5 Goalkeepers In Contention For Super Eagles No.1 Slot In Qualifiers Read more at http://www.completesportsnigeria.com/5-goalkeepers-contention-super-eagles-no-1-slot-qualifiers

In three games as Super Eagles technical adviser, Gernot Rohr has used two goalkeepers, Carl Ikeme and Daniel Akpeyi. We lists five shot stoppers who can step in for the national team when the need arises in the busy 2017 schedule of Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers…

Carl Ikeme (Wolverhampton Wanderers):

Super Eagles first choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme has been impressive for the Nigeria national team since making his debut against Tanzania in Dar-es Salaam in 2014.
 At 30 years of age, Ikeme remains Nigeria’s first choice and his performances for Wolves this season coupled with his form for the Eagles have made it difficult for a return of former skipper Vincent Enyeama, who retired voluntarily.
This season Ikeme has made 25 appearances in the English Football League Championship as at last Sunday.  In the Championship, Ikeme has made 53 saves this season, keeping seven clean sheets. He has also conceded 29 goals. In nine international appearances for the Super Eagles, Ikeme has conceded three goals and kept six clean sheets.

Vincent Enyeama (Lille Metropole, France)
Despite insisting he is done with the senior national team, Vincent Enyeama keeps churning out stellar performances for French club Lille Metropole.
Enyeama, 34, has made 55 saves this season, keeping five clean sheets in 24 Ligue 1 appearances. He has conceded 31 goals and received three yellow cards. He has made 135 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille since joining from Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the 2010/11 season.
There have been calls from several quarters for Enyeama, who has 101 senior Nigeria caps, to reverse his 2015 international retirement and give Ikeme stiff competition.

Dele Alampasu (Cesarense, Portugal)

The former Golden Eaglets goalkeeper Dele Alampasu has shown promise in training when invited to the senior national team.
With the likes of Carl Ikeme, Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa all in their 30s, the Feirense shot stopper on loan at third-tier Portuguese Cesarense is highly regarded by the Super Eagles technical crew as the heir apparent to the ageing goalkeepers in the Super Eagles squad.
Alampasu has only kept one clean sheet in eight games so far this season. Though he is yet to make his debut for the senior national team, the 20-year-old has enough experience to step in when the need arises. He was in the Super Eagles squad for their last game, the World Cup qualifier win over Algeria in Uyo in November.

Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa):
Daniel Akpeyi has had to fill in for Carl Ikeme in the Super Eagles on two occasions when the Wolverhampton Wanderers shot stopper was injured against the Pharaohs of Egypt in the second leg in Alexandria and against Algeria in Uyo.
Despite conceding goals on both encounters, the 30-year-old gave a good account of himself with several breathtaking saves. Akpeyi has featured in 14 of the 15 league games Chippa United have played this season. He has kept two clean sheets this season.
So far this season, Rio 2016 bronze medallist Akpeyi has conceded 12 goals in action for Chippa United who currently occupy the seventh position in the Absa Premiership table with 19 points from 15 games.
Ikechukwu Ezenwa (FC IfeanyiUbah, Nigeria):
The Home Eagles first choice Ikechukwu Ezenwa is the only home-based goalkeeper always in contention the with the trio of Carl Ikeme, Daniel Akpeyi and Dele Alampasu. With seven appearances in the Nigerian Professional League this season, Ezenwa has conceded seven goals and kept three clean sheets. He was also impressive for FC IfeanyiUbah in their debut game against Egyptian side Al Masry in the CAF Confederation Cup first leg clash in Nnewi on Sunday.

Mikel lectures Iheanacho on perseverance

Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has offered words of reassurance to Manchester City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho.

3SC bank on tradition at Katsina

Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) goalkeeper, Michael Uweru has said his side will bank on their status quo as tradition team to edge top-flight newcomers, Katsina United.

Wenger keen to remain a manager

Arsene Wenger said on Friday that he will definitely still be a manager next season, whether at Arsenal or "somewhere else".

Guardiola rules out return to Barca

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he will never go back to Barcelona as their coach amid growing uncertainty about present incumbent Luis Enrique's future.

Zidane warns against complacency

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane warned that it was still all to play for in their Champions League last-16 clash against Napoli after the holders strolled to a 3-1 win in the first leg on Wednesday.

'Nothing for El Kanemi at Warriors'

Abia Warriors attacking midfielder, Ifeanyi Onyeali has asked their former head coach, Ladan Bosso to look outside the Umuahia Warriors’ enclave for the highly sought away win in the on-going top-flight.
The Umuahia Warriors are hosts of El Kanemi Warriors in Sunday’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matchday 9 clash at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
Onyeali said his side are not in the mood to further throw away any points on home soil to any opponents no matter the pedigree of the team.
“The clash against El Kanemi Warriors will not be a pushover as the Maiduguri side are handled by our former coach, Ladan Bosso.

Zlatan says he's soccer's Indiana Jones

Zlatan Ibrahimovic compared himself to the action movie hero Indiana Jones after scoring his first hat-trick for Manchester United.
Just as fictional archaeologist Jones, played in a series of Hollywood movies by screen star Harrison Ford, usually returns from his adventures with a trophy, so too has the career of the much-travelled Ibrahimovic yielded plenty of silverware.
Ibrahimovic scored all of United's goals in their 3-0 win at home to French club St Etienne in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash on Thursday.
That took the 35-year-old Swede's tally for United to an impressive 23 goals in all competitions since his pre-season arrival at Old Trafford.

Ozil is right - he is being made a scapegoat for Arsenal crisis

The German has been lambasted for a perceived lack of interest and effort on the pitch - but those who criticise him for that are wrong

The fallout from Arsenal’s crushing defeat to Bayern Munich is likely to be brought back into discussion over the coming months unless Arsene Wenger’s side win a trophy this season. One player who has been heavily criticised every time the Gunners have lost a game during the campaign is much-maligned German international Mesut Ozil.
Wenger: There will be no retirement
From the outside it appears that Ozil is constantly misunderstood and misinterpreted due to a perceived issue with his body language. The 28-year-old had carved out a reputation as one of the finest No.10s in world football before joining Arsenal and the World Cup winner continues to court criticism because of what he does - or doesn’t do - on the pitch.
Ozil’s agent spoke to the media following the 5-1 drubbing in Munich by taking the unorthodox approach of questioning his client’s critics. Dr Erkut Sogut made several interesting points and hit back at those who lambasted the star for being unable to influence proceedings on Wednesday night. “How on earth is a player meant to create chances when his team only has 26% possession? It’s ridiculous”, he said.
The lack of composure and inability to build-up from defence and midfield meant that Ozil’s contributions were limited. He made the most tackles (five) out of anyone in the Arsenal team but Bayern’s dominant 76 per cent possession  made it impossible for the Gunners to play their usual fluid game against one of Europe’s most dangerous counter-attacking sides.

FRNK LAMPARD ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Former Chelsea midfielder and legend, Frank James Lampard has announced his retirement from football followings a 21-year career in the game.

The 38-year has released a statement saying that it feels like the "right time" for him to hang up his boots after representing West Ham United, Chelsea, Manchester City and New York City during his career. He started his career with his debut for West Ham on 31 January 1996 against Conventry City comin...g on as a substitute for John Moncur and went on to play 187 games scoring 39 goals.

In June 2001, he left the Hammers to join Chelsea for 11 million. After he played his first match for Chelsea against Newcastle in a 1-1 draw. He later made 648 appearances scoring 211 goals making him the club's all time goal scorer in 13 years altogether. Following the 2013/2014 season, he was released by Chelsea and was signed by Man City on a free transfer playing 38 games and scoring 8 goals before he was loaned to MLS outfit New York City for two(2) seasons, he played 31 games and scored 15 goals before he retired on 02nd of Feburary 2017

Let's look at some of his achievements:
Appearances - 1019 (913 for club career and 106 for country)
Goals - 303 (274 for club and 29 for country)
English Premier League - 3
England FA Cup - 4
English Football League - 2
FA Community Shield - 2
UEFA Champions League - 1
UEFA Europa League - 1
Highest scoring midfielder in EPL history
Most goals from outside the box
Scored against 39 EPL teams
All time goalscorer for Chelsea.

Super Frankie Lampard is not just only regarded as Chelsea legend but also a football legend.

Scott Brown wants Chelsea target Craig Gordon to stay at Celtic

Celtic skipper Scott Brown understands Chelsea’s interest in Craig Gordon but is hoping the goalkeeper stays at Parkhead.

The Ladbrokes Premiership club have reportedly rejected a bid of around £3million from the Blues for the 34-year-old who signed for the Hoops in 2014 after two years out through injury.

However, Brown wants Gordon, who has also won his place back in the Scotland set-up, to remain with the Hoops.

He said: “Craig is fantastic. He has shown that this season.

“He has come back pretty much from the dead to be our player of the year last year.

“It is frightening, he can go for another few seasons as well.

“He is enjoying his football here and hopefully he stays for a long time.

“The gaffer wants him here, the club and all the lads want him here so it would be great for him to stay here but it is understandable that people come in for him because he has been playing top class all season and has stepped up from last season.”

Brown, meanwhile, has targeted another 200 appearances for Celtic.

The 31-year-old Hoops skipper reached the 400-mark against St Johnstone in midweek.

Ahead of the visit of Hearts on Sunday, he said: ” The gaffer has said I have a couple of hundred more so I better try to stay fit and continue.

“I want to stay here as long as I can and win as many trophies as I can. At 34/35 you can still play, especially here in Scotland.

“There have been a lot of players who have played to 37/38 up here so I will try to push my body as far as I possibly can but I need to look after it on the pitch and off the pitch.”

Manchester City accept Football Association anti-doping charge

Manchester City are fifth in the Premier League

Australian Open 2017: Rafael Nadal to meet Roger Federer in final after epic win

Nadal has reached his 21st Grand Slam final - equalling Novak Djokovic in second place behind Federer (28)

Australian Open men's final
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: Sunday, 29 January Time: 08:30 GMT
Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Sport website; TV highlights from 13:00 GMT on BBC Two and online.

Rafael Nadal set up a much-anticipated Australian Open final against old rival Roger Federer with an epic, five-set semi-final win over Grigor Dimitrov.

The Spaniard won 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 in almost five hours to reach a first Grand Slam final since 2014.

Dimitrov's wait to reach a maiden Slam final continues after Nadal, 30, inflicted his first defeat of the year.

Nadal, who is attempting to win a 15th major title, will face Swiss rival Federer, 35, in Melbourne on Sunday.

"I never dreamed to be back in the final of the Australian Open," said Nadal.

"It is a very special thing for both of us to be playing again in a major final. Neither of us probably thought we would be here again."

He will meet Federer, who needed five sets to beat compatriot Stan Wawrinka in Thursday's first semi-final, in Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena at 08:30 GMT.

As well as an extra day's rest, 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer spent almost two hours less on court than Nadal during his semi-final, having beaten Wawrinka in a comparatively quick three hours and five minutes.

Twenty four hours later, both Nadal and Dimitrov showed incredible endurance in a match during which neither man looked like wilting.

Nadal dropped to his knees at the baseline in celebration, bringing a charged Rod Laver Arena to its feet, when Dimitrov sent a forehand long.Eventually the 25-year-old Bulgarian buckled first - losing his serve at 4-4 in the deciding set - as Nadal wrapped up victory with his third match point at almost 00:45 local time.

His victory means all four singles finalists are aged 30 or over, with 35-year-old Serena Williams meeting sister Venus, 36, in the women's final on Saturday.

Melbourne ready for 'Fedal' final

Nadal has won 23 of his 34 matches against long-time rival Federer, including the 2009 Australian Open final

Much of the talk before Friday's second semi-final centred around the prospect of Nadal meeting Federer for the ninth time in a Grand Slam final.

The pair dominated the men's game between 2004 and 2010, before Novak Djokovic's emergence, and have provided many memorable duels over the past 13 years.

However, few would have suggested a fortnight ago they would be reunited in the first major final of 2017.But both men have disproved the notion the combination of ageing bodies and physical problems would prevent them from challenging again for major honours.Federer is making his competitive return in Melbourne after six months out with a knee injury, while Nadal has also struggled with form and injury over the past couple of years.

Nadal showed few signs of fatigue in his marathon win against Dimitrov, just as Federer did not when he overcame compatriot Wawrinka in Thursday's semi-final.

Now they have been rewarded with their first Slam showpiece since the French Open in 2011.

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Many positives in defeat for Dimitrov

Dimitrov received a standing ovation as he left the Rod Laver Arena, though it was probably scant consolation after failing to become the first Bulgarian to reach a major final.

Once dubbed 'Baby Fed' for his similarity in playing style to Federer, he showed enough against Nadal to suggest he will end that unwanted record soon.

However, it is difficult to pinpoint what more he could have done.

Dimitrov showed he has the tools needed to compete with the best players - thumping down 20 aces to Nadal's eight, cracking 79 winners to Nadal's 45 and showing extraordinary defensive resilience.

It was still too little against an inspired Nadal.

The Spaniard showed remarkable physical and mental strength to overcome Dimitrov and is now one win away from becoming the first man to win the double career Grand Slam in the Open era.

How the drama unfolded

American great John McEnroe said Nadal's win over Dimitrov was one of the best matches he had ever seen, while two-time Australian Open finalist Pat Cash described it as a "rollercoaster".

Breaks of serve, swings of momentum all over the place. Here's how the memorable match unfolded:

First set - Nadal wins 6-3

• Nadal saving two break points in the first game is an indication of the drama ahead
• He goes on to break Dimitrov in game four, one lapse of concentration proving costly as Nadal serves out to win the opener in 35 minutes

Second set - Dimitrov wins 7-5

• Nadal is given a time violation in game three after exceeding 20 seconds between service points
• He then loses focus - and his serve - on the way to the pair twice exchanging breaks
• Nadal saves four set points to level at 5-5, only for Dimitrov to pounce at the first opportunity in game 12

Third set - Nadal wins 7-6 (7-5)

• Dimitrov survives two break points - including a fortuitous double bounce off the net cord - to hold at 2-1, but breaks are exchanged in the fifth and sixth games
• A five-minute delay at the start of the 12th game, after a member of the crowd receives medical attention, precedes Nadal holding for the tie-break
• Dimitrov wrongly challenges an out call at 5-5 in the tie-break, Nadal serving out to win the set

Fourth set - Dimitrov wins 7-6 (7-3)

• Both players finally dominate their service games, each holding without having to face a single break point
• Nadal's serve cracks as Dimitrov goes 3-2 up in the tie-break, the Bulgarian taking the second of two set points

Fifth set - Nadal wins 6-4

• Nadal cannot convert three break points in the opening game
• Nadal saves two break points in the eighth game, breaking in the ninth - following 27 successive holds of serve - after help from a Dimitrov double fault for 0-30
• Dimitrov takes Nadal to deuce in what turns out to be the final game, surviving two match points before hitting the third long

Nadal collapses to the court after one of the longest matches of his career

FA Cup Fixtures

Friday 27th January 2017

	THE EMIRATES FA CUP - FOURTH ROUND
Show last 5 matches and coverage	Fixture	Kick-off	Status
	Derby CountyvLeicester City	19:55	PreviewDerby County VsLeicester City

Saturday 28th January 2017

	THE EMIRATES FA CUP - FOURTH ROUND
Show last 5 matches and coverage	Fixture	Kick-off	Status
	LiverpoolvWolverhampton Wanderers	12:30
	Blackburn RoversvBlackpool	15:00	PreviewBlackburn Rovers VsBlackpool
	BurnleyvBristol City	15:00	PreviewBurnley VsBristol City
	ChelseavBrentford	15:00	PreviewChelsea VsBrentford
	Crystal PalacevManchester City	15:00	PreviewCrystal Palace VsManchester City
	Lincoln CityvBrighton & Hove Albion	15:00	PreviewLincoln CityVs Brighton & Hove Albion
	MiddlesbroughvAccrington Stanley	15:00	PreviewMiddlesbroughVs Accrington Stanley
	Oxford UnitedvNewcastle United	15:00	PreviewOxford United VsNewcastle United
	RochdalevHuddersfield Town	15:00
	Tottenham HotspurvWycombe Wanderers	15:00	PreviewTottenham Hotspur VsWycombe Wanderers
	SouthamptonvArsenal	17:30	PreviewSouthamptonVs Arsenal

Sunday 29th January 2017

	THE EMIRATES FA CUP - FOURTH ROUND
Show last 5 matches and coverage	Fixture	Kick-off	Status
	MillwallvWatford	12:00	PreviewMillwall VsWatford
	FulhamvHull City	12:30	PreviewFulham VsHull City
	Sutton UnitedvLeeds United	14:00
	Manchester UnitedvWigan Athletic	16:00	Preview