Month: May 2022

Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema deserves to win the Ballon d’Or this year after helping to guide his team to the Champions League title, seven-times winner of the award Lionel Messi said on Monday.

Benzema had the best season of his 13-year career at Real, scoring 44 goals with 15 assists in all competitions as they won a LaLiga-Champions League double.

The 34-year-old topped the scoring charts in both competitions and netted hat-tricks against Paris St Germain and Chelsea in the knockout stages to secure Real’s progress.

“There are no doubts, it’s very clear that Benzema had a spectacular year and ended up victorious in the Champions League,” PSG forward Messi said on Argentine television.

“He was fundamental in all the matches from the round of 16 onwards. I think there is no doubt this year.”

The Ballon d’Or award for the best soccer player in the world will be presented on 17 October, with the nominees set to be revealed on 12 August.

The prestigious trophy will now be awarded on the basis of a regular season from August to July rather than a calendar year.

Real Madrid’s victory over Liverpool gave them their 14th European Cup triumph – twice as many as the next most successful team AC Milan.

Benzema’s hat-trick in the second leg eliminated PSG 3-2 on aggregate in the last 16, yet again preventing the French club from winning Europe’s elite club competition for the first time.

“The Real Madrid game killed us, me and everyone in the dressing room. We had a lot of hope. It makes me want to win again,” Messi added.

“But the best team doesn’t always win the Champions League. I don’t take credit away from Real Madrid, they weren’t the best in this competition and yet they beat everyone.”

Source: Modern Ghana

Celta Vigo defender, Joseph Aidoo has been ruled out of Ghana’s first game in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Madagascar on Wednesday, June 1.

The Black Stars will host Barea in their Group G opener at the Cape Coast Stadium with kick-off scheduled at 19:00GMT.

According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the center-back twisted his right ankle during the Black Stars’ training after joining camp over the weekend.

That made Aidoo sit out of Monday’s session for assessment by the team medics.

The former Inter Allies captain “has been ruled out of the game on Wednesday” and “is currently being observed by the medical team as he undergoes a thorough rehabilitation process to fully recover,” portions of a GFA update read.

Aidoo was tipped to command a starting spot in central defense for Wednesday’s game following the absence of Alexander Djiku who did not make the squad for the June fixtures.

Source: Modern Ghana

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski says his time with the club “is over”.

His future has been uncertain for some time, with it long been known that the Poland international will not sign a new contract with the Bundesliga champions.

The 33-year-old’s current deal does not expire until 2023 – but he has pleaded with the Bayern hierarchy to let him leave, with Barcelona reported to be his favoured destination.

In his clearest message yet, Lewandowski has said, “For today it is certain that my Bayern story is over”.

He went on to say, “I cannot imagine what happened in the last months of our further cooperation. Transfer will be the best solution. I believe Bayern will not stop me just because it can.

After eight years with Bayern, Lewandowski will walk away from the German city with an incredible goalscoring record, which will interest many of the big clubs in Europe.

He’s scored 344 goals in 374 games for the club, while picking up a haul of major trophies including eight league titles and a Champions League winners’ medal.

With Nations League fixtures against Wales, Belgium and the Netherland coming up, Lewandowski says he does not want to speak about his future again until after he has completed international duty.

“I don’t want to go any further at the moment. I would like to focus on the national team and the matches that we are going to play, and maybe after the national team camp we will have more time to say more about the situation. But for now I would like to end like this”, he said.

Source: Modern Ghana

Black Stars: Dr Baba Adams sacked as team doctor

Dr. Baba Adams, who is the Black Stars team doctor has been relieved from his post.

On Monday, reports emerged that Dr. Baba has been shown the exit ahead of the Black Stars’ 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] qualifiers.

However, Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association [GFA], Henry Asante Twum speaking in an interview confirmed that Dr. Baba has been sacked as the Black Stars team doctor.

According to him, his performance was reviewed and authorities felt he must be replaced.

Asante Twum added that Dr. Prince Pambo is the new Black Stars team doctor.

“There was a review,” he told Accra-based Happy FM.

“Authorities saw the need for reshuffling so a decision was made to replace Dr. Adam Baba with Dr. Prince Pambo (as Black Stars Doctor).

“It’s just part of normal changes,” he added.

The Sports Medicine expert has served as the Head of the GFA Medical team since 2020 after he was appointed alongside Dr. Kofi Ablorh and Dr. Percy Annan.

Meanwhile, the Black Stars will open their qualifiers against Madagascar on Wednesday, June 1 at the Cape Coast Stadium before playing the Central Africa Republic on June 5.

Source: Modern Ghana

The Ghana Football Association [GFA] have named Dr. Prince Pambo as the new team doctor for the Black Stars.

This follows after Dr. Adams Baba was shown the exit on Monday.

Communications Director for the country’s football governing body, Henry Asante Twum speaking in an interview confirmed that Dr. Baba is no more the team doctor for the senior national team.

He added that Dr. Prince Pambo, who is CAF’s medical head is the new team doctor for the team.

“There was a review,” he told Accra based Happy FM.

“Authorities saw the need for reshuffling so a decision was made to replace Dr. Adam Baba with Dr. Prince Pambo (as Black Stars Doctor).

“It’s just part of normal changes,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Black Stars will open their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] qualifiers against Madagascar on Wednesday, June 1 at the Cape Coast Stadium.

Source: Modern Ghana

German kit manufacturer, PUMA have officially unveilled Black Stars’ home jerseys for the 2022 World Cup.

Designed based on the Ultraweave template, the Puma 2022 Ghana shirt introduces a clean design in white, featuring the red, yellow and green colors of the Ghanaian flag on the cuffs.

Puma also unveiled shirts of Italy and four national teams competing at this year’s World Cup including African representatives Morocco, Senegal, the Black Stars Group H opponent Uruguay and Switzerland.

The Uruguay home shirt has a very simple design. The base is Uruguay’s traditional celeste blue colour with white mesh cuffs and a white one button collar. The template used is Puma’s Ultraweave, meaning sleeve seams are absent.

Source: Modern Ghana