May 21, 2008
Juventus are set to clinch a deal for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso next week.
Gazzetta dello Sport says Juventus director Jean-Claude Blanc met with Rafael Benitez yesterday for four hours and that the two clubs have agreed in principal to the transfer.
Juventus have reportedly offered £10 million for the Spain international - £5 million below Liverpool’s valuation - but it is believed a deal will soon be concluded, with Alonso keen to play in Italy.
May 21, 2008
Bolivian ace Marcelo Moreno admits he is flattered by Tottenham’s interest in him.
The Cruziero striker, 20, has been one of the stars of the Copa Libertadores after firing eight goals in just 10 games.
Manchester United have been tracking Moreno but Spurs are the only English team to have made a firm bid.
The North London side’s initial offer was rejected by Cruzeiro last week.
But the hitman, who has been compared to Spurs ace Dimitar Berbatov, still hopes to move to the Premier League.
He revealed: “I was told about the offer made by Tottenham.
“Of course I would like to play in England. But as I said before, I have to like the place where I will be.
“The club has to get to an agreement with my agent and from what I know what has been offered wasn’t enough.”
May 21, 2008
Juande Ramos fears he is being priced out of his bid to sign Barcelona star Samuel Eto’o.
Tottenham’s boss flew to Spain on Monday to open negotiations for the Cameroon striker, 27.
But Barca want £33million for him, while the player’s £6m-a- year wage demands look sure to scupper any deal.
That is more than double the £60,000-a-week paid to current top earners Robbie Keane and Ledley King.
May 21, 2008
Rafa Benitez is after Espanyol’s £6million-rated winger Albert Riera.
Liverpool will try to offload Argie Sebastian Leto as part of the deal.
Spaniard Reira, who was on loan at Manchester City two years ago, is also interesting Blackburn and Spurs.
Benitez said: “Philipp is still young but has great experience from Dortmund and on the international stage with Switzerland.
”He also played in the Champions League during his time with Basel and so is used to top level football.”
The Kop chief also wants Bordeaux skipper Ulrich Rame, 35, as back-up to first choice keeper Pepe Reina.
Benitez hopes to tempt the French runners-up into a straight swap for his current second choice keeper Charles Itandje.
Rame, a former French international, would have to forego Champions League action for a place on the bench at Anfield, but the Reds hope higher wages and a two-year deal will sway him.
May 19, 2008
AC Milan have told Brazil that they will not release star midfielder Kaka to take part in the Beijing Olympics football tournament in August.
The club said in a statement on its website that while it would agree to release players such as Alexandre Pato and Rodrigo Digao, who are both under 23 years, it would never agree to release players who were older than that.
Each country qualified for the Olympics tournament has the right to select three players who are older than 23 years in their squad.
“The club feels that it is unfair that Kaka, who is already part of the Brazilian national team is included for official game in the Olympic squad,” AC Milan said.
The 25-year-old World footballer of the Year in 2007 has signed a new deal with the Italian giants which will see him stay at the club until 2013.
May 19, 2008
The mind games are in full swing ahead of the Champions League final on Wednesday night. After Joe Cole said to the press that Cristiano Ronaldo is not as good as Messi, Nemanja Vidic has suggested that Didier Drogba sometimes goes down too easily.
Last week Avram Grant hinted that referees show unfair bias towards Manchester United and Fergie replied that it was sad when people couldn’t accept defeat gracefully.
I just wonder if these ‘mind games’ actually have any effect whatsoever on the opposition. Before the semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool Rafa Benitez stated that he thought Didier Drogba sometimes dives. In the deciding second leg Drogba scored two goals to see Chelsea to victory and the press said that what Benitez had said had backfired on him.
Are we seriously to believe that Drogba played better because of what Benitez had said? Can we expect Cristiano Ronaldo to produce a better performance than he has all season, so that he can show that Joe Cole just how good he is?
To me, mind games seem to be pointless exercises. The quality of the ‘psyching out’ is pretty poor generally and if these terribly hurtful words actually have an effect then I think it says more about the recipient’s state of mind than that of the person saying it.
It all started, of course, back in 1996 when Sir Alex Ferguson won the ‘mind games’ with the Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan. Manchester United and Newcastle were battling it out at the top of the table. Fergie’s side had just beaten Leeds United and he suggested that when Leeds played against Newcastle in a forthcoming fixture they might not try as hard as they did against his team.
This led to the public display of anger that Keegan displayed in his famous “I’d love it if we beat them” speech.
Sir Alex was held up to be a Machiavellian genius for the way he cleverly exerted such mental pressure on his opposite number and helped his side to the title. The fact is, of course, that anyone with half a brain could see that Keegan was folding under the considerable pressure of trying to lead his team to the title. The fact that Keegan so spectacularly ‘lost it’ was because of his state of mind, not because of the genius of Fergie.
So, do we think that Avram Grant’s comments about referees favouring Manchester United will have affected the atmosphere in the Old Trafford camp? Do you think there have been arguments and tears as the players consider this clever piece of psychology delivered by the Chelsea boss?
What of Didier Drogba. Now that an opponent has suggested that he occasionally goes down a little too weakly can we expect him to meekly go into his shell, afraid of challenging for a ball in case someone moans at him again?
Now that the referee has been warned by Chelsea to watch out for the simulations of Cristiano Ronaldo and by Manchester United for the simulations of Didier Drogba, can we expect the referee to favour one side or the other because the way one of the clubs made their comments was more psychologically damaging?
It is a commonly held belief amongst the football public that footballers, on the whole, are thick. I’m sure this is a very long way from the truth in most cases, but it is what people think. Sadly, if any of these childish attempts at rattling the opposition actually have an effect, then I would have to sign up to the stereotype.
I was amazed that after Liverpool’s semi-final defeat, Rafa Benitez was continually asked if he regretted what he had said had about Didier Drogba as it had spurred him on to score two goals. Benitez shrugged the question off saying that he was sure it would have played no part in the proceedings.
Surely we don’t think that footballers are so thin-skinned and so emotionally and intellectually challenged that a critical remark to the press by someone from the opposition actually has an effect on how they play? Do we?
Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez and Avram Grant will all do whatever they can to improve the chances of their teams. They are very good football managers but to my knowledge, none of them possess a first class honours degree in Psychology.
You will be amazed to hear that even Jose Mourinho was not a trained psychologist. That’s right, he was just self taught.
All of the accusations, innuendos and counter accusations and innuendos are good fun to read and they make good talking points prior to a game. What they don’t do, apart from with Keegan in 1996, is have any effect on the opposition whatsoever.
So, long may the ‘mind games’ continue, but please don’t take them too seriously. The players and managers who break these stories in the press are great players and great managers. Not one of them is a genius however. Whoever wins the game on Wednesday will do so because they played better, had some luck, took their chances, were well organised, or employed superior tactics. It won’t be because of the unsettling nature of something the other team said in the press!
May 19, 2008
First he was. Then he wasn’t. Then fans wanted him to be, but he asked not to be. It’s been a crazy game trying to predict whether Raul would return to the Spanish squad for Euro 2008, but it appears to be over. Spain boss Luis Aragones today named his 23-man squad for the tournament, and Sr. Gonzalez was not on it, ending his streak of major tournaments dating back to France 98. The all-time leading scorer for Spain, he has 44 international goals, and seemed to be on form, with 18 goals in La Liga, behind only Luis Fabiano and Daniel Guiza, but it apparently wasn’t enough, as Aragonés went for youth over experience.
Here’s a little taste of what we’ll be missing, with some classic Raul goals.
May 16, 2008
Real have become increasingly vocal about their desire to land Ronaldo in recent weeks, even going to the extent of insisting that in every interview Madrid players give, they must eulogise the 23-year-old.
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| £100m man: Real are willing to spend big for Ronaldo |
They are now reportedly gearing up to present United with an unprecedented £100 million offer for the player they have set as transfer target number one. Moreover, they would happily sign off £200,000-a-week in wages to Ronaldo, it has emerged.
Madrid president Ramon Calderon might have described the prospect of bringing Ronaldo to the Bernabeu as “almost impossible” on Tuesday, but Ronaldo’s comments last night have triggered a torrent of speculation.
“I am happy here but let’s see what happens after the Champions League final. I am feeling calm here. I’m happy here but in the future I don’t know,” he said.
Ronaldo’s recent comments that he has dreamt of playing in Spain have convinced the club that they have a realistic window of opportunity to sign Ronaldo. Miguel Angel Arroyo, Real’s general director, has now stressed that nothing will be spared to that end.
“If it is not possible for the club to sign, it would not be because of money but for other reasons,” he said.
“Real Madrid have the solvency and the financial liquidity to be able to take on a signing of the magnitude of Cristiano Ronaldo. It would be economically beneficial due to the merchandising that would arise from it.”
The financial returns on a Ronaldo signing is beyond doubt, and Madrid are desperate to have a piece of the pie. Sporting director Predrag Mijatovic recently revealed his plans for the Portugal star to be “the face of the new Real Madrid,” a second-generation David Beckham.
The question that will concern fans is whether United would accept an offer of £100m. Chief executive David Gill has repeatedly stressed that Ronaldo is not for sale at any price, and many would snort at the idea of Ferguson allowing the club to sell a player that has not yet reached his potential.
However, United have a debt that is growing by almost £300,000 every day; the club paid £42m in the past financial year in interest on the debts alone. Conspiracy theorists suggest that the Glazers harbour ambitious plan to clear their debt by 2012, which would involve selling off many star players - although Rio Ferdinand’s recent agreement to a new contract ought to go some way to dispelling that.
Fans will hope that Sir Alex Ferguson acts as a Hadrian’s wall to the Spanish transfer campaign. Madrid’s Gabriel Heinze, a good friend of Ronaldo’s since their time together at Old Trafford, has confirmed that the bond between manager and winger would be Real’s biggest challenge.
“I would sign him, but I think it’s impossible,” he said.
“He’s going through a glorious spell at Manchester and Ferguson was the one who found him and who got him to the top level. While Ferguson’s there, there’s little chance of signing him.”
May 16, 2008
The Barcelona player Yaya Toure, brother of Arsenal’s Kolo, has admitted that he would love the opportunity to play alongside his brother at the Emirates. “I am aware of the interest from the Premier League,” he said. “It would be great to play in a big team with my brother.”
Arsenal defender Gael Clichy has revealed he is on the brink of signing a new four-year deal with the club.
Arsene Wenger has said that he hopes to make a new signing within a few weeks. “I know what I want and I am very confident,” he said. “I hope to turn that around in the next two or three weeks. But the fans should be re-assured by what they see.” One of the first signings could be Lyon’s 21-year-old Hatem Ben Arfa, who has just been voted Young Player of the Year in France. Wenger could also look to another Frenchman, Lilian Thuram, to boost his defence.
He said of rumours linking him to the Emirates: “It is true that we have spoken about Arsenal, but we will see how it is going to happen. Today I am at Lyon. We will see what tomorrow is made of. I try to give my maximum and to give everything when I am on the pitch.”
Wenger will make strengthening his defence a priority this summer, and has apparently been offered Barcelona skipper Carlos Puyol. The Spanish club would want Cesc Fabregas in return, but Fabregas has recently reassured fans that he will stay at the club.
Alexander Hleb’s departure from the club has apparently and quickly progressed from a mere rumour to something inevitable as the midfielder is reported to be on the verge of joining Inter, with the player’s agent stating that Wenger can’t stop him. The midfielder joined Arsenal in July 2005 from Stuttgart for £11.2 million. “Alexander is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life. He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions,” Nikolai Shpilevski is quoted as saying in the Belarus press.
May 16, 2008
Ricardo Carvalho has admitted that he is unsure whether he will still be at Stamford Bridge next season, although he reminded press that he still has a contract with the club.
Andriy Shevchenko’s future at Chelsea has been under speculation for months, with a return to AC Milan seen as his most likely option. It now appears that Turkish outfit Fenerbache are interested in the Ukrainian.
Chelsea are considering revisiting their pursuit of Micah Richards. Jose Mourinho came close to signing Manchester City’s England defender 16 months ago for £18 million before the deal was vetoed by owner Roman Abramovich. Richards has been unsettled by the likely departure of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson but would cost at least £20 million.
In a summer spending spree that would eclipse all before it, Chelsea are also willing to part with £79 million on just three players: Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid for £25 million, £27 million on bringing Frank Ribery from Bayern Munich and £27 million on VFB Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez.
Speculation over Didier Drogba’s future has once again increased as Chelsea have been linked with a number of strikers in recent days. Drogba has been linked to a three-year deal with AC Milan to serve under Jose Mourinho if he replaces Carlo Ancelotti next season, while fans will be worried to hear that “a very big European club” is willing to splash £32 million on Petr Cech, according to the goalkeeper, who is attempting to negotiate a pay rise on his current £50,000-a-week contract.
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