Shooting Stars grab ex-Eaglets goalkeeper

Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan have secured the services of one-time Golden Eaglets goalkeeper, Laide Okanlawon for the new football season which gets underway this weekend across the country.

The 18-year-old goal minder was a member of the victorious Nigerian side to the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea and he arrived at Shooting Stars from former league champions Kano Pillars, who are already through to the semifinals of this year’s CAF Champions League.

Okanlawon, who started out his career at Lagos-based Westerlo Academy, from where he teamed up with the Golden Eaglets is one of twelve new players brought in to beef up the Ibadan side who are staging a return to the Premier League after a three-year stay in the Nigerian second division.

Some of the other new players include Sylvester Ebiaku, Ben Dominic, the club’s former captain Yomi Adigun and Nafiu Taiwo, the younger brother of former Shooting Stars and Super Eagles winger Wasiu Taiwo and they are expected to play key roles in the club’s quest for a first league title since 1998, the year in which they won the last of their record fifth top flight title, a record they share with three other club sides – Rangers, Heartland and Enyimba.

“Any player brought into Shooting Stars will definitely perform a key role this season,” said the club’s General Manager, Mutiu Adepoju. “It is now up to the players to justify the confidence we have in their abilities by bringing smiles upon the faces of our supporters who have not had much to cheer about in recent years.”

Ighalo targets Golden Shoe in Egypt

Flying Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo has a personal target heading into the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt and that is to finish as the championship’s top scorer, and with it, the ‘Adidas Golden Ball’.

The tournament doesn’t get underway until next Thursday but as the Flying Eagles get set to depart their Spain training base for the North African country, Ighalo is confident of leading the Nigerian U-20 teams forward line, especially in the absence of Macauley Chrisantus.

Chrisantus, leading scorer at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea, had been tipped to lead the Flying Eagles’ forward line in Egypt but he has been ruled out of the tournament by an injury he picked while on duty for German side Karlsruhe.

But in his absence, Ighalo has been finding the back of the net with relative ease in the handful of friendly games played by the Flying Eagles in Spain and he expects the trend to continue by the time the team files out for their opening game of the tournament next Friday against Venezuela.

“I always want to score, and I thank God for making it possible for me to do that in the matches we have played here (in Spain),” begins the Granada of Spain player, who’s on a season-long loan deal from Italy’s Udinese.

“My confidence is really high at the moment and I want it to continue that way by the time the competition starts.”

Ighalo’s confidence stems from the presence of the likes of Lukman Haruna, Yakubu Alfa and Rabiu Ibrahim in the Flying Eagles midfield, as well as British-based wingers, Aberdeen’s Sone Aluko and Charlton’s Danny Uchechi. And he believes he could end up as the tournament’s top scorer although that won’t be his primary target in Egypt.

“With those kind of guys around you there is no way you cannot score,” he continued. “They make things so easy for you, and if things go as expected in Egypt we will definitely be scoring a lot of goals; not just me but everyone in the team, except maybe the goalkeepers.

“I don’t know how many I will end up scoring but I will love to score in every match and maybe finish as the top scorer. But the team comes first and there would be nothing better than winning the cup.”

Winning the cup will definitely be a first for Nigeria, or indeed any African side but Ighalo feels history is about to be rewritten in the land of the pyramids.

“I know no team from Africa has ever won it,” admitted Ighalo, “but I feel we’re strong enough to make history as the first African team to win it.”

Siasia yet to name captain

Flying Eagles coach, Samson Siasia is still being secretive about the his choice of captain for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, less than a week to the games in Egypt. The competition begins next Wednesday but our players do not know who wears the armband when they file out for their first game against Venezuela on September 25.

AS Monaco of France midfielder, Lukman Haruna captained the team at the African Youth Championship earlier in the year in Rwanda, where they won the bronze medal under coach Ladan Bosso.

But Siasia faulted Haruna’s attitude and leadership qualities when he became the coach in May and declared publicly he had not decided on who will lead his own new side.

The former Golden Eaglets skipper’s future in the Flying Eagles was doubtful during the World Cup build up but Siasia eventually included him in his World Cup squad.

In the dark

“We don’t have a captain yet and we don’t really know who will be given the task,” said midfielder Sunday Abe from the team’s training camp in Mallorca, Spain.

His teammate, Yakubu Alfa also confirmed the situation but insists the spirit in camp is very high ahead of the World Cup.

“The captain has not been made known to us but we are not really bothered about that. We are working together here and all we are concerned about is to excel in Egypt.”

Haruna, as well as the duo of Rabiu Ibrahim and Alfa are in contention for the captaincy, while Odion Ighalo and Sone Aluko will also be considered for the duty.

Fasting in camp

Meanwhile Helsingborg of Sweden ace, Alfa reveals that Siasia has not prevented his players from observing the Ramadan fasting.

“Some of us are observing the fasting and we have not been compelled not to observe it. Of course I am fasting and it has not really affected me. I don’t think it’s a problem,” he said.

The Flying Eagles will leave today for Egypt via Barcelona.

Aberdeen Declare Aluko AWOL

By Ifeanyi Ibeh

Nigerian forward, Sone Aluko, has left his Scottish club side and rejoined the Flying Eagles after saying that he is strong enough to take part in the upcoming FIFA Under-20 World Cup taking place in Egypt.

The Aberdeen of Scotland player has been in the spotlight lately after returning to his Scottish Premier League side with an Achilles problem he reportedly picked up while training with the Nigerian U-20 side in Spain.

The situation was said to have infuriated his coach at Aberdeen, Mark McGhee, who threatened to pull the 20-year-old winger out of the junior World Cup, which is scheduled to take place from September 24 to October 16, especially after Aluko failed to convince him of his fitness in Monday’s league game against Falkirk.

Absent without leave

But a report on Aberdeen’s website revealed that Aluko, who previously played for English Premier League side, Birmingham, has gone ahead to rejoin the Flying Eagles without the consent of his club.

Reacting to the development, Mr. McGhee said he wants the Nigeria Football Federation to send Aluko back to the club’s base in Pittodrie so he can be examined by the club’s medical crew.

“In fairness, there may have been a bit of a misunderstanding,” Mr. McGhee said. “We’re in contact with the Nigerian FA and (we) are insisting that Sone returns to Pittodrie to be fully assessed by our medical staff before we decide whether we will give him permission to take part in the tournament.”

Spokesperson of the football federation, Ademola Olajire, informed NEXTSports on Wednesday afternoon that the Scottish club is not in touch with the Nigerian FA.

“There has not been any contact between us and them,” Olajire said. “I have been reading articles on the internet stating that they have been in contact with us but that is not true.

“The young man wants to go to the junior World Cup and they refused. Even if the boy hasn’t gone AWOL, I believe there are still other players capable of making the team but he wants to go and he has taken the matter into his own hands.”

A strong desire

In a telephone interview with NEXTSports, Aluko said his club has not taken his desire to represent Nigeria into consideration. The player, who declined to disclose his location, said he feels his purported injury has been blown out of proportion by the press and that he is capable of playing at the junior World Cup with the Flying Eagles.

“The situation is not as bad as has been reported,” he said. “I feel good and am ready to join the team. “I want to play at the World Cup and I just want my wish to be respected.”