WHY FERNANDO TORRES MAY NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN

        

Since that last day of January 2011 when Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich did the unthinkable and splashed out a record 50 million pounds for striker Fernando Torres, the jury has been out on the Spaniard. Was he worth that kind of price tag? Did Chelsea really need another forward at the time? Would he fit into the playing style of The Blues? These were some of the questions many asked. But to Roman, after refusing to splash the cash for months prior to this time, securing the services of one of the most feared strikers at the time and for such a fee was probably,  to make a statement to the Manchester City’s of this world that he wasn’t going to be a pushover in the transfer market.

However, a return of just one goal in the remaining five months of the 2010/1011 season, 11 last season and 7 in the current one has seen the once feared striker become the joke of many. That invincibility, the aura that got many a defender worried seems to have gone. In fact, a new lexicon, “Torres” has now been added to the unofficial Nigerian dictionary whenever someone misses a sitter.  “He just Torresed that chance,” now seems a normal phrase amongst football followers. As if this isn’t enough, several reports have suggested that maybe, leaving out Fernando for the Juventus defeat may have ultimately got Roberto Di Matteo the sack. Are you in doubt? Well, according to The Daily Mail’s Neil Ashton (who actually broke the news about RDM leaving out Fernando for the Juve game), RDM had a certain Radamel Falcao at the top of his wish list before the season started. However, when this list was presented to Abramovich, the reply was short and simple: Torres MUST play.

And so, Torres has played almost all 13 league games scoring 4 goals. Or better still, 7 goals in 21 games, that’s just about a goal every other three games. Truth be told, that isn’t a bad conversion rate. But Torres has had a nightmarish run since his 50 million pounds move to Stamford Bridge culminating in just one goal in 18 games in his first season (albeit 5 months); and 18 in 49 games last season. Question is, why has Torres not reproduced the form that made him one of the most feared forwards some years ago. Well, here are my thoughts on this well publicised issue:

Injuries have had a horrific effect on Torres. The spaniard has had two knee surgeries to correct a torn knee cartilage, the last one just before the 2010 World Cup. At that year’s global fiesta, Torres was a shadow of himself and even the first six months of the next season, 2010/2011, Torres could not hit the heights of the former years. This is as a result of losing that yard of pace that has always gave him an edge. Torres’ game is based on that burst of speed that takes him away from defenders. Against City at the weekend, Torres had two of such opportunities where he was one-on-one with Vincent Kompany. The Torres of old would have had an edge over the defender. Unfortunately, since that surgery, that pace has deserted the Spaniard.

More importantly, moving to Chelsea was (and in my opinion still) a wrong career move. At Liverpool, Torres was sorrounded by two of the best ball passing midfielders: Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso and fed off their incisive passes. In fact, Roberto Di Matteo reportedly carried out a research in his bid to cure the Fernando malaise and discovered that out of the 81 league goals Torres scored for Liverpool, an astounding 56 of them (about 70%) where scored from defence splitting passes, usually from Alonso and Gerrard. But at Chelsea, only Juan Mata can be said to be in the mould of the Liverpool duo in terms of defence splitting passes. More so, Chelsea’s game at the time of Fernando’s arrival were not the ball passing team like Liverpool. This in no small measure contributed to Fernando’s one goal in 18 games. Don’t agree? Consider that the first five months of that season, even though Torres’ form had become bad, he still managed 9 goals in 26 games for Liverpool. 

Yes, a lot of Blues supporters will be quick to bring up the argument that Eden Hazard and Oscar have been added to the team which has changed Chelsea’s pattern of play. However, looking at both acquisitions critically, how many times have both played those defence spliting passes which created goal-scoring opportunites for Torres? Hazard and Oscar are players who like to run at opposition and dribble past them or as in the case of Oscar arrive late in the box with a burst of speed to finish off a move. They are not in the mould of Mata, Cesc Fabgregas or David Silva who can open up defences with just one pass on a regular basis. Maybe manager Rafa Benitez had this in mind when he had this to say about Fernando after the game against City.

“You could see he was trying very hard. He had a good chance.” Benitez said. “But I think the team has to help Fernando and create more chances, and he will score goals.You cannot expect a striker to score on his own, so we have to create more and better chances for him with the players we have.”

Looking at Torres’ problem from another angle, a combination of lack of confidence; media hype and pressure; as well as possibly the weight of a hefty price tag  may have ultimately contributed to Torres’ form. A closer look at Fernando’s career before Liverpool shows that  the Spaniard cannot be described as one who will guarantee you 25 goals every season. In fact, in seven seasons at Atletico Madrid (two in the second division and five in La-Liga’s top flight), Fernando only managed to score at least 20 goals in all competitions twice, in the 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 seasons. But his first season at Liverpool saw the 28 year old bag an incredible 33 goals in 46 games, his best goal tally till date. He went a step further to score Spain’s winner at Euro 2008 and all of a sudden the tag ‘world class’, ‘world’s best striker’ by the media (especially the British) became associated with Fernando.  Was he really worth that tag judging from his records?  

Every striker will tell you confidence is everything. Having paid a record 50 million pounds for Torres, the onus was on the Spaniard to justify the outrageous fee. Torres has since been faced with an intense media scrutiny of his every move. Scoring just a goal in his first 5 months at Stamford Bridge has also not helped and the seeming lack of confidence may have had a psychological effect. Who knows if the Spaniard constantly questions his ability in his head? Maybe, just maybe, that is the reason for the seeming hesitations and lack of quick thinking whenever Fernando is faced with a good opportunity to score goals.

So can new manager Rafa Benitez solve all these problems and get Torres firing on all cylinders? Hey, why am I bugging my little head when  that is why Roman Abramovich is probably paying Rafa all the millions to sort that out. While we wait for the next seven months to find out if Benitez’ plan will work, here’s my take: I seriously doubt we will ever see the Torres of the 2007-2008 season.

NIGERIA AND MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING~~~ MY TAKE ON REACTIONS TO PROF CHINUA ACHEBE’S THERE WAS A COUNTRY: A PERSONAL BIAFRA HISTORY

Over the last few years, I have consciously avoided discussing issues about my dear country, Nigeria. Not because I am less patriotic. No, far from it! The reason is simple: I have realised that I get pissed and angry every time I do. What manner of nation will be so blessed with resources that other countries crave to have and yet a large number of its citizens still live in abject poverty? As if this is not enough, I have since discovered that in my fatherland, we dissipate our energies on irrelevant issues while ignoring the root causes of some of the major problems.

 

The present debate, or should I say accusations and counter accusations going on between intellectuals from two major ethnic groups in the country, the Igbos and Yorubas after British newspaper The Guardian published excerpts of Professor Chinua Achebe’s latest work, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, just highlights this penchant by Nigerians for irrelevant issues while ignoring more important ones.

Having read that excerpt from The Guardian, two things struck me. One, Achebe in his now famous (or notorious depending on which side of the divide you are on) book accused the Federal Government of Nigeria and particularly the late Yoruba leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo of masterminding what he calls a calculated attempt to wipe out the Igbo race. Secondly, Achebe took time out to explain what he feels is one of Nigeria’s greatest problem: mediocrity. Hear him: “mediocrity destroys the very fabric of a country as surely as a war – ushering in all sorts of banality, ineptitude, corruption and debauchery. Nations enshrine mediocrity as their modus operandi, and create the fertile ground for the rise of tyrants and other base elements of the society, by silently assenting to the dismantling of systems of excellence because they do not immediately benefit one specific ethnic, racial, political, or special-interest group. That, in my humble opinion, is precisely where Nigeria finds itself today.”

Unfortunately, since that excerpt was published, almost all public discourse, beer parlour debates, newspaper commentaries as well as blog posts have focused on either defending Pa Awolowo or siding Prof Achebe. Former minister of aviation, Femi Fani Kayode wrote a beautiful piece in which he tried to defend Awolowo’s policies as being right.  According to him, Achebe was being economical with the truth if he insisted Pa Awolowo was largely responsible for the starvation of the Igbos. The former minister of aviation went on to explain how the ex Biafran leader late Odimegwu Ojukwu should be held responsible for that action having  actually refused the Federal Government’s offer. For Fani Kayode, “Professor Chinua Achebe owes the Awolowo family and the Yoruba people a big apology for his tale of pure fantasy.”

Another writer Ayodele Obajeun~who happens to be a good friend of mine~ in a commentary for Sahara Reporters also toes the Pa Awo defense line. According to him, “Achebe is a historical god, but he is currently being hunted by the burden of his old age. Achebe has reversed the history of civil war in his nonfictional account; casting aspersions on Awolowo, the political god of Western Nigeria…Feeding your enemies on the battlefield is like giving your gun to your enemies to shoot you. Achebe should perish the thought of telling the assumed untold story and come to terms with historical realities.”

Reading through the comment section of Obajeun’s piece on Sahara Reporters will make one weep. It mirrors the exact state of the Nigerian mentality. While the Igbos are hell bent on supporting Achebe, their Yoruba counterparts see the aspersions cast on their political god (apologies to Obajeun) as a taboo.

I am tempted to ask: how come no one is talking about Achebe’s second point about Nigeria and our penchant for mediocrity? Why is no one commenting on Achebe’s claims that the Nigerian government failed to carry out successfully the three Rs of reconstruction, rehabilitation, and reconciliation? Why are we so hell bent on protecting, or better put, defending ethnic tribe and sentiments all the time?

One of Femi Fani Kayode’s strong points in his piece was setting the records straight with historical facts and proving that Ojukwu and not Awolowo should be held responsible for the starvation of the Igbos during the war. Now, I have not read Achebe’s book, but reading through Noo Saro Wiwa’s review of the book also published in The Guardian, he says, “in the middle chapters…  Achebe cites Biafran diplomat Raph Uwechue, who accused Ojukwu of choosing ideology over pragmatism when he rejected relief supplies from the British.” If indeed Achebe did admit in his book that Ojukwu may have contributed to the starvation of the Igbos by this refusal, does this not expose the unnecessary historical lecture by Fani Kayode?

As Nigerians, we must learn to see ourselves first as Nigerians if we want this country to move forward. We spend all our energy trying to protect ethnic sentiments and that is why we have failed to move to higher heights 52 years after independence. Still in doubt that is our major problem? Well, take a look at the following scenarios: How come many are of the opinion (whether right or wrong cannot be verified) that the rise in violence from the militant group Boko Haram is as a result of sponsorship by some northern elements who feel aggrieved that they lost out in the power tussle? In Benue State, there seems to be a cold war between the Tivs and Idomas. A Tiv friend of mine insists that because of Senate President David Mark’s hatred for the Tivs, he has made sure all federal government appointments are reserved for his Idoma people. My friend gives a detailed account of how vacancies in the Nigerian Civil Defense Corps reserved for Benue State have been allocated to only Idomas due to Senator Mark’s influence. Even in my own state, Delta, there seems to be an unwritten law that only Urhobos have the right to govern the state. Some say that is why many Urhobos resisted the emergence of the present governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, an Itsekiri. How about the abuse I (and probably many other southerners) got for campaigning and voting for Muhammadu Buhari as against ‘our Niger Delta brother’ President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 general elections?

While I admit these four cases may not be entirely true, for me, it mirrors the deep animosity and ethnic sentiments which we as Nigerians have refused to do away with. The question is should we still in this age be more concerned about ethnic bigotry? Instead of wasting our energy on trying to protect our various ethnic sentiments, maybe it is time to look inwards and like Achebe postulated, ask ourselves why as a country we now value mediocrity over meritocracy. Maybe, just maybe, this country will be a better place if we all heed this call.

AGAINST ALL ODDS.... A TRUE LIFE STORY

The room was unusually serene. Only punctured by the deep breath of the sleeping child. He lay on his bed; snoring, not having a clue of the happenings around him. A few metres away in the adjacent kitchen, the mother wiped a tear of sweat of her face. The steam from her pot of banga soup did not help matters. But she kept on stirring and tasting to ensure the salt level did not exceed normal. Though the aroma of the soup will make any Oliver Twist around beg for more, it did little to sway her thoughts on how hectic her day had being. A glance at her snoring three year old child and the images of the last five hours came flooding again..... 

*********** 

It was just like every other day. The sun rose in its beauty without any sign of what was in store for her. She rushed through her normal morning routine: doing the dishes; washing her son's napkins and other dirty clothes; preparing breakfast; and getting set for a trip to her shop. She was a seam-stress. Just as she was packing her bag to leave, her child let out a soft cry. He had a slight fever the night before. But it withered away as mysteriously as it had started. 

"Foskolo", she called out his favourite pet name, "whats the problem again?". Instead, the child increased the tempo. 

"Nyie, nyie, nyie," he sobbed trying to get his mum's attention. He did succeed. She immediately left the bag she was packing and rushed straight to grab him. She was shocked to discover his temperature was on the rise again. Panic set in. For a few minutes, she was not sure of what to do. Just then, it occured to her. "I must rush him to a hospital," she murmured to herself. A Few minutes later, she was on her way to a nearby general hospital. 

On getting there, she called out: "Help, please! My son needs help." Immediately, one of the nurses on duty rushed and grabbed the child from her hands. She took the child straight to the doctor's waiting room. The mother waited. All she could do was bite her finger as she sat down anxiously in the waiting room. Her son was then taken to an emergency room. 

"God what is this now? Eh?", she wondered. A few minutes later as the doctor appeared from the emergency room, she rushed up to him. "Doctor is he okay? What's wrong with him? Can I see him?", the questions pouring out all at once. 

"Calm down young woman, your baby is fine", the handsome doctor said reassuringly. " He only has a high fever but he's been injected and fast asleep. The nurse will bring him out to....." 

************* 

The sound of the child's cry brought her back from her memories. 

" Foskolo, nyase", she called out in her Isoko dialect. " Come and meet me in the kitchen". He stopped the sob and tried to come down from the bed. But, his legs ached. He felt a sharp pain in his waist. His feet went numb. Much as he tried to lift his legs, he just couldn't. 

The mother was watching. Thinking it was one of his usual antics, she yelled at him in broken english 

"You no go waka come here? I take God beg you i no get power for shout!" 

Her rant did little to ease his seeming discomfort. As he tried to lift his feet, he went thundering on the floor. He stood up and tried again. And once again, he fell. Only this time, he made no effort to stand again. Sensing danger, she left her pot of banga soup and rushed to him. Out of fear more than anything, she carried him on her back and rushed back to the hospital. Unfortunately, there was little the doctors could do. It was the last day the boy would ever walk with his feet again.... 

PS--- It's exactly 29 years this August since this incident. Truth is, I can't really remember it happening. The pictures am trying to bring to life are patches from stories I have heard over and over again from my mother. But, the that little boy whose feet went numb is now a man. In fact, the cute guy showing on this blog. He's grown up to become a successful writer and journalist. So what is that thing keeping you from fulfilling your dream? What's that problem that keeps you awake at night? Trust me, there isn't anything as bad as you think. You can make it AGAINST ALL ODDS.

London 2012: Nigeria's Plans, Bekele's Unfulfilled Dreams and Pistorius, the People's Champion

It only happens once every four years, but the few weeks of any Olympic Games are always full of excitement, joy, passion, disappointment but ultimately an avenue to compete with the best of athletes from all over the world. And thanks to superb organisation, the2012 London Olympics hasn’t been any different. Here are a few of my thoughts on Africa’s plight in the games so far:

NIGERIA:  THE FIRE~BRIGADE APPROACH

It isn’t the first time that Africa’s most populous nation will go into a major championship on the back of shoddy preparations. And it doesn’t seem to be the last – it is a norm for the “Giant of Africa”. Year in year out, the country’s athletes are never given proper attention. What happens is a situation where a few months to a major competition, a fire brigade approach is adopted by officials and then the nation is expected to “pray” and “hope” for the best.

Nigeria’s government released about 2.3 billion naira (9 million Pounds) just a few months to the games. A huge investment you would say, but definitely one that is the right thing at the wrong time. Nigeria’s Vanguard Newspapers quotes an unnamed official as saying the late release of funds is a major reason for the country’s woeful performances at the games.

Hear him: “2 billion naira can help our sports and help us win gold medals at the Olympic Games if it is released in time and spread over four years for preparation. From the last Olympics in Beijing till date if we used2 billion naira to develop our athletes, train them, expose them and enter them for competitions, I will be telling you how many gold medals we can win here in London.”

Unfortunately, as at the time of writing this, Nigeria is yet to win any medal. So much is the anxiety for any colour of medal that Maryam Usman, a weightlifter was accorded a bronze medal even before her event was through. Even respected news outlets published the information which later turned out false. Ultimately, the country’s wait to podium continues.

KENENISA BEKELE IS HUMAN AFTERALL

If there was one race which had everyone glued to their seats, then definitely, the 10000 metres men’s final was it. This was because two questions needed to be answered: would Ethiopian greatKenenisa Bekele create history by going past legendary compatriot Haile Gabrselassie’s feat and be the first man to win three consecutive gold medals or would Britain’s Mo Farah (with African roots) rise to the occasion and win his first?

Bekele was really looking forward to going one step ahead of the great Gabrselassie. Sadly, he only managed fourth position as Mo Farah’s amazing finish clinched gold. Consolation is, Bekele’s younger brother Tariku~ who looks a great prospect~ clinched the bronze medal.

OSCAR PISTORIUS: A CHAMPION EVEN IN DEFEAT

Perhaps South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius provided the world with the most compelling story of the 2012 London Olympics – even before it’s ended.  His story is one that has inspired lots of people from all over the world. Participating in the competition itself has been a story of doggedness as he was initially banned by rules of the International Amateur Athletics Federation. The athletics ruling body opined that the use of his carbon fibre prosthetics called Cheetah Flex~Foot puts him at an advantage. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sports ruled in his favour and on August 4th, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympic Games. Not only did he participate but he became a source of inspiration to lots of viewers all across the globe. He may have not qualified for the finals of the 400 metres but popular CNN broadcaster Piers Morgan best described the scene on his twitter page when he wrote, “Heroic. #Pistorius.”

More so, South African Kim Masters reckons in her piece for The UK Newspaper, The Metro “Yes, there was disappointment….but the image of Kirani James (winner of the race) swapping name tags with Oscar on the track at the end of the race~ that will stay with me forever… Pistorius is the people’s champion as well as a sporting champion. For me, he is the symbol of everything we can do and everything we dream of doing.”

*This was first published on ventures~africa.com

WHY LADIES PUT GUYS ON TRIAL DATES

It does feel like a big sign of relief to be able to write my first post on this blog. Truth be told, I am not much of a blog person and the rate at which every Dick, Tom and Ali is going about with a blog (whether it's needed or not; interesting or not; or even visited) has  actually put me off starting one. Then again, my laptop has been on the "treatment table" for God knows how long and the thought of using my phone to make daily posts has just not taken my fancy.

So, why am I starting one when the Dicks, Toms and Ali s haven't stopped writing and my laptop is still in the "hospital"? Well, let's just say something tipped me off. I was thinking of a friend and decided to tweet about it. My tweet read thus:

"Do Ladies actually date by trials? As in give a guy a try for a few months without committing fully? Need answers please. #HonestQuestion."

Thanks to the new Blackberry application, the same tweet instantly became my BBM status update. I have to admit, the replies that followed were way beyond what I imagined. My dear friend Betty on twitter was the first to throw a jab at me by asking rhetorically,  "na me dey date you on trial? "  Well, I did burst out laughing. Now while I am going to admit that, yes, a friend did put me on trial so to speak, I ain't going into any details about it. Bottom line, I wanted to get a cross-section of views about IF women do so and WHY.

My friend Chaucer's wife Ese (she's so beautiful, I've imagined stealing her not once, not twice)  provided me with an answer to the first question stating that the concept of ladies  putting guys on trials wasn't something new as it does exist. According to her, some ladies do, others don't. As more replies on twitter and BBM poured in, almost everyone seemed to reach a consensus on the fact that: LADIES DO PUT GUYS ON TRIAL!

And then the curious cat in me (never mind that phrase that it kills) wanted to know why ladies who do take that route. Another friend of mine Ibiba blurted out (rather like someone who's been a victim) that "men cannot be trusted so easily and we don't want our hearts heartbroken." Wow! Strong words but probably true. But I had to ask her, "How about you've been friends with this person for years and you both know a lot about yourselves?" Ibiba did not mince words when she put it back at me, "It's the same process, she knows you as a friend. But as a mate, she really doesn't know." Contradictory don't you think? Cos I feel the essence of a good relationship is that you both are best friends. Oh wait, is that why the very moment friends take the next step and become lovers, most times, things ain't the same again? Okay, I digress....

Another respondent gave me a rather different view. According to him, most ladies who put guys on trial are probably those in that age when settling down is now a priority. He also notes that these ladies do have other options and so are possibly looking out for who the BEST HUSBAND would be. (Thinking aloud: am I facing this particular situation? Errrrr.... no comment!). He adds: "maybe the girl doesn't really trust him as a lover and she's scared of loosing his friendship. It's also possible she feels insecure cos maybe the guy knows too much about her." Betty seems to support this last notion of insecurity. She insists that "if a lady is dating a guy on trial, that tells you one thing: she's been there~~Heartbreak(s).com~~ hence the trial.

It wasn't an all women affair though as some guys did add their voice to the debate. Ebube on twitter admitted that his present girlfriend did make him go through the "trial ordeal." According to him, the girl did it to know if their relationship would work. Well, fortunately for him, it is still working. However, My dear friend Emeka shares a contrary opinion. For him, dating guys by trial doesn't exist. He says the ladies who say they do so are just "always on the defensive." Hmmmmmmm! Food for thought I guess.

I have to admit, I never imagined I'd get as much reaction as I did when I posted that tweet earlier today. Neither did I believe it would be the basis for my first blog post. Nonetheless, despite all the eye-opening responses, I guess like my friend Ese (no, not my friend's wife that I'm planning to steal, another one), it is still hard for me to fathom why LADIES PUT GUYS ON TRIAL DATES.