MUNTARI WANTS A TROPHY WITH GHANA

Ghana International Sulley Ali Muntari says he hopes to win a trophy for the national team before quitting football. The midfielder wants back into the international scene where he stayed away from for three years.

The Italy based man wants the Black Stars to win a trophy in his time and he feels he can contribute to the team. He adds that despite the odds, the Ghana team can still qualify for the forthcoming World Cup in Russia next year.

Muntari along with former teammates Kelvin Prince Boateng and Michael Essien were suspended from the national team following the last World Cup in Brazil. Muntari apologized to the nation and there are rumours that he could make the next event in Russia if the West African soccer giants make it. According to sport.netbet.co.uk, Ghana are the tenth favourites to actually win it, though they might be able to go one better and make the Final.

“Yes, of course, national team, of course, I want to play again with the national team. You know many people are saying that probably we can’t make it to the World Cup, but I think we can do it,” he said in a recent interview.

Ghana are walking on a tight rope but Muntari is convinced that they can reach the finals next year.

“You know why? Because If we win all our games,” he answered when asked of the possibility. We did the same in 2006 when we qualified for the first time to the World Cup. We lost our first game, we drew away but then we won all our games, it’s the same situation now. I think we can do it,” he added.

The Ghanaians that qualified for that pioneer event like Stephen Appiah, Essien and Muntari, Richard Kingston and Matthew Amoah remain dear to the fans many years after. Essien is still active but injuries contributed to his sack from the national side.

Prince Boateng has been decent for La Liga side Las Palmas but without his apology he remains blacklisted from the national squad.

There are rumours that Coach Kwesi Appiah could invite Muntari to the national team for the rest of the qualifiers as the Black Stars scavenge for all points possible. Muntari acknowledges that he might not be in top form as he is not playing regularly for a top side.

“Coming back to me, of course, I want to play for the national team but I have to start playing for a club then after we can see what happens.”

Muntari’s best days were at Inter Milan and AC Milan. He featured for Ittihad in 2015 and Pescara in the second half of last term. He is a free agent and hopes to get a new employer soon. With his current situation, re-invitation to the national team is difficult, aside the bad blood it might cause when younger ones with better form are littered everywhere.

Ghana’s World Cup rival Uganda are in shambles after their coach quits but Egypt are solidly focused on making the world event next year. The North African sides are five points ahead of the Ghanaians and do not look like a side that would falter anytime soon.

ESSIEN TAKES UP FOOTBALL PUNDITRY

Former Ghana international Michael Essien picked up a football punditry role as he tries to diversify from active playing, yet within the industry. The ex-Blues and Real Madrid man was live on a panel set up on Saudi-based MBC Sports. He made his debut in a temporary studio in Craven Cottage during a game in the Saudi Super Cup, local media report.

The Ghanaian joined the punditry moved to France to launch his professional career after earlier years in Ghana. He moved to Olympique Lyon, impressed before moving to Chelsea.

The talented player made his mark in the English side, and later became an ambassador for the club. He is still seen at some Chelsea games as a fan – if you fancy watching the Blues play at Stamford Bridge with him then this link will show you the latest availability.

He eventually featured on loan for Real Madrid. As his pace deteriorated, he moved to AC Milan on a free transfer deal. After two years there, he moved to Greece. He played for Panathinaikos last term, before making his debut as a pundit.

The local media sources claim this would be the first time the star would work as pundit, claiming that the deal was “hugely lucrative” compared to the Arab and Europe region standards. They place his earnings in the region of £5,000 per appearance. They add that Essien could get more offers in the role, especially in the Gulf region. Al Jazeera Sports operate in the region, and has offered former top stars like George Weah and Marcel Desailly offers in the past.

The job experience garnered could lead to continental broadcasting job with South Africa’s SuperSports, as well Sky Sports and BT Sport in the UK. Over 16,000 were in attendance as Essien made his debut. A lot of Saudi Arabian fans were reported to have flown to London to watch the game as Al Ahli and Al Hilal competed for the Super Cup. The 33-year old could retire from active football to punditry if he desires.

Essien continues playing a back-up role

It’s been quite a few years now that Michael Essien has had to settle with a place on the sidelines of any club that he joins. This doesn’t come much as a surprise, especially after taking into consideration the fact that Essien is 33 years old and his age does appear to be catching up to him and it’s becoming evident in the pitch as well.

Michael Essien started being dropped to the sidelines on a more consistent basis when he joined Ac.Milan back on January of 2014 and the playing time of Essien with the Italian club was seriously limited as the veteran midfielder had to spend the majority of the time on the bench.

In 2 seasons, Essien made less than 25 appearances wearing the Ac.Milan jersey and he eventually decided to make a move away from the Italian club and Essien joined Panathinaikos as he signed a 2 year long contract with the Greek team on June of 2015.

Unfortunately for Michael Essien things haven’t been going any better as he continues to struggle trying to get consistent playing time in the main team.

After joining Panathinaikos, the veteran midfielder could not make an immediate debut as he was injured and had to wait for around 5 months until making a full recovery from his leg injury.

When Essienmanaged to recover from his injury and make a debut appearance, he became a regular starter for Panathinaikos but in the past few months, the Ghanaian midfielder is seeing passing most of his time on the sidelines and he has recently voiced his disappointment regarding how things have been going on as Essien said: “As far as I know, it’s not the case of technical reasons, nor has it to do with injury problems. I am healthy and I train every day since October when my injury was getting better.’’

‘’There has been no concerns with injuries in my discussions with the coaching staff.It’s not due to technical reasons or any problem related to football. It must be something else, but I guess that is something that must be answered by someone else. As for me, I am always ready to fight.”

BELINGA TAKES ON CAMEROON ROLE

Cameroon recently appointed Alexandre Belinga as the interim coach for the national team after the recent sacking of Volker Finke. The national team recently qualified for the third round of the World Cup 2018 qualification campaign following a victory over Niger.

Even though the second leg of the match between the two teams at the home of Cameroon finished as a 0-0 draw, the first leg 3-0 victory meant that Cameroon progress to the next round. Despite this success, there are a lot of problems within the team and Belinga has a tough job on his hands.

For the last decade, Cameroon has struggled with unity within the team and Belinga has made it a priority to improve this aspect for progression. Over the years, players like Samuel Eto’o have turned against the FA due to various reasons, even telling fans to give up on football and become horse racing fans instead – and even going as far as directing fans to the racing odds UK website!?

Belinga does not want a repeat of the same. He says that the players should be working towards the common goal of success for the national team. Cameroon are the most successful team in Africa, but they have not achieved the heights in the last decade. Belinga is being appointed only on an interim basis and only with good results can he secured a permanent position as the national team boss of Cameroon.

“Any player who disturbs or is problematic would be put aside and if I was unable to put the player aside I would leave myself. My watch words are respect, discipline and humility – these qualities have been lacking in the team. If the players give their best with determination and commitment, Cameroon has a good chances of reaching final phase of the 2018 World Cup,” said Belinga.

The World Cup qualification has completed for the time being and Cameroon will be focusing on the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for the next few months.

Mourinho: Defending Championship will be Tough

Chelsea won this season of the Premier League in a very dominating fashion as Jose Mourinho and his team was crowned as the champions of England with 3 matches still remaining. The Blues lost just 3 league matches in the entire season and it’s widely agreed that they truly deserve to be called as the best team in England after such a strong campaign.

Despite having gone through such an impressive season, Jose Mourinho believes that the upcoming season will be much more difficult and it’s not going to be easy for them to defend the Premier League title.

Jose Mourinho said: “We have to be better if we want to be successful again. The other opponents are not going to accept this without a fight. Next year will be more difficult, but because it’s difficult is one of the reasons why I came back to England. I will enjoy it again.”

There is a list of possible players that could be signed by Chelsea during this approaching summer transfer window and these targets include: Raheem Sterling, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane. These just a few of the players that have been linked with Chelsea and can turn into potential signings for the Premier League club.

The future of Raheem Sterling still seems uncertain as the Liverpool player continues rejecting contract offers that have been made to him. Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane is one of the most promising young figures in the world of football and it’s highly unlikely that Real Madrid will allow one of their young stars to leave as he still has his entire career lying ahead.

Mourinho will be watching the Champion’s League Final with interest, with Paul Pogba widely tipped to be the man of the match (according to the latest Champions League final betting) and known to be interesting Chelsea.

Paul Pogba is being chased by a number of different clubs including: Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG but the French player has already expressed his desire to make a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid.

The only reason that Pogba would leave Juventus is if he can join one of those top Spanish clubs, from the looks of it, signing Pogba will be a battle solely between Madrid and Barcelona.

APPIAH NOT UNDER PRESSURE

Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has requested the media not to put pressure on AC Milan midfielder Michael Essien, who recently sealed the free transfer to the Italian club. Essien is regarded as one of the best players to have represented in the Ghana National team over the last few decades. However, he has suffered from a succession of injury problems over the last five years and it has prevented him from featuring for the national team on a regular basis. In the last few years, though, he has been making a solid comeback from the injury troubles.

This led to him leaving Chelsea in the January transfer window to AC Milan in the hope of playing regular football. It has also boosted the Ghana National team, who have qualified for the World Cup 2014. Since Ghana will be in a tough group containing the likes of Germany and Portugal, the country would want to take all of its star names in the hope of qualifying to the knockout stages. Even though Essien is one of them, Appiah says that it will be awhile before the 30-year-old returns to his best.

The midfielder has made just seven appearances since joining the Italian outfit in the January transfer window.

“I have no doubt that Essien will find his rhythm. He is the type who never gives up and very soon Michael will return to his previous form. When players get injured it takes time and in Michael’s case he has gone under the knife several times so people need to understand his situation. The fans must exercise patience. Mike will bounce back and I believe it will be soon,” Appiah told Goal Ghana. Since making his debut in 2002, Essien has featured in 52 appearances for the national team and scored nine goals.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Michael Essien’s last few seasons with Chelsea was not the best of his career as he was being left out of a number of matches and had to settle with a place on the sidelines. His age was a factor that gave him a huge disadvantage as he had to battle for a place in the starting lineup of Jose Mourinho who preferred using some younger and faster options such as Oscar, Hazard or Nemanja Matic.

His lack of playing time with Chelsea ultimately led to him being transferred out to Ac.Milan as he signed a one and half year contract deal with the Italian club who currently are struggling trying to find a top 5 spot in the Serie A.

At his 31 years of age, this may be the last club that Michael Essien get the chance to play in such a highly competitive scenario before moving deciding to hang up his boots or moving out to the MLS where many other senior players have chosen to spend the last remaining few years of their career.

The former Real Madrid player announced to the media that he is ready to prove himself in a different stage such as Ac.Milan.

“Yes, a lack of first team football at Chelsea was one of the reasons I moved, but more importantly the Coach at Milan personally called me and showed that he wanted me as part of his project and that was important for me. I had always said I will like to play for Milan at some stage in my career so when the opportunity came up I grabbed it with both hands’’.

“I think it’s important to be able to fully demonstrate my value as a player and as a man. If we are to reach our goals it will be the result of the work that we put in every day on the training pitch”. Essien revealed.

CHELSEA NOT HAPPY

Chelsea have been given a tough fixture schedule according to its manager José Mourinho, who has hit out at the organisers for scheduling Chelsea’s visit to Fulham just a few days after their Champions League match against Galatasaray.

Even though the match took place on Wednesday night, Chelsea players were able to return to London only on Thursday morning. Mourinho says that the recovery time for this match, which will take place in Saturday afternoon, is very low and that it is an indirect advantage to their main title rivals – Arsenal and Manchester City.

Chelsea could only manage a 1-1 draw with Galatasaray, but this was a good result considering that they managed an away goal. However, they had to defend with their backs against the wall for most of the match against the Turkish club and it would have taken a lot out of the players.

Mourinho feels that the domestic league supports their teams extremely well especially when they have just come back from a Champions League week. However, he thinks that this is not the case with the Premier league, but says that something must be done in order to help the English teams, especially with the World Cup coming up – and don’t forget you can get World Cup 2014 free betting tips from Will Hill.

This is not the first time a manager has criticised the scheduling of fixtures in England.

“We all prefer to play game after game after game – but we all want to play game after game after game with equal conditions for every team. Every team in the same country has the same privilege to be a little bit protected in relation to European matches. It makes the players’ job difficult – not my job. I don’t play. I could play a match every day and it’s not problem for me or the people who make the fixtures,” said Mourinho.

Chelsea can go top of the table with a win over Fulham.

HONDA ARRIVES AT AC

Keisuke Honda’s arrival to the Italian side Ac.Milan was supposed to mark a sense of a revival for the club but the Japanese player despite having displayed flashes of brilliance it still is not enough to catapult the team where they wish to be.

The situation in the club was so deteriorated that Allegri had to be sacked and removed from the position of head coach with the former player Claerence Seedorf replacing him and the recently appointed Dutch tactician has had to settle with a number of draws since being at the head of the club.

Michael Essien was another signing that the Italian club managed to make before the transfer window came to an end. Since making his move to Chelsea, the Ghanaian defensive midfielder has helped the Premier League team on winning 2 League tiles, 4 FA Cups, 1 Champions League and 1 FA Community Shield.

Ac.Milan is hoping that Essien will help them secure silverwares just as he did when he played for Chelsea.

Essien spoke about some of the reasons he decided to join Ac.Milan.

Essien said “I have just signed my contract with one of the best clubs in the world. Im very happy and looking forward to winning with the team#ForzaMilan.”

“I cannot wait to join the team in training and be a part of Milan’s family,” he added on Milan Channel.

“I am very happy to have spoken to the Milan boss Clarence Seedorf, he is a nice person. It’s a pleasure to have heard what Seedorf had to say about me. I always give my best and battle for the team from the first minute until the last. I hope to achieve something important and give my best for Milan.”

Ac.Milan is hoping that Essien will help them secure silverwares just as he did when he played for Chelsea.

Essien spoke about some of the reasons he decided to join Ac.Milan.

Essien said “I have just signed my contract with one of the best clubs in the world. Im very happy and looking forward to winning with the team#ForzaMilan.”

“I cannot wait to join the team in training and be a part of Milan’s family,” he added on Milan Channel.

MOVING ON

Michael Essien might not be playing for Chelsea in the second half of the ongoing season as he is willing for an away move during the mid season transfer window.

Essien had played for Real Madrid on loan in the last season, but, at the start of the ongoing season, he was back to his parent club and with Jose Mourinho making his way back to the Stamford Bridge, it was expected that the Ghana midfielder would feature in the starting XI of the Blues quite regularly, but, that hasn’t happened. He has been given the starting opportunity only a couple of times in the Premier League so far this season.

The club which is believed to be most interested to secure the services of Essien is Al Ain. They are the biggest club in United Arab Emirates and they are currently desperate for a quality midfielder because of the fitness problems of their main playmaker Mirel Radoi.

Radoi had discovered a leg injury while playing in the game against Ahli and he hasn’t managed to recover from that yet. He has played a few games of late though, but, quite clearly, he was not moving that well on the pitch in those games. According to the reports, he might have to undergo surgery to get rid of that problem completely.

While talking to the reporters a couple of days ago, one of the spokespersons of Al Ain refused to say anything when he was asked about the chances of Essien being signed, but, he didn’t deny the rumours either.

Asamoah Gyan who is the skipper of Essien’s national side Ghana also plays for Al Ain and that’s one of the things which might persuade Essien to sign for the UAE club.

Michael Essien might not be playing for Chelsea in the second half of the ongoing season as he is willing for an away move during the mid season transfer window.

Asamoah Gyan who is the skipper of Essien’s national side Ghana also plays for Al Ain and that’s one of the things which might persuade Essien to sign for the UAE club.