Sports

The greatest footballer of all time debate always generates more heat than light. Often, people get more emotional and less factual. However you my look at it, Lionel Messi takes the crown. Let's discuss how and why. Lionel Messi is a phenomenon. That can never be taken away from him. In fact, we are blessed to belong to this generation. Surely, the world may never see such pure talent again. Do you agree? Pele termed football the world's most beautiful game. Evidently, it is more than beautiful; we all love the game. Some have called Pele the greatest footballer of all time, but that is disputable, with all due respect. Alarmingly, football is big business as evidenced by the amounts of money involved. It is a big industry. Just consider the astronomical amounts of money involved, ...

Who is the greatest footballer of all time (GOAT)? This instalment suggests Lionel Messi is, and here is why. Lionel Messi the GOAT Lionel Messi is a phenomenon. That can never be taken away from him. In fact, we are blessed to belong to this generation. Surely, the world may never see such pure talent again. Do you agree? Pele termed football the world's most beautiful game. Evidently, it is more than beautiful; we all love the game. Alarmingly, football is big business as evidenced by the amounts of money involved. It is a big industry. Just consider the astronomical amounts of money involved, be it in transfer fees, sponsorships or salaries. Incredible!! Messi’s talent unparalleled. We go back to the main issue. We have had great players in world football. Pele, Maradon...

Kobe Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, the United States, and died January 26, 2020 in California. He had an illustrious basketball career, having spent his entire 20 year playing career as a shooting guard at Los Angeles Lakers. But many still wonder: How did Kobe Bryant die? Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant’s wife and Children Bryant married Vanessa Bryant in 2001. At the time of his death in 2020, he left behind four children, Gianna Maria-Onore, Natalia Diamante, Bianka Bella, and Capri Kobe. Professional career Kobe was the son of a star basketball player, Joe. Joe spent 16 seasons as a professional player, both in the US and Italy. Kobe, inspired by his dad, started playing basketball at school, where he bagged numerous awards. He became the youngest All-Star...

Perennial losers the Chevrons, Zimbabwe’s national cricket team finally remembered how to win at long last. It was a long way coming, but finally it happened. And the fans must be elated at last. This victory is sweeter for them. Inspired by opener Wesley Madhevere on Friday, Zimbabwe conquered Bangladesh by an impressive 23 runs. Somehow, this keeps alive their hopes of winning the Twenty20 series in Harare against Bangladesh.  Considering that Zimabwe were whitewashed in the One Day International and the test series, this performance is more than encouraging. Having lost the first match by 8 wickets Friday, the Chevrons scored 166/6, and managed to restrict Bangladesh to 143 with one ball to spare. This was such an improvement from the Zimbabwean bowlers. The series decid...

Zimbabwe bowed out of the Cosafa Championship this year without registering a single win. Embattled coach Zdravko Logarusic’s embarrassing performance continues. But how long will this last? Zimbabwe bowed out of the Cosafa Championship this year without registering a single win. Embattled coach Zdravko Logarusic continues to embarass himself and the nation. But how long will this last? In the aftermath of the Cosafa embarrassment, the coach has drafted and presented his technical report to the ZIFA technical and development committee. The committee is set to meet and analyse the report, then come up with recommendations. What Mutekede said. Wilson Mutekede, the ZIFA Technical Director, confirmed that the technical committee will meet to discuss the team’s performance at the r...

Jadon Sancho is now officially a Manchester United player, having completed a £73million move from Borussia Dortmund. At 21 and having scored 50 goals and provided 64 assists in four seasons at BVB, Sancho is a star in the making. Manchester United announced their capture of the young England international today. Subject to international clearance, Sancho will stay at United until 2026, with a further 12 month option for extension. What Solskjaer said “Jadon epitomises the type of player I want to bring to the club, he is a forward player in the best traditions of Manchester United. He will form an integral part of my squad for years to come and we look forward to seeing him blossom. His goals and assists records speak for themselves and he will also bring tremendous pace, f...

It is that crazy time of the year again when teams look to the market for reinforcements, and it gets interesting. Manchester City Manchester City, the Champions, are targeting Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. By all standards, these will not be cheap buys if anything materialises. But for a club backed by oil wealth, expect anything. As for Aston Villa, you can be sure they will do all they can to keep Grealish. Let us wait and see if Harry Kane is staying at Tottenham. Chelsea The Blues, 2021 Uefa Champions League winners, have made BVB superstar Erling Haaland their main target. It is reported they submitted a £150million bid for the striker, and it remains to be seen whether they will get their man. Reportedly, Chelsea have made Bayern star Robert Lewandowski their secon...

Following his impressive displays last season on loan at West Ham, Jesse Lingard is in Manchester United plans for the coming season. This was confirmed by United Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. What Solskjaer manager had to say “He came seven or eight days later than the rest but he's a naturally fit boy. He's a man, he played with a few boys but he's one of the men,” Solskjaer said.  “Jesse has come back, been bright, he wants to fight for his place and there's nothing better than seeing players want to fight for their place." “What he did towards the end of last season, that's the true Jesse, that's what we know he's capable of and I think we saw towards the end that we lacked some options at times and Jesse is in the plans at the moment, yeah.” Will Lingard be able to...

Wembley violence in the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final shocked the world. How could this happen? Football is considered the most beautiful game in the world. Indeed it is. We all enjoy the game. However, it often associated with violence, sadly so. We should all unite in condemning this dent on our beautiful game. Wembley violence uncalled for I was shocked to see violent and chaotic scenes after England lost the Euro 2020 final to the mighty Italians. I saw a young man being bludgeoned mercilessly by some English rascals, all because he had won, and they had lost. Obviously shocked me owing to the common narratives we have about violent behaviour. We are made to believe it is solely African. How could this happen at Wembley? If you listen to news reports, you will belie...

We all vividly remember that fateful day, don’t we? It was a high stakes match and, as usual, there were bragging rights to go along with it. Either side of the great Limpopo, we held our breath in anticipation and, as the referee blew the first whistle to signal the commencement of the match, we could hardly stay still on our seats. As they say, the rest is history. South Africa went on to win the derby in July 2000, and violent scenes erupted, causing the death of at least 12 fans who had gone to support their favorite teams on the day. It was a very sad experience. Rivalry time once again. Once again, Zimbabwe and South Africa have been grouped together for the world cup qualifiers. We expect nothing but fireworks from the battle of the Limpopo encounter. A lot is at stake. Wherea...