The Final Sub

CHAMPIONS CONTINUE ROT The monumental story that captivated the entire world is fast becoming a proverb. Leicester City’s steady decline is   bringing the ghost of the catastrophic title defense of Manchester City, who got relegated from the First Division in 1936/1937. The foolish dream Leicester nursed that became a loud reality last season, now really looks foolish as the foxes are looking doomed for the drop. With no premier league win or even a goal this year, Leicester is on a free fall and another 1-0 loss to Millwall in the FA cup, ahead of a gargantuan test at Sevilla now leaves them with a very big battle to avoid the horrid story of a sham of a season after a campaign of grand achievement. Leicester City has been tad unrecognizable this season and Claudio Ranieri’s men are in deep trouble especially after losing 2-0 in a six-pointer against fellow relegation fighters, Swansea City. The morale seems to be out of the window and the decline has been staggering an...

  ROUND OF 16 BATTLE.   The second round of the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League is here and with some exciting matches to look forward to. This season’s competition, which is the 62 nd edition of the European Championship has been quite strange as some unique scenarios were seen in the course of the group stages. Notably, Arsenal topped their group which contained French giants, Paris Saint Germain, and have been rewarded as the case may be, with a usual round of 16 duel against FC Bayern Munchen from the Bundesliga. PSG themselves would engage in another familiar contest with Barcelona. There are of course some other interesting games as Real Madrid, the holders, would have to play their first leg   at home against Napoli, haven failed to top their group. As for debutantees Leicester City, the Foxes would be looking for a new lease of life but have a stern test against Sevilla. With all of these games to come, how would the journey to the Millennium Stadium...

THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOHS   The 31 st edition of the Total African Cup of Nations was one that offered a lot of setups and upsets. Perhaps the tone was already set when a nation like Guinea Bissau, qualified to make their bow at the finals in Gabon, while experienced campaigners like Nigeria had to take a long hard look from home. However, no one would have seen Cameroon’s triumph coming. Moreover, many people would not have expected Egypt to get as far as the final. In fact, Egypt’s run in the just concluded tournament is one to be commended. Haven won the tournament a record seven times, many would have the feeling that Egypt is a powerhouse, especially on the continent, which is true. However, considering the fact that the North Africans went on a three year exile from the highest level of African football, which incidentally followed their unprecedented treble triumph between 2006 and 2010, the efforts and performances of this young new team in Gabon sh...