Bayern Draws United As Real Face Dortmound

English champions Manchester United have been drawn on Friday to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, pitting them against the defending champions and the favorites.

In the other quarterfinal pairings, Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in a rematch of last year's semifinals, Spanish clubs Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will meet for a spot in the next round, and Paris Saint-German will take on 2012 champion Chelsea.

United and Barcelona will host the opening two matches on April 1, while Madrid and PSG are at home for their first legs on April 2. The return legs will be played on April 8-9.

Bayern dispatched Arsenal in the last-16 and will now seek to beat United, whom they defeated at this stage of the competition en route to the final in the 2009-10 season. United, victors against Bayern in the 1999 final, will have to spring an upset to keep alive any hope of major silverware in David Moyes’ debut season.

Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer warned his players not to be complacent despite United’s disappointing form.

“In the last 16 return leg, they showed they are capable of great things. On good days, they are extremely dangerous,” he said on the club’s official Twitter account. “We must not allow them to have two good days. I think the draw is doable, but also dangerous.”

Real Madrid, meanwhile, will look to make amends for their defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals of last year’s competition as they attempt to maintain their charge towards a long-awaited 10th European crown.

Dortmund CEO Aki Watzke said the draw was unfortunate for his team, who had also played Madrid in the group stage last season.

“There was no easy draw, but it’s not that nice that we have to play them for the third time in 18 months,” he said. “We are rank outsiders. It’s the same [Madrid] team, really. They’ve swapped [Gareth] Bale for [Mesut] Ozil but Real, alongside Bayern Munich, are the best team in Europe right now. It’s very difficult task indeed.”

Dortmund, who have endured severe injury problems this season, will also be without star striker Robert Lewandowski for the game at the Bernabeu after he was controversially booked in the last round against Zenit St Petersburg.

“Lewandowski’s absence in the first leg is bitter, even more so because it was a laughable decision,” Watzke added. “Real have a lot of respect for Lewandowski.”

Regardless of the Madrid result, there is certain to be Spanish representation in the last four as Barcelona face a quarterfinal meeting with fellow La Liga hopefuls Atletico Madrid.

 

“With the draw that there was, and the other teams in there, all teams were going to be difficult,” Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told told Canal Plus. “We are not discovering Atletico just now. We are used to playing against them and that could have weight. These are the most powerful quarter-finals in history. There was nobody in the draw who you think you want to get. They are all great ties. Anyone who likes football will enjoy themselves. This is the draw and we must accept it.”

Chelsea, the 2012 champions, take on French side Paris Saint-Germain for the first time for the first time since they were drawn together in the group stage of the 2004-05 competition. Jose Mourinho, then in his first campaign with the Blues, saw his side claim a 3-0 win in Paris before being held to a 0-0 draw in the return game at Stamford Bridge.

Violence: Dangote Workers Clash In Factory Over Killing Of Collegue

Violence broke out on Tuesday at Dangote Cement Factory in Gboko, Benue State. One of the worker was said to have stolen a spare tyre and was caught by the army. When his colleagues tried to get him off the hook, an angry soldier shot the young man and killed him instantly.

The incident has triggered a riot with shelling of gun fire. An eye witness said he saw two dead bodies and one seriously injured victim.

The Cement Factory is now locked down with staff are trapped inside the premises stranded.

It will be recalled that there was a similar incident last year that claimed thirteen lives and over one hundred trucks.

Social Media Attack: House Of Rep Member Slams Covenant University Student

Member of Nigeria federal House of Representatives, representing Ikorodu constituency of Lagos state, Hon. Abike Dabiri has tackled a Covenant University student on the social platform, twitter.

Abike verbally attacked the student after he inquired about her political party, All progressives Congress (APC) and mocked her for taking a stand against the federal government on the Nigerian Immigration Service stampede.

'Exploitation of desperate youth seeking employment. Another pathetic result of failure of leadership in Nigeria. Your vote is your power. Use it wisely to bring about change in Nigeria.Fight to ensure your vote counts. Enough of being taken for granted!' Abike had posted.

'You are part of the problem in Nigeria, it's a shame on you to blame a Gov you are part of. If its bad resign.' the student @Lorddroolz had responded.

She initially ignored his tweet but responded when he called her an attention-seeker and hypocrite.

'I understand your personal frustration.you begged for money and you didn't get. You will get over it or you go beg elsewhere' she wrote but the student further responded with 'Answer my questions, I don't need your money'

The honourable then called him a 'Beggar and traitor' and this led into a tweet fight

Villas Boas To Take Over As Head Coach Of Zenit FC

Andre Villas-Boas has agreed a deal to become Zenit St Petersburg's new head coach and will be presented by the club on Thursday, the Russian Premier League side have announced.

Villas-Boas was sacked by both Chelsea and Tottenham. Villas-Boas, 36, will replace Luciano Spalletti -- who was sacked earlier this month -- in the dugout of the Petrovsky Stadium on a deal that will run until the end of the 2015-16 season, according to a statement on the club's official website.

The former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Porto boss will not officially be in charge for Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg clash at Borussia Dortmund, where the 2011-12 Russian champions are aiming to overturn a 4-2 aggregate deficit. Caretaker boss Sergey Semak will remain in charge for that match.

Villas-Boas has been out of work since he was sacked by Spurs in December. The Portuguese coach won a Treble of league, cup and Europa League during his one full season at Porto three years ago, but failed to win any trophies during his two ill-fated spells at Premier League clubs in England.

He will be reunited with former Porto striker Hulk at Zenit, who currently sit four points behind Russian league leaders Lokomotiv Moscow.

Manchester United Board Discuss Moye Sack

Key Manchester United boardroom figures have now turned against David Moyes, as the prospect of the manager getting sacked has been properly raised for the first time, club sources have told the press.

The Glazer family owners are now more open to the idea of a change of manager, although they presently remain behind Moyes, but the next week could prove decisive, sources said. Over that time, United must overturn a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League against Olympiakos, before facing an awkward trip to West Ham United and then a potentially daunting second derby of the season against Manchester City.

David Moyes' job hangs in the balance after revelations that United's owners, the Glazers, are now open to the idea of a change of manager.

While qualification for the quarterfinals of the Champions League would be seen as a huge positive and possibly change the entire dynamic of his job, an elimination followed by poor performances in the two games after that could well bring the pressure to breaking point. The Glazers are said to have become very "nervous" about the nature of recent performances, let alone the results, with a nadir coming in the 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool. Some United officials now openly maintain that a managerial change is needed.

Old Trafford sources also state it has been noted that Sir Alex Ferguson is no longer so vocally backing Moyes at boardroom level, although the former manager is not said to have turned against his replacement. It is also believed Moyes retains the backing of Sir Bobby Charlton.

Doubt, however, has increased at virtually every level of the club. Despite the poverty of recent performances, sources state that one of the most influential factors now has been financial concerns. A number of recently signed-up sponsors and commercial partners have reportedly let it be known to the club that they are less than enthused with now being linked to failure, especially since they specifically came on board because of the reputation for extreme success.

This is said to have most unnerved the hierarchy, and long-term damage to United as a "brand" could be the clinching point in any decision. While the club have long planned for a season out of the Champions League -- and that was known to be one initial reason behind the previously unwavering support for Moyes -- any extra negative effect on commercial revenue would be viewed with utmost seriousness.

Sources also state Louis van Gaal would be interested in a potential summer move to Old Trafford, and that the Dutch coach is a little less intent on the Tottenham Hotspur job than he was a few weeks ago. Spurs had felt that Van Gaal's appointment after the World Cup was virtually certain, but it is now more open-ended.

'Rooney Becomes Fourth Highest Earner'

The new Manchester United contract Wayne Rooney signed last month has made him the fourth-highest earning player in the world, according to France Football magazine.

Rooney, 28, put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half year deal at Old Trafford in February that reportedly took him beyond the 300,000-pound-a-week barrier, making him the first player to do so in the Premier League.

Estimated to make 24 million euros in total this year by the weekly French magazine, Rooney's annual salary of 19 million euros is actually the highest of any player in the top 20 of the rankings, though he still trails the top three, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, due to his lower endorsement revenue.

Messi, who topped the chart for three successive years before being deposed by David Beckham in 2013, weighs in at a global total of 41 million euros. A sizeable 26 million euros of that comes from endorsements, with boot supplier adidas providing him with some eight million annually alone.

Ronaldo's basic salary of 17 million euros helped put him in second place on 39.5 million euros while Neymar is estimated to make 29 million euros this year.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fifth on 23.5 million euros, just ahead of Monaco forward Radamel Falcao. Ibrahimovic's PSG teammate Thiago Silva is eighth, sandwiched in between Sergio Aguero and Eden Hazard, while Franck Ribery completes the top 10.

Chris Brown Remanded In Prison Without Bail

A US judge ordered US rapper Chris Brown on Monday to remain behind bars for allegedly breaching his probation stemming from his notorious 2009 assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.

The 24-year-old, arrested Friday after being booted out of a rehab facility in Malibu, will have to stay in custody until a probation violation hearing on April 23.

Judge James Brandlin said he found it troubling that Brown had told a group therapy session there: “I am good at using guns and knives,” prompting his ejection from the center for drug and anger management.

Brown also violated the center’s internal rules by “touching elbows or standing very close to a female client,” the singer’s attorney Mark Geragos acknowledged.

Geragos asked for Brown to be allowed to begin another rehab program immediately, but 

prosecutor Mary Murray opposed this, saying the court had given him “repeated opportunities.

“He’s put himself in custody,” Murray told the Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

Brown was arrested in February 2009 after getting involved in a physical confrontation with Barbadian superstar Rihanna that left her with a bruised and battered face.

He pleaded guilty to the assault and was sentenced to five years’ probation and community service, as well as being required to take part in domestic violence counseling.

California authorities filed probation violation charges against Brown last year, giving him an additional 1,000 hours of community service work on his sentence for beating the pop star.

In October, Brown checked into the rehab facility two days after being charged over an altercation in the US capital Washington, in which he allegedly hit a man trying to take a picture of him outside a hotel.

In February, judge Brandlin said Brown was doing well with the court-ordered treatment program, but ordered him to remain at the rehab facility.

The judge warned him at the time that any negative change in behavior “could dramatically change your custodial status.”