Paolo Di Canio Sacked By Sunderland - European Football

Paolo Di Canio: Sunderland sack head coach after 13 games
Sunderland have sacked head coach Paolo Di Canio with the Black Cats bottom of the Premier League table.

The 45-year-old Italian has won three of his 13 matches since being appointed in March and taken only one point from five league games this campaign.

Sunderland said they will decide on Di Canio's successor in "due course".

Coach Kevin Ball will take temporary charge of the team, with ex-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo an early favourite for the job.

Di Canio's journey
•Born in Rome, 9 July 1968
•Played in Italy for Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Cisco Roma
•Played in Britain for Celtic, Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton
•Fined £10,000 in 1998 by the FA for pushing referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being sent off against Arsenal
•Wins Fifa Fair Play award for sportsmanship in 2001 for catching ball and stopping play v Everton to allow injured keeper Paul Gerrard to receive treatment
•Criticised in 2005 for making fascist-style salute in Lazio game
•Appointed Swindon boss in May 2011; guides them into League One a year later
•Resigns as Swindon boss in February 2013 citing issues with the club's hierarchy after sale of star player Matt Ritchie
•Replaces Martin O'Neill as Sunderland boss in March 2013; club avoid relegation
•Sacked after four defeats in five league games of 2013-14

Former Brighton manager Gus Poyet is also believed to be a contender but he has refused to comment on reports linking him to the post.

Di Canio's dismissal leaves Sunderland looking for their sixth permanent manager in less than five years.

The Italian's backroom team of first-team coach Fabrizio Piccareta, goalkeeping coach Domenico Doardo, fitness coach Claudio Donatelli and physio Giulio Viscardi will also leave the Stadium of Light outfit.

Sunderland's statement added: "The club would like to place on record its thanks to Paolo and his staff and wishes them well for the future."

Senior professional development coach Ball's opening duty as caretaker boss is to prepare the side for Tuesday's home Capital One Cup third-round match against Peterborough United at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland then host Liverpool on Sunday and Manchester United on 5 October, with the Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle on 27 October.

Di Canio started out as a player in Italy and was a forward for Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan before a move to Scottish giants Celtic.

He had spells in the Premier League with Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic before returning to Lazio and finishing his playing career at Cisco Roma.

The Italian began his managerial career when he took over as Swindon boss in May 2011 and guided the club to promotion from League Two in 2012 before resigning in February 2013.

Di Canio then succeeded Martin O'Neill at the Stadium of Light on 31 March and signed a two-and-half-year deal, although he later admitted he feared the sack in the immediate controversy over his arrival.

Embarking upon his first Premier League job, Di Canio had to fend off questions about whether he held fascist beliefs.

He was backed by Sunderland chairman Ellis Short and endeared himself to the fans with a 3-0 victory at Newcastle in his second game as boss.

But Di Canio's men were thrashed 6-1 by Aston Villa and failed to win their final three fixtures, finishing only one place above the relegation zone.

This season started with a home loss to Fulham before the Black Cats drew at Southampton and conceded nine goals in defeats against Crystal Palace, Arsenal and, most recently, West Brom.

Play mediaMOTD3 pundits reflect on Paolo Di Canio's sacking at Sunderland
After the 3-0 loss at The Hawthorns on Saturday, Di Canio walked over to face the travelling supporters, who made their feelings clear.

"I absorb the insults as it's part of the game - if I was in their position I'd be furious," he said. "But I'm professional: 24 hours a day I work for this cause. One day their reaction will be a different reaction.

"I knew that they were furious. I went to them because I wanted to see their faces. It's easy to go over when they're clapping or singing your name. I'm responsible but my head is up. I won't give up.

"It's obvious we're still not together. We don't have many leaders in terms of desire to play with a premier style.

"I'm never going to change my regime. I am what I am. My way to manage the team is for the top, top level. I have to be clear to everyone - the board, the chairman, the fans - I'm never going to change.

"One day, if I receive the full support from the players, we will turn the corner."

Di Canio publicly criticised some of his squad at the end of last season and worked with director of football Roberto De Fanti and chief scout Valentino Angeloni to sign 14 new players in the summer.

His buys cost £19m in total and included AZ Alkmaar striker Jozy Altidore, Italy international Emanuele Giaccherini and Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

But left-back Danny Rose returned to Tottenham following a loan spell, while Sunderland sold goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to Liverpool and, on transfer deadline day, attacking midfielder Stephane Sessegnon to West Brom.

Tenant Kills Landlord, Wife, Sets House Ablaze...

A tenant in Uyo, AkwaIbomState, allegedly set his residence ablaze, Monday, killing his landlord and landlady.
The house is located at Asuquo Eyo Street in Ifa Ikot Okpon, Uyo Local Government Area of the state.
The suspect, in his mid 40s, identified simply as Ime and popularly known as Shawa, was said to have threatened to burn down the house and kill his landlord and wife if they ejected him.
It was learnt that Ime, allegedly stabbed his landlord, Mr. Edem Akpan, and his wife, Affiong, to death, before setting the house ablaze.
Ms Emem Akpan, the deceased’s daughter, said trouble started when her father asked Ime to quit his house.
Akpan said that the suspect refused to park out and threatened that if her father insisted on ejecting him, he would kill them and burn down the house.
She said: “We thought what he said was just a mere threat. None of us could believe that Ime was capable of doing what he said.
“Two days ago, we saw him bringing worn-out tyres into the compound. We didn’t know he had a plan.
“Yesterday, before we left for church in the evening, he brought 20 litres of fuel, more than what his generator could contain.
“I remember a neighbour asking him what he was going to do with such amount of fuel, but he told him that he was going to run the generator overnight.”
“What we saw this morning as we returned from church, that the fuel and worn-out tyres were weapons he used to kill my parents.”

President Jonathan and Obama in New York

President Goodluck Jonathan being received by President Barack Obama of the US at the Waldorf Hotel, New York on today Monday September 23rd.

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woooow! Lagosians spends N36billion annually on parties...

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Dear RBR(rhascovenus2010 blog readers)Lagos state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, this weekend revealed that more than N36 billion is spent by Lagosians annually to organise parties. The governor said this at the 4th edition of the Lagos Ignite Enterprise and Employability project, a joint youth empowerment programme between the government and the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre, AGDC.

Governor Fashola said:

“This was the study of night life carried out by the government in five local governments including Agege, Mushin, Ifako-Ijaiye and Ikeja and another local government. It showed that more than N36 billion was spent on 1555 parties held within the period. We did a study between October and November last year. We studied from Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, three days every week for four weeks which was 12 nights. In 12 nights, 1555 parties were held in these local governments. In terms of drinks, food and all other engagements during such parties, about N1.2 billion was spent and when we dis-aggregated them we saw how much went to DJ, MC, food and drinks, the total picture in the state now and I don’t want to give you a wrong number but it’s something in the region of about N3 billion monthly on that side of our life and people are playing and impacting on that side of our economy.

 The governor further stated that Aso Ebi alone gulped a minimum of N1.2billion monthly...rbr's put your comments here if you consider this as disgusting

Top 5 Bankable Nigerian Actresses

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Four elements contribute to the success of a movie at the box-office. They include good script, experienced director, professional publicist, and most importantly, the big name stars.

In Nigeria, some movie stars have proven again and again that they can guarantee return on investment as long as their faces adorn the poster. They are Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Omoni Oboli, Funke Akindele and Nse Ikpe-Etim. Or how else could one explain the success of box office hits like Mirror Boy, Ije, and Tango With Me all having Genevieve Nnaji starring in them? And what about Figurine and Anchor Baby which both starred Omoni Oboli as the lead actress?

Here, We take a look at Nollywood’s five bankable actresses, their earnings and what is possibly working for them.

1. Genevieve Nnaji

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Topping the list of five is Genevieve Nnaji. Love or hate her, Genny as she is fondly called, has a way with cinema audiences that make them come back again and again for her movies.

So far, Genevieve’s starring in the movies has grossed over N83 million at the box office. Mirror Boy (described by the actress as her first major film and the first to put her at the box-office) made N18 million, while Ije netted N60 million turning out to be Nigeria’s highest grossing movie ever. But Genevieve had to share the money with Omotola, who also acted alongside her. If the sharing formula is 50-50, then Genevieve gets N30 million of the total gross.

Genevieve’s next movie, Tango with Me went on to make N35 million. So, putting all the figures together, Genny remains at the head of the pack. What seem to be working for Genevieve are her enduring power, popularity and social media connection. The actress has been there for over a decade and is still waxing stronger. Her wine seems to taste better with age.

Another plus for Genny is her popularity. Genevieve is hugely popular across Africa and most especially among the youths. Before now, she has been very active on the social media especially Twitter. She even had to put up a Facebook advert after reports emerged that some acts were ahead of her there.



2. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde

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Next on the list is Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde with box-office gross of N60 million. She made N24 million with Last Flight to Abuja, N6 million from Private Storm and her N30 million share in Ije bring her total earning to N60 million.

This year alone, no actress has made as much as N24 million from a single movie; Funke Akindele would have done so with The Return of Jenifa but the movie hit the box office in 2011.

Omotola, who was reported to have been paid N5 million by Tarila Thompson all in the bid to make his movie a blockbuster, has been described as the biggest box office actress of 2012. She recorded successes back to back but it remains to be seen if she can pull off the box office magic again with Amina and other movies coming in 2013.

Omotola has been an A-list actress even before Genevieve got her first big break and so what has been working for her is the wise investment in her brand. Her enduring presence and unceasing contact with her fans via the social media has made her popular even in an environment where a mother of four like her is not fashionable.

3. Funke Akindele

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Surprisingly, the third person on the list is Funke Akindele, a young lady who rose to fame in I Need To Know, a TV series, and went on to earn a monstrous fame with Jenifa.

Funke is an unlikely candidate on this list. Now, how can one explain that she is third on a list parading heavy weights like Omoni Oboli, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Stephanie Okereke among others?

So far, Funke has made over N56 million, netting over N20 million in 2012 alone. In The Return of Jenifa, Funke netted N35 million. The movie ran till February 2012. Her movie, Married but Living Single made N9.9 million while Maami made N11 million. The actress is on her way to another cinema glory with a movie, A Wish. Let’s hope she will be able to wave the magical wand again and create a box-office success.

For Funke who recently got married, the plus factor for her is her huge popularity among the masses and elites. Her movie, Jenifa cuts across all social groups with the street parlance in it becoming the mode of communication in social gathering. And as an icing on the cake, Funke has moved upscale, she is now the toast of events organized by the rich and not so rich. Her box office credibility transcends the cinema as all DVDs parading her face turn into gold.

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4. Omoni Oboli


Omoni Oboli, who is still largely unknown to those who don’t patronise the cinema and social media, is fourth on the list. She is a silent achiever. Before the trio of Genevieve, Omotola and Funke even dreamt of hitting the box office, Omoni Oboli already took the lead. Figurine, her first box office appearance made N13 million while her second effort, Anchor Baby made N18 million bringing her total earning to N31million.

Omoni’s strength is her exclusivity and knack for quality. It is a known fact that if the project is not big and ambitious, Omoni might not do it. The disadvantage of that is, despite her box office credibility, Omoni is still unknown in areas where there is no access to cinemas. Perhaps, that is the reason she tries to make up with the red carpet presence.

For now, the exclusivity is working for Omoni; perhaps her new movie, Broken and other works will introduce a new twist. One other thing that should not be forgotten is the unprecedented publicity of Anchor Baby in 2010. The film also had Omoni at the forefront of meeting and greeting of fans at the cinemas.


5. Nse Ikpe-Etim



The fifth slot belongs to Nse Ikpe-Etim. She seems to be the latest sensation in big budget movies. In Mr and Mrs, Nse was a delight, her performance was a reference point and it was a hook that kept drawing people to the cinema while the movie was there.

Mr and Mrs made N6 million while another of her film, Phone Swap made N20 million, making a total of N26 million.

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Too early for Nse to cement her place, as she hasn’t done N15 million back-to-back but one thing the actress has made clear is that she has intention of doing that. The leading four acts should be afraid of Nse because her strength lies in her pure acting talent.
Nse is born to act, deemed to be unnecessarily assertive a times, but you can’t accuse her of not knowing her lines. And she pushes her movies with virgour, moving from one cinema to the other.

However, Nse should watch it as many have accused her of being too ‘self-conscious’, a term casually used for budding stars who have ‘over-hyped’ impression of themselves as this could alienate fans who make the box-office count.