EPL Midweek Action: 5 Talking Points

This midweek’s action marked match day 14 of premier league action. All the big sides were in action as Tottenham took on Leicester, Liverpool battled it out with Stoke City, Arsenal hosted Huddersfield, Chelsea welcomed Swansea to the Bridge, Manchester United travelled to Watford, and league leaders, Manchester City hosted the Saints. Here are the five major talking points from the midweek games.

Young leads aesthetic United to victory: many pundits thought Watford will be too much for the Red Devils, however, two spectacular strikes (a half volley and a freekick from 25 yards out) by Ashley Young and a neat finish from Martial in the first half put United in control of the fixture. The Hornets did pull two back to make it 3-2, but any talks of a potential comeback was snuffed by Jesse Lingard’s moment of individual brilliance.

Vardy and Mahrez channels the spirit of 2016 Leicester: Leicester City put in a clinical display which was reminiscent of Claudio Ranieri’s side that pulled the shock of the century by romping to the title two seasons ago. Two heros-Vardy and Mahrez- of their title winning season produced two moments of magic to sink Spurs by two goals. Harry Kane reduced the deficit by a goal, but it couldn’t hamper the Foxes from going taking all three points.

Raheem makes it 12 in a row for sterling City: City’s winning run was under threat in the encounter against the Saints on Wednesday night. But Raheem Sterling scored a brilliant curler in the 96^th minute to ensure that Guardiola’s men maintain their 8 points lead at the top of the table.

Devastating Arsenal puts Huddersfield to the sword: the gun power Arsenal displayed at the Emirates against the Terriers was too much for the newly promoted side to handle. Lacasette, Giroud (double), Sanchez, and tormentor-in-chief Ozil were all amongst the goals as Arsenal scored five without a response.

Rooney rolls back the years: Wayne Rooney scored his first Everton hat trick against his former boss, David Moyes during Everton’s 4-0 win over West Ham. Rooney opened his account on the night when he headed in a rebound of his saved penalty. He scored the second moments later with a clean sweep in the box. However, it was his third that set tongues wagging, when he hit a spectacular strike all the way from his own half into the net, beyond a retrieving Hart.

EPL Match Week 13: Five Talking Points

The English Premier League match week 13 saw a mega clash between Liverpool and Chelsea. The Manchester duo were also in action. Leicester City made a trip to West Ham, whilst Tottenham and Southampton hosted West Brom and Everton respectively. Here are the five talking points from all the fixtures.

Unstoppable Man City at it again: Pep Guardiola’s side put in a charismatic performance to come back from a goal behind to beat Huddersfield. The victory is City’s 11 in a row in the Premier League, and at this rate, the record for the most successive premier league wins (14) is at risk. Interesting, if City wins its next two fixtures, then the record will be decided in a mouth-watering Manchester derby.

Liverpool lets Salah down: Mohamed Salah put in a brilliant performance at Anfield against his former side, Chelsea. The Egyptian, who gave a hectic time to the Blues’ defence put Liverpool ahead with a tidy finish in the second half, only for Willian to equalise with an improvised shot late in the game. The Reds inability to see out the game nullified Salah’s immense outing.

Harry Kane, the centurion: the English attacker made his 128 appearance in the premier league, and achieved a historic feat in the process. His equalizer against West Brom means Kane has been involved in 100 (87 goals and 13 assists) goals since he made his debut 6 years ago. Being the ninth fasted player to reach this mark, Kane has joined the distinguished compare of Alan Shearer, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, and the likes.  

Unconvincing Man United bags 3 points: the Red Devils had to dig deep in their Saturday afternoon’s clash against newly promoted Brighton and Albion. For much of the game, it looked as though the home side will experience its first defeat of the season, but a deflect Ashley Young strike game Mourinho all 3points in a laboured victory.

Everton sinks deeper: any hope that the dismissal of Ronal Koeman will resurrect Everton’s season is increasingly becoming a mirage. The Merseyside club were roundly beaten 4-1 by Southampton as they continue their shocking form this season.

Transition in Zimbabwe: 10 Winners and Losers

Zimbabwe has seen a change in political leadership for the first time 37 years after the swearing in of Emmerson Mnangagwa as interim Commander-in –chief following the resignation of long term president Robert Mugabe. Just like every political transition, there are two divides: the winners and the losers. This article takes a look at the ten winners and loser in the Zimbabwean scenario.

Winners

Zimbabwe: in the later part of the 37 years of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabweans have been crying for change. The country has become synonymous to despair and despondency due to the elevated socioeconomic crisis. Zimbabwe could now have the partial feeling of national sovereignty, not Mugabe sovereignty. More importantly, the change has been achieved through bloodless means.

Emmerson Mnangagwa: the former right-hand man of Mugabe returned from his brief exile-when he fled the country following his dismissal as vice-president earlier this month- in South Africa to be sworn in as that country’s new leader amidst pump and pageantry. The soldier-cum-politician who has earned the nickname “crocodile” due to his political shrewdness is finally living his dream.

Zanu-PF: Mugabe’s Zanu-PF has been the only political party to have ruled Zimbabwe since the country’s independence in 1980. The scheming of first lady, Grace Mugabe to be made successor to her husband was against the wish of the leadership of the party. Now the party have their favoured candidate in power.

The military: the military wasted no time in making its intention clear after the then vice-president and ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa was dismissed. The threat of losing the rich benefits of an associate in power dawned on them, when it became apparent that first lady Grace Mugabe was President Mugabe’s choice. Therefore, the military under the leadership of Gen Chiwenga moved swiftly to seize power from Mugabe, and passed it on to their preferred man.  

Morgan Tsvangirai: the life long political rival of Mugabe will feel his chances of landing the top most job in the land has been bolstered after the removal of his tormentor in chief. The most painful memory the former Prime Minister will hold of Mugabe is how Mugabe and Zanu-PF coerced him into pulling out of the race for the second round of the 2008 elections, when Tsvangirai was in a comfortable lead in the first round.

Losers

Robert Mugabe: serving as a president for 37 years, one would have thought Mugabe has nothing to lose. But for a man who infamously declared that only God can remove him from power, it is a defeat for mortals to be credited for his downfall, more so when his substitute isn’t his beloved wife.

Grace Mugabe: a typist who climbed to the pinnacle of political power by virtue of her marriage to President Mugabe, she couldn’t achieve the crowning moment of her machinations-being president. The maverick Emmerson Mnangagwa has disposed her off, and she looks set to be in the dust bin until her death.

Zimbabweans: the people called for change, and they have change. But in reality, the change in Zimbabwe is merely a pseudo-change. Secretary-General for the opposition Alliance for the People’s Agenda, Albert Gombo poignantly captured this false hope when he retorted “the tyrant is gone but is tyranny gone?” President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his entourage of army veterans are only a continuation of Mugabe’s anti-freedom regime. Same old project of totalitarianism except that it comes with a different face.

The West: political leaders, citizens and media of the Western hold misses no chance to demonise Robert Mugabe. All manner of negative words have been used to describe the one-time national hero. The media in particular paints Mugabe as hardened autocrat, conveniently ignoring the immense efforts he put into redeeming his people from white minority rule. Powerful political figures in the west, including UK Prime Minister Theresa May gloated over Mugabe’s collapse.

African democracy: President Mugabe may have “voluntarily” resigned, but events preceding his artificial resignation is typical of a coup d’état. The president was detained by the military, the state broadcaster was taken over by the military, military patrol on the streets of Harare, and warnings from foreign powers to their citizens in Zimbabwe. Also, the army conveniently ignored the constitutional provision that allows the incumbent vice-president to Phelekezela Mphoko sworn in as president, preferring to give the mantle to the mastermind behind the coup, and now president Emmerson Mnangagwa. 

EPL Match Day 12: 5 Talking Points

After the international break, the English Premier League returned for match day 12 actions. Both Manchester clubs enjoyed convincing victories, likewise Liverpool and Chelsea. The story of the weekend however is Arsenal’s master class performance in the North London derby. Here are 5 talking points from the games.

Wenger silences critics: Arsene Wenger and his side have been the source of trolling on social media this season. Leading up to the first North London derby of the season, fans and pundits alike were all of the opinion that Spurs are now the bosses of the polar end of the capital city. However, Arsenal put in a determined team effort to earn a 2-0 victory of Pochettino’s side.

United rebounds in style: prior to the international break, the Red Devils were a victim of a defeat courtesy the Blues. The encounter at Old Trafford against Newcastle afforded the right opportunity for Mourinho and his charges to provide a response, only for the 20-time English champions to fall behind within 15minutes. But United bounced back to claim a 4-1 victory through an impressive performance of star midfielder, Paul Pogba, on his return from injury. The victory extended the club’s unbeaten home run to 38 matches.

Pulis shown the red card: the aftermath of West Brom’s 4-0 defeat to Chelsea is a bitter one for Tony Pulis as he was fired by the club. West Brom are languishing at 17^th position on the table, and with early signs of relegation showing, the powers that be took the pragmatic decision and fired the manager, who was without victory in his last 10 league games.

Liverpool’s purple patch: Jurgen Klopp was under pressure after his side’s abysmal 4-1 loss to Spurs in October. But the German has masterminded a run of 3 wins in 3 games since that trouncing. Not only is Liverpool winning games, but they have kept 2 consecutive clean sheets in the home league games, something that is admirable, taking into consideration that fact the Merseyside side have had defensive issues all season.

The lion is back: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made a spectacular recovery from a career threatening injury he suffered in April whilst playing for Manchester United in last season’s UEFA EUROPA league competition. For a footballing grandpa at the age of 36 who has suffered an injury described as “significant knee ligament damage”, one would have thought that it would be the end of an illustrious career, but Ibra had other ideas. The Swede’s quicker-than-normal recovery is a testament of his high mental strength. 

Thanks to everybody that stod by my side for the last months.Thanks to my family,coach,teammates,Mino,DarioFort,Dahan,DrFu,DrVolker,Manutd and the most important my fanz.This was not a one man work without all of you I would not be playing fotball today Thank you and I ❤️ you pic.twitter.com/XpTCWMaEIn

— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 18, 2017

EPL Matchday 8: 5 Key Talking Points

The English Premier Leagues is back after an international break littered the with FIFA 2918 World Cup qualifiers. There was a big result for Manchester City, whilst Chelsea and Arsenal floundered. On the other side, Jose Mourinho was Mourinho at Anfield. Here are the five talking points from match day 8:

Hodgson chews up Conte: former England manager Roy Hodgson did the miraculous by leading his Crystal Palace side to a 2-1 victory over defending champions Chelsea. Even though Chelsea were lacking a couple of first 11 players, no one gave Palace, a team yet to register their first shot on target prior to the game a dog’s chance, however Hodgson and his charges defied all odds to down their London rivals.

Shakespeare shown the exit: after a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, Leicester manager, Craig Shakespeare has been fired by the club. The 2015/16 champions have only won a single game in the current campaign, and are already fighting relegation.

Stunning Citizens breaks the Potters: Manchester City put on a breath-taking show on Saturday to annihilate Stoke City in a 7-2 match. There was no hiding place for Stoke City as they were totally destroyed by Guardiola’s pupils, led by tormentor-in-chief, Kevin de Bruyne.

Marco Silva deflates Arsene Wenger: Wartford coach, Marco Silva masterminded a 2-1 victory over Arsenal to put Arsene Wenger under the spotlight again. The Gunners boss decided to omit 3 key players-Ozil, Ramsey, and Sanchez, with Ramsey and Sanchez entirely missing out on the match day squad-from his starting line-up, and he was left to defend his choices after another bad day in front of goal and on the pitch for his team.

Klopp the pretender: Liverpool and Man United played out a boring stalemate at Anfield during Saturday’s early kick off game. At the end of the day, Mourinho predictably received all the flake for parking the bus. However, it is his opposite number who was more hypocritical on the day. It’s a well-documented fact that Mourinho is a defensive minded coach, so his approach came as no surprise unlike Jurgen Klopp who is noted for his boom boom style. But the German was equally conservative on the day, even sacrificing his 3 artistes-Coutinho, Firmino, and Sallah-as the game drew to an end. 

EPL Match Week 6: 5 Talking Points

The 6^th round of the English Premier saw all the top 6 sides from the previous season winning. Chelsea and Manchester City swept aside Stoke City and Crystal Palace respectively, whilst Tottenham survived a last minute scare to see out West Ham. 

Manchester United dug out a hard fought victory over The Saints, and Liverpool saw out Leicester, albeit in uncomfortable circumstances. On Monday night, Arsenal got the job done over West Bromwich. Here are the 5 talking points to note from the matches:

Alvaro Morata outshines EPL’s elites: the summer recruit from Real Madrid put in a remarkable performance at the Bet 365 Stadium as the reigning champions put 4 goals past Stoke City. The Spanish forward was in tantalising form on Saturday afternoon as he scored a brilliant hatrick. In a week that Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Alex Lacazette, Chicarito, Jamie Vardy and Sergio Aguero were all on the score sheet, the Chelsea attacker stood tall.

5 star City plants more misery on sorry Crystal Palace: Palace’s season is not getting any better: the dismissal of Frank de Boer has not in any way changed their cause for the better. Guardiola’s side was at their ruthless best as the destroyed Palace 5 goals to 0. Palace still await their first league point and goal of the season.

Coutinho magic propels Liverpool: Philippe Coutinho stuck an amazing free kick in the 23^rd minute at the King Power Stadium as the Reds edged out Leicester in a blockbuster game. Liverpool’s defensive issues continued, as they would have twice blown a 2 goal lead in the encounter but for Simon Mignolet’s save on Vardy.

Gareth Barry the history maker: on Monday night against Arsenal, West Bromwich midfielder Gareth Barry became a Premier League record-breaker when he made his 633^rd appearance in the competition to become the league’s all-time highest appearance maker, overcoming Manchester United great, Ryan Giggs. 

👏 pic.twitter.com/N0kk4hBowp

— Everton (@Everton) September 25, 2017

Mourinho goes unscathed: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was sent to the stand in the dying embers of his side’s hard fought 1-0 win over Southampton at the St. Marys. However, this week has been a lucky day for the enigmatic Portuguese trainer as he was spared disciplinary action by the Football Association.

EPL MatchDay 4: 5 Talking Points

After a 10 day break, the English Premier League is back. Arsenal and Tottenham returned to winning ways, whilst Everton, Crystal Palace and Liverpool suffered high profile defeats. Also, Chelsea and Manchester City continued in winning terms, whilst Manchester United finally conceded goals for the first time in the season. Here are the five major talking points from the weekend.

Manchester City humbles Liverpool amidst controversial officiating: the Citizens smashed 5 goals past Klopp’s men in an eagerly anticipated match at the Etihad. Gabriel Jesus (2), Sergio Aguero, and Leroy Sane (2) were on scoreboard. However, referee Jon Moss was at the centre of all post match reviews for his decision to dismiss Saido Mane for a high foot on City’s ‘keeper, Ederson during a chase for a seemingly 50-50 ball, which ended in a collision between goalie and attacker. The referee’s decision no doubt had a huge impact on the final result.

Manchester United drops points: Mourinho took his charges on an away trip to Stoke, and they returned wounded. A brace from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting ensured that David de Gea has conceded for the first time this season. Goals from Rashford and Lukaku could only earn the Red Devils a draw, meaning United’s perfect record is gone.

Frank de Boer pays the price: news broke on Monday afternoon that Crystal Palace has parted way with the Dutchman after a string of poor results. The former Ajax coach has found life in England very difficult. A defeat in the hands of Burnley on Sunday condemned Crystal Palace to their fourth consecutive defeat. The dismissal marks De Boer’s second short exit in less than 18months, after he was similarly dismissed at Inter Milan after a short stint.

Harry Kane’s season finally kicks off: the Spurs attacker netted a double in his team’s win over Everton, and in the process, he has reached a century of goals in for Spurs. However, the English attacker has had to endure his perennial August hoodoo. It still remains a mystery how the two time EPL top scorer is yet to score in August, but never mind, Kane is back.

Birthday relief for Slaven Bilic: West Ham got off the mark for the new season. Bilic has been coming under increasing pressure for his team’s winless run in the first 3 games of the season. A defeat to Huddersfield Town on Monday night football would have spelt doom for the manager, but an Andre Ayew inspired performance gave the Croat his first win of the season on his birthday. 

Towing Levy: An Unnecessary Public Debate

Following public protests, the executive arm of government has decided not to implement the above LI, passed in 2012-5 years ago.

As part of the now hibernated law, vehicle owners and motorcyclists were supposed to pay compulsory annual fees, tied to the acquisition of road worthy certificate, to cater for towing services. Fees per year for both commercial and non-commercial vehicles, depending on tonnage, range from GHȻ20 to GHȻ 200.

The abandoned mandatory towing levy is one that shouldn’t have been a subject of discussion in the first place, just like many other “petty” issues we have come to spent countless amount of time and energy on. 

The subject is petty, not because there is no value in preventing road accidents by hauling off disabled vehicles from our roads, but it is petty because it was brought about due to lazy thinking.

If a vehicle breaks down, shouldn’t the owner be responsible for any financial inputs needed to take it off the street? So we can’t we resource the police (or any other competent institution) to receive the applicable charges from the owners of these broken down vehicles, and tow them off our roads. 

Proprietors who default would have their vehicles impounded, and pay extra fines when they need their properties back.

Governments in Ghana need to get serious, and fix straightforward problems without unnecessary public circus.

EPL Matchweek 2: 5 Talking Points

The second round of matches in the English Premier League has come to an end. There was victories for Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Leicester, whilst Newcastle, Arsenal, West Ham and were beaten. Here are the 5 key issues that shaped the week’s actions.

Marcos Alonso inflicts more Wembley woes unto Spurs: the Spaniard has had to live through the summer with speculations of the signing of Juventus ace, Alex Sandro to unseat him. But on the day that Chelsea were missing several of their stars, Alonso came big for his side. His sweet free kick in the first half and a good finish at the depth of the game lifted the Blues to a London derby win over Spurs in Wembley (a makeshift home side that Spurs has lost 9 out of its previous 10 fixtures at)

Arsenal not good enough: the Gunners picked 3 points from their first game of the season with late winner against Leicester City, but at the Britannia Stadium, there was no salvation for Wenger and his charges. They were beaten by debutant, Jese Rodriguez’s lone goal. All Wenger has to show for the night was the avalanche possession (77.3%) they won on the night

Chicharito’s heroics overshadowed: Javier Hernandez opened his scoring account for the Hammers at the St. Mary’s on Saturday, but West Ham could not hold on for a point, as Charlie Austin stole all 3points for the Saints in injury time. Slaven Bilic’s men had to fight from a man and 2 goals down, after Marko Arnautovic earned himself a reckless red card. Chicharito pulled his side back into the game with a double, only for his efforts to be wasted in the last minute.

Mourinho and his troops continues to march: a breath-taking second half display left Swansea decimated by a rampant Manchester United side. It took a while for Mourinho’s men to break down the Welsh side, but when Bailly broke the deadline, there was no turning back. Lukaku, Pogba, and Martial added a goal apiece as United won in style. Mourinho means business

Sterling stands up to Rooney: Wayne Rooney scored his 200^th EPL goal at the Etihad on Monday Night Football. The night looked set to go in Everton’s favour after Kyle Walker was dismissed in the first half. But City fought back in the second half, and finally got an equalizer through a classy volley by Raheem Sterling.

  

Creating New Regions Does Is No Guarantee For Development

This week, the Council of State has formally informed the president of the “substantial need” for new regions to be created. The council was making its formal presentation on a petition that has been forwarded to it by the president. 

The ruling NPP campaigned on the topic during the 2016 elections, for which reason the president establish an entire ministry, Ministry of Regional Re-Organisation and Development to oversee the process.

The president will now proceed to establish a Commission of Enquiry to look into the merits of establishing new regions. 

A referendum shall then be held for the people affected by the matter to vote on. The constitutional requirement is for 50% of the electorates to vote, out of which 80% should give approval in order for a new region to be created. Quite clearly, there is still some way to go.

The primary reason for which new regions (possibly six) is being touted is for the sake of development: this assertion is highly laughable. There is nowhere on earth that development is brought about by drawing imaginary lines. 

Demarcating lands into boundaries does not suddenly close the huge infrastructural deficits in the nation; it does not automatically produce a first class transportation system; it does not build industries; it does not grow agriculture; it does not eliminate corruption; it does not birth a strong health and educational sector; and it certainly does not create jobs.

The idea that new regions bring development is a big misconception brought about due to sentiments. People want to see their capital cities close to them. They want to share the same region with persons of common heritage.

Ghanaians desire development, but to reach that development, we have conceptualise the wrong means-creation of new regions. 

It makes sense why claim we vote for development, yet nothing changes. We keep using the wrong metric. 

$1m Flagstaff House Donation: President Akufo-Addo Being Managed By Incompetent Hands

President Akufo-Addo received a cheque of $1m from the Indian government. The purpose of the gift, which was donated by the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, is to be used for the renovation of the Flagstaff House.

Whenever I look at the image of the president displaying the cheque on social media, I begin to ask myself, why would the handlers of our president put up the country for international embarrassment by modelling the first gentleman of the land in front of cameras with a $1m gift? 

Couldn’t anyone else but the president have accepted this donation on his behalf? Do I take it that none of the numerous ministers of state was available to receive this money? Not even the Chief of Staff or any of her two deputies?

Receiving $1m by the president may not come across as a big deal, but the truth of the matter is that it is utterly demeaning: it challenges the pride of every Ghanaian, home and abroad. Elsewhere, a head of state would not even make the time to meet over $1m, but here in Ghana, its heaven and earth.

This episode in the seat of government is a good demonstration of our mediocre and shameless way of acting.

The earlier the managers of the president understand that the president is not just flesh and blood, but the symbol of the entire nation’s sovereignty, the better.

To The Contrary, Teacher Licensing Is A Step In The Right Direction

The National Teachers Council (NTC) of the Ministry of Education announced that teachers will now have to pass a special examination before being granted the licenses to teach. The license is to undergo periodic renewable every 3-5years. 

The announcement has met huge public outcry. The influential National Association of Ghana Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has kicked against the policy as well.

Many reasons have been adduced for the public discontentment with the policy. Many have pointed out that the mess in the educational sector of the country is far more than certification of teachers. Others too have labelled the policy as an accident waiting to happen, given our impressive track record for mishandling things.

However, l am of a divergent opinion. Teachers form an important part of our educational sector. Their role cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, any effort to improve upon the quality of teachers should be a welcomed one. 

All over the world, to be a professional means something more than being a graduate. A lot of premium is played on professional licensing schemes for that matter. The situation cannot be any different in Ghana. 

It is an indisputable fact that licensing of teachers will contribute significantly towards the qualitative improvement on teachers. Teachers would be compelled to give off their best, knowing very well the risk of losing out on their employment if they are not to standard.

Admittedly, the answers to the problems of our educational system are bigger than a licensing scheme. And l am very sure the policy makers are very much aware of the situation. 

However, the many deficiencies of our educational sector doesn’t make the proposal of licensing an idea of non-relevance- to the contrary, it is a good step in the right direction. 

Diego Costa Is Complicating Matters For Himself

Chelsea striker, Diego Costa has found himself in an unwanted situation at Chelsea. The Brazil-born Spanish attacker revealed that he received a text message of dismissal from his Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte. Conte has generally tried to shy away from the brouhaha over Costa. 

On occasions that he spoke on the subject, he suggested that Costa has been in the known since January a summer move was in the offing. Costa’s preferred destination is his former club, Atletico Madrid, who have been banned from registering a player until January, 2018. 

Even if a move to Atletico succeeds, Costa has two options. Either sit out until January, 2018 to begin playing competitive football or be loaned out for six months.

Costa has been a good servant to Chelsea since his £35m move from Atletico Madrid to the Blues in 2014. He has led the club to two EPL titles with 59 goals in 120 appearances. 

But his current status as persona non grata at the Stamford Bridge has been exacerbated by his actions. Costa has made it his prime motive to frustrate Chelsea and Conte. He has refused to return to the club after he was initially given an extended one week break from pre-season. 

The club has made it clear that their wish is for Conte to return to London, get himself match fit, and make himself available for selection, as his contract with the club prescribes. 

Yet Costa isn’t interested. He prefers to remain in Brazil and holiday around. He went to bars, restaurant, and any place go-able. Occasionally, he teases Chelsea by flirting with Atletico and Mourinho. 

In a spectacular style, Costa visited a local circus in Brazil and was invited to take part. He obliged, took to stage and performed alongside a clown. What is a professional footballer doing in Brazil partying whilst the season has begun?

Conte’s decision to dismiss his star man over a text message is totally unacceptable, but Costa also has a contractual responsibility to conduct himself in a professional manner. 

Military Training For National Service Personnel: Is Ghana Going To War With North Korea?

During the Public Account Committee sitting, the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul revealed that plans are underway for national service personnel to undergo a six months military training as part of the national service scheme.

The Minister added that the military conscription begins for 10,000 national service personnel next year with the hope of gradually expanding the numbers until all national service personnel can be absorbed.

As usual, fanatics of the NPP have begun defending the announcement made by the Minister. But the legitimacy of an action is not denoted by the amount of twisted defence it is given. 

The usefulness of a deed is actually in its rightness. And to determine rightness, one would have to know his or her priorities, because there are many right things that could be done, yet only a few are appropriate.

For the Minister of Defence in current day Ghana to suggest that mandatory military training is necessity is very disheartening. Quite clearly, the top man doesn’t understand his priorities-and that of his nation. 

The last thing a country bedevilled with problems all over should think of is a military jamboree. 

Why am I even surprised? The exercise would enable top government officials to present bloated budgets and siphon a substantial amount into their personal pockets.

It may be constitutional for national service personnel to undergo a six months military training, but don’t we have sanitation laws too? Don’t we have laws on access to education, and healthcare? Which laws don’t we have?

Ghana is not going to war with North Korea, and we don’t need to spend millions (possibly billions) of dollars-as observed in huge amounts spent by other countries in running similar systems- on an unnecessary endeavour, except it is for the purposes of create, loot, and share.  

Kofi Annan Thinks African Leaders Are Not Enlightened, And I Agree

Former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan delivered a lecture on leadership and public service dubbed “an afternoon with Kofi Annan. During his speech, the international icon touched on various issues pertaining to democracy and leadership in Africa.

One particular statement that keeps reverberating in my heart is his standpoint on leaders in Africa: “unfortunately, Africa has had too few enlightened people of this kind”, in reference to “true democratic leaders who understand that they are at the service of the citizens, and not the other way around. Leadership is a service. Leaders must understand that they hold power in trust of the people, and it can also be taken away”.

Even though the statesman may have been speaking in pure terms of democracy with respect to transfer of power, I cannot help but apply Mr. Annan’s assertion on a wider scale.

Firstly, his expression, “…Africa has had too few enlightened people [leaders]…” gives an unequivocal understanding that majority of African leaders are unenlightened, they are ignorant.

I wish to continue from where Mr. Annan left off. Africa leaders are not only unenlightened on matters of democracy, but they are uneducated on the concept of leadership-political-as well.

To African leaders, leadership is all about occupying power, and harnessing state resources to the benefit of their political affiliates.

African leaders do not understand the challenges of poverty, huge infrastructural deficit, high rates of illiteracy, ballooning unemployment, weak public institutions, and so on and so forth.

My fear is that it is not only for lack of understanding of our problems that African leaders are victims of, but also, they are actually clueless on how to solve these problems.

The only thing the African leader is enlightened on is how to resonate with the unsuspecting populace and climb to reign. In instances where they lose their ability to deceive majority of the citizenry, they take to force, and impose themselves on the people against the people’s will.

Thank you, Your Excellency Kofi Annan, for reminding us of the awful reality. Nothing may change, but at least African citizens will grow to accept day by day that the continent is been governed by incompetent hands.   

EPL MatchDay 1: 5 Takeaways

 The English Premier League is back. The league kicked off in typical pulsating style on Friday night with a 7 goal thriller between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium. Saturday saw defending champions Chelsea, and this season’s favourite Machester City in action amongst five other fixtures. The weekend fixtures ended on Sunday with two heavyweights, Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester United in action. Here are 5 key talking points from the league’s first round of matches.

Burnley swallows Conte and his boys: Chelsea came second best to Burnley in their first game of the season. A first half collapse at Stamford Bridge left Chelsea 3 goals and a man (Cahill) down by half time. Even though Conte was able to rally his charges to set up a thrilling second half, a late red card to Fabregas worsened matters for the champions. The only bright spot though was Morata’s goal and assist on his debut. 

Déjà vu for Arsenal and Liverpool: Arsene Wenger watched on hopelessly as his side sailed in 3 goals against Leicester City on opening day. Less than 24 hours later, Jurgen Klopp was also on the receiving side of 3 goals from Watford. To both coaches, it feels like the same old story. Arsenal leaking goals in abundance, and Liverpool dropping points against lower ranked teams. Wenger would surely be the happier of the two managers though, as his side secured a late winner.

Guardiola gets the job done: City is one side that has been heavily tipped to win to league this season, mainly due to the massive investments the club has made during the summer transfer window. On Saturday, Pep led his charges against newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, and successfully came out with 3 points and a clean sheet. It was a laboured win, but it’s a winning start to the season.

Huddersfield brings memory of Leicester: newly promoted side, Huddersfield Town brought premier league seniors, Crystal Palace unto its knees in a 3-0 humbling game. No one would have predicted this result, and it brings a timely reminder of Leicester City’s fairy tale title win two seasons ago.

Mourinho sends title warning: during the late afternoon kick off on Sunday, Mourinho and his men sent an emphatic message to fellow title contenders by making light work out of West Ham at the Theatre of Dreams. 

Majestic Matic! 🙌

The stats behind Nemanja's Man of the Match display: https://t.co/d9xIHJhXeO pic.twitter.com/PkX1sU9yJH

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 13, 2017

From the first blast of the whistle to the last, United were relentless, as they laid siege to the Hammers goals. The aggression, tactical discipline, and clinical finishing United put on display is a clear message of what the club wish to achieve this season; win the league. 

National Hullabaloo On Komenda Sugar Factory Is Demeaning

In March 2016, H.E John Dramani Mahama revamped the broken down Komenda Sugar Factory. The plant was original built by Ghana’s first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s. The restoration of the factory cost $35m, funded using an Indian government facility.

Fast forward August 2017, the factory is making headlines. Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka Lindsay told the Public Accounts Committee of parliament “the sugar you tasted was processed sugar bought by government. We have never put sugarcane through the full system of the factory”. 

The subject has gained national prominence. It is being discussed on mainstream media and social media alike.

I wish to put on record that in my opinion, the Komenda Sugar Factory was a political tool. Its resurrection may have been a good idea, but it wasn’t based on any proper business model. 

The degree of pump and pageantry associated with its inauguration is one that still hurts my feelings. And I am even more hurt that the current government is making concerted efforts to make political gains out of this same Komenda Sugar Factory.

In a world that a messaging application, WhatsApp was bought for over $19bn, it is a big shame that an entire nation is squabbling over a $35m project. These days, even a footballer costs £200m. 

So why the noise on an investment that is incredibly meagre compared international standards? 

Shouldn’t the debate (and subsequent resolution of issues) on this factory be left to the local authorities of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District? Or our high ranking government officials do not have any work doing so they prefer to quarrel over petty topics?

The manner in which we celebrate mediocrity in Ghana is increasingly becoming a disorder. The earlier we wake up, the better.

Extending School Day Length: Pros vs Cons

During the National Education Sector Review forum held in Accra, the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh complained about the closing time within Ghana schools. He therefore called for an extension of the normal 2pm closing time to 4pm. “School closes too early in this country. At 2pm, parents from farms are not back from work, so why can’t schools close at 4pm” the Minister said.

Generally, school day length varies from one country to another. Ghana finds itself in a category of countries that run on 7hours per day school length. If Hon. Opoku Prempeh’s suggestion is to implemented, then Ghana would join countries like Kenya and South Korea whose school day interval runs from 7am to 4pm. Indeed, a country like France even ends its school day at 5pm. So it is not new for schools to run into the latter hours of the afternoon.

Whilst the national debate rages on over whether or not the closing time of schools should be extended. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of whatever choice our policy makers settle on.

Firstly, extending the closing time would increase academic performance of students, provide students more avenue to socialise with peers, enable more extra curricula activities in schools, and increase the likelihood of parents picking up their wards from school. 

With the addition of two hours to the school day, students will get the chance to be taught challenges concepts into details. Also, teachers can give more class exercises to students and supervise them provide solutions. 

Extra period means extra academic work. In addition, more time spent in school implies that pupils will have for hours for themselves to make acquaintances amongst themselves. Building social networks does not only help build one’s self esteem, but it could serve as a life time. The more hours provided by the extension could also afford the space for more courses that are strictly no academic to the syllabi of students.

To the contrary, the nation is going to have to make more expenditure. Already, the Ghana National Association of Teachers have begun calls for government to pay teachers more if she wishes to extend the school hours. 

Also, there are more chances of children receiving negative peer influence from their colleagues. In addition, children are going to spend more and more times in an uncontrolled environment like school, where parents do not have direct oversight, a situation that makes youngsters who have not developed a matured sense of decision making vulnerable.

The dice has been cast. For now, one can not tell where it falls. But whatever final result we produce with regards to the subject of extension of school hours, there are going to be merits and demerits. 

9 Premier League Golden Boot Contenders

The English Premier League (EPL) is back. Arsenal and Leicester City set the tone for the season with a 7 goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium, in which a late goal by Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal the first 3 points of the season. Just like any other season, the big name forwards will be competing amongst themselves for the honour as the top scorer. Here are my nine (in no particular order) picks for the golden boot award.

Harry Kane: the Tottenham hitman has won the golden boot in the previous two campaigns, and he is seeking to make it three in a row. Kane has become one of the most feared forward in England. His ever improving attributes make him one of the fore runners for the prize of top scorer.

Romelu Lukaku: the man closest to Kane last season in the race to become top scorer will be at it again this season. At Manchester United, he gets to play with better players, and that means more chances to score. One problem Mourinho’s side faced last season was their inability to kill off lesser fancied teams. In Lukaku, United has the man to get them the goods.

Sergio Aguero: the Argentine striker had a mixed season in 2016/17. Problems with injuries, and lack of trust by his manager prohibited him from reaching his true potentials. Some even thought he would be offloaded by Guardiola. However, Kun Aguero is still at Manchester City, and with the amount of quality that will be playing behind him in the likes of De Bruyne, the two Silva, Gundogan, Sane, Sterling and others, Aguero will certainly not be starved of chances, provided he can fend off competition from Gabriel Jesus and be Guardiola’s first choice.

Alexis Sanchez: Arsenal’s wantaway attacker had his most prolific season in front of goal last season with 24 goals. And he is set for bigger impact, if he remains at the club. Arsene Wenger insists the Chilean is going nowhere, and Sanchez may have to play out the final year of his contract. He will do so as a contender for goal king.

Alvaro Morata: the EPL newcomer is set for a major challenge this season. He is not only expected to lead the line efficiently for the defending champions, he is also expected to prove himself as a worthy successor of fan favourite, Diego Costa. But Morata has seen it all on the big stage. If he can adapt quickly to his new environment, and banish the demons of the number 9 on his back, he will be a success.

Jamie Vardy: the English striker has already opened his account for the new season, with two goals. And more is expected from him. When he is on a good run, he is an absolute nightmare for defenders. Two well taken goals on Friday Night Football against Arsenal is a depiction of what V9 is capable of doing.

Javier Hernandez: Chicharito is back to the EPL. And he is back with a mission to accomplish-prove that he can be the main man of his side. After playing the role of a bit part player for Manchester United under Fergie, Chicharito has gone to Germany to learn the act of being the main man, and he is back to England to do just that with the Hammers.

Wayne Rooney: he may be on the decline, but his knack for goal hasn’t eluded him. The England and Manchester United legend has returned to his boyhood club, Everton, and he has the opportunity to win that one trophy he has not won in his illustrious career, the EPL golden boot.

Alexander Lacazette: having finally made his much awaited move to London, things got off to a merry start for the French forward. He buried a glancing header less than 5 minutes into his debut, and helped his team edged out Leicester. If the former Lyon attacker continues with his swift adaptation to the EPL, his name will be amongst the top of the scoring chart come May, 2018.

EPL 2017/18 Predictions: Manchester United To Win League As Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton Miss Out On Top 4

By now, you may already be aware that the EPL is back. The world’s best brand of league football returned in style on Friday night with an entertaining game between former champions Arsenal and Leicester, an encounter in which Arsenal edged out 4-3 winners courtesy Olivier Giroud. Here are my predictions for the new season: the champions and top four teams.

Title winners

Predicting a league like the EPL is an arduous task. Moreso, in this season where things promise to be the most competitive in recent memory. I am inclined to think that the title will go to Manchester. Pep Guardiola has shown to make the best of recruits thus far in the summer window, making them huge favourites for the title. 

Mourinho’s impeccable record of winning the league in his second seasons means he can not be ruled out, couple with some purposive signings he has made so far. I do not see Chelsea retaining the title, because their oppositions are much stronger (as compared to last season), and Chelsea will be further occupied due to European football. Also, the fact that no team has successfully retained the title since 2009 makes it less likely for Chelsea to do so. 

Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Everton will all put up a fight for the title, but they are just not strong enough to come top after 38 rounds of matches. Spurs have not made any significant investments so far, and it looks likely that their story for this season will be like that of the previous two. 

Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal, is going to be the same old Arsenal. They are just too inconsistent to win the EPL at this stage. Liverpool and Everton will give it a shot, but they lack the firepower and winning habit to remain top at the end of the season. My verdict is falls in favour of Manchester United. Jose just doesn’t miss in his second season. And track record of winning the EPL will make him succeed at the expense of Pep Guardiola and other fellow contenders.

Top four

The race of the top four is going to be heated. Very heated. All the seven title contenders will be in the mix. But I see United, City, Chelsea, and Spurs making the cut, placing first, second, third, and forth respectively. These four sides look much more concrete than their peers. 

On the case of Liverpool, the imminent move of Coutinho to Barcelona will leave a hole too big in the Merseyside club to fill. Also, Klopp’s side would need some major investments in defence and midfield to become a team to beat, not forgetting their goalkeeping problems. 

Whilst for Arsenal and Everton, their sides are relatively weaker compared to the sides of their top four rivals.  

Dear Senior Minister Osafo Marfo: Is The Public Sector Really Full?

On Monday, during the Ghana Economic Forum, the Senior Miniser, Yaw Osafo Marfo was quoted as saying “the public sector is full in terms of employment [and] we can’t employ anybody in the public sector”. The veteran politician even threatened that “perhaps we may have to even lay off some [workers]”.

The above assessment by the Senior Minister sent shivers down the spines of many Ghanaians. In a nation that youth unemployment is the biggest trial, the last thing citizens wish to hear is a gloomy comment by a man whom many consider as the third-in-command of His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration.

The situation is even more hurtful when one recalls that the NPP campaigned massively on the high rate of youth employment during the 2016 elections. The NPP is mainly in power because it was able to convince Ghanaian youths of its readiness to provide jobs for the people.

Therefore, the sudden change in narrative of the party comes with huge concerns. Did the party deceive Ghanaians merely to capture power? Is the government overwhelmed by the challenge of resolving the unemployment menace?

But the big question on my mind; is the public sector truly full? I wish the Senior Minister could give further and better particular on his definition of “full”, because l am at sea. 

How is the public sector full whilst Ghana’s doctor-patient ratio of 1:15,259 is way below the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of 1:5,000? The situation is the same with other categories of health workers. Interestingly, there are huge scores of health workers sitting idle and unemployed at home. This is just the case of the health sector. 

The same can be said of the educational sector. The human resource levels of our state security services need major expansion in both quantity and quality. One is met with the sight of a staff member working in the capacity of two, three, four, and more workers in our various state agencies. Clearly, there is an employment deficit in the public sector.

No amount of political tongue-twisting would convince me that the public sector is full. Perhaps, the argument government ought to make is that she is incapable of meeting economic requirements of employing more hands.

It is worth noting that Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo pointed out that private sector growth is necessary to reduce unemployment. Sure, but it doesn’t warrantee government the right to deceive the citizenry instead of ensuring the employment deficit in the public sector is duly arrested. 

I believe the Senior Minister knows that the responsibility of plugging the human resource gap in essential sectors of our economy like health, education, security, etc can not be placed solely on the shoulders of the private sector.

Dear Senior Minister, please come again. The public sector is not full, you are only trying to run away from responsibility.  

UEFA SuperCup: 5 Talking Points

Credit: twitter/ChampionsLeague

The UEFA Champions League winner, Real Madrid and the EUFA Europa League winners battled out in the heat of Skopje for the bragging right as Europe’s champions of champions. Zidane’s charges ended the night with another silverware. Here are the five major talking points from the encounter.

Huge gap between Real Madrid and Manchester United: these two clubs are arguably the most prestigious teams in their respective countries, both in rich history and major sporting honours. However, the night in Macedonia is a good demonstration of the enormous gap currently between Real and United. United’s players were playing catch up in the entire first half, by the time they woke up, the game was almost dead.

Matic a major coup: one United player who came out of the encounter with his head held up high is Nemanja Matic. The Serb put in a commanding performance at the heart of midfield against Madrid’s world class performers in Isco, Modric, Kroos, Casemiro, even though he has been with the squad for barely a week. Why Chelsea let him go remains a puzzle to be solved.

Masterful Isco is back: disco Isco is how social media calls him these days, and it is easy to see why. His composure in possession, sleek touches, jaw dropping skills, exquisite movement are all a sight to behold. The Spanish midfielder was at his typical best, as he tormented United’s defence all night long. He capped off his brilliant display with a sweet finish.

Business as usual for Zidane: within a period of 18months in the job as a coach, the French icon has moulded himself into one of the most feared managers in the game. After taking over from Rafael Benitez, Zidane has swept every major trophy on offer. He made history by being the first manager to lead a team win the ULC back-to-back in its current format, an achievement he complemented with a la liga trophy for the Los Blancos in 5 years. And now, he has added a second Super Cup to his trophy cabinet. Zidane is a serial winner.

United’s finishing headache continues: one situation that United fans have come to dread so much is the sight of seeing their side in a dangerous situation, and failing to punish their opponents. Twice in the first half, poor decision making in the final third cost Mourinho’s side. Pogba had the chance to pick either one of two dangerous passes, yet he opted to go solo. Also, instead of Lukaku running into the box for a tap in, he decided to give the advantage to the Blancos by interfering with play from an offside position when an interception on Kroos fell nicely in Herrera’s path. In the second half, both Rashford and Lukaku missed glorious chances.

  

When Harry And I Took To The 2017 Nneka World Changers Summer Camp

On 7^th August, 2017, I had the privilege to impart nearly 1,000 participants during the Nneka World Changers Summer Camp 2017, organised by the prestigious Nneka Youth Foundation. The session on “Creativity and Problem Solving” was jointly facilitated Harry Akligoh (a biomedical scientist and STEAM enthusiast), and my good self. The opportunity was brought about due to the vision of Gameli Adzaho, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Africa, Media) pacesetter and founder of Global Lab Ghana, to add more community action to the online oriented GlobalLab Ghana.

Co facilitator, Harry Akligoh

Overview of Nneka Youth Foundation

Nneka Youth Foundation is a Ghanaian based non- profit organisation founded by Mad. Cecilia Fiaka in 2012. It has served 9,000+ youth rural Ghana since its inception. Nneka offers education, enrichment, and life building opportunities for the young.

A signature project of the foundation is the annual Nneka World Changers Summer Camp. This year’s edition was held at the Nneka Youth Development Centre, Ve Agbome in the Volta Region. the camp begun on 30^th of July and ends on the 25^th of August.

Four different batches of participants make up the camp. It runs from Monday to Friday, and another group of participants come in for the next week. Thus, the camp lasts for four weeks, and trains four different batches of participants. About 1,000 participants make up each group.

The summer camp comprises of educative and exciting activities like educative talks from different professional fields, interactive group discussions, arts and crafts, in-door and out-door games, group challenges, reading and spelling bee, talent shows and many more.

Presentation highlights

Our 4-hour demonstration was aimed at equipping the participants with skills of that would enable them confront daily problems they encounter, and devise solutions to them. My counterpart, Harry took the students through the powerpoint presentation. He touched on social impact, and its importance to society. 

Also, he comprehensively tutored the audience on the creative way of solving problems using design thinking model. The design thinking model consists of three main components: understating, exploring, and materialising.

Afterwards, l steered the audience to watch videos of two adolescents who have adopted innovative means of solving problems in society. Kelvin Doe AKA DJ Focus and Richard Turere have received international attention by building radio transmitter and farm defence mechanism respectively. 

In addition, a seven bullet question was discussed with the students on the inspirations they have taken from the videos, and how they can also come up with their own ideas to address challenges in their various communities. The campers came up with intriguing responses.

Furthermore, to seal the knowledge we passed unto the audience, each group was tasked to identify common problems in their respective communities, and solve them using the approach we taught them.

Before we departed, we left the supervision of the project in the hands of the teachers in the camp. We are optimistic that these young ones will return to their various communities, and begin implementing solutions.

Founder's Day Debate: Let Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Enjoy His Glory

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has successfully rekindled the debate over whether or not Ghana has a Founding Father or Founding Fathers. 

In an epic style, the party organised a lecture- delivered by the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Michael Aaron Ocquaye, under the topic “4^th August; Ghana’s Day of Destiny”-to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC). The crème de la crème of the NPP were in attendance, including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and former president John Agyekum Kufuor.

There have been suggestions that the topic is irrelevant at this point in time, where Ghana has much more important issues to tackle than a debate over Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s status as the Founding Father of Ghana. But it is an important topic we ought to discuss, because the last thing we wanna lose is our genuine history, when everything else in the nation seems to be in disarray.

It goes without saying that the lecture is part of a well-designed NPP master plan to reduce (or perhaps entirely wipe out) the illustrious role Nkrumah played in Ghana’s independence struggles. In recent memory, President Akufo-Addo laid down the marker when he conveniently ignored Nkrumah in the 60^th anniversary Independence Day celebration speech delivered by the first gentleman of the land. 

The NPP’s utmost desire is to see the image of Nkrumah sacrificed at the expense of the Danquah-Busia tradition and her affiliates.

Amidst all this grand ploy to strip Nkrumah of his title, it has become clearly evident that the gigantic image of the Osagyefo still haunts the NPP. The NPP still doesn’t want to accept how a poor boy from Nkroful achieved what their over pampered intellectuals couldn’t achieve, even so, when this unassuming character chalked this achievement within an unprecedented period of time. 

The hatred felt by the then leaders of the UGCC, which has evolved into current day NPP is the same level of rage that the current cohort of NPP functionaries feel towards Nkrumah. As such, they are hell bent on destroying the man’s legacy.

There is the lame view that the movement for independence was initiated by the so called UGCC founding members. My simple question is, and so what? Again, fingers are pointed towards the fact that Nkrumah’s plane ticket to return from England to Ghana to serve in the capacity as secretary of UGCC was funded by the UGCC. Yet again, l ask the question, and so what? 

How many times have we not seen so many initiatives started by several persons, yet they fail to achieve their set targets? Since when is it that if you pay your child’s lorry fare to the university, then it means the degree to be awarded should be in your name? What makes the case of UGCC and its founders different? 

Yes, they started a political movement, yet it was the ingenuity of Nkrumah that won us independence. Infact, l dare so that the founders of UGCC did not believe in their capability to attain freedom for the then Gold Coast, for which reason they were hiding behind their “self government within the shortest possible time” mantra.

Nkrumah, full of vision came into the picture, and did what everyone thought was impossible. He took the game to a whole new level. What is the guarantee that UGCC would have won us independence? Even if they did, it would surely not have been the same 6^th March, 1957 Ghana Independence as we have come to know it. So why are we making noise about a possibility, whist we have a result to celebrate?

There are many other ways for individual Ghanaians to climb high, and attain a status more befitting than that of Nkrumah, in the annals of Ghana’s political history. If and when that happens, that person’s glory will be based on merits, not mere propaganda and brain washing. Until then, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah remains Ghana’s most darling boy, and for that matter, the Founder of the nation. 

Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

Real Madrid has drawn first blood in the UEFA Champions League quarter final encounter against Bayern Munich. A brace from Cristiano Ronaldo crushed Arturo Vidal’s opener. Here are the main talking points from the game played at the Allianz Arena.

Ronaldo resurrects: Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored a Champions League goal since September 2016. To the Los Blancos all-time top scorer, the situation was an unfamiliar territory. However, he has put to bed all questions over his form by notching a brace. Cr7 didn’t just nailed the Germans, he did so in a historic style-by being the first ever player to reach of century of goals European clubs competitions. The legend lives on.

Vidal nullifies himself: Arturo Vidal was at this usual combative best in the encounter. He opened the scoring with a powerful header, only to miss a crucial penalty at the stroke of half time when a poor refereeing decision gave the Bavarians the opportunity to steer clear in the tier.

Bayern’s Spanish nemesis: according to Opta “since lifting the trophy in 2013, Bayer lost 6 of their 21 knockout games in the UCL-5 of them against Spanish opponents”.  All the big three Spanish clubs of enjoyed victory over Bayern in the knock out games of the UCL since 2013. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico and now Real Madrid (again) constantly keep haunting the German giants since Bavarians triumphed over Dortmund in Wembley.

Martinez puts Ancelotti in a tight corner: within a period of 173seconds, Javi Martinez got booked twice, thus receiving his marching orders. The Spanish player’s indiscretion has cost his team dearly and left his coach in a precarious state. Ancelotti’s success at Bayern would definitely be judged based on his progression in the UCL, as his club enjoys monopoly in the Bundesliga. Ancelotti returns to his former club, knowing very well that he has to go all out against a club with devastating counterattacking arsenals.

Zidane in a comfortable lead: the mentee over staged the mentor. The French icon continues to shame his critics. Many thought he was appointed as a Real coach merely on his pedigree as a club legend but not for his managerial prowess. But over one year in the job, Zidane may just be the man to lead a club to retain the UCL for the first time.