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´óÏó´«Ã½ BLOGS - Piers Edwards

Archives for December 2010

Crowning moment for African club football

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Piers Edwards | 10:06 UK time, Thursday, 16 December 2010

TP Mazembe's is not just a huge success for African football but also a personal triumph for the club's philanthropic chairman Moise Katumbi.

His hard work and huge financial investment has now been rewarded by a dream match-up against , replete with one of Africa's finest sons, Samuel Eto'o.

"Beating [Brazilians] Internacional [2-0 in Tuesday's semi-final] has made me forget all the effort I've ever invested into the team," Katumbi laughed after his club sealed their spot in the final.

For when the businessman and governor of mineral-rich Katanga province took charge of Mazembe in the mid-1990s, the Democratic Republic of Congo's most popular club was struggling.

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Is coaching Nigeria the hardest job in world football?

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Piers Edwards | 18:36 UK time, Friday, 10 December 2010

Sunday Oliseh (bottom row, centre) believes former World Cup team-mate Siasia (top row, second from left) can only win over his squad by ruling with an iron fist

Countless international managers would claim to have the toughest job in the world game but could find he holds that dubious distinction?

England managers past and present may think their high-pressurised life is intolerable but Super Eagles coaches have it just as bad, if not worse - leading a nation whose fans, like Brazilians, () tend to see anything other than a tournament victory as failure.

"Managing Nigeria is an uphill task," says Sunday Oliseh, who played alongside Siasia as Nigeria won the 1994 Nations Cup before shining at USA' 94.

"You have to look at the magnitude of the pressure through our population. We are a nation of 150 million and everyone loves football, so you have to succeed."

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