Man U targets Milan striker Ibrahimovic

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 9 (ANI): Manchester United is looking to rope in Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after missing out on several top signings.

Left with limited options after Lyon striker Karim Benzema opted to join Real Madrid and Bayern Munich striker Franck Ribery revealed his desire to play in the La Liga, The Mirror said coach Alex Ferguson is desperate for a replacement for Winger Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fergie has admitted that he has analysed the Swede international on several occasions, and was impressed by his style.

Inter is, however, would be reluctant to sell Ibrahimovic, who is worth 30 million pounds and has twice been voted Serie A Player of the Year. (ANI)

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Sprint king Bolt gives Ronaldo tips on how to stay on his feet

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 8 (ANI): Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been given tips on how to stay on his feet by sprint king Usain Bolt.

The fastest man in the world struck up a friendship with Ronaldo after meeting the former Manchester United star at the club’s training ground in May.

According to The Sun, Bolt, a Red Devils fan, has been giving running advice to the world’s most expensive footballer.

Bolt said: “I explained that when he catches top speed he starts tipping over because he has a lot of back lift. So I said he has to run with his knees in front of him, then when he hits top speed he won’t topple over as he’ll continue at the same pace.”

Bolt admits he was disappointed to see Ronaldo quit Old Trafford for La Liga.

But he insists Michael Owen can spearhead the club’s pursuit of a record-breaking 19th league title next season. (ANI)

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‘We will destroy Manchester United, warns Barca’s Messi

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, May 27 (ANI): Barcelona and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has warned that Manchester United face a humiliating roll over in Wednesday night’s Champions League final in Rome.

Predicting that Barca would see the face-off as a revenge outing for last year’s semi-final loss, Messi said that the Catalan giants were now better prepared and that Manchester United would not be able to repeat its 2008 heroics.

Messi told SunSport: “I don’t think Manchester will play like that again. They have players to play football and will be a bit more open. We’re the best team in Europe in an open game and this will give us the advantage. If they come out to play it will be a beautiful game – and I hope it will benefit us.”

“I remember last year’s semi-final. They were two evenly-matched games, very tight. The tie was decided by the great goal they scored.”

Back on May 2, Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 6-2 at the Bernabeu in La Liga’s title sealer.For Messi, that game proved any team, however great, which attacks Barca does so at their peril.

In this season’s dramatic Champions League semi-final against the Catalan giants, Chelsea spent practically 180 minutes camped inside their own half with Barcelona frantically trying to find a breakthrough.

Messi added: “The game in Madrid shows why Chelsea did what they did – sit back and try not to leave any spaces for us to play our football.

“For that reason, I say that for us it’s an advantage when a team plays football and tries to match Barcelona as equals. Manchester can be that team with the players they have.”

Messi said: “I was very frustrated and angry after last year’s semi-final loss to United. I was so sad we couldn’t make the final after coming so close. But the way we’ve turned things around this season gives us more desire and hunger to beat them this time. I’m very confident we’ll win.” (ANI)

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Hiddink wants intelligence and emotion from Chelsea players

May 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, May 6 (ANI): Chelsea’s interim coach Guus Hiddink has called on his players to overcome Barcelona with a combination of “intelligence and emotion” in their Champions League showdown at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Chelsea’s faultless defensive display in the Nou Camp stadium last week nullified a Barcelona attack that has shared 90 goals between them this season.

Hiddink’s heroes ensured Barcelona failed to score at home for the first time this season and the goalless draw gives Chelsea a slight advantage going into the return leg of the semi-final.

Now, according to the Daily Express, the Dutch coach is confident Chelsea can reach their second successive final by beating a Barca side boosted by their 6-2 demolition of Real Madrid in La Liga over the weekend.

He said” “You have to play very intelligently against the top team in Europe now as the slightest error will be punished. On the other hand, you must not play without any emotion. If you do, it might put the brakes on your own performance. If you can combine both, you have a very good game.”

Chelsea are driven by a collective desire to reach the final for the second year running in order to finally erase the heartache of their defeat to Manchester United on penalties in Moscow last season. (ANI)

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Michel to take charge at troubled Getafe

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – Former Spain World Cup midfielder Michel has agreed to take charge at troubled Getafe, according to the digital versions of AS and Marca on Monday evening. Both websites claim that Michel, 46, has agreed to take over from Victor Munoz, who was sacked earlier on Monday – the 10th Liga coach to be axed this season.

Michel, whose full name is Jose Miguel Gonzalez, will have his work cut out trying to save Getafe, who are fourth from bottom in La Liga.

Michel – who played for Spain at the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals – has no top-line coaching experience. He was the coordinator of Real Madrid’s youth sections until he resigned in December.

Angel Torres, president of Getafe, is planning to present Michel to the media as his new coach on Tuesday morning.(dpa)

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Struggling Getafe sack coach Victor

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – Struggling Spanish Liga club Getafe said Monday it had dismissed coach Victor Munoz.

The final nail in Victor’s coffin was Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal, a result which leaves Getafe fourth from bottom and in big trouble.

Victor, a Spanish international midfielder in the 1980s, is the 10th Liga coach to be sacked this season.

According to the digital version of AS, the favourites to succeed him are Miguel Angel Portugal – currently technical secretary at Real Madrid – and former Real and Spain star Michel, out of work since resigning as head of Real’s junior sections in December. (dpa)

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Real Madrid fans unsure about snatching league from Barcelona

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – The fans of Spanish giants Real Madrid are unsure about their team getting ahead of leaders Barcelona in the race for the Liga title. Real are just four points behind Barca after Sunday’s 4-2 win away to third-placed Sevilla, and Barca have to visit Real’s Estadio Bernabeu next Saturday.

Two years ago Real dramatically overturned Barca’s lead and snatched the title away from the Catalans on the final day. This season, the whites have won 17 out of their
19 games under new coach Juande Ramos, who took over from Bernd Schuster in early December.

Online polls in sports dailies AS and Marca on Monday show that the “madridista” fans are divided as to the chances of that happening again.

A total of 62 per cent of the readers of AS voted by midday Monday that their team will overturn Barca.

However, only 50 per cent of the readers of rival daily Marca think this will happen, with exactly half of them voting for Barca as champion.

Neither are the fans of Barcelona sure about what will happen, to judge by online polls in the digital versions of Mundo Deportivo and Sport on Monday.

Surprisingly, a poll in Mundo Deportivo reveals that only 49 per cent of readers believe that Barca will win La Liga, though 50 per cent of readers of Sport think – or maybe hope – that Josep Guardiola’s team will win in Madrid. (dpa)

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Malaga denied fifth place by Deportivo

May 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – The 33rd round of the Spanish Liga programme kicked off on Saturday with a 1-1 draw between Euro hopefuls Malaga and Deportivo Coruna. Former Spain striker Albert Luque gave Malaga the lead in the 33rd minute, only for fellow veteran Sergio to equalize for Deportivo just after half-time.

Malaga would have gone fifth had they won. Instead, they continue in sixth place with 51 points, one point above Deportivo but one behind fifth-placed Villarreal and four behind fourth-placed Valencia, who are at home to leaders Barcelona later on Saturday.

“We have missed another good chance tonight,” said Malaga defender Javier Calleja, “to get closer to the European places.”

Saturday’s other early game saw bottom team Numancia beaten 2-1 by Almeria, for whom Kalu Uche and Fernando Soriano were the scorers.

Numancia have just 28 points – two less than Recreativo Huelva and four less than Espanyol – and are surely heading towards their third relegation within eight years. (dpa)

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Barcelona return to “scene of crime” Getafe By Duncan Shaw

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – Barcelona are keen to stay well on top of the Spanish Liga by winning away to modest Getafe on Saturday.

Barca are currently six points ahead of dogged pursuers Real Madrid, and will go to Getafe in good heart after Tuesday’s creditable 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich which put them in the European Champions League semi-finals.

Josep Guardiola’s team picked up no injuries in Munich. They have a fully fit squad for the first time this season due to the return to fitness of Gabriel Milito, Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure.

However, they will be returning to the “scene of the crime” on Saturday, with a sense of foreboding and trepidation.

Two years ago Barca astonishingly crashed 4-0 in Getafe in a memorable King’s Cup semi-final, and last season they lost 2-0 in the tiny Coliseo Alfonso Perez.

“It will be a difficult game,” said Barca captain Carles Puyol. “We will have to take the game just as seriously as (that) in Munich.”

Later on Saturday, Real will be away to Recreativo Huelva, who are third from bottom.

Real have won 3-2 on their last two visits to Huelva.

They have won 14 out of their 16 league games since Juande Ramos took over as coach from Bernd Schuster in December, and have halved Barca’s lead from 12 to six points.

Real defender Pepe said that “we were dead until the arrival of the new coach (Ramos).

“Now we are a strong team, with players in a good moment, and we hope to continue like this until the end of the season.”

Also on Saturday, sixth-placed Atletico Madrid are at home to lowly Numancia, while Malaga take on Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao face Deportivo La Coruna.

The big game on Sunday is between fourth-placed Valencia and third-placed Sevilla.

Valencia will be hoping to keep ahead of troubled local rivals Villarreal, who have slipped to fifth in recent weeks.

Villarreal – tired and depressed after Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League thrashing by Arsenal – are away to tricky Valladolid. They will again by without injured Spain midfielders Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, who were both badly missed in London.

Sunday’s other games are bitter relegation battles. Bottom team Espanyol are at home to Racing Santander, Osasuna are away to Almeria, Betis face free-falling Sporting Gijon. (dpa)

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Chelsea to make 40 million pound bid for Villa

April 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Apr 10 (ANI): Chelsea is set to make an astonishing 40 million pound bid for David Villa.

The Spainish striker is cash-strapped Valencia’s prize asset and billionaire Blues owner Roman Abramovich is ready to test their resolve, The Sun reports.

Villa, 27, was four-goal top scorer in Euro 2008 as Spain lifted the trophy and has been linked with a move to Manchester City.

But Abramovich is desperate for a high profile signing this summer and is sure the lure of Champions League football will be enough to beat City in the race for Villa.

The star’s contract does not expire until 2014, but reports in Spain suggested that La Liga outfit Valencia were struggling to pay their players.

Selling Villa and highly rated winger David Silva could solve their issues. (ANI)

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Magnificent Messi leaves Barcelona on brink of semis

April 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Barcelona – Barcelona have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League after thrashing Bayern Munich 4-0 on Wednesday in a one-sided quarter-final first leg.

Barca turned in the performance of the European season to put brittle Bayern to the sword, thus confirming their candidacy for the continental crown.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s side carried on from where they left off in Wolfsburg on Saturday, where they lost 5-1 – feeble in defence and swamped in midfield.

Star of the show in a delighted Camp Nou was Lionel Messi, who put Barca on the road to the semis with two handsome early goals.

Barca tore into Bayern from the start and turned in the kind of scintillating first-half display that has become almost routine in La Liga this season.

Messi made it 1-0 after nine minutes with a left-foot drive, after being set up by the lively Samuel Eto’o.

Just three minutes later Messi returned the compliment by setting up Eto’o to make it 2-0 with a low shot.

Messi had a good penalty claim turned down, then made it 3-0 in the 39th minute by turning in a perfect centre from Thierry Henry.

Henry, at his best level since leaving Arsenal in 2007, completed the rout just before half-time after being set up by Eto’o.

Understandably, Barca dropped their rhythm in the second half, hoping for Bayern to come out of their shell and leave gaps at the back.

Messi almost completed his hat-trick on the hour, but Bayern keeper Hans-Jorg Butt managed to push his blistering shot onto the crossbar. At the other end, Barca captain Carles Puyol did well to clear a Ze Roberto effort off the line. (dpa)

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Villarreal keen to take revenge on old enemies Arsenal

April 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Villarreal, Spain – Villarreal are out for revenge when they meet old enemies Arsenal in a Spanish-English quarter-final duel in the European Champions League on Tuesday.

Three years ago Arsenal edged past Villarreal into the final of the elite event on a 1-0 aggregate, when Villarreal’s Juan Roman Riquelme had a late penalty dramatically saved by Jens Lehmann.

Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini – a man rumoured to be on Real Madrid’s wishlist – said that “we were really unlucky in that game, we could have reached the final.”

The Chilean coach added that “Tuesday’s game will be difficult… but we hope to be able to go to London (for the second leg on April 15) with a useful lead.”

Villarreal go into the quarter-finals without Spain winger Santi Cazorla, who will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right leg in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat away to Almeria.

“Cazorla is an important player for us,” said Pellegrini, “but we have a squad big enough to cover up for his loss.”

The good news for Pellegrini is that midfielders Marcos Senna and Cani, who both took heavy knocks in Almeria, will be fit for Tuesday.

Senna, wily anchorman for Villarreal and Spain, said that “we had a bad day (in Almeria), because of the result and because of Santi… But Tuesday’s game is too important to approach without being in the right frame of mind.”

Villareal are currently fourth in La Liga, the same position Arsenal hold in the Premier League.

Arsenal will arrive at Villarreal’s small Madrigal ground in good heart after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat of Manchester City, in which Emmanuel Adebeyor and Cesc Fabregas made successful returns from injury.

Right-back Bacary Sagna said that his team is upbeat to overcome the Spanish opponents again.

“Everyone is confident we can win something this season and can go very far… Our form is back, our confidence is really high and we know we can go all the way in the Champions League.”

Sagna added that “the atmosphere is very good at the moment and we are very confident in all the competitions. I know we can go very far in the Champions League and we will try our utmost to do it.”

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Capello asks ManU, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to beware of Barcelona, Messi

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar 20 (ANI): England coach Fabio Capello has asked Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to beware of Barcelona and Lionel Messi during the Champions League quarter-final.

Capello feels Barcelona is the team to avoid with Messi in the ranks. “Messi makes the difference. He does things that others can’t even think of. Every era has its own crack player like Pele or Maradona and Messi can be the crack player of the next decade,” he said.

Capello is also impressed with Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, The Sun reported.

He has helped the Catalan club to a six-point lead at the top of La Liga and reached the Copa del Rey final in his first season in charge.

Capello added: “The Barca of Guardiola has formed a team of great potential, although in the last month they’ve not been as strong as they can be. At the start of the season, the way Barca played was incredible. Guardiola knew how to cope with the most difficult moments and has continued with his ideas.”

“He’s left important players on the bench because he was convinced the team could win anyway and things came out well for him. It’s a signal that a manager has a great personality. The team has come together and formed a good group,” Capello said.

Capello also hinted that United could be running out of gas in their bid for the Quintuple. “They were more fresh a month ago, but then they played many consecutive games. At this stage of the season we all have to wait a bit longer to see how each of those teams arrives at the moment of truth.” (ANI)

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Struggling Espanyol sack short-lived coach Mane

January 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid – Struggling Spanish Liga side announced early on Tuesday the sacking of coach Mane.

Mane, whose full name is Jose Manuel Esnal, had only been in the job for six weeks, since taking over from Bartolome Marquez in November.

The final nail in Mane’s coffin was Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing away to Malaga, a result which leaves the Catalan club third from bottom in La Liga.

Mane is likely to be replaced by Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, popular at the club after his many years there as central defender. (dpa)

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Pablo, Maniche and Maxi fit for Atletico-Barcelona cup clash

January 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Pablo, Maniche and Maxi fit for Atletico-Barcelona cup clashMadrid – Atletico Madrid announced on Monday morning that internationals Pablo, Maniche and Maxi Rodriguez would all be fit for Tuesday’s high-profile King’s Cup clash against league leaders Barcelona.

All three players were sorely missed in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat away to Valencia, a result which pulls Atletico down to fifth in La Liga.

Barca, for their part, will be without defender Rafa Marquez, who pulled a muscle in his left thigh in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Mallorca.

The Atletico-Barca clash is the most important of the fifth round ties, and the only one to be played on Tuesday.

Atletico have not won the King’s Cup since 1996, Barcelona since 1998.

On Wednesday, cup holders Valencia will be away to Racing Santander, whilst Sevilla face Deportivo Coruna and Sporting Gijon take on Valladolid.

Third division side Union Irun – who astonishingly eliminated Real Madrid in the fourth round – face Betis, whilst Polideportivo Ejido, another third division outfit, take on troubled Espanyol.

Meanwhile, league bottom team Osasuna will play Athletic Bilbao, whilst Mallorca will face an Almeria side now coached by former Mexican idol Hugo Sanchez. (dpa)

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Real youngster Parejo out of action for month

January 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Madrid  – Spanish giants Real Madrid announced on Sunday morning that Daniel Parejo would be out of action for around a month after twisting his left knee in training.

Parejo, 19, suffered the injury on Friday, in a training-ground clash with veteran Guti.

Parejo, a Spanish Under-21 international midfielder, has just returned to Real after a five-month loan spell at London club Queens Park Rangers.

He was expected to feature in Sunday’s league game at home to Villarreal, together with new signings Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra.

Real have signed Huntelaar and Diarra because of their injury crisis, though only one of them can be registered for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Still on the Real injury list are Mahamadou Diarra, Ruben de la Red, Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, though Pepe, Gabriel Heinze and Wesley Sneijder are now fit again.

Real and Villarreal are joint fifth in La Liga, both of them 15 points behind record-breaking leaders Barcelona. dpa

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