Sports
Petr Cech tells Wayne Rooney to forget about scoring landmark goal against him
PETR CECH has told Wayne Rooney to forget about scoring another landmark goal against Arsenal today.
This weekend marks the 15th anniversary of when Rooney scored his first Premier League goal as a 16-year-old in the same fixture at Goodison Park.
His blistering strike past then-Gunners keeper David Seaman was the first of 201 Premier League goals — seven of them against Cech when he was No 1 at Chelsea.
But Cech — still to be beaten by Rooney as an Arsenal keeper — believes his Gunners team-mates will not allow England’s all-time top goalscorer to repeat his heroics from all those years ago.
Cech said: “Wayne has a great memory of that day. I remember seeing it on TV and it was a great effort to beat Seaman.
“Wayne is one of the world’s best strikers and when you score the most goals for Manchester United it shows how good you are.
“He has gone back to Everton and keeps scoring goals. Hopefully, we’ll not allow him to shine like he did that day.
“We know a lot more about him now of course because he has been at the top of the game for 15 years.
“But Everton and Rooney are in a position where they need to take points as well. Like us they had a Europa League game on Thursday. We both need to win. It is always tough when you go to Everton but we’ll go there to be resolute, strong and ready.”
Cech knows that Arsenal must cure their travel sickness — and fast.
A hard-fought 1-0 win at Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday may have given the Gunners some slight relief.
But the fact remains that defeat at Everton today could prove disastrous for Arsenal’s chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Cech added: “We’ve won all the games at the Emirates — but we need to start winning away.
“OK Watford, with the bad luck, is one game. But we had lost two games prior to that — and the losses at Stoke and Liverpool were so disappointing.
“So we’re going to Everton with a need to improve on that and our position in the table as we’ve given the advantage to our rivals in the last game.
“Prior to last year, we had the best away record in the league.
“We need to go back to that. Defensively we need to be tight because away from home we’re creating chances but not scoring enough goals.”
Wenger has used the Europa League and League Cup as platforms to blood his kids.
The atmosphere in the Stadion Rajko Mitic in Belgrade was electrifying and Cech insists the Gunners boss was very clever in allowing the youngsters to experience that.
Rob Holding, 22, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, 20, Reiss Nelson, 17 and Jo Willock, 18, started in the Serbian capital — while Ben Sheaf, 19, and Marcus McGuane, 18, came on for late cameos.
Cech started his first game in Europe this season and kept Red Star at bay before Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud popped up with a late winner.
And he said: “It really did feel like a Champions League game. The crowd in Belgrade made it so special.
“This was a perfect game for the young players because it was the hardest game we’ve faced in the Europa League and we had a whole bench of young boys and we had four of them playing again. They did really well.
“They’re lucky in a way that the boss gave them confidence in playing them in matches like this. It is a big game.
“It’s a European competition and we want to, as a club, ideally win it like Manchester United did if possible.
“For them to get the trust of the manager is very important.”
The Chairman of Agbele Sporting, Hon. Ponmile Omidiji, has rejoiced with and extended warm felicitations to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Remo Stars Football Club, Hon. Kunle Soname, on the occasion of his birthday.
This was contained in a statement personally signed by Omidiji and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Sunday.
The statement reads: “It is my greatest pleasure to felicitate with you, the man of the masses and a philanthropist par excellence, on your day of birth.
“You are a morale booster and a great motivator to this generation. You always utilise any position you occupy for the benefit of others. Indubitably, you are a good man and worthy of emulation,” he added.
Omidiji also seized the opportunity to commend Hon. Soname’s contributions and tireless efforts towards the development of football in Nigeria and beyond, noting that such commitment is truly appreciated.
He offered heartfelt prayers for the celebrant, praying that Almighty God would continue to bless and protect him, that God’s grace would abound in his life, and that all his concerns would be firmly in God’s hands. He further wished that the world would always be kind to him.
Christian Chukwu, former captain and head coach of Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, has died at the age of 74.
The football icon passed away in the early hours of Saturday, though the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear at the time of reporting.
The news of his demise was confirmed by his longtime friend and teammate, Chief Olusegun Odegbami, who spoke to Channels Television. Odegbami, who played alongside Chukwu in Nigeria’s triumphant 1980 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad, expressed deep sorrow over the loss.
“I just received the news that between 9:00 and 10:00 this morning, ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu, MFR, my bosom friend and teammate, one of the greatest football players in Nigeria’s history, has passed on,” said Odegbami.
“Babuje, Emmanuel Okala, MON, gave me the sad news a few minutes ago. May ‘Onyim’ find peace with Our Creator in Heaven and console his family,” he added.
Born on 4 January 1951 in Enugu, Chukwu carved a legendary career in Nigerian football, notably captaining Enugu Rangers to numerous domestic triumphs and leading them to continental glory in 1977 with victory in the now-defunct African Cup Winners’ Cup.
He made history in 1980 as the first Nigerian captain to lift the African Nations Cup trophy following a 3–0 win over Algeria in the final held in Lagos.
Chukwu went on to contribute to Nigeria’s football success off the pitch, serving as assistant to Dutch tactician Clemens Westerhof during the Super Eagles’ victorious 1994 AFCON campaign and their debut appearance at the FIFA World Cup the same year.
As head coach, Chukwu led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. His tenure as national coach lasted from 2002 to 2005, ending during the qualification phase for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Nicknamed “Chairman” for his commanding presence on and off the pitch, Chukwu also played a role in Nigeria’s youth football development, working as assistant coach during the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Cup, which Nigeria won in China.
In 2019, he battled prostate cancer, which affected his mobility. A public appeal for support was launched, and Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola stepped in to cover his overseas medical expenses, reportedly donating $50,000 for his treatment.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes Marcus Rashford was unable to see football “the way I see it” before the unwanted England striker was shipped out of Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old Rashford fell dramatically out of favour with the Portuguese boss and spent seven weeks on the sidelines until he was loaned to Premier League rivals Aston Villa during the transfer window.
“I couldn’t put Marcus to see the way you’re supposed to play football and to train the way I see it,” Amorim said on Thursday.
“And sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different.
“I just wish the best to Rashford and to (Aston Villa coach) Unai Emery, and they can connect because he’s a very good player.”
Amorim, whose team face Leicester in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, said his focus now is on turning around a wretched season.
“Guys, in the summer… like we said before, we are fighting for our jobs until the summer,” he said.
“So, I am just focused on these games. Thankfully about Marcus he is in Birmingham now with Unai, so you can take these questions to another coach. We are just focused on our players at the moment.”
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