Efe Ambrose: The new Nigerian ambassador in Scotland

The new Celtic defender’s performance is earning plaudits with locals as a Nigerian student learns first hand in an encounter with a shuttle bus driver

New Celtic defender Efe Ambrose is getting very popular in Scotland. After a yeoman’s job in the 3-2 victory for his club against their Russian opponents Spartak Moscow in the Uefa Champions League, the Scots might just have another Nigerian player to celebrate alongside former Rangers forward Sone Aluko. 

This did not occur to me until my current method of beating the Aberdeen cold was halted by a curious bus driver working for a popular bus service.

After seeing Ambrose in action alongside his Kenyan counterpart Victor Wanyama during the recent Champion’s League match that banished the side’s group stage hoodoo - 17 defeats in 18 fruitless attempts to secure a win in the European top flight - the driver was moved to question my Afro-centric hairdo and green Nike top that rekindled memories of the memorable win at the Luzhniki Stadium which had Celtic manager Neil Lennon and their fans over the moon.

“Did you watch yesterday’s match,” the bus driver enquired.

Having spent the greater part of my first evening in Scotland perching in various locations, it sounded strange until he dropped my countryman’s name with rare proficiency.   

“Efe Ambrose played very well last night against the Russians,” added the fellow with obvious pride.

 It was then it all came back to me. Not one to watch the Scottish League or its Belgian and Dutch counterparts that litter my Startimes bouquet back in Naija, I did recall a prelude to the match on a local newspaper  I picked at Heathrow Airport en route to Aberdeen.  

“Oh yeah,” I replied. I didn’t get to see it but I saw the score line on TV.”

“Why didn’t you watch it,” he queried with another inquisitive look in his face.

Unable to start arguing on the level of my patriotism or a bland league with sparks of occasional genius, I replied that I would make sure I got a Celtic jersey at the nearest Sportsdirect shop to mark the occasion.

To even make things better, I would put “Ambrose” behind it to celebrate my country man’s exploits. This reply was based on my phobia for not counting my eggs before they hatch. 

Also, with back to back games against Barcelona FC, regarded as the best club in the world at the moment, it might be too soon to pop the champagne given the array of stars the Spanish side pack. But weirder things have happened in the round leather game and the eventual winner when Celtic and Barcelona clash should be football.

Still, I wish Ambrose all the best as he continues to lay down great performances for the Bhoys and fly the Nigerian flag high here.

- Ajao, a journalist, has just moved to Scotland in pursuit of a masters degree in Communication at the University of Aberdeen.

Caf unveils Afcon 2013 draw procedures and seeded teams

Caf has published the procedure for the drawing of lots for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final tournament beginning next January.

With the exception of hosts South Africa and defending champions Zambia, the 14 qualified teams will be ranked based on their performances in the last three editions.

A system of points has been adopted to classify the teams according to their performances in 2008, 2010 and 2012 editions, with the winner in any of those competitions receiving 7 points, while runners-up, 5, semi-finalist, 3, quarterfinalist, 2, teams eliminated in the group stage getting 1 point.

Points obtained by each of the 14 teams in 2012 edition will be multiplied by 3, by 2 in the 2010 edition and by 1 in the 2008 edition.

In conformity with the regulations of the competition, host nation South Africa will be the top seeded team of group A and title holder Zambia will be the top seeded team of group C. Both will bear letters A1 and C1 on board respectively.

Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire obtained 22 points each after multiplications and are the best ranked teams amongst the remaining 14. Both have been placed in Pot 1 and will be the top seeded teams of groups B and D respectively.

The remaining twelve teams will be categorised into three Pots (Pot 2, 3 and 4) based on their total points from results in the last three editions.

The Stage 1 of the Draw will be to do an integral draw to determine which of Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire will be awarded the letter B1 and D1.

The Stage 2 will be to proceed to the repartition of the 4 teams of Pot 4 (DR Congo, Togo, Cape Verde and Ethiopia) in the four groups.

In stage 2, a designated representative will draw from the first jar that contains the 4 groups (A,B,C,D) the letter that will determine the group where the next drawn team will play. The first team to be drawn shall belong in that group in position 4 (i.e. A4, B4, C4 or D4).

The procedure will be repeated for the three other teams of Pot 4.

Stage 3 of the Draw will involve the 4 teams in Pot 3 (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Morocco andNiger). The first team to be drawn shall belong in that group in position 3 (i.e. A3, B3, C3 or D3).

Stage 4 of the Draw will concern the 4 teams in Pot 2 (Mali, Tunisia, Angola and Nigeria), following the same procedure as described above.

By the end of the four stages the sixteen qualified countries will be distributed within the four groups.

The official draw will be held on October 24 in Durban, South Africa.

Player Ratings: Manchester United 4-2 Stoke City

• 
  7

  0

    

  Manchester United

  David de Gea

  A quiet afternoon on the whole for Spaniard, but still had to pick the ball out of his net twice. Made a crucial save from Jonathan Walters when United were behind.
• 
  6

  0

  Rafael

  Was pegged back more than he would have liked due to the threat of Michael Kightly but dealt with him well generally, even if it limited opportunities to get forward.
• 
  7

  0

  Patrice Evra

  Largely composed performance from the French left-back who, unlike Rafael was happy to get forward and support Danny Welbeck as much as possible as United came back from a goal down.
• 
  6

  5

  Rio FerdinandFlop of the Match

  Was at fault for the Potters' opening goal as he found himself in a muddle with Michael Carrick and allowed Kightly to run straight through before slotting home.
• 
  5

  0

  Jonny Evans

  A steady performance from the Northern Irish international, who dealt well with the aerial presence of Peter Crouch and was calm and composed on the ball.
• 
  7

  0

  Antonio Valencia

  A superb performance from the Ecuadorian, who proved a constant menace to the Stoke defence with his pace. Provided the cross for Van Persie's strike.
• 
  3

  3

  Michael Carrick

  A steady performance from United's Mr Reliable. Always available for a pass and pulled the strings in the middle of the park throughout.
• 
  6

  0

  Paul Scholes

  Another masterclass in midfield play from the United maestro, who showed his usual calmness in possession and dictated the tempo of the match.
• 
  11

  1

  Wayne RooneyTop of the Match

  A successful afternoon for Rooney, who recovered from the setback of scoring an early own goal to score the two goals he needed to reach 200 goals in club football. Also provided an assist for Welbeck's strike.
• 
  5

  5

  Danny Welbeck

  A superb performance from the Englishman, whose movement was too much for the Stoke defence to deal with, took his goal well and showed a good understanding with his fellow frontmen.
• 
  8

  2

  Robin van Persie

  The Dutchman took a while to get going but his impact was devastating thereafter as he conjured up a magical strike as well as setting up both of Rooney's goals.

Substitutions

• 
  5

  0

  Anderson

  Put himself about well in the 25 minutes he was on. Dynamic performance as he looked to keep United pressing forward.
• 
  1

  2

  Nani

  Replaced Valencia, and a few neat flicks aside, did little during his time on the pitch.
• 
  2

  1

  Chicharito

  Had little time to make any impact.

 

Stoke City

2.68

1

1

• 
  1

  2

  Asmir Begovic

  Had hardly anything to do throughout apart from take the ball out of his net on four occasions. Did produce a good stop from an Evans header.
• 
  1

  1

  Geoff Cameron

  Steady performance from the American utility man, who always provided an outlet on the right flank but will be disappointed in how he dealt with Van Persie's cross for the equaliser.
• 
  1

  2

  Robert Huth

  The German could not be blamed for any of the goals but struggled to contain the movement in front of him of Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck.
• 
  1

  0

  Ryan Shawcross

  A fantastic performance from the former United centre-half, who seemed buoyed by his ex-manager's comments before the match. Dominant throughout.
• 
  0

  1

  Marc Wilson

  Was given a tough time by Antonio Valencia, who caused numerous problems for the left-back, who still made a number of forward forays in spite of his defensive struggles.
• 
  0

  1

  Steven N'Zonzi

  A solid performance in midfield from the athletic midfield man, who set up Kightly's strike after a brilliant tackle on Scholes in the middle of the park.
• 
  1

  1

  Charlie Adam

  A valiant effort in midfield from the Scottish international, who probed with crisp passing throughout, but struggled against the dominant duo of Scholes and Carrick.
• 
  0

  1

  Dean Whitehead

  Tried to get his foot on the ball but struggled to deal with the Manchester United movement in the middle of the park and the game often went by him.
• 
  1

  0

  Michael Kightly

  The Potters' best player on the day as he pegged Rafael back and sped past Ferdinand to give his club a glimmer of hope. Was unlucky to be on the losing side.
• 
  0

  1

  Jonathan Walters

  Tried to push Evra back with a number of surging runs but was often found helping out the man behind him in Geoff Cameron as United broke with pace.
• 
  1

  1

  Peter Crouch

  A largely peripheral figure as United dominated possession. He was undone in the physical battle by the determined pair of Evans and Ferdinand.

Substitutions

• 
  1

  1

  W. Palacios

  Had little time to make an impact.
• 
  0

  1

  Matthew Etherington

  A few promising runs as he tried to get the Potters back into the contest, but could not have any telling contribution.
• 
  1

  1

  Michael Owen

  Spent most of his time in a midfield role as he struggled to get forward and support his fellow forwards, offered very little.

I have talked about Bayern with Kevin-Prince, admits Jerome Boateng

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng has admitted that he has been in touch with AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng to talk about the Bundesliga giants' alleged plans to re-unite the half brothers.
Recent reports from Germany suggested that Bayern are closely monitoring the 25-year-old's situation at the Rossoneri, and although the midfielder revealed earlier this week that he is unaware of any potential interest, both siblings have already discussed the matter.

"We have already talked about it a few times," Jerome was quoted as saying by AZ.

"I do not know how concrete it all is, though. It seems as if it's just some distant rumours for now."

The midfielder then went on to stress that Bayern cannot afford to lose focus again like they did last term, when they collapsed after a good start to the season and were pipped to the title by Borussia Dortmund.

"We can't let that happen again. It's crucial that we also win the games, where we are not at our best. We know that it will be very difficult to beat us as long as we stick together like a team."
Bayern currently hold a five-point lead over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga table.