Sandro Rosell, President of Barcelona FC has affirmed that Tito Villanova will return to his managerial duties within twenty one days.

The coach has been sidelined since mid-December, following a relapse with parotid gland cancer.

Rosell hopes that the Tito Villanova will be able to cope with his chemotherapy and coaching Barca, but insists that Vilanova’s recovery is the priority over footballing matters.

The club president told reporters in Dubai: "He will return to work in 15 or 20 days, but he will be going back and forth from the hospital and he will be resting.

“He's going to combine the treatment with his work. The most important thing is his health. For the moment, football comes second."

Rosell avoided stating that Xavi and Carles Puyol will be given new contracts at Camp Nou, but the chief insisted that he wants the Barca legends to stay with the squad.

"They are among the best players for Barcelona and for Spain, and they are important for society because they are a great example to young people,” he added. “I hope they will remain at the club in some capacity in the future."

While on the topic of contracts, Rosell also said he believed the fact that two recent signings took pay cuts to join the Blaugrana shows the commitment players have to the Catalan club.

"We have signed two players in Cesc Fabregas and Javier Mascherano who both earn a lower salary than at their previous club,” he said. “They also paid the commission on their transfer fee. They really wanted to play for us. It's a beautiful thing."

 

The Super Eagles will on Thursday, Dec. 27 depart for Faro in Portugal via  Accra, Ghana for the final phase of their preparation for the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

The team would on Thursday morning in Abuja have their last training session in the local camping phase of their preparations.

The team of players, coaches and other members would then depart same day by 3 p.m for Accra.

Team head coach Stephen Keshi told newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that players who would not be making the trip to Portugal would be decamped on Thursday.

“It’s a shame that we can’t take all of them to Faro, but what they have done here shows that they are true professionals.

“This is the type of high level commitment that I am looking for, especially when players know that they are not going to travel and they still put in their best.

“It breaks my heart that I can’t take everyone of them to Portugal, but it’s good that they gave a good account of themselves for the future,’’ Keshi said.

The Super Eagles would play a friendly match with Catalonia on Jan. 2 as part of their build-up for the 2013 AFCON, otherwise known as the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Eagles are in Group C alongside defending champions Zambia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso for the competition’s 29th edition scheduled for Jan. 19 to Feb. 10 in South Africa.

The board of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) chaired by Victor Baribote was on Monday sacked by the NPL Congress.

In the interim, the affairs of the secretariat will be run by Executive Secretary, Tunji Babalola.

The congress proposed February 16 as date of commencement of the new season, and in addition endorsed the hosting of the Super Four preseason tournament in Kano State. It equally overturned the expulsion of Ocean Boys Football Club from the league.

The decisions are expected to be upheld when the Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) holds on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Of the 20 NPL clubs, only Niger Tornadoes were not represented at the congress. Also in attendance, as observers, were Shehu Adamu, Yahaya Kwande and Emeka Inyama, who are members of the Executive Committee of the NFF.

Considering that the NPL Board had announced just on Monday that the Congress would no longer hold, there was heavy presence of security men at the Prixair Hotel in Zone 6, Abuja, where it finally held.

The board, though, mandated Baribote to relinquish chairmanship of the board to his vice Shehu Gusau in order to allow a three-man committee probe the crisis currently rocking the body.

Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Emmanuel Emenike, is in danger of landing an imprisonment term, after a Turkish court was told that he faked injury in order to avoid playing for his former club, Karabukspor, against Fenerbahce in a Turkish SuperLig fixture in May 2011.

If convicted, Emenike, who is widely tipped to make the country’s South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations squad and is a prominent member of Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League, will be sentenced to prison for three years — a judgement lawyers in Istanbul are already urging the court to make.

According to witnesses, Emenike’s agent was approached by Fenerbache officials before the match and prevailed on him to arrange the player’s injury so he would not feature against them.

The 25-year old attacker, who is standing trial alongside 92 other players for unethical practices in the Turkish first and second divisions in the 2010-11 season, has been accused of match-fixing in a crisis that has already claimed a high-profile casualty — President of Fenerbache FC, Aziz Yildirim, who was sentenced to six years and three months in prison.

FC Barcelona Club's Medical Services have announced that FC Barcelona's manager has suffered a parotid ailment relapse. Tito Vilanova will undergo surgery on Thursday

The Club’s Medical Services have issued the following medical report on the health of FC Barcelona’s manager, Francesc ‘Tito’ Vilanova:

“An extension of the pathology has been detected in [Vilanova’s] parotid gland. The manager requires surgery which he will undergo this Thursday. He is expected to remain in hospital for three to four days.

After the surgery, Francesc ‘Tito’ Vilanova will undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment for approximately six weeks. During this time, and depending on how well he recovers, Vilanova’s treatment may be compatible with his normal schedule.

In line with the patient’s wishes, we urge respect and privacy during this process.”

Injured Nigerian midfielder, Joel Obi, has moved to quell doubts over his availability for the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), which begins in 2013 in South Africa.

The Inter Milan regular starter has spent the bulk of the year on the sidelines, following a nagging muscle injury that relapsed in a Serie A encounter against Catania on 21st October.

Obi had made his return only days earlier in a Europa Cup fixture against Neftci PFK of Azerbaijan.

His long-running injury challenge is known to be a source of worry to Chief Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen keshi, whose team is thought of by pundits as still lacking creativity in the middle of the park. And the consequence is that the highly rated youngster played only a cameo role in the qualifiers for the tournament

“I’m happy I’m back in training, trying to get 100 per cent fit and be ready for both my club and Nigeria,” Obi said on Thursday during a radio interview monitored by Mtnfootball.com. “I will be fit for the Nations Cup. I still have more to give to Nigeria.”

Obi, apparently hoping to be selected for the mundial, also promised that the Nigerian team “would not disappoint” but urged the fans to be generous in their “support.”

 

 

After Tuesday`s 3-0 defeat to Juventus, Chelsea FC Wednesday parted ways with its manager Roberto Di Matteo. The club in a statement published on its website, said,

“the team’s recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the Board felt that a change was necessary to keep the club moving in the right direction.”

Full text of the statement, reads

“Chelsea Football Club has parted company this morning with Manager Roberto Di Matteo.” 

“The team’s recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the Board felt that a change was necessary now to keep the club moving in the right direction as we head into a vitally important part of the season.” 

“The club faces a difficult task ahead in qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as well as maintaining a strong challenge for the top of the Premier League while competing in three other cup competitions. Our aim is to remain as competitive as possible and challenge strongly on all fronts.”

“The owner and the Board would like to thank Roberto for all he has done for the club since taking over in March. Roberto helped guide us to an historic Champions League victory and a seventh FA Cup.”

 “We will never forget the huge contribution he has made to this club’s history and he will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge.”

 

 

 

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