cup of Nations Quarter Final (2-1 Ghana), 1984 African Cup of Nations group stage (2-1 Nigeria), 2001 World Cup qualifying (3-0 Nigeria)

Nigeria Hold Jamaica To A Draw

It was the third draw between the two teams in six matches.

The Super Eagles capped Tunisia-based striker Michael Eneramo late in a game which produced few chances between both teams.

The main talking point of this encounter was the sending off in the 44th minute of Jermaine Johnson of Jamaica and Nigeria's Taye Taiwo after both players were involved in an altercation.

After a tentative start, mostly due to the bitterly cold weather in London, the Reggae Boys of Jamaica gradually warmed up to take control of the game but could not get behind the Nigerian defense.

Nigeria's best chance of the first half fell to Russia-based Osaze Odemwingie in the 28th minute when his glancing header missed target narrowly.

Otherwise, it was a largely disappointing shift for the Eagles as they struggled to put together passes among themselves, and relied more on their individual skills to get around.

Jamaica came closest to taking the lead on 50 minutes when Norway-based striker Luton Shelton exploited slack defending by Danny Shittu but his final effort let him down.

In the 56th minute, Uche's shot off a right-wing cross by Nsofor was scrambled away by the Jamaica goalkeeper. And moments later Shittu's goal-bound header was tipped away by the Jamaica goalkeeper.

Getafe striker Uche produced a downward header from a cross by substitute Onyekachi Apam only to be denied again by Sawyer.

In the end though, the draw was a fair outcome for both teams.


Nigeria Line-up:
Austin Ejide - Chidi Odiah, Taye Taiwo, Joseph Yobo, Danny Shittu - Seyi Olofinjana, Nwankwo Kanu (Onyekachi Apam 46), Obinna Nsofor, Mikel Obi - Ikechukwu Uche (Michael Eneramo 85), Osaze Odemwingie (Kalu Uche 75)

Adebayor Named African Player Of The Year

Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor was Tuesday night named CAF African Player of the Year for 2008 at an elaborate awards ceremony in Lagos.

Adebayor beat Mohamed Aboutrika of Egypt and Ghana’s Michael Essien to win the prestigious award, which involved voting by the national team coaches of CAF’s member-nations.

“This is a special night for me. I dedicate this award to my mum, without her, I would be nothing. My father is no more but where ever he is, he will be proud of me,” said Adebayor, who was accompanied by his mother.

Adebayor took away a crystal trophy and a cash prize of $20,000.

This is the first time that a Togolese will be voted as Africa’s best player.

The Arsenal star's exploits of the past year were mainly with his English Premier League club. In the absence of France international Thierry Henry, who moved to Spanish club Barcelona, the Togo star stepped up to finish the season with an impressive tally of 30 goals.

The striker also inspired Togo to reach the final qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations.

The awards night was graced by many dignitaries including FIFA president Joseph Blatter and CAF president Issa Hayatou.

Ahly’s Aboutrika got a consolation prize as the Inter-Club Player of the Year.

Several other Egyptians won various award categories. Egypt coach, Hassan Shehata was Africa’s Coach of the Year, and the team he led to successfully defend the Nations Cup in Accra last year were picked as the best national team on the continent.

Ahly were crowned Club of the Year ahead of Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien, who defended the CAF Confederation Cup, and beaten CAF Champions League finalists, Cotonsport from Cameroon.

Salomon Kalou of Ivory Coast and Chelsea was the CAF Young Player of the Year ahead of Cameroon’s Stephane Mbia and Nigerian forward Victor Obinna Nsofor.

The list of award winners:

CAF Player of the Year

Emmanuel Adebayor - Togo/Arsenal

CAF Young Player

Salomon Kalou - Ivory Coast/Chelsea

CAF Female Player

Alice Matlou - South Africa

National Team of the Year

Egypt

Coach of the Year

Hassan Shehata - Egypt

Best Club

Ahly - Egypt

Inter-Club Player of the Year

Mohamed Aboutrika - Al Ahly

African Legend

Christian Chukwu - Nigeria

Mikel charged with drink-driving

The 21-year-old was stopped by police at 5.30am on Saturday, after being seen driving his Range Rover "erratically" near his club's ground in London's Fulham Road.

Later the same day, Chelsea beat Ipswich 3-1 in the fourth round - although Mikel was not part of the squad.

The Nigerian midfielder has since been charged and will appear in court on April 3.

He faces a year's driving ban or a jail term if the offence is deemed exceptionally serious.

A Chelsea spokesman told The Sun: "We are aware (Mikel) was arrested and charged. We want to establish the facts before we comment."

Jamaica Coach Expects Super Show Against Nigeria

"Nigeria is one of the World's top teams so it will be a competitive match for us," said the former England and Liverpool star of the game that will be played at Millwall FC's Stadium.

"We are now stronger than we have been for some time as a national team. We have quality players that we will blend together with the right balance, spirit and mentality, but of course we also need the right tactics.

"I would say to fans from across the country, come and enjoy the game and expect a good performance!"

Nigeria have named a strong squad for the encounter, which they will use to prepare for their World Cup qualifying game against Mozambique in March.

Jamaica's Reggae Boys have, within 14 months, leapt to 66th place in the Fifa world rankings.

They won the Caribbean Championship last month and for this game, they have called up several English Premier League players including Marlon King of Hull City, Ricardo Gardner from Bolton and Ricardo Fuller of Stoke City.

Fifteen Nigerian Footballers Killed In Bus Crash

Fifteen players of Nigerian professional league club, FC Jimeta of Adamawa, died in a road accident around Akwanga, northcentral Nigeria, on Sunday morning.

"The team were on their way to Abuja for a professional league match," explained Mohamed Sanusi, head of competition of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

"Their bus was involved in an accident and 11 players died on the spot while four others died in hospital. Two other players are on danger list."

The team bus hit a road block, somersaulted before plunging into a ditch.

The team were billed to play a league game Sunday against Prisons FC of Abuja.

In December, 18 female players were killed when their team bus was also involved in an accident.