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ShattaCleve
New Member
USA
73 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 06 2001 : 09:10:23 AM
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Shaibu to coach Nigeria at World Cup
By Eniwoke Ibagere
PORT-HARCOURT, Nigeria, July 30 (Reuters) - Nigeria coach Amodu Shaibu will remain in charge for next year's World Cup after taking them to the finals, the country's football association has confirmed.
Shaibu's appointment had only been seen as a temporary measure following the sacking of Dutchman Jo Bonfrere in April for a string of poor results.
But Shaibu has since led the team to five wins in five games and saw them clinch the sole CAF Group B World Cup finals place with a 3-0 win over Ghana on Sunday.
'Amodu Shaibu and his assistants will be in charge of the Nigerian team to the 2002 African Nations Cup and World Cup finals,' Nigerian Football Association (NFA) secretary-general Tijjani Yusuf said.
'I'm not carried away by the euphoria of victory. By qualifying Nigeria for the World Cup, this is a statement that local coaches are good enough and we will not change the team's coaching crew again.
'We've done enough experiments with foreigners as coaches of our national team,' he added.
Nigeria has had 21 foreign coaches since the 1950s. Shaibu is the first Nigerian coach to take the national team to a World Cup finals.
Dutchman Clemens Westerhof qualified the Nigerians for their debut World Cup outing in 1994 in the United States, while Frenchman Phillipe Troussier was in charge when the side reached the 1998 finals in France.
Nigeria's World Cup qualification hopes were in tatters following their shock 1-0 defeat by Sierra Leone when Shaibu and his assistants, Stephen Keshi and Joe Erico, took over in April.
But they turned Nigeria's fortunes around with victories in their remaining qualifiers against Liberia, Sudan and Ghana for a third consecutive World Cup finals.
NFA vice-chairman Nwabufor Obiefor said: 'You can say this is a remarkable achievement for Shaibu and his assistants. It won't be right to employ another foreigner as coach of our team.
'We're sticking with Shaibu and his assistants all through to the World Cup this time.'
Apart from a 2002 World Cup spot, Shaibu's team has also booked a place at next year's 16-team African Nations Cup tournament, to be hosted by Mali between January 19 and February 10.
Yusuf said: 'The Nations Cup will be a fitting testing ground for Shaibu and his assistants to prepare for the World Cup finals. But before then, we intend to send them on a coaching course to broaden their knowledge in the game.'
African football round-up
JOHANNESBURG, July 31 (Reuters) - A digest of African soccer stories in recent days:
GHANA - Emmanuel Afranie, the coach of Ghana's under-20 side who were runners-up at the world championships in Argentina earlier this month, has been sacked as part of a series of sweeping changes to the coaching structure at the Ghana Football Association.
No reason was given for Afranie's dismissal, which comes despite widespread acclaim for the team reaching the final of the world youth championship against Argentina.
Malik Jabir, a former coach of Ghana's national team, replaces him. The changes follow the election of Ben Koufie as the new president of the Ghana Football Association.
ALGERIA - Algeria will play a friendly against Portugal in Lisbon on September 25. It will be the first game in charge for coach Rabah Madjer, who has taken over for a second spell. Madjer spent most of his playing career at FC Porto in Portugal, scoring their European Cup final win over Bayern Munich in Vienna in 1987.
Algeria, preparing for next year's African Nations Cup finals, also play world champions France in Paris on October 6.
MOROCCO - Morocco are the first country to formally declare their intention to bid for the 2006 African Nations Cup finals. The decision was made at a meeting of the bureau of the Moroccan Football Federation at the weekend.
It is also expected that Egypt will declare their candidacy. The Confederation of African Football will name the hosts next year. The next Nations Cup finals take place in Mali in January, with 2004 awarded to Tunisia.
ZIMBABWE - Controversial Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof was given a standing ovation by fans after steering Harare club Dynamos into the final of the League Cup on Sunday. Westerhof, the former Nigerian national coach, is working with the team on a short-term basis, receiving a petrol allowance in return for a three-month stint with the club.
The applause came after Dynamos beat Buffaloes 3-0 in Harare on Sunday. They will play either Shabanie or Masvingo United in the final. Their semifinal was abandoned on Sunday because of crowd trouble and is set to be replayed.
Takahara signs loan deal with Boca Juniors
TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Japan striker Naohiro Takahara has joined South American champions Boca Juniors on loan from J-League side Jubilo Iwata, officials said.
Takahara, 22, became the fourth Japan international to move abroad this summer when he signed a one-year deal worth £210,000 in Buenos Aires on Saturday after four days of talks in the Argentine capital.
'We have completed the negotiations,' a secretary to Boca president Maurizio Macri, quoted in Japanese media reports, told reporters.
In addition to a £210,000 signing-on fee and a basic monthly salary of around £4,000, Takahara could join Boca on a full transfer for £2.8million if both clubs can agree terms next August.
Takahara, who trained with his new team mates on Saturday morning before signing for Boca, will return to Japan on Monday to obtain a work permit. He is in Japan's 25-man squad to face Australia in Shizuoka on August 15.
Widely recognised as Japan's top striker, Takahara will also be back in Japan in November for Boca's World Club Cup clash with European champions Bayern Munich.
Boca, who won their second successive Libertadores Cup title in June, beat Real Madrid at Tokyo's National Stadium to win last year's World Club Cup title.
'I saw Boca play Real Madrid... I'm flattered that they wanted to sign me. I'll have to work hard on communicating with my new team mates,' said Takahara, who has scored eight goals in 13 international appearances.
Last month Shinji Ono moved from Urawa Reds to Dutch club Feyenoord, Junichi Inamoto was transferred to English premier league Arsenal from Gamba Osaka and Akinori Nishizawa joined newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers on loan from Cerezo Osaka in a busy summer for Japanese exports.
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