Senegal coach resigns after Angola defeat

Senegal’s Polish coach Henri Kasperczak has resigned just hours after his team’s surprise 3-1 defeat by Angola in the African Nations Cup, state television reported on Sunday.

The result leaves Senegal facing elimination from the continental tournament regardless of the result of their final Group D match against South Africa on Thursday.

Angola and Tunisia, both on four points, only need to draw their game to advance. The state broadcaster said that Kasperczak would be replaced by his assistant, Lamine Ndiaye.

Boasting a string of players in European sides, Senegal were regarded as favourites to advance from their group but have only one point after drawing with Tunisia in their opening game. South Africa, which will host the 2010 World Cup finals, are also languishing on one point.

In the Senegalese capital Dakar, students angry over their team’s defeat briefly blocked a main road with burning refuse but the fire brigade and police quickly intervened and no injuries were reported.

Source:Reuters

Essien’s dad lives in poverty

He drives a 4×4 Porsche, drinks 400 pounds – a – bottle champagne and wears the finest designer clothes.

As one of Chelsea’s biggest stars, earning a whopping ₤ 90,000 a week, footballer Michael Essien can afford to buy just about anything.

It’s a bit different for his elderly father James, though. You don’t get to splash out much when you are living on 50p a day.

Home for James, 76, is a tumbledown mud shack with a tatty tin roof in a tiny village in Ghana.

On a pension of just ₤15 a month he can’t even afford to buy firewood to cook his food.

James – known as J.K. – has seen millionaire Michael only once in the last 10 years following a family rift.

But far from being bitter – or wanting a chunk of his superstar son’s fortune – he says: “I just want him to let me be a real dad to him.

“I want to go to see his matches – and maybe if he could buy me a second-hand fridge, life would be more comfortable for me.

“Michael has done so well, I am very proud of him. He has raised the Essien name up high. When I wake up the first thing I do is pray for him, that he will excel in all his matches.”

J.K. lives alone in the village of Odoben, an hour’s drive from the town of Ewutu Bwajiase in Ghana where Michael was born.

In pride of place on the living room wall is his most treasured possession – a poster of Michael playing for Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars. J.K. watches every match he can on his tiny eight-year-old TV which picks up a crackly signal from a makeshift aerial.

The family rift began when Michael’s mother, Aba, divorced J.K. because he refused to give up his three other wives.

After the split she claimed he had refused to provide for Michael and his sister, Dinah.

J.K. says: “She was my fourth wife and we were married for eight years. But when Michael was two she wanted me not to see the others, and I said no.

“I knew I had responsibilities to him as a father and did what I could. But at that time I was a tool collector for the council earning about ?3 a month, and I just could not afford to.

“I had to pay for my other wives and children too. It is right in the sense I did not pay as much as I should have, but I tried my best.”

But he adds: “I saw Michael whenever I could, I got him a scholarship to a good school, and I took him to his try-outs for his first under-12s team.”

J.K. realised his son had a special talent for the game before he took his first steps. He says: “I was a footballer too when I was young and played for local teams, but had to give it up because at that time there was no profit in it.

“And before Michael could walk he was playing with a ball. He would roll it around with his hand, he would go to bed with a football. Soon he was playing it all the time and I would have kick about with him.

“He was a very good boy, calm and humble. He never insulted anyone or was rude, he was happy and outgoing. All he was interested in was football. The few times he did misbehave I would say, ‘If you don’t calm down, you’re not to play football today’. He would stop right away and do whatever I wanted, he was so desperate to play.”

One day J.K. heard there were trials for an under-12s team in the capital, Accra. He spent a precious ₤6 on a return trip for him and his son, who made it through the final stages to win a place at a soccer academy where he stayed for a year.

Then he started high school on a paid-for scholarship granted after J.K., on a trip to see the headteacher about a place for his son, was in a car accident and laid off work for a year.

Michael graduated at 14, the school-leaving age in Ghana, and was immediately signed-up to the under-17s squad of local side Liberty Professionals. In 1999, aged 16, he was spotted by talent scouts playing in the youth version of the World Cup and signed up to French team SC Bastia.

J.K. says: “When he was with Liberty he lived in Accra and was training a lot, but he rang me regularly and came to visit in the school holidays.

“When he went to France he stayed in touch, and everything was good between us. He sent home money to help me through his mother.

“She would ring me and say she had some money, and I had to travel to her to get it. I would spend maybe ₤3 getting there and then she would give me ₤25 or sometimes ₤10.

“Sometimes if I had not been for six months or so she would give me ₤50. It was not really enough to help me. But I never complained to her or to Michael because it was not my place.

“I was a beggar, and had to be grateful. If things were tough and I was struggling to put food on the table I had to ring his mother and ask for help.”

But as Michael’s star rose the family rift escalated.

His sister Betty, 27, says: “Michael’s mother wanted him to pay for her and her children.

“Michael tried to help his brothers and sisters a few years ago and gave us all ₤50 each, but it was never repeated.

“A few months ago my father was so upset he mixed a poison to drink so he could kill himself.

“It was only because a family friend turned up before he had drunk too much that he was saved. Michael has no idea how much we are suffering.”

In 2005 Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich paid a record ₤24million to sign Michael, whose earnings shot up to ₤30,000 a week.

But J.K. says all payments to him stopped apart from the delivery, two years ago, of a ₤500 third-hand Mitsubishi Galant, which J.K. has been too poor to fill with petrol for the past 18 months.

Meanwhile, Michael had fallen in love with a Ghanaian-born woman called Dela, whom he met in France. He introduced her to his mother – but not his father.

As is traditional, the couple had a formal engagement agreed by both families, allowing them to live together.

Dela moved with him to London but the couple soon fell out. Last week Michael arrived back in Ghana to play for his country in the Africa Cup Of Nations, the equivalent of the European Championships.

J.K. scraped together the money to visit his ex-wife, and asked her to arrange a visit with Michael.

He says she refused, and he was turned away from the door.

He says: “It was the saddest day of my life. There is no way to describe it. Michael’s mother lives in a lovely house with lots of luxuries and I have nothing – most importantly I do not even have my son.

“People come to see me here and laugh at me and say, ‘Oh, you’re Michael Essien’s father, but you live like this’.

“They ridicule me, but I am still proud of him.

“I would like to be able to go to a match and see him play live. But the tickets are about ₤30, so I don’t think I will manage it.

“But I hope in my heart the day will soon come when my son comes back to me – and corrects all the wrongs that have been done.”

SAME BLOOD.. WORLDS APART

MICHAEL ESSIEN, 25

Known For: Midfield playmaker for Chelsea, his ₤24m transfer fee

Lives: Huge mansion in Surrey

Earns: ₤90,000 a week

Drives: Porsche

Drinks: Cristal champagne at ₤400 a bottle

Loves: Dating Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari

JAME S ES SIEN, 76

Known For: Being Michael’s dad

Lives: In mud-brick house in Ghana

Earns: 50p a day

Drives: Third-hand Mitsubishi but can’t afford the petrol

Drinks: From a standpipe in his village

Loves: Watching his son on TV
Source- Sunday Mirror

Drogba in a dilema as his wife is Malian

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba says he is unsure of how his team will approach their final Africa Cup of Nations Group B game against Mali on Tuesday in Accra.

Ivory Coast have qualified for the quarter finals and only need a draw to confirm their place as group winners, a result that will also see Mali advance at the expense of Nigeria.

There have been rumours that the Ivorians will field a weakened side and play an accord game with Mali which would qualify both sides, and the Chelsea striker admitted it would be tough to go full throttle against Mali.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Drogba said.

“We have to win all our matches but it is difficult to say what will happen. You know my wife is Malian, I don’t know but we will see what we can do.”

To show his affinity with Mali, Drogba threw his shirt to the Mali supporters after the 1-0 win against Nigeria.

And he is not the only player facing a crisis of uncertainty, as a number of players on the Ivorian side also have connections to Mali, including the Toure brothers, who face the same dilemma of giving one hundred percent for the win.

Nigerian officials said in Sekondi that they hope the Ivorians give it their best shot.

“We expect them to be professional and play to the best of their abilities and go for the win,” NFA Secretary General Bolaji Ojo-Oba told KickOffNigeria.com ahead of the game.

“We will also do our part here, but they should be conscious of the fact that they are under world scrutiny and also playing in front of CAF officials, so anything they do will be seen by the whole world.”

Meanwhile, Mali striker Fredric Kanoute says he and his mates will taking nothing for granted when they meet Ivory Coast tonight.

The Sevilla striker added that they would fight to the end
“It is not over yet, we are going to fight to the end and then we will see,” Kanoute stated. “We are not going to go and play for a draw because anything can happen.”
And he conceded that Mali took advantage of the fact that the Super Eagles were under pressure after losing their first game to the Ivorians.

“It was easier for us because they were under more pressure than us and they needed to attack. We just had to be strong defensively and that’s what we did.”

Mali refuse to allow Kanoute to attend ceremony
Mali will refuse to allow striker Frederic Kanoute to attend the African Footballer of the Year award function on Friday if they qualify for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals.

Mali need a point from their last Group B match against Ivory Coast in Accra on Tuesday to reach the last eight.
Coach Jean Francois Jodar said on Monday he would not let Kanoute go to the event, which is being held in Lome, Togo, 48 hours before the quarter-finals begin on Sunday.
Kanoute is one of three candidates shortlisted for the award, along with Ghana’s Michael Essien and Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba, who won it last year.
“It is crazy to organise a function in the middle of the tournament like this. If the event was held in Accra we would let him go for the night, but to have to travel to Togo, attend the ceremony and then fly back again disrupts our preparations and tires out the player,” Jodar said.
“If Kanoute goes and Mali lose, then I will be held responsible,” he added. Jodar did let midfielder Momo Sissoko fly out of Ghana on Saturday to complete his signing for Juventus from Liverpool.
Sissoko is expected back at the tournament from Italy on Monday.

Igesund claims Bafana players used out of position

Record championship winning coach Gordon Igesund believes the fault in Bafana Bafana’s faltering campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations is down to playing players out of position where they are limited in producing their best.

The Mamelodi Sundowns coach expressed his sentiments after Carlos Alberto Parreira’s team crumbled under a mild threat from Tunisia to lose 3-1.

“I think Steven (Pienaar, Aaron (Mokoena) and Bryce (Moon) are being played out of position. Steven should be played in the middle and Aaron has to play in central defence. Bryce has more attacking qualities than defensive qualities and he should be used as a winger not a full back,” Igesund is quoted as saying on his club’s website.

Though standing on the rather popular belief that Mokoena should play at the back, Igesund appears to have no solution on who should play the holding midfielder role.

“With the squad that Parreira selected, I cannot say who should play as an anchor if Aaron is used as a centre-back. But central defence is the best position for Mokoena in the team together with Nasief (Morris),” he adds.

Though disappointed with Sunday night’s performance Igesund still holds reason to believe that Parreira can build a strong team for the 2010 World Cup.

“We just have to be patient as he is here to build a formidable team for the World Cup. I am disappointed in the performance (against Tunisia). Some of the guys were over elaborate and instead of making that quick pass, they would hold onto the ball for too long and it cost us.

“They failed to get behind the Tunisian defence by whipping in crosses and tried too hard to go through the middle.

“It was a game we had to win as the group was tight but now Angola and Tunisia have the advantage and all they have to do is draw to get to the next stage,” said Igesund – popular for playing the long ball when he won the League with Manning Rangers and Santos-Kickoff

Van Gaal to Replace Vogts!
As Nigerians continue to rue the dismal performance of the Super Eagles in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations, football authorities have begun to search for a new coach as the fate of German Coach, Berti Vogts, has conclusively been decided.

Very reliable sources confirmed to Sports Vanguard that even Globacom, the communication giants who foot his $50,000 per month salary, has given the green light for him to be excused.

Already, Dutchman, Louis Van Gaal, has been penciled to take over from Vogts and lead the Super Eagles in the World Cup qualifiers as well as lead them to the 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.

To assist Van Gaal in the new dispensation would be former Skipper of the Eagles and Coach of the Hawks of Togo, Stephen Keshi.

Samson Siasia was also mentioned to join the new technical crew to bring vim and vitality to the Super Eagles. -Vanguard

Baxter takes over in Finland

Former Bafana Bafana coach Englishman Stuart Baxter has been appointed as head coach of Finland on a two-year contract.

Apart from coaching the South African national team Baxter (54) has been at the helm of a number of Scandinavian club sides, as well as being involved with the England youth.

“He has enough international experience and results from tight spots, so we think we have found the right person to take the national team to the World Cup,” said Pekka Hamalainen, chairman of Finnish FA.

Finland has never qualified for the finals of a major-Kickoff