FRIENDLY WIN FOR YOUNG BLUES SIDE

Friendly Win For Young Blues

FRIENDLY WIN FOR YOUNG BLUES SIDE

A space in the fixture calendar for the Chelsea Under-21 squad over the international break was filled on Wednesday with a friendly against Arsenal, played at the Gunners' training ground.

The match was an opportunity for John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta to gain 45 minutes of game time during the gap between first team fixtures as well. They played the first half.

Arsenal gave games to Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna who are returning from injury.

The Chelsea team was predominantly selected from our Under-21 squad and the result was a 2-0 win in our favour. Billy Clifford (pictured) scored a very good goal in the first half, finding the top corner with a shot after a cross was not fully cleared.

In the second half Islam Feruz, fresh from his hat-trick for Scotland Under-19s, doubled the advantage with a header from an Aziz Deen-Conteh cross.

Under-21 manager Dermot Drummy reports: 'It is great that it can beneficial for players like John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta to come and play 45 minutes for the Under 21s. For the young players, when they have a player like John Terry talking to them they listen and they see how he prepares and how seriously he takes every game.

'That hopefully will rub off on the players and is something that they can only get from a player of John's magnitude.

'Unfortunately Danny Pappoe got a hamstring injury before the end but Rohan Ince made a return and got 45 minutes and it is good to have more players in contention for our next game.'

The Under-21s next league fixture is away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, the venue Telford United FC with a 7pm kick-off.

- Chelseafc official site

El Niño - Torres: My Story, My Tattoo

Fernando Torres Tattoo

El Niño - Torres: My Story, My Tattoo

Fernando José Torres Sanz (Spanish pronunciation: [ferˈnando ˈtores]; born 20 March 1984), nicknamed El Niño (The Kid in Spanish), is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea and the Spain national team.

Like many other people he likes tattoos and have many of them. Every tattoo has its own meaning, but media speculate about his.

Torres has six tattoos placed on different part of his body and we may expect to see more.

Left Arm Tattoos - Word in Tengwar

Torres has one tattoo on his left inner forearm.
The word is written in Tengwar, a script which was invented by J. R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings author) for his fictional universe of Middle-earth. Although the script is fictional, Tolkien often used tengwar to write English.
The word reads 'Fernando' (obviously his name).
He got this tattoo when he was younger along with his friends.

His wife's name

On Torres's left arm is tattoo of his wife's name "Olalla Dominguez Liste".
She and Fernando Torres were actually childhood sweetheart. They have been in a relationship since 2001 and got married on May 27th 2009. They had low-key ceremony in a small town hall, outside Madrid, close to where Torres was born, with just two of their friends alongside them.

Right Arm Tattoos - His daughter's name

On the right outer forearm Torres has tattoo of his daughter Nora Torres Dominguez's name.
Nora is Fernando's and Olalla's first child. She was born on Wednesday July 8, 2009 at the Hospital La Rosaleda Compostelan in Santiago de Compostela.

His son's name

On upper arm Torres has his son's Leo's name.

Leo is the youngest member of Torres's family. He was born on December 6, 2010 at Liverpool Woman's Hospital. Because of the birth, Torres, who then played for Liverpool, missed a match against Aston Villa at Anfield.

Number 9

On his right arm is tattooed 9.
In an interview Torres said, that number nine is his favourite number. It is also his jersey number in Spanish national football team and in his clubs, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and now Chelsea.

Right Leg Tattoo - Roman numerals

Torres has last tattoo on his lower right leg. The Roman numerals VII VII MMI (7. 7. 2001).
We don't exactly know the meaning of this tattoo. There are several version of story behind this tattoo. Some say this is the date, when he and Olalla got together or when they first kissed. Some say it is the date when his grandfather, who was very close to him died. And others say it is the date he first played for Atletico Madrid.

John Obi Mikel Starts Record Label

Mikel Obi

John Obi Mikel Starts Record Label

Chelsea and Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel has taken steps to secure his post-football future by starting a record label.
He set up his Matured Money Minds (MMM) label with his brother Patrick, and has already signed four artists. Those artists are: Edgar, Perfect wikdyz, Splash, Charass and Jason ‘Kido’ Igho.
The 25-year-old, who started playing in England's Premier League days after his 18th birthday, recently quit the social networking site Twitter due to racial abuse. Mikel was abused after he took to his @Mikel12Official account to apologise for a mistake he made against Juventus in the Champions League.
Mikel, who was born in the Plateau State capital Jos, has made 166 appearances for Chelsea and has 37 caps for the Super Eagles.
Mikel will run out for Nigeria on 13 October 2012 in Calabar for their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Liberia.

Congratulations Lionel Messi - New Baby Born

Lionel Messi Baby

Congratulations Lionel Messi - New Baby Born

From Chelsea Fans: Congratulations to Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo on their new baby Thiago Messi. Born today 5 Octomber, 2012. We look forward to seeing your baby in Chelsea Fan Club soonest!

Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo

Di Matteo 'Grateful' for Čech intervention

Oscar Celebrates

Di Matteo 'Grateful' for Čech intervention

Chelsea FC manager Roberto Di Matteo picked out an "unbelievable" Petr Čech save after the Blues beat FC Nordsjælland 4-0 at Parken – a final score Kasper Hjulmand called "unfair".


Kasper Hjulmand, Nordsjælland coach
"We played a really fine game until the 75th minute. Until that point the game was completely even", and if we had scored with that opportunity when [Joshua] John hit the post, it would have been a completely different game.

From the 75th minute though, after they went 2-0 ahead, we were not able to match them physically any longer. We are simply not used to playing at the pace they play. However, I think 4-0 is an unfairly heavy defeat.

Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea manager
We were a little slow in the first half, but the goals came in the end. It was a shame we couldn't close the game out earlier, but overall it was a good result. We got three points, four goals, a clean sheet and all away from home.

Petr Čech made an unbelievable save and we were really grateful, because at the time it was 1-0 and they were playing well. The second goal was very important, we were much better and sharper in the second half and once we scored the second we knew we were going to win. David [Luiz] scores that kind of goal a lot in training, we have just been waiting for one in a match.


 

Goalkeepers

No.	Name	P	G
1	Petr Čech	2	0
22	Ross Turnbull	0	0
46	Jamal Blackman	-	-

Defenders

No.	Name	P	G
2	Branislav Ivanović	2	0
3	Ashley Cole	2	0
4	David Luiz	2	1
19	Paulo Ferreira	-	-
24	Gary Cahill	1	0
26	John Terry	1	0
28	César Azpilicueta	0	0
34	Ryan Bertrand	1	0
47	Billy Clifford	-	-
49	Aziz Deen-Conteh	-	-
54	Todd Kane	-	-
58	Daniel Pappoe	-	-
60	Adam Phillip	-	-

Midfielders

No.	Name	P	G
6	Oriol Romeu	0	0
7	Ramires	2	1
8	Frank Lampard	2	0
11	Oscar	2	2
12	John Obi Mikel	2	0
17	Eden Hazard	2	0
21	Marko Marin	-	-
35	Lucas Piazón	-	-
56	George Saville	-	-

Forwards

No.	Name	P	G
9	Fernando Torres	2	0
10	Juan Mata	2	2
13	Victor Moses	1	0
23	Daniel Sturridge	-	-

Coach: Roberto Di Matteo (ITA)

 - euro.com official site

Chelsea Fans Celebrated Mikel's 'Euro glory'

Chelsea Fans Celebrated Mikel's 'Euro Glory'

OVER 60,000 Chelsea fans all over Nigeria waited eagerly to roll out the red  carpet in honour of Super Eagles’ midfielder, John Obi Mikel over his UEFA championship victory on May 19  ,2012.


The ceremony which came up on the 2nd September, 2012 tagged “A Night with Mikel held at Teslim Balogun Stadium Lagos.


Paul Sambo, the Chief Executive Officer of Pelican  Breed, the organizers of the event said at a media briefing that there are over 3.5 million Chelsea FC fans in Nigeria and about two million in Lagos alone while over 60,000 of these eager fans stormed Lagos for the Chelsea fans party.


“On the 19th  of May 2012, history was made, as the European club side, Chelsea FC for the first time since inception , won the coveted UEFA Champions League  Cup. Out of the multinational squad of highly skilled professional football players that brought the unprecedented glory to Chelsea FC, John Obi Mikel  was the only Nigerian. It goes without saying that Chelsea FC commands a great army of eager supporters across the length and breath of Nigeria and the rest of Africa”, he said. He had urged Nigerians, sports lovers and Chelsea fans to support the event saying, “it is our event aimed at honouring our very own , John Obi Mikel. Therefore, let us come out in large  numbers with unity of purpose to make it a memorable one”


Sambo  also said the outline of the celebration included music fanfare where prominent artistes from the Nigeria music industry were featured, ball joggling from past and present Super Eagles super stars, and dance from various dance group.

On his side, John Mikel Obi gave his consent to grace the event with his presence while promising all Chelsea supporters a funfilled new season.

Mikel an unsung hero – Di Matteo

Mikel Obi

Mikel an unsung hero – Di Matteo

Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi has been described as one of the best players available to Chelsea by the team’s manager Roberto di Matteo. The Italian, who spoke in London on the eve of their UEFA Champions League match against FC Nordsjaelland of Denmark, said it was very unfortunate that fans had always misunderstood the role played by the Nigerian on the pitch for the Stamford Bridge team.

Mikel, whose contribution to the Eagles has also been a source of debate, was vilified by Chelsea fans when his error earned Juventus an equaliser a fortnight ago at Stamford Bridge. But on Monday, Di Matteo rose to the defence of his player.

Di Matteo told the London Evening Standard, “I don’t know why he’s underrated by the fans — he’s very rated by us in the group. It’s the kind of position where you’re a bit of an unsung hero, where you do the dirty work which isn’t recognised all the time because the goalscorers and the creative players get that recognition.

“He’s physically strong, breaks up the game and is getting better on the ball, setting the tempo of our team. We’re happy to have him.

“He takes responsibility as well when receiving the ball under pressure. He should get more credit for it.”

Mikel was forced to close down his Twitter account last week following fans hate messages sent to him. No matter how fans may judge the midfielder recruited by Jose Mourinho, his teammates also believe so much in his ability. Goalkeeper Petr Cech backed Di Matteo.

He said, “Everybody has their opinion, but ever since John Obi joined us, he’s been a player who has played a lot of games — all the important games.

“He’s never missing. If he’s available for selection, he plays. He’s very useful and part of our success in the last few years. He’s a massive player for us and we’re happy to have him in the team, no matter what other people think.”

Mikel’s days appeared numbered at Stamford Bridge under Andre Villas-Boas until the Portuguese was sacked in March. His fortunes and performances improved once Di Matteo took over and he played key roles in wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He has continued to command a regular position this season also.

Mikel is making a return to the Nigerian team with the match in Calabar against Liberia on October 13.

Chelsea As a Metaphor For Nigeria

Chelsea As a Metaphor For Nigeria

Not many people gave them a chance to reach the 2012 UEFA Champions League final. Many people had written them off. True, Chelsea Football Club had wobbled all along. Consider the match between Barcelona and Chelsea. Barca, as the Spanish club is popularly known by their fans, outplayed, out-dribbled, dazzled and mesmerised the London club. What happened? In the end, Chelsea emerged victorious to reach the final.

Consider again, the match between Chelsea and Liverpool for the English FA Cup. In that encounter, Liverpool for the greater part of the game, unleashed fear in the hearts of Chelsea’s fans. Again, what happened? Chelsea went ahead to lift the FA Cup.

Then came the epic encounter on Saturday May 19, 2012. Bayern Munich of Germany were the bookmaker’s favourites. Like on previous occasions, not many people gave Chelsea a chance. From the blow of the whistle, Bayern Munich started tormenting Chelsea. They, like Barcelona before them, dribbled, outplayed, dazzled and mesmerized Chelsea. Almost everyone concluded that it was all over when Bayern Munich scored the first goal in the dying minutes of the game.

Many Chelsea fans lost hope and took solace in the fact that Chelsea their team tried in spite of their many challenges in the 2011/2012 season. Then out of the blues, Didier Drogba waved his magic wand as he scored for Chelsea in the 88th minute of the game. Just as the ovation was still high, Drogba, inexplicably, committed an infraction which resulted in a penalty being awarded to Bayern Munich in the first half of extra time. At this point many people concluded that it was all over for Chelsea. Some people rose to go home. Then the unexpected happened. Arjen Robben missed the penalty as Petr Cech saved the ball. Hope was rekindled for Chelsea. Everyone now felt some trace of hope for the London club.

In the extra time, Bayern Munich continued to pummel Chelsea. As Chelsea fans had their hearts in their mouths, they watched with palpable apprehension and tension as Bayern Munich played one corner kick after another in quick succession.

Then it was time for the spot-kicks. At this point the game had entered the Miracle Zone for Chelsea. Every Chelsea fan started praying for their club. Meanwhile, their detractors, opponents and other “bad-belly” spectators held their breath hoping for the worst outcome for Chelsea. Then another miracle came from the golden boot of Drogba. That resolutely sealed the fate of Bayern. It was all over for them right in front of their teeming home supporters at the Allianz Arena. Chelsea, the Kings of England had again wobbled to lift the prestigious UEFA Champions League Cup. Now Chelsea FC are not just Kings of England, but also the Kings of Europe.

This is where this story begins. Chelsea is a metaphor. The tortuous path which culminated in the lifting of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Cup by Chelsea, a club which occupied the 6th position in the just concluded English Premier League has a lot of lessons for Nigeria.

Nigeria is at the crossroads now. Pummelled on all sides by insecurity, power outage, unemployment, corruption and what have you, many people have written Nigeria off. Even Nigerians themselves have lost confidence in the country. Many have predicted the imminent collapse of Nigeria. True, Nigeria is wobbling. It is limping, that is if it is not even crippled by bad governance now.

Whatever the current leadership is doing to fix the problems is dismissed with a wave of the hand by Nigerians. For many people, there is no hope for Nigeria. Let me invite you again to consider the tortuous path Chelsea had to pass to arrive at that golden moment when they lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time last weekend.

Let me share with you then the lessons I derived from the Chelsea experience. When people write you off, when people tell you: “You can’t make it in life”, just move on, fully convinced that you have what it takes to succeed in life. Life only pays out dividends to those who persevere to the end.

The future belongs to people who see opportunities before they become obvious. Success is the dividend which life pays when you are determined to actualise your goals in spite of the challenges, contradictions and insults you experience. Nigerians should reactivate their faith and renew their hope that one day this country will become one of the best in the world.

Would Chelsea have taken the honour and glory if they had admitted that the challenges they faced were insurmountable? Would Chelsea fans have the unspeakable joy and satisfaction if they had given up on their darling club? Would the detractors and opponents of Chelsea have kept quiet if Chelsea did not win? Did not Chelsea experience pain, disappointment and contradictions as they wobbled along? Was their path not strewn with thorns and thistles?

If Chelsea FC who today overcame their challenges and became the Kings of England and Europe could do it, then, I dare say that there is still hope for Nigeria. The dry bones of Nigeria shall rise again. Let those who have written Nigeria off show more patience to the country.

From the ashes of despondency, Nigeria will become a great country. Like Chelsea fans, let Nigerians pray silently for Nigeria. Let Nigerians keep hope alive. Time will come when nations of the world will compete among themselves to do business with Nigeria.

If Nigerians lose faith in Project Nigeria, what would happen to the dreams they have all along cherished about their country? True, these are not the best of times for this country. Nigerians are going through contradictions and challenges today. But the worst tragedy which might befall all Nigerians will be the loss of faith and hope in the New Nigeria which is about to emerge.

Like Chelsea fans let us hold on to our faith that one day our beloved country will be a source of joy and happiness; after all, we are the most indefatigable people on earth. Our moment of glory will soon come.

•Okorie, a lawyer, wrote in from Straddle Partners, Igbosere Road, Lagos, via ikeokorie@yahoo.com 08120353700