Di Maria blames missing Messi for loss to Nigeria

Paris Saint-Germain Argentina international Angel Di Maria has explained that the South Americans were humiliated by Nigeria in an international friendly last November because of the absence of Lionel Messi.

The former Manchester United winger revealed that the Argentina team is filled with stars and the presence of Messi makes the team tick. Without the Barcelona number ten in the squad, Nigeria recovered from a two-goal deficit to thrash Argentina 4-2, with Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Brian Idowu finding the net for the three-time African champions in Krasnodar.

“I love playing with him (Messi), the best thing that can happen to a player is to play with the best and with the aliens, you value playing with him...,” said Angel Di Maria to Fox Sports Radio.

“Everybody has a good time in the clubs and in the national team when Leo is not there all of us want to assume that role, but being so used to playing with him it is difficult when he is not in.

“We all try to do our best, good first half against Nigeria and then the game got away, it got out of hand but at times we do things right.”

Angel Di Maria has faced the Super Eagles four times in his career, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Daily Trust

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Google honours Nigerian soccer legend Stephen Keshi with doodle

Google is celebrating Stephen Keshi, former captain and coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s soccer national team, with a doodle on Google Nigeria on what would have been his 56th birthday.

Keshi is famous for being the one of the two people, alongside Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Africa’s biggest soccer tournament, as a player and manager. Keshi first won the title in 1994 as captain of the Super Eagles and, 19 years later, won it again as manager leading a less-than-fancied Super Eagles side. He died in June 2016.

In a soccer-mad nation where the sport is a national pastime and often a unifying event, Keshi was well-loved and is fondly remembered for his decades of service to the national team. His career as a player with the Super Eagles spanned 14 years during which he made 60 appearances—the second highest ever by any player at the time of Keshi’s retirement in 1995.

In 2011, Keshi took over as a manager of the Super Eagles at a time when the national team was at a low ebb and barely living up to its reputation as one of the continent’s best teams. Indeed, the Super Eagles had not won an international title since Keshi last lifted the AFCON trophy in 1994. In 2014, Keshi further sealed his legacy with the Super Eagles at the World Cup in Brazil, matching the team’s best ever performance at the event with a round of 16 finish.

Notably, Keshi remains popular among players in Nigeria’s local soccer league. During his time with the Super Eagles, Keshi broke a ceiling of sorts by insisting on inviting promising players from the local league to the senior national team—a gutsy move given that Nigeria had several big name players at popular European soccer clubs at the time. Keshi’s team at the 2013 AFCON comprised of six home-based players. His decision eventually paid off when, in the final against Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s lone goal was scored by a home-based star.

His 19-year club career spanned five countries and four continents, including a four-year stint at Anderlecht, Belgium’s most successful club, where he won the league title in 1991. Keshi’s managerial career also saw him make history outside Nigeria as he qualified Togo for the World Cup in 2006—the country’s first ever appearance at the global event.

Quartz

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2 Canadians and 2 Americans rescued from kidnappers in Nigeria

Two Americans and two Canadians who were kidnapped in Nigeria's north-central Kaduna state on Tuesday have been freed and are in good condition, police said Saturday.

Police and a special anti-kidnapping squad rescued the foreigners in the Kagarko local government area Friday night after a massive manhunt, state police commissioner Agyole Abeh said.

"No ransom was paid. It was the efforts of the police through the directives of the Inspector General of Police that led to their release," he said.

One suspect was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and police were on the trail of remaining suspects, Abeh said. The foreigners have been taken to the capital, Abuja, Kaduna state police spokesman Mukhtar Aliyu said.

"They are in good condition but due to trauma they have to undergo medical observation." Aliyu said.

Gunmen ambushed the foreigners Tuesday as they traveled from Kafanchan in Kaduna state to Abuja. Two police escorts were killed in what police called a "fierce gun battle." They were ambushed in a forested area, the BBC reports.

The Americans and Canadians have not been publicly identified. Aliyu earlier said they are investors setting up solar stations in villages around Kafanchan.

Kidnapping for ransom is common in Nigeria, especially on the Kaduna to Abuja highway. Two German archaeologists were seized at gunpoint last year less than 100 kilometers northeast of Abuja and later freed unharmed. Sierra Leone's deputy high commissioner was taken at gunpoint on the highway in 2016 and held for five days before he was let go.

In October, four Britons were abducted in the Niger Delta region, the BBC reports. Three were released and one was killed.

Victims typically are released unharmed after ransom is paid, though security forces have rescued a few high-profile abductees. A number of bandits, including herdsmen, have been arrested.

KHOU