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Now Alan Hansen adds an MBE to his list of honours

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Just a few months ago, he was fighting for his life in hospital.

But former Scotland footballer Alan Hansen was amongst those to be honoured at an investiture at Windsor Castle yesterday.

Mr Hansen, the former Liverpool defender and long-time Match of the Day pundit, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football and broadcasting.

He joined Liverpool from Partick Thistle in 1977 and won three European Cups, eight league titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups in 620 appearances for the Anfield side.

Mr Hansen, 69, was discharged from hospital last June after Liverpool said he was ‘seriously ill’.

Hansen, nicknamed Jocky, won a long list of honours: Eight First Division league titles, three European Cups and two FA cups.

He also won 26 caps for Scotland and played for his country at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Alan Hansen was amongst those to be honoured at an investiture at Windsor Castle

 

Mr Hansen made more than 600 appearances for Liverpool

 

After retirement, Hansen spent another 20 years as a pundit for the BBC. Memorable moments included his infamous 1995 comment on Match of the Day that ‘You can’t win anything with kids’ about Liverpool’s big rivals Manchester United’s ‘Class of ‘92’.

The players on the receiving end, including Paul Scholes and David Beckham, then unknown and newly promoted to the first team, went on to prove him wrong by winning the title that season.

Retiring from television in 2014, Hansen declared: ‘I’ve been in football for 41 years and I’m going out right at the top, just as I did at Liverpool.’

Others honoured at the ceremony included DJ Steve Lamacq, who has hosted a number of awards ceremonies and won accolades including the special recognition gongs at the AIM Independent Music Awards and the Sony Radio Academy Awards, both in 2013.

Two-time Olympic champion rower Helen Glover was also made an OBE at the Windsor Castle ceremony.

At the 2012 Olympics, in partnership with Heather Stanning, Glover won the gold medal in the women’s coxless pairs, which was the inaugural gold medal won by Team GB.

Ms Glover, 38, was coaxed back for the Paris Olympics after giving birth to twins in January 2020.

After learning of the honour, Ms Glover said: ‘I was determined that this Olympic journey would lead to winning a medal in front of three children and I felt supported by the parenting community.

‘It makes me very proud to be recognised for trying to make a difference within this space.’

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Transfer: Take your decision – Jay Jay Okocha warns Osimhen about next club

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Former Super Eagles captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, has claimed that Victor Osimhen is the one that must “own” the decision on his next club.

Osimhen is almost guaranteed to leave Napoli on a permanent deal this summer.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a successful loan spell at Galatasaray last season, winning the league title and League Cup, while also landing the Golden Boot award.

Osimhen has already turned down several offers to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia and is keen on continuing his career in Europe.

Okocha has now advised Osimhen to do what is best for him and his family.

“The decision should be his. Whether it goes well or not, he must own it,” Okocha told Sport 247.

“I don’t believe in deciding someone’s future. He should choose what’s best for him and his family.”

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They think I’ve money – Mikel says Nigeria still owes him flight money to Rio Olympics

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Chelsea legend, John Obi Mikel, has revealed that those in charge of football in Nigeria have refused to refund him the money he spent on flight for the team for the Rio Olympics in Brazil 8 years ago.

In an interview on his podcast as shared by the Pickers, the former Nigeria international said he was not respected even after leading the Olympic football team to a Bronze medal.

It could be recalled that the Nigeria football contingent was on the verge of missing on the Olympic games in 2016 due to lack of adequate preparation from the government’s side but Mikel came to the rescue and fkew the to the games.

The former midfielder even had to lose his place in Antonio Conte’s squad at Chelsea because of his decision to lead Nigeria to the Olympics in Brazil.

Mikel said his efforts were not appreciated enough by those who were supposed to provide logistics for the games and attributed this to the massive corruption in the system.

“Again, talk about the corruption, where a budget has been signed by the government, and somebody sitting on top of that money didn’t release that money, and we are all sitting at the hotel, about to fly to, I think it was Rio, yeah,” Mikel said.

He continued, “And everyone’s thinking ‘how are we going to get there.’ There was no money to pay for the flight. There was nothing to do the players were worried, and for most of these players, it is their first time of going to a major tournament.

“So I thought why not. So I spoke to the coach, ‘how could we find a plane?’ We found a plane and I had to pay for it. I funded it. When we got there I thought I would reimbursed my money but up till haven’t been refunded… that’s the mentality.

“That’s the thinking. ‘It’s gonna be Mikel. He can afford it.’ But it’s not that. It’s the principle. It’s the respect. You know what I told them, ‘okay guys, I’ve done it but you need to reimburse me my money.’

“But they still didn’t do it. But the joy that I take out of that was that we got there and those young players were able to get a medal. Olympic medal.

“You know we finished third. But it was still a massive achievement and for me see that those young players went back to their families knowing that they got a medal was more than the money.”

Mikel never played for Chelsea again after the Olympics and had to move to China.

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Bundesliga: Tella debunks Bayer Leverkusen exit claims

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Nathan Tella has declared he is not thinking about leaving Bayer Leverkusen this summer, Ekwutosblog reports.

 

The versatile winger has been linked with a return to England following an impressive campaign for Die Werkself.

Tella started his career in England, and featured for the likes of Burnley and Southampton before switching over to Leverkusen two years ago.

The Nigeria international claimed he will be at the former Bundesliga champions next season.

“I’m still happy to be here (at Bayer Leverkusen). I want to stay here. This is the club that signed me, and it’s an honour for them to sign me.”

The 25-year-old racked up two goals and four assists in 27 matches for Leverkusen last season.

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