He, however, cautioned that achieving greatness will require more than mere football talent, which most agree Senegal have in good measure.

On his way out of the venue of the 2017 AITEO CAF Awards he spared a second to chip in, that a strong mindset is what will set Senegal apart and well on their path to greatness.

The former Liverpool forward,at age 21 made his mark on the world stage during Senegal’s fairytale journey to the quarterfinals of the Japan-Korea 2002 World Cup and was rightly rewarded with a place in the All-Star team of the competition.

“We have a good team and have nothing to worry about.

“We want to write the newest story of world football and I think my team is ready for that challenge.

“Football is crazy and it is not about what I will say or what Drogba or Eto’o say.

“It is about how many characters these guys will have.

“To make it to that point,it is not about talent but character.

“I hope they will show that character because at the highest level if you don’t show it you won’t get far, he revealed to Kwese Sports.

A Group H showdown with Japan, Colombia and Poland await Senegal with their opening match coming against the Polish.

–

By: Benjamin Nketsia/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Senegal needs guts to make history at World Cup – El Hadji Diouf appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Nigeria, who were crowned champions of Africa in 2013, will face Argentina for the fifth time in the group stages of the World Cup

They are joined in Group D by Iceland and Croatia.

Morocco who beat Ivory Coast to make it to the tournament will face a huge task of making it out of their group after they were drawn against European Champions Portugal and Spain who have won the World Cup in 2010.

Senegal were grouped with Poland, Colombia and Japan while Tunisia will be hoping they can make it out of a difficult group with Belgium, Panama and England.

Defending champions Germany will be expected to qualify from a group which has Sweden, Mexico and South Korea

Hosts Russia play Saudi Arabia in the World Cup’s opening game in Moscow on 14 June (16:00 BST).

The 2018 tournament takes place across Russia between 14 June and 15 July.

World Cup groups in full

• Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
• Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
• Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
• Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
• Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
• Group F: Germany, Sweden, Mexico, South Korea
• Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
• Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan

–

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Egypt face hosts Russia, Nigeria drawn with Argentina in 2018 World Cup appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

For the 2018 issue of the Official Poster, the renowned Russian artist Igor Gurovich chose legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin as a central figure of his work.

“The Official Poster of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is a true reflection of Russia’s artistic and football heritage,” commented FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.

“We are very proud of this beautiful landmark asset that portrays such an important icon and celebrates the coming tournament on Russian soil.”

“It was very important for us to portray Russia as the Host Country in the Official Poster,” added the Chairman of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee Vitaly Mutko, “that’s why Lev Yashin was choosen, a symbol of Russian football, as the main figure.

I’m sure that the poster will become one of the most memorable symbols of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and that fans and participants alike will approve of it.”

Yashin played in four FIFA World Cups – 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970 – and remains the only goalkeeper in the history of football to win the Ballon d’Or. In the poster, he is dressed in his traditional outfit of black shirt and shorts, knee brace and his famous cap.

He is shown reaching for the ball, one half of which is a typical football from Yashin’s era, with the other depicting the vast landmass of Russia as seen from space, reflecting a key inspiration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup brand, that of Russia’s achievements in space exploration.

Artistically, Gurovich was inspired by the Russian movement of Constructivism from the late 1920s, in particular the posters designed by Dziga Vertov and the Stenberg brothers.

The rays of light emanating from the ball, a common feature of Constructivist work, symbolises the tournament’s energy, while the circle of green represents the pitches of 12 stadiums in 11 Host Cities that will stage the 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The culmination of this festival of football will be the Final on 15 July 2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium, where the captain of the winning team will lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy in front of the watching world.

“The style of Soviet post-Constructivist posters from the 1920s and 1930s, their unique visual language, a new, fresh poetry of figurative images, became one of the most important and revered elements of Russian culture,” said Igor Gurovich.

“This language is unquestionably thought of as Russian throughout the world. Therefore, in my work on the poster, I really wanted to make this language modern and relevant once again.”

“Lev Yashin massively changed what it was to be a goalkeeper,” remembered Vladimir Ponomaryov, Yashin’s contemporary and team-mate at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England. “Thanks to him, the role of a goalkeeper grew significantly in the team. Yashin actively marshalled his defenders, played the ball out well with his hands and came off his line to help the defence. Lev was a big personality on the pitch. I’m expecting fascinating matches, beautiful goals and, of course, brilliant footballers just like Yashi at the World Cup in Russia.”

FIFA World Cup Posters have long been considered a genuine work of art that draw interest from dealers, collectors of football memorabilia, members of the artistic community and football fans all over the world.

Biography of Igor Gurovich

• The designer of the poster, Russian artist Igor Gurovich, was born in 1967.
• A member of the Russian Academy of Graphic Design, he also teaches at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and jointly founded the Ostengruppe design lab.
• He has worked on various projects throughout his career, including the uniform for the Russia team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the branding of the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament (1997-1999) and the rebranding of the Moscow International Film Festival.
• He received the grand prize from the Moscow International Advertising Festival in 1994 and the All-Russian Design Contest in 2000.
• He also won the top award at the Moscow Global Biennale of Graphic Design Golden Bee in 2012 and the AGI prize at the Chaumont Biennale of Graphic Design in 2013. He has put on numerous exhibitions of his own work.

–

Source: FIFA

The post Official poster for 2018 World Cup unveiled appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.