Ballack’s role as Germany captain under threat
October 22, 2008
BERLIN, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Germany coach Joachim Loew summoned Michael Ballack to a meeting and hinted strongly that his future as captain was under threat on Wednesday after the midfielder publicly criticised his handling of selection issues.
Loew strongly reprimanded Ballack but said he would wait to speak to him in person before deciding what, if any, action to take after the Chelsea player called for senior players to be shown more respect.
“I will tell Michael that I’m extremely disappointed about the route he has chosen to take, and that his comments are unacceptable,” Loew said in a statement released by the German Football Association on Wednesday.
“I cannot accept it and I will insist on the meeting … My decision on everything else will depend on how that conversation goes.”
Ballack, speaking in an interview with FAZ newspaper, was critical of the coach for his treatment towards Torsten Frings, who is considering his future in the national team after being dropped for the last two World Cup qualifiers.
“If you don’t want someone any more you should say so openly,” Ballack said when asked about his midfield colleague.
“Respect and loyalty are the least you can expect as an experienced national team player,” added Ballack, who said he hoped Frings would decide to prolong his international career.
Ballack made specific mention of Oliver Kahn and Christian Woerns, other former national team players he felt were harshly treated by Loew’s predecessor Juergen Klinsmann.
Loew said that Ballack, as captain, had always been encouraged to speak freely about the running of the national team, but in private.
“No one, not even the captain, has the right to criticise the selection or personnel policy or to make public comments against the training staff,” Loew said in the statement.
(Adds further quotes, details, background)
By Kevin Fylan
(Reporting by Kevin Fylan, editing by Alan Baldwin)
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Rooney targets former club Everton for 100th goal
October 22, 2008
MANCHESTER, England, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney can score the 100th goal of his club career at his former side Everton on Saturday.
Rooney, who turns 23 on Friday, is enjoying a rich vein of form having found the net in seven successive games for United and England.
“I am doing well at the minute and hopefully that continues,” Rooney told reporters after scoring his ninth goal in seven games in Tuesday night’s 3-0 Champions League win over Celtic.
“I am really enjoying my football. I am enjoying the way the team is playing.
“It is always nice for any player to score 100 goals. If I can do that back at Everton, where I started, it would be really pleasing. If I do score at Everton, whether it was my first or my 100th, it would be really sweet.”
Rooney’s goal rush followed a barren start to the season when he failed to score in his first six games for United.
It was as a substitute that the floodgates opened when he came off the bench to score against Bolton Wanderers at the end of September.
“I haven’t got a clue what has changed. I am just scoring goals,” he said.
“I think I am starting to play a lot higher up the pitch. Maybe I am attacking defenders a bit more than I was, which I am really pleased with.
“Obviously, when you score goals you get more confident and try different things. I am starting to run at defenders a bit more and commit them a bit more.
“I would hope to get into the twenties. The season before last I got 23. I went down to 18 last year. I would be really disappointed if I did not top that this season.”
Rooney’s goal spree and Dimitar Berbatov’s integration into the side have ignited United’s season with the defending Premier League champions recovering from a sluggish start to win their last three league games and move up to fifth in the table.
They are now six points behind pacesetters Chelsea and Liverpool, who clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
“We knew it would be a difficult start to the season. Thankfully we are not too far away from Chelsea and Liverpool if we win our game in hand,” said Rooney.
“If we can stay there and maybe creep up on them this weekend when they play each other and stay around the top four for Christmas, hopefully we can go on from there.” (Editing by Alan Baldwin)
By Pete Oliver
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Beckham close to joining AC Milan on loan
October 22, 2008
MILAN, Italy (AP)—AC Milan is close to signing David Beckham in a loan deal that would allow the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder and former England captain to play in Italy for a few months starting in January.
“We’re discussing it with his agent,” Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said Wednesday on the club’s Web site.
With the Major League Soccer season in the United States nearly over, Beckham is eager to join another club in Europe so he can remain in shape and keep his place on England’s team for World Cup qualifying. England coach Fabio Capello has said he will not pick players who are not active.
“We’ll sign him for a few months and then he’ll go back. Beckham has chosen Milan,” Galliani said at Malpensa airport before flying to a UEFA Cup match. “Our team is very competitive and will remain as is, but Beckham is something different and intriguing.”
Beckham’s spokesman, Simon Oliveira of 19 Management in Los Angeles, acknowledged talks are taking place for a short-term loan but “nothing is confirmed at present.”
“David’s intention is to maintain his fitness and keep himself eligible for England’s selection,” he said. “He very much remains a Galaxy player and he would be in Los Angeles for the start of the 2009 MLS season.”
While many Italian clubs are struggling with attendance, Galliani noted that 65,000 fans showed for Milan’s home game Sunday with Sampdoria.
“Beckham will bring more fans,” Galliani said.
Beckham would join a squad at Milan that features Brazil standouts Ronaldinho, Kaka and Alexandre Pato, plus Italy’s Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso.
“For me it will be a pleasure,” Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “Beckham is a serious athlete, a great professional. If he’ll be available for four months with us, we’ll be very happy.”
Ancelotti also indicated Beckham could play for Milan in the UEFA Cup.
“If he becomes available for Milan, evidently it will be for both in Italy and in Europe,” the coach added.
During the MLS offseason last year, Beckham trained with English Premier League side Arsenal to keep fit but did not play for the club.
Beckham starred for Manchester United and Real Madrid before joining the Galaxy in January 2007 in a multimillion-dollar five-year deal.
He quit as England captain after the 2006 World Cup and was dropped from the team by Steve McLaren. He was reinstated to the national team and has been used sparingly by England coach Fabio Capello. He appeared as a late substitute in all four World Cup qualifying victories against Andorra, Croatia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Beckham now has 107 England appearances, one short of the record 108 for a nongaolkeeper by 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the England record of 125.
England probably has an exhibition game lined up against Spain up for February, plus another at home against Slovakia in March, followed by World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine in April, and Kazakhstan and Andorra in June.
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Barton eager to repay Newcastle faith
October 22, 2008
NEWCASTLE (AFP) – Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton wants to repay the 5.8 million pounds the Premier League club spent to sign him after a turbulent time away football.
Barton recently completed a six-game ban for a Football Association charge of violent conduct imposed for an assualt on his former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo which also saw him receive a four-month suspended jail sentence.
He was also sent to prison for six months following a separate incident in Liverpool city centre in December last year.
Barton, who pleaded guilty to charges of assault and affray, served 74 days and has made only one appearance as a substitute for Newcastle since his release.
However, the 26-year-old played 80 minutes of the struggling Premier League club’s 4-1 reserve match victory over north-east rivals Middlesbrough and is keen to return to first-team action in Saturday’s derby away to Sunderland.
"Because of my past misdemeanours, it has been tough for me," Barton told Wednesday’s Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
"The season starts here for me and hopefully, it is a case of onwards and upwards.
"It’s the first game I have played, really. It is a starting point, but I have trained hard.
"The aim is to turn in performances for the fans. I want to do it for everybody connected with the club; players, fans and staff, everybody I have let down in the past.
"I want to go on to start paying back my transfer fee, which I don’t think I did at any stage last year," he added as he looked to impress caretaker boss Joe Kinnear.
Former United manager Kevin Keegan rejected pressure to sell Barton during the January transfer window before resigning a day before the player’s personal hearing in front of the FA over the Dabo incident.
"Kevin, as everybody knows, put his neck on the line for me," said Barton
"He stuck by me, and I am eternally grateful to him for that.
"A lot of other people at the club stuck by me too, and they know who they are. Hopefully, I can go on and do a job for this football club."
A derby match may not be the right fixture for the volatile Barton’s return but, with Newcastle second-bottom, Kinnear may decide he is worth the risk.
"I am ready for the Sunderland game. I know it is a derby and I am aware of how passionate the fans are about local derbies," said Barton.
"I am more concerned mainly about getting my body right so I can be part of the squad.
He added: "I haven’t thought about the game too much. But in the coming days, the adrenalin will start running and the derby build-up kicks in."
Written by: AFP
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Drogba is a ´diver´ – Mourinho
October 22, 2008
LONDON (AFP) – Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has labelled the London club’s striker Didier Drogba "a diver".
Mourinho, now in charge at Italian giants Inter Milan, left the Premier League side just over a year ago having repeatedly defended Ivory Coast forward Drogba against charges of diving.
But the Portuguese, who also criticised Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Robin van Persie, told feelfootball.com: "I am no longer Chelsea coach, and I do not have to defend them any more, but I think it is correct if I say Drogba is a diver.
"Drogba, Ronaldo, Torres and van Persie are the divers. Who dives more? Who has won more penalties in recent years? But English football is the one that criticises the divers the most."
Mourinho added diving was different to players who were fouled going to ground in the box.
"I hate diving, but I’m not happy if a player is kicked by somebody in the box and he tries to remain standing," he explained.
"It’s very, very rare a referee gives a decision if the player doesn’t go down so I tell players not to be naive, but to be fair."
Written by: AFP
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Milan,domani turnover in coppa Uefa
October 22, 2008
Turnover domani in casa Milan per l’impegno di Uefa contro l’Heerenveen. Lo ha annunciato il tecnico Carlo Ancelotti.’Domani sera cambieremo un po’ la formazione rispetto alla Sampdoria – spiega – e faremo giocare chi ha riposato. Vogliamo avere forze fresche e Ronaldinho non credo che giochera’ dal primo minuto. Se giocheranno Inzaghi e Shevchenko sara’ un fatto positivo anche perche’ sara’ stimolante per loro’.
Written by: SuperSportManager.com
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Fenerbahçe 2-5 Arsenal
October 22, 2008
Well how about that for another great performance. As previously mentioned, I was unable to watch or see any part of the game thanks to a day trip down to D.C. Coming back to see a 5-2 result, on the road, you couldn’t ask for anything better really. Goals poured in from all over the place – Theo, Adebayor, Diaby, Song, and even Ramsey, who gets his first in all competitions.
From what I’ve gathered from highlights and recaps, it was a game as dominant as the scoreline indicates – although there are still major concerns at the back. The centreback partnership of Alex Song and Mikael Silvestre was up to no good, and required a number of saves from Manuel Almunia on a number of occasions. Other thoughts:
+No idea what the Fenerbahçe backline was doing on a number of those goals; although credit for the usual incisive passing must go to the usual suspects: Fabregas, Nasri, etc.
+A leaky backline is a major concern. If Arsenal gears up for a game every week like this and expects to score five goals, then it’s no problem. But until Gallas and Toure are fit, each match is a heart attack waiting to happen – no lead is safe.
+Great finishing from the Welch 17 year old. Ramsey’s goal from outside the box goes to show what kind of talent Arsene can bring in. Although it was no secret that Ramsey was wanted by a number of big teams.
To win away from home, on the biggest stage in Europe, with a squad with the average age of 23 years old, is no small feat. Whether this team can find a consistent form – remember that a comprehensive defeat of Porto preceded the Hull City affair – will determine what can happen to this Arsenal squad. I feel like a broken record, spewing out the usual “there’s talent here, but they’ve young” stuff, but it will remain constant over all competitions for Arsenal in the 2008-2009 season.
As for the CL, 7 points from three games is solid ground to be on, and with two home games left, it’s ok to feel safe about advancing beyond the group stages. The big question remains, how will these youngsters fare in the league? That’s the debate I raised after the weekend, and I don’t know if I’ll be convinced – I think it’s a seeing-is-believing sort of thing I’m going for. There’s no doubt that the talent abounds in this organization; but it’s going to be the BIG games, the games against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man United that will determine if these kids will seriously threaten for major trophies. I believe they CAN, but will they? Leave your thoughts below. And apologies for sounding like a broken record.
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Champions League Matchday 3 Preview: Шахтар Донецьк v. Sporting
October 22, 2008
2008/09 Champions League Group C, Matchday 3
Шахтар Донецьк v. Sporting
October 22nd, 2008 @ 2:45 PM Eastern
RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium, Донецьк, Україна
TV: Live on Sky Sports Interactive. Delayed (6 PM Eastern) on Setanta Sports Canada and (8 PM Eastern) Setanta Sports USA.
Preview
In what will probably shape up to be a battle for second place in the group, Sporting head to the Ukraine to face off with Shakhtar Donetsk. Sporting earned a full three points last year in the Ukraine against Dynamo Kyiv so the environment won’t be necessarily an overwhelming one for them. It’s also going to be a relatively mild kickoff temperature (6 deg. C / 43ish F predicted) so their surroundings and the weather shouldn’t provide the Lions with any excuses. Unfortunately for us, Paulo Bento’s gotten way too good at giving excuses for the team’s recent run of shit performances (Beating Leiria 1-0 in the Cup tournament may have been a dominating display, but it’s Leiria and it’s like the bazillionth round of the Cup tourney, so it doesn’t count in my book).
Possible Sporting Starting XI
Liedson – Hélder Postiga
Romagnoli – João Moutinho – Izmailov
Miguel Veloso
Grimi – Polga – Tonel – Abel
Rui Patrício
Yannick has been virtually useless in European competitions so he’ll probably have his ass planted firmly on the bench at the beginning of this one. I hope Paulie B. doesn’t go back to having both Rochemback and Veloso on the field at the same time as two holding midfielders on the pitch simultaneously does bunk for this group. Izmailov is the much better choice over Rochemback here, in my correct opinion, since “Iz My Love” is fantastic box to box and Rochemback just plain sucks of late.
Key Player
The Forward Line, Attack – They wasted no fewer than 137 chances against Leiria in the Cup tie, and that was against a team that probably couldn’t put one past my U-6 recreational squad that I coach. If they have paltry finishing again here, expect a 2-0 loss because you know the Ukranians are going to put at least one, if not two set pieces past a flailing Patricio and a confused looking defense.
Tactics
Score. Defend set pieces effectively. Repeat. Take home three points.
Prediction
Reverse jinx time! Shaq D 2 – 0 Sporting
Viva O Sporting!!!
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Twenty Teams, Five Places: Final African Qualifying Groups for World Cup 2010
October 22, 2008
The FIFA suits gathered in Zurich this afternoon to draw the remaining 20 African World Cup hopefuls into five groups of four for the final round of South Africa 2010 qualifying. Video of the draw here, but I wouldn’t recommending watching. It’s an excruciatingly slow-moving business (though it’s fun to hear Sepp Blatter via an interpreter).
The final stage is a tough business in CAF: five groups of four teams each, and only the winners of each group make it the World Cup. Second place just means first loser and no competitive football in June/July 2010. Here’s how the groups came out:
Group A
Togo
Cameroon
Morocco
Gabon
Group B
Mozambique
Nigeria
Kenya
Tunisia
Group C
Rwanda
Algeria
Egypt
Zambia
Group D
Ghana
Benin
Sudan
Mali
Group E
Côte d’Ivoire
Malawi
Burkina Faso
Guinea
Of the five top seeds, Cameroon probably got the toughest draw as they’ll have to fight it out with both Togo and Morocco. Seems rough on Cameroon given that they’re the highest ranked African team right now (currently 12th). Egypt seem to have been handed a much easier task, and the back to back Africa Cup of Nations winners will expect to see off Rwanda, Algeria and Zambia.
The good news is that there are plenty of consolation prizes to go around, because these group stages double as Africa Cup of Nations 2010 qualifiers. There are 15 spots up for grabs (hosts Angola make it 16 teams total) so the top three in each group will qualify for the tournament. So basically, don’t finish bottom.
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The French Act Like Grownups, Avoid Footy Strike
October 22, 2008
French footy fans, rejoice. There will be games this weekend.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the probability that a strike would take down French football this weekend. At the time both sides looked set on their positions, and the strike looked inevitable.
I am happy to say that in an amazing fit of maturity and grownup-ness on both sides, each party gave a little bit and the strike was called off.
You may remember that the issue was the makeup of the LFP — the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The club owners wanted to increase their numbers to a fourteen-person majority on the 25-person board so that they could do what they wanted. The players’ union was understandably leery about giving them this power. The LFP was going to do it anyway, and the players were going to strike.
But fortunately cooler heads prevailed.
The presidents will not be given the majority position they wanted but will hold sway over economic aspects in the council.
“The strike is over,” said UNFP co-president Philippe Piat. “We have reached an agreement so that everyone can leave this affair in the best possible conditions.”
Club presidents’ chief Jean-Pierre Louvel, who is also president of Ligue 1 side Le Havre, said: “The presidents have a complete hold on economic aspects and they can be represented when they can’t sit on the council, which wasn’t the case before.
Of course, I’m not finding a definition of those “economic aspects” anywhere, so there still may be room for disagreement in the future. But for the moment, I think that everybody has realized that this is not the best economic environment for a strike.
Because the last thing you want right now is for the fans to realize they can get along without you.
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