Gini Wijnaldum Wants To Win the FA Cup (and Everything Else)

He also discussed the team’s thought process in the FA Cup game
against Aston Villa.

Disclaimer: If you’re looking for the word that rhymes with
schmontract, it’s not here, but it’s still nice to hear the lovely
Georginio Wijnaldum’s thoughts on the game, so stay with us.

Wijnaldum scored in the 60th minute in Liverpool’s FA
Cup tie against Aston Villa.
And he emphasized his desire to see the tournament through all the
way to the end.

“We said at the beginning of the season that we wanted to play
for everything,” Wijnaldum said.

“Of course it’s difficult to play everything with your strongest
team because during the season you play so many games, especially
now, and you have to rotate a lot.

“But I think we did well [against Villa] and hopefully we can do
well in the next round because this is a competition we also want
to win. We have won a lot but the FA Cup we
haven’t won, so we want to do it.”

He also discussed how the game was tricky since Villa played
like they had nothing to lose.

“It is difficult… it’s a really difficult match to play because
everyone from outside just expects us to win this game with a lot
of goals,” he said.

“That’s not that easy and also because you are playing against a
team that has nothing to lose and are just going to give it
everything, they have to make it as difficult as possible for
us.

“We are aware we played against an U23s side but it is a
difficult one. I think everyone in our team preferred to play their
first team but because of the circumstances it was not
possible.”

On Liverpool’s lack of goals in the two previous games, he said,
“You know these things can happen. I think it was more the case
that we didn’t create a lot of chances than scoring goals, because
I think everyone – and also we are – is used to us scoring a lot of
goals and used to us creating a lot of chances.

“But football is changing, teams are changing, teams are getting
better, teams are analysing us so they also know our strengths and
they have a game-plan. We just have to make sure that even if they
have a game-plan we are still able to create chances, so those
things can happen.

“Everyone is used to seeing us creating a lot of chances and
scoring a lot of goals, especially also because against Crystal
Palace we scored seven goals, so it’s quite normal for people.

“But we don’t play against teams who are bad. We play against
teams who are good and like I said they analyse us and it’s even
more difficult than the years before, so those things just happen
and we’ve just got to make sure we can change the game.”

He emphasized that the team stayed calm when Villa
equalized.

“We said we shouldn’t go crazy and shouldn’t lose confidence
because for the first half an hour we did quite well and created
chances but we didn’t score them. After that the counter-press was
not that good so I think it was a deserved goal from them because
we didn’t defend it well.

“That’s what you get in football, because when you don’t defend
well then the other team, especially with their quality, can create
chances and that’s what happened and they scored a goal.

“There’s a lot of things that can happen against any team so
that’s what we said at half-time and we just changed a few things
around.”

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and nine others have
been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja, over the set up
of an independent panel to probe killings during the #EndSARS
protests that rocked the country for three weeks in October last
year.

The plaintiff, Barr Lucky Odigie, through his counsel, Oghenovo
Otemu, prayed the court to restrain the defendants from setting up
any parallel independent inquiry to probe any alleged killings of
Nigerians, including security operatives and the destruction of
properties following the deployment of security operatives in the
wake of the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.

Other defendants in the suit filed on December 31, 2020, are Ade
Atambi, Adewale Adeoye, Chino Obiagwu (SAN), Affiong Affiong, and
Prof Adenike Ogushe. Others are Mr Y.Z Yau, Mr Malachy Ugwumadu,
Miss Fatima Umar and Mr Olumide Ogele.

In the originating summons, the plaintiff prayed the court to
determine whether, by virtue of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act Cap
447 LFN 1990 and all other extant Federal and State laws,
regulations and enactments in Nigeria, the 1st to 3rd Defendants,
trading under the name and style of Alliance on Surviving COVID-19
And Beyond (ASCAB) can validly and legally constitute or set up a
parallel independent panel of inquiry to probe the killings of
Nigerians, including security operatives and the destruction of
properties following the deployment of security operatives in the
wake of the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria?

Whether by virtue of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act Cap 447 LFN
1990 and all other extant Federal and State laws, regulations and
enactments in Nigeria the 4th to 10th Defendants can validly and
legally act as members of a parallel independent panel of inquiry
to probe the killings of Nigerians, including security operatives
and the destruction of properties following the deployment of
security operatives in the wake of the #EndSARS protests in
Nigeria?

He also prayed the court for an order of perpetual injunction
restraining the defendants from conducting any parallel independent
inquiry to probe any alleged killings of Nigerians, including
security operatives and the destruction of properties following the
deployment of security operatives in the wake of the #EndSARS
protests in Nigeria.

The plaintiff prayed for a declaration that by virtue of the
Tribunals of Inquiry Act Cap 447 LFN 1990 and all other extant
Federal and State laws, regulations and enactments in Nigeria, the
1st to 3rd Defendants, trading under the name and style of Alliance
on Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond (ASCAB) cannot validly and legally
constitute or set up a parallel independent panel of inquiry to
probe the killings of Nigerians, including security operatives and
the destruction of properties following the deployment of security
operatives in the wake of the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.

In the affidavit in support of the originating summons, the
plaintiff said the action of the defendants in setting up the panel
of inquiry is targeted at undermining the different panels set up
by the different state governors to probe the alleged police
brutalities and human rights abuses by security agents.

He said the panel of the 4th to 10th defendants are targeted at
turning up a report or decision that will embarrass and undermine
the Federal Government of Nigeria, the different State Governments,
the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Army, all the security agencies as
well as the existing panels of inquiries set up by the different
state Governors.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.