XAVI: Pep Guardiola Is Most Influential Person In Football For 10 years

Pep Guardiola 

Former Barcelona star Xavi has hailed Pep Guardiola as the most influential figure in world football in a decade.
Barca won three LaLiga titles, two Champions Leagues and two Club World Cups among a host of honours during Guardiola's four-year spell in charge between 2008 and 2012.
The former midfielder subsequently took Bayern Munich to three consecutive Bundesliga titles, as well as two DFB-Pokals, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, before replacing Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City boss.

And Xavi is confident that his former coach will bring both significant success and a shift in football style to the Premier League. "Pep improved all of us," he said at the Aspire4Sports event in Amsterdam. "He teaches you the why of things and conveys a lot.
 "Plus, his way of understanding the game is the Barcelona way. He's been the most influential person in world football in the last 10 years. "If anyone can change the dynamic of English football, it's Guardiola.
He is influential, obsessive, a perfectionist. At City, they'll learn a lot from him and enjoy it, in a few months they're already starting to see his style." Guardiola won his first 10 matches as City boss before they were held to a 3-3 draw by Celtic in the Champions League and then suffered a 2-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday.

Mario Balotelli: Klopp Told Me To Look Somewhere Else, I Said Goodbye

Balotelli 

Italian forward Mario Balotelli claims he only spoke to Jurgen Klopp on one occasion before leaving Liverpool to join Nice.
The enigmatic Italian striker has shown signs of recapturing his best form with the Ligue 1 outfit, scoring six times in five appearances. It is a far cry from his return of one league goal in each of the past two seasons for Liverpool and latterly on loan at Milan.
Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola criticised Klopp's handling of the player during his time at Anfield and the 26-year-old told Sky Italia there was little relationship to speak of between himself and the German manager.
"Klopp doesn't know me, I spoke to him once, he told me to go somewhere else, work hard and then return," Balotelli said.
"So I said goodbye to them, and that we wouldn't be seeing each other again."

Why Tinubu Should Stop Playing God-APC Youth

Tinubu

Some youth allegedly loyal to Chief Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday, besieged the national secretariat of APC in Abuja, protesting what they said was an attempt by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to enthrone himself as the “god” of the party.

The youth group asked the former Lagos governor to limit his political empire to the South-West “because Nigeria is bigger than a region or Lagos State.”They called on Tinubu “to either leave the party or curtail his greed.”
Addressing reporters, National Coordinator of APC Youth Democratic Frontiers (APCYDF), Salaudeen Lukman, said Tinubu “undermined the position of Mr. President by incessantly sponsoring the spurious ridicule of his anti- corruption fight. Each time fake stories of impropriety is written about these appointees, paid critics and activists on hire are always quick to accuse President Buhari of fighting corruption, while surrounding himself with corrupt people. But we all know this is far from the truth.
“What we learned is that Tinubu is attacking these aides of Mr. President because he believes he should have been the one who makes appointments into those positions as opposed to
what happened when Mr. President acted in national interest and cohesion to appoint tested and trusted individuals”. The group, while expressing support for the Chief Oyegun-led leadership of the APC, said: “We can no longer fold our arms, watch and allow party feudal lords to expropriate our party’s ethics simply on regional nomenclature aimed at usurping party’s national interest.”
“It should be stated categorically that we are no longer comfortable with the whims and caprices of an orchestrated Jagaban resident in Bourdilion, Lagos and directed at misdirecting our progressives party simply to achieve
egocentric empirical relevance.
“Let us state on a sad note that this overbearing tendency on the part of Tinubu is not limited to the federal level alone, he meddles in the affairs of even states that are not his home states.”

OYEGUN: Tinubu Knows The Method Of Getting Rid Of National Chairman, He Should...

Odigie Oyegin

Barely 24 hours after he shook hands with the National Leader of his party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has said that he cannot be removed from office on the pages of newspapers.

Chief Oyegun stated this while Speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Odigie-Oyegun also said that APC’s victory in the Edo State governorship election showed that the masses were still very supportive of President Buhari, despite the difficult economic situation in the country.

Odigie-Oyegun’s visit to the President was against the background of the public spat between the two party leaders arising from alleged differences in the conduct of the Ondo State governorship primary of the party won by Chief Rotimi Akeredolu.
Tinubu had in a press release, penultimate Sunday, criticized Odigie-Oyegun’s act in overruling the decision of an appeal committee constituted by the party for a fresh primary, describing the national chairman as a turncoat democrat, who should resign from office.
Both men met for the first time since the party crisis on Monday at the launch of a book on President Buhari, during which they shook hands but virtually avoided each other for the rest of the day.
Questioned on the confrontation with the party leader, yesterday, Odigie-Oyegun said Tinubu used harsh words on him, even as he denied a rift between them, saying it was a difference in opinion.
The APC national chairman also said the procedure for removing a chairman was provided in the party’s constitution, adding that the National Executive Committee, NEC, would meet at the appropriate time. He said: “There is no rift with Asiwaju. We have a difference of opinion, difference of perception and I think that is normal. Yes, I agree that the nature of the statement was a bit harsh.
“The methods of getting rid of a national chairman, if that is what I will call it, are spelt out in the constitution. They don’t take place on the pages of newspapers. It is proper for them to meet and they will all meet at the appropriate time.”
On whether the handshake was a sign of true reconciliation, the chairman said: “Do they know how far back our association goes? Do they know that we were in the trenches together in the NADECO days? Why can’t people who have mutual respect for each other have different opinions?
“All we had was a difference of opinion. Yes, it was expressed a bit harshly, but that doesn’t remove the basic fact that we have worked together for a very long time.” Oyegun stated that it was only the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that would upturn the victory of Akeredolu.
“What happened is in the report of the chairman of the primaries committee. It is only INEC that can make U-turn on Ondo,” he said. He also dismissed speculations that he imported youths to protest against Tinubu at APC secretariat in Abuja.

You Are Guilty As Charged, Tribunal Tells Godsday Orubebe

Godsday Orubebe

The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, yesterday, found former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, guilty of the allegation that he falsely declared his assets in 2007.
The tribunal, in its judgement by its Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, said it was satisfied that Orubebe hid his ownership of Plot 2057 Asokoro District, Abuja. Umar, who maintained that there was merit in the one-count amended charge the Federal Government preferred against Orubebe, held that the said property should be forfeited to the government.
The tribunal noted that though Orubebe claimed that he had already sold the land before he submitted the assets declaration form, the title documents still had his name six years after.

BOMBSHELL: Wayne Rooney Blasts Reporters, Says I Don't Pick Myself

Manchester united and England forward Wayne Rooney has promised to accept whatever role England manager Gareth Southgate wants him to play after admitting he is tired of the debate about his best position.

Rooney has spent the best days of his glittering career as a striker, but he was deployed in midfield by then England boss Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016 after finishing last season with Manchester United in the same position. Jose Mourinho’s arrival at United to replace Louis van Gaal has seen Rooney shifted back to a more attacking berth.
However, the England captain often positioned himself in a deep-lying role in last month’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. That was the only match for England manager Sam Allardyce before his shock departure last week and, with interim boss Southgate preparing to name his side for Saturday’s qualifier against Malta, Rooney has been quizzed about his preferred role once again.
“I don’t know, it’s a question for Gareth,” a visibly annoyed Rooney told reporters on Tuesday.
“The question of where I’m going to play… it’s getting a bit tired the question of whether I’m going to play as a striker, in midfield or as a number 10.
“I’ve answered that question many times and it’s the same answer: I’ll play wherever the manager wants me to play.
“I don’t pick myself, I haven’t picked myself ever and I will play to instructions. “I’m sure the instructions from Gareth, whether it’s to play or not to play, are instructions I will carry out to the best of my ability.”

Rooney’s clear irritation at the constant questions compounds a difficult time for the 30- year-old at club level. Named on the bench for United’s last three matches, he arrives on England duty in the unusual position of looking for game time.
“Of course you want to play as a footballer player but it is my job, I love football and I love being involved with the team,” he said. “Obviously I’m not starting at the moment at Manchester United but I have to work hard to try to get back in the team and the starting line-up, which I’m doing, and when I get my chance I have to take it.
“But again I’m fully supportive of the team and the players, the manager and Manchester United. “Of course I want to be involved but the most important thing is that we win.” Rooney’s desire for team success is just the same at international level, where Southgate will be leaning on him to lead during this unstable period.
Understandably pleased to have been kept on as captain by his former international team-mate, Rooney hopes to repay the manager with strong performances against Malta and Slovenia over the next week.
“Of course we have to come here and be prepared to do our job,” Rooney said.
“In terms of starting again, I’m not sure. We need to build on the three points we got in the last game.
“We have to concentrate on the football, which I’m sure we will have no problem doing and the other side of it is not our issue or anything for us to be concerned about.”