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19th June, 2009
Mixed Fortunes For Stars Abroad
Africa correspondent Samm Audu reviews a weekend that proved to be a bitter-sweet one for the likes of Cameroon’s Achille Emana and Mamadou Bagayoko from Mali..
SPAIN
Cameroon superstar Samuel Eto’o continued where he left off in the first round of the Spanish La Liga when he opened the scoring for league leaders Barcelona away at bottom team Osasuna.
Eto’o’s 45th minute strike will propel Barca to a 3-2 win.
Eto’o remains top scorer in Spain with 16 goals, two more than David Villa of Valencia.
Mali’s Seydou Keita appears to have recovered fully from injury as he started the game for the Catalan giants before he was replaced late in the second period.
Nigeria’s Kalu Uche, playing as a lone striker as opposed to his usual role in the midfield, grabbed a brace as his club Almeria who were forced to a 2-2 draw by hosts Espanyol.
Almeria are 14th in the 20-team championship with 20 points from 18 matches.
Cameroon’s Achille Emana, who has settled fully in Spain after his transfer from Toulouse in the summer, was both hero and villain in his team’s home loss to Malaga.
Emana drew level for Real Betis in the 38th minute with his seventh goal of the campaign only to be booked eight minutes later, before he was sent off for receiving a second booking in the 68th minute.
Rodolfo Bodipo from Equatorial Guinea opened scoring for Deportivo La Coruna but it was not enough the as they eventually fell 3-1 to Sevilla.
FRANCE
Senegal’s hard-as-nails defensive midfielder, Moustapha Bayal Sall, must be cursing his luck again. Less than a month after serving out a four-month suspension by Fifa for signing for two clubs in 2006, he was again on the wrong end of the law after he was sent off in stoppage time as his club, Saint-Etienne, went down 1-0 to Sochaux.
Bordeaux shot to second place in the standings after a 4-0 trouncing of Paris Saint Germain with Senegalese defender Souleymane Diawara opening the scoring.
Diawara was on the end of a Gourcuff free-kick from the left after 10 minutes to glance home a header into the top right hand corner, leaving PSG keeper Mickael Landreau no chance.
Bordeaux are now only a point behind seven-time reigning champions Lyon.
Marseille must be delighted they won all three points at Auxerre despite playing against their wishes on a frozen pitch. They won 2-0 with young striker Mamadou Samassa finding target moments before the break to open the scoring.
Samassa only recently opted to feature for Mali and not France, where he was born and has represented at under-21 level.
Senegal’s Moussa Sow gave Rennes a 1-0 victory over Grenoble to keep them in the title challenge.He latched on to a poor clearance to slot a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee in the 46th minute.
It was sweet revenge for Rennes, who had lost to Grenoble in the second week of the season. Victory took les Rouges et Noirs unbeaten run to 18 Ligue 1 games.
After a sixth-place finish last season - 21 points behind champion Lyon - Rennes are now just two points behind les Gones after 20 matches.
SPAIN
Cameroon superstar Samuel Eto’o continued where he left off in the first round of the Spanish La Liga when he opened the scoring for league leaders Barcelona away at bottom team Osasuna.
Eto’o’s 45th minute strike will propel Barca to a 3-2 win.
Eto’o remains top scorer in Spain with 16 goals, two more than David Villa of Valencia.
Mali’s Seydou Keita appears to have recovered fully from injury as he started the game for the Catalan giants before he was replaced late in the second period.
Nigeria’s Kalu Uche, playing as a lone striker as opposed to his usual role in the midfield, grabbed a brace as his club Almeria who were forced to a 2-2 draw by hosts Espanyol.
Almeria are 14th in the 20-team championship with 20 points from 18 matches.
Cameroon’s Achille Emana, who has settled fully in Spain after his transfer from Toulouse in the summer, was both hero and villain in his team’s home loss to Malaga.
Emana drew level for Real Betis in the 38th minute with his seventh goal of the campaign only to be booked eight minutes later, before he was sent off for receiving a second booking in the 68th minute.
Rodolfo Bodipo from Equatorial Guinea opened scoring for Deportivo La Coruna but it was not enough the as they eventually fell 3-1 to Sevilla.
FRANCE
Senegal’s hard-as-nails defensive midfielder, Moustapha Bayal Sall, must be cursing his luck again. Less than a month after serving out a four-month suspension by Fifa for signing for two clubs in 2006, he was again on the wrong end of the law after he was sent off in stoppage time as his club, Saint-Etienne, went down 1-0 to Sochaux.
Bordeaux shot to second place in the standings after a 4-0 trouncing of Paris Saint Germain with Senegalese defender Souleymane Diawara opening the scoring.
Diawara was on the end of a Gourcuff free-kick from the left after 10 minutes to glance home a header into the top right hand corner, leaving PSG keeper Mickael Landreau no chance.
Bordeaux are now only a point behind seven-time reigning champions Lyon.
Marseille must be delighted they won all three points at Auxerre despite playing against their wishes on a frozen pitch. They won 2-0 with young striker Mamadou Samassa finding target moments before the break to open the scoring.
Samassa only recently opted to feature for Mali and not France, where he was born and has represented at under-21 level.
Senegal’s Moussa Sow gave Rennes a 1-0 victory over Grenoble to keep them in the title challenge.He latched on to a poor clearance to slot a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee in the 46th minute.
It was sweet revenge for Rennes, who had lost to Grenoble in the second week of the season. Victory took les Rouges et Noirs unbeaten run to 18 Ligue 1 games.
After a sixth-place finish last season - 21 points behind champion Lyon - Rennes are now just two points behind les Gones after 20 matches.
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