YANGA FC SACKS COACH MAXIMO

More drama continues as usual. In the great Dar es Salaam derby, we have seen what our eyes can't believe. Do you chase out the coach of the team which is 2nd in league tables because of a defeat in a friendly match? May be this can happen in very few countries if not only Tanzania. Marcio Maximo was employed in June, 2014. For Yanga FC this time is enough for success. Yanga went down by 2-0 in this Dar es Salaam derby. It was actually a friendly match which has been used to strongly criticize the technical bench and judge that it is unworthy. 

In other places the coach can not be sacked because of a defeat in a friendly match. The team is still contending for the title, and the coach is just re-organizing the squad. More time was needed for this Brazilian tactician for better results. It could be better to judge him at the end of the season. How can you ripe success if you did not invest in a considerable length of time like 2 years or three? Drama, drama, drama in Tanzanian football.

 Yanga FC is in the 2nd position in the league tables just after Mtibwa Sugar. The fans seemed intolerant of the defeat in Saturday of 13th December. Different people have been criticizing the Brazilian players which were brought by the coach. It has been observed by the fans that the players are so normal and they don't have anything strange to bring in the team. They want a player with many qualities like Jay Jay Okocha.

Yanga(yellow) and Simba(red) fans in action

Sherman the new Yanga striker from Liberia

Elius Maguri in red as he scores for Simba.

MANCHESTER CITY ADVANCES TO LAST 16

Manchester City has managed to go through in the round of 16 after a hard work. The English Premier League champions were back in business after a wonderful goal from Sami Nasri. The game started and as the time went on AS Roma dominated the possession almost all the time of the game. The main problem of AS Roma was in the midfield. 

Their midfielders were continuously interrupted by Man City players who were very creative and disciplined in the middle of the ground. The Ivorian superstar for Roma Gervinho dribbled the ball very well for some time, but the Man City defenders were so keen to block him. AS Roma team seemed not to have an efficient plan B to penetrate the Man City defence. 

 AS Roma Killer Nasri

Photo by: www.bbc.co.uk

Francesco Totti as expected played very well but he was not getting good services from the AS Roma midfielders. It seems money can buy a good game for Man City. Their soccer was really entertaining. They have played in the alien soil but were confident enough to get a 2-0 victory. Sami Nasri played so eagerly for Man City. After scoring the 1st goal with a tremendous strike on the AS Roma goal, the Frenchman created a good goal with his clever pass, which was netted by Zabaleta. This means that Bayern Munich and Man City are through to the round of 16. Aguero and Yaya Toure did not play but we have seen the presence of good players like David Silva, Jovetic, Navas and Edin Dzeko.

ARSENAL STUMBLES AT EMIRATES

The gunners. Theirs is a clear sad story. Wenger is trying to ripe from his investments on plans. Will he go to buy players in January? Only God knows what Wenger is thinking on his heart. To be beaten at your own ground is a very sad thing. Man U is not that much good because it had many injured players in their list. Van Gaal's side is not balanced at the defence. Man United's wingers were determined to win I can say. The pace of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia was a big challenge to Arsenal defence. This encounter should tell Wenger a very important message that he should really change his attitude of not signing key players at the right time. He has managed to build a new stadium and the club has a lot of cash by now. Trophies is everything in football. No trophies no value.

LIVERPOOL STUMBLES AT UPTON PARK

THE MATCH PLAYED ON 20TH SEPTEMBER;

Liverpool stumbled in London on a very fascinating game against West Ham. West Ham faced Liverpool with a 2-2 draw against the Tigers (Hull City) in their memories. Sam Allardyce's side knew how important was to win the match with Liverpool. Reid played very well and he brought wonderful balls in the box for Valencia and his fellows. Kouyate was a big challenge on the midfield and Steven Gerrard could not withstand all the pressure from the midfield.

There is every reason for Liverpool to hunt for some new talented players in January despite the fact that he has spent some million pounds in this summer. There is a clear need for good defenders as well as one defensive midfielder in the Liverpool team. Gerrard is getting older, so is Skirtel.

In half-time Liverpool was already behind by 2-1. The Hammers scored their 2 goals in 1st half within only 7 minutes. Raheem Sterling proved as to why he is in The Three Lions when he sent a very hot missile to try to catchup West Ham. west Ham was very much organized than Liverpool in that day. In the 2nd half Adam Lallana was given a chance to uplift Liverpool. Thanks to West ham defence as they managed to resist all the pressure from Liverpool attacking force. With this 3-1 defeat Liverpool should rethink the way they are going to approach other games to come up with good results.

MAN CITY 1 CHELSEA 1

Man City played only 9 after Zabaleta was sent out. The Etihad stadium was so quiet just trying to feel the taste of only 9 people to play against a mighty Chelsea team. On my side the football shown by James Milner was so wonderful. Milner gave much trouble to the right back of Chelsea. His pace was always certain and he was a threat to Chelsea defence.

 In order to equalize the goal Milner dribbled the ball so perfectly to give a perfect pass to Frank Lampard who netted the ball to his old team. Chelsea got their goal after Zabaleta was sent off. Having one player less did not resist Man City from reacting. They played some good attack-minded football which gave them a chance to equalize.

Super Frankie

ARGENTINA ADVANCES TO THE FINAL.

Argentina, Argentina, Argentina. Yes, Argentina has won on penalties. A 4-2 victory ended up the oranje race to the final. At last the dream of Argentina to play in this year’s final has come to a reality. the story went over after a goal-less draw in 120 minutes time. The Oranje played very well but did not manage to see the net at all. Robin Van Persie was not in his normal form we are used to see. 

The Argentinian defence blocked all the balls from reaching Van Persie. He was so lonely in front. The Argentinian defence also managed to block all those harmful dribbling from Arjen Robben.  They only lacked the normal play making from Lionel Messi as he normally play at Barcelona.

Robben neary scored in the extra time but Mascherano denied him the opportunity. Although he did not shine as when he plays for Barcelona, Messi made an impact by his presence on the game. Van Persie was replaced by Huntelaar to try to have another attacking alternative for the oranje but Argentinian defence was very keen to stop their opponents. Both teams defended very well and no wonder they ended up with a 0-0 draw. We expected Krul to replace the number 1 keeper before the end of extra time, but this did not happen.

Robben under a very close supervision

Robben stopped by Argentinian defender.

Janmaat denies Higuain from making a header.

IT WILL BE A WONDERFUL NIGHT: MESSI VS ROBBEN

Robben: pic by: www.goal.com

Today we are going to watch the other two famous football giants on the globe. Argentina will be facing Holland. Thisis a second match after the 1st one which ended with a very wonderful outcomes. No one expected Germany to get a very massive win of 7-0. Almost all who witnessed that match observed a clear effect of the absence of Neymar as well as Thiago Silva.

Argentina will try to play without Angel Di Maria who was injured in the quarter final game against Belgium. Di Maria has had a very promising record of creating good passes in this world cup. It is very common for the team managers to find replacements of key players once they are not available. If the replaced player plays well no problem, but if that player will play under the expected performance, it always cost the team. Holland will play as usual, with Robben and Sneijder upfront. Argentina will be having Messi, Mascerano and Higuain. It gonna be a very fascinating match.

Messi. pic: www.zimbio.com

SCOLARI UNDER A TOUGH TEST

Germany squad

 

Brazil is facing a very huge task tonight against Germany in the first semi-final match. There is no much damage on the German side as we can see that Mats Hummel is back in business. There is a home advantage when it comes to Brazil. They will play at home and  will be backed up by multitudes of home fans. The Selecao might try to utilize this home advantage.

This is Neymar-less Selecao. Thiago Silva also will be missing. On my side Brazil has many players on the bench to cover the place of those 2 key players. The problem which Scolari will be facing is to have a plan B which will accommodate another player in the absence of Naymar. Thiago Silva is a very crucial player on the defence. Dante can replace him, but Silva is more committed and more potential than Dante.

For the Germans, it is more than enough to play in the semi-finals for some years now. They are likely to be motivated to play so hard to move to the final. Let us wait and see if Brazil can win this game, but I don't underestimate the German Soldiers.

Brazil squad. Pic by: www.huffingtonpost.com

THE GERMANS CHASE OUT FRANCE

The quarter finals opened with the 2 European giants meeting in Maracana. Maracana is as big as the match itself. Think of the Germans at their form and also think of France who sank the Super Eagles in their game at the round of 16. It was another tough test for The Blues. The Germans did a very outstanding job in the midfield. Bastian Schwenstiger, Philip Lahm, Mats Hummel were all working together to block the Blues from attacking.

The Germans played with great cautions in their defence. Some times they blocked all dangerous balls from Valbuena from reaching Benzema. Antoinne Griezman was under a very close football policemen namely Metersacker and Jerome.

The Germans played so strategically in their game against France. They understood that winning is the only option better than France. They tried to press ahead in the 1st half as much as they could. Remember the Germans are very tall as compared by the Frenchmen. Klose took a free-kick and luckily enoughHummel was available to connect it to the net. Remember that this shot on the goal of France was the 1st which was on target, and it made all the difference. The Germans dominated much of the 1st half by 59% possession, and this showed that they just needed to win and maximize their victory in the 1st half before their opponents can do any harm.

France could really use the 2nd half for a revenge because the Germans played much defensive game in the second half, with only 40% possession. It seems that France lacked a creative plan B to see the Germany net as they continued to attack but no goal was conceded. This Ribery-less France lacked a person who can dictate the game and bring a significant change on the pitch. Bon Voyage France, but we all appreciate the way you have played in group stage and in the round of 16.

BRAZIL OUTWEIGHS COLOMBIA IN FORTALEZA

The Selecao has played a very tough game against another South America underdog. The absence of Radamel Falcao was well substituted by Juan Quadrado and James Rodriguez. Colombia were playing a very quick passing football but Brazil defenders were extra careful to clear all dangers on their goal. The 1st goal came in the 7th minute from a corner kick. The ball was uncleared by the Colombian defence and Thiago Silva kicked it in the net.

The 1st half ended with 1-0 win in favour of the Brazilians. Brazil destructed the attacking moves of the Colombian side for all of the 1st half. Colombia seemed to have no plan B because they almost didn't change their attacking style even in the 2nd half. Several times the Colombian team preferred to play individually and this made some breakthrough for the Selecao.

Neymar took the 2 free kicks but none went in the goal. It has been a very tough moment for Colombia to play in Fortaleza with the stadium full of Brazilian fans. The yellow T-shirts dominated the stadium. David Luiz made a crucial goal out of a free kick. This really ended the hopes of the Colombians to go through. Few minutes before the match ended, Colombia got a penalt spot and James Rodriguez took it successfully to make the only goal for Colombia. The match ended at a 2-1 score, and Brazil will face Germany in the semi-finals.

THE DESERT FOXES IN BRAZIL

Algeria national team played a very impressive game against South Korea in this summer world cup in Brazil. After loosing their game to Belgium, they seemed to be determined for victory, and they showed a very good attack minded game. Their game against South Korea was such a very nice one to watch.

For the Desert foxes, team work and team spirit was crucial. They managed to end up the first 45 minutes with a very promising lead of 3 goals. The South Koreans were suffering to resist the quick footballing style from the Algerians without much success.

The 1st goal came in the 26th minute of the game and was netted by Islam Slimani. Most goals came from a quick ball possession and wonderful running which awarded their team with a 3-0 victory in the 1st half.

The South Korean team tried to revenge in the second half after scoring their 1st goal in the 50th minute. After 90 minutes it was the Desert Foxes who emerged with a 4 - 2 win. Algeria has been the only African team to score 4 goals in this world cup. In their form, Algerians could even defeat Brazil. They are so quick and accurate when they go for an attack. After losing their game to Germany it might be the starting point for building another strong team for other championships. I predict that Algeria may win the coming AFCON if they continue to play with such a higher level of tactical discipline.

5 THINGS WHICH SANK THE SUPER EAGLES WHEN THEY PLAYED FRANCE.

Nigeria was determined to reach the quarter finals for the 1st time in the world-cup history. This was not possible on monday as they stumbled ahead of France "The Blues". Here are a number of things as to why they did not manage to go through.
1.  PLAYING A SLOW GAME

Several times when the ball was on Nigeria territory, the players did not play with any favourable speed. This is a disadvantage on their side because France was eager to play so quick for each ball they got towards Nigeria.

2.   OBI MIKEL NOT IN HIS FORM

Several times the Nigerian midfielder seemed to loose balls. There are some ocassions where Mikel was so slow to decide on where to take the ball. Some times France midfielders and defenders took the ball away from Mikel's legs.

3.  ONAZI'S DEPARTURE

The key player in the midfield of the Super eagles, Onazi was seriously injurred n the 58th minute or so. This happened from a clash with Blaise Matuidi. This made another Nigerian player Gabriel to take his place. On my side Onazi was more helpful in the midfield than Gabriel. The Super Eagles Mid-field was so vulnerable after Onazi went out. This made a little easier dynamics from Valbuena, Pogba and Matuidi towards Nigeria's goal. No wonder Pogba scored in the 79th minute.

Onazi injurred by Matuidi. Photo by: www.dailymail.co.uk

4.  UNPROPER MARKING ON THE 78TH MINUTE CORNER

The Nigerians were not properly prepared to defend the corner in the 79th minute. Pogba was able to jump so high and kick the ball with such a soft curved header directly into the Super Eagles net. Surprisingly in the Nigerians goal there was no any player to resist the ball. The goal was empty and Enyeama, the goalkeeper went some inches ahead to fight for the ball. In other teams it is very common to find one or two defenders standing near the goal posts when the corner kicks are taken.

5.  TOO MUCH UNPRODUCTIVE PASSES

The Nigerian national team dominated the ball but failed to make correct decisions at the right time. Some times the defenders were passing to each other on the danger area, this nearly cost the Super Eagles. Too many box passes were played by the Nigerians. Ahmed and Emenike were lonely in front, not getting the balls which could make the difference on their side. In modern football there is no time for a mere passy football without any goals. So France taught a very tough lesson to the super eagles. With the few balls they were getting, the France team used them economically and we see that they were able to get the crucial win.

Pogba's goal

OOOH MY TEAM SPAIN

The Spanish giants cannot believe what has happened. It seems they were not aware that many teams have advanced in the way they play their football. This has been so disastrous for the Spanish national team.

1.  Involving many players from Barcelona.

To me this is one of the reasons as to why La Roja has not managed to defend their championship. We have seen these Barca players since 2008 in the squad. The same players in Euro 2000. The same players in Euro 2012 and confederations cup in 2013 where Spain ended with a 3-0 defeat from Brazil.

2.  Perfomance of Barcelona

 Perfomance of Barcelona this season was not good enough and they did not get any trophy in the 2013-2014 season. They were defeated in the final by Real Madrid and lost the Copa del Rey. They were denied a chance to lift the spanish title by Atletico Madrid. They were also eliminated in the champions league by Atletico Madrid. Taking 7 players from this team is a risk.

3. The approach in the 1st game

In the 1st game against Holland, Spaain looked to play like Real madrid. It was a sandwich of Mdrid-Barcelona style. This approach made them so vulnerable especially in the second half of the game. They could play their famous formation of 4-6-0. To me this could give the dutch men a hard time.

AZAM FC STUMBLES IN MOZAMBIQUE

Azam has been sent off from CAF competition at the club level after losing the 2nd leg game against Ferroviaro de Beira FC in Mozambique. The game was played on Sunday 16th February. The match ended on a 2-0 defeat. The main cause of the defeat as claimed by the players was the rainy weather. It was raining on the match day and the pitch was full of water and mud. Azam players are used to play on a smart pitch like the one at chamazi complex in Dar es Salaam. The 1st goal was scored in the 1st half while the second was netted in the 2nd half.

In the 1st leg match, Azam won by 1-0. The goal was netted in by the Ivorian striker Kipre Tchetche in the 41st minute of the 1st half. Brian Umony from Uganda made a killer pass for Kipre and he kicked the ball in a spectacular fashion to keep Azam FC ahead in the 1st half. The second half did not give any more scoring possibility for Azam. Ferroviaro tried to play good and skilful passes but Azam defenders were firm enough to withstand all the pressure on their goal. The pictures below are all testifying the 1st leg action.

Ferroviaro preparing to take the free-kick in the 1st half.

One of Ferroviaro player under first aid.

Azam fans cheering and dancing for their team.

SIMBA FC STUMBLES ON MBEYA CITY FC

It was one of the challenging matches played in this second season of Vodacom Premier League so far. Simba was playing Mbeya City on an away match which was so fascinating. You can't imagine a team which is participating in the premier league for the 1st time with almost 85% of the players playing for the 1st time in the league, playing with such enthusiasm and determination. 

One of Mbeya City fan imitating to shoot the Lion.

Simba means Lion. Photo by www.matukiodaima.com.

Mbeya City as they pray before the match.

Photo by: www.fullshangweblog.com

Mbeya City FC as they warm up before the match.

Photo by: jamiiforums.com.

Simba FC players as they listen to their Coach Logarusic from Serbia.

Photo by: www.ippmedia.com.

The Sokoine Memorial Stadium was flooded with local spectators of Mbeya City FC. There were about 100 Simba fans only. The midfielders of both teams were fighting so hard to contain the game for their sides. Ramadhani S ingano who is in form this season played very well almost all the time before being replaced in the 2nd half. The game was eagerly awaited by many soccer fans in all over Tanzania. It was a rare opportunity for Mbeya City to stay at the top of the league tables. Unfortunately Simba denied the chance. The 1st goal was netted by Deogratius Julius via a penalty shot in around 14th minute of the 1st half.

 Simba tried to contain the game with some accurate passes made by William Lucian, Henry Joseph, Ramadhani Singano, Amri Kiemba and Haruna Chanongo but Mbeya City players were watchful for every ball which came on their sight. Lack of communication between Mbeya City players especially in the 2nd half denied them an opportunity to double their win. Donald Musoti and Owino made a very good defending job for Simba FC. At the end of the 90th minute the score remained 1-1 for both teams. After this game Mbeya City remain at the 3rd position with 35 points just like Yanga FC which has also 35 points. Simba FC remains at the 4th position with 32 points.

TANZANIA SOCCER NEWS 1

BERKO STILL WAITING

The Ghanaian international goal keeper Yaw Berko has not yet started to play for Simba Sports club in any official match. This is because he has not yet received an international transfer certificate from Ghana. The Simba Sports Club administration is still working n the issue to make sure that Berko plays for the team. This has given an opportunity for another new goalkeeper Ivo Mapunda who once played for Gor Mahia in Kenya.

MBEYA CITY COACH MOURNS A RED CARD

Mbeya City football club lost their game against Yanga FC on Sunday ferbruary 2nd. Mbeya City was defeated by a goal to nil. The goal scorer was Mrisho Ngasa in the 16th minute. The goal came in following the loose ball which was rescued by Mbeya City defender Yusuph Abdallah. The team coach of Mbeya FC Juma Mwambusi has said that the red card which was given to Steven Mazanda in the early minutes of the second half cost the team so highly. Even though one player went off, Mbeya City continued to attack their opponents as if they were all 11 players.

SIMBA’S BIG  WIN

Simba Sports club continued with the fight for the trophy in a spectacular fashion when they thrashed JKT Oljoro by 4 goals to nil. In that match the defenders of JKT Oljoro did many mistakes which gave the opportunity for Simba to defeat them several times. The Burundi Striker Amiss Tambwe had a feast of goals o Saturday. Tambwe scored a hat trick. One more goal was netted in by Simba youngster Jonas Mkude by a tremendous strike from a distance of about 20meters from the goal. After that match Simba has a total of 30 points and on the 4th position just behind Mbeya City FC.

TAMBWE ENJOYS PLAYING WITH SINGANO

After scoring a hat trick Tambwe has advised the team coach to always include Ramadhani Singano “messi” in all games as this will make him score many goals. “Messi knows where I am and which passes are suitable to me”. In the victory of 4 goals against JKT Oljoro, Singano made 2 of them. The Burundi striker appreciates the service he is getting from the youngster. During Mapinduzi Cup in January Messi played very well to take Simba in the finals with KCC, where Simba lost the final match by 1-0.

AZAM SALUTES KAGERA SUGAR FC.

Azam FC has extended the lead to remain at the top on the league tables after defeating Kagera Sugar by 4-0. In the first season Azam was at the 2nd position in most of time while the 1st position was held by Yanga FC. This win means that for the 1st time we are likely to get the brand new champions of the Tanzania premier league. For years now the league has been dominated by Simba and Yanga. In1980’s there were teams like PAN African FC, Pamba FC, and Tukuyu Stars FC. Those were the only teams to challenge a two-team dominance of Simba na Yanga. Now we have Azam FC, and Mbeya FC and there is a new test in the games between those teams and Simba or Yanga.

ASHANTI FC

Ashanti FC team coach Mr. Abdallah Kibaden wishes TFF could allow him t use U-20 players. Kibaden likes to use the formation of 4-4-2 and he says that he can easily fix the tactic to the young players as opposed to the veterans. He has some few experienced players in the team like Mohammed Banka and Victor Costa. The other experienced player is Said mauled who went to play in Angola from 2009 – 2012 before coming back to Tanzania. Kibaden dreams of having about 20 players who will be under 20 and some 5 players who will be above 20 but with experience in football.

YANGA VS MBEYA CITY

Football fans in Dar es Salaam were eagerly waiting for the huge tie between Yanga and Mbeya City FC. The match was ultimately played on February 2nd 2014. It was a sunny Sunday. Yanga played with great caution in the first 25 minutes and they got a goal in the 15th minuted. Mrisho Ngasa scored the decider. In the second half one of the key player for Mbeya City was given a red card after catching the ball with hands to resist a free kick from one of Yanga players. The Yanga FC fans came in multitudes to witness their team. This match marked an end for Mbeya City record of being undefeated since last year when the league started.

In the second half Yanga seemed to relax after one player of Mbeya City went out. Mbeya City players kept attacking Yanga upfront there despite the fact that they were fewer than their opponents. Mbeya City for sure is a well prepared team. In the 1st half they created not less than 4 chances but they were unable to convert even a single chance into a goal.

I have decided to show you the photos below before the match during and after the match.

Mbeya City players entering on the pitch for warm up.

Mbeya City as they continued with warm up.

Mbeya City warm up, running, stretching.........

They gather to hear the fitness coach.

Warm up on after getting instructions from the fitness coach.

The pitch before the match started