My joy in this title winning is that NOBODY will say they carried this team to win it. This title belongs to everyone. And I mean EVERYONE.
Yes, Rice was elite.
Raya was elite.
Gabriel and Saliba were elite.
Timber was elite. Five players you point to and say — these are the best five this season. Fine.
But let me ask you something.
Do we win this title if Martinelli doesn't score that last-second equalizer against Man City?
Do we win it if Eze doesn't produce two maverick performances against Spurs to kill them off?
Do we win it if Saka doesn't score that one clinical goal against Brighton at the Amex — one goal, 1-0, job done?
Do we win it if Ødegaard doesn't come on and, like a man possessed, creates something from absolutely nothing? Do we win it without Trossard's goal against West Ham? Those two guys stepping up when it mattered most?
Do we win if Max Dowman doesnt come off the bench against Everton and wins us the game?
Do we win if Madueke doesn't score against Brentford (1-1) to keep the pressure on City?
Do we win if Merino — despite the whole world screaming "don't bring him on" — doesn't come on at St James' Park and scores the goal that wins it. Against chelsea to score the equaliser when they were ten men?
Do we win if Zubimendi doesn't score those two bangers against Nottingham Forest to help us put them to the sword 3-0.
And remember the beginning? Calafiori. Set piece. 1-0. Day one, telling us exactly what kind of season this was going to be. Do we win if not for him?
Then Zubimendi gasses out and Myles Lewis-Skelly walks into the team like he's been here for years.
Do we win if Kai Havertz didn't score from a corner, 1-0 against Burnley — doing exactly what the team needed.?
When Calafiori got injured. When Timber got injured. Do we survive without Mosquera and Hincapié coming in and performing at a level nobody expected? Do we survive without Ben White?
And even beyond all that — Jesus, Nwaneri — they weren't the league's critical performers, but they were around. They took the load off in cup competitions. They kept people fresh. They mattered.
This is what I find so incredibly beautiful about this title.
Nobody carried it. Nobody can look at this squad and say "I did that." Because everyone did that. From the starter who kept a clean sheet to the sub who came on for 15 minutes and scored. From the academy kid who nobody expected to the veteran who showed up when the season needed him most.
This is not a one-man trophy. This is not even a five-man trophy.
This is 25 men, a manager, a coaching staff, and a culture — all deciding in the same moment that this is the year.
Good old-fashioned football. A team sport. Beautiful, mehn.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote appeared on Channels TV and insisted that Nigeria needs to urgently invest in power infrastructure to achieve true economic independence. In layman terms, he's wailing about lack of electricity.
You can be sure of one thing: both the Nigerian government and local investors won't do anything about this call.
Then eventually Aliko Dangote will find his way around building power grids that guarantee 24/7 electricity to consumers. Suddenly, you will start seeing all sorts of patriots from Ministry of Power, NLC, TUC, DISCOS, GENCOs, NEPA, PHCN, Nitel, Mtel, Econet, PTF, Celtel and even APC, ADC and PDP coming on air to educate you on the dangers of a monopolist like Dangote! ~ Ibrahiym A. El-Caleel
Life hack:
It's good for your mental health to always have someone that is always happy to see you.
If you don't have someone, get a pet that is always excited to see you.
You need to feel what it means to matter.
Morocco stole towels and disrupted every team they faced
Senegal stormed off the pitch and acted very badly
If CAF was fair they’d disqualify both of them and give the 3rd place team the trophy.
Real football fans will agree with me
Only Mehdi Hassan on the planet, that I find as ruthless in demolishing Piers Morgan’s manipulating journalism. That guy is a terrific debater. Sweat-less flow of thoughts, deadly fact-checker, mastery of rhymes, deep knowledge of the issues. His book ��� How to win every argument” is a bomb.
Somebody thought it would be a great idea to build a road up a steep incline because a direct path is the fast way to go between two points. This is what happens when you don’t have qualified civil engineers.
@ShehuSani I'm shocked at the nonsense that you think makes sense. There is no excuse for destroying another person's business, especially not because you married an irresponsible man. They should be prosecuted not excused.