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Russia: A new page for Africa or same old boring story?

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By Nkosana Manfred Africa’s delegation of two Lions, two Eagles and a Pharaoh have landed in Russia the land of crazy winters and vodka.  Carrying the hopes of an African recognition on the greatest stage of football showcase is Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Nigeria. However, sad reality is that very few, if any, of Africa’s football lovers tip any of them to reach semi-finals let alone to bring the golden trophy home. A brief look at these teams on how they qualified leaves me with a feeling that it is going to be business as usual in Russia. There is no tangible improvement on the standards of African football that we can talk about. There are one or two African players who have dominated and keep dominating in Europe’s big leagues but still there aren’t many enough to form a forceful team for a single nation. In Russia all African eyes will be on Liverpool’s duo; Salah and Mane to conjure the magic that they produced on the way to that horrendous loss in Kiev....
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The Russian Quandary

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By Vusmann FIFA world cup hosts Russia face uphill tasks ahead of their key opening match against the Saudi Arabians. The National Team, as they are affectionately known in Russia, must win their game at all costs. Besides Yuri Zhirkov, Russia doesn't possess tried, tested and proven world stars like past icons: Andrei Arshavin, Lev Yashin, Oleg Salenko, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Kanchelskis. They have to make do with what they have. They couldn't have got an easier group, they just have to win the first game and overpower Egypt. Home advantage gives them the edge even if both Egypt and Saudi Arabia are ranked higher than them. Uruguay is of course tipped to top the group with little effort. Bowing out at the first round whilst hosting would a huge disaster for a nation like Russia. Bafana Bafana are still the the only host to be knocked out on the first hurdle, a misfire that may take a while to be repeated. They have to emulate the South Kor...
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Clapping for Klopp

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                                                                                          By Vusmann Liverpool's fairytale season is hugely credited to their eccentric gaffer, Jurgen Klopp. The Reds are one match away of conquering Europe once more, a feat they last achieved 13 years ago.  For the past three seasons, I have been worried by Klopp's negligence on his team's state of defense. Klopp's Liverpool has been known for scoring and letting in goals virtually at the same rate. With that approach it became impossible for them to challenge for top honours because forwards wins you games and defenses wins you titles.  The acquisition of Dutch stalwart Virgil van Dijk on its own sent a firm message to the Kop faithfuls and its  compet...
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Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
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The European Champions League: A curtain raiser for the World Cup?

By Nkosana Manfred The Champions League sit on the crest of club football. The World Cup is also at the apex of football tournaments albeit for nations. The argument on which one is at the top attracts vehement debates from football lovers world over.  Viewership for both finals in 2014 strongly suggests that the World Cup calls the shots, with 3,2 billion viewers as opposed to 1,9 million viewers for the Champions League. Do numbers tell the whole story? You decide. The Champions League is an annual event whilst the World Cup is a four-year event. Is the comparison even fair? Factoring in that one is club based where player loyalty can shift seasonally while for the other the pool of player selection isn’t as flexible, maybe comparing the two is an extreme unnecessity for the passionate football lovers to engage in. While the analysts deliberate on trends and fashions as this article purposes to do. The relationship between the Champions League and the World Cup is always ...
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