TAIFA STARS VS IVORY COAST

Tanzania (Taifa Stars) had a very tough test against Ivory Coast on 16th June 2013.  The mighty Ivory Coast squad landed in Dar es Salaam to assure themselves for a chance to play in the best 10 teams whereby the 5 teams would have to be found for Brazil tournament in 2014.

Ivory Coast, The elephants had all 11 players in the starting line-up playing in European clubs. When they come together, it becomes so hard to beat them. Only 2 Tanzanians in their squad play outside, for TP Mazembe in Congo DRC. The two players of TP Mazembe are Mbwana Aly Samatta and his teammate Thomas Ulimwengu “The Buffalo”.

Tanzania was playing with a number 1 team in all over Africa. The elephants are 13th the world. This was just like a very hard national examination for the Taifa Stars. Gervinho was chasing in the left wing like Usain Bolt. The Taifa Stars defenders had a very tough moment to withstand the Elephants attacks.

Amri Kiemba scored a very early goal for Taifa Stars but it did not stay for so long as in the 13th minute the Elephants equalized.

Some highlights on Taifa Stars vs Ivory Coast.

The Taifa Stars central defender Kevin Yondani played so hard and because of him The Ivorians did not score more than 4 goals.

Yaya Toure did not touch the ball many times, but the few balls he utilized converted into 2 goals. One goal of Yaya came from a penalty spot, and the other came from an indirect kick. The second goal of Yaya Toure was very interesting. Yaya knew that in the defense were some mistakes. One of the mistakes was that on the wall, there were short players standing. Then the other mistake was from the fact that Tanzania defenders lacked experience in defending free kicks. The goal keeper did not do anything, only to find the ball in the net.

Thomas Ulimwengu scored a very nice goal in the 34th minute after finishing a nice cross from the Taifa Stars defender, Shomari Kapombe. The Tanzania mid-fielders Salum Abubakar, Frank Domayo and Mwinyi Kazimoto did a remarkable job as in the last quarter before the end of the game the ivorians were searching for the ball like a watchmen looking for a thief with a torch at night.

Just before the last minute of the game the Tanzanians found themselves in a serious unexpected counter attack chasing which rewarded the ivorians the last goal to conceal a 4-2 victory in Dar es Salaam.

The Ivorian player who scored an equalizer in the 13th minute plays in Russia for Anzhi Makhachkala. This is Lacina Traore. Lacina received a pass in the penalty box from the left wing, and it was easy for him to put the ball in the net.

The elephants victory means Tanzania have now been eliminated from the Brazil 2014 campaign. It is high time that the Tanzania youngsters are prepared for 2018 world Cup in Russia.

In July 12th Taifa Stars will play another game vs Uganda in the CHAN competitions. CHAN is a special competition for African players who play in within the local leagues in their respective countries.

THE KAZAKHSTAN PREMIER LEAGUE

The largest soccer league in Kazakhstan is known as Kazakhstan Premier league. KPL was established in 1992 soon after the disintegration the so called USSR. The total number of teams which are allowed to participate are 12. The current champion of the KPL is the team called FC Shakhter Karagandy.

In the last 3 consecutive seasons, the best player in Kazakhstan has been Ulugbek Bakaev from Uzbekistan. In the last 2 consecutive seasons this player has netted a total of 18 goals. In the year 2010 Bakaev scored a total of 16 goals.

Since 1992 the beat player of Kazakhstanhas been from Kazakhstan in terms of nationality, except in the year 2012 when for the 1st time there was a best player from Uzbekistan. That is to say the prizea of top scorer and best player all went to Bakaev.

Oleg Litvinenko was the Khazakhstan all-time top scorer. This player died in 2007. He has scored a total of 147 goals until his death. Oleg played for 9 different clubs before his death.

When he played for FC Dinamo Almaty, he managed to play atotal of 40 games. This is more than when he played in other teams.

In the 1998 season, Oleg scored a total of 23 goals. This marks a record of the greatest number of goals he scored as compared to other seasons he played with different teams.

Oleg was the Kazakhstan to scorer in the years 1994 and 1998. Oleg Started his career with Taraz FC in the SovietUnion era and finished his career with Taraz FC after dissolution of USSR.

 Fc Karagandy goals in the season of 2011

In 2000, Astana FC became the chapions of Khazakhstan. Although FC Astana became champions, the team did not give the top scorer or even the best player. In that year the top scorer in Kazakhstan came from a third place team called FC Irtysh. The best player came from FC Kyzylzhar. The FC Irtysh player who became the top scorer was the Brazilian called Nilton Pereira Mendez. Mendez netted a total of 21 goals in that season. Mendez died shortly while on the way to the hospital when he collapsed on the pitch during one of the training matches, in 2006.

The top scorer with many goals than all other top scorers in all seasons since 1992 till today is a player from Kazakhstan itself called Arsen Tlekhugov in 2001. Arsen scored 30 goals in that season. No other player who is a top scorer with such a great number of goals. Arsen played for FC Astana-64.

In the days when he was alive Mendez was awarded the Kazhakhstan Premier League best foreign player award, in 2002. 

The last team that Mendez joined before his death was FC Shakhter Karagandy in 2006. He made a total of 11 appearances and scored 3 goals. In a total of 76 appearances for FC Irtysh, Mendez netted a total of 43 goals.

Fc Spartak Semey is another club with an interesting history in the Kazakhstan Premier League. FC Spartak Semey won the premier league cup in the years 1994, 1995 and in 1998. After that period of glory, Semey did not continue to shine and nowadays Semey plays in First Division after being relegated from thre premier league.

AZAM FC

There is a revolution in Tanzania as some new teams come up with new plans and strategies for success. Among these few teams is Azam FC. This club was formed in 2007 and it has been participating in the Tanzania premier League for 6 years now. 

Since its establishment Azam FC has never appeared below top three in the premier league. This team has already built its own stadium(of course still under construction). The team owners also have youth academies at different levels of age. The current team coach is Stewart Hall from UK.

In this season Azam finished in the 2nd position just below the champions Yanga. With this position it means Azam FC will be able to participate in the CAF champions league next season.

In the last season Azam FC played against Al-Nasir of South Sudan in Dar es salaam and scored 3-1. In the second leg in Southern Sudan Azam FC enjoyed another huge victory of 8-0. After 2 remarkable home and away wins against Al-Nasir, Azam continued on the next round to play with FC Barrack of Liberia. In the 1st match in Monrovia Azam FC won by 2-1. This kept Azam players so well psychologically when they played in the second match in Dar es salaam. 

 Azam FC vs FAR Rabat in Morocco

The second match ended on a 0-0 draw. In aggregate the Liberians were eliminated. The 3rd team to play with Azam FC after eliminating the Liberians was FAR Rabat of Morocco. The first match in Dar es Salaam ended on a goalless draw. In that match the Moroccans played with great care not to allow any goal for their opponents. They had many good players in the midfield, and they destroyed all the plans to build the attacks from Azam FC. In the second leg played in Morocco, Azam FC was eliminated by a 2-1 defeat. Azam will remember the penalt shot which was missed by Azam FC striker John Bocco. Azam FC was eliminated and now they have already stared preparations for next season’s premier league as well as CAF championship. 

One of the key players for Azam FC is the midfield maestro Salum Abubakary, the striker Kipre Tchetche from Ivory Coast and the right winger Khamis Mcha. Kipre Tchetche was the top scorer in the finished season of Tanzania premier league, with 16 goals.

FK RAVAN BAKU FC

FK Ravan Kits

FK Ravan plays in the Azebaijan Premier league. In this season the team finished in the 2nd position just below AZAL PFC.

The team uses the ground called Bayil Arena with a capacity of 6000 spectators. FK Ravan is in the city of Baku.

In the finished season of Azerbaijan Premier League, FK Ravan has won 4 matches at home and lost one. It lost its home match against the champions AZAL PFC.

In the Azerbaijan premier FK Ravan lost 3 games and won only two, to finish in the second position below the champions.

Juan Manuel Varea FK Ravan Striker. 

Photo: www.lapeltiladob.blogspot.com

FK Ravan won 2 matches out of six matches in the Azerbaijan Cup. It won a match against FK Samkir by 3-1 on 26th October 2012. It also won a match against ANSAD Neftcala by 2 – 1.

When the team is relegated in the Azerbaijan Premier League normally goes down to play in the First Division.

The best two teams in first division are normally promoted to Azerbaijan Premier League. The direct promotion goes to the team with many points, which means it must be at the top. The second team in the tables should qualify to play in the premier league through play off games.

The current first division in Azerbaijan consists of teams 13 teams.

In this season FK Razan participated in both the premier league and Azerbaijan Cup. FK Razan has played a total of 30 games this season in all two competitions. Out of 30 games FK Razan won only 13 games. It had only one draw, and that was a premier league match against Turan. It was a 2-2 draw. FK Razan has been defeated 16 times. In total the team rescued 14 games out of 30, about 47% performance.

The biggest win in this season was against Turan FC. FK Razan won by 6 – 2 and it was an away match.

This team has been under the supervision of 5 different managers, others from Azerbaijan and others from outer countries. The current team manager is Ramil Aliyev from Aerbaijan. FK Razan has been coached by outer conches from Bosnia Harzegovina and Turkey.

As usual, many teams employ foreign players to spice up the squad and try to play in a more competitive way. FK Razan is not behind in this. They have Milos Adamovic from Serbia, Lukasz Sapela from Poland and Juan Varea from Argentina. Juan Varea is a forward and has scored a total of 14 goals in 31 appearances for FK Razan.

 

Juan Varea Manuel spent 3 consecutive seasons in Bosnia Hazegovina before coming to Azebaijan. Juan played for Siroki Brijeg and had a total of 79 appearances with 26 goals. This is a very helpful player in the team. The Argentine would not expect to be called in his national team as there are so many players like him or better than him in Europe or any other place.

Juan Varea is now 27 years old.

Lukasz Sapelais a polish goalkeeper who is 30 years old.

MAREK HAMSIK - SLOVAKIAN SUPERSTAR

Marek Hamsik was born in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia in 1987. The Slovak player is 1.83 m in height. He plays for Napoli since 2007.

Marek started to play his club football in Jupie Podolavice FC in Slovakia. He was a captain of the Slovakia national team, when that nation was participating for the 1st time.

Marek has played for the Slovak national team 63 times, scoring a total of 10 goals. In 2013 Marek has not yet scored a goal for his nation.

Marek Hamsik. Photo: www.footballerpics.com

The year which he played many matches for his country was 2010, probably because of the world cup matches. In that year he made a total of 13 appearances.

Marek scored a second goal for his country in the FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifications, contributing to the 2-1 victory against Northern Ireland. The match was played on 6th September, 2008 in Bratislava-Slovakia. Marek scored his goal in the 70th minute of the second half.

In 5th September, 2009 Slovakia played against Czech Republic and the match ended on a 2-2 draw. This was a world cup qualifying match. Hamsik scored the second goal for Slovakia, in the 73 minute, out of a penalty spot.

Hamsik vs Zanetti when Napoli played Inter Milan

In the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign Slovakia was in Group 3, together with Czech Republic, Slovenia, San Marino and Northern Ireland. After all these games Marek Hamsik scored a total of 2 goals. In that group Slovakia finished at the top of the group with a total of 22 points just over Slovenia which had only 20 points. This meant Slovakia qualified for the 2010 world Cup in South Africa. Thanks for the two goals by Hamsik, as they contributed to that first ever qualification to the World Cup.

After playing for Jupie Podolavice FC, Marek joined another famous club in Slovakia called Slovan Bratislava in 2002. He scored only 1 goal in his 6 appearances for Slovan Bratislava.

In 2004 He went to play in the Serie A in Italy after joining Brescia FC. In Brescia Marek played 65 matches and netted a total of 10 goals.

In 2007 Marek was sold to Napoli FC on a transfer which cost Napoli 5.5 million euros. He has already played a total of 217 matches for Napoli and netted a total of  61 goals. Napoli signed Hamsik soon after its promotion from serie B to serie A and they wanted to build a competitive squad with his presence.

He is happy to finish his carrier with Napoli as he enjoys the weather and the warmth he is getting from teammates as well as the fans.

On 27th September 2011, Napoli played vs Villareal in the UEFA Champions League. It was a very competitive match, and Marek Hamsik scored a goal in contributing to the 2-0 victory for his team.

KEISUKE HONDA - JAPAN'S HERO

The name Keisuke Honda is becoming famous among the football fans who are following up the FIFA confederations cup 2013. Keisuke is the attacking midfield player for the Japanese national team. He currently plays his club football for CSKA Moscow in Russia.

Keisuke Honda. Photo by: www.en.wikipedia.org

 Honda started to play football in a Japanese team called Settsu. In 1999 Honda joined Gamba Osaka FC. In 2005 he joined another Japanese club called Nagoya Grampus. He made a total of 90 appearances for Nagoya Grampus. In the year 2008 Honda joined a Dutch club known as Venlo. He made 68 appearances for Venlo FC and scores a total of 24 goals. Venlo FC was relegated in 2007-2008 season, and Keisuke fought with teammates to make sure that the club goes back to the Eredivisie.

In june 5th 2013, Japan played against Australia to find a chance to play in the 2014 FIFA world cup. The match was very tense and Australia went ahead by one goal. This means that Japan needed either an equalizer or to win that match if they had to revive their dream to Brazil. Keisuke Honda was given a chance to play the dead ball towards the Australian goal. It was a penalty spot. It was as if every fan was expecting something good from the attacking midfielder. Keisuke hit the ball and the volley responded properly to show that it has received the ball from the CSKA attacker. It was an equalizer. All fans in the streets of Japan shouted for joy. Every nation wants to go to the world cup. Every player dreams to be in the world cup. The world cup tournament is very important for almost every country. Keisuke’s dream has come into reality. Japan will be in Brazil next year. One of the tough tasks for the Japanese team will be to try to get as far as possible. But no one expects Japan to win the world cup. The real test will be to reach the quarter finals, and if possible in the semi-finals.

Keisuke has played for Japan U-23 in his youth carrier. He scored a total of 4 goals in the U-23 teams out of 18 appearances he did. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Honda scored a crucial goal for Japan against Cameroon. Honda was unmarked by the Cameroon defenders when he utilized a cross ball from another Japan teammate. He has been scoring important goals for Japan and for his club. This player is so much talented in free-kicks.

Honda’s skills in the attacking midfield role have attracted different European teams. AC Milan have been linked with the player so far. This deal may be of interest to AC Milan because Boateng is likely to move to Galatasaray.  To replace Boateng Milan may try to pull in Honda, so as to offer Milan with another midfield player who can drive the team in the attacking role. With the presence of Ballotelli, El-Shaarawy and Nian’g, Honda will be coming to add a special thing in the frontline, to revive the hopes of the Milan fans.

Liverpool and Manchester United also have been linked with Honda this summer.

ERIK LAMELA - AS ROMA YOUNGSTER

Erik Lamela is the Argetinian youngster who plays for As Roma. He is known for his wonderful skills of assisting his fellow strikers in front as well as scoring some important goals for his team. Lamela was brought to play in the serie A by Walter Sabatini from River Plate. In his 29 appearances this season of 2012-2013 Lamela ha netted a total of 15 goals. The striker shows the fruits of hard work, the talent as well as footballing care he had got since he started at River Plate. His quick thinking has been a key factor in coordinating the forward line of As Roma.

One of Lamela's goal in serie A

Lamela played 36 times for River Plate and scored 4 goals for his former club, before joining As Roma. As expected when the player comes from south America is expected to take some time before getting used with the way his new plays. As to Lamela, in his 1st season in the serie A, he played a total of 35 games and scored a total of 6 goals. This was just the beginning, as we have already seen that in his second season in serie A the youngster has already scored 15 goals with fewer appearances as compared to the 1st season in serie A. The Argentine continues to gain momentum with the game and the team, and he is expected to do more than that in the next season.

His qualities as a striker, has attracted attention of some teams like Chelsea and Man City. Being so young and talented, no team could not dream to have such a great player. Another club from England also has shown interest for Lamela. This is Tottenham Hotspur, an it is said that the employment of Franco Baldini as the new football Director for Tottenham, might increase the chances of getting the signature of Lamela because the two worked together in Italy.