Nigeria's Online Blog

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has accepted Manchester City are ”dominant in the market” after outbidding the Spanish giants to sign Serbia full-back Aleksander Kolarov.

Kolarov joined City last month for 16 million pounds as part of the breathtaking spending spree which has seen Sheikh Mansour, the Premier League club‘s wealthy owner, spend more than 100 million pounds on the north-west English side.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho, who joined Madrid after leading Inter Milan to a domestic and European treble last season, said even a club the size of Real could not compete with City‘s cheque book.

”I understand that if someone wants to compete with them for a player it is very difficult, they are dominant in the market,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

”The player they say they want is the player they get,” the Portuguese added. I was interested in Kolarov when I came here but I couldn‘t compete with them as they went to values that I couldn‘t.

”If they have the money they can do it, if they have the ambition to win the Premier League they can do it.”

Mourinho also ruled out the possibility of Real signing either Chelsea striker Didier Drogba or City‘s Emmanuel Adebayor.

Asked about luring Adebayor to the Bernabeu, he said: ”I think no chance.

”The historical dimension of Real Madrid and Manchester City you can‘t compare. But the economical dimension you can compare.

”And maybe they will win (the Premier League).

”So I think at the minute Man City is the club to keep their best players and to buy the players that nobody expects them to buy.

”I don‘t think, just one year after buying Emmanuel from Arsenal, he‘s the player to leave.”

As for Drogba rejoining his former boss, Mourinho said: ”Again, no chance.”

Mourinho believes this season‘s Premier League title race is between City, Manchester United and defending champions Chelsea.

”I believe Chelsea, Man United and Man City, that‘s it,” he said, making it clear Liverpool were out of title contention.

”It‘s very difficult for (new Liverpool manager) Roy Hodgson as over the last three years they have been getting worse, worse and worse. He needs time.”

The world's No. 1 golfer, Tiger Woods, and his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, divorced on Monday following the torrid sex scandal that engulfed Woods late last year.

Woods, reputed to be the world's wealthiest sports star, and Nordegren, a former model and nanny, issued a statement confirming the divorce, which had been widely anticipated for months after his public confession of infidelity in a blaze of publicity.

The couple were at the Bay County Circuit Court in Florida when their marriage was dissolved.

"The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken," read a court document published by the celebrity website TMZ.

The joint statement by Woods and Nordegren through their lawyers made no mention of any monetary settlement involved in the divorce and the attorneys declined to comment on the existence of any such settlement.

The statement said the divorce judgment provided for shared custody of their two young children and asked for privacy for the family.

"We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future," said the joint statement, which was also posted on Wood's website, http://web.tigerwoods.com.

Woods, who has won 14 major championships, returned to the game in April after losing up to $35 million in sponsorship revenue as his private life unraveled over allegations that surfaced in late November and December about affairs between him and several women.

The revelations surfaced after a bizarre middle-of-the-night car accident at the couple's luxury Florida home where Woods crashed into a tree and a fire hydrant. Nordegren told police she smashed the car's back window with a golf club to get him out.

In February, he apologized publicly for cheating on his wife and underwent therapy. "I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated," Woods said at the time.

STRUGGLING GOLF GAME

Woods and Nordegren have a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

"While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us," the statement said.

"The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern."

Woods' golf game has been erratic since his return to the sport. He has yet to win this year after nine starts on the U.S. tour and he conceded before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational he had been unable to practice as much as normal.

After revelations of his martial infidelities, he lost endorsement deals with companies like Accenture Plc and AT&T Inc.

Other sponsors like Procter & Gamble Co's Gillette, Berkshire Hathaway Inc's NetJets unit, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA's Tag Heuer and TLC Vision, shifted away from using Woods in marketing, but did not end their contracts with him.

With his divorce being finalized and golf tournaments keeping him on the road for at least a week at a time, Woods has tried to see his two young children whenever possible.

"Life has changed," he said. "I haven't practiced as much as I used to, nor should I. My kids are more important."

The greatest player of his generation, Woods has lost the aura of invincibility he once enjoyed over his golfing rivals since his double life was exposed at the end of last year.

He has not won anywhere in the world since the Australian Masters last November

Ronaldo, sporting a large belly and little pace, acknowledged Friday he is overweight and out of shape as he tries to return to Corinthians after a thigh injury sidelined him for three months.

The 33-year Ronaldo, a three-time FIFA Player of the Year, said on Twitter that he could be in shape to play in 15 days.

Ronaldo trained on Thursday against a Corinthians youth team and showed few of the skills that made him one of the world‘s top players at the height of his career at Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid.

Corinthians play Sunday against Avai, and Ronaldo will be on the bench.

”Ronaldo won‘t play,” coach Adilson Batista said. ”He‘s a long way from what‘s needed to get through the game. He hasn‘t played in three months so we have to be careful. Unhappily, he‘s not ready for 45 minutes.”

Ronaldo has been plagued by several knee injuries and has battled weight problems for much of his career. Despite the setbacks, he has had a lengthy career. He was a member of Brazil‘s winning 1994 World Cup team but did not play. He featured in 1998, 2002 and 2006, leading Brazil to the title in 2002 in Japan.

Lagos — Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, at the weekend apprehended a professional tennis player, Dairo Toyin, 30, and a Lagos businessman, Okoliachu Chukwudi Augustine, 46, over alleged drug dealing.

Dairo was apprehended while attempting to board a British Airways flight to London. His final destination was New York where he usually trains in preparation for a tournament. The other suspect, Chukwudi was nabbed in his house at Festac area of Lagos. According to the NDLEA Airport commander, Alhaji Hamza Umar, both suspects have been hiding under the cover of their professions in dealing in narcotics.

"While Dairo Toyin hides under the cover of a sports man, Okoliachu Chukwudi presents himself as an importer of marbles and other building materials. Until their arrests by the NDLEA, no one would ever imagine they are into drugs", Hamza stated. Dairo, who began his professional tennis career in 1996, has represented Nigeria in several Davis cup competitions.

Notable among his international appearances are Italy in 2002, Senegal in 2004, Germany and Nigeria both in 2006. The tennis player, who hails from Ekiti State, has however, blamed his woes on frustration arising from inability to sponsor his trip to international tournaments.

Dairo lamented, "I am ashamed of myself. It was not intentional. My problem began in 2005 when my sponsor died. There was no one to help, things became difficult. In the process, I was introduced into drug trafficking. I have been smuggling drugs to take care of my bills each time I attended international tournaments. This time around, I was caught. I swallowed 100 wraps and when they weighed it, the weight was 1.445kg. It also tested positive for heroin".

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said any drug trafficker that rejects the Agency's call for a drug-free society will end up in prison custody. "The dragnet of the Agency is large enough to accommodate all drug barons. Innocent members of the public should also beware of the devices of these enemies of the society to derail them from their destinies.

Manchester United beat Chelsea 3-1 in the glorified friendly that is the Community Shield on Sunday. Besides giving Man United a piece of silverware to toss behind all their trophies that actually matter, the match also served to further inflate the growing legend of Chicharito.

Not only is he lightning fast, constantly smiling like a porcelain doll and the first Mexican to play for Manchester United, he has also now proven that he can score with his face. Yes, with Man United already up 1-0, Chicharito scored what would prove to be the winner by kicking the ball off his own face and then laughed it off and motioned to his face as he celebrated with his teammates.

Now, he probably didn't do this on purpose (although it would've been even more spectacular if he did). But to prove his quite possibly superhuman greatness beyond any doubt, even when he messes up, he still manages to score. With his face. Consider this your final warning, Premier League.

Air Nigeria has donated N20m to the Falconets in appreciation of their impressive performance at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany.

The Chairman of Air Nigeria, Jimoh Ibrahim, announced the cash donation during a special reception in honour of the silver-winning Falconets in Abuja, on Thursday.

He said, “Air Nigeria wants to celebrate your victory at the World Cup. We want to thank you for putting Nigeria on the map again and for bringing back the lost glory.

“As young people, we are happy that you have already started to rebuild this nation.

“We want to commend the wife of the President for the award of scholarship to all the members of the team. The coach, Technical Committee and every member of the team have done a very great job.”

Blessing Okagbare and Seun Adigun on Thursday sealed a double victory for Nigeria in the women's 100m and 100m hurdles by winning the gold medals as Obinna Metu and Ogho Egwero fire blank on the second day of the African Athletics Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

Okagbare made up for a poor start to record a convincing victory that equalled her personal best mark of 11.03 seconds, well clear of Perennes Pau Zang Milama of Gabon, who took the silver medal in 11.15sec. Former champion Damola Osayemi of Nigeria placed third.

"Whatever championships I have won this year, I have worked hard for it. I have trained hard and I am really grateful to God that everything is in place for me," said Okagbare, who is also an Olympic long jump bronze medallist.

"My goal this year is to break the African record at the Commonwealth Games," she added.

But there was disappointment for the Nigerian men's champion Obinna Metu, who finished seventh behind the surprise race winner, Ben Youssef Meite of Cote d' ivoire, who timed 10.08sec.

Veteran Zakari Aziz of Ghana placed second in 10.12 with Simon Magakwe (10.14) in third spot.

Seun Adigun showed no problems after a recent bout of illness when she powered her way to win the women's 100m hurdles in a personal best 13.14sec.

Gnima Faye of Senegal took the silver in 13.67 while Algeria's Amina Ferguen (13.87) won the bronze.

Kenya's world 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot added the African title to her collection by winning the distance event from her Ethiopian opponents, Meseret Defar and Sentayehu Ejigu, who were placed second and third respectively.

Cheruiyot won in 16min 18.72sec, while Defar clocked 16:20.54.

It was the second gold medal for Kenya after Wilson Kiprop won the men's 10 000m on Wednesday.

Germany became the first host nation to kift the Fifa U20 Women's World Cup as an early goal from their penalty-box princess, Alexandra Popp, and a late own goal earned them a 2-0 victory over Nigeria's Flaconets who showed class in defeat.

The early minute goal did not affect their positional play and total confidence on the ball. They even looked better in terms of ball play and basic football runs. What they lacked was the ability to mount pressure on the defence of the opponents as their good play happened mostly in their own half.

They left Germany as the only African team to play in the final of any FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympics. They made Nigeria proud and proved that President Goodluck Jonathan was ill-advised to withdraw Nigeria from FIFA events, a decision that was later rescinded. The promotion they earned Nigeria globally was huge and they return to Nigeria as Africa's heroines.

It is the second time Germany have lifted this crown -- they were also champions in Thailand in 2004 -- and it was fully deserved as they wrapped up their sixth successive victory. While Nigeria were wonderfully spirited and never gave up, the home team should have made it easier for the capacity crowd in Bielefeld with a second goal before finally they put the issue beyond doubt in injury time.

Lagos — National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, disclosed on Monday that he has placed all his officials on red alert against drug barons at all entry points to the country.

The reason is obvious, he said, because "politicians need money to prosecute elections, therefore they can do anything to get that money."

Giade was speaking at a press conference in Lagos during the parade of a container with over 450 kilogrammes of cocaine seized at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa - linked to six members of the Enugu State House of

Assembly.

The cocaine was concealed in the plywood which served as the wooden floor of the container.

Giade said some barons, including a Chinese, who are the brains behind the illicit business have been arrested.

He put the street value of the substances at over N4 billion, and charged NDLEA officials to be extra-vigilant in the fight against hard and banned substances, especially as political activities hot up countywide.

He described the seizure as a major breakthrough, stressing that it is the second largest after the 14.2 tonnes intercepted at the same port in 2002.

He explained that the operation was intelligence based, recalling that the container had already been cleared out of the port before his men traced it to the owner's warehouse.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Tin Can Island police Command said six Enugu State lawmakers are the masterminds of the contraband.

A police source said the clearing agent is being held by the NDLEA; whose Director General, Lanre Ipinmisho, also confirmed that some people were arrested in Enugu, Ibadan, and Kano.

"So many people have been fingered in the recent seizure of the huge importation of cocaine through Tin Can Port in Apapa and investigation is on," Ipinmisho disclosed in a telephone interview on Sunday.

The container also contained used items like tyres, electronics, and medications, among others.

An NDLEA official said the police have handed over the case file, and "the suspect, who is a clearing agent, has made confessional statement to the NDLEA operatives.

"The suspect said he was only contracted to clear the container and he had no idea of its content. He has given us the names of the lawmakers and we have contacted three of them, but the remaining ones have switched off their handsets. Investigation is on."

However, the port police have expressed fears that the case may go the way of others.

"They want to kill the case, like they always do. But this one would surely claim somebody's job, if they try their dirty deal," he warned.

Abuja — Economic and Financial crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen three bank accounts of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), following new revelations by its investigation into the alleged N1.3 billion fraud in the Glass House.

This is even as the acting President of the federation, Aminu Maigari, has been summoned by the anti-graft commission to explain his role in the alleged fraud.

A senior EFCC source told Daily Independent on Monday that the commission has to freeze the three accounts in three different banks because investigators discovered some funds in those accounts which could not be explained.

The source, who would not disclose the names of the banks where the accounts were frozen, said however that $6 million was traced to one account which he said may not be in NFF's books.

According to him, the two other accounts frozen by the agency have $2 million and N144 million respectively in them.

The source who further disclosed that the acting president of the NFF has been summoned to face investigators working on the case today, explained that the invitation was informed by the fact that he was Chairman, Financial Committee of the NFF board when the former President, Sani Lulu, held sway.

"We have invited the acting President, Maigari, because we believe he has a case to answer. He was chairman of the financial committee of that board under Lulu," he explained.

EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, confirmed the freezing of the NFF's accounts and invitation of Maigari for questioning. He however declined further comment on the matter.

The anti-corruption agency launched its investigation into the alleged fraud in July after Lulu was dismissed as president of football federation.

The commission first invited him for interrogation on July 8 alongside former Technical Committee Chairman, Taiwo Ogunjobi, former Vice President, Uchegbulam Amanze and Bolaji Ojo-Oba, NFF's former general secretary who were also fingered in the scam.

They are being investigated for rushing to book accommodation for players and officials in a non-FIFA approved hotel, Hampshire Hotel, in order to cut cost, causing the country to lose over $125, 000 (N18.7 million) when they had to book a new hotel.