Paper Talk: Mikel John Obi’s name change, Argentina boss’ Messi plea, Champions League drama
EPL star’s name change, Champions League drama, a beautiful story from London, Schweinsteiger’s class, and more.
It’s all in Wednesday’s edition of Paper Talk.
THE NAME CHANGE THAT’S NOT A NAME CHANGE
THIS is hilarious.
Chelsea’s Jon Obi Mikel has officially changed his name – but in trying to clarify his real name, he’s made plenty of Chelsea fans very, very confused.
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna has now officially changed his name to Mikel John Obi.
Hang on – isn’t that something like what we’ve always called him?
For years, the midfield veteran has been known as ‘Mikel’, but it turns out, well, that’s never actually been his name.
The story goes that Mikel became a nickname after the Nigerian FA made a typo in submitting his form for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championship.
So ever since, we’ve been calling him John Obi Mikel.
Simple? No.
Now, his name is officially Mikel John Obi.
Got it!
THREE GOALS IN STOPPAGE TIME
Qualifying for the UEFA Champions League has started in earnest and there was quite some drama in Cyprus.
APOEL struck three times in second-half stoppage time to overcome Rosenborg 4-2 on aggregate, after trailling 2-1 over two legs in the 90th minute.
Watch the comeback in the video at the top of the page.
Irish champions Dundalk stunned BATE Borisov of Belarus 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to the final qualifying round of this season’s Champions League.
Dundalk trailed 1-0 after last week’s first leg of their third round qualifying tie, but a brace from David McMillan and a late third goal from Robert Benson powered the hosts to a 3-1 aggregate victory in Dublin.
Dundalk will attempt to become the first League of Ireland club to reach the Champions League group stages, having now assured themselves of at least a Europa League spot.
Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb, Ludogorets and Viktoria Plzen also sealed their places in the play-off round with the draw taking place in Monaco on Friday.
Scottish champions Celtic will hope to overcome Astana in Glasgow on Wednesday after the reverse fixture in Kazakhstan finished 1-1.
Monaco must overturn a 2-1 deficit at home to Fenerbahce, while Ajax head to Greece after being held to a 1-1 draw by PAOK last week. Shakhtar Donetsk are in control of their tie with Young Boys following a 2-0 victory in Ukraine.
COME BACK, LEO!
Argentina’s new coach Edgardo Bauza said Tuesday he is “optimistic” he can convince Lionel Messi to come out of early international retirement.
Bauza’s number one task in his new job is to convince the 29-year-old Barcelona star and five-time World Player of the Year to reconsider his abrupt decision to quit the national team.
“I’m optimistic about Messi,” Bauza told Fox Sports, a day after being appointed.
“I hope that the chat I’d like to have with him will help convince him to stay with the team. I want to explain my idea to Messi. His position on the pitch is the least of my worries.” Bauza, 58, was speaking from Brazil, where he previously coached Sao Paulo. He joins Argentina fresh from coaching the club to the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores.
Bauza has won two Copa Libertadores -- one in 2014 with San Lorenzo, the other in 2008 with Ecuadoran side LDU Quito.
CLASSY RESPONSE
It hasn’t been easy for Bastian Schweinsteiger, banished by Jose Mourinho to the reserves as he tries to squeeze the Germany icon out of his squad.
In a classy, but defiant response, the midfielder wore his Manchester United jersey to send a message to the club’s fans the day after the news – which prompted his brother to tweet ‘no respect’ – broke.
“Hi guys, thank you very much for the birthday wishes and the positive comments I received about the national team career, I feel very honoured.
“I hope we’re gonna see each other soon. Bye.”
BEAUTIFUL STORY
Eight-year-old Marshall Janson warmed hearts when he was cheered onto White Hart Lane last season. The Spurs fan, who has lost both legs and hands to meningitis, is a huge football fan, and after years lacking confidence to play the game he loved, the boost gained from that day out with his heroes and some lessons with Harry Kane has inspired him onto the pitch.
On the weekend, he played his first game.
Powerful, wonderful stuff.
Bravo.
MY YEAR
Daniel Sturridge has been following a very specific training schedule ahead of the season in a bid to become the striker plenty think he has the talent to become.
And he wants to reach those heights.
“God willing it will be this season,” said Sturridge.
“To play for Liverpool and show my abilities and show my qualities has always been the aim and I will continue to strive to be the best player.
“I want to be the best striker in the league and do the best for this club. I will strive to win silverware for this club. I’m always working, I’m always pushing myself to the limits and I want this to be the season where not just myself, but the team can be successful.
“The main aim is to win trophies with Liverpool – that’s all I have wanted to do since I’ve been here. We have been so close to winning the Premier League, so close to winning two finals (last season), but this year is the year when we have to try and win that trophy. That has to be the aim.”
He added: “After the first game, I was so still and tense from the first sessions. We trained in the morning, we did a double session they day before. We did a hard lot of sessions, and it has been great to able to complete pre-season in full and be rearing to go.
“I felt quite stiff after the sessions, but I am feeling a lot better. I continued training with the team and going through it.
“The manager has pushed us to our limits. We are showing we are getting fitter with each game. I felt a lot fitter (after Roma) than I did (after AC Milan). I’m ready to go.”
NO WORRIES FOR ROY
The Daily Mail reports that if Roy Hodgson is up for the challenge, he will be in hot demand in China’s Super League.
The former England boss could command some £8million to move to Asia, reports The Daily Mail, where he would join the likes of Sven Goran Eriksson and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
SAD STORY TO END
There’s a shocking story out of Slovenia, with two Maribor players killed in a car crash ahead of a Champions League qualifier against Aberdeen.
Serbian striker Zoran Baljak, 21, and Slovenian left-back Damjan Marjanovic, 20, were both killed, while Serbian keeper Ljubomira Moravca, 20, was badly injured.
The players involved were not due to take part in the qualifier.