RandaFooty: Everything Nigerian football, home and abroad

Elohor Godswill Ekpolo sits in the Barcelona dressing room, his Nike Tiempo boots comes off his foot as coach Jordi Vinyals pats him on the head for a great game and for good measure too. The talented right-back had earlier scored for FC Barcelona's Juvenile A squad (equivalent of the Barcelona C team) as they whipped Celtic 3-0 to round up the group stage matches of the 2013/14 Uefa Youth Champions League. The goal was his third in six group stage matches, as Barcelona's Under-19 team ran riot collecting 16 points from a possible 18in a group that also had the youth sides of AC Milan, Ajax and Celtic. Ekpolo is highly rated in the Blaugranas circles and is tipped to become a first team star very soon to follow the footstep of his more illustrious and established La Masia graduates like Carles Poyul, Sergio Busquets, and more recently Cameroonian youngster Jean Marie Dongou.

pic courtesy csmgolddiggers.com Tesho Akindele sits in his hotel room, in South Florida reflecting on his performance at the 2014 MLS Combine where top US soccer talents are invited to show their skills. He no longer wonders if he has done enough to convince those who had never heard of him before last week Friday. On that Sunny day, top MLS prospect and potential first or second pick Christian Dean was beaten badly by Akindele to score a goal that turned heads of scouts, agents, journalists and casual by-standers. He needed that to make doubters believers. Akindele, 21, who played four years of college soccer in relatively unknown Colorado School of Mines, a Division 2 Engineering College, is the school’s all-time leading goal scorer with 76 goals.

Nigeria's performance at the ongoing Chan 2014 tourney currently taking place in South Africa has drawn a large dose of criticism from Nigerian fans who have been bitten by the bug of successes recorded by our national teams in recent times. Since the commencement of the Championship, Nigerians have been cynical in the reproach as to how the home based Eagles played, or the lack of it, and generally concluded that that is the true face of local game. Fans, especially on social media, where quick to pass judgement on the home based lads, and despite the 4-2 win over the Mambas of Mozambique, not much has been done to soothe vile nerves. The criticism to some extent is justified because what you see on the field is usually what is used to judge a team or a coach, but then we need to do a total appraisal of what has occurred so far before jumping into hasty conclusions.

pic courtesy -acspezia.com There might be a rough diamond waiting to be unearthed at AC Milan's set up as Nigerian youngster, Ezekiel Henty believes he has what it takes to rule the San Siro in the future. The 20 year old striker, who is on loan to Serie B side AC Spezia Calcio is one of the new generation of Nigerian players trying to make a name for themselves in the Italian game that includes Aniekan Favour at AC Milan, Johnson Adejumobi at AC Parma and defender Adedoyin Sanni of Brescia Calcio. Henty, who is also from the famous Flying Sport Academy in Lagos that has produced the likes of Nnamdi Oduamadi, Harmony Ikande and John Ogu says he is willing to bid his time at the San Siro.

Newly promoted Giwa Football Club of Jos have insisted they are not in the Glo Premier League to make up the numbers but to make an impressive impact in the debut season in the Nigerian top flight. The Jos based outfit, who got promoted at the end of last season as winners of the Pool A of the Nigeria National League are getting set for the new campaign and are optimistic of ruffling a few feathers. Technical adviser of the side, Abdullahi Abidemi Biffo, who spoke exclusively to supersport.com in Jos says his team is taking shape and will be up for the challenge when the league commences.

Pic: courtesy Rabiu Ali The Super Eagles arrived South Africa on Wednesday morning to begin quest for honours in its maiden appearance at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2014, specially designed for players who ply their trade across leagues in Africa. The team led by Assistant Coach, Dan ‘the Bull’ Amokachi, who is holding the forte for Stephen Keshi, that stayed back in Nigeria for this weekend’s Glo-CAF Awards before joining the team,  left the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos on Wednesday night at about 10:30pm.  After five and half hours flight with a South Africa Airways plane, the team arrived Johannesburg at 4:30 Nigerian time, which is 5:30 in South Africa. Nigeria's Super Eagles touched down in South Africa for the Chan championships that starts this weekend. The team was received by a team of Nigerian Embassy officials led by Ambassador Sunday S Yusuf, who expressed delight at the safe arrival and ensured that the team had a smooth passage through

By Oluwada Lofti Egyptian side Al Masry announced later this afternoon that they have decided to put Nigerian striker Matthew Boniface Godson on trial. The striker,aged only of 19 (5/10/1994),has already plied his trade outside Nigeria.The youngster has played in Yemen with powerhouse Al Wahda Sanaa,  where he scored 9 goals in 19 games during 2012/2013 The burly and tall striker is supposed to arrive tomorrow in coastal city Port-Said to attend trials at Al Masry. video here Follow on twitter - @oluwadalofti  

Jonah Abutu-pic courtesy ShengolPix Enyimba of Aba have continued to bolster their squad ahead the Glo Nigeria Professional League kick-off with the acquisition of exciting forward Jonah Abutu. The former CAF Champions league winners are gradually rebuilding to capture their glory days, and the signing of Abutu will add to their attacking options boasting the likes of Kinglsey Sokari, Chimezie Amanfor and Bishop Onyeudo. The Peoples Elephant, as the Aba based side is also known are currently at Ota, Ogun State preparing for the season, and the former Sharks man says he is enjoying the atmosphere. "I've joined Enyimba of Aba and I have already joined up at the training camp in Ota." Abutu told 9jafooty. "I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience for me as I look to play in Africa. "Enyimba are known all over Nigeria and Africa and it's a honor to wear the famous strip of this illustrious club." he said. Abutu, who h

Gedion Zelalem – Arsenal/Germany/Ethiopia Saw this piece online and thought i should share it here. Follow this LINK for the original story Best described as a true multinational, Zelalem qualifies to play for three countries – Germany, Ethiopia and the USA. He was born to Ethiopian immigrants in Germany before moving to the US at the age of 9 in 2006. While in the US, he was called up to a US under-15 camp but failed to feature in any official match. Both the Ethiopian and American national team coaches have recently expressed their desire for the 16-year-old who currently features for Germany under-17s. But it’s his on-the-pitch talent that has caught the eyes of many. Having been signed by Arsenal in January 2013 after being spotted by Arsenal scout and former Gunner Danny Karbassiyoon during the Dallas Cup, Zelalem has been quick to progress from being an under-16 player to an under-21 regular. The player who featured for the Hertha Berlin Academy in his hometown during h

                                 pic courtesy corsenetinfo.fr After a protracted transfer that spanned three clubs, Sunday Mba has finally completed a move to french Ligue 2 side CA Bastia. Mba, who score Nigeria's winning goal at the 2013 African Cup of Nations was involved in a transfer imbroglio between Rangers FC and Warri Wolves which had to be settled by the Nigeria Football Federation. The Jos born player had also done medicals last summer with the french outfit, but a logjam made him return back to Nigeria albeit he didn't play any other game in the local league. Mba will look to help CA Bastia escape from the relegation zone as the team is placed last in the league as he will also be looking to cement a place in Nigeria's squad as the World Cup looms. He will also miss out on Nigeria's maiden bow at the Chan Championships starting next week in South Africa where Nigeria will battle Mozambique, Mali and South Africa.