THE GUARDIAN Saturday, May 18, 2013
61
SPORTS
Bayern Are Favourites, But Dortmund May Have It! vEN as a columnist, I cannot disguise my interest in FC E Barcelona. I never hide my love for their style of play that is created and cultured at Camp Nou. Several times that sentiment beclouds and influences my expressions on the European Champions League. So, forgive me for referring to them again, even as my eventual ‘destination’ is Wembley Stadium in London, where, on May 25, the German El Classico will take place to mark a truly befitting end to a championship that has been a great advertisement for the variety of European club football. That FC Barcelona (and Real Madrid for that matter) are not in the final of the championship surely does not mean the end of the Spanish Giants. Far from it. Coaches in Europe will still spend the next few years contending with trying to understand and counter the impact of Barcelona’s unique style of play that has been the greatest innovation in football since the Dutch introduction of the ‘Total Football’ philosophy of the early 1970s. Without question, that the two Spanish Giants, Real and Barca, were beaten so badly by German Clubs in the manner they did, has elicited intellectual inquiry and must interpret as a genuine possible shift in European football from Spain to Germany. How long that would sustain would have to be seen when the
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will meet again in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
next football season resumes again, plus how the German national team performs as the battle for the World Cup in 2014. Without question, Club football affects and influences national teams’ performances in many instances, with England as one of the few possible exceptions where its club football high rating is a far cry from how the national team plays. Now, back to the oncoming battle at Wembley. Once again, the emergence of FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund FC at the 2013 European League Champions final was not accidental. It was well earned. Both teams, loaded with exceptional talented players have been consistent, tactically disciplined and well-organised, supremely focused in their performances and lucky at one point or the other along the course of their victories. At the semifinal hurdle, it became clearly a contest between the technical organization of German football and the artistic and individual expressions of Spanish football. With FC Barcelona it also reinforced the argument by some that FC Barcelona without Messi is like tea without sugar. As the German El Classico approaches, the world is preparing for a match of two teams that wiped each other out in their immediate past confrontations and may do so again in the final. It is hard to find what could separate them. Perhaps penalty kicks at the end. I am looking at the recent battles between the two teams and it stares me in the face that Bayern Munich may have the slight advantage in statistics and Borussia Dortmund in history. Bayern have won this trophy several times in the past, and in the last season have been knocking on the door of the championship. They got to the finals last year and lost narrowly. They are back again, ‘hungrier’ and clearly more determined. Dortmund on the other hand have only ever been at the finals once. When they did in the 1990s they won it! Although, their arrival at the finals again has been unexpected and a surprise even to them, this could give them the psychological impetus setting (lesser pressure) to play with more freedom and win! This season, both teams sit atop the German league and the matches between them do not give a clear indication of what to expect in London. The matches have been very close and the teams almost inseparable. The four league matches between them this season have ended in draws. I read that there were two other matches in the Super Cup that were narrowly won by Bayern, with one goal separating them in both matches. The setting for the final match provides a platform to settle their differences. This is neutral ground, on Wembley Stadium turf, the ultimate theatre where the small details will make the big difference between winning and losing. So technical are both
Segun Odegbami teams that it is likely they once again will cancel each other out on the night, the match will be another draw, and will be settled by penalty kicks. Should that be the case, the team that will be under greater pressure to win will lose! That’s the only way that FC Borussia Dortmund can repeat the history that the only time they ever reached this stage of the championship they won it! Only Nigeria Can Defeat The Super Eagles! I do not like what I see around Nigerian football as the Super Eagles prepare to go to Brazil for the Confederations Cup. All does not appear to be well with Nigerian football. The feeling I get from reports around the corridors of football is that only a few months after becoming undisputed champions of Africa, the country has not seized the opportunity to advance the cause of the development of the game in the country and of building a solid national team. Politically, the failure of the country to close ranks and install one of its own into the CAF Executive Committee has polarized the powerful forces controlling the country’s football. There is a silent war going on between the football association, the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the third force loyal to Amos Adamu, who eyes a return to CAF when his suspension by FIFA ends within the year. The NSC wants to control and curb the perceived excessive powers and independence of the NFA since it still foots a substantial part of the bills of the NFA. Also, unlike all the other sports federations, the NFA has been untouchable by the NSC with the backing of FIFA’s insistence of the independence from government intervention in the activities of its members. The NFA and its successful national coach, Stephen Keshi, have been at cold war since before and after AFCON 2013. Keshi believes he won the championship without the help and input of the association and never fails to show. The bitterness between them is still simmering!
Encomiums For CBN As 35th Nigeria Senior Open Ends By Tony Nwanne T was another exciting moment of tennis at I(CBN) the 35th edition of Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Tournament, with tennis lovers, who trooped to the National Stadium, Lagos to be part of the championship, getting their feel of the exciting moments. They got more glamour than they envisaged following the inclusion of the wheelchair tennis in this year’s edition. Not even the 2013 Madrid Tennis Masters Open tournament in Spain could have stopped the excitement that was noticed on the faces of the bigwigs that watched the grand finale on Saturday May 4,2013 at the centre court of the stadium. Among them were the CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was represented by the Director of procurement and support services, Olakanmi Gbadamosi, the Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdullahi, who was represented by Dr. Mrs Toyin Aluko an Assistant Director with the NSC and the president of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Sanni Ndanusa, who is also the president of Nigerian Tennis Federation (NTF), among others. Being the most prestigious tennis tournament in West Africa, the championship witnessed the presence of players from such neighboring countries as Togo and Benin Republic among the over 600 players that registered for the championship. At the end of the battles, Henry Atseye, the 2011 men’s singles winner, retained his crown by beating hard fighting Clifford Enosoregbe 75 on 6 retired to pocket the N.7m price money. Ronke Akingbade, who entered the main
draw of the women singles category through a wild card, beat tournament seed three, Christy Agugbom 46 ,75 ,63 to win the women singles title. Like the men’s singles winner, Akingbade carted home the giant trophy plus the N.7m cash prize attached to it. The men doubles title went to the pair of Abdulmumuni Babalola and Shehu Lawal, who defeated Samuel Omoile and Nonso Madueke 63, 60, in the final, while Blessing Samuel paired with Christy Agugbom to lift the women’s doubles trophy when they defeated the duo of Sarah Adegoke and Ibrahim Omotayo 75 ,62. In the wheel chair cartegory, second seed, Alex Adewale outclassed top seed Wasiu Yusuf 76 on four and 61 to win the men’s singles title. The Women wheel chair single title went to the women top seed, Remilekun Basanya, who defeated seed two, Oluwatoyin Dawodu 53, 53 to emerge champion. But the tournament did not end without upsets to show the class and standard of this year’s edition of the competition. In the Men’s singles category, tournament top seed, Abdulmumi Babalola’s loss to seed four, Henry Atseye, in one of the semifinals was seen as an upset, while George Abamu’s victory over tournament seed six, Nonso Madueke, in the second round of the Men’s singles event was another upset owing to the fact that Abamu came to the main draw through the qualifiers. Also in the Women’s singles category, Ronke Akingbade, who came into the main draws via a wild card, proved bookmakers wrong by stopping tournament seed two, Blessing Samuel in the semifinals to book a place in the final where she beat tournament seed three, Christy Agugbom, in the final. At the end of the competition, tennis fans at the
Henry Atseye won the men’s single title at the 2013 CBN Senior Tennis Championship venue applaud the CBN for the consistency in the sponsorship of the annual senior tournament for the past 35 years. It is on record that the tournament is the only annual national tennis championship in Nigeria, which is the main reason why all the players across the country eagerly look forward to it every year. The fans commended the CBN for involving the physically challenged players in the competition with the inclusion of the wheel chair category in the 2013 edition. Aside that, they also hailed the bank for increasing the prize money and also fulfilled its promise to pay then same amount of money as cash prizes for the winners in both the men and women’s categories of the competition. Speaking at the end of the competition, CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, acknowl-
edged the excellent performance of the players, saying it showed the rising profile of the championship, adding that it was no surprise that the tournament has become the avenue for the selection of Nigeria’s representatives in international tennis tournaments. He added: “That is why this year’s tournament is being held a bit earlier to serve as the major trails for the selection of players to represent Nigeria at the African Zone Group III Davis Cup Tournament in Cario, Egypt. “I am pleased to state that the CBN has also contributed significantly to ensure the participation of the selected players at the African Zone Group III Tournament in Cairo, Egypt. “We are happy to inform you of the inclusion of wheel chair tennis in the championship as you have witnessed this year. This is as a result of the Bank’s determination to add value and expand the CBN Senior Tennis Championship and also encourage the participation of the physically challenged in sporting activities. “It is pertinent to state that the winners of the CBN Wheel Chair Tennis will represent Nigeria at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup scheduled to hold in Turkey from May 17 to 26, 2013. “In order to make participation in the event more competitive and attractive for players, the total prize money for winners in the 2013 edition was reviewed upwards from N9, 060,000 to N14, 300,000. Thus, this year’s edition saw the winners in men’s and ladies singles categories collecting a sum of N700,000 each, while the runners up in both the men and women categories went home with N500,000 each. “The winners of the Wheel Chair Tennis where not left out as the champions in both the men’s and ladies singles received N250, 000 each. There were many other monetary prizes distributed to winners, runners up and participant in