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05 August 2007 2 time African champions Enyimba confirm the appointment of former Super Eagle Daniel Amokachi as their new head coach.
The former Everton forward will work with Belgian Maurice Cooreman, who led the team to last season's league title.
Enyimba will be Amokachi's 3rd side after spells with the national under-23s and Nassarawa United.
"If the club has ambition and drive, we can return Enyimba to the summit of African football," Amokachi said.
"It will not be easy to make projections or set targets because it is a huge challenge," Amokachi informed BBC Sport.
Enyimba chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu informed BBC Sport they were impressed with the 34 year old's record as a coach.
"We are happy to have captured a coach in the calibre of Amokachi, who is regarded as one of the best young coaches in the African continent," Anyansi-Agwu stated.
"He has a solid record as a player and is now a respected coach, which indeed is the attraction. He is also delighted to join a big club like Enyimba, which is considered to be one of the best in the African continent."
Amokachi stood out for the Super Eagles when he made his debut in the 1990 West African Football Union (Wafu) tournament.
He helped Nigeria to win in the 1994 Nations Cup tournament in Tunisia.
Amokachi, who started his professional career at Belgian club FC Brugge, also shone brightly at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, where he scored 2 goals.
He won the FA Cup with English side Everton in 1995 and also a gold medal with Nigeria at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
But his form plummeted after sustaining a knee injury at the World Cup finals in 1998.
After several operations and several attempts to return to competitive football, he was forced to quit playing the game.
He worked as assistant coach of the Super Eagles and Nassarawa United, and was also in charge of the Nigerian under-23 side for 6 months.
But the player popularly known as the 'the Bull' is relishing the new challenge with Enyimba, winners of the Caf Champions league in 2003 and 2004. 23 July 2007 The Al Ahly juggernaut marched impressively forward in the CAF Champions League at the weekend, keeping up their 100 per cent record with an emphatic 3-0 triumph over Tunisian opponents Esperance in Group B.
But such are the standards that the Egyptian giants are setting these days that they came in for a roasting from their Portuguese coach Manuel Jose after the encounter, who criticised them for not playing well inspite of the margin and manner of their win.
It is a measure of Cairo club that Jose felt his players did not take the encounter seriously enough. "We could have scored more goals," mentioned the taskmaster.
Al Ahly's triumph, which came courtesy of 3 superbly taken goals, means they are within 2 points of a securing semi-final place with 3 games left to go in the group phase.
They can secure their berth in the final 4 on the 1st weekend of August when they meet Esperance again, this time at the November 7 Stadium in Rades, Tunisia.
They look likely to be joined by surprise package Al Hilal, who Sunday won a 2nd successive Group B game and now sit 3 points behind Al Ahly.
It was not an easy triumph though for the hosts, who grabbed a 2-1 triumph over ASEC Abidjan with a last gasp winner.
The goal came 6 minutes from time from Yusuf Mohamed, who is chasing a 3rd Champions League winners' medal. He won the competition twice with his Nigerian club Enyimba in 2003 and 2004 and is one of 4 Nigerians imports at Al Hilal.
Ndubuisi Eze and Kelechi Osunwa were the other 2 who played Sunday at the Al Hilal stadium and were a constant thorn in the side of the ASEC Abidjan defence.
Eze got the 1st goal early on in the game, profiting from ASEC's failure to clear a long ball through the midfield.
But the Ivorian champions, who have suffered a mini slump in recent weeks, gamely fought back and looked to have secured a valuable away point when Idrissu Abdul Nafiu fired in an equaliser in the early part of the 2nd half.
ASEC's Ghana born forward is looking among the best players in the Champions League this year however his club are now in desperate trouble.
ASEC, along with Esperance, remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the standings and if the Ivorian side are still to make the semis, as they did last year, it will take a dramatic turnaround.
Esperance, too, are facing difficult times, not totally unsurprising given the tur over of 3 coaches in 5 weeks at the club. Their problems in Cairo were also exacerbated by the suspension of their captain Moyin Chaabani for internal disciplinary reasons.
But there does remain a bright light for Tunisia with Etoile Sahel going top of Group A in emphatic fashion.
It had taken all of 50 seconds for the home side to take the lead at Sousse over Algeria's JS Kabylie, with Amine Chermiti signaling his return from playing with Tunisia's U-23 side at the All-Africa Games with a swift run onto a speculative ball from midfield.
JSK had their chances to equalise in the 1st half, however Etoile wrapped up the triumph with 2 quick 2nd half goals, the last of which was a breathtaking piece of skill from winger Ja, an import from the Cape Verde Islands.
He was a constant thorn for the Algerian defenders and then showed his deadly class by jinxing his way past 2 of them, cutting inside and then sticking the ball into the net from an acute angle with the outside of his foot.
Etoile said their pre tournament status as group favourites as they moved onto 7 points. "We have the side that is able to march on and attain its objectives," assures their French born coach Bertrand Marchand.
Etoile have won all of Africa's other annual club competitions however never the Champions League, even though they played in 2 of the last 3 finals. They currently have a 3 point lead over Al Ittihad of Libya, who suffered defeat at Morocco's Royal Armed Forces in Rabat.
The next round of Champions League games will be played on the weekend of 3-5 August. 22 July 2007 A late goal from experienced defender Yusuf Mohamed saw Sudan's Al Hilal snatch a 2nd successive African Champions League Group B win, as they beat ASEC Abidjan of the Ivory Coast 2-1 in Omdurman.
The result kept the unfancied Sudanese in 2nd place in the standings and well on course for a semifinal berth in their 1st year of competing in the league phase of the competition.
Mohamed hit a powerful shot from close range after a storming run that finished with him picking up a neat pass from his Nigerian compatriot Ndubuisi Eze.
Mohamed was twice a past winner of the Champions League with his previous club Enyimba of Nigeria.
Eze gave the hosts, seeking a 2nd successive home triumph in the group, the perfect start in the 11th minute as he latched onto a long ball through the middle which ASEC defender Abdu Adenon failed to clear.
ASEC fought their way back and a snap effort from Ghana born Idrissu Abdul Nafiu saw them equalise in the 53rd minute, the forward blasting home from the edge of the area after being set up by a run down the wing from full back Dacosta Akes Goore.
It was their 1st goal of the group phase.
ASEC remain winless at the halfway stage of the group and now face a serious hurdle in their bid to match their semi-final appearance of last year.
Al Ahli of the Egypt head the group standings with 9 points from their 3 games after triumphing over Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 in Cairo Friday. 12 June 2007 Enyimba late Sunday recorded their 5th Nigerian league triumph after they forced Gombe United to a 1-1 draw on the final day of the championship play-offs here.
Gombe, from the north-eastern part of Nigeria, had taken a surprise lead after 32 minutes through leading scorer Bala Manu before Enyimba restored parity with 9 minutes left to play through Uche Kalu.
Enyimba, who have also won the league in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005, thus topped the 4 team mini league with 7 points after 3 matches.
Gombe finished runners up with 4 points and will join Enyimba to represent the country in next year's CAF Champions League.
It will be the Desert Scorpions' debut in international football. Wikki Tourist of Bauchi came from a goal down to beat Rangers 2-1 and will feature in the Confederation Cup ahead of Rangers.
Both teams finished on 3 points apiece however Wikki enjoyed a better goals difference. This will be the last time that the Nigerian league championship will be determined by a mini league at the end of the regular season as officials said that the coming season will kick off in August, same as most leagues in Europe. |
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