Irandaily | No. 4444 | Sports

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Third African Soccer Title for Nigeria

Nigeria’s long wait for a major soccer title ended on Sunday as the “Super Eagles” beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sunday Mba scored his second goal of the two-week tournament--both coincidentally coming on the day that bears his name--as Nigeria became just the fourth team to win the continental crown three times or more, CNN wrote.
“I’m so happy it is a dream come true. I don’t know what to say,” Mba said after the final whistle.
“We really worked hard and we were looking forward to this day and I’m so happy for this.”
Stephen Keshi became only the second man to win the title as both coach and player, having been captain at the 1994 tournament when Nigeria won for the second time--though he did not play in that final.
Burkina Faso, playing in the final for the first time, missed out on the $1.5 million first prize and the chance to represent Africa at this year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.
Mba also scored in the quarterfinal win over tournament favorites Ivory Coast, being one of five home-based players brought into the squad by Keshi.
Keshi made big changes after Nigeria failed to qualify for last year’s event in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon--a turbulent period for the national team, which was suspended from international football by President Goodluck Jonathan before world ruling body FIFA threatened to intervene.
However, the president was delighted with Sunday’s result.
“President Jonathan thanks coach Stephen Keshi and all members of the team who have worked very hard to make Nigeria the proud champions of Africa once again after 19 years of setbacks in the competition,” his office said in a statement.
“The President also believes that having conquered Africa, the new Super Eagles can go on to achieve even greater glory at the World Cup in Brazil next year.”
Back in 1994, Nigeria was ranked fifth in the world--the highest by any African nation.
The Super Eagles won gold at the 1996 Olympics, but have since slipped to 52nd in the rankings.
Mba’s 40th-minute strike came after a moment of opportunistic skill as the 24-year-old flicked a loose ball into the penalty area and then poked a volley past the Stallions’ goalkeeper Daouda Diakite.
“It will go a long way towards my career,” said Mba, who made his first appearance at the tournament after winning a late call-up from Keshi.
“This is my first time and I’m very happy. We gave all that we had.”

Mercedes Impressed by Hamilton Attitude

Lewis Hamilton has already proven to Mercedes that he has the off-track skills and attitude to match his obvious speed, says team boss Ross Brawn.
At the end of his first week of track action with Mercedes during testing at Jerez in Spain, Brawn said that Hamilton had impressed not only with his performance in the car but in how he was approaching the task of moving Mercedes forward, AutoSport wrote.
“He is clearly a very talented driver,” said Brawn. “But F1 is about so much more. There are a lot of highly talented drivers who do not have the rest of it.
“I think he has the rest of it as well.”
Brawn said that Hamilton’s attitude to working with Mercedes had been a big help, especially the way he was dealing methodically with the situation, and leaving no stone unturned.
“He is very straightforward I have to say,” explained Brawn. “In many ways he is very simple, very straightforward. He tells us what he thinks.
“He is never short of detail in telling you what he thinks and, of course, you learn at what level you need to go to. He is interested in everything about the car. He is interested in the fact that the stickers might not be put properly on the bodywork.
“He has a very good eye for detail, so I think he will be a very involved member of the team, which is what we wanted.”
Brawn did think, however, that it would take some time for Hamilton and the engineering team to become as integrated as they will need to be to ensure car development is always in the right direction.
“I think it is still very early in terms of understanding what he wants from a car perspective. We need a greater spread before we get to understand that bit, but he is clearly a person who enjoys being involved at all levels.
“That is a great motivation for the team. He has been working hard with the engineers at this test. He has been here on the days that Nico [Rosberg] has been driving, listening on the headset to what has been going on. So, he is everything I hoped he would be.”
Brawn also revealed that he had made it clear to Hamilton that it was vital the former world champion spoke his mind to ensure that he could help the team improve.

Heat Top Lakers

LeBron James ran a few steps behind the play, knowing exactly what was
coming. The lob from Norris Cole arrived, and the NBA’s reigning MVP rose for a catch and dunk. He made it look easy.
He’s making everything look easy right now, AP wrote.
James scored 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting in a record-setting show, Dwyane Wade scored 30 and the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-97 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.
It was James’ fifth straight game with at least 30 points, a franchise record. He also joined Adrian Dantley (1979) and Moses Malone (1982) as the only NBA players to score at least 30 and shoot at least 60 percent in five straight outings, the team said. ‘’Don’t take it for granted,’’ Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘’He’s making greatness look easy.’’
Mario Chalmers scored 13 and Chris Bosh finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
Kobe Bryant had 28 points and nine assists for the Lakers, who also got 18 points from Earl Clark. The Lakers had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, while Miami had none.
‘’Turnovers,’’ lamented Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni. ‘’You have to give them credit. They’re good.’’
With the win, Miami moved 2 1/2 games clear of the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Clippers earlier Sunday.
Dwight Howard and Steve Nash each scored 15 for the Lakers.
‘’They have a couple of sensational players over there that made some big plays,’’ Bryant said.
Indeed, James and Wade stole the show down the stretch.
Wade also shot 12 for 18 for Miami, which shot 55 percent as a team and held a 38-29 edge in rebounding. James scored 20 in the second half and Wade had 18 in the final two quarters, but the defending NBA champions weren’t able to pull away until the final minutes.
Wade had five straight points for Miami, the last of them coming with 7:15 left when his three-point play put the Heat up 89-82--at that point, their biggest lead of the day.
A minute later, Wade started what might have been Miami’s signature sequence of the game.
He stepped in front of a pass by Bryant under the basket, then flipped it to Bosh before falling out of bounds.

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