Guardiola edges out Mourinho in the Manchester Derby.

Josep ' Pep' Guardiola is the Current Manager of Manchester City. He took over Manuel Pellegrini who was the Manager of the Citizens in the last season. He is a successful Coach and one of the top Managers in the world of football. Jose Mourinho is the present Manager of Manchester United Football Club,he took over from Louis Van Gaal who guided the Reds to their 12th FA Cup last May.

Guardiola and Mourinho are two of the best Managers in the world of Soccer. They are celebrated Managers who has won a lot of Competitions. Their rivalry was  highlighted when they both coached top clubs in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Guardiola tactically has had the better record amongst the two Coaches. He has had more victories than Mourinho,when both of them clashed. One of the remarkable defeats against Mourinho was the first El- Classico that Jose spearheaded as Coach of Real Madrid, he lost woefully to Pep in a 5-1 defeat.

The two Managers are now managers of the Manchester teams. Guardiola has won his first three matches before playing the derby,as well as his fiercest rival, Mourinho.

The match was played with so much tension, and the United Players were outclassed and outplayed for the first forty minutes. Sylva mesmerised his way amongst the Manchester United Defenders. Eric Bailey and Daley Blind who had been outstanding so far in the tournament this season were lost against a composed and organised City attack. Kevin De Bryne slotted his way into the Red's Defence and scored the opener. The United Defence was once again caught sleeping and the Nigerian Striker, Kelechi Iheanacho scored the second goal. Zlatan Ibrahomovic showed why he was called the goal puncher and he scored the only goal for the reds.

At the second half, Jose Mourinho realised his error in his selection and substituted jesse Lingard for Marcus Rashford and Mikhiyran for Ander Herrera. The Reds were more purposeful in the second half,but the Citizens kept their cool and contained the pressure from the Reds.
Paul Pogba the most expensive player was lost in the mix,he could not contain the skill of Sylva and Fernadinho. And Raheem Sterling outclassed Antonio Valencia in the left back.
The game has been lost in the first half.

On a final note, Pep Guardiola has been the most tactical of the two Coaches, he took the game to United in their own Base and attacked with all tenacity. Jose Mourinho lost the game by changing his winning formula, leaving Juan Mata and Anthony Martial out of the game. Their replacements Jesse Lingard and Mikhiyrtan were no match for the citizens. They were game rusty and could not contain the game.

A nice victory for Pep Guardiola and a Big loss for Jose Mourinho.

Wayne Rooney: Twelve Years At Old Trafford.

The Dream Team VI And Their Adventures AT The Rio Olympics.

The Dream Team Vi is the name of the Under 23 squad of the Nigerian National Team. The Under 23 team is being managed by the tactician, Samson Siasia.
The Under23 squad won the Under23 African Cup of Nations, this automatically qualified them and South Africa to represent the team in the Olympics.

The Rio Olympics held in Brazil from August 5- 21, gave another opportunity for Samson Siasia to prove himself again,after winning Silver in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The preparation for this year Olympics was very poor,may be it was because of the dwindling economic situation in the Country. The Sports Ministry could not do enough to support the Dream Team vi at the Olympics.

Samson Siasia's squad arrived at Rio,few hour before their opening match against Japan. Normally Countries or participants that are going for a Competition, should arrive a week or two to get familiar with the competitive environment. In the Dream Team's case it was different. The boys despite their late arrival at the venue,surmounted all obstacles and beat the Japanese 5 goals to 4 in the opener. Oghenekaro Etebo scored 4 goals in that single match. At the secound game, the Dream Team beat Sweden 2 goals to Nill, to book a place in the quarter- finals. One of the goals was scored by the Team Captain,Mikel Obi.
The third match was against the Columbian side, but they lost that match by 2 goals to Nill.


In analysing their journey to the last 8 of the competition, it was written in the Media that Team Captain,John Mikel Obi bailed the Dream Team out from Atlanta to Rio,when the Sports Ministry could not take care of their financial problems. Oghenekaro Etebo could not play the Quarter-Finals,because he was injured in the match against Columbia. The Dream Team Vi proved their dexterity into play by beating the Danish side 2 goals to Nill,this enabled them to book a place in the Semi-Finals of the Rio Olympics.
In the Semi-Finals, they lost to a balanced and compact German squad who beat them 2 goals to nill. Samson Siasia's boys lacked the skill and lost a lot of goal chances in that game.

The Dream Team Vi had another opportunity to grab a medal in the Olympics, which was the Bronze medal. They played against Honduras who were defeated by the host team by a wide margin. The game started with much pressure by both sides. Mikel Obi and the other players later contained the pressure and scored three goals against their opponents.
The Dream Team vi became careless in the defence line and they allowed the Honduras team to come back with 2 goals. The Honduras squad put a lot of pressures on the Nigerian Back line. At the end, the Dream Team became victorious,winning the Bronze medal match on 3 goals to 2.

Looking at the Dream Team vi in retrospect, they overcame all obstacles,most especially their financial challenges to win the Bronze medal. They paid the price of hard work,resilience and determination to make the Country proud. The Dream team vi are the only ones that won a medal for the Country. No other medal was gotten in the various sporting events that Nigeria was represented.
On this note,i would say Coach Samson Siasia and Team Captain,Mikel Obi deserved to be given National Honours by the Federal Government. The Dream team vi should also be rewarded monetary for their feat in the Olympics.
If a foreigner in the person of Dr Katsuya Tasaku, a Japanese Business man could reward them by doling out $ 390,000 . He stated that " he was impressed with the Dream team,that despite their poor preparation, the boys could get this far". He was touched in his generosity to reward the players.
I think our wealthy men in the Country should follow suit. The Sports Ministry must be responsible to support sports from age-grade upwards,most especially Soccer that has written our names in the annals of history.
In wrapping up, I would love to congratulate Coach Samson Saisia, Mikel Obi and the entire Dream team vi for the feat achieved at Rio.
God Bless the Dream Team vi.
God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Barcelona Wins 2016 Spanish Super Cup.

The Spanish Super Cup is the match played between the Winners of the La Liga Season and the Copa Del Roy. This year it was played between the Barcelona, the La Liga Leaders and Sevilla who were the runners-up to Barcelona at the Copa Del Roy.

The First leg was played on the Sevilla home ground,with the host applying pressure to the Visitors. It was a game that recorded two injuries for the La Liga leaders. Matthieu and Iniesta the Barcelona Skipper got injured in that encounter.
At the second half of the game, Ardan Turan threw a pass to Luiz Suarez who scored the opener.
The acting Skipper, Lionel Messi added a lot of pressure to the Sevilla defence, and at the 80th minutes, Menir El-haddy scored the second goal. At the end of proceedings in the first leg, Barcelona won by 2 goals to nil.

The Second leg was played in Camp Nou in Barcelona. The La Liga Winners were more purposeful and determined to add more pain to their opponents.
Lionel Messi and Suarez put a lot of pressure in the Sevilla Defence. This resulted into two goals scored by Ardan Turan. And before the game was finished, Wonder Player Lionnel Messi added the third goal.
At the end of the game,it was 3 goals for Barcelona and No goal for Sevilla.

The total goals scored at the end of the Second leg was 5 goals, which was scored by the Spanish Champions.
Barcelona is the Winner of the Spanish Super Cup for the year 2016.
This victory has prepared the La Liga Champions on a grand style for the New La Liga Season.

Can Jurgen Klopp take Liverpool Back To The Champion's League?

Jurgen Klopp is a German Football Manager who is the present manager of Liverpool Football Club. Born forty nine years ago,he was a former German professional Player. He started his playing career with Fc Pforzhein in 1987 and ended it with Mainz 05 in 2001,a club he spent eleven years with.

His managerial career can be described as follows,he managed Mainz 05 after his playing career from 2001 to 2008,during that period the club was promoted to the Bundesliga. In 2008,he moved to Borussia Dortmund. He led them back to back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012,as well as the DFB- Pokal in 2012,the German Super Cup in 2008,2013 and 2014. During Klopp's time as Manager, Borussia Dortmund appeared in the UEFA Champion's league Final in 2013,but lost to their close rivals (Bayern Munich).

The " Normal one" has he is been called took over from Brendan Rogers on Oct 9,2015. He arrived at Anfield with a track record of managerial success and a reputation as one of the most forward thinking managers in the game of football. Klopp stated that" he believes in fighting football,not serenity football".
In his first season with the Reds, he changed the approach of Liverpool Football and added mentality with tactics on the pitch. He took the Mersey side to the Carling Cup Finals,but lost to Manchester City. He also took the Reds to the Europa Finals. On the road to the Europa Finals, Klopp defeated Manchester United and Villarreal. They eventually lost to Sevilla in the Finals.

Jurgen Klopp has started this new season on a bright note,he defeated Arsenal at the opening game in the Emirates Stadium. He has signed Sadio Mane from Southampton ,for this season's campaign. With his track record of success and a fighting Manager,he could take the Reds to the Champion's league next season. Klopp has the ability to turn things around for Liverpool Football Club. At his first season with the Reds,they played two major Finals. If he continues with this trend,he could step up their game.
Let us see how far the " Normal One" will go with Liverpool this new season.

I am open to Comments.

Thank You For Reading.

Can David Moyes turn around the Fortunes of Sunderland Football Club?

David Moyes is a Scottish professional Football Manager and he is presently the Manager  of Sunderland Football Club.
He has previously managed Everton, Manchester United and Real Sociedad in Spain.

In 2002, David Moyes became the Manager of Everton Football Club. He took Everton to the Champions league in 2005,and in 2009,Everton were finalist at the Emirates FA Cup. He succeeded Alex Ferguson as Manager of Manchester United in 2013,but failed to improve on the tempo set by the legend. Moyes was saacked ten months after his appointment as the Coach of the Red Devils.
In 2014, he was appointed as Manager of Real Sociedad in Spain. David Moyes couldn't turn around the fortunes of the Spanish Club,but left them at the sixteenth place in the La Liga. He was sacked for poor performance.

The Former Everton and Manchester United Manager has been appointed as the Manager of the " Black Cats" on a four year deal. He has taken over from Sam Allarydce , who has left to become England's Manager.
On his appointment as Sunderland Boss,David Moyes said " I have taken over a Big British club,with a great support and I'm looking forward to working on the Premier league once again".

Moyes played his first game as Sunderland Coach against Manchester City and lost the game at the Ethad Stadium by 2goals to 1. The Black Cats played a competitive game against the " Noisy Neighbours of Manchester",but they were not as skillful and impressive as their opponents. Paddy Mcnair, a former United Defender scored an own goal against his Club.

Looking at Moyes performance as a Coach in various clubs across Europe,he has to step up his tactics and change his style of play. He has to improve his management style and give morale to his players. He has a strong team that can withstand any opponent,but as the Coach the input lies on him to utilise the skill of his squad.
Let us hope, David Moyes can change the fortunes of the Black Cats.

Now That Antonio Conte is Chelsea's New Manager.

Antonio Conte has been appointed to take over as Chelsea's Manager.He was a former Italian Coach and Juventus Manager.
Conte has signed a three year contract with the London Club. He is known as the " God Father" in football quarters. He takes over from Guus Hiddink,who left at the end of last season.

The God father has won five medals as a Coach. He won the medals with Juventus. The medals includes 3 Serie A titles and 2 Super Coppa Cups. He was formerly an Italian mid-fielder, who represented Italy in the U.S.A 94 World Cup and Euro 2000.On both occasions, he won silver medals for his Nationality.
The former Italian Coach who took the Azurris to the quarter-finals in the just concluded Euros is a tactical and disciplined Coach.

Antonio Conte has taken his role as Manager of the London Club seriously. He stated that he is determined to start a new era of success at Chelsea,after the worst season of the Roman Abramovic era. He said he is going to "fight for the title". Conte has made some tactical signings. He signed Michy Bathsuayi,formerly a Marseille's Belgian Forward for £32million. He has also signed Kante who was formerly at the Foxes( Premier league Champions).

The God Father is a training-ground Manager who has promised to transfer his ideas to the squad. He stated that he wants to reinforce his team,so that they can compete with other top clubs.

Looking at his track record with the Old Lady(Juventus Football Club) and also as an Italian Coach, the God Father has what it takes to transform the club to the heights it once achieved under the" Special One". The Premier League Season is going to be a tough one and very competitive. And one of the Managers that can turn things around is Antonio Conte.

We at Segun Goke's Soccer wish the " God Father" best of luck at Stanford Bridge.